Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 241 Hunting
Wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, Chen Fan rode on horseback, holding a hunting rifle in his hand and a pistol at his waist, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he surveyed his surroundings.

Zhang Wenliang was dressed similarly to him, riding a mule, with a nearly new Browning M1910 pistol at his waist, a prize he won in some year's militia competition.

However, what he was holding was not the most commonly used Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, but a very ordinary homemade gun. It was a homemade gun that fired iron bullets with gunpowder. This thing had no sight, just a seamless steel pipe. Every time it was fired, it had to be reloaded with gunpowder and bullets. After loading, it had to use an iron rod to push the gun barrel in a couple of times to tighten it. Calling it an antique would be too kind; it would be a living fossil of the gun family.

In fact, compared to Chen Fan's two hunting rifles, this is the most commonly used hunting equipment in rural households today.

After searching for a while without finding his target, Chen Fan let the mare move forward through the mud.

He turned to look at Zhang Wenliang's musket and asked, puzzled, "Why are you carrying this?"

Zhang Wenliang was still wondering whether he wanted to teach Zhang Cuie skills or just find a tool to make it easier for him to go hunting.

Objectively speaking, this person is very likely to be escaping work by going hunting, but logically speaking, Chen Fan doesn't seem like such an unreliable person.
Just as he was weighing the options, he heard Chen Fan's words, turned his head to look, raised the musket and said, "You really have to rely on this for hunting. Otherwise, if you use a rifle, one shot can cost half a pound of meat, what a waste."

Chen Fan blinked and thought for a moment, then raised the hunting rifle in his hand. "What about mine?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced at him and said, "You're actually not really suited for this place. You'd be better suited for mountainous areas or grasslands, places with large game. The Nanhu area is a hilly region. The largest wild animal we've ever seen was a wild boar weighing just over 100 pounds, and there were very few of them."

Nanhu Lake is flat with crisscrossing waterways, making it a paradise for birds and fish. As for mammals, there are foxes, weasels, hog badgers, Eurasian badgers, roe deer, otters, and hares—basically, these are the only species you can hunt. The most common other animal is the rat. Do you want to hunt them?

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly; he didn't want to pay him any attention.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Wenliang laughed and said, "So, here, powerful rifles and hunting rifles are basically useless. They're only good for small animals. If you use a rifle, one shot will take away a big chunk of them."

He brandished the homemade gun in his hand, saying, "It's different with this kind of gun. One bullet can kill the prey without damaging its fur or flesh."

Chen Fan nodded in realization, then paused, and asked in confusion, "But I saw you take a lot of rifles out this morning?"

Zhang Wenliang laughed and said, "When the militia goes out, they still need to carry rifles. In case they encounter dangerous elements, they can fight at any time. This is called never forgetting to fight."

Secondly, although wild boars are rarely seen now, they're not entirely gone. Wild boars can cross rivers, and if they cross from elsewhere, homemade guns won't be enough to deal with them; rifles are necessary. Carrying a rifle is also a precaution.

Chen Fan nodded again and smiled, "I see, I understand."

He then raised his hunting rifle, his face falling, and said, "So I bought the wrong gun?"

Hunting rifles may look nice, but in terms of practicality, they are not as good as air rifles.

If the fox had brought an air rifle and stolen the chickens from Captain Zhang's house last time, it definitely wouldn't have gotten away.

Or should we just buy a rifle?
Just as Chen Fan was having some doubts, the cry of a falcon suddenly came from the sky.

Chen Fan immediately perked up, looked up at the sky, then gently patted the horse's neck, and the mare galloped off.

Zhang Wenliang was splattered with mud.

Zhang Wenliang wiped the mud off his face expressionlessly, then spurred his mule to gallop away, shouting, "You bastard surnamed Chen, you just wait!"

However, Chen Fan rode a Japanese horse bred from world-renowned breeds such as Anglo-Norman horses, Thoroughbreds, Don horses, and Arabian horses. Although it had not undergone professional warhorse training, its speed was far beyond that of ordinary horses, let alone mules, which were only good at carrying heavy loads and not good at running.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, Zhang Wenliang watched Chen Fan run further and further away until he was just a small black dot.

Then a gunshot rang out, and the small black dot slowly came to a stop.

Just as Zhang Wenliang breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly remembered something, picked up his whip again, and lashed the mule's rump hard, sending it galloping forward at high speed.

When they arrived at the location, they saw Chen Fan holding a fox with its head smashed open, looking at him smugly.

Zhang Wenliang was initially taken aback; this guy's marksmanship was actually that good?
Then her face darkened, and she said to him, "Didn't you know the whole brigade was hunting today? You ran so fast, what if the hunting party opened fire? Aren't you afraid of getting accidentally shot?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan quickly looked around, "Where is the hunting team?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of more than a dozen people ran out of a grove of trees.

