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

Chapter 403 The Falcon's Obsession with the Sable

An eagle also perched on Li Ju'an's right arm.

The eagle wasn't very big, much smaller than the golden eagle, but the ram it was holding in its talons was the largest. The male ram was very fat, round and fierce, baring its mouth as if to bite the eagle.

Li Ju'an reacted swiftly, grabbing the ram upside down just as the falcon was about to lose its grip. He then used a scalpel to sever the ram's neck, starting from the head and carefully tearing the skin open. He then used the scalpel to cut open the ram's skin from side to side, removing the bits of meat and fat underneath, and finally removing it from the limbs.

He gripped the knife handle tightly, the sharp blade slicing open the ram's abdomen and gutting it.

The hunting dogs nearby couldn't resist the smell of blood any longer. Big Tiger, though relatively composed, tried to sit upright, but its nose twitched wildly, looking quite agitated, and its tail swished twice. Little Cannon, Chicken Butt, and Fa Cai, the youngest and least composed of the three, were particularly emboldened. Little Cannon, taking advantage of its favored status, wagged its tail incessantly, rubbing its head against Li Ju'an's hand with a fawning manner that was both infuriating and amusing.

Li Ju'an laughed and scolded, "If you didn't catch it, why are you stealing the food? Go catch some wild sheep."

He raised his foot and lightly kicked the little cannon's rear, then handed the sheep's entrails in his hand to the eagle's beak.

The eagle was small, but it was a sub-adult, half-grown eagle, the age when half-grown eagles starve to death. The eagle opened its beak, howling, just like a baby eagle begging for food from its mother.

The eagle snatched a bloody, mangled entrails in its beak, tilted its head back, and swallowed it whole. Bloody liquid clung to the feathers around its mouth, yet it seemed to savor the taste. It stared intently at the mutton in Li Ju'an's hand, then excitedly flapped its wings twice, continuing to emit the soft cries of a fledgling begging for food from its mother.

Li Ju'an patted the eagle's rump as well and shouted, "Go again!"

If you want to eat, you have to hunt. Neither hunting dogs nor falcons should be overfed. Overfed hunting dogs become round and their fur becomes shiny and smooth, making them unsuitable for hunting. Overfed falcons have heavy bellies and can't even fly.

One eagle took flight, and another eagle also caught its prey.

This slightly smaller eagle was quite cunning; it caught a small ground ram. The ground ram was small and easy to catch, requiring no effort from the eagle.

Li Ju'an chuckled and ruffled the eagle's plump head. He then slit the little goat's throat, gutted it, fed it to the eagle, and cursed, "You sly little devil, go again."

He looked up at the golden eagle flying in the sky.

The golden eagle continued to circle high in the sky, showing no intention of descending to seize the ground sheep.

Zhao Pao and his hunting falcons from Eagle Village had already made three round trips, each time bringing back large, plump wild sheep. The falconers from Eagle Village put the gutted wild sheep into woven bags, which soon filled to the brim. They laughed, "This is enough to fill a bucket! We've made a fortune!"

In the past, even after several days of tracking and hunting in the mountains, we couldn't catch this many prey. But after taking on the job of catching rats for the forest farm, we easily caught three large bags of prey in just one morning in several of the most severely affected villages.

Lu Zhiqiang also made some gains.

His Type 54 pistol wasn't very accurate, but it was very powerful. He aimed at a ground sheep that was rooting in the ground and fired a shot at the highest point of the bulge.

Bang! The gun muzzle flashed and exploded; a Type 54 pistol shot struck Di Yang in the back. The severely wounded Di Yang was still struggling and twisting, trying to burrow into the pile of dirt, but Lu Zhiqiang scooped it up with a shovel and tossed it aside.

He grabbed the ram by the hind leg, laughed heartily, and boasted, "See? This is what a rat-catching team should be like. What kind of rat-catching team is it if we don't work?"

Song Desheng spat and couldn't sit still.

They were already fuming from the smoke and resentful that they hadn't been able to help. For them, seeing so many sheep emerge from the soil in unison was as simple as moving a gun.

Chen Xiangqian held up his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, aimed it at the mound, and pulled the trigger. With two loud "bangs," the rifle bullets rapidly struck the mound, blasting a bullet hole into the goat. Blood flowed uncontrollably, and the stench of blood filled the air, exciting the falcons in the sky, which instinctively tried to swoop down and extend their talons.

