Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 496 First Kill
The two sisters were stunned for several seconds before they came to their senses when they heard Chen Fan turn around and call out to them.

They immediately spurred the reins and galloped forward.

The speed is indeed not very impressive; it's not much faster than walking.

Jiang Tiantian bit her lip and suddenly said, "Don't overthink it. He probably doesn't have any other intentions. Although wild geese were a common betrothal gift in ancient times, they had to be live, and a pair at that."

He reached for the goose in the bag, saying, "I'll give you this one too."

Jiang Lili turned to look at her, her eyes clear, and smiled, "I didn't think much of it."

Seeing her sister's conflicted expression, Jiang Lili grinned and said, "Sis, you should stop overthinking it."

She turned to look at Chen Fan's figure in front of her, "I told you before, although Xiao Fan is very capable, he is completely ignorant of some social skills. It just so happened that a flock of geese flew by today, and he shot two of them, and then gave one to each of us. This is a piece of prey, so you can keep it."

Besides, we'll take it home and eat it together anyway, so why distinguish between "yours" and "mine"?

Jiang Tiantian pursed her lips, blinked, and forced a smile, "Alright then, I'll leave this goose here for now, and we'll talk about it when we get back."

She shook the reins a few times to speed up the journey, but she couldn't shake her unease.

Being clueless about social etiquette was a thing of the past; don't you understand it now?

Besides, a pair of live geese was a "top-tier gift" that only wealthy and powerful families could afford to give in ancient times. In betrothal gifts, even a thousand taels of gold or a hundred acres of fertile land would be secondary.

For ordinary families, being able to hunt even two geese is considered extremely lucky, and some even use goose wings as a substitute, let alone two geese that have just been shot down!

But she herself wasn't sure; maybe it really was just like what her sister said?

At this moment, she looked up and saw that Chen Fan had stopped again and taken out his bow and arrow. Without thinking too much, she quickly followed her sister behind the horse.

Chen Fan shot an arrow, put away his bow without even looking, and waited for Gouzi to run up to him. He then flipped over, grabbed Gouzi, removed the arrow as usual, held the prey high, and smiled at Jiang Lili who was running towards him, "Good stuff, you're in luck."

Jiang Lili tightened the reins, stood in front of him, and examined it carefully. "Is this a badger?"

Jiang Tiantian followed closely behind and asked curiously, "Is this delicious?"

"The badger meat is just so-so. It has a strong fishy smell and the meat is quite tough. It needs to be stewed with a lot of spices. If you cook it well, it's just okay."

Chen Fan nodded to Jiang Lili first, then answered Jiang Tiantian's question. At the same time, he put the badger into the bag hanging on his saddle, and then explained to the two sisters, "Compared to meat, badger oil is a better thing. It can be used externally to treat burns, scalds, frostbite and other external injuries with remarkable effects. It can also nourish the skin even if there is no injury. When taken internally, it can replenish qi and blood. People with poor constitution or those who are middle-aged or elderly and have qi deficiency can eat this."

He paused for a moment, turned to look at Jiang Lili, and smiled, “I also hunted two badgers at the beginning of the year, but the brigade headquarters took all the oil. No one saw us hunting today. I’ll process the oil from this badger later. You can take it home and use it on your hands and face every day. It’s better than any skincare product. I guarantee that it won’t be long before the calluses on your hands will disappear.”

Jiang Lili's pretty face immediately turned red, but she was also overjoyed. "Really?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly added, "Thank you."

Chen Fan chuckled, "Why are you thanking me?"

He then turned his horse around and continued forward, saying, "Let's see how our luck is today, and see if we can catch two more. I'll prepare more for you guys; you can use them as skincare products in the winter."

Prepare more?

The two sisters exchanged another glance.

This time, however, there wasn't much speculation. They simply exchanged a knowing smile and then rode forward together.

There were falcons in the sky, dogs on the ground, and mynas flapping their wings in the middle. Before long, he actually managed to kill two more badgers.

There are no large animals in the Lujiawan area, but there are quite a few small wild animals.

The main reason lies in Qingshan Commune, which is separated from Nanhu Commune by a river and is located across the river from Team 6 of Lujiawan.

There was a large area of ​​rolling hills. These hills were not high, with the highest point less than 100 meters high, but the terrain was rugged and uneven, with almost no flat land. They were perfect for hiding small wild animals, and there were even large wild animals such as wild boars. However, I had not heard of any ferocious beasts.

Even so, it can be considered one of the few "mountainous areas" within a radius of several hundred miles. Another mountainous area is located next to Gufeng County. There is a small mountain range with only eight or nine peaks. The main peak is more than twice as high as the other peaks, about two or three hundred meters high, making it stand out from the crowd. This is also the origin of the name Gufeng County.

