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

Seeing that Yue Feng and Jin Long's expressions didn't seem like they were joking, Li Fulin nodded: "I remember the phone number. Lao Liu, where can we make a call here?"

Little Eagle Liu replied, "Go to the post office outside the alley, you can make a call! It's not far from here! What's up, Xiao Feng, that thing Old Li was talking about earlier, could it be a good bird?"

Yue Feng nodded: "I can't be 100% sure without seeing the items, but whether it's an Altaic falcon or a grey gyrfalcon, they're both valuable. It's worth making contact!"

Li Fulin said, "Then let's not waste any more time, let's go make the call first!"

"go!"

Old Li carefully placed the two rabbits and tigers that were perched on his knees onto the back of the chair and tied them with five feet. Then he said to the dog lying next to him, "Keep an eye on our eagle at home, don't let it cause any trouble!"

Upon hearing their owner's command, the two greyhounds immediately shifted from a lazy state to a focused one, changing from a lying down position to a squatting position.

The two dogs squatted down on either side of the chair, like two door gods.

"Let's go!" Li Fulin called out, and the four of them filed out.

After leaving the main gate, Grandpa Liu led the group a few more steps along the alley, turned a corner onto the main road, crossed the main road diagonally, and walked less than a hundred meters to the post office.

After paying the fee and dialing twice, the call was finally connected.

Hearing the "hello" from the other end, Li Fulin replied, "Hello, is this Jiangjiayan Village Office? I'm Li Fulin, a friend of Liu Dapeng from your village. I visited your village to see the eagles a few days ago!"

Could you please have Liu Dapeng call me back? I need to speak to him urgently!

"It's the Jiangjiayan Village Office. Wait a moment, I'll send someone to find him! Call back in five minutes!"

"it is good!"

With a click, the phone was disconnected, leaving only a busy tone in the receiver.

"I've gone to call for backup. Call back in five minutes!" Li Fulin said.

Yue Feng nodded: "Then let's wait patiently!"

The four people waited patiently for five minutes, then dialed again. It rang for a full twenty seconds before being answered, albeit a beat late.

"It's me, Liu Dapeng. Master Li, is there something you need?"

"Old Liu, did you sell that eagle you had?"

"I'm still keeping it! What, have you changed your mind?"

Master Li, I'm not bragging, but this is definitely a good eagle. I've been catching eagles for so many years, I can tell the difference.

A buyer from Tianjin came to see it the day before yesterday. Eagle liked it, but felt the price wasn't right. To be frank, if you're interested, you'd better hurry, otherwise someone else will buy it, and it'll be too late to regret it!

Liu Dapeng, on the other end of the phone, began his aggressive sales pitch in just a few words.

Li Fulin patiently listened to the other person finish speaking, and then said, "This thing isn't in my village, but my friend heard about it and wants to go check it out!"

“If someone as skilled as you can’t tell, how would your friend recognize it? The gray spear is a gyrfalcon, which was a rare commodity in ancient times, something you could only dream of!” Liu Dapeng continued.

"Whatever kind of bird it is, we'll talk about it when we get there! You keep the bird, and we'll discuss the price when we arrive!"

"Okay, you've asked, so I'll definitely do as you say! But I can only keep it for three days at most. If someone else asks, I can't keep it indefinitely!"

"Okay! Three days it is! That's all for now, bye!"

……

After hanging up the call, Liu Fulin said to Yue Feng and Jin Long, "The eagle is still in our hands. They agreed to keep it for three days!"

Yue Feng nodded, turned to Jin Long, and asked, "Young Master Jin, is Brother Jun in the capital? Why don't we give him a call?"

Jinlong nodded: "He said he'd be back today, but I'm not sure if he's come back yet. Don't you have his phone number? Call him at work and home to ask!"

Yue Feng: "Okay, let's ask!"

Yue Feng took the phone and then first called Ye Jianjun's landline in the capital.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"It's me, Brother Jun, it's Xiaofeng!" Yue Feng recognized Ye Jianjun's voice from the call.

"It's Xiaofeng! Where are you now? Xiaojun told me you came to the capital?"

"Yes, we're in the capital! Jin Shao and I came to visit Uncle Liu. We need to talk to you about something. Do you have some free time in the next day or two?"

"What's up? What is it? Tell me first! I'm a bit busy right now, I might have to go out of town tomorrow!"

"Grandpa Liu has a friend in Tianjin. When we were chatting just now, he said that he saw a hawk that looked like a gray eagle in Hebei a few days ago!"
After listening to his description, I suspected it was either the Gray Spear or the Altai Falcon!
Both are great stuff! I was thinking of asking you if you're interested. If you're interested, let my Uncle Li take us to see them!

