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

The entrance to the abandoned camp was covered in snow.

The snow, more than 30 centimeters thick, was frozen solid, and the soil beneath it was probably even more solid.

Li Ju'an swung his hoe, chiseling through the frozen snow and ice, then used a pickaxe to dig a hole. With the right tools, it was much easier to use, and he was able to dig the hole much faster.

He cleared away the snow and ice around the abandoned camp, breaking through the frozen ground to examine the traces on the ground. There was indeed a hole, and rustling sounds could be heard from the bottom of the cave over the years.

He used to go into the mountains with his grandfather to gather resources, so he knew best what that sound meant. A jumping cat!

In my hometown in the Xingan Mountains, wild rabbits are also called "jumping cats." At the beginning of winter, the meat of the jumping cats is at its most tender and delicious.

He couldn't help but think of his younger sister, Li Xiao, with her thin, sunken eyes, and his mother, Song Lanhua, with her malnourished, pale face. If he could bring back some game from his trip into the mountains, he could finally treat his family to a meal.

He looked around.

If he could find a wire mesh, he could use it to trap the leaping cat, causing its head to slip through the small mesh and become stuck, allowing him to wait for it to escape. But now he had no hunting rifle, no traps, no wire mesh, only a slingshot.

With a hint of regret, Li Ju'an continued to dig open the frozen soil pit with his pickaxe.

"If we can catch a jumping cat before the Lunar New Year as a New Year's treat, we can enjoy something fresh."

The frozen soil beneath the snow was dug up, and Li Ju'an used both his hands and feet to reach into the frozen soil pit below. He forcefully pulled a long object wrapped in a burlap sack out of the ground.

He quickly found a sheltered, sunny ravine, weighed it in his hand, and estimated it to be about 20 kilograms. He was overjoyed; perhaps it really really was two guns!

He opened the sack, then unwrapped the yellow oil paper covering it, revealing two nearly new Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, which made him as excited as if he had taken a stimulant.

"I'm incredibly lucky today, a hunting marvel!"

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle can fire in bursts or in single shots. Its maximum chamber capacity is 10 rounds. This is far superior to the pump-action shotgun passed down through generations of the Sun family in the village.

He hugged the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle with wild joy, his mouth stretching out in a wide, uncontrollable grin. The serial number on the rifle had been filed off, so even if he took it to the supply and marketing cooperative, they wouldn't accept it.

He rummaged through the sack again and found several small oil paper packets. Opening the packets revealed two ammunition slots and four boxes of ammunition. Each box contained 25 rounds.

He felt his heart pounding with excitement, pulled the bolt a few times, released the spring clip, loaded the bullet, and began to calibrate the gun.

There were old hunters in the village, and Grandpa, being a mountain hunter himself, was very close to them. Li Ju'an, as a child, often pestered the hunters to play with him, and he knew the importance of calibrating his rifle. He quickly loaded the bullets using a clip, filling a box of 25 standard rounds with 10 rounds, putting the remaining magazine in his pocket, and then raised the gun to his face, aiming it around.

Only by calibrating the gun can the trajectory be accurate and the risk of barrel explosion be avoided.

Three bullets are usually enough for a gun.

The first shot is used to locate the point of impact, and then corrections are made.

Beneath the dug-out frozen soil, hidden among layers of dense weeds, a gray jumping cat, startled by the gunshot, suddenly darted out in a panic.

Li Ju'an fired again, this time hitting the jumping cat squarely in the back of its neck. The bullet killed the jumping cat instantly, leaving a hole in its head.

The dusty, jumping cat kicked its legs twice, then fell to the ground in the snow, unable to move.

Li Ju'an was overjoyed. His second shot was a perfect 10, so he didn't need to correct it and also got a fat, big jumping cat for free.