In the Jiangnan region, where there are mountains, there are animals. Many wild animals, such as badgers and muntjacs, can swim. Many of the wild animals in Lujiawan come from the other side of the river, so despite hunting and sweeping every year, they can never be completely eliminated.

Before long, in addition to the two geese, Chen Fan had caught three badgers, two rabbits, and a muntjac, a very good haul.

But the two sisters were unhappy.

Jiang Lili, holding her hunting rifle, rode up to Chen Fan and pouted, saying, "You've already hunted all the prey, and we haven't even started yet."

Chen Fan looked at her, then at Jiang Tiantian who followed closely behind, and laughed, "I couldn't resist just now. Here, I'll find you another prey."

He pulled on the reins and looked around, but unfortunately, apart from small animals like rabbits, raccoons, and weasels, there were no suitable targets for the two sisters.

Looking back at the deer slung over the horse, Chen Fan felt a headache coming on. He scratched his head in frustration. "I was too quick just now. Otherwise, this thing would have been perfect for you guys to hunt."

Jiang Tiantian rode on her horse, looking around. In her eyes, the surroundings were completely silent, with no signs of any animal activity.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, he couldn't help but ask, "You mean there are animals here, but it's not suitable for us to hunt them?"

Chen Fan spurred the mare to her side and pointed to a spot in the woods along the outer riverbank, "Look over there, there's a wild rabbit in the bushes, do you see it?"

Jiang Tiantian strained her eyes, "Where?"

Jiang Lili followed the direction he was pointing. Having lived in the countryside for four years, she finally spotted a gray shadow after a moment. She immediately took off her hunting rifle, disengaged the safety, and aimed.

Jiang Tiantian immediately held her breath, looking in that direction with a tense expression.

With a gunshot, a large piece of bark was blown off a thick poplar tree, leaving a large crater in the trunk, and a gray shadow darted into the bushes.

Jiang Lili pouted with regret, but before she could react, she heard a gunshot.

Turning around, she saw Chen Fan returning the hunting rifle to his sister and smiling at her, "This is your first prey, how can we let it get away?"

Jiang Lili looked at her own gun, then at the gun in her sister's hand. So, who was responsible for shooting the rabbit?
A short while later, the dog returned carrying the rabbit in its mouth.

Unfortunately, the shotgun bullets were too powerful, and the poor rabbit was left with only its body; half of its head was gone.

The two girls didn't understand what this meant. If Zhang Wenliang were here, he would definitely be amazed by Chen Fan's marksmanship.

Hitting a running rabbit with a single shot, and even hitting it precisely in the head while preserving the rabbit's skin intact—this kind of marksmanship was something Captain Xiao had only ever heard of when he was bragging.

No, we also have to add that they grabbed the gun on the spot, without even having time to aim, and just fired.

This is even more exaggerated than the sharpshooter comrade that Captain Xiao boasted about!

But the two sisters didn't understand; they just looked at the rabbit in Duo Duo's mouth and felt a chill run down their spines. They weren't afraid of the prey they had killed, but seeing it headless... it was indeed a little frightening.

Chen Fan looked at them, chuckled twice, waved to Duo Duo, picked up the rabbit, stuffed it into his bag, and said with a smile, "I'll find you a bigger one."

Having hunted so many prey, it hadn't actually taken long. It was noon, the time for family reunion dinner, and the entire Lujiawan brigade was filled with the sound of firecrackers going off from one end of the village to the other. When a gunshot rang out, no one noticed.

This is the main reason why Chen Fan dared to take out his gun today; otherwise, he would have had to report to the brigade headquarters, and then the brigade headquarters would have notified each squad, which would have been too troublesome.

After what had just happened, the two sisters were no longer in a hurry, or rather, they were starting to feel pain while riding the horse and could only walk slowly.

Chen Fan also slowed down and walked alongside them.

Snowflakes drifted across the dim sky, enveloping the entire world in a white expanse. Occasionally, gusts of north wind blew by, swirling up a few leaves or snowflakes and scattering them into the river at their feet.

Only at this time of year is the river water clearest and most transparent, reflecting the white snow like a jade ribbon winding its way into the distance.

The two sisters beside him, wrapped in sky-blue cloaks, sometimes whispered and sometimes laughed. Chen Fan chatted with them occasionally, and felt that this was not bad.

There are two kinds of hunting: hunting to survive and hunting to make a living. Clearly, this is the latter.