Li Ju'an stared at the golden eagle circling high in the sky, a question lingering in his mind. The eagle had attempted to swoop down several times, but ultimately didn't. Was it waiting for something?

Lu Jinyang said, "This eagle isn't tamed yet; it's probably going to run away."

He was a little worried and looked at Li Ju'an, knowing that Li Ju'an had put a lot of effort into this golden eagle. He was afraid that if the golden eagle was released and became unruly, Li Ju'an's efforts would be in vain.

Li Ju'an said, "It can't escape. Last time this eagle ran away, but it flew back after a few days."

He had been training the golden eagle for a month. After he brought the golden eagle back from the barley field, every time the eagle flew over the hill where it was released, it would think about escaping and gaining its freedom. But every time, after flying away for three or four days, it would fly back and perch on the roof of Li Ju'an's self-built house, looking at the bee farm, seemingly observing something.

Whether it's a single meal or every meal, it's all about having enough to eat. With late autumn and winter approaching, the temperature grows colder day by day, and many small animals in the mountains store up food and hide away to prepare for winter. Even the black bears roam lazily, having grown plump and round, searching for a place to hibernate. A single snowfall in the cold late autumn will usher in a full-blown winter, and the golden eagles, unable to migrate, will find it difficult to endure the harsh winter.

Seeing how confident Li Ju'an was, Lu Jinyang shut his mouth and remained silent.

Suddenly, Captain Wang of Xiaoling Village shouted, "The ground sheep are all gone!"

The hunting dogs rampaged through the cornfield. Tiger, the lead dog, spearheaded the charge, targeting a mound and charging. The nine dogs were initially unfamiliar with the area. White Egg stared blankly at the raised mound, bewildered and unsure what was happening. Meanwhile, Tiger and White Mastiff caught one sheep after another.

As the white egg became more familiar with the scent of the ground sheep, it took the initiative to charge at the raised mound of earth.

Nine hunting dogs pounced on the ground sheep, biting off its throat in one swift motion, saving the hunter the effort of slitting its throat. The dogs were well-trained and knew the importance of the prey's fur; they didn't attack and tear at it, but simply bit off its throat and then dragged the one-pound ground sheep to the hunter.

Li Ju'an was surrounded by a pile of wild sheep. The ones the eagle had caught were alive, and he had to gut them; the ones the hunting dogs had brought back were all killed, or at least severely injured, resulting in serious disability. He butchered the fattest wild sheep, tossed the hind leg to the lead dog, Da Hu, who immediately grabbed it. Li Ju'an then emptied the sheep's entrails and tossed them aside, prompting the dogs to frantically tear at the insides as if on command.

The hunting dogs weren't fully fed; a half-full meal would better stimulate their hunting instincts. One by one, the dogs rushed back into the cornfield. This time, the dogs were much smarter. Practice makes perfect, and without the hunter's command, they could spontaneously charge at the raised mounds of earth.

Lu Zhiqiang fired another shot, then laughed and said, "This is insane! We can catch all the wild sheep in this village in a day, believe it or not."

Chen Xiangqian was shooting the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, enjoying it immensely, and shouted, "This is much more fun than shooting pheasants!"

He pulled the trigger, another shot rang out, and he grinned so wide his mouth stretched all the way to his ears.

The chaos and commotion of the ground sheep in the cave gradually subsided, and the ground sheep caught by the falcon had already filled five large urea bags. Li Ju didn't even have time to pack the ground sheep; a small mountain of ground sheep was piling up in front of him. He hurriedly shouted to Sister-in-law Zhao, "Sister-in-law, are there any more urea bags?"

Sister-in-law Zhao cheerfully called out, "Yes, yes, we have a big pot of rice, everything is ready! The crispy rice crust sticking to the iron pot smells delicious. Come and eat when you're done with your work."

Li Ju'an responded with a "yes," his gaze remaining fixed on the golden eagle circling overhead. He was puzzled; after a month of eagle training, this female golden eagle neither hunted, swooped down, nor fled. What was she doing?

Chen Xiangqian's urea bag was full, and there was no more movement from the goats in the cave.

Suddenly, Captain Wang from Xiaoling Village asked, "Li Pao, what was that thing you just put into the cave? That thing works, right? Bring it again next time!"

As the sable poked its head out of the cave, the mother golden eagle circling high in the sky suddenly sharpened its eyes, its whole body trembling with excitement, and the feathers on its head bristled as if it had been electrocuted.

A loud, sharp cry rang out as the mother golden eagle swooped down on the sable on the ground.