Chapter 3 Three Steps

In this era, the density of wild animals in the mountains was much higher than that of later generations. There were pheasants and rabbits at the edge of the village, and there were mountain delicacies such as sand half a pound and flying dragon at the foot of the mountain by the river. In the red pine forest in the mountains, there were gray dogs (squirrels) and yellow leaves (weasels) whose fur was very valuable. There were also sables in the deep forest, which were treasures that could be sold for a lot of money.

Most villagers in this era were timid and conservative. In the era before the market economy was opened up, they mostly hunted wild game to improve their family’s meals and did not dare to sell it in the city. Even the most economically savvy would only go to the market half-heartedly to exchange some supplies to improve their lives.

However, Yue Feng, who had lived a new life, knew that the individual economy in the city had begun to take shape in its early stages, and the state’s control over the market economy had gradually become formalized. In this age full of opportunities, it was not difficult to make some money as long as you were bold.

Hunting small enclosures with a falcon is not as exciting as hunting wild boars and black bears with a dog, but if you have fun, the money you earn in the fall and winter will be more than enough to save up for a No. 16 hanging pipe.

Once you have a gun, you will have the capital to fight against wild boars and bears. Then you can buy a few hunting dogs, and you will have a preliminary team of mountain hunters.

Yue Feng took the antique treasures from the warehouse to the yard for inspection, and the situation was slightly better than he expected.

The cage net for catching young eagles was in good condition. Apart from a few threads at the corners that were bitten by mice, the overall damage was not serious and did not affect its use.

It is only a few days after the White Dew Festival, which is the time when birds of prey begin to migrate south. If you are lucky enough to catch a sturdy kite (female sparrowhawk), then small prey such as sand chickens, flying dragons, and greyhounds that move around the village are all Yue Feng’s hunting targets.

The net is still usable, so there is no need to weave a new one for the time being. However, Yue Feng now wants to go to the woods by the river to set up a net to catch eagles, and he is still missing something.

I saw him rummaging around in the warehouse again, and found a roll of thin wire under the sundries.

Yue Feng cut the wire and then skillfully weaved a cage.

This wire cage is cylindrical in shape, with a diameter of only ten centimeters but a length of more than thirty centimeters. It looks a bit disproportionate and not very beautiful, but Yue Feng is very satisfied with his work.

After the cage was made, Yue Feng found a roll of thick cotton thread for stretching quilt covers from his mother’s sewing basket.

Since her son had just recovered from a head injury, his mother didn’t bother to take care of Yue Feng.

Yue Feng was seen busy in his room for a long time, making a complete set of tools for tying hawks with cotton thread.

When it comes to falcon training, the things used need special explanation here.

The culture of falconry has been passed down from ancient times to the present day, and the tools have been improved and iterated countless times, so the tools passed down, including the production methods and usage methods, are already very mature.

This set of equipment for tying a kite includes two leggings more than 20 centimeters long, scientifically known as Liangkai.

When the rope was braided near one end of the two openings, an eye was left for closing the opening. Below the eye is a leek flat leg with a length of about six centimeters. There is also an eye left at the closing position outside the leek flat leg. In this way, when tying the eagle’s legs, the two openings can be simply and conveniently fixed above the eagle’s claws by wrapping them around twice and then buckling them inside.

Under the two open leggings, Yue Feng made an 8-shaped connector. The scientific name of this thing is “Toad”. One end is connected to a swivel, and the other end can be used to buckle the two openings inside out to fix the two openings of the leggings in the connected position.

Below the swivel is a five-foot-long, eight-braided round ribbon that is more than 60 centimeters long.

According to the tradition of the older generation of falconers, this long rope is called five feet. It is more than one meter long and can be folded in half. When setting up or tying a falcon, just hold the five feet tightly to keep the falcon firmly in your hand.

There wasn’t much thick cotton thread at home, so Yue Feng didn’t dare to go all the way, so he only made about 60 centimeters, which was definitely enough to tie up the little eagle. It was just the beginning, so there was no need to pursue those details, just enough was good enough.

It is worth mentioning that although it has not been done for decades, the three-piece set of these two-open toads and five-foot eagle compiled by Yue Feng is still of very good quality.

The leek-shaped flat part of the leggings is tight yet soft, and the holes for fixing it backwards are of the right size. In the second half of the two openings, it becomes a round shape. Pinching the rope bottom at the bottom of the two openings, the hand-woven rope of more than ten centimeters can stand up easily. Even if the newly tied little eagle uses its mouth to bite it, it can’t bite it at all.

After working for half an afternoon, the three-piece set of hawk-tying equipment was ready, and the sky was gradually getting dark.

The youngest child in the family, Jingjing, came home from school, and the family of four had a peaceful meal at the kang table in the east room.

It must be said that the food at home was really bad at that time. Because Yue Feng and Yue Lei were injured, they each had a steamed bun made of 200 grams of flour, while the others ate cornmeal steamed bread. On the table was a pot of stewed potatoes with little oil, plus a plate of pickles. Plus a bowl of corn grits porridge for each person, that was their dinner.

While eating, the youngest sister Jingjing kept glancing at the steamed buns in Yue Feng and Yue Lei’s hands.

Seeing this, Yue Feng broke the steamed bun in half and gave half to his sister.

“Here, eat it and you’ll grow taller! Give me the steamed bread!”

“Thank you, brother!” The younger sister took the steamed bun, thanked him sweetly, and took a big bite.

The so-called two-grain steamed buns are steamed buns made with a mixture of white flour and corn flour. These days, fine grains are precious and the staple food of families is generally based on corn. The small amount of white flour in the family is exchanged for rice. Except for making dumplings during the New Year and other festivals, it is basically not eaten on weekdays.

“Jingjing, don’t snatch your brother’s steamed buns. Your brother has a wound on his head!” Mother Meng Yulan scolded in a low voice.

“It’s okay, let Jingjing eat! I just need some steamed bread! I’m not hungry!” Yue Feng touched his sister’s head.

The little girl looked at her mother and then at her brother, then put the steamed bun in her hand in front of Yue Feng, tears of grievance couldn’t help but fall down.

Yue Feng felt sad when he saw this scene.

In that era of material scarcity, life was hard at home. Poor little kid in the family, he was so greedy that he cried over a steamed bun made of whole grains.

“Be good and don’t cry! I’ll give you steamed buns to eat! In two days, your brother will catch some sand chickens for you to eat!” Yue Feng touched his sister’s forehead and coaxed her in a loving voice.

“Really?” Jingjing was crying the previous second when she heard Sha Bandi, but her eyes lit up the next second.

“Really? I will let you eat Shabanji within a week at the latest!” Yue Feng said with certainty.

“Second brother is so nice!” Jingjing stopped crying when she heard there was chicken to eat. She hugged Yue Feng’s arm and rocked him.

“But let me make a deal first. If you want to eat chicken, come with me to the yard to do some work after you’ve had your fill!”

(End of this chapter)