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

Driven by curiosity about the strange eagle, Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu strolled back to the reservoir.

The round trip, involving patrolling the fishing nets on foot, took more than an hour. By the time Yue Feng and his son arrived at the ice fishing spot, it was already 1:30.

"How's it going, Uncle Liu? Brother Feng?"

Seeing Yue Feng and Xiao Ying Liu return from a distance, Xiao Dong immediately stood up to greet them.

Yue Feng shook his head: "We caught an old hawk and a white-tailed hawk! Neither of them were usable, so Uncle Liu and I released them! How's the fishing here? Are you still catching fish?"

Xiao Dong nodded: "I almost had a problem with the two ice holes on Uncle Liu's side, but they've started to open up again! Uncle Li's side hasn't stopped much!"

Look at those big crucian carp on the ice! While you were patrolling the nets, Uncle Li caught at least a dozen!

You must be starving after such a long trip to patrol the nets.
I'm baking some steamed buns for you, and I also have two grilled crucian carp. How about that for a bite?

Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu were indeed very hungry, so they didn't stand on ceremony with Xiao Dong and strode towards the fire.

Old Li only realized what was happening when he passed by Li Fulin.

Uncle Li glanced up and down at the hunting bags that Yue Feng and Little Eagle Liu were holding.

"Didn't catch a usable eagle?"

Little Eagle Liu said, "At the first spot where the trap was set, Xiao Feng and I saw an eagle, but we couldn't catch it. It grabbed the bait and the lure ran away!"
Look, there's that pigeon!

As he spoke, Grandpa Liu took out the pigeon and handed it to Li Fulin.

Li Fulin didn't take it seriously at first, but his eyes widened instantly after he saw the scratches on the pigeon's body.

"Holy crap, this eagle's claws are huge! And those ring claws are wide and sharp!"

"Yes! You didn't see what happened! The eagle didn't crash into the net; it fell vertically into it and crushed the pigeon to death. When we rushed over, it got startled and took off vertically again. We were only about a hundred meters away, and we could only see a rough outline!" Grandpa Liu said truthfully.

At this, Li Fulin immediately stood up.

As a seasoned falconer, he has an absolute understanding of good falcons! You can tell from the description that this falcon is definitely not an ordinary one.

"What should we do then? Since we can't catch him after he's been caught, should we try some other methods? Or should we go home and get a net?" Li Fulin asked anxiously.

"No need, let's leave that net for now. When we come over tomorrow, we'll set up a different mechanism! Xiaofeng and I have already figured it out, so we'll go back and prepare it and bring it over tomorrow!"

Li Fulin asked with concern, "What kind of mechanism did you use? This kind of intelligent eagle must be a good one! Ordinary tricks wouldn't be enough!"

I reckon we'll only have one or two chances at most. If we're completely startled and it senses danger and flies away, we might never see it again!

"Slap the net! Just set it inside the self-trapping net, and if it dares to go back in, it'll be caught 100%! I know how to make that thing, but I don't have one at home, so it'll take some effort! I'll make it when I get back tonight!" Little Eagle Liu said confidently.

"Okay, that works! Using a net is the way to go!"

……

After a brief exchange, Yue Feng greeted Xiao Ying Liu and went to eat first. At the same time, he skewered the dead pigeon with a branch and put it on the fire to roast.

Yue Feng was already starving. After taking the golden-brown and crispy steamed bun that Xiao Dong had baked for him, he took a bite and ate one-fifth of it.

When people are hungry, even without pickled vegetables or anything to eat, eating a steamed bun is very delicious. A freshly baked steamed bun can be stuffed into the stomach in just a few bites.

"Brother Feng, Grandpa! You two should try my grilled fish! The only downside is that it didn't have any salt, otherwise it would definitely taste even better!"

Xiao Dong immediately presented the large grilled crucian carp that he had specially reserved, as if it were a treasure.

Yue Feng took it, gave one to Grandpa Liu, and then tentatively took a bite.

To be honest, Xiao Dong grilled the fish perfectly, the innards were cleaned, the meat was cooked through, and it tasted good with almost no muddy taste.

The only downside is the lack of saltiness. Grilling freshwater crucian carp is just about enjoying its freshness, a bittersweet experience.

Yue Feng ate two roasted buns and a roasted fish, which filled his stomach. He then slowly wiped his mouth and stood up.

"Grandpa, what time do we finish work and go patrol the nets? I'm going to stay with Uncle Li for a while!"

Little Eagle Liu glanced at his watch: "It'll be 3:50! We'll make a loop, collect the lure, and head straight home! We'll come back early tomorrow morning!"

"Okay, I'll call everyone when it's time!" Yue Feng replied and strode towards Li Fulin.

Old Li thoroughly enjoyed fishing today. He usually likes to dig up earthworms and go fishing by the river during the off-season in spring, but his skills are only so-so, so he doesn't get to enjoy it very often.

Since taking over the fishing spot from Yuefeng, Li Fulin has caught at least twenty or thirty catties of large crucian carp. Behind him, a pile of fish is frozen on the ice.

