Chapter 250: Troops Set out to Lincheng
“Then why not take advantage of this time when the female mink is pregnant with cubs and get a few more female minks to prepare in advance?”

After listening to what Uncle Zhao said, Yue Feng asked very cleverly.

“Yes! The last live capture operation I participated in was also carried out before the birth of the minks in spring! Later, the technician wrote to me that in the second year, new female minks of the second generation were already in estrus, and in the third year, most of them had completed mating!”

“Was the place you went to catch the marten far away that time? The distribution of these creatures is not so concentrated. Is there a better strategy to capture them alive?” Yue Feng took the opportunity to continue asking.

Hearing Yue Feng’s question, Uncle Zhao nodded with a smile: “This happened more than ten years ago. At that time, the logging in the forest farm was not as large as it is now, so the sable population was relatively large!
There were eight people in our team, and we went to places like Laowugou, Dusheling, Xiatuozi Mountain, and Jindingzi in Lincheng next door!
The best harvests were in the Xiatuozi Mountain and Jindingzi areas! We stayed here for five days and caught eight female minks of the right age.

Especially the Blind Camel Mountain, which is far away from the village, and ordinary hunters seldom go there, so the density of sables is relatively high!

As for the method of live capture, it was also simple. The mouse cage dragging method was used at that time. Live mouse bait was placed in the area where the sable might be active, and then a noose was set with a tendon rope, and a stick was dragged behind it!
However, this method requires that you use the trap every morning and evening. If the trap is delayed for too long, the marten will either be disabled or the trap will get tangled in wood and freeze to death! “

Hearing Lin Cheng, Yue Feng nodded: “Okay, I’ll remember the place you mentioned!”

Yue Feng’s grandmother’s home is in Lincheng, which is more than 100 kilometers away from Xing’an Village. If he rides a bicycle back to his grandmother’s home, it will probably take a whole day. If he walks, it will take two days to travel during the day and rest nearby at night.

According to the transportation conditions at that time, this was definitely considered marrying far away. Life in Yue’s family was not very good after marriage, and my mother Meng Yulan rarely returned to her parents’ home.

Yue Feng’s family does not have much say in Xing’an Village, which is also related to the fact that they cannot get any help from relatives on his mother Meng Yulan’s side. In this day and age, clan and family relationships are very important, and girls from good families rarely marry far away.

Uncle Zhao saw Yue Feng nodded and looked calm, and asked with some concern: “Lincheng is not close to us, are you sure you want to go?
This takes too long and the benefits are unknown, it’s not an easy job!

Now that you have a dog and a gun, why don’t you go hunt wild animals in the ravines near your home and lead your friends to earn some money?”

Yue Feng grinned and said, “My grandma’s family is in Lincheng, and I have two uncles at home, and my grandma and grandpa are still alive. Even if I go there, they will definitely take care of me, so you don’t have to worry about that!

I heard from the radio that many places in the south have begun to divide the land and contract it to households. By then, ordinary farmers like us will also have our own land!

Although going into the mountains to become a hunter seems free and easy at the moment, no one knows how the country’s policies will develop in the long run.

Just like this forest farm, it’s only been a few years, and so many old trees on the back mountain have been cut down!

What if there is a gun restriction someday? What if hunting in the mountains is not allowed someday?
These are all things that cannot be said for sure.

This sable fur is valuable, and it will only become more and more valuable in the future!

If we start preparing in advance, we can at least leave a way out for the future. If there is a policy change, we won’t be so passive!

what do you say? “

After listening to Yue Feng’s forward-looking words, Uncle Zhao looked solemn. He rarely responded, but picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

After putting down the teacup, Uncle Zhao nodded slowly and said, “What you said makes sense! Take the sable for example. A few years ago, I could occasionally see it in the ditches near my home, but I haven’t seen it for many years!
The country definitely cannot continue to allow this to continue, otherwise it will become extinct sooner or later!
Since you have relatives in Lincheng, I won’t advise you!
If you must go, bring more people and more guns!
There is little land over there, and farmers have a hard time. The hunters who live off the mountains are tough and xenophobic. If you are better prepared and smarter, even if there is a dispute, at least you won’t suffer any loss!
Whenever you leave, come and take this barrel-mounted gun from my house. When you come back, just return it to me!”

Yue Feng felt warmed at heart when he heard Uncle Zhao’s instructions and his offer to lend him a gun.