After walking a while longer, Jiang Lili noticed that her sister seemed a little uncomfortable, and asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

Jiang Tiantian pursed her lips and nodded gently, glancing at Chen Fan across from her sister, a blush flashing across her face.

The main problem is that the pain is in the wrong place.

My sister had warned me before we went out that people who don't ride horses often are prone to chafing their thighs, but I didn't expect it to hurt so much.

Even without deliberately listening, Chen Fan's hearing was sharp enough to hear Jiang Lili's words clearly.

However, he didn't want to bring it up himself, so he just tugged on the reins to slow the speed down.

Then he saw Jiang Lili turn around and smile at him, "Xiao Fan, we've hunted so much game today, that's enough. Why don't we go back first?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Sure."

As he spoke, he turned his horse around and said with a smile, "I'll process the game and bring it back to you later."

Jiang Lili quickly said, "No need. You sent us so much stuff the other day, we can't possibly eat it all. You should keep these for yourself."

Chen Fan smiled and was about to speak when his eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed to a dark figure in the river ahead and said, "Look, there's a wild boar over there."

If it hadn't turned around at that exact moment, it wouldn't have been noticed; at that moment, the Eurasian Hobby was still staring at the field ahead, looking for small animals.

The two sisters looked in that direction and saw a black animal swimming vigorously towards them in the river.

Jiang Tiantian's eyes lit up immediately. "Is this a wild boar? Wild boars can swim?"

Jiang Lili nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I've seen it."

She quickly grabbed the hunting rifle and held it in her hand. "Sister, let's go over there quickly! The wild boar is so big, we're sure to hit it!"

Jiang Tiantian didn't have time to say anything. She shook the reins and rushed off after her sister's horse.

Chen Fan clicked his tongue. His leg was hurting just now. Doesn't it hurt anymore?

The two sisters ran forward for a while, and seeing the wild boar come ashore, they immediately reined in their horses, dismounted, and aimed their hunting rifles.

Chen Fan rode over and stood aside to watch the battle, without saying much.

However, I'm not very optimistic about the two sisters' results.

Although hunting rifles have powerful firepower, their effective range is very short, generally only about 20 to 50 meters. These two guns are high-end hunting rifles from Europe. With qualified hunting rifle ammunition, they can easily shoot 50 meters.

However, the riverbank is now more than 50 meters from the water, and the wild boar seems to have become alert, standing on the riverbank staring intently at its enemy, unsure whether to prepare to attack or flee.

After a brief standoff, Jiang Tiantian turned to look at Chen Fan and saw him riding calmly on his horse, looking composed. She then felt reassured.

Then, aiming at the three points in a straight line, I decisively fired.

With a loud "bang," the wild boar was startled.

But then he realized he was unharmed and charged toward the riverbank, howling.

Seeing that she had missed her target and the wild boar was charging at her again, Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but feel a little panicked. However, she didn't panic. Instead, she took a deep breath and fired another shot at the wild boar.

At the same time, Jiang Lili, who was standing next to him, also fired a shot.

Chen Fan could see it clearly from his vantage point. Well, both of them were terrible shooters; they couldn't even hit such a large target.

Although the shot missed, it startled the wild boar, causing it to pause for a moment before charging again.

At this point, Jiang Tiantian's gun was out of bullets, so she quickly reloaded. Jiang Lili also quickly reloaded after firing her last shot.

Unfortunately, having learned from their first experience, the wild boar didn't wait for them this time and charged forward again, howling loudly.

In other words, the water level is shallow in winter, and the distance between the riverbanks is also longer; otherwise, wild boars would have rushed over long ago.

Even so, the wild boar had already climbed two-thirds of the way up and could rush over in just ten seconds.

Chen Fan remained seated motionless on horseback.

The two sisters quickly loaded the bullets. Jiang Tiantian took a deep breath and glanced at Chen Fan again, her tense mood instantly easing.

He immediately raised his gun, aimed it at the wild boar that was inches away, and fired decisively.

With a loud "roar," blood gushed from the wild boar's head, and it stood there swaying.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Lili's shotgun fired, adding another serious blow to the wild boar's head.

The wild boar finally gave up and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The snow on the riverbank was completely useless; the wild boar showed no signs of slipping, only blood gushing out.

After watching the wild boar die, it took the two sisters a while to come to their senses. They both let out a long breath, stood up, hugged each other, raised their guns, and cheered, "Hahaha, we killed a wild boar!"

Chen Fan stroked his chin, silently put the pistol back in, coughed lightly and chuckled, "Shouldn't you guys turn the safety off first, otherwise it's easy for it to go off accidentally?"

(End of this chapter)