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

Everyone looked behind him.

A black and yellow Qingchuan hunting dog with strong and agile limbs followed.

Li Ju'an casually cut off a piece of sika deer's lower abdominal fat with his knife and tossed it to the hunting dogs. In an era of scarcity, when people preferred fatty meat but disliked offal, offal became the exclusive domain of hunting dogs. Feeding bear meat to dogs would be one thing, since dogs don't have bear offal, but not feeding them the offal with sika deer meat would definitely draw angry accusations of being a spendthrift.

The forestry production team leader jumped up and cursed, "Such good mountain hides, why aren't we cutting them down to make oil? We could easily fill two jars! Are we just going to feed them to the dogs like this?"

The Qingchuan hunting dog did not guard its food and allowed Li Ju'an to manipulate it in front of him.

The hunting dog dragged the venison, tilted its neck back, tore the meat apart, and began to chew, letting the young man rub its forehead, seemingly enjoying the caress.

The production team members found it strange, but upon closer inspection, they quickly realized that this was no ordinary hunting dog, but rather Da Hu, the mountain chaser from Lao Tao's training kennel.

The production team leader of the forest farm shouted, "Da Hu? How did Da Hu become this kid's dog?"

Anyone with eyes could see that Qingchuan Dog Dahu had already recognized Li Ju'an as its master and was thoroughly enjoying being petted by him. It wouldn't eat the meat that was fed to it, only the venison that Li Ju'an cut off with his knife.

The production team leader laughed and scolded, "Old Tao, you little dog, you even know how to pick the best food! You're so cunning!"

They were giving Lao Tao a way out. It wasn't that the hunting dog had recognized its master, but rather that the venison was too delicious, and the dog couldn't resist the temptation of the dog's tantalizing bites.

But Lao Tao's face was very ugly, his face was ashen, and his expression changed several times.

Then he remained silent, his originally fiery temper vanishing as if it had disappeared. He pretended not to hear, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), lit a cigarette, and started puffing on his old pipe.

Xiao Zhao from the neighboring production team stared longingly at the sika deer's belly skin, even begging Li Ju'an to cut some for him. He said he could use the soft belly skin to render oil at home, and the cracklings could be eaten with white sugar, or used to stir-fry vegetables, or to make dumplings and buns, all of which would be very fragrant.

Xiao Zhao grinned and said, "Last time, the captain cut some lard and kicked it back to the canteen to render it in oil. The smell of that lard was so good, the whole forest farm canteen could smell it. Brother, my dear brother, can you share a piece with me? I'll treat you to a meal at the forest farm canteen later."

Li Ju'an scolded him: "Can you bring your family to the canteen? So I'm not your family either. You have the energy to flatter and spout nonsense, why don't you go and stir up some fire? Last year during the Spring Festival you were busy with pig bristles, but today you're just showing off your words to me."

“Look at those big antlers on the deer. It’s full of valuable stuff, probably weighing around 200 pounds. Can you cut it open for me and divide the meat? That way, it’ll save me trouble when I get home.”

As expected, Xiao Zhao from the forest farm responded, grinning as he went to start a fire and used the embers to comb the deer's fur. After removing the deer's hooves and combing the fur off its front legs, he went to butcher the deer meat. He made sure to clean the remaining belly skin, working very carefully.

The stove in the east wing of Old Tao's house was for feeding the dog, so not much firewood was burned. Li Ju'an had just come down from the mountain and was freezing. Feeling cold, he squeezed in with Old Tao at the kang table.

Old Tao was poking at his old pipe, not saying a word, just staring at him. After a while, Old Tao finally spoke.

"Do you know what hunting dogs are for? Do you know how to train and manage hunting dogs? Can you tell a good dog from a bad one?"

Li Ju'an glanced at Da Hu, the obedient, sensible Qingchuan dog who never barked unnecessarily, at his feet, and said.

"Good dogs are made through hard work; training requires different approaches. You also need to differentiate between good and bad dogs."

"A good dog can smell a good fragrance from afar. Big Tiger is a very good dog. You can tell a lot just by smelling it. Big Tiger has a fiery temper. Looking at its body shape, weight and claws, it is a good dog and is most suitable for hunting in the mountains."

According to the quality of the incense sticks at the tip, they are divided into incense sticks that point upwards and incense sticks that point downwards.

Hunting dogs that track prey by rubbing their heads against tree trunks and leaving footprints in the snow, identifying scents and footprints by looking down, are called "low-headed sniffs." "High-headed sniffs" are the hardest to pull out. Being "pulled out" means being trained; they can only sniff the air with their heads up to know if prey has been there.

The lead dog must also have a fiery temperament. A docile dog is not suitable to be a lead dog in the mountains. Only dogs with strong incense-raising abilities and a tough, calm temperament can be good lead dogs.

