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

He wasn't sure if bear bile could enhance male virility and tonify the kidneys, but Song Desheng's ability to boast was definitely top-notch.

Li Ju'an formed a team and entered Naitou Mountain with Li Guaizi and Song Desheng.

Naitou Mountain is no longer called Naitou Mountain.

This was the name used by the locals in the Xing'an Mountains, but it was changed by the authorities because it had a negative impact. It is now called Da Xiao Feng Gou (Big and Small Peaks Gully).

Two mountain peaks rise up, which looks quite interesting from a distance, but one is slightly larger and the other slightly smaller. It is unknown who first started calling it Naitou Mountain, but the villagers spread the name and eventually forced the locals to change it.

This valley has many fruit trees, so there are a lot of greyhounds (squirrels), yellow-leafed weasels, and chipmunks hiding among them.

Li Ju'an used a 3.5x scope to peer into the snow-covered fruit trees and actually discovered a squirrel's burrow for the winter.

Li Guaizi kept muttering to himself the whole way, without ever stopping.

"There's a bear-hunting expert in our village. He used to be able to fight a black bear. Do you know who it is?"

Li Ju'an thought for a moment: "Old Tao?"

"No."

"Uncle Lu?"

"No."

He and Song Desheng guessed several names in a row, but none of them worked. Li Guaizi laughed smugly and said, "It's Sun Quande."

Li Ju'an really hadn't expected this person. Sun Weimin's father? Sun Quande, who just got a severe beating from Old Master Lu? He doesn't seem like the person in question.

He thought for a moment, then realized that appearances can be deceiving, and Sun Weimin's ancestors were all hunters. Perhaps the Sun family had a knack for killing bears, which was why Sun Weimin had confidently marked the place as a bear shed after stepping in bear dung, waiting to clean it. But instead, he had interfered and led his men there first.

Li Guaizi recounted with great relish: "Sun Quande was a demobilized soldier back then. He stole a few grenades during training and brought them back to his hometown with him. I took an adze, an axe, and a rifle, and went with him to Heixia Cangzi. The cave in Heixia Cangzi was quite high. Sun Quande was behind me with the gun, and I was physically strong, so it took me a lot of effort to climb in."

“I climbed to a position level with the cave entrance, where there was a small platform. At this point, I already sensed something was wrong. The bear inside the cave wasn’t fast asleep; it heard the wind and rushed out. I had to dodge it in a flash. Just then, Sun Quande, who was behind me, popped his head out. The bear pounced on him, and the two of us fell from a height of more than ten meters.”

Song Desheng listened in a daze, his mouth agape, his heart pounding wildly, his chest heaving with the memory of Li Guaizi. He asked desperately, "And then? What happened next?"

Li Ju'an said calmly, "Uncle Sun and Brother Li are both fine, so they must be alright."

Li Guaizi continued, "The moment Sun Quande landed, who would have thought that Hei Xiazi would land on his back first and howl, then raise his hand to slap him, scaring Sun Quande so much that he detonated a grenade. Those grenades were incredibly powerful, sending Sun Quande flying into a tree branch. I then turned and ran. Sun Quande was carried back and lay in bed for more than two months, too scared to sleep for nights on end."

Song Desheng was both shocked and frightened, yet also found it incredibly exciting, his eyes filled with longing for the bear hunt. Li Ju'an thought for a moment and then asked, "Is Uncle Sun unable to sleep because he's scared of the black bear, or because he's been reported?"

Li Guaizi was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "You little rascal, nothing can be hidden from you. Later, Sun Quande was reported by someone, and it was discovered that he was illegally possessing weapons. He was arrested, imprisoned for two years, and his party membership was also revoked."

A veteran was hoarding grenades and detonated several at once, shaking the entire hillside. The surrounding area was filled with hunters, ginseng gatherers, and villagers chopping wood. He deserved to be reported.

Li Ju'an changed the subject: "Brother Li, you didn't report Uncle Sun, did you?"

Li Guaizi was stunned for a moment, then angrily raised his fist and shouted, "You little bastard, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Suddenly, Song Desheng stepped into a pit and exclaimed in surprise. He used the butt of his gun to pry open the pit and saw a coiled snake inside.

The snake was about the thickness of a bowl, golden in color, and about three or four meters long. There was a brownish-red spot in the middle of its head.

Startled, he quickly stepped back, nearly jumping onto Li Ju'an, and whispered rapidly, "A worm! There's a worm!"

