Chapter 33: Working Eagle’s First Day at Work

Xiao Tao and his son, together with the Zhang brothers, formed a group of two and began to try to release hawks and catch birds on the surrounding hills.

Yue Feng was still jumping alone with his Big Green Harrier flat on his back, but he chose a ridge further into the mountains as his way out of the enclosure, leaving the familiar areas to the other four members of the team.

There are pros and cons to opening up new venues.

The disadvantage is that it is farther away from the village at the foot of the mountain, the terrain is unfamiliar, and accidents are more likely to happen when releasing hawks.

On the bright side, the sand chickens and flying dragons here have not suffered much from the torture of falconers and are very brave. Sometimes Yue Feng can even use the cover of tree trunks to get within five or six meters, and the big blue kite can catch this kind of prey with ease.

It was another day of releasing hawks into the mountains. At around four o’clock in the afternoon, Yue Feng returned to the village from the narrow path down the mountain, holding the hawk flat on his back and carrying a bulging satchel.

In the morning, the five people set out from Yue Feng’s house together, and agreed to go down the mountain in the evening and gather at Yue Feng’s house.

When Yue Feng came back, Xiao Tao and his father had already returned. After a day’s work, the two eagles were tied up in the yard with their big crops on top. Yue Lei was in the house talking to Xiao Tao and his father.

“Uncle Li, Xiao Tao, how did you harvest today?” Yue Feng took off his bag as he walked in and asked in a friendly manner.

“Not bad, that Purple Kites was quite good at catching fish! Today was the first day that my father and I officially went out, and we caught 12 flying dragons and three and a half sand chickens! Most of the work was done by this Purple Kites. If we let it fly for another two days and tighten the string, it should be able to catch more fish!” Li Wentong responded with a smile.

“My kite is a bit cunning. If a chick comes up from a little distance, it will chase it and then climb up a tree after just a few dozen meters. It has climbed up a tree three times today. Fortunately, the kite is on the string. Brother Feng, what should we do in this situation?” Xiao Tao was not as calm as his father. He had some complaints about the eagle assigned to him.

Yue Feng said: “This is a little bit weak. I will set it up a few times tonight and try it tomorrow! Did you feed the eagle at home, or did you feed it well in the mountains?”

“The last prey was a white wagtail caught on the roadside at the foot of the mountain. I wet the bird’s feathers and fed it to the bird on the spot! The purple kite my dad caught was the food my uncle made for him after he brought it home and fed it to him!” Xiao Tao replied.

The white wagtail is a small bird. If you wet its feathers and feed it to the bird, it will definitely produce feathers tomorrow morning. Once the feathers have grown, you should be much stronger when you go up the mountain to work tomorrow.

Yue Feng nodded and said, “Just get used to it slowly. You can act together with my uncle Li. If the chances are worse, let Uncle Li catch them with the Purple Kite!
The one in your hand has a higher success rate if you only catch it at a close distance! In the early stage, you should focus on cultivating the eagle’s confidence. Once it has built up its courage, you can start working later. It will definitely become more and more skillful!

I don’t know what the Zhang brothers have gained today. It’s time to come back now!”

They waited from 4:30 to 5:30, and it was almost dark when brothers Xiaowen and Xiaowu finally returned with the backpacks they had used to go into the mountains.

“Brother Feng, Uncle Li, Uncle Yue, we are back!” The two brothers called people as soon as they entered the house, and after saying hello, they tied the eagle to the eagle stand under the eaves.

“Why did you come back so late? Did you encounter an accident going up the mountain?” Yue Feng asked with concern.

“No, Xiaowu and I went into a new forest in the evening. There were many birds there, so we came back a little late!” Brother Xiaowen explained. “How was it? How was your performance today?” Xiaotao was more anxious than Yuefeng and couldn’t help asking.

“It seems that seven Shabanji were caught, and 18 Feilong! The eagle in my brother’s hand is very good at work. I feel it is similar to the Great Blue Kites in your hand, Brother Feng. It basically never loses birds. It will catch them whenever there is a chance. Most of the chickens today were caught by his eagle.” said his younger brother Xiaowu, pointing to the eagle without claws on the eagle pole.

“This brave one is good to catch? What about the eagle in your hand? How is it doing?”

Yue Feng was quite surprised after hearing about the two people’s harvest. After all, it was the eagle’s first day of work, and it caught 25 preys. Although it took a little longer, it was already an excellent result.

Xiaowu scratched his head and said in frustration: “My eagle is too weak. It flies slowly and can’t catch up if it’s a little far away. Several times it got entangled in the bushes! When I let it go later, it likes to climb trees when the forest is a little noisy!”

Yue Feng nodded after listening. The situation of Xiaowu’s eagle was similar to the one in Xiaotao’s hands. It was in a bad mood and lacked confidence in hunting. In addition, it was held back by the string. It was understandable that it performed poorly on its first day at work.

Although this problem is not a common one among newly released eagles, there are ways to deal with it.

The solution is to lower the shaft to clean the chamber and draw the air, then when releasing the hawk later, pick the soft persimmon to give the hawk a chance to attack. Once the air is right, pinch the soft persimmon a few times and the hawk will be confident and have enough physical strength, its performance will gradually improve.

Yue Feng caught 22 flying dragons and 7 sand chickens today alone with his eagle. He was only one bird away from breaking the 30-catch mark.

Including the 25 prey of the Zhang brothers and the 15 of the Li father and son, the number of prey delivered tomorrow morning will reach a historic 69!
“After all, they are the trophies we got from taking the eagles out for hunting. Why don’t you keep a few for yourself and take them back? I’ll go to the city to sell the rest tomorrow morning!
One eagle will be deducted from the rations of half a sand and half a chicken, and the rest will be paid to everyone, and we will settle the bill on the spot tomorrow evening!” Yue Feng glanced at everyone in the room.

Li Wentong waved his hand: “My family just ate the food you sent us the day before yesterday, so we won’t keep the food we caught today!”

Xiaowen and Xiaowu looked at each other at the same time, and the elder brother Xiaowen said, “We want to keep two flying dragons and two sand half chickens for our harvest. The last time my family ate sand half chickens was when it snowed last winter and Uncle Zhao at the village head gave them to us!”

Yue Feng nodded: “Okay, then pick them separately, and take the rest back after you have a full meal!
I have discussed with my parents, starting from tomorrow, as long as we go up the mountain to release eagles during the day, we will gather at my house in the morning to have breakfast before going up the mountain. We can’t afford to eat big fish and meat all day, but we can definitely have a hot meal to keep everyone full!! “

“That won’t work. It’s going to take a long time. Food is so precious! We are already very grateful that you help us make money, and you also provide us with meals!” Xiaowen was the first to shake his head and refuse after hearing this.

Yue Feng curled his lips and said, “I will split the birds you and Xiaowu caught today into two parts. How much money can we make from selling them? If we work hard, how much food can we eat? Can we make our family poor?
It’s settled that we’ll have dinner at home in the morning!
What is a good friend? It means to make money together and enjoy happiness together! Take it slow, there is still a long way to go! “

Yue Feng has lived two lives and knows the importance of having a few close friends. With a stable way to earn money, the money he usually spends on food and drinks is small. Since he wants to give them a 50-50 split and they don’t agree, he can make up for it in other ways.

The friendship formed over a long period of time is the most precious thing.

(End of this chapter)