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

Without comparison, there is no harm done; the old saying is very true.

In the past two days, Xiao Weimin has personally witnessed more than one eagle. Yue Feng alone caught two chicken eagles and three or four kites.

Xiao Weimin has closely observed and is familiar with the size of the claws of different birds of prey.

Although I've never seen a female goshawk catching rabbits, there are chicken hawks there to compare, so the difference wouldn't be too exaggerated.

However, looking at the top-grade grass-white eagle that Yue Feng is currently controlling, its thick and large talons are about the same size as the talons of the big black eagle at home, and each finger bone is even thicker.

In Xiao Weimin's limited knowledge, the only creatures comparable in size to these claws, besides the great black eagle, were the male golden eagle he had seen in Inner Mongolia.

"These claws look really thick! Look at the nails, the nails on the door claws are at least one and a half centimeters long!" Xiao Weimin couldn't help but exclaim.

Yue Feng nodded: "Indeed rare! This eagle must be a good worker! Judging by its size, I estimate it weighs over three and a half pounds!"

"Hehe, shall we keep catching them?"

Xiao Weimin's gaze fell on the eagle, and he asked with a pleasant expression.

Yue Feng turned to Xiao Weimin: "This eagle is definitely enough for training to break through the encirclement. You can continue, or you can pack up and go down the mountain immediately. The decision is yours."

Xiao Weimin scratched his head: "Otherwise, let's stay until four or five o'clock before going down the mountain. If we go back early at this time, there's nothing to do!"

The weather's so nice today, who knows, maybe we can catch another top-quality eagle!

Xiao Weimin said this, but he also had his own ulterior motives.

If he could catch another eagle, he wouldn't feel guilty taking this top-quality white eagle when he left after filming.

But if there's only this one eagle, and he takes it, then Yue Feng's efforts will have been in vain, and he'll end up with nothing.

Yue Feng deduced this from Xiao Weimin's expression and tone, but he didn't expose it.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. Let's stay on the mountain for a few more hours! We'll come down before dark, and maybe we can shoot one or two more sets of better footage!"

This eagle is a bit big. Xiao Zhang, could you do me a favor and get a large eagle-patterned jacket from the inside of my bag?

"Let's hurry up and catch this top-quality white eagle. We finally caught it, so we can't let it get away!"

Xiao Zhang nodded upon hearing the greeting, and immediately began rummaging through the shack. After finding the eagle-feathered jacket, he took it and went to Yue Feng.

With such a large eagle, a normal-sized eagle quilt is not easy to handle. What we are using now is the large-sized eagle quilt we used last time we caught a golden eagle.

With Xiao Zhang's help, Yue Feng and his companion successfully secured the eagle and temporarily brought it under control.

This big guy is quite bold. Even though he was completely wrapped up in the eagle's coat and couldn't move, he only let out a couple of cries when he was caught.

Back in the shack, Xiao Weimin and Xiao Zhang kept checking on Xihan. The white eagle kept its eyes fixed on the approaching crowd, but didn't utter a single cry.

With this top-quality white eagle as a safety net, everyone on the mountain has experienced a change in mindset.

If we can catch them, we will; if not, we'll let it go. We'll head down the mountain around four or five o'clock; we've already completed our mission ahead of schedule.

After Yue Feng and Xiao Weimin finished setting up the netting mechanism and returned to the shed, Yue Feng saw the pigeons lying motionless on the ground. He slapped his forehead and crawled out of the shed again.

"What's wrong, Xiao Yue?" Xiao Weimin asked with concern.

Yue Feng picked up the pigeon and examined it carefully before shaking his head at Xiao Weimin.

Just now, when the white eagle swooped down to attack, its huge steel talons gripped the pigeon, causing internal injuries and bleeding from its beak. It was clear that the pigeon was not going to survive.

Yue Feng untied the vest off the dead pigeon, then took a spare pigeon, tied it up, and crouched down to crawl back into the shed.

"That eagle's claws are so vicious! It crushed the pigeon it was using as bait! Look at that!"

As he spoke, Yue Feng plucked the feathers from the injured part of the pigeon, revealing the underside.

"Where is it? Let me take a look!"

Soon, guided by Yue Feng, Xiao Weimin saw the wounds on the pigeon's back caused by the white eagle's claws.

There are four wedge-shaped notches, all deep enough to expose the bone.

An eagle's claws can pierce through a pigeon, which is an absolute fatal wound.

"Amazing! Just a simple grab, and the pigeon is dead! If that eagle claw were to grab a person's hand, wouldn't it leave four bloody holes?" Xiao Weimin couldn't help but exclaim.

