"I just made arrangements. Someone will be waiting for us at the entrance to the mountain villa to guide us. Once we’re in the woods, we can cut down whichever trees he says are okay." After speaking, Xu Ye glanced toward the back seat. "Hey, Bin, how come you didn’t bring a chainsaw or an axe or anything? How are you going to cut down trees? I definitely don’t have any of that stuff at my place."
"We don’t need any. You don’t actually think I was going to do it myself, do you? I don’t have the strength for that. These two are more than enough. I’ve already arranged for a truck. Once they’ve gathered enough wood, I’ll just make a call, and it’ll come to the mountain villa to haul it all back." This was the extent of Shen Yibin’s preparations. The rest of the work was all up to Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie.
"Fine, have it your way. I’ll be going fishing. You all can mess around however you like, just as long as you don’t ask me to help cut down trees." Xu Ye quickly drew a line in the sand with Shen Yibin, terrified of being roped into it.
They listened to music and chatted all the way out of Yunzhong City and into the suburbs. Peering through the car windows at the forests on both sides, Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie immediately grew excited. They pressed against the glass, squeaking, as if they couldn’t wait to jump out and go on a felling spree.
"Listen, you two. Don’t just latch onto the first tree you see and start gnawing like you did yesterday. If you find one you like, you have to come to me first. You can only start chewing after I give you permission, understand?" When they reached the entrance to the mountain villa, Shen Yibin didn’t rush out of the car. Instead, he first pulled Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie aside to give them a stern warning. Not just any tree in this forest could be felled. It would be a disaster if they happened to chew on a protected species, so he had to make the rules clear to them in advance.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Bald Qiang seemed to understand. He nodded and squeaked twice more. As for Gao Lujie, with Bald Qiang to keep her in line, there was no fear of her causing any trouble.
"Bin, this is Supervisor Sun. He’s in charge of managing this part of the forest. You’ll follow him up the mountain in a bit. Only cut down the trees he points out. I’m not going with you." After making the introduction, Xu Ye casually headed off to fish. He wasn’t the least bit interested in trekking up a mountain and into the woods.
"Mr. Shen, there are a few precautions I need to go over with you. The most important thing when entering the mountains is safety..." Supervisor Sun glanced at Hah’Er, then at Xiaoliu and the beaver couple. This was the first time he’d ever seen such a logging crew. Felling trees was a dangerous business. If a tree fell and hit the panda, he’d have a real crisis on his hands.
"Yes, yes, I’ve memorized everything you said. Let me repeat it for you..." This concerned their safety, so Shen Yibin didn’t dare be the least bit careless. He committed every point to memory and even recited them back to Supervisor Sun. Once everything was confirmed, he asked, "So, can we head into the mountains now?"
"Alright, no problem! Just grab your tools and we can go." Like Xu Ye before him, Supervisor Sun scanned the area for a chainsaw, an axe, or anything similar, but after searching for a good while, he came up empty.
"It’s fine. We can just go as we are. You’ll see how we cut down trees once we get there!" Shen Yibin smiled, offering no further explanation. He urged Supervisor Sun to lead them into the forest. The moment they were inside, Xiaoliu couldn’t contain himself and scampered up a tree to play. Supervisor Sun opened his mouth, about to issue a warning not to climb the trees, but then he reconsidered. ’That rule is for people,’ he thought. ’There’s no sense in telling a monkey not to climb a tree, is there?’ He could only remind Shen Yibin to keep an eye on Xiaoliu’s location when the felling began to avoid any accidents.
"Alright, this patch of trees up ahead is all approved for felling. Just point out which one you want, I’ll make a note of it, and you can get started!" After crossing a mountain ridge, Supervisor Sun pointed at the broadleaf forest before them. He then stared intently at Shen Yibin. ’No axe, no chainsaw. I’d really like to see how you plan on cutting down a tree. Are you going to pinch it with your fingernails or gnaw it with your teeth?’
"Bald Qiang, time to get to work! Go for whichever one you two like!" ’We’ve got master lumberjacks right here, so why would I need to lift a finger?’ Shen Yibin thought. With a wave of his hand, Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie shot into the forest like unleashed dogs. They had been feeling so cooped up these past few days. They could finally get to logging!
Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie positioned themselves on opposite sides of a large tree. Wrapping their paws around the base of the trunk, they opened their mouths wide to reveal gleaming white incisors and bit down hard. Wood chips immediately flew everywhere, and a large notch appeared in the trunk. As they continued to gnaw, the notch visibly widened.
Supervisor Sun’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. ’They’re really gnawing it down with their teeth! What in the world are these animals? How have I never seen one before?’ After Shen Yibin explained, he finally managed to speak. "It’s a good thing we don’t have these animals around here! Otherwise, I doubt this forest would be enough for them to chew through!" It had only been a few moments, and a fully grown tree was already about to be severed by Bald Qiang and his partner. If there were a colony of these Beavers in the forest, this entire mountain would have likely been stripped bare long ago.
"Xiaoliu! Hah’Er! Get back here!" Seeing the notch widen and the top of the tree begin to sway, Shen Yibin quickly called Hah’Er and Xiaoliu over to him so they wouldn’t be hit by the falling tree.
Just then, Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie moved to the uphill side of the trunk. Planting their front paws above the notch, they pushed hard against the tree, gnawing forcefully at the same time. After a few moments, the great tree began to creak and groan, then slowly toppled downhill. It crashed to the ground with a deafening roar, startling a flock of birds into flight.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Having felled the first tree, Bald Qiang immediately scampered over to the base of another. He looked at Shen Yibin expectantly and squeaked twice. He clearly remembered his earlier instructions.
"No problem, go ahead!" After getting a nod of approval from Supervisor Sun, Shen Yibin signaled for the two of them to continue. The sound of incisors gnawing on wood rang out once more.
After what he’d just witnessed, Supervisor Sun was becoming somewhat desensitized to the spectacle. Seeing how obedient Bald Qiang and Gao Lujie were, he couldn’t help but start mulling over a new idea.
’Judging by their speed, they’re much faster than a logger with an axe,’ he thought. ’No, they’re probably even faster than a chainsaw, and without all the hassle. Young people these days think forestry is too exhausting, so it’s getting harder and harder to hire loggers. Since these two are so darn effective, could we maybe consider recruiting them to work at the logging station?’
"Uh, um, Mr. Shen... what would you think about letting these two... these two Beavers come work at the logging station?" Lost in thought, Supervisor Sun couldn’t help but blurt it out. "We promise we’ll take great care of them!"