Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

"We caught another one! It's a two-year-old spotted pheasant!" Yue Feng called out to Xiao Weimin in the camera's view.

Xiao Weimin shut down the equipment and then slowly crawled out of the shack.

"Another chicken-hawk? Let me see! What does 'broken flower' mean?"

As Yue Feng took the eagle out of the net, he explained, "Po Hua is an eagle that has molted after leaving the nest!"

In terms of time, this eagle hatched last spring and left the nest, so it is now about one year and a few months old!

This broken flower eagle is more unruly than the fledgling eagle of yesteryear, and it takes more effort to tame it!

However, there are advantages and disadvantages; the hunting skills of the broken-flower hawk are far superior to those of a fledgling hawk!

"What about this one in front of us? How about it?" Xiao Weimin asked, his eyes fixed on the eagle in Yue Feng's hand.

Yue Feng looked at it carefully for a few moments, then shook his head.

"It's not very good. The skeleton structure, feather texture, and overall quality are all just average. There's nothing particularly outstanding about it!"

The spotted hawk we caught at noon, after a year of raising it and it molted, basically looks like this shabby spotted hawk now!

"Then there's no need for this eagle to stay, right?"

"Yes, it has no value for domestication! Are you guys filming? I want to release it again!"

"Xiao Li and Xiao Tian are still at odds!"

After receiving a confirmation, Yue Feng nodded, took the eagle from the net, and released it directly above his head.

"Did you capture all the footage from just now? It's getting dark, let's head down the mountain!" Yue Feng asked.

"Let's go down the mountain! We'll go back and review the footage we shot during the day!"

At Xiao Weimin's call, everyone got to work.

After quickly tidying up their equipment, the five of them descended the mountain along the path that led uphill.

Having a car makes going up and down the mountain very convenient.

After carrying their equipment down the mountain, the group got into a car and drove along the Chaiji Road, soon leaving the mountain.

"Let's not eat at home tonight, let's go into town! Let's try one of my restaurants in town!" Yue Feng invited.

"Are you at a restaurant in the city?"

“Yes! The first individual business license in Fengcheng was mine! My older brother and sister-in-law are in charge now. I already sent word to them this morning that we'll go straight there when we come down the mountain!”

“Okay, then I’ll do as you say!” Xiao Weimin nodded in agreement.

The two Jeeps 212s did not enter the village. Instead, under Yue Feng's direction, they made several turns onto the rural road and headed straight for the Fengcheng Hotel, located south of Fengcheng city.

At this moment, it was time for diners to have their meals at Fengcheng Hotel.

The store was doing quite well, and there were many cars from various organizations parked in the open space outside.

The 212 Jeep stopped in the parking area in front of the hotel. Yue Feng led Xiao Weimin and the other three out of the car and went straight to the hotel lobby.

"Xiao Feng, the guests have arrived?" The eldest sister-in-law greeted Yue Feng with a smile as soon as she saw him.

"Oh, sister-in-law, this is Director Xiao Weimin from our CCTV production team! Director Xiao, this is my sister-in-law, Chen Hong!"

After recognizing the person in question, Chen Hong immediately put on a professional smile: "Welcome, welcome, Teacher Xiao, to our restaurant for guidance. Your presence is an honor to our humble establishment!"

"Quickly, Xiaoyun, take the guests to Tianzi No. 1. They've come all this way, they should try our food!"

Xiao Weimin smiled and nodded: "I'm sorry to have troubled you. Xiaofeng and I are friends, there's no need for us to be so polite!"

The waitress, Xiaoyun, led a few people into the inner hall, directly through the backyard, and arrived at the largest private room in the main house of the north building.

From the moment they entered, Xiao Weimin and the three members of the film crew accompanying him were quietly observing various details of the restaurant.

For example, the cars of various organizations parked outside, the price list of dishes next to the lobby, the interior furnishings and decorations, and the guests starting to eat in the private rooms, etc.

Through very simple observation, the group of people came to a very consistent answer.

The Fengcheng Grand Hotel in Yuefeng is definitely considered a top-tier hotel in the area.

While this style may not be as sophisticated as some of the top hotels in Beijing, it is still not to be underestimated, with the owner's thoughtful touches evident in every detail.

After entering the house and taking a seat, Xiao Weimin said with a smile, "I didn't expect your restaurant to be just as good as the ones in Beijing!"

As Yue Feng poured tea, he waved his hand and said, "Don't tell me that!"
In the spring, I went to the capital to visit friends. The food here is quite different from that in the capital, but we have plenty of fresh wild game from the mountains!
In terms of the refinement of the dishes, there's a significant difference!

