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墨書 Inktalez
Lin Dahe nodded and wrung out the water from his clothes. "I came to deliver the insoles."
Cui Xiaoman sneered, suddenly lowering her voice. "She is Zhou Liangzhang's cousin, rescued from the brothel, specifically helping people arrange marriages and scheme for family fortunes." She counted on her fingers. "Two years ago it was Liu the Blacksmith, last year it was Zhang the Peddler; both fell ill suddenly after marrying the wives she recommended..."
Chilled droplets of water slid down Lin Dahe's spine. Just as he was about to ask more, a warning suddenly popped up on his system: [Seed Bank Theft Risk Detected! Urgent Task: Create a Rodent Trap, Deadline: 12 Hours.]
Noticing his change in expression, Cui Xiaoman frowned and asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing..." Lin Dahe stared at the flashing red light on the virtual interface. "Just remembered there's a rat problem at home."
"Use Sichuan pepper." Cui Xiaoman tossed a wild rabbit over her shoulder. "Rats are terrified of that smell. Last year I sprinkled some in the cellar and caught three this big—" She gestured with her hands to indicate the size of a raccoon.
As they were parting, the girl suddenly grabbed his sleeve. "If Aunt Ma comes looking for you again, just say... just say we exchanged engagement letters."
Lin Dahe was momentarily taken aback. "What engagement letter?"
"The one for betrothal!" Cui Xiaoman's ears turned crimson as she turned and ran, splashing water that dampened Lin Dahe's freshly washed clothes.
By late afternoon, Lin Dahe had gathered all the materials: he split tough bamboo from the back mountain into thin strips, boiled hemp rope in pine resin to increase its stickiness, and found a string of red chili peppers in the corner to use as bait. Following the blueprints provided by the system, he constructed a clever balance mechanism above the doorframe—anything that touched the bait would trigger a net to drop from above.
"Perfect!" He wiped his sweat and suddenly heard rustling sounds outside. Peeking through a gap in the wall, he saw Aunt Ma sneaking around his fence, scattering something at its base. In the moonlight, those particles appeared dark red, like...
"Sichuan pepper?"
Lin Dahe's heart raced. This woman clearly intended to use the scent to lure rats to destroy his seeds! He quietly retreated inside, buried his prized potato seeds in an iron pot under ash in the stove, and placed a bag of ordinary Mountain Yam under the bedding as a decoy.
When night fully descended, he yawned loudly and blew out the oil lamp while actually hiding behind the grain bin with a bundle of dry grass. Moonlight filtered through a hole in the window paper, casting several shimmering spots on the ground.
After midnight struck, faint scratching sounds finally came from above. A slick gray rat descended along the scent of Sichuan pepper, heading straight for the fake seed under the bedding. Just as it touched the burlap sack, there was a soft click—the bamboo trap sprang up!
"Eek—!"
The gray rat dangled upside down in midair, thrashing wildly as the net spun around it. Lin Dahe rushed out with a firebrand and nearly burst into laughter at what he saw—the rat had half of a red string tangled around its tail that looked exactly like one from Aunt Ma's braid during the day!
"Achoo! Achoo!" The rat sneezed repeatedly from the Sichuan pepper while clutching a piece of Mountain Yam tightly in its paws.
As Lin Dahe contemplated how to deal with this "contraband," he suddenly heard branches snapping outside. He extinguished his firelight and stealthily approached the window just in time to see Aunt Ma's figure hurriedly disappearing into the night.
At dawn, Lin Dahe took his rodent trap to Seventh Uncle's house. The old man was sitting under a jujube tree smoking when he saw the rat in the cage and nearly dropped his pipe in shock.
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