Yue Feng nodded: "Judging from this situation, even ordinary eagle cage sleeves at home may not be safe. If someone manages to grab it firmly and pierce through the sleeve, their hand will definitely be injured!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a treasure!" Xiao Weimin exclaimed in amazement, his eyes shining even brighter as he looked at the white eagle.

Over the next three hours, more eagles visited the eagle-hunting shop.

A two-year-old designated subspecies pigeon tiger (male peregrine falcon), and a sub-adult male rough-legged buzzard.

These were all raptors unsuitable for training; they were captured and released immediately without being taken down the mountain. However, this provided the film crew with two more pieces of decent footage.

At 4:30 pm, Yue Feng glanced at the setting sun and said, "How about we call it a day? We've caught the eagle and filmed enough footage! I'll pack up the nets and stuff, and then we'll head down the mountain!"

Xiao Weimin nodded: "Okay, that's more than enough material! At least four or five pieces of high-quality material!"
Don't laugh at me, but when I set off this morning, I was a little unsure of myself. I was prepared to stay on the mountain for a few more days, but I exceeded my goal in just one day!

Yue Feng grinned: "Hehe, let's pack our things and head down the mountain!!!"

Once the decision was made, the filming team and Yue Feng's side got busy.

There's no need to worry about the shacks or anything like that; just leave them. They'll be useful when we go up the mountain again in the future.

After tidying up the odds and ends they had brought up the mountain, mainly organizing the limited tools such as the net and the hawk's crook, the group of five descended the mountain.

Having caught a top-notch falcon, Yue Feng and Xiao Weimin were in high spirits. The group hummed tunes as they carried their equipment down the mountain and soon arrived at their parking spot.

After loading the truck and heading down the mountain, the road was smooth, and they soon arrived back at Yuefeng's new home in Xing'an Village.

At this time, the family has already started preparing dinner.

In the kitchen, a large pot of roe deer meat was stewing, and Yue Feng's mother-in-law and mother were preparing ingredients for dinner.

Seeing her son and the film crew return so early, Meng Yulan put down her work and came out to greet them. "Xiaofeng, why are you back so early? The food isn't ready in the kitchen yet!"

Yue Feng grinned: "Hehe, no rush for dinner, Mom. We caught a top-quality white eagle, which is enough material for our filming, so we came down early!"

"A top-quality eagle? Where is it? Let me see!" Hearing the noise, Wang Xiaona also pushed open the bedroom door and came out.

Yue Feng didn't hide anything. He opened his bag and took out a large white eagle that was noticeably a size larger.

"Look! This eagle looks a little different from the eagles we have at home, doesn't it?"

Wang Xiaona and Meng Yulan glanced at each other, both looking somewhat surprised.

Because Yue Feng had been handling eagles for years, Wang Xiaona and Meng Yulan were also considered experts, keeping both small and large eagles at home year-round, but none of them looked like the white eagle in front of them.

"What kind of breed is this? It's much bigger than the eagle we have in our cage! It's almost as big as a big black eagle!" Wang Xiaona asked.

Yue Feng explained, "This is called a grass eagle! It's a goshawk that breeds near the Siberian primeval forests in Russia! Look at its size, it's a size bigger than our ordinary eagles!"

"You all wait here, I'll go get the scales and weigh out the weight for Yingyao's descent down the mountain!"

Yue Feng greeted them, then turned and went to the side room in the courtyard, taking an old-fashioned scale back to the north room.

Once he had a good eye on the scale, Yue Feng placed the eagle on the tray and then skillfully slid the weight down.

With the eagle-feathered jacket, it weighs three jin and seven and a half liang!

After deducting about one or two ounces of eagle-feathered jacket, it weighed approximately three jin and six and a half ounces, which was almost exactly the same as the weight Yue Feng estimated by hand on the mountain, with only a half-ounce difference.

"I knew it! It felt like it weighed about three pounds and six ounces! After the skin was removed, it was definitely three pounds and six and a half ounces!" Yue Feng said with a grin.

"Tsk tsk, your guess was pretty accurate!" Xiao Weimin couldn't help but exclaim.

Yue Feng took the eagle down, put the scale back and put it away, and habitually went into the house to get the eagle's leg straps and other eagle equipment that had been made in advance.

After searching through the pile of eagle-foot tripods, Yue Feng scratched his head and came out with only the lower half of the matching five-foot toad-shaped spinning top.

“This eagle’s claws are too thick. The eagle leg wedges we have at home are no good; they’re too tight! Let’s make a new pair for it before it gets dark,” Yue Feng suggested.