Uncle Zhao deserves to be called Uncle by Yue Feng, and he also deserves the friendship of Yue Feng who took his dog and gun into the mountains without hesitation to avenge Zhao Yuanjie.

“Okay! I understand what you said! It’s not easy to go on a long journey. I need to prepare a lot of things before I leave! I’ll come to get this gun from you when I leave! It’s getting late, I should go back! You should go to bed early, and I’ll come to have a drink with you when I get back from my long journey!”

“Go! Remember my words, be careful when you go out. Don’t have the intention to harm others, but be on guard against others!

In this small piece of land in front of my house, the elders at least have some incense and friendship. Outside, the local mountain people have fewer concerns about dealing with outsiders. When you go out with a hunting team, as a leader, you have to use your brain more when encountering problems! “

“Remember!” Yue Feng nodded, drank the water in the cup and stood up.

Uncle Zhao, holding a flashlight, accompanied Yue Feng to the gate of the courtyard, then he closed the door and went back home.

On the way home, Yue Feng walked very slowly, with many things in his mind.

The artificial breeding of sables and the construction of deer farms must be carried out later. There is not much that the farmers who rely on the weather for their livelihood can do. Breeding is considered a promising industry. If we plan ahead now, we can greatly reduce the time cost of obtaining seedlings. If we really wait until the ban on guns and hunting is implemented before starting to arrange these things from scratch, it will be too late.

From this perspective, the sable seed source problem must be solved as early as possible, one year earlier the better.

By the time Yue Feng arrived at his doorstep, he had already prepared himself mentally.

It is necessary to put this trip to Lincheng on the agenda.

After making up his mind, Yue Feng returned to his home, locked the gate, let the dog go, and entered the main room in the north.

However, this time Yue Feng did not return to his west room, but pushed open the door of his parents’ east room.

At this time, Yue Lei and Meng Yulan were in the west room, listening to the radio in the dark after turning off the oil lamp.

“Mom and Dad, you’re not asleep yet, are you? I want to discuss something with you!” Yue Feng said softly.

“What’s wrong, Xiaofeng? What happened? Lan, light the oil lamp!”

When Yue Lei heard that his son wanted to discuss something with him, and his tone was so serious, he felt that he took it very seriously.

Soon the oil lamp was lit and the room was bright again.

Yue Feng said: “I just went to Uncle Zhao’s house to deliver some venison, and by the way, I asked about the artificial breeding of sables! Uncle Zhao told me how to artificially breed sables, and that we must have the first generation bred by someone as a seed source!

He told me about several places where the number of sables was relatively high in the past, and especially recommended the two places of Xiatuozi Mountain and Jindingzi! ” “Which place are you talking about? Xiatuozi Mountain and Jindingzi?”

Upon hearing these two place names, Meng Yulan, my mother, who had been lying in bed very calmly, suddenly raised her voice, put on her cotton jacket and sat up on the kang.

“Mom, don’t get excited. It’s the Blind Tuozi Mountain and the Golden Summit Mountain near my grandma’s home!” Yue Feng repeated.

“Silly child, that place is at least one or two hundred kilometers away from us, and there are no buses. It takes a day or two to travel there! Because it is so far, your father and I haven’t been back to your grandma’s house for several years!” Meng Yulan particularly emphasized the distance of the journey.

“I know it’s a bit far-fetched, but if you want to engage in sable farming, you have to take this step sooner or later!
Uncle Zhao told me that in this season, most of the female minks with male minks in the activity area are with their cubs! If you want to introduce species to expand the seed source, this season is the best time to catch them alive!
Besides, I haven’t been to my grandma’s house for five or six years! The last time I went there, I rode the team’s tractor!

Our life is pretty good now, and since there is such a need, we might as well take people with us on a trip!
Dad, what do you think?

The question was thrown to Yue Lei. Yue Lei was the head of the family. Meng Yulan had the final say on trivial matters, but on major matters like this, the head of the family still had to make the final decision.

Yue Lei pondered for a moment, then asked calmly, “How many people in the hunting team do you plan to take with you?”

“Yes, not only people, but also dogs, two guns at home, a hanging gun at Uncle Zhao’s house, and the big black eagle are all taken with us!
Since I was a child, I have heard my mother say that there are many wild animals and hunters in the mountains where my grandmother lives. This time, I can take the opportunity to go into the mountains to catch sables and see for myself!

