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

Li Ju'an stuffed a big mouthful of boiled potatoes into his mouth, picked up a piece of pickled radish, and wolfed down his meal.

He needs to be well-prepared before heading into the mountains. In Lijiatun, a location in the Xing'an Mountains, seven out of twelve months are spent in cold weather. Even in the hot summer, the highest temperature is only 31 degrees Celsius. In early November, the winter temperature reaches minus 20 degrees Celsius, and in the depths of winter in December, the lowest temperature can reach minus 40 degrees Celsius.

After he arrived at the woodshed, he put sedge fluff in his boots to prevent frostbite.

He had a widowed mother and an eight-year-old sister. Their house was dilapidated, and they lacked food and clothing, but he remained calm.

The grain harvested from the black soil only provides enough for sustenance each year. The staple foods are mostly potatoes and sweet potatoes, and the government hasn't fully liberalized business for individuals. As long as he gets a hunting rifle and ammunition, abides by the law, and lives off the land, he can certainly live a stable and prosperous life, and even become wealthy.

Li Ju'an carried a lantern and some kerosene. He tied his trouser legs with hemp rope to prevent wind and snow from getting inside, then picked up a hoe and a pickaxe from the corner of the wall, ready to dig. Before leaving, he tied a hemp rope around his waist and clipped his axe and dagger to it.

After being fully armed, he bid farewell to his mother, Song Lanhua.

"They disappeared."

"Son, be extra careful when you're out and about, even if the snow is melting. You accidentally got your car stuck on the curb and scraped it."

"If you slip and fall and get dirty, just poke it up; otherwise, it's better not to go out in this weather."

To him, his mother's nagging was all warm concern.

He waved with a smile and said, "I know, Mom. Don't worry, I'm off."

Lijiatun is surrounded by rolling mountains, and the forests and bushes are home to all sorts of wild vegetables, mountain delicacies, medicinal herbs, and ginseng. There are also native wild animals.

The hens perched on the sun-drenched windowsill, basking in the sunlight. The windows were covered in frost patterns, and icicles dripped from them.

The children in the village played happily outdoors. In the days before there were plastic running tracks or spacious playgrounds, the areas in front of and behind the houses were the playgrounds where children could play freely.

Next to the village's general store is a bicycle repair shop.

Next to the repair shop was a bicycle frame, built with adobe walls and a thatched roof. Old Sun had built it. He had experience building bicycle frames when he was reclaiming the Great Northern Wilderness in his early years. After returning to the village, he joined a collective bicycle repair cooperative based on his skills.

Li Ju'an rummaged through his pockets for a few simple tools and the little money he had left, and staring at the bicycle repair shop, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

Black inner tube?

The black inner tube is resilient; isn't that a ready-made material for making slingshots?

Hunting large prey requires a shotgun, while smaller prey can be caught with a slingshot, which also saves on ammunition. Which kid in the village didn't play with a slingshot as a child?

He remembered how much he envied Sun Weimin's slingshot. The frame was made of stainless steel bars, the rubber band was red and very elastic, and the pouch was made of deerskin. Unlike the hand slingshots he played with as a child, whose frames were made from tree branches. But if a tree branch was paired with a rubber band made from a black bicycle inner tube, it was a different story.

Li Ju'an quickly replied.

"Uncle Sun, how much does this black inner tube cost? It's going to get punctured."

Old Sun paused, his hands busy repairing a punctured bicycle inner tube, feeling annoyed. He'd seen people buy inner tubes before, but never one specifically asking for a damaged one. And the person asking was none other than Li Ju'an, the idle street urchin.

He immediately waved his hand, telling Li Ju'an to go play somewhere else and not to delay him from doing his work.

Li Ju'an didn't leave. He waited with a smile for Old Man Sun to soak the inner tube in hot water before handing over the money.

"Uncle Sun, it's three cents a front inner tube. This one is all broken, it doesn't need fixing, can you give me a discount to two cents?"

The car repairmen in the village are all unremarkable in appearance, and some are even unkempt, but they have superb skills and sharp eyes.

Old Sun looked up at him strangely, "Your mother arranged a blind date for you? You borrowed a bicycle just to save face and went on the date with the girl?"

"You damaged someone's bicycle? And now you're coming to get it fixed?"

Looking at the old auto repair shop, Li Ju'an felt a surge of emotion, and his words revealed a sense of vicissitude and nostalgia.

"Just buy it, it'll be useful."

This was the first time Old Man Sun had seen a street urchin speak with such a serious expression. He nodded and said, "Look at you, it's rare for you to be serious. Here's 13 cents. Go back and find a good match, bring a girl back to the village, and don't make your mother worry about you every day."

