Chapter 129: Chapter 129 The Meat Thief Strikes Again

Chen Ying casually slapped the street rat on his behind.

The feel of it, all soft and chubby; brother had put on some nice autumn fat.

The street rat turned his head and narrowed his eyes, sitting down in response, still holding a piece of honeycomb in his mouth.

“You’ve been off troubling someone’s bees again? It’s not easy to store some honey for winter. Do you or do you not want to eat more next year if you mess it up?”

The street rat turned his head away defiantly.

He left a message for Little Sen to keep an eye on the street rat to prevent any havoc in the kitchen.

He also fetched some of Duoduo’s favorite dried meat and bones, letting the canine couple slowly enjoy their meal on the platform at the entrance of the warehouse.

“Duoduo, I’ve got to go up the mountain for a bit. A big cat that was saved earlier needs to be released back into the wild. Whenever you and your missus decide to head to the maternity ward, it’s up to you; I’ve got everything arranged, and there will be someone to look after your missus.”

He rubbed the dog’s head, satisfied to feel Duoduo’s firm muscles beneath his fur, and took the opportunity to check them both for any wounds or ticks before packing up to head down the mountain.

Upon arriving at the Protection Station, Yin Li was already waiting at the gate.

“Let’s go, I’ll drive you.”

The only drawback of breaking away from the center was the lack of a car; going out in the future would mean having one’s own vehicle.

“Oh really, Ali, is this a new car you bought?”

“Wishful thinking. This is the deputy director’s car; I borrowed it. Come on, let’s hurry; I still need to pick up some things after dropping you off.”

Becoming a station chief reduced the number of patrols, but the number of trips up and down the mountain had increased countless times.

“How does it feel to be an official?”

“Keep nagging, and I’ll hit you, huh.”

It was clear that Yin Li wasn’t in the best of moods, so Chen Ying didn’t joke around with him anymore.

“Brother Ying, when you get back, there are some things I need to discuss with you in detail. Aside from our deputy chief, there are also village cadres.”

Chen Ying grimaced, “I don’t understand those matters, why call them here?”

“It’s nothing major; they just want to develop the village’s tourism. You’re more knowledgeable about animals; if tourism really takes off, we’ll need your help to make sure those creatures don’t injure people at least.”

Chen Ying rolled his eyes, “You really think I’m a druid? I can only offer you some advice at best; beyond that, I can’t do much.”

Yin Li chuckled and didn’t continue the conversation.

“The little snow leopard we’re releasing today, is it the one we saw on the mountain before?”

“Yes, I thought it was a girl at first, but during surgery, we discovered it was a boy. That snow leopard, allowing another male in its territory—could this little one be its son?”

It was a pity they hadn’t obtained a biological sample from that snow leopard; otherwise, they could have done a paternity test.

When they got to the center, the little snow leopard seemed to have recovered well but appeared to be in a somewhat bad mood.

“He’s been like this since waking up. We’ve checked, and he meets the release criteria. You mentioned letting him live in the meadow for a while before going back; we think that’s feasible. But have you been in touch with the herders?”

“I have. Uncle said any time would be fine. Also, they hope we can release him near Streamstone beach. There’s a small group of rock sheep there, and other animals, so it’s easier for the snow leopard to hunt.”

The highland pasture conditions are best known to the herders.

Director Bai gestured broadly; in addition to the snow leopard, several other animals and birds were also loaded into the vehicle for release.

By four in the afternoon, the group arrived at the high mountain pasture. They released the birds and other rescued animals in several shifts before finally moving near Streamstone beach to release the snow leopard.

The herders watched from a distance, and several elderly people even held prayer wheels and beads, sitting on the grass and murmuring prayers.

The transshipment cage was opened, and the little snow leopard quietly lay inside for a while, observing. Then he poked his head out, looking left and right, before bounding forward and running off.

Having run about a hundred meters, it stopped and looked back at the dispersing crowd.

The keeper who had been responsible for its care waved at it with slightly red eyes, telling it to quickly leave while it was still early and find a place to spend the night.

The little snow leopard walked back a few meters, stood and watched for a while, then turned around and ran off without looking back.

(This tail, it’s hard not to love)

There was a small rocky area at Streamstone Beach, followed by the forest of Snow Mountain.

The little snow leopard jumped agilely among the rocks, quickly reaching the top.

“Let’s go, the reintroduction is complete, and it’s time for us to head back,” said Director Bai with a long sigh, patting Chen Ying’s shoulder. After a brief chat with Uncle Hong from the police station and another on-duty officer, he got into the car.

Chen Ying stayed next to an elderly Tibetan man, planning to remain there for a day to observe the snow leopard’s reintroduction.

Moreover, he had previously discovered two sub-adult snow leopards, which had visited the area twice more, likely indicating their territory was nearby.

The little snow leopard’s release would surely lead to a dispute over territory, and he feared that the newly released animal could not withstand attacks from others. What if it got hurt right after being released?

The elderly man thought it unlikely.

The meadow on this side was vast, large enough to sustain three snow leopards.

Additionally, the little snow leopard was better adapted to the forest environment, and it was slightly larger than the two sub-adults, so there should be no conflict.

Chen Ying arranged to spend the night in a small room at the police station.

After talking to Uncle Hong until eleven o’clock, he had just returned to his room when he heard Uncle Hong calling for him.

“Little Chen, get up quickly! Those two little snow leopards are back. Oh my, there’s another one, is it the one we released today?”

Chen Ying hurried to the office and looked at the video monitor, amused.

The three snow leopards had each come from different directions.

It seemed that the two sub-adults had also reached the time to live independently.

The three snow leopards coincidentally came to the pasture to look for food, their paths crossing by chance.

The two sub-adults glanced at the newly released little snow leopard warily and ran towards the pasture’s sheepfold together.

The little snow leopard stood still and watched them. After a while, it followed them over.

Uncle Hong had already called the elderly Tibetan man who was prepared; he locked the sheepfold and cattle shed and alerted other families to be on guard.

The two sub-adults circled the sheepfold unable to find a point of entry, not giving up, they ran towards another house.

The newly released little snow leopard followed. It sniffed carefully at the door of the elderly man’s house, stood on its hind legs to scratch at the door, then turned and ran toward the two other snow leopards.

Nowadays, cameras are not expensive, and nearly every household has one installed at their entrance.

There were also surveillance cameras installed at the sheepfold and cattle shed doors.

The household that was visited second saw the snow leopards on their doorstep through their phone, and they started a group chat on another phone.

“They’re here, they’re at my sheepfold door. Look at that, these two little leopards even know how to cooperate.”

One was scouting the sheepfold while the other kept watch.

In the distance of the camera frame, the reintroduced little snow leopard with its collar was easily recognizable. It paced back and forth, seemingly torn between joining and leaving.

Finally, under the gaze of the sheepfold owner, the little snow leopard from the release hastened its pace and charged over, but its target was the sub-adult snow leopard that was scratching at the door.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com