"What the heck? I know what a Grey Spear is, but what kind of species is the Altai Falcon?" Ye Jianjun was slightly taken aback when he heard the news and asked with some confusion.

"An intermediate species resulting from the natural hybridization of the saker falcon and the gyrfalcon! If you encounter one in Hebei, it's most likely a vagrant! This creature is a raptor native to the Altai Plateau region and is quite tolerant of both barren and high-altitude environments. If the specimen is of good quality, it's a perfect match for those white-robed birds!"

After hearing this explanation, Ye Jianjun decisively said, "Where are you? I'll come right over! Hebei, right? We can get there in a little over two hours by car!"

"We're in Bird Market! The post office called you!"

"Wait here, I'm coming over! I'm hanging up now!"

Ye Jianjun is known for his decisive and efficient work style. After hearing Yue Feng's explanation, he resolutely decided to go there himself.

"Brother Jianjun, come on over there, let's wait here!"

"Okay! Just wait! Five people, we can squeeze into one car and get there!"

Jinlong paid for the phone call, and then the four of them waited patiently in a sheltered spot next to the post office.

Li Fulin glanced at Yue Feng with some curiosity: "Who was that person you just called? Was he also in the industry?"

Yue Feng grinned: "I guess so! Like Young Master Jin, we're both natives of the capital and like tinkering with these things!"

Having said that, Li Fulin didn't ask any more questions. After all, at his age, there was a generation gap between him and a young master like Jinlong.

Old Li knew that in this day and age, people who could afford to drive cars were not ordinary people. If the other person had their own phone and a car, their status must be extraordinary; they might even be from a powerful and influential family.

After waiting for about ten minutes, when everyone's feet were numb with cold, a car came speeding from a distance and stopped abruptly in front of Yue Feng and his companions.

"Brother Jun!" Yue Feng greeted him.

"You're all here, Uncle Liu! And what's your name, Mr. Li?" Ye Jianjun greeted them a few times and smiled at Li Fulin in a friendly manner.

"My surname is Li, Li Fulin, and I'm Lao Liu's friend!"

"Hello Uncle Li, shall we just take one car and go straight there? Do you know the area?" "Yes!"

"Get in the car, we'll talk about everything else on the way!"

Soon, everyone got into the car. Ye Jianjun drove straight onto the main road and sped off, leaving everyone else in the dust.

On the way, Ye Jianjun and Yue Feng inquired about the general situation in more detail.

Li Fulin and Ye Jianjun were somewhat unfamiliar with each other, but Brother Jun was used to dealing with outsiders, so his tone and demeanor were quite low-key. After a short conversation, the atmosphere gradually became more familiar.

First, leave the city, then take the national highway, heading straight for Hebei province.

There was no navigation system in this day and age, but Ye Jianjun was not afraid to drive out at all. He just determined the general direction and location and drove there. It was clear that he was used to driving around.

The drive took two and a half hours. After arriving at the area Li Fulin had mentioned, it took another half hour to drive to the town where the other party lived.

Around 2 PM, the group of us, having skipped lunch, drove straight to our destination.

Upon arriving in the village, Li Fulin directed the way and parked directly in front of Liu Dapeng's house.

This village is quite backward, with all those mud-brick houses. Hearing the car engine, the guard dog in the yard started barking.

Everyone got out of the car; some relieved themselves in the water, while others stretched their muscles. Just then, a person walked out of the courtyard.

“Master Li!!” Liu Dapeng recognized Li Fulin at a glance.

"We didn't even eat when we heard the news, we drove straight here!" Li Fulin said with a smile as he shook hands with the other party.

Liu Dapeng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the others without making a sound.

Of the five people, besides Old Li, Grandpa Liu is an elderly man, while Yue Feng, Jin Long, and Ye Jianjun all look like young men.

Subconsciously, Liu Dapeng assumed that the main character was Grandpa Liu!

"Who is this? What's your name?"

"We're from the same family, and I also share the surname Liu. I'm Liu Yunfeng, nicknamed Little Eagle Liu!"

"Hello, hello! Everyone, come inside quickly, it's cold outside!" Liu Dapeng shook hands with Xiao Ying Liu and led the group inside.

The three young men didn't seem to care about Liu Dapeng's inability to recognize the person in question. They followed him into the courtyard and then went into the north room first.

"We're home now, but we haven't eaten yet. Shall we have something hot to eat first?" Liu Dapeng asked politely.