After Li Ju'an finished speaking, he saw that Lao Tao was still silent, sullenly lowering his head and smoking his old pipe.

He added, "Dahu is one of the top incense burners in the Xing'an Mountains. The incense is of high quality and the journey is long. Dahu, come with me, and I promise I won't go astray."

This remark ignited Old Tao's temper. The old man jumped up and yelled, "You still promise not to go 'blind wolf'? With your temper, how many tears has your mother shed for you behind your back? You're really worthy of this in your past life! If you dare to take Big Tiger out and cause trouble, I'll break your legs when you get back!"

Li Ju'an had no idea that Lao Tao had already inquired about him in the village and knew about his activities of picking fights with people everywhere.

Old Tao opened the door and shoved him out, even kicking Da Hu to him. The old man stuffed bear meat, grouse meat, and pork from the oil paper package into his hands, then loudly told him to take everything with him! He didn't want any of his stuff. Stop trying to flatter him. From now on, take good care of Da Hu!

Li Ju'an, carrying a full load of meat, wearing three wolf skins, with cut venison and large deer antlers at his feet, was slammed shut outside the mud house by the door of the Tao family's old residence.

Qingchuan Dog Dahu, who was standing at his feet, also received a hard kick.

He looked at Da Hu, and Da Hu twitched its nose and raised its dog eyes to look at him.

Inside the Tao family's old house, there was still Xiao Zhao from the production team complaining: "Uncle Tao! I haven't taken my piece of beef offal yet, why did you throw it all away? Could you leave me a piece?"

"What are you eating! It's just deer belly skin. Tell your sister-in-law Chen to cut off two pieces of old sow's greasy meat and kick them back to fry. Stop whining and making a scene. You're embarrassing yourself every day."

"Okay!"

……

Li Ju'an grinned at Da Hu, the Qingchuan dog at his feet, and said, "Da Hu! From now on, you're my alpha dog! My right-hand man!"

Qingchuan Dog Da Hu slowly blinked its incredibly human-like eyes, seemingly able to discern the emotions being expressed. For the first time, the hot-tempered Da Hu raised its head and barked.

His loud, violent voice was deafening.

Mountain dogs are usually silent, but when they do bark, their domineering presence is undeniable. Their powerful bark nearly made Li Ju'an drop the venison from his hand.

He tied the venison to the sled, and Da Hu took the initiative to stick his head into the rope and pull the sled, just like a dog pulling a sled, rushing forward along the thick snow.

Ahead lies a row of mud-brick houses in the village. Such houses were very common in the forest area 80 years ago. Hollow wooden planks were filled with mud mixed with straw, and after the mud dried, a layer of mud was applied to both the outer and inner walls. This completed the basic structure of the "mud-brick" house.

To the west is the roof of the Lu family's house; the Lu family is considered a well-off family in the village. The Lu family's house has a red-tiled, A-frame roof, with ventilation holes on the sides that also accommodate electrical wiring. In the Lu family's courtyard, there are stacks of "banzi." "Banzi" refers to chopped wood; the more "banzi" a family has and the more neatly it's stacked, the more diligent they are.

He walked further ahead and came to the Li family's mud-brick house. The Li family also had a small courtyard, but due to the climate, they couldn't grow many vegetables, mostly scallions, red-skinned potatoes, cabbage, and green beans. His mother, Song Lanhua, had also piled up a full stack of "banzi" (a type of vegetable), neatly arranged.

He pondered for a moment. He figured that if he waited another two weeks, until late November, the forest area of ​​the Xing'anling family village would be completely covered in snow. At that time, the winter winds would be strong, hardening the snow in low-lying areas, turning the entire earth into a pristine white wonderland. The snow and ice could even support the weight of an adult. The village children would then cut the snow into rectangular blocks using thin wooden strips and build snow houses.

My younger sister, Li Xiao, used to love watching him build snow houses. She loved watching him lay down a layer of snow, then toss on another layer to level it, then lay another layer, and finally cover the roof with branches and wooden strips. Li Xiao would help him, tossing snow onto the roof to fill in the gaps, and that's how the snow house was finished. The sheltered, warm snow house was a place where children could often play for half a day.

In the courtyard of the family compound, the village children were playing with sleds without metal rods. Lu's grandson found a relatively gentle slope to place his sled on and let it slide down using inertia. His younger sister, Li Xiao, sat on Lu's grandson's sled, and several children strung their sleds together, with the older children acting as the handlebars to steer.

The children had a blast. Their incredible speed whipped up snowflakes, leaving them covered in a mist of snow, laughing and shouting with boundless joy.

Li Ju'an, dressed in three thick wolf skins and dragging a sled full of venison, watched the children play with a smile.

Suddenly, he looked up and froze for a moment. Lin Mei, the woman who haunted his dreams in his previous life, was happily watching his nephew play on a sled.