Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

The next step is to put oil in the pot, add lard, ginger slices, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, and stir-fry until fragrant.

Then add the rabbit meat and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates. Add soy sauce and other seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add hot water to cover the rabbit meat and simmer over low heat for one and a half hours. Then add appropriate salt and continue to simmer.

When the meat is tender enough to be easily pierced with chopsticks, reduce the sauce over high heat, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and it's ready to eat. It tastes amazing—fragrant, spicy, and flavorful, with tender meat that's not dry at all. You'll absolutely devour it without making a sound.

Of course, if you don't like braised dishes or find the cooking method too troublesome, you can also make braised wild rabbit in an iron pot. You don't need complicated seasonings; just prepare salt, soy sauce, dried chili peppers, and ginger slices.

Find a cooking pot, put it on a fire, and simmer it slowly. The longer it simmers, the better it will taste.

The meat is tender, and the soup is plentiful and filling.

……

Thinking about it, Gao Cheng smacked his lips, which amused Zhang Anbang. "And, Company Commander, this isn't just about treating the soldiers to some meat."

You tell me, right now, when the grass is just sprouting and most vulnerable, if these rabbits take a bite, the grass won't be able to grow anymore.

Although a rabbit can only eat a limited amount, they reproduce extremely quickly, producing several litters a year, with each litter containing seven or eight offspring.

If the newly sprouted grass is eaten bare, it will affect the growth of pasture and lead to grassland degradation, which is also bad for the surrounding herders.

"I'm not just doing this to treat people; I'm also doing it to protect the grasslands. It's a good deed, killing two birds with one stone, and it's very worthwhile."

"Okay, okay, stop talking. I guess what you said makes sense." Gao Cheng didn't believe a word Zhang Anbang said after that. Nature has its own rules.

Before Zhang Anbang hunted rabbits, this grassland had never had any problems and had always been in good condition.

However, he still admired Zhang Anbang for coming up with such a high-sounding reason; the kid's shamelessness was getting more and more outrageous.

……

"How many live ammunition magazines did you bring?" Gao Cheng couldn't help but ask after seeing Zhang Anbang change another magazine.

"Hehe, not many, just six," Zhang Anbang patted his combat vest. "These four magazine pouches of mine, the three on the left are full of live ammunition, and each one contains two full magazines."

The magazine pouch on the right was empty before, but now it contains the magazine for the empty rounds that were just put in.

"Alright, I'll have a big meal with you today," Gao Cheng said, having completely come to terms with it. Right now, his car was filled with the smell of wild rabbit blood and fish.

Luckily, I had a waterproof tarp, otherwise washing the car when I got back would have been a real hassle.

The good news is that Zhang Anbang only has two magazines of live ammunition left, and Gao Cheng has already had the mess hall truck pick up and take back the rabbits he shot.

Once Zhang Anbang had used up all the live ammunition he brought, his job as Zhang Anbang's hunting driver would be over.

As for using blank rounds to shoot wild rabbits, don't be ridiculous.

Using that thing is less effective than picking up a stone and throwing it; that's much more powerful.

Unless you're hoping that the commotion will scare the rabbit to death.

……

Two more hours passed quickly, and Zhang Anbang finally finished firing all six magazines of live ammunition he had brought, reaping a bountiful harvest. Old Zhao from the cookhouse personally came to pick him up in the car.

"Oh dear, my deputy company commander, are you trying to kill me with work?" Zhao Donglai began to complain as soon as he saw Zhang Anbang.

He counted them when the cooks threw the rabbits onto the truck, and they were exactly the same as the last two times—sixty in total, no more, no less.

Even if the cooks were all skilled and had the right tools, it would still take a considerable amount of time to skin, gut, and clean 180 wild rabbits, and finally chop them into appropriate pieces.

If we assume that it takes one person five minutes to process one rabbit, it would still take ten people an hour and a half to process them together.

Zhang Anbang stepped forward and patted Zhao Donglai on the shoulder. "Haha, Lao Zhao, I was just thinking about your specialty."

With so many people here, I need to prepare more food to treat them to a meal. If I prepare too little, they'll definitely say I'm a stingy deputy company commander.

"Since I asked you to do this for me, I can't let you off without paying. I have to leave you some money for your hard work."

Zhao Donglai waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, Deputy Company Commander, we really don't need any compensation for our trouble. Just a token amount is enough. Don't make it so much. We can't handle it."

"Haha," Zhang Anbang chuckled, "Alright, alright, that's enough. Here's the rabbit skin for you. You can decide what to do with it later."

Actually, rabbit fur is quite good. It doesn't require complicated tanning; a simple treatment is all it takes to make something like gloves, earmuffs, or insoles. It's light, soft, and warm.

Or you could make a small pad to wrap around the stock and grip of a gun, so your hands won't feel cold when you hold the gun in winter, and it will also prevent slipping.

Of course, you can also exchange it for something, like daily necessities, cigarettes, snacks, etc. But in this place, wild rabbit skins are not rare at all, so they are not worth much money.

After seeing Zhao Donglai off, Gao Cheng vigorously shook the camouflage netting on the upper bunk of the back seat. Because of the waterproof tarpaulin and the fact that the car was open-top, there wasn't much of a smell in the car after the wild rabbits were removed.

With the car ready, Zhang Anbang's enjoyable hunting trip came to an end, and Gao Cheng continued driving across the grassland.

Soon, as the car drove up to a dilapidated house, Gao Cheng noticed something unusual. On the dry ground mixed with green, a pair of black canvas shoes stood out conspicuously, like fireflies in the night—they were incredibly eye-catching.

Crunch!

Gao Cheng slammed on the brakes, and the convertible jeep came to a smooth stop.

He glanced at Zhang Anbang, who was still sitting calmly in the passenger seat. He had noticed such an obvious flaw, so he didn't believe that Zhang Anbang hadn't.

However, since Zhang Anbang wasn't going to make a move, he didn't bother with him.

Gao Cheng pushed open the car door and strode to the dilapidated house.

He first looked around to make sure there were no hidden cameras installed by Zhang Anbang, then unzipped his pants, relieved the pressure in his bladder, and took a piss.

After straightening his clothes, he turned around and kicked at the dry grass on the ground. "You're pretty resilient."

The person lying on the ground didn't move at all, as if there really was no one there.

"Your feet are showing," Gao Cheng said, squatting down and pulling at the nearby dry grass to cover the black soles of his shoes.

Seeing the soldier still lying motionless on the ground pretending not to exist, Gao Cheng stood up and asked, "Which regiment are you from?"