One of the leaders was still laughing loudly, "Teacher Chen is amazing! He took down this fox with one shot. We chased it for ages but couldn't catch it."

Chen Fan smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't know I was your prey, so..."

He held up the fox in his hand, "This one is yours."

Zhang Wenliang pulled the reins and took a few steps forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Chen Fan, and whispered, "This is Team 9, and the one leading the way is Wu Fengfei, the militia squad leader of Team 9."

Chen Fan seemed thoughtful. "Who is Wu Fengwen from the veterinary class to him?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced at him and chuckled, "My younger brother." Chen Fan immediately breathed a sigh of relief; then everything was alright.

Stealing someone else's prey is unacceptable, no matter where you are. Although he has decided to return the prey, he will still feel resentful if he encounters someone with a narrow mind.

This is something that Xiao Liewen and Zhang Wenliang both told him. It's one of the rules of hunting: whoever's prey is responsible for hunting it, and others can't interfere, even if they're trying to help. They're not you, so how can they know if you're being kind or malicious?

So when Chen Fan heard the man say that they had been chasing for a long time, he decided without hesitation to return the prey. After all, he came out mainly to hunt for fun, and as long as he could shoot the prey, the ownership of the prey was not important.

But now, it seems this fox can't be given away.

Sure enough, as Wu Fengfei approached, he immediately shouted, "What are you saying? Teacher Chen hit the fox, how can we take it?"

Without waiting for Chen Fan to say more, he added, "Teacher Chen, it's rare for you to come to Team 9. Why don't you have a simple lunch here today?"

Chen Fan dismounted and immediately waved his hand, "No need, no need, I have an appointment with Company Commander Zhang to go to his house to cook."

Wu Fengfei grabbed the mare's reins and turned to Zhang Wenliang, saying, "Company Commander, you won't even give me this much face?"

Zhang Wenliang landed on the ground, looked at Chen Fan, then at Wu Fengfei, and nodded with a smile, "Okay, I'll follow your arrangements today."

Wu Fengfei burst into laughter, "Alright, alright, I'll make the arrangements today."

The dozen or so militiamen following behind him were also proud, grinning and laughing.

Zhang Wenliang glanced at his watch and said, "It's still early, how about we go for another round?"

It's only 8 o'clock now, still a long way from noon. Moreover, in order to avoid the hunting areas of other teams, they have been walking on the main road. So far, Chen Fan has only killed one fox, and he hasn't had any kills yet. Of course, he doesn't want to go back like this.

Wu Fengfei laughed and said, "Alright, let's continue playing."

Then he turned to someone and said, "Go and tell Uncle San to make the arrangements."

The man nodded, then turned and ran back.

Chen Fan looked around and could only passively accept it.

Fortunately, I had told Jiang Lili before I left today that I might not go back, which saved me the trouble of going back to report.

After the man left, Wu Fengfei looked at Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang and asked with a smile, "Are you coming with us, or are you acting alone?"

Zhang Wenliang and Chen Fan exchanged a glance. "Let's play our own game. We'll go to your house for dinner later."

"also."

Wu Fengfei nodded. Zhang Wenliang was a man of his word; if he promised to go, he would definitely go. So he said to Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, we'll hold onto this fox for you. You can just come over later."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony and handed the fox over, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Wu Fengfei laughed and said, "What's the trouble?"

He took the fox, turned around and handed it to another person, then took two steps back, waved to Chen Fan and the other person, and watched them leave.

Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang continued hunting. As the militia squads from various teams set out, the wild animals were startled and scattered in all directions.

They dare not run into the paddy fields, because if they do, they will be trapped in the mud and will only be captured alive. Therefore, they have almost no impact on the growing rice seedlings.

As a result, they can only run around aimlessly on the ridges and slopes.

After being reminded by Zhang Wenliang, Chen Fan dared not fire indiscriminately anymore, and only fired at his prey when there was no one in front of him.

In one morning, they fought their way from the southernmost point of Lujiawan to the northernmost point. After reaching the dike, they circled around it. Gunfire echoed throughout Lujiawan, and the wild animals were slaughtered and ran away in terror.

When they finally returned to Team 9, Chen Fan's two sacks were full, and he hung them on the horse's back in two separate places.

This is only a small part of his prey.

He didn't want most of the prey, such as weasels, badgers, and rabbits. Some were hunted while helping other teams, so he naturally refused to take them. Others he hunted himself and then gave to nearby teams in exchange for fox pelts.

So at this point, the sack was almost entirely filled with foxes.

He wanted to see if he could save up enough to buy a fox fur coat as a keepsake.

(End of this chapter)