He used a scalpel to stab the leaping cat, gutting it, rubbing its entrails in the snow, then stuffing them back in and tossing it into his basket. Intestines and entrails were all meat; in times of scarcity, no meat could be wasted. The six-pound leaping cat was quite plump; the basket felt heavy on his back, but also gave him a sense of security.

Along the way, he saw pheasant footprints and fox footprints.

In the Greater Khingan Mountains, with their white mountains and black waters, black bears, wild boars, Siberian tigers, hazel grouse, scorpions, pheasants, and other game abound. With a bit of luck, you might even snag a ginseng doll. One shot in hand, and all the wild game is yours!

Villagers generally don't hunt weasels or fox spirits, as there are many mountains around. As long as the villagers go into the mountains to collect resources without selling or damaging them, the forestry workers don't mind. Sometimes, when the supply and marketing cooperative sends people down to collect them, they all admit that the resources were hunted by individuals.

He heard his mother say that, except for the ration of three ounces and three ounces a day in 62 when her generation lived there, as long as they relied on the mountains for sustenance, they wouldn't starve. Even if no one in the family went into the mountains to hunt, the grains from the fields, like coarse corn porridge, were enough to drink as much as they wanted. The only problem was the lack of oil and fat.

Li Ju'an held the plump rabbit in his basket, his mouth watering and his mouth watering. He was already thinking about the delicious taste of braised rabbit.

Finally, we can have meat at home!

He carried a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle on his shoulder and another on his back. In the snowy, sunny mountain pass, two legs couldn't keep up with one. He used a knife to cut a section of pine wood, quickly whittling it into a sled, which the local children called a "one-legged donkey." He stood on it with both feet. The one-legged donkey had less resistance on the ice, making it faster than a sled or ice cart.

He zipped across the forest farm, his eyes scanning the surrounding fenced-off areas.

The forestry bureau leaders organized militia from several family villages and forestry bureau security personnel to help them surround the area, along with hunters and hyenas from various villages, totaling more than one hundred people and more than thirty dogs.

Sun Weimin was beaten into the clinic by him, and now there are fewer people helping him to beat him.

But the Li family has never produced a hunter, so even if he volunteered, he would likely be politely declined by the forestry leaders. Hunting in the Xingan Mountains is governed by strict rules and a clear division of labor.

Hunters share common industry jargon: hunting a doe is called "hunting a goose neck," hunting a buck is called "hunting a forked barbarian." Hunting wild boars and black bears is called "hunting black hair," hunting deer and roe deer is called "hunting yellow hair," hunting squirrels is called "hunting a greyhound," hunting sables is called "hunting a big leaf," and hunting weasels is called "hunting a yellow leaf."

In winter, they would plunder the trees to catch bears, a practice known as "digging out the granary." In spring, they would pour salt water on the ground to lure deer to lick it and then hunt them down; this was called "dredging the salt field."

In the village, fighting a siege requires a team of men, a scout, a gunner, and a gunner. He wanted to take over Sun Weimin's role as the scout.

Chasing the wild boars requires tacit teamwork. Last year, Sun Weimin and Qian Jiayou were in charge of the task. They didn't manage the time well and started rushing before reaching the designated location, which turned into a "brawl" in the trade. Originally, there was a group of wild boars, but two escaped, along with two sows and four little yellow-haired boars, which infuriated the leader.

Li Ju'an stared intently at the forest area.

When going out on business, you need a letter of introduction. If he brings his own skills and recommends himself, the chances of being noticed by the forest farm leaders will be greatly increased.

Suddenly, a scorched seedling caught his attention.

He squinted; the seedlings ahead were already turning yellow from the scorching. Normally, there wouldn't be scorched seedlings in the snow; only the scent of urine from large wild animals marking their territory, or excessive or overly concentrated fertilizer, would cause the leaves to turn scorched.

He crouched down to examine the footprints in the snow closely, his expression hardening, his whole body tense with excitement.

There are lone wild boars roaming around here!

Moreover, based on the size of the footprints, it was at least a 200-pound blond-haired dog.