If I’m lucky enough to hunt wild boars, bears, deer, etc., I can also give them to my grandma and uncle’s family so that they can store more meat for the New Year!” Yue Feng nodded and said.

“walk?”

“You definitely can’t walk! It’s more than a hundred kilometers, and it will take several days to walk to the destination before you can rest!
I want to borrow a horse-drawn carriage from the village office, take some food and some supplies, take a break on the way, and arrive in a day or two!”

Yue Feng expressed his thoughts.

Whatever you say, driving a horse-drawn carriage for a long journey is still a relatively reliable option. Tractors are public property. The climate is cold and if there is a slight problem, people who don’t know the business won’t be able to tinker with it and it’s easy for them to break down halfway.

Yue Feng could drive, and it was also easy to borrow a horse carriage from the village secretary. As long as the horses were fed with enough coarse and fine feed on the road, traveling more than a hundred kilometers was not a big deal.

“So how long do you plan to stay at your grandma’s place?”

“Probably seven to ten days, and no longer than half a month!” Yue Feng said.

“What about the eagle at home? What about the delivery business of the second cafeteria?”

“The eagle at home will definitely need your care. I will prepare some game for the Second Canteen before we set out. It shouldn’t be a problem if I give them a heads up in advance!

At most, if the eagle doesn’t come down to the ground for ten days, it will be a little bit raw, but it will take a day or two to fix it after it comes back!”

“Okay, since you have made your plans, then go ahead!
Your mother and I are at home. Gather everyone in the hunting team for a meeting. Once everyone has discussed it, we can start preparing!
Our family is doing OK now. We finally got a chance to go back to my grandmother’s house. Let’s bring back some meat and food. Life is not easy over there. If so many of you and your dog go there, the amount of food you need for people and horses every day will be quite a lot!”

“Yes! I will start preparing these from tomorrow!”

……

With the support of his parents, Yue Feng returned to his room, lit the oil lamp and made a rough list of things he would need to prepare for the trip. After marking and adding to the list for more than half an hour, he basically completed it.

The next morning, as usual, everyone was resting at home. Yue Feng went to each of the hunting team members’ homes one by one and called them together for a meeting.

At the impromptu meeting, Yue Feng roughly explained the purpose of the trip, time period, possible risks and general itinerary.

After hearing that Yue Feng was going to take a few people to the neighboring Linshi Mountain to hunt sables for seven to ten days, the brothers became excited.

Including Yue Feng in this life, the four brothers in the hunting team are all native people of Xing’an Village. The farthest place they have been to since they were young is Tiecheng. Now they have a chance to go out together to hunt and catch sables, and these guys are very excited.

After the simple meeting, several people went home to discuss the matter with their families. Near noon, the feedback came back.

Everyone in the family supports the children to follow Yue Feng to Lincheng to hunt.

With his family concerns completely gone, Yue Feng quickly began to prepare according to his plan.

For the next four days, everyone in the hunting team was busy.

In order to purchase supplies, the eagles are taken into the mountains every day to catch game for delivery. The high-intensity outings have caused the fatness of several eagles in the family to decrease a lot, but it will not cause any major problems in a few days.

After roughly gathering enough game for the second canteen during this period, Yue Feng went to the village office to find Wang Jianguo to borrow the carriage pulled by the chestnut horse.

Early in the morning on the 18th, the four brothers of the hunting team gathered at Yue Feng’s house.

Dumplings on the bus, noodles on the way. Logistics Minister Meng Yulan had made dumplings for the children early in the morning. After eating and drinking their fill, the four brothers took a horse-drawn carriage, driven by Yue Feng, who led the dog and brought Big Black Hawk. The carriage was loaded with more than 200 kilograms of coarse grains, 100 kilograms of fine grains, plus big meat buns for them to eat on the road. They left Xing’an Village fully armed.

There were no navigation systems or highways in the mountains at that time. To be honest, Yue Feng couldn’t remember all the routes if he wanted to drive from his home to Daliushutun in the suburb of Lincheng.

However, this little difficulty was not a big problem. Before the trip, Yue Feng roughly asked for directions and the main places he would pass by. He also put several boxes of cigarettes in his pockets before going out. He had a mouth under his nose, so he greeted everyone he met, handed them cigarettes and asked for directions, so it was not a big problem.

Just like that, the four brothers drove the carriage out of the village, and asked for directions as they went along the national highway. Near noon, they were out of Fengcheng.

4000 words first update

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(End of this chapter)