Li Ju'an readily agreed and happily paid 13 cents to replace the damaged inner tube.

After he left, Aunt Zhang pushed her husband's old bicycle to the repair shop.

Old Sun whispered to everyone he met, "Do you know about the young man from the Li family? He's on a date. He borrowed a bicycle for a blind date and came here to get it repaired."

Aunt Zhang was taken aback and began gossiping in a low voice: "Could it be that he went on a blind date with Lin Mei? Lin Mei's parents are not easy to fool. They are asking for a high dowry and say they are determined to marry their daughter off to the county town."

"Who knows."

"Anyway, given the Li family's situation—an orphan and a widow with such a young sister—what good is it if the young man from the Li family is interested in Lin Mei? There's no chance for them!"

"Oh, what a pity for such a fine young man."

……

Li Ju'an carried a kerosene lamp and went alone into the deep mountains of the Greater Khingan Range.

He was a native of the area, having walked the old pilgrimage trail with his grandfather as a child, and knew the area very well. The vast forest was dotted with Dahurian larch trees, and squirrels darted swiftly among them.

What can you find in the mountains during winter? Even forests covered in snow can hold good things.

These are all firewood, standing firewood.

He saw an old cow liver and a lilac tree—both were good things. He used the back of his knife to chip away at a knot on the lilac tree, being careful not to break it, so the knot fell intact into his palm.

This is called *Sanghuang*, a type of fungus. It has a yellow interior and resembles the shape of a Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom). It has medicinal value and can be used to make medicinal wine. *Sanghuang* specifically grows on dead trees; it won't grow or mature on living trees. Those growing on *Syringa reticulata* are called *Syringa reticulata* *Sanghuang*, and those growing on poplar trees are called *Poplar Sanghuang*.

He used a knife to cut off a branch from the tree, and then used the sturdy branch and a black bicycle inner tube to make a solid slingshot.

The inner tube was very tough and elastic. He threw a pebble into it, looked up at the tall pine tree, and pulled the slingshot all the way back.

Snapped!

With a slingshot, the snow fell in a flurry. Everything on the bare tree trunks was clearly visible.

He looked closely and was delighted; it was a small, high-yield tree, with plenty of good stuff on it.

The mountains are vast and rich in resources. The locals live off the mountains, which provide sustenance year-round. They adapt to the seasons and climate by gathering mushrooms, digging for wild vegetables and medicinal herbs, harvesting hazelnuts and pine nuts, or picking jujubes and walnuts – a practice known as "mountain gathering."

It was early November, winter, and the mountains weren't as rich in resources as in spring and autumn, but they were still nourishing. Li Ju'an carried a bamboo basket, trudging through the varying depths of snow, collecting herbs along the way. Before long, his basket was full of his spoils.

Small Sanghuang, White Lingzhi...

Many hidden fungi are concealed very well, and cannot be seen without careful observation. Even the tiny ones must be left unpicked until they grow larger. He only selects the larger ones, breaking them off the tree trunk and carefully peeling them off – enough for one meal.

He picked several kilograms at a time, and he couldn't finish picking them all.

The Xinganling region is full of treasures. He carried the heavy basket on his back, his heart filled with the satisfaction of a bountiful harvest.

When he went south to seek his fortune before his rebirth, he learned that Sun Weimin had stayed in his hometown and earned a considerable income in the 80s by selling mountain products such as black fungus, honey, and wild medicinal herbs. Sun Weimin was quite a respected figure in the village at that time.

But at that time, he didn't think so. He felt that being a farmer in his hometown could not compare to the extravagance and debauchery of going south.

Now, walking along the familiar old trail of his hometown, he feels the embrace and gifts of the mountains in his memory, and his heart is full and at peace.

He wished he could slap himself hard across the face.

Isn't it better to stay in your hometown?

Only now, in an era where guns and hunting are not prohibited and wild animals roam freely, can we find such a place. This is the golden age of mountain hunting!

Ahead lies the abandoned camp of the tomb raiding group that the woodcutter mentioned.

Li Ju'an walked around the abandoned camp and found a large tree stump in the snow. The stump was nearly a meter high and was known locally as the "Buddha's Seat".

Those who run through the mountains believe it to be the seat of the mountain god. When they are tired, they dare not sit on it to rest, otherwise they will get lost in the mountains and not be able to find their way out for days, or even lose their lives.

Behind this incredible tree stump is a cave filled with traces of human life.

He felt a chill run down his spine, and his eyes lit up with anticipation.

According to the woodcutter from his previous life, the hunting rifles and bullets hidden by the poaching gang were left in this abandoned camp.