"Xiaofeng is being too modest! I just glanced at the prices, and your prices aren't exactly affordable for the average person! Those who can afford to eat here are basically all either rich or powerful!"

"Hehe, let's talk behind closed doors, I don't need to hold back from you!"
Our main pillar industries in Fengcheng are forestry and mining! These sectors are very lucrative and have a lot of funding, so it's not good if the leaders don't eat poorly!
If you try to find a place in Beijing to eat authentic Northeastern cuisine, no matter how skilled the chef is, it won't be quite authentic!

But it's different here. When the dishes start serving, let's try my chef's cooking!

"to make!"

After a brief exchange, the waiter quickly started serving the dishes.

Because Yue Feng had made prior arrangements, the standard of hospitality that evening was quite high.

Long-tailed pheasant, deer lips, bear paw, grouse, matsutake mushroom, monkey head mushroom, forest frog, Solomon's seal and wild boar meat.

These rare and high-quality mountain ingredients, which are considered quite difficult to find in Northeastern cuisine, were all served.

The taste of food prepared at home using traditional farm methods is completely different from that prepared by a professional chef.

Having already eaten at Yue Feng's house several times, Xiao Weimin and his three companions saw one exquisite dish after another being served, each with its own unique style and flavor, and their impression of Yue Feng began to subtly change.

"Hehe, when we eat here, we're not so particular about the drinks!"

I've stored a few bottles of homemade liquor on the shelf!
When filming outdoors, climbing and lying in the snow, it's good for everyone's legs and joints to feel uncomfortable after a long time!

As Yue Feng spoke, he placed two one-jin (500ml) bottles of unbranded liquor on the table.

The wine has a slightly yellowish tint, and you can vaguely see unknown powdery impurities inside.

Xiao Weimin knew there must be something more to it, so he generously placed the wine glass in front of Yue Feng and filled it to the brim.

"Xiao Yue, what kind of wine is this?"

"This bottle is tiger bone wine! I personally hunted it by hand for about ten days in the mountains the winter before last! These days, I've been drinking it myself and giving it to friends, so my stock is almost gone!"
The other bottle, slightly lighter in color, is leopard bone wine! I also had someone make it for me! It takes a little longer to work, but it's still effective! Everyone, please don't be shy, try some!

Hearing this, Xiao Weimin nodded, and the team members exchanged silent glances. Xiao Tian, ​​who doesn't drink, also poured himself a glass.

Having tasted the Moutai served at the state banquet, I must now try this authentic tiger bone and leopard bone wine!

Just then, the last and most impressive dish, boiled pork belly, was served, and all the dishes were complete!
"Don't just stand there, everyone! You've been busy all day, let's eat first, get some fresh air before we drink!"

……

With Yue Feng maintaining control, the atmosphere in the room quickly eased.

After a few drinks, the group became noticeably more talkative.

At the dinner table, Xiao Weimin asked Yue Feng a lot of questions about birds of prey, such as how to train eagles, how to hunt them, and what details were involved.

When discussing professional issues, Yue Feng performed flawlessly, citing numerous examples and speaking eloquently.

The five of them were quite satisfied with the dinner. They finished both bottles of wine, and each person drank less than half a jin (250ml) on average. No one got drunk, and they were all full enough to drive home without any problems.

Just after 8:30 p.m., Yue Feng and Xiao Weimin's team left the restaurant, started their car, and went home to rest.

The next morning, Yue Feng got up on time and started playing with the eagle in the yard.

Hearing the commotion, Xiao Weimin also got up early.

This time, instead of continuing his casual conversation with Yue Feng, he checked the fully charged equipment and used the equipment at home to examine the quality of the footage more carefully.

Overall, we managed to capture footage of the two eagles being caught in the net yesterday. However, the quality of the footage was slightly lower in the evening due to the dim lighting, resulting in a less desirable final product.

While having breakfast, Yue Feng asked, "Director Xiao, how's the quality of the footage we shot yesterday? Shall we go up the mountain to catch eagles again today?"

"Yes! Keep catching eagles! The footage of the eagle from the evening wasn't very good; the lighting was a bit off. I should have listened to you and gone down the mountain earlier. The image quality was just so-so!"

"Hehe, it's okay, let's go again today! You guys aren't in a hurry anyway!"
Today I don't need to carry the tools for building the shelter; I brought a few thermos flasks with me when I went into the mountains, so everyone can have a hot drink!

"No need for that trouble. We've been doing this for years, we're not that delicate!"

