bookrebus Chapter 404 The Falcon Makes a Great Contribution
Chapter 404 The Falcon Makes a Great Contribution
The sable tried to run away, so the mother golden eagle began to chase it away.
The falcon, swooping down at low altitude, didn't extend its claws to grab the sable; instead, it herded the sable away to the outer edge.
The villagers exclaimed in alarm, fearing that the falcon's talons would injure the sable. Captain Wang shouted, "This sable is good! Without this sable, the wild sheep wouldn't be able to get out."
"The eagle wants to eat the weasel! Li Pao, call the eagle back."
Li Ju'an kept whistling, and the golden eagle tilted its head to look at him, stared at the prey meat in his hand, and then continued to drive the sable without looking back.
Zhao Pao from Yingtun shouted, "That's strange, what's this eagle trying to do?"
Wild female golden eagles are trained only after reaching adulthood, making them significantly less stable than falcons trained from adulthood. The falconers of Eagle Village look down on them, but golden eagles are extremely fast and powerful, capable of hunting not only ordinary prey but also catching stags with the help of hunters, which they greatly admire. Now, looking at the untrained golden eagles, they feel no envy whatsoever, but rather a little pity for Li Ju'an.
Xiao Zhang, one of Zhao Pao's men, sighed and said, "This eagle is unruly. It's better to release it than to get in the way. Where are we going to catch another live mink?"
What he said made sense. Li Ju'an succeeded in catching the rats this time, but because he released a sable, it was like throwing a pebble into the water, causing an uproar in the fishpond.
Li Ju'an scolded the falcons, calling out two eagles to go and catch the sable. Although the eagles were fast, they were no match for the golden eagles swooping down from the sky. The golden eagles quickly drove the sable deeper into the forest, which made the villagers of Xiaoling Village very anxious.
Old Qin, the king of Changbai Mountain, also shouted anxiously, "Da Pi! This is Da Pi! You chased Da Hu!"
With nearly a thousand yuan in cash on the move, who would want Da Pi to lose it?
Not to mention Qin Pao, even the villagers couldn't resist the temptation and wanted to chase after him with shovels.
Li Ju'an noticed the golden eagle's unusual reaction. The falcon was disobedient and did not try to catch the sable; it simply kept driving the sable deeper into the forest.
He suddenly realized what was going on, and called to the hunting dogs to give chase: "Captain Wang, we'll leave two of us behind, the rest of you come with me."
He led the young hunters in the direction of the golden eagle, while Qin Pao and Lu Zhiqiang, who were left behind, could only teach the villagers to make bows and arrows from rattan and to set traps for the ground sheep.
The bow and arrow are not used to kill the ground sheep, but to activate the trap. The ground sheep will run into the trap, and the bow and arrow will open the trap, capturing the ground sheep.
Li Ju'an led the hunters away, and Captain Wang of Xiaoling Village sighed and said, "These young gunners nowadays, they can't keep their composure. Right, Qin Pao? Our generation of gunners is the most reliable."
"Our village has been suffering from bitter sheep for far too long. Those things eat everything—crops, fruit trees, medicinal herbs—it's really tough on people."
While making the snares, Qin Pao could only comfort the villagers of Xiaoling Village, saying, "These sheep bones are high-quality and can even replace tiger bones. We can sell them at the medicine shop for a good price; they have medicinal value."
The villagers perked up at the news. They had always thought that the ground sheep were useless except for being caught and eaten occasionally. Who would have thought that ground sheep bones could be traded?
Qin Pao said, "Recently, the policies have changed. Tiger bones are almost no longer allowed to be sold, and fewer merchants from the south are buying tiger bones."
Captain Wang stared in surprise, his eyes wide, and exclaimed, "You're not accepting tiger bones anymore?"
Qin Pao nodded and said, "They're not allowed to collect tiger bones anymore, so only the boldest people dare to hunt them. This year is different from last year."
The villagers also noticed that the policy changed every year. After the tiger bone trade was banned, sheep bones became a viable alternative, and their price skyrocketed.
Aunt Zhao exclaimed in delight, "Then the pests we hunted will become treasures, and we can sell them for a good price later!"
Qin Pao laughed and said, "The earth sheep will be a good thing. Its fur is useful and can be used to make leather. Its bones are also useful and can replace tiger bones. In the future, many people will be scrambling to collect them."
Aunt Zhao smiled contentedly and said, "Then we still need to hunt these wild sheep well. When good things fall down, who wouldn't pick up money that falls on the ground, right?"
Qin Pao shot another wild goat. After capturing the live goat, he used a knife to gut it and led the villagers to teach him how to roast the goat meat to make it more tender.
The villagers also roast mutton on ordinary days, but none of them can roast it as authentically as Qin Pao.
Qin Pao mixed mud and water and coated the skinned mutton with it, forming a soft mud ball. Then he lit firewood, set up a bonfire in the open space, and used stones to support it. He then roasted the mutton over the fire where the pot had been placed.
The outermost layer of flames licked at the mutton, baking the once-moist mud until it hardened. The entire mud shell encasing the mutton was hard and charred. With a crack, the mud shell split open, releasing a fragrant, meaty aroma.
The villagers followed his lead in roasting the lamb, and some even used shovels to scoop up a whole mutton and roast it on the brick kiln, just like Qin Pao had done. The roasted mutton was fragrant and tender. Once the mud crust cracked open, it was easy to peel off, splitting in half with a snap.
The roasted mutton, simply sprinkled with salt, smells delicious, and a bite reveals its tender, juicy meat.
One bite, and it tastes just like beef, and it's incredibly tender, making it a favorite local dish.
Every villager's eyes lit up as they ate, giving a thumbs-up and exclaiming, "This mutton is chewy, tastes great, and is tender, just like veal!"
"How much is veal? How much is mutton? There's mutton everywhere, you can just pick it up as soon as you step out the door. You're making a fortune!"
The villagers laughed heartily around the campfire, tearing small pieces of roasted mutton. The scalding hot meat made them breathe out hot air as they carefully tore off a piece with their teeth, savoring every bite. Although shoveling mutton had taken a toll on their energy, the villagers were very satisfied with the mutton.
Captain Wang looked at the hunters leaving in the distance and said, "Qin Pao, do you know where Little Li Pao went?"
At this moment, Li Ju'an was in hot pursuit of the falcon, which drove the sable toward the ditch.
He was puzzled. The falcon didn't seem to be trying to catch the sable; it was just driving the frightened sable westward.
After chasing it to the ditch near the water source at the foot of the mountain, he suddenly understood the meaning of the falcon driving away the sable.
He shouted, "Lu Zhiqiang, Zhao Pao! This place is full of earthen mounds of earth sheep!"
The hunters followed their hounds and saw straight mounds of earth at the foot of the hill by the river—these were the burrows of the male sheep. There were also many winding mounds of earth—these were the burrows of the female sheep.
Ground sheep feed on the strong roots of plants and are good at digging burrows. Male ground sheep usually build tall and upright burrows, while female ground sheep build short and irregularly shaped burrows.
At the foot of this mountain lies the breeding ground for male and female ground sheep. Numerous, densely packed mounds of earth, overlapping irregularly, make the land appear rugged and uneven, creating a truly spectacular and awe-inspiring scene.
Lu Zhiqiang opened his mouth wide in surprise and exclaimed, "Damn! This is a matchmaking corner where matchmakers arrange marriages!"