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

"Can you win Moutai liquor by flying eagles and using lucky draws?"

Upon hearing the meaning behind Jinlong's words, Li Fulin's somewhat cloudy eyes immediately lit up.

Li Fulin might not be so interested in just money, but if the prize is Moutai, then it's a different story for this connoisseur.

Despite Yue Feng's efforts to smooth things over, the case of Moutai given by Ye Jianjun was still a gift to repay a favor. Li Fulin and Xiao Ying Liu both knew this perfectly well, but they were just trying to save face and make things more respectable for each other.

Li Fulin could certainly drink good wine obtained this way, but it would never be as easy as drinking wine he earned through his own abilities.

Jinlong grinned: "It's just Moutai liquor, not some scarce commodity. If you want to get your hands on it, just add it to the prize money, and you won't go wrong!"
Let's not even talk about the common iron-capped Moutai; those rich kids have all sorts of connections, they might even be able to get their hands on rarer vintages!

Upon hearing the words "even rarer aged wine," Li Fulin's breathing became rapid.

"Okay, then it's settled! You tell me what to do, and Lao Liu and I will follow your arrangements! Right, Lao Liu?"

When Li Fulin spoke and made his statement, he also turned his head and glanced at his old buddy.

Since Li Fulin had agreed, Little Eagle Liu naturally couldn't back down from his good brother: "Since Old Li has agreed, let's give it a try!"
Let's make this clear first: we only provide technical support; we can't pay out an equivalent payout if you lose!

Jinlong grinned slightly: "Your words are enough!"

"Hey, are there any suitable mountain spots nearby? How about we test the waters tomorrow and then make a final decision?"

Little Eagle Liu nodded: "I know a suitable enclosure for releasing falcons."

If you drive from the south of the city, it takes about an hour! Once you leave the city, there are winter wheat fields there!
The terrain, where wheat fields meet wasteland, offers ample space; whether it's a greyhound or a rabbit/tiger, tackling them is no problem at all!

"Is there an eagle's nest over there?" Jinlong continued to ask.

"Yes! Every year! As far as I know, there's an old graveyard near the brick kiln wasteland. The old red rabbit there has been there for at least three or four years. No matter how tough the eagle is, it can't do anything to it. It has kicked at least that many eagles!"

As he spoke, Little Eagle Liu stretched out his hand, spreading his five fingers and demonstrating both the front and back of his hand.

"One old rabbit ruined ten eagles? The Yellow Eagle from back then?"

Yue Feng was a little dazed when he heard the number; this record was too frightening.

In three or four years, ten eagles were destroyed, with an average of two or three eagles being involved in accidents during each hunting season.

This is only information we know. Some hawkers who care about their reputation might be too embarrassed to speak out when something happens to them. The actual number of cases is probably even more serious than this news suggests.

Little Eagle Liu shook his head: "Many of my fellow bird-handlers at the bird market know about this old rabbit that's become quite the expert at the Chengnan Brick Kiln Factory!"
At first, the ones who got hurt were Huang Yingzi, who was quite arrogant about driving the stakes and making the bends. That old rabbit was very slippery. He would circle around the grave mound and wait for Huang to exhaust himself before seizing the opportunity to kick him!
Having never suffered a loss before, Huang Ying lacked experience and was kicked in the scrotum, which would have seriously injured him even if he didn't die!
Later, the story of the old rabbit injuring the eagle spread in the circle, and many skeptics also took their own eagles to catch it!
The hawks in the hands of these people include many poorly trained or three-year-old hawks that have been caged! Their performance is not much better; those with slightly less experience are either killed or seriously injured!
Old Ma from Tianshui Well Alley has had that big eagle in his cage for five years. It's a real tough guy; he must catch over a hundred cats in a winter!

For an ordinary cat, encountering it usually ends in one round!
They tried to catch him three times, but failed and even had three of his feathers broken!

After that, when someone called on him to go and arrest someone, Old Ma absolutely refused to go!

"Holy crap! This is so weird! Uncle Li, with the kind of cat that Uncle Liu described as having become a spirit, won't our rabbit and tiger get hurt or injured if they go over there?"

After listening to Xiao Ying Liu's introduction, Jinlong looked at Li Fulin with some unease.

Li Fulin grinned and shook his head: "The rabbit and tiger work by kicking with their feet, not scratching with their claws, so under normal circumstances there shouldn't be any problems!"

I'm more worried about whether eagles can operate freely in areas with many graves! What if the graves are covered with bushes and thorns, leaving eagles no place to even put their feet!

Xiao Ying Liu truthfully said, "That's not the case! The old brick kiln has dug a huge pit to extract soil, and winter wheat has already been planted at the bottom of the pit."