"Changchong" is a type of snake. On the way to Naitou Mountain, you'll pass through Changgouzi. This small gully is called "Changgouzi" because there are so many long worms (snakes) there. So many, in fact, that when Li Ju'an was a child, he went into the mountains with his grandfather, and his grandfather, in a fit of rage, would kill any long worm he saw. In one day, they'd fill half a basket with the long worms they'd killed!

Moreover, areas with long worms are rich in food, which black bears also love to visit. Therefore, this place is not far from the black bear's warehouse.

Li Ju'an glanced at it and was so shocked by the size of the snake that he couldn't look away.

"My goodness, why is this worm yellow? I've never seen one like it before!"

There are many snakes in the Xingan Mountains, but he has never seen a snake with such a strange color in all his life.

Is this snake poisonous?

"I don't know! Such a big snake, regardless of whether it's poisonous or not, let's stay away! It looks ferocious."

Li Ju'an scoffed: "Such a big snake is worth a fortune. And it's winter, snakes don't move from their nests, kill it!"

Whether it's snake bones or snake slough, both can fetch a good price as traditional Chinese medicine, let alone such a thick snake. Its value is extremely high; it's like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse—why not kill this snake while it's still alive?

Song Desheng was terrified of snakes; the sight of their dense scales and markings would give him goosebumps. Just as he was about to run away, a snake that had been hibernating in its burrow suddenly stirred, its tail swaying right at his feet.

This really terrified Song Desheng. His scalp tingled, and he jumped up and down, feeling more helpless than he had ever been in his life. It was just like his worst fears had come true; the more he feared snakes, the more the hibernating snakes seemed to wake up and seek him out. Wasn't that strange?

The large yellow snake twitched slightly; it was about to wake up.

In his haste, Song Desheng shouted and threw down his hunting rifle, preparing to run up the hill.

When Li Guaizi and Li Ju'an saw him like this, they burst into laughter.

"This grown man is just a hibernating worm, why are you so afraid?"

"Weren't you so capable just now? Now you're afraid of getting worms!"

"Brother, you just said you were going to go into the mountains to hunt bears. You're not afraid of bears, so why are you afraid of a snake?"

The two teased and joked with him, and Song Desheng got a little impatient: "Fine, if you're not afraid, then hit me. Stop making sarcastic remarks."

Li Ju'an teased him until he was satisfied, then picked up a thick stick from the tangled branches scattered on the snow.

In the past, elders would say that when fighting a snake, lifting its tail and giving it a sharp shake would break its skeletal structure, paralyzing it and rendering it unable to attack. However, this is only partially true, as it is extremely dangerous and could easily result in the snake biting you. This is because when a snake senses danger, it will raise its head high, preparing for a fight.

In addition, this hibernating snake was as thick as a bowl and three or four meters long; it was definitely not advisable to handle such a large creature directly. Fortunately, this thing had just woken up in a daze and was slow to react, so we could just hit it at its vital spot with a stick.

Li Ju'an stared at the large yellow snake, divided its body into ten equal parts, and swung the stick hard at a point roughly three-quarters of the way through.

If you really need to kill a snake, you must use a stick.

This is because a snake's eyes can only see what is directly in front of it. If the snake only sees him, it will definitely attack him. But if he has a stick in his hand, the snake will either attack the stick or climb on it.

boom--!

Li Ju'an went all out, striking the snake's body several times at the seven-inch mark, the third division of its body.

The large yellow snake, which had been slightly awake, was struck hard in the heart area. After enduring a few blows, it immediately died and could no longer move.

The big yellow snake is dead.

Song Desheng hid far away, fearing the snake might fake its death, and shouted, "Chop off its head, be careful this snake doesn't try to trick us."

Li Guaizi laughed heartily, making no attempt to hide his mockery, which made Song Desheng feel even more aggrieved.

Li Ju'an hoisted a section of the bloodied and mangled yellow snake onto his shoulder and weighed it in his hand.

Goodness, this loot is surprisingly heavy. Just this small piece weighs down his shoulders and makes his whole body feel heavy.

They made a good start right after entering the mountains, and the three of them were overjoyed. It was a great beginning.

The large mule, seeing the snake, dared not carry it and wobbled backwards. Once Song Desheng saw the snake was dead, he grinned and came over to help.

“We’ll carry this. What’s this? A snake is nothing.”

He was afraid Li Ju'an wouldn't give him a share, because apart from accidentally finding a snake, he hadn't been able to help at all, so he quickly ran over to lend a hand. Everyone knows the benefits of snakeskin and bones; even if you don't send them to the market to exchange for money, keeping them at home to soak in liquor will make the host look good when guests come over.