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

Who is Lao Qin? He's a renowned snare hunter in Changbai Mountain. Upon hearing that his dream lover, Da Hu, had been taken away, would he really let that person go?

Old Qin, nicknamed "King of Traps," immediately blushed, his neck thickened, and his eyes bulged red. He said forcefully, "Go and call that kid surnamed Li over here! I want to see why Old Tao gave Big Tiger to him. How much skill can a self-taught youngster have?"

After discussing it, Captain Yang Dezheng and Lao Qin, the artillery leader, resubmitted a document to the forest farm leadership.

Another name has been added to the list of those who helped: Li Ju'an.

……

At this moment, Sun Weimin was returning to his family village.

To prove his ability to help others, he not only wrote a letter to the assistant of the forest farm leader, but also took out the ginseng that the Sun family had been storing from the box, thinking that he would sell it when he had time.

He squinted and whispered, "I heard that ginseng prices have gone up again. I'll find a way to sell it whenever I have time. Merchants from the south are coming to buy it, and they can sell it for 40 yuan per kilogram. I'll go home and say I sold it for 30 yuan."

In this way, he could also get a free ten-yuan note, which would be enough to grease palms for the forest farm.

The price per kilogram was equivalent to more than half a month's wages for a worker at the time. In order to sell at a higher price, local ginseng farmers even traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai and Zhejiang to sell their ginseng. But this was the harvest of six years, not just one year.

If they encounter natural disasters such as drought or pests and diseases, ginseng farmers will have no harvest. Local ginseng farmers guard their three-zhang (approximately 3 meters) plots of land and sleep in shacks next to the ginseng fields for most of the year, checking on their ginseng whenever they get up in the middle of the night.

Now, Sun Weimin received news from the forest farm assistant that Li Ju'an was not on the list of those to be hunted, only him.

He wrapped himself in a military overcoat and made a special trip to the Li family's earthen house. Li Ju'an, Li Ju'an, you've schemed so much, but you never expected your grandpa to be discharged from the hospital.

He found a large group of villagers gathered at the entrance.

One by one, the villagers came to help the Li family, exchanging eggs, pickled vegetables, cigarettes, or helping to process the wolf pelt. The Li family had a lot of extra venison. Since the villagers came to help, it was all about social interaction, and Li Ju'an was happy to exchange the venison for these favors.

The air in the family village was filled with the aroma of braised venison.

Sun Weimin squinted, sniffing with his nose, which was more sensitive than a dog's, and followed the scent to see Li Ju'an eating at the kang table.

After being beaten into the hospital by Li Ju'an, he didn't see him for several days. When he finally saw him again, he noticed that Li Ju'an seemed to have changed. Perhaps his temperament had changed, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed.

The worst part is that Li Ju'an is now using a blue and white porcelain spoon to scoop a large spoonful of braised venison broth and pour it over rice to mix with his rice.

The red oil broth, with its aroma of lard, was so delicious that he could lick the bowl clean and wished he could have two more bowls of white rice.

"What the hell is going on? Are they actually making a profit?"

The large bowl in the Li family's restaurant contains diced venison, boneless meat dipped in minced garlic, and various kinds of venison that are so fragrant they're practically dripping with oil.

He was so hungry, he swallowed hard twice, his mouth full of saliva.

"Where did this venison come from? Li Ju'an, stop talking nonsense! Tell me where this venison came from! Still eating? Why don't you drop your spoon and smash it on the ground?"

The villagers all said that Li Ju'an had hunted the venison in the mountains.

Sun Weimin said, "Stop talking nonsense! A few days ago, during the big smoke bombing, who the hell went into the mountains to hunt? Stop making things up! Stop spouting nonsense."

The villagers surrounded Li Ju'an, chatting happily, and some of the women even took a liking to the wolf pelts he had hunted.

Upon hearing this, Sun Weimin's eyes widened as he stared intently at the wolf pelt. Was it really a wolf pelt coat? And a whole piece of pelt at that?

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. It had only been a few days; could this person in front of him really be the same Li Ju'an who was always loafing around and loved to fight?

He squinted and simply stated his purpose.

"Li Ju'an, I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. Don't bother going to help with the siege this time. There's no place for you anyway. The forestry leaders sent me, but there's no part for you."

At this moment, Captain Yang Dezheng sent someone to deliver a message.

"Li Ju'an, you should still go help with the siege this time. The gunner said he wants you to be the moorer."

Liaoning and Shenyang are primarily agricultural areas, while Jilin and Heilongjiang are mainly engaged in gathering and hunting. Therefore, Northeast China has a lifestyle that combines agriculture with gathering and hunting. Hunting plays an important role in the lives of the people of the Xing'an Mountains. "They go hunting all year round. Some go out in the morning and return in the evening, while others return after two or three days. This is called 'small hunting.' In autumn, they hunt pheasants, and in mid-winter, they hunt large ones."

Hunting groups are now formed freely, with the vast northern forests serving as ready-made hunting grounds. Hunting dogs, domesticated by humans over a long period, have taken on the task of encirclement and have become the main force in hunting.

In this hunting expedition organized by the forest farm, Li Ju'an was assigned the task of "tracking," which involved both following and tracking the prey's movements—the best fit for hunting hounds. The more complex the task, the more experience was required. Being assigned this task demonstrated that Li Ju'an's tracking and tracking skills were recognized by the foreman.

After saying this, the messenger, busy with his work, turned and left.

Sun Weimin was stunned for a moment before he finally spoke in a daze.

"What? What does the captain want Li Ju'an to do? Run a stunt?"

He had to beg for a favor in the encirclement before he could become a follower. Li Ju'an was someone who needed to be a skilled tracker and follower from the start.

He thought he had misheard.

He clearly asked the forest farm leaders to remove Li Ju'an from his role, and he himself returned to the team. How could Li Ju'an still be able to join the support team?

The Lu brothers standing nearby smiled and congratulated Li Ju'an.

"Brother Li, you're going into the mountains with Sun Weimin. Don't beat Sun Weimin into the hospital again this time."

A group of villagers surrounded Li Ju'an, talking to him affectionately.

Sun Weimin's heart pounded wildly. Was Li Ju'an really going to go into the mountains with him? Li Ju'an had actually been chosen by the gunner too?

The Lu brothers, being beholden to those who have served them, chuckled as they helped process the wolf pelt.

"Brother Li, Da Hu is really energetic this time, following you into the mountains. Da Hu is an expert at tracking."

He noticed the hunting dog as soon as he entered the house; it was a good dog.

But this hunting dog is actually Da Hu? It's Da Hu, the mountain chasing dog that Dog Commander Lao Tao treasures and would rather die than sell?

He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart. How could everything have changed so much after just one trip to the hospital?

At this moment, the Lu brothers looked at the basket at Li Ju'an's feet and sighed with envy.

"Isn't this Lin Mei's hanging basket? Did Lin Mei use it to make meat buns for you? Brother Li, the two of us brothers couldn't even get Lin Mei's buns by exchanging fruit candies and canned goods. It's so boring, she's only good to you."

A voice inside Sun Weimin was screaming, "This is no fun at all!"