There are a few small shrubs scattered around the outer edge of the grave, but they don't affect our work!
Besides, we still have Greyhound!

First, let the dog chase the cat away and exhaust some of its energy before releasing the hawk!

This old cat's specialty is the classic rabbit-kicking-eagle move; when faced with a rabbit and a tiger, they're a perfect match!

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng interjected and asked, "Uncle Liu, when you say 'the rabbit kicks the eagle,' do you mean it kicks with its hind legs when it flips over?"

"Yes! It's not about suddenly jumping up and bumping into someone with your back!"
According to Lao Ma, when a rabbit seizes an opportunity, it rolls over and lies down, exposing its belly. If an eagle dares to strike, the rabbit will kick its crop with its hind legs!

In this situation, the hind legs have greater power and are much more accurate!

Hearing this, Yue Feng became even more excited about this intelligent old cat.

Yue Feng had seen rabbits fall on branches and bump their backs before, but he had never seen a rabbit actually kick an eagle.

Now the hunting dogs are readily available, along with prey with legendary battle records, making it incredibly exciting.

After listening to this series of introductions, Li Fulin was not nervous at all; on the contrary, he was extremely confident in his eagle and dog.

"What if that old cat takes her down? What will we do then?"
Xiao Jin, didn't you say you wanted to get a full package? We need to discuss the specifics beforehand!

Well, the wine connoisseur Li Fulin is still thinking about the lucky Maotai that Jinlong mentioned.

Jinlong scratched his head and pondered for a moment: "If Eagle and Dog's work is fine, let's inquire about other similar mountain sites! I'll gather a few people, and we'll work together and see who's the best!"

“There’s something you might not know: the place where this rabbit and tiger are best suited for work is far less suitable than the eagle’s! Don’t let the old cat catch you, or you won’t be able to find a suitable place later!” Li Fulin continued.

"Uh..." Jinlong scratched his head, a little at a loss.

"Or, I could feed the rabbit and tiger some food before they go down to the ground, and then let the eagle and the hound catch them alive? Once the trial run is complete, we can release the old cat!"

Seeing that Jinlong couldn't come up with any new ideas, Li Fulin took the initiative to suggest something.

"Can a rabbit-falcon trap catch a live cat?" Yue Feng was clearly surprised to hear this.

Birds of prey like the rabbit and tiger hunt by attacking with a combination of defense and offense, taking turns swooping down and striking with their paw pads, which are similar to the claws of a peregrine falcon or lance falcon.

It's quite difficult to change the hunting habits of a hawk like Li Fulin, which is extremely sharp and prone to dropping its prey.

After all, the intelligence of a falcon is not as high as that of a gyrfalcon. Even Yue Feng, who wanted the black eagle to catch a rabbit alive, could not guarantee that it would be done 100%.

But judging from Li Fulin's implied meaning, it seemed that he could control the hunting instincts of the old hare-tiger by feeding it before it landed, thus achieving the goal of catching it alive. Li Fulin nodded: "My two old hares have temperaments that I know quite well!"
If you feed them some meat to reduce their hunger, the probability of them getting dead legs will be greatly reduced!
When the time comes, give the two dogs a command, and there's a good chance they'll be able to lower their heads to retrieve their nest and catch one alive!

Jinlong nodded after listening: "Okay! Let's settle on this for now. Let's try it out tomorrow and then we'll work on it further!"

"Row!"

……

After a series of discussions, the four of them reached a preliminary consensus: they would go to the field for a practical test tomorrow.

After chatting and discussing and finalizing tomorrow's plans, it was getting late. Jinlong gave Yuefeng a wink, and Yuefeng got up, intending to retreat and go home to rest early.

"Uncle Liu, Uncle Li, we have to get up early for the assembly tomorrow, so Jinlong and I will head back early today!" Yue Feng said, standing up.

“Okay, come straight to my house tomorrow morning, and I’ll have your aunt prepare breakfast for you. We’ll eat breakfast and then leave!” Little Eagle Liu nodded in agreement.

"Alright! Then let's leave first!" Yue Feng, holding the new eagle in his hand, got up with Jinlong and then left the Liu family's Little Eagle together.

After watching Yue Feng and Jin Long drive away, Li Fulin and Xiao Ying Liu returned to the house.

“Old Liu, these young kids are all quite remarkable! Although Xiao Jin doesn’t talk much, he’s probably in a similar situation to Young Master Ye!” Li Fulin said with a clear look in his eyes.

Little Eagle Liu curled his lip: "So what if it's not simple! We don't have fathers who are high-ranking officials, we only have this little bit of skill we've accumulated over the years of handling eagles!"
If they're willing to be friends with us, then let's give it a try. If we click, we can continue; if not, we can always part ways!

