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

Li Ju'an was amused. He hadn't taken his hunting dogs into the mountains to hunt catfish or wild boar because he had experience hunting in the mountains in his previous life. As for Lu Zhiqiang, aside from listening to his grandfather brag about his youth, when had he ever been into the mountains? He hadn't even touched a gun.

But he wouldn't say these things to Lu Wenqian.

He casually replied, "Let him do whatever he wants. Even your old man can't stop him, so what do we have to say?"

He got up and started clearing the dishes. His mother, Song Lanhua, said to him as she washed the dishes, "What are you going to do on the outskirts of the mountain tomorrow? It's fine if you run into a wild boar by yourself, but don't wander around and run into a bear."

Li Ju'an reassured his mother, "Don't worry, in the dead of winter, bears are already sleeping in their caves. You can't even touch one if you wanted to."

"Son, then you can just wander around at the foot of the mountain and don't go up the mountain."

"Alright, I won't go far. I'll just set a trap at the foot of Naitou Mountain."

He lied.

During the hunting trip a few days ago, he saw Sun Weimin stepping on fresh bear droppings, which told him there was a bear enclosure there.

He plans to go kill a bear in Cang tomorrow, to snatch it from its winter burrows and tree hollows. Black bears have a V-shaped white patch on their chest that looks like a crescent moon, hence the name "crescent bear" in the south. These creatures have very poor eyesight but excellent senses of smell and hearing; killing a bear in Cang requires at least three or four people working together, coordinating their efforts, and dividing the spoils after the hunt.

In his previous life, he had seen an old hunter hunt a black bear in the mountains of the south; that was the first time he had ever heard a bear roar.

People who have never fought a bear will be terrified when they first hear a bear roar. This is because low-frequency animal roars, especially bear roars, are the most chilling.

A bear's roar, accompanied by an extremely low-frequency vibration, is an absolute, ingrained sense of a ferocious beast, capable of instantly escalating psychological pressure and putting nerves on high alert. You can almost smell the stench of the beast's drool.

He was so scared when he first heard a bear roar that he wet his pants. Later, when he came down the mountain, he was afraid that the old hunter would laugh at him. But the old hunter lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and exhaled a white smoke ring before quietly saying, "When I first encountered a crescent bear, I was so scared that I couldn't sleep for three nights."

The black bear's instinctive oppression of people is so terrifying that even the old hunters in the south still feel extremely scared whenever they think about it.

He chatted with his mother for a few more minutes, telling her about going into the mountains tomorrow, and then went to check on Li Xiao doing her homework. When he turned around, he found that Lu Wenqian had already said goodbye to her mother and left the old house.

He wondered to himself, "Could this girl have gone back and informed Lu Zhiqiang?"

The next day, he invited Li Guaizi to go into the mountains to clean the warehouse together.

He didn't expect that Li Guaizi would bring along an acquaintance, who turned out to be Song Desheng.

Song Desheng looked resentful, blaming Li Ju'an for using his connections to get the sewing plane ticket and the production brigade's mule, only to not invite him when going into the mountains.

Li Ju'an angrily cursed, "You brat, do you know what we're doing? We're just trying to make a living, not doing this as a hobby like you, a rich young master."

Song Desheng was a latecomer to the sport, an amateur hunter who only went into the mountains once a week on Saturdays. This time it happened to be a Saturday. Last time when Song Desheng brought the mule, he had been careful and made connections with Li Guaizi.

Sure enough, Li Guaizi called him when he had work to do, which led to him running into Li Ju'an.

Song Desheng wouldn't give in either, and his temper flared up as he shouted, "It's not like we've never been into the mountains before. What can't we fight? Besides, you took our bribes, and you didn't even call on me for this little thing."

Li Ju'an also lost his temper, pointing out each issue one by one: "Didn't I give you money for the sewing plane ticket? I didn't skimp on it. And about that mule thing with the production brigade, how much did I give you? Think about it yourself. I don't care what you tell your family when you get back, I haven't shortchanged you."

Song Desheng's expression changed, and he felt somewhat guilty.

He found a mule for Li Ju'an, and of the money he received from Li Ju'an, he only gave a portion to his family and relatives, managing to pocket 3 yuan for himself. He did this kind of thing quite often.

He was in the wrong, and his voice became softer as he felt guilty: "Whether you agree or not, I'm going into the mountains with Brother Li. We've already agreed that I brought a gun, so I'll get two shares."

Li Ju'an glanced at Li Guaizi, who smiled and led over four hunting dogs, saying with a grin, "Without enough people, we can't clear the warehouse. Bring this kid along, it won't make a difference."

Li Ju'an turned and left.

Well, Song Desheng also gave Li Guai a bribe. That kid is cunning and quick-witted.

Li Ju'an tied the hemp rope around his waist, slung his Mosin-Nagant hunting rifle over his shoulder, hung his knife at his waist, and then called for Qingchuan Dog Da Hu to bring over the mule. He untied the sack on the mule's back, grabbed two handfuls of firecrackers and double-bangers from the sack, and stuffed them into a cloth bag containing snares and clips.

He was ready and assembled a group to go into the mountains to hunt bears.

The black bear's lifestyle involves gaining enough fat in autumn and before winter, accumulating a thick layer of fat, and then hibernating in its caves during the winter. This is the black bear's fatal weakness, which is why many people go up the mountains in winter to hunt them.

He decided to use a trap to capture the bear that had been startled out of its den.

Hunters in the Xingan Mountains use two types of snares: "fixed snares" and "slip snares." Fixed snares are wire snares attached to a fixed position and are used to catch small prey. Slip snares are generally used to catch stronger and more ferocious wild animals. Slip snares are not fixed at one end but are tied to a heavier piece of wood.

Because if a fixed noose is used, many strong animals will struggle desperately after being tethered, breaking the wire and thus escaping. But if a slipknot is used, the animal will drag the log while struggling, allowing it to drag the log a certain distance, gradually wearing down its stamina and enabling a longer struggle.

He had heard Old Tao recount stories from his youth. Old Tao, in his younger days, had also used a snare to trap a black bear, which, startled and enraged, began to run away. The wood used to tie the snare was dragged a long way by the fleeing bear. Before long, this clever black bear, finding dragging the wood too strenuous, simply began to carry it on its back.

Old Tao had already thought he had lost the chance to catch the black bear. But by sheer coincidence, the bear lost its grip on a piece of wood while crossing a dangerous spot and was strangled to death by the steel wire.

Whenever Lao Tao talks about this, he sighs with emotion, believing it must be the blessing of the mountain god and good luck.

Li Ju'an arranged to go to the warehouse with Li Guaizi to catch bears, not for the meat. Bear meat wasn't tasty; the valuable part was the bear bile, which could fetch a high price.

Bear paws are also precious, and they are listed as one of the "Eight Delicacies" in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. It is said that they taste similar to "beef tendon".

He decided to headhunt Black Bear back, as the reward would be far greater than killing wolves.

Song Desheng, also carrying a single-barreled shotgun, beamed with excitement.

“Bear bile is a good thing. A few years ago, I helped my cousin who lived in Guapiaozigou build a house, and he gave me some bear bile. It’s made by mixing bear bile with some starch, making it into granules the size of sorghum grains, drying them, and then storing them in a bottle. I’ve used this folk remedy for several years, and I’m in great health! After taking it, my relationship with my wife has also become much better.”

Li Ju'an gave him a strange look.