……

Whether he was delicate or not is unknown, but when Yue Feng finished eating and prepared to go into the mountains, he still brought two large thermos flasks filled with boiling water.

At least, being able to drink some hot water at lunchtime makes me feel more comfortable.

After breakfast, following the same route up the mountain as yesterday, Yue Feng was a little excited as soon as he entered the mountain.

The mountain winds today are at least level four to five, and if you go to the eagle-catching area at the top of Tiger Head Mountain, they will be one to two levels stronger.

This kind of weather is perfect for eagle hunting; with a bit of luck, you might catch a good catch!
The weather was nice, and my expectations were high, so I was in an exceptionally good mood.

When carrying the thermos up the mountain, Yue Feng whistled and seemed relatively cheerful.

"Xiao Yue, what's going on? You seem pretty happy today. What good news do you have to share with me?" Xiao Weimin asked with a smile.

"It's nothing much, it's just that it's windy today, so there are definitely more eagles than yesterday!! If we're lucky, we might even finish filming all the eagle-catching footage in one day!"

"Are you so confident?"

"Of course, the weather wasn't that good yesterday, but we still managed to catch two eagles!"
I overlooked one piece of information: this autumn has a leap month, so strictly speaking, it's not yet the tail end of the eagles' migration. We might even encounter a large second wave of birds of prey passing through!

What does "second tier" mean?

"Birds of prey actually have a very wide range of activity! For a medium-sized eagle to survive, it needs at least tens or hundreds of acres of forest territory!"
With a larger territory, it means that when they sense the migration and aggregation of weather information, they do not migrate in a concentrated manner!

Taking our area as an example, the first wave of eagles usually starts from the old forests of Changbai Mountain.

The second group may be further north, to forests in Russia, or even further north to breed eagles.

They generally arrive here ten days to half a month later! That's why they're called the second echelon!

"Are eagles from different places the same species?" After listening to the explanation, Xiao Weimin asked another simple question.

"The species are the same, but the subspecies may be different!"
Take goshawks for example. The female goshawks bred here only grow to about 2.2 to 2.5 pounds!

Occasionally, you might encounter a large blue eagle, weighing at most two pounds and seven or eight ounces!
However, the female goshawks that roam in Siberia can grow to weigh more than three pounds or even less than four pounds!

The color is also noticeably different; in our line of work, we call that kind of eagle a "grass-white eagle!"

"Three or four pounds? That means it's almost twice the size of an ordinary eagle?"

"Yes! But when it comes to simply taming and hunting, bigger isn't always better for eagles!"

There are good eagles among the white eagles, but ordinary eagles make up a larger proportion!

These ordinary white falcons are all big and strong, but they fly slowly and are clumsy when working. They are not well-regarded by falconers in China!

"Okay, I understand!"

……

Yue Feng and his group chatted quietly as they climbed up the mountain, arriving at the hunting grounds where they had caught eagles the day before, before seven o'clock.

Once everyone was in position, Yue Feng tied the bait pigeons to the eagle's crook, then set up the bird watching area. After checking that the netting was in good condition, he also went into the shed.

While setting up the eagle-catching area, Yue Feng saw a few birds of prey flying by in the distance. After everyone had finished setting up the nets and retreated into the shed, Yue Feng was quite confident in his ability to catch the eagles.

“Today might be a good day for eagles to fly! I just saw at least two eagles fly over our heads!” Yue Feng said to Xiao Weimin.

"That's great! We can catch more good eagles, train them, and get them working in the fields. We can also shoot more good footage!"
If possible, please get me one. I'll take it back and give it away as a gift!

"No problem! I have plenty of eagles at home. Both cages of eagles are in good health, and the eagle hunting team is using them for hunting as usual!"
"I have no need for the newly caught eagle. If you want to take it back as a gift when you leave, I can check it out for you; it's definitely not shabby!"

The two were huddled together in their shack, whispering to each other, when they saw the tiger on the pole. Instantly, their fur tightened, and they stood motionless on the pole with very wary eyes.

"An eagle is coming!" Yue Feng muttered, and immediately pulled the pigeon tied to the eagle's crutch.

The pigeons seemed to have seen the eagle in the sky as well. Despite Yue Feng pulling them twice, they only flapped their wings symbolically, squatted on the ground, and looked up without moving.

Seeing this, Yue Feng became curious and looked up through the observation hole to glance at the sky.

At a low altitude of about thirty meters, a huge dark shadow had already set up its decoy and was closely watching the pigeons below.

There was an eagle, and a big one at that! (End of Chapter)