Footage of falconry equipment being made on-site is a great highlight of documentaries. Xiao Weimin nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "Sure! How long will it take? If we finish too late, we'll need to set up the fill lights in advance!"

Yue Feng laughed and said, "It won't take more than half an hour! It's just two eagle tripods, very quick! You guys set up the equipment first, I'll find some materials to make the tripods!"

"Row!"

After a brief conversation, Yue Feng went inside to find the cotton thread used to trip someone.

First, cut cotton thread of appropriate length from the wire hoop, then soak it thoroughly in clean water, and then start winding and stranding the thread step by step.

After completing the preparations, Yue Feng used a wire to tie the divided cotton thread together and fix it to the door frame. Then, he sat on the chair and began to play a game of tripping over his feet.

For Yue Feng, tripping an eagle is a skill he can do with his eyes closed, but the film crew was extremely curious as they watched Yue Feng perform a series of actions that seemed like magic.

As the knots are gradually added, the length of the main body of the tripod begins to increase slowly.

In about fifteen minutes, the complete eagle was finished by using cotton thread to tie its feet.

Yue Feng was very satisfied with his work. He held the foot tripper at the very bottom and picked it up to show it to the camera lens.

"Look, how does the first tripod look?" Yue Feng asked confidently.

Xiao Weimin took it and examined it for a few moments. He felt that the tripod was very hard. When he pinched the bottom, the top was still as straight as iron wire. Each knot was tightly connected, and it was impossible to pry it open even with a needle.

"The item is very well made! And its shape is quite neat! Is there any story behind it?"

Yue Feng smiled and nodded, explaining, "An eagle's beak is very sharp, and although the materials used to make the tripod are very ordinary, we can't be careless in making it!"

If the eagle is loosely attached to the ground, it won't last long before being completely destroyed, and then the eagle will escape, leaving you with nowhere to cry!

"So what are the techniques involved? I feel that what you made is exceptionally dense! If ordinary eagle enthusiasts want to learn how to make it, what should they pay attention to?" Xiao Weimin continued to ask.

"There are actually some tricks to this! I won't keep them to myself, I'll tell you all about them, so pay more attention when you try to do it yourself!"
To make the tripods dense enough, the first thing is to soak them in water to make them wet!
When wet cotton thread is used for making, it is pressed more tightly, so it will not be too fluffy after it dries.

If you use dry cotton thread, no matter how tightly you tighten the knots, the finished product will always be loose and not quite right!
The second tip is that when folding the buttons, you need to apply a little more pressure to the hook of each corresponding fingertip than the other fingers! This will make it tighter!
As long as you pay attention to these two points, the tripping you create will be sturdy enough!
Okay, now that we've covered the trick, there's another one. For those viewers who haven't learned it yet, pay attention to the details!

Yue Feng spoke eloquently to the camera, explaining the details before immediately repeating the previous production process.

After another ten minutes or so of quick outlining, the second eagle-foot tripod of the same quality was finished.

If you pinch the two tripods together and compare them, their total lengths are almost identical.

Xiao Weimin saw through the trick and asked curiously, "Hey, I didn't see you use a ruler to measure it? How did you know it would be the same length? I thought there would be some error!"

"The error is very small, practically nonexistent!"
The principle is simple: for different body parts, you need to silently count the number of buttons in your mind!

The logic is like knitting a sweater! The more buttons you have, the longer the sweater will be! If two sweaters have the same number of buttons, they will naturally be the same length!

Practice makes perfect; just keep practicing!

Well, not only did he cooperate with the filming, but he also chatted with the people next to him, and Yue Feng was able to multitask and count the numbers in his mind. That's amazing.

"The hawk's leg straps are done. Give me a hand and let's put them on! We don't have much time, so I'll start preparing them tonight and let's light the lamp for it!" Yue Feng called out.

Soon, with the help of his companions, Yue Feng dressed the eagle in a complete set of costumes, including the white eagle's feet, the five-foot toad, and more.

After confirming that the costume was complete, Yue Feng put on the leather gloves he used to use when training the black eagle, then untied the white eagle and set it up for the first time in front of the camera and everyone.

Well, now that this big guy is free from the eagle's coat, his first reaction is to try to escape.

Its powerful wings flapped like a fan, and the dramatic changes in wind pressure could be felt even from half a meter away.

Yue Feng stretched out his arms and let the eagle wriggle around. After the force eased slightly and it was hanging upside down, he slowly supported the eagle's back and helped it stand up again on his hands.

Yue Feng looked at Xiao Weimin and asked with a smile, "Tsk tsk, what do you think of this eagle?" (End of this chapter)