Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 441 The Snow Leopard Skin of the Second Master of the Lu Family

At first, the old master of the Lu family was furious. But the second eldest uncle of the Lu family complained and advised his elder brother to turn a blind eye and just say what he wanted.

"It's just a trip to the Huma River area. How can we not eat along the way? Let's roast some meat, hunt a few pheasants. Everyone gets cold around the campfire at night. Eating some meat to replenish our energy is much better than gnawing on sticky rice cakes every day, which are so cold they could break your teeth."

After thinking about it for a while, the old man of the Lu family nodded and realized that it made sense.

After all, it was his grandson Lu Zhiqiang going to Humahe to meet the girl. It was such a long journey, and he didn't want his grandson to go alone. With so many members of the Lu family going to Binghe, they needed to bring plenty of equipment and food. And in the freezing cold at night, they needed to roast some extra meat.

"Well, that works too."

With his wife whispering in his ear, the old man of the Lu family finally relented. His agreement emboldened the second uncle and the eldest uncle of the Lu family. Neither of them had touched a hunting rifle for over a decade. But the love and habit of hunting in the mountains from their younger days couldn't be easily abandoned.

Uncle Lu rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "How about we get a hunting rifle?"

"No need to get hunting rifles, Lu Zhiqiang and Lu Jinyang already have four."

The Lu brothers had been rewarded with four Type 56 semi-automatic rifles by the forestry station after their last hunt with Li Ju'an. Li Ju'an gave one to each of them. He already had a Type 56 and didn't need any more, but the Lu brothers were always carrying around small pistols, which were inaccurate, making it difficult for him to lead both of them.

The eldest uncle and the second eldest uncle of the Lu family exchanged a smile, both able to see the cunning and slyness in each other's eyes; the fox's tail could no longer be hidden.

Without asking Lu Jinyang, the two went straight to Lu Zhiqiang, who was the easiest to talk to and the simplest-minded.

“Nephew, you’re all grown up now, and you’re quite capable. You’re also very good at going into the mountains. Do you remember when your uncle took you shooting when you were little?”

"Zhiqiang, this hunting rifle is really good. I'm old, and my rifle handle is old too. It's no longer usable. A young person's gun is better. It looks sharp and is really good."

The two old foxes smiled slyly in front of Lu Zhiqiang, neither asking him for a gun nor mentioning the matter of borrowing a gun. They just flattered Lu Zhiqiang, one after the other.

Hearing this, Lu Zhiqiang felt a surge of pride and joy, almost making him beam with delight. He patted his chest and exclaimed, "Second Uncle and Eldest Uncle are going into the mountains? It's been very dangerous there lately. Li Ju'an said the wolves are watching us from the mountaintops. We definitely can't go in without a good hunting rifle. Here's what we'll do. I have a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle that Second Uncle and Eldest Uncle took."

The two old foxes were secretly delighted, but on the surface they pretended to be troubled and said, "We only have one gun, and we can't help it if we run into a scoundrel and need to reload."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiqiang knew it wouldn't do. How could he let his two elders get into trouble with some thugs and get into danger? He patted his chest and guaranteed that he would immediately betray his brother, shouting, "Lu Jinyang still has a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. I'll bring that one over for Second Uncle and First Uncle as well."

“We still have half a box of Type 56 semi-automatic ammunition left, take it all. If there are too many people and not enough guns, we won’t be going into the mountains anytime soon anyway, so take those two pistols too, and fill your own ammunition, there’s plenty.”

After offering words of concern and declining twice, the second uncle and the eldest uncle happily accepted the two Type 56 semi-automatic rifles and two small pistols, and went into the mountains with satisfied smiles.

It wasn't until a day later that Lu Jinyang learned that his second uncle and eldest uncle had already gone far away into the mountains. He was so angry that he pounded his chest and stamped his feet, wishing he could crack open his brother Lu Zhiqiang's head to see what was inside.

"You just gave all four of our guns to those two old foxes like that?"

“What do you mean by ‘give’? This is a loan, Uncle. Uncle will return it to us once he goes down the mountain.”

"Pah! When have you ever seen those two old foxes return anything? From childhood to adulthood, when have they ever returned anything? You've been fooled all your life, you're really something."

After being lectured by Lu Jinyang, Lu Zhiqiang initially thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but upon reflection, he understood. When he was a child, he went to the department store in the county town and saw a box of fun toy guns. He begged his uncle for the toy guns, but what did his uncle say back then?

My uncle said dismissively, "Take a look around the house to see what else you need. Go back and check. If you find anything missing, we can talk about buying it later."

As a result, he was fooled and forgot about the toy guns after he got back, and never bought any more toys from his uncle.

Lu Zhiqiang glared angrily, feeling deeply remorseful: "What a cunning old fox."

Now, the Lu family hunters frequently return to the fishing village and Lijiatun, bringing back an abundance of wild animal pelts, even more than the Sun family.

The second uncle of the Lu family chuckled, glancing back slyly, as if afraid his elder brother would see him. He winked at Li Ju'an and said, "Don't tell our old man, we can't find this hide anywhere else."

Li Ju'an's eyes widened at the sight of the freshly peeled skin, and he couldn't look away.

Others might not recognize it so quickly, but he just brought back a snow leopard pelt. How could anyone not recognize it? It was a large snow leopard pelt, even bigger than the one he had hunted before, with a snow-white base and black spots. His previous pelt was yellow and white, but this one was closer to white, with a smooth, glossy texture that felt wonderful to the touch.

Li Ju'an's eyes lit up, and the second uncle of the Lu family laughed heartily, praising him for his good taste.

"This morning I went to town and asked the merchants who stayed behind. Do you know how much they bargained down the price for me?"

Li Ju'an thought to himself, "I can't lower the price to two thousand, can I? Two thousand is too low for a snow leopard pelt before the New Year, especially since this pelt is bigger and in better condition than the one I had before. That one sold for three thousand eight."

Li Ju'an, afraid of offending the second master of the Lu family, said, "Two thousand five?"

Lu's second uncle slapped his thigh and shouted with wide eyes, "Two thousand five? If it's two thousand five, I'll beg him to buy it. Those ignorant people in town offered me eight hundred, and some even offered six hundred. They said this thing is inferior to Big Leather, so it's not bad for it to sell for this price."

Li Ju'an almost burst out laughing inside, realizing he had really gotten a bargain.

Li Ju'an looked at the hide, turned it over, and said, "This hide is good, but eight hundred is a bit low."

The second uncle of the Lu family widened his eyes, slapped his thigh, stood up, and shouted, "That's right! You should give me at least 1,200."

Li Ju'an suppressed his expression, nodded forcefully, and shouted indignantly, "This hide is definitely worth 1,200!"

He finally paid the second uncle of the Lu family 1,600. The second uncle of the Lu family was overjoyed. He said that the snow leopard pelt was worth more than bear bile, and he had really made a fortune.

Li Ju'an said, "Let's make money together. Send me your hides again in the future."

The second eldest uncle of the Lu family smiled broadly: "Of course."