bookrebus Chapter 202 The Weasel, Having Lost Its Mind, Walks Right into the Trap
Chapter 202 The Weasel, Having Lost Its Mind, Walks Right into the Trap
Some people say Chen Guoan's son is too daring; he even dared to fight weasels in his younger days, and it must have been the weasels that caused his trouble. Otherwise, why is it that when the bear-hunting team went out, everyone else was fine, but his son got into trouble?
Some people say that Chen Guoan's son used to follow Chen Guoan in catching weasels, and sure enough, the weasel spirit in heaven came to take his life.
Chen Guoan angrily stubbed out his cigarette and cursed, "If you have a problem, come at me, the old man. What kind of business is it to come at my son?"
Taking the opportunity, Li Ju'an asked him if he had set up all those traps in the old work area.
Chen Guoan responded readily and even showed Li Ju'an and the others his trapping method. His method differed from that of Old Qin from Changbai Mountain; the snares he used were carefully crafted, with precise shapes and sizes, specifically designed to catch weasels.
He bent one end of a wire and tied it to another wire, pointing out to Li Ju'an that the binding hole needed to be larger than the wire's diameter so the wire could slide freely within it. The wire he used was just right for the weasel; it might not have been suitable for other red foxes or mongrels.
After discovering weasel tracks on the snow-covered ground near the old graves, he set a trap on the path he was on.
For safety, weasels usually retrace their steps. Therefore, by placing a snare on the original footprints, the chances of catching them are much higher.
Li Ju'an followed Chen Guo'an's example and also bent the steel wire. When it came to setting traps, he was second to none. After being taught by Lao Qin and Chen Guo'an, he could go to any mountain in any season and knew where any animal liked to be. In particular, he could tell whether an animal was male or female just by looking at the tracks it left behind.
You should hunt roe deer in the morning because they have a habit of urinating early. Roe deer only become active after urinating their first load of urine in the morning; they must urinate before running. Therefore, experienced hunters know that even in an emergency, a roe deer will stand up and urinate first after being startled, making it a perfect opportunity to shoot.
In winter, you can tell the male and female of a weasel by its footprints. You can also tell whether the footprints belong to a young cub or an older one.
Li Ju'an also set up traps nearby, specifically to catch weasels. He tied one end of a wire to a tree branch by the roadside. Then he returned to the cabin to continue drinking hot pine needle tea and chatting with a group of people.
Chen Guoan brewed pine needle tea and said, "The fur of a yellow weasel must be from a male, with a shiny, oily pelt, to sell for thirty yuan. If it's a female, the pelt is smaller and not as shiny, so it'll only sell for ten or twenty yuan."
In the local county town, many hunters sell weasel pelts, priced according to their color. Grayish-black pelts sell for around 10-20 yuan, while yellow ones can fetch 20-30 yuan, depending on size and quality. Locals both fear and loathe the weasel spirit, simply because weasels love to eat chickens and are considered a menace.
Song Desheng asked curiously, "How much can a weasel fetch?"
Li Ju'an drank his tea and laughed, "A weasel, apart from its pelt, can sell for at least thirty yuan including its flesh and blood."
Weasel meat can be sold, and its fur can be used to make calligraphy brushes. The tail hair is thick, upright, and elastic, making it suitable for high-quality calligraphy brushes, especially wolf hair brushes. That's truly exceptional.
Weasels, especially in winter, offer huge profit potential because their fur grows most vigorously during this season. Soft fur coats made from weasel pelts are available on the market, and these coats are more popular than fox fur because they are softer.
After hearing this, Song Desheng rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "If we were to start a breeding farm, we should definitely raise weasels. It would be more profitable than raising bear cubs. They reproduce quickly, are less susceptible to disease, and eat less than bear cubs."
He was absolutely right; many people in later generations started breeding farms for weasels. Weasel farming is simple and convenient, and the prospects are quite good, much more reliable than bear farming. Starting artificial weasel breeding is a good way for farmers to get rich.
Everyone laughed, mocking Song Desheng for being a government employee with a secure job, yet all he could think about was running a factory.
Song Desheng objected, saying seriously, "With this secure job, the money we make in a month isn't even enough to cover the share we get from one hunting trip. Let whoever wants this job take it; we already have a wife, so we don't need this one."
Everyone laughed and joked that he had joined the state-owned textile factory just to find a wife, which would make him very proud in front of his mother-in-law.
“Song Desheng, if you really dare to give up your secure job and start that damn farm, the first person to object will be your mother-in-law. Be careful your wife runs back to her parents’ house tonight and your brother-in-law smashes up the gate of your weasel farm.”
Several people made fun of him, but Song Desheng was not annoyed. He said to Li Ju'an, "None of you understand what I'm thinking. Brother Li understands me the most, right, Brother Li?"
The farm was something Li Ju'an had mentioned to him once, and he felt that Li Ju'an would definitely support him.
Li Ju'an stood up, looked out the window, and said, "You're not the one who should be running the breeding farm. Just stay and do your job in the logistics department of your textile factory, help the older women with their accounts, and go hunting in the mountains when you have free time. Just enjoy yourself."
Upon hearing this, Song Desheng couldn't sit still any longer and shouted anxiously, "That won't do! If you set up your farm in the future and make a big splash, you're not going to let me just stand by and watch. You'll drive me crazy with worry!"
Several people burst into laughter. The matter was far from settled, and the farm wouldn't be established anytime soon. Seeing that Li Ju'an hadn't included him as a partner, Song Desheng acted as if he'd already lost ten thousand yuan.
Li Ju'an got up and went for a walk.
Big Tiger had already been looking warily towards the door; he knew prey had taken the bait.
He first went to check out the old work area on the outskirts. A few days ago, the snares he'd set had caught a greyhound, two silly dogs, and a pair of jumping cats. Next to the silly dogs' snare, a trap had caught a struggling weasel. This weasel was also greedy and daring; seeing the silly dogs trapped, it smelled the snare and was tempted to eat them, not expecting there to be a trap waiting for it.
As a result, the weasel didn't get to eat half a pound of meat, and ended up getting caught in the trap itself.
The weasel struggled fiercely, and as soon as it saw the hunting dogs and hunters coming, it hurriedly buried its head to bite its trapped front paws, squeaking wildly.
Lu Zhiqiang cursed, "This thing is really ruthless to itself. With its traps, it can really bite off both its hind and front legs."
Li Ju'an quickly raised his ash wood stick and knocked the weasel unconscious with a single blow.
The weasel with its glossy fur was exactly the yellow weasel that the forestry station had specifically requested. If this creature bit off its front paws, the trapping would be pointless; the forestry station only wanted a complete specimen.
He tied the unconscious weasel tightly with hemp rope, removed the trap, threw the little beast into a cloth bag, slung it over his shoulder, and carried it away.
He tried to snag seventeen or eighteen traps, but only caught six. The remaining dozen or so traps were empty, and he retrieved them all.
Song Desheng said regretfully, "What a pity, we couldn't catch more than a dozen of them."
Li Ju'an, however, was quite optimistic, saying with a contented expression, "Two idiots, a greyhound, two jumping cats, and a weasel. What more could you want? That every trap will pull out a big weasel?"