"Don't rush to eat, let's check on the eagle first," Grandpa Liu said calmly.

"Alright, let's go see the eagles! Let's go to the shed!"

Liu Dapeng was the first to leave the house, leading everyone directly to the south room of the side room.

This south-facing room is quite different from the warehouses in Northeast China. It is lower and has no partitions inside. Along the walls on both sides of the shed, there are two rows of tethering poles for hawks.

Even though it's already winter, there are still quite a few eagles inside.

Yue Feng glanced at them casually and saw three large eagles: a former falcon and a male golden eagle wearing a hat.

Underneath the bar used to tether the hawk and on the back wall are the remnants of years of hawk tethering, with large patches of white marks left by the hawk striking the bar.

With so many people following them into the shed, the eagles on the perch became a little nervous, but Liu Dapeng didn't seem to care at all, letting the eagles flap their wings as they pleased.

He walked at the front, came to a separate platform in the northwest corner of the shed, and carried a large gray creature in his hands.

With just one glance, Yue Feng knew he had come to the right place!
It is a subadult female Altai falcon.

Having spent a long time in contact with gyrfalcons, Yue Feng is extremely familiar with their distinctive features and details.

Yue Feng was very familiar with the appearance of the falcon.

The details of this eagle's plumage, skeleton, and head and face are so clear that even with the naked eye, one can see that it has characteristics of both a saker falcon and some details of a gyrfalcon.

"Look, this is the eagle!" Liu Dapeng held up the eagle and looked at the little eagle, Liu.

Little Eagle Liu stared straight ahead, scrutinizing the boy for a long time without saying a word.

Half a minute later, he slowly turned to Yue Feng and asked, "Xiao Feng, what do you think of this eagle?"

Yue Feng grinned, knowing that the old man was trying to make him look good.

When buying an eagle from a stranger, regardless of whether you're genuinely interested, you shouldn't flatter them or only praise their strengths without mentioning their weaknesses. Otherwise, the seller will think they've got you figured out and will demand an exorbitant price, making the deal difficult to close.

Yue Feng pursed his lips, saying with a hint of regret, "I thought it was really the Gray Spear! It's a bit disappointing!"

“You handsome young man, do you even know anything about eagles? This is a fine bird, a proper grey gyrfalcon!” Liu Dapeng immediately objected when he heard Yue Feng say it was almost a quail.

Jinlong said quietly from the side, "Master Liu, don't you watch TV? You're saying my buddy doesn't understand eagles?"

"Watching TV? What TV? We're talking about eagles here, what does this have to do with TV!" Liu Dapeng said, puzzled.

“My buddy is a genuine, family-trained falconer, he’s even been on a CCTV documentary! Yue Feng, Master Yue!” Jinlong continued.

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, Liu Dapeng turned his head and carefully examined Yue Feng.

He had heard more than one friend mention documentaries about falconry on TV, but since he didn't have a TV at home, Liu Dapeng hadn't watched any of them.

Unexpectedly, now that the person in question is right in front of him, he's questioning their understanding of eagles—isn't that ridiculous?

"Haha, you don't need to feel pressured! I can make mistakes too! But this thing is definitely not a gray spear!" Yue Feng grinned and calmly shook his head.

"What kind of falcon is it? It's definitely not an ordinary saker falcon. I go up the mountain to catch eagles every year, and I handle dozens or even hundreds of rabbits and tigers every year, but I've never seen one of this quality! They all say it's a Grey Spear!" Liu Dapeng's tone was noticeably gentler.

Yue Feng explained calmly, "This is an Altai falcon! You can think of it as a small subspecies of saker falcon found in high-altitude regions! It's native to the Altai region of Xinjiang, so in our inland areas, it's essentially a vagrant bird!"

"Altaic falcon? Is this thing valuable?" Liu Dapeng muttered to himself as he learned the specific species of this eagle for the first time.

Yue Feng continued, half-jokingly, "It's valuable, after all, scarcity makes things valuable! But it's also worthless, because this thing is often overvalued. Traditional rabbit-and-swan hunters, training them to work on the ground, don't quite fit the bill!"

"This..." Upon hearing these words, Liu Dapeng felt a chill run down his spine.

The rabbit-tiger will also play around with it. It knows that rabbits and tigers that are working don't need to climb high. When working with hunting dogs, it is basically a low-altitude combat state close to that of a boxer. Climbing high is of little use.

"Uncle Liu, Uncle Li, let's go back!"

At this moment, Yue Feng turned his head and glanced at the two of them, while subtly giving them a meaningful look. (End of this chapter)