’I think I smelled something strange back at the lumber market,’ Shen Yibin thought, carefully recalling his experience. At the market, besides the natural scent of wood, there was also a pungent smell of chemicals. He didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back now, something felt off.
The wood was shipped from far away and had to be stored at the market, with no telling when a customer would come to buy it. To prevent the wood from rotting due to rain or being chewed on by insects—which would lower its quality and prevent it from fetching a good price—the lumber merchants would certainly take some preservative measures. They usually soaked the wood in preservatives, using chemicals to prevent rot and deter insects.
If an ordinary merchant bought this wood for renovations or other purposes, they wouldn’t be too concerned. But it was a different story for Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie. ’Just think, if even insects won’t dare to chew on the wood, how could they possibly use it?’ Beavers process wood entirely with their teeth. If they were to chew on wood like that for a long time and absorb large amounts of those chemicals, the two of them would probably be poisoned and croak before long.
At this thought, Shen Yibin broke out in a cold sweat. ’Why on earth didn’t I think of this before? If I’d known, I never would have dared to take them to the lumber market! Thank goodness I was lucky, and Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie were repulsed by the preservatives and didn’t find any wood they liked.’ Otherwise, by the time Shen Yibin remembered this a while after buying the wood, the two of them would likely have been poisoned already.
No wonder Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie would rush over to gnaw on the trees in the store, the ones lining the streets, and the ornamental ones in the park, yet did nothing at the lumber market. ’It was all because of those preservatives! It looks like I’ll have to find a way to get them some all-natural wood that hasn’t been treated with chemicals.’
And it couldn’t just be tree trunks. When beavers build their lodges, they always use large trunks and boughs for the main frame and smaller branches for the secondary frame. Just buying the logs and planks from the lumber market wouldn’t work. He needed branches and leaves, too. The best option would be to go into a forest, fell some trees, and drag them back whole. Only that would satisfy their needs.
’But where can I find that kind of suitable wood?’ Shen Yibin felt a headache coming on again. The country’s forestry management was extremely strict these days. There was no way they would allow him to just go and cut down trees.
After settling the two little critters down and having Xiaoliu take them for a walk in the park, Shen Yibin brought Hah’Er along for a slow jog around the lake while he mulled over the problem. ’Should I look for Bai Jingxiang, the person Li Zhen introduced me to last time? She should have some suitable trees, right?’ But her trees were all ornamental, which meant the price would be a bit high. Moreover, from what Shen Yibin had observed, those trees seemed quite different from the ones beavers used to build their dams and lodges. He had no idea if they would even work.
Shen Yibin wasn’t afraid of spending money, but wouldn’t it be a huge waste if he bought them and they were useless? ’So, are there any other options?’ He pondered for a long time but couldn’t come up with any good ideas. Shen Yibin decided to put the matter aside for now and discuss it with Xu Ye, Bai Yanni, and the others when they came over that evening.
After his workout, he led his large crew back to the store. Shen Yibin went straight into the kitchen and began to focus on preparing dinner. Xu Ye and the others were all coming over tonight, so in addition to the gourmet meal of various tender shoots and wild vegetables for Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie, Shen Yibin also planned a few major dishes that required advance preparation.
He called Gao Shu over to help. The two of them busied themselves for over an hour, and most of the dishes were ready. "Alright, just let the chicken simmer slowly in the clay pot. Let’s take a break. We can serve everything once they arrive!" Wiping the sweat from his brow, Shen Yibin came out of the kitchen, planning to take a short rest on the patio.
"Yo, Officer Bai, Qiqi, Xiaomo, you’re here! No overtime today?" When he reached the patio, he saw that Bai Yanni had already arrived and was chatting with Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo. Only Xu Ye was missing.
"It was fine. Nothing major has been going on lately, so I got off on time! You worked hard cooking, Bin. Sit down and rest for a bit. What would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?" Bai Yanni made room for Shen Yibin. The four of them chatted over tea while waiting for Xu Ye, and eventually, Shen Yibin brought up the issue with the trees.
Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo’s jobs were completely unrelated to this, so they couldn’t think of any good ideas off the top of their heads. Bai Yanni thought for a moment, then said, "You could try the forestry police. When they crack down on illegal logging, they confiscate batches of freshly cut trees. Those should meet your requirements."
"But I’d probably have to get lucky with the timing for that, right? They don’t just have them on hand all the time, do they?" He knew they would only have such trees after catching criminals; it wasn’t something you could just get whenever you went.
"Yeah. Let me make a call and ask." Bai Yanni took out her phone, found an acquaintance in the forestry police department, and chatted for a bit before putting her phone down and shaking her head helplessly. "Sigh, it seems no one dares to do any illegal logging lately. He just said he’ll let me know if anything comes up."
"I’ll have to think of another way then!" Shen Yibin said with regret. ’If this method doesn’t work, should I maybe go find Director Dong from the zoo and have him communicate with the forestry department on the grounds that the zoo needs it?’
While he was pondering this, Xu Ye finally arrived. Seeing their gloomy faces, he quickly asked what was wrong. After finding out, Xu Ye started laughing. "You should have come to me for this!"
"What good would that do? I’ve never heard of you being in the lumber business!" Mo Xiaomo shot him a look.
"Hey, you guys have been to my mountain villa several times. Have you forgotten that all the surrounding forests belong to my family?" Xu Ye quickly explained. It turned out his family had leased the barren mountains years ago and planted those forests. According to the original agreement, once the trees matured, they could be harvested in batches, as long as they were replanted in a timely manner!
’Sigh, the rich are really on another level. They have everything!’ Shen Yibin couldn’t help but marvel. He was lucky to have a friend who owned a mountain villa. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known how to solve this problem.
"Alright, everyone, let’s eat! Tomorrow, I’ll take these two into the mountains to cut down some trees!" The problem was finally solved. Shen Yibin’s heart was finally at ease as he ushered them to the table.
After a wonderfully happy evening, Shen Yibin and Xu Ye headed into the mountains early the next morning with Hah’Er, Maphario, Xiaoliu, and the beaver couple, Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie.
"Let’s go. I’m taking you into the forest to do some logging!" Shen Yibin said, patting Bald Qiang’s head.