Yan Fengping, a senior employee at the Shuangfeng Forest Farm, under the administration of the Dahailin Forestry Bureau of Heilongjiang Province, has lived in the mountain for almost his whole life.

One day, Yan's neighbor caught two small roe deer. The roe deer is a common species in Northeast China, with strong vision, hearing, and smell, which, when combined with their fast legs, enable the animal to survive and reproduce even in a less-than-ideal environment. Its meat is nutritious and tasty, and its fur is highly-desirable for high-end coats. In some areas of Inner Mongolia and Northeast China, roe deer is the primary meat source for nomads like the Oroqen. Today, the population of wild roe deer is decreasing, and domestically raised meat does not taste as good as that of the wild. Therefore, when Yan's neighbor captured the animals, he was excited and anxious for the delicious meal.

Upon hearing the news, Yan rushed to join the crowd of onlookers admiring the captives. The two fawns were obviously frightened, crouching in the corner in silence. "Their fragile eyes moved me," Yan recalls. So much so, that when he returned home, he suggested to his wife that they adopt the little deer. To his surprise, she immediately agreed, and even offered to sacrifice four of their home-bred egg-laying hens in trade. Although the neighbor was initially reluctant, he finally accepted the exchange deal after hearing the passionate pleas from the begging couple.

The arrival of the little deer altered the lives of the old couple. Every morning, they got up early to feed the fawns milk and prepare food for them. Once a deer fell ill, and they immediately took it to the veterinarian for treatment. "It's just like taking care of our own children," Yan smiles. "Sometimes I give them privileged treatment that even my grandson never had." Yan's daughter works in another city, so their grandson lives with them. The young boy learned to feed the deer, and they soon became dear friends. The couple found great pleasure and contentment from watching their grandson play with the fawns.

When the fawns eventually matured, the couple looked around for suitable mates for breeding. So far, the two deer have given birth to seven adorable fawns between them. Some wealthy city dwellers wishing to taste wild animals drove all the way to Yan's home and offered an astronomical price for the deer, but were all rejected. "I would never sell them, not even if I was broke," Yan insists. "I plan to release them into the wilds of the mountain after they multiply to a larger number."