Mountain driving career since 1982

Early summer every year is the time for Oroqen people to peel birch bark.

That's when birch trees sprout and grow, and when birch bark is at its softest and performs best.

Lu Lu ran to the grassland to find Zhao Tuanqing in the winter, saying that he was going to learn how to make birch bark bowls and birch bark boxes. Naturally, Zhao Tuanqing responded on the spot: "What time of year is this? It’s not the time to make those things, I don’t even have the right bark here, how do you want me to teach you?”

"Dad, don't think I don't know what you do when you're bored in the pasture. I've been here often, and I've seen with my own eyes that the smooth and straight parts of those thick birch trees have been peeled off again and again. One piece, I also saw that you smoothed the bark, boiled it in boiling water, and took it out to dry...I usually wander around the farm a lot, why don't you hide it?"

Lu Lu said with a smile: "Don't think I don't know what you use these barks for?"

He spent a lot of time with Zhao Yongke. When he went into the mountains, Lu Lu often saw Zhao Yongke making simple small bowls out of birch bark for use. He also talked about many techniques in this area. .

Of course he knew that now was not the time to peel birch bark, and he also knew that if the peeled birch bark was smoothed, boiled and dried, it would become a very tough material.

Every year, apart from carrying sticks and hunting in the mountains in winter, he spent a lot of time wandering around the farm. How could Lu Lu not know what Zhao Tuanqing was doing?

"I know that every time you come here, you always have bad intentions. You said that my son is not like you, trying every means to get skills from me. I specialize in teaching him but he is too lazy to learn..."

"He has seen this thing since he was a child and thinks it is ordinary, so naturally he doesn't think it is strange. Besides, how do you know that the third brother doesn't know how to do this? I watched him make a birch bark bowl on the mountain and he did it very well... …I’m different, I think it’s strange, and it’s pure natural and original, which is good!”

"Then you didn't go to my son to learn?"

"No, Master, your skills are definitely better than his. Why don't I find someone more powerful? You can't let me call you Master in vain."

"What I owed you in my previous life... there is no sincerity at all!"

Zhao Tuanqing glanced at Lu Lu and shook his head.

Lu Lu laughed, grabbed the hunting bag that had been placed aside, opened the mouth of the bag, and took out a white-cut chicken and a bottle of wine that had been soaked by Mine Bee and turned yellow-red in color.

Seeing these two things, a satisfied smile appeared on Zhao Tuanqing's face: "You're the one who can cause trouble."

After getting off the kang, he opened the cupboard, took out two small bowls made of birch bark, and poured some wine for himself and Lu Lu. The two sat cross-legged on the kang table, tearing the chicken and slowly eating it. Drinking.

"Dad, I can now fully understand your reluctance to go down the mountain. I often go into the mountains, and I'm used to it. I always feel itchy if I can't go around in the mountains... But, it's only been a few years. , when I first arrived in the mountains in [-], with a slingshot, I could hunt pheasants, jumping cats, and greyhounds in my meadow, and I could also set off roe deer. I couldn’t walk far in the nearby mountains. From afar, you can encounter yellow skins, wild boars, lynxes, and even brown bears.

I have been walking into the mountains with nothing to do these days. Let alone other things, it is difficult to encounter even the most common greyhounds and jumping cats.There is nothing good to hunt this time. "

This is the truth. Now that I have entered the forest, I can't find any prey for a long time. I always feel that the vitality in the mountains has suddenly lost a lot. Even the spring hunting and autumn protection that were bound to be carried out in the village have been lost in the past two years. It has never been held again.

Lu Lu felt very awkward in his heart.

"There have been too many people hunting in recent years, and it has been too fierce. Take the fragrant deer for example. In the early years, one tael of musk cost ten yuan, and later it cost 51 tael. Depending on the season, you can go up the mountain. If you are lucky, it won't take much. You can catch a few in a day, which means you can get dozens or hundreds of dollars. This is faster than workers in the city making money. Who doesn't want to catch them? Look at the mountains, there are traps and various traps everywhere.

Unlike us, when we hunt in the mountains, we never hunt too much as long as we meet our daily needs.Even if they are hunted, they should be hunted according to the rules. Do not hunt females in spring, male in autumn, hunt old but not young... You must give these wild animals a time to thrive.Unlike you, in addition to hunting for food, most of the time you want to make money. How can you make enough money?Fighting endlessly. "

Looking around, the ones who have caught the most prey in recent years are none other than Lu Lu and the others.

The money for selling furs every year is not hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands, or even tens of thousands.

With such a high-intensity fight, no matter how big the forest is, no matter how many wild animals there are, it can't hold it.

Of course, Lu Lu also deliberately avoided these problems. Every time he went hunting, he chose deeper mountains, even to the Daxingan Mountains and Maozi.

But this feeling of having nothing to hunt came very early.

How many shotguns are there in this mountain?
Even those workers in the city took the time to walk into the mountains with their guns in hand.

The general environment is like this. It doesn't mean that Lu Lu and the others will get better if they don't fight. It's just a trend.

Everyone is trying to find ways to make money so that they can eat better, live better, and wear better clothes. Lu Lu doesn't think there is anything wrong with hunting like this.

It's just that some things have been experienced too much, but they can't be let go.