Li Fulin had anticipated his old friend's answer. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the warm tea, and continued, "Young Master Ye, your actions are somewhat cold-hearted."

Jinlong remained silent, but he had plenty of crooked ideas.

I actually prefer Xiao Yue!
This child not only has a profound understanding of eagles, but he's also steady and quick-witted in his words and actions—a truly honest person! How did you meet him in the first place?

Seeing that his old friend had already accepted Yue Feng after just one day of interaction, Little Eagle Liu nodded happily: "Do you think I, Old Liu, can make friends with just anyone?"
Speaking of which, I guess I have a special connection with Xiao Yue! This past May, I was selling baby hawks at the bird market, and then…”

Xiao Ying Liu recounted to Li Fulin how he met Yue Feng and how they interacted.

After hearing from Xiao Ying Liu how Yue Fengchun used a tattered feather to swat his chest and kill Da Hei Xi, Li Fulin became even more curious about this young falconer who had been featured in a CCTV documentary.

That night, Lao Liu and Lao Li chatted over strong tea until midnight. It wasn't until Lao Liu's wife got up in the inner room that the two brothers reluctantly ended their conversation, tidied up their bedding, and went to bed.

……

The next morning, Yue Feng got up on time.

His long-standing habit of waking up early has shaped his biological clock. When he wakes up, he is completely recovered from the slight intoxication of the night before and feels refreshed.

Yue Feng got dressed and then glanced at the new eagle that was temporarily tied to the back of a chair in the room.

The Altaic falcon heard Yue Feng getting up and getting dressed, but it remained perched on one leg on the towel wrapped around the back of the chair, without even lifting its eyelids.

"Hey! You have a pretty good mentality. Since you're here, just make the best of it!" Yue Feng was quite surprised by Gray Falcon's performance and couldn't help but exclaim.

Even the boldest falcon still possesses inherent instincts. These are self-protective mechanisms stemming from instinct.

Even when the black spear had just come home from the net, it would inevitably revive in the morning, and it was normal for it to struggle violently without being put in a hat.

But this grey falcon showed no fear whatsoever this morning, as if it were a fully tamed eagle.

Upon hearing the sound, the gray falcon turned its head slightly to glance at the sound, then resumed its indifferent attitude, even the feathers around its crotch were ruffled.

"Tsk tsk, you're not afraid at all!" Yue Feng got up from the kang, then tied his belt and put on his shoes.

After getting dressed, Yue Feng didn't even wash his face. The first thing he did was to put the Grey Falcon on his arm.

For a falconer, being able to hold the falcon with one hand while washing his face, eating, or even defecating is a basic skill that doesn't interfere with anything.

After setting up the grey falcon, Yue Feng poured hot water with one hand to wash his face, then pushed open the door and strolled around the courtyard with Huai'er in his arms.

On a winter morning in Yanjing, the temperature is below zero, but compared to the cold in Northeast China, this temperature is really not that bad.

Yue Feng simply moved around a bit and felt warm all over.

There was still some time before Jinlong came to pick him up, so Yuefeng rode the gray falcon quietly in the yard, enjoying his time alone with the little guy.

As if knowing that Yue Feng wouldn't hurt it, the gray falcon perched on Yue Feng's arm for less than ten minutes before its feathers spread out again. Yue Feng tentatively reached out to touch its breast, but the creature didn't seem to care at all.

It's important to know that although falcons are intelligent, they are still very resistant to being touched by strangers.

Even Li Fulin's two old rabbits and tigers, which he had already raised, did not allow anyone other than their owner to touch them, let alone stroke them.

But at this moment, the gray falcon let Yue Feng carefully wipe its breast a few times, showing no intention of attacking the offender.

"Not bad, not bad! You have a pretty steady temper! Dare to let me try to label you?"
If you dare let me label you and don't fight back fiercely, I won't let you eat less to lose weight while I'm in charge of you, okay?

Yue Feng seemed to be negotiating with someone, and whispered to Gray Falcon.

The Grey Falcon certainly couldn't understand human speech and couldn't give Yue Feng a precise response.

But that didn't stop him; he took out an eagle hat that the grey falcon could use from his baggage.

Using the fresh lamb leg meat brought back from Xiao Ying Liu's house, Yue Feng seemingly casually made several attempts using the standard training procedure of putting on hats.

Yue Feng familiarized himself with the hat, rubbing it against the feathers on the eagle's chest. He then put meat inside the hat to feed the eagle. After the gray falcon had eaten two pieces of meat and was no longer nervous about the hat, Yue Feng mustered his courage and put the hat on the falcon.

Well, even the training of the spear falcon took at least a week before the hat-putting operation was completed.

On this grey falcon, it was completed in just half a morning! (End of Chapter)