Assembly of Mice

“Jill, why don’t you speak up? You’re the most senior here.”
Seeing that no one was willing to talk, Yang Jie began to call on people directly. No matter the resistance, the meeting had to go on.
“I’m just an old bone, how would I understand these matters? This is the stage for you young ones now...”
Old Jill sighed deeply. Whether he was feigning or not, his act was quite convincing.
On the surface, he claimed he was too old to take on responsibilities, but in truth, he was subtly reminding everyone of his seniority—implying that the dirty, exhausting, or dangerous tasks were not his to bear.
“I actually have an idea.”
Everyone turned toward the voice, their beady eyes sizing up Victor.
“Ahem...”
Victor cleared his throat, seeing the anticipation in their gaze.
“We all know the issue—the shortage of fifty thousand units of grain. There are two solutions: increase supply or reduce demand.”
“We have no leads on increasing supply for now, so let’s start with reducing demand. We could implement a birth policy to limit the number of newborn pups.”
“No!”
Wendy interrupted, rejecting the proposal immediately.
“I’ve calculated your suggestion, and it doesn’t fit our current reality at all.”
“The food crisis is already upon us—we can’t possibly interfere with the unborn pups in the womb.”
Wendy’s rebuttal was concise and direct, leaving Victor momentarily speechless.
“I’ll add to Wendy’s point. Right now, our tribe has no safety measures regarding reproduction, and the daily workload is already heavy. If we impose restrictions here, the backlash from our people could be severe.”
On this matter, Old Sha was the undisputed authority. He and Wendy were the busiest mice in the tribe, while everyone knew exactly who the idlest were.
“If reducing demand isn’t feasible, let’s brainstorm ways to increase supply. Everyone, share your ideas.”
Yang Jie kept the meeting on track, pushing its progress forward.
After all, this was the tribe’s first formal leadership meeting—the tone for the future needed to be set.
“Big Billy, let’s hear your thoughts.”
Called upon by the chief, Big Billy couldn’t refuse and began, “Chief, you’re familiar with the situation of the hunting party. Within a ten-kilometer radius of Horseshoe Mountain, all the wild fruit trees have been harvested, and the numbers of wild rabbits and boars have steadily declined. Honestly, maintaining our daily food supply is already exhausting all our efforts.”
Big Billy laid out the tribe’s reality. The others understood he wasn’t shirking responsibility; everyone knew how difficult things had been lately, so no one raised any pointed objections.
Yang Jie’s intention wasn’t to showcase his own capability, but to teach his subordinates to think and solve problems independently. If everyone relied on him for every issue and waited for his orders, it wouldn’t work. These leaders needed to grow.
Otherwise, as the tribe expanded, relying on himself alone would mean being worked to death.
As the mice sat stumped, Little Billy suddenly spoke up in a trembling voice, “Chief, may I share my idea?”

“Go ahead, speak freely.”
Anyone willing to offer suggestions was always welcome.
“Just two days ago, about five kilometers upstream of the Tam River, I found a group of particularly large herbivorous dinosaurs, numbering about five to seven.”
Yang Jie immediately straightened in his seat, eyes brightening as if struck by inspiration.
“Can you describe the appearance of these large herbivorous dinosaurs?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“They were over twenty meters long, with sturdy limbs, and very slender necks and tails. They could stretch their necks to eat plants high off the ground.”
“Are you sure you didn’t mistake them?”
“I’m absolutely certain, Chief! Not just me, many hunters saw them too.” Little Billy grew anxious as the chief doubted him.
With a slight nod, Yang Jie affirmed that Little Billy was describing the late Jurassic’s largest land herbivores—Brontosaurs.
Their figures often appeared in movies; they migrated in groups, moving only after consuming all vegetation in an area.
An adult Brontosaur weighed about thirty tons and traveled as a family unit, rarely exceeding ten in number.
If they could successfully hunt them, the food problem would be temporarily solved—at least for a month, there would be no shortage.
“Hunt Brontosaurs? Chief! You must reconsider!”
“That’s right, Chief!”
Voices of opposition quickly arose, and the meeting heated into a fierce debate.
After nearly twenty minutes of arguing, Yang Jie, silent for a long time, suddenly slapped his paw on the table.
“You must realize, this is the only reasonable solution we have!”
“Don’t overthink it.”
“Let’s start rolling and get to work!”
No longer hesitating, Yang Jie overruled everyone and made the decision.
They had no time left. If these Brontosaurs migrated again, they would be helpless.
“Little Billy, take two mice and keep watch on them.”
“Understood! I’ll get it done!” Little Billy was excited to be singled out for the task.
“Old Sha, your team is stretched thin, so I won’t assign you this time. I’ll check your project progress in a few days.”
“Rest assured, Chief.”
“Send everyone from the logging, quarrying, and farming teams to the great plains to gather vines. You have one day to collect four thousand vines. Wendy, can you do it?”

“Absolutely, Chief. I guarantee it.”
Wendy clasped her hands, her tone resolute.
On the Northson Plain, vines were plentiful but scattered. Having settled here for months, the mice knew their locations well.
“Old Jill, you’ll assist Wendy.”
“Billy brothers, Shuke, and Victor, organize everyone you can to help collect vines.”
“Chief, please be careful!”
Old Jill suddenly advised, “These dinosaurs are not only huge, but transporting their carcasses is a challenge. You must reconsider!”
Old Jill continued to plead with Yang Jie.
“My mind is made up, no further discussion!”
“This time, besides the construction team continuing the defensive works, everyone else will join the operation!”
“This mission concerns the survival of our mouse tribe—its importance needs no explanation.”
On the Northson Plain, the first survival battle of the Andes mice tribe was about to begin!

“Today’s still early—go prepare.”
“Understood!”
“Understood.”
...
“Meeting adjourned!”
As soon as the meeting ended, the entire mouse tribe sprang into action.
Except for Old Sha, who kept working on the defensive fortifications, all other mice—whether loggers, hunters, or burrow builders—now had just one task: gathering vines.
Four thousand vines might seem like a lot, but it wasn’t really. They didn’t even need to go to the great plain—just the vines on the Horseshoe Mountain highlands were enough.
Four thousand, forty thousand—it wouldn’t be a problem.
Every mouse, young and old, joined in, even two-month-old pups followed the adults to help. In less than half a day, with the sun still high, they had not only met but exceeded the target of four thousand vines.