Hunting is addictive.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the sixth year in the mountains... Everything changed so fast that even Lu Lu, a man who had lived his entire life, was surprised when he looked back.

"I won't hunt anymore!" Lu Lu smiled: "I go up the mountain to look for wild vegetables and medicinal materials, and I can bring my wife and children with me, which is not bad. If... if the hunting ground can really be opened, I can still play for a few years. It’s also become entertainment.”

"I just said I won't fight, but now I'm thinking about it again... You have accumulated a lot of things over the years, so it's almost done."

Zhao Tuanqing rolled his eyes at Lu Lu.

"That's different. In fact, if a hunting ground is established, it has more of a protective meaning and hunting heritage. There are many protected animals in it. Once you enter, you cannot hunt them. The only ones that can be hunted are those that have been bred and then released. , I think this is very good, it can open up many more ways to make money in the village. You don’t have to think about going to the mountains to hunt and carry sticks, you can still make a good income, and you can continue the hunting days, and more Let people come for sightseeing, at least it would be nice to go in and see these prey every day.”

Lu Lu sometimes felt that this hunting ground might be the best way to continue his mountaineering career.

He returned to Caodianzi from the mountains and asked Chen Xiuyu about this matter.

More than two months have passed, and there is no news from Torres. I always feel that the foreigner is still a bit unreliable.Therefore, he was thinking about whether he could get a hunting ground, but he kept hesitating and weighing it.

In his previous life, he had never done anything like this.

The only advantage is that the establishment of the breeding farm has a certain foundation. My group of people have good hunting skills and are well-known. It will be a logical thing to start it. I believe that once it is approved, as long as the money is in place, it will be done. Not a difficult thing.

Zhao Tuanqing thought for a while: "If that's what you said, that's not bad!"

"Let me weigh it again, I don't have a good plan yet!"

Lu Lu nodded and looked at the half-eaten chicken and half-drinking wine: "Dad, this birch bark thing..."

"Eaters have short mouths... they've eaten everything, so I can only teach you!"

Zhao Tuanqing grinned: "I am also bored and panicking. I want to find something to do for myself. If I were in the mountains before, I wouldn't be able to be so free."

As he spoke, he got up and got off the kang, and went to the next door to bring a stack of birch bark that had been smoothed, repaired, steamed and dried.

The method of using birch bark to make special living utensils and handicrafts was gradually eliminated after the implementation of a comprehensive hunting ban in [-], and the life of the Oroqen people completely shifted to farming and settling down, and eventually became an intangible cultural heritage skill. Only a handful of people use these methods.

Birch trees have become protected plants and cannot be cut down without permission. It would be strange if they do not disappear.

This is good stuff.

As the saying goes, you can eat mountains if you rely on mountains, and you can eat water if you rely on water.The Oroqen people have certainly lived up to the gifts of nature. Birch trees are everywhere in the mountains, and birch bark can be made into a variety of production and living utensils and handicrafts with their hands, forming a unique birch bark culture.

The Oroqen people of these days, regardless of age or sex, are all skilled craftsmen of birch bark products.

Zhao Tuanqing also brought out various knives, scissors, and thick needles and threads, all simple tools for making birch bark utensils.

Although Zhao Tuanqing is already old, his big hands are quite rough, but he is still skillful in operation. With his weather-beaten hands, he cuts a piece of birch bark into a square shape, and then divides it into two pieces. Two layers, pinch out the four corners skillfully several times, fold them, and after closing them, a square birch bark bowl is formed. Hoop it with wicker strips, making it longer and shorter than the lower one. Then use a large needle to pierce the horsehair and sew it in place.

A small birch bark bowl takes shape.

As he was doing it, he explained the key points. For example, the glue needed to be used is glue made from fish maw or pig skin. The sewing thread can be the hair combed off the horsetail or horsehair, or it can be used Tendons, etc...

A piece of birch bark can be transformed into various utensils in the hands of the Oroqen people, such as suitcases, buckets, baskets, hat boxes, sewing boxes, lunch boxes, etc...

Moreover, these utensils are flexible, very easy to shape, are not afraid of water or impact, are corrosion-resistant, moisture-resistant, and durable.Some are well-made and can even be used for more than ten years. The surface gradually turns bronze, making them look more primitive and precious. The key is naturalness.

Lu Lu studied very seriously.

After struggling all afternoon, I carefully made four beautiful birch bark bowls. I brought them home. When Xiao Zhengyang saw them, he couldn't put them down. He insisted on using them for dinner. It seems that the food tastes more delicious after passing through that small birch bark bowl.

He also didn't forget to pass one to his sister. The little girl had already sat firmly, holding the birch bark bowl and swinging it up and down awkwardly. From time to time, it dropped on the kang and spun around. She was playing happily.

In the next few days, Lu Lu went to find Zhao Tuanqing every day, taking Xiao Zhengyang with him. He didn't stop until all the birch bark Zhao Tuanqing had accumulated was used up.

In contrast, there are more sewing boxes, medicine boxes, and salt boxes in the kitchen at home, and a pair of birch bark buckets were specially made for Xiao Zhengyang.

Lu Lu suddenly felt that it seemed like a good time to find trouble for himself. (End of chapter)