"Hey, Uncle Li, is there any more left?" Yue Feng asked.

“There’s a bite. You guys left, I’m going to have dinner with Xiao Dong. After dinner, I got some fermented rice and sprinkled it on! How about you fish for a while?” Li Fulin asked while keeping an eye on the float.

Yue Feng shook his head and took out the half-used can from his pocket: "You can play with it, I'm not that addicted! I still have plenty of bait here! Here, take it and use it!"

Li Fulin had almost finished using the can of yogurt in his hand, and when Yue Feng handed it to him, he accepted it without hesitation.

"Perfect timing! I'm almost out of these! If I catch one like this on my way back, I can catch at least a dozen or twenty more!"

"Haha, take your time, no rush! We'll come again tomorrow!" Yue Feng comforted him.

……

Just as Yue Feng and his group returned to their ice fishing spot to kill time, the strange eagle that had witnessed the escape from the location where the first net was caught returned.

This is a two-year-old eagle with broken feathers. Its feathers are as sharp as knives and axes, and the feathers on its back are as black as charcoal as those of an eagle over five years old. The only way to tell that it is a two-year-old eagle is by the pattern on its chest.

After shedding its lanugo once, the adult eagle's breast develops horizontal stripes on its chest, which are also distinct black and white, with wide intervals and clear distinction between the black and white, lacking the dull and dark texture of ordinary two-year-old eagles.

This tattered eagle took off to escape after Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu witnessed it, and after flying less than 300 meters into the forest, it landed on a familiar pine tree.

Eagles have hearing and eyesight far exceeding those of ordinary people. Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu thought it had been startled and run away, but it turned out it had never left its sight at all.

Hunting is difficult in winter. After the snow falls, all things hibernate, making prey even harder to find. The eagle had finally caught a pigeon as bait, but before it could even eat it, its good time was interrupted. Its hungry stomach made it very reluctant to lose this hard-won food.

However, despite its hunger, safety was still a concern. It crouched on a branch in the woods, quietly observing Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu.

When it saw the two men take out the pigeon, pluck its feathers, examine it, and then take it away, the Broken Flower Eagle was somewhat dejected. Once the two men were far away, it immediately flew back to the scene of the crime.

The trap was still in place, but the pigeon that had been strangled had disappeared.

The eagle with the broken flower landed on the ground, pecked at the scattered pigeon feathers a few times, and after confirming that there was nothing else to eat, it took off and disappeared into the dense forest.

On the other side, four people ice fishing in the reservoir precisely timed their fishing trip to end.

At 3:50, with about half an hour left before dark, I checked all the nets one by one, put away the baits, and got in the car to go home.

Grandpa Liu took out a folded snakeskin bag from his satchel and put all the big crucian carp he had caught into it.

With three fishing rigs, we caught at least 40 to 50 jin (20-25 kg) of large crucian carp, most of which were caught from the ice hole at Yuefeng.

They retraced their steps along the same route, but found nothing at the hawthorn grove. On the flat ground at the river fork, they caught another adult common cat, but the spot where Grandpa Liu had placed his hopes, surrounded by forest on three sides, yielded nothing.

Regardless of whether there's a catch or not, the pigeons must be collected and taken home before dark.

With the weather after the snow, the nighttime temperature is at least minus ten degrees Celsius. In addition, there are definitely many small animals active around the reservoir at night. If they are left in the open outdoors and caught in a net, they will most likely either freeze to death or be killed or harmed by animals such as weasels, foxes, or lynxes.

The four men put away the still-living taunt, got back into their car, and drove back. On the way, Grandpa Liu was quite emotional.

"Xiaofeng, I think I'm going to lose this bet! The spot you chose caught a white-tailed eagle and a spotted leopard today!"
The place I had my eye on, I didn't even get a single thing! You don't know the difference until you compare!

If the two nets are far apart, the difference in harvest can be explained by luck or other factors.

The reality is that the two nets are only a few hundred meters apart. Yue Feng's chosen spot yielded a harvest, while the old man's did not.

This shows that the old man's chosen position was completely disadvantageous. The eagle was caught in Yue Feng's net, which is why the old man's side didn't make a move.

Yue Feng grinned: "Haha, I just got lucky! My gut feeling told me this place might be better, it was just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse!"

Maybe your net will be empty by tomorrow morning!
As the old saying goes, "Getting fat early doesn't mean you're fat at all; getting fat later will break the bed!"

"Haha, I can afford to lose, old man. After we're done with this, let's have some hot pot, it's on me!"

Little Eagle Liu was quite pleased to hear Yue Feng say that, and patted his chest to admit defeat.

By the time the car drove into the city and got home, it was completely dark.

Yue Feng was thinking about the gray falcon at home, so he said goodbye and took two large crucian carp back to his own home.

As for Little Eagle Liu, he didn't even have time for dinner when he got home, and immediately started working on the bamboo shoots.

Traps like slap nets are based on a simple principle, but making them to a relatively large size still requires some time and effort.

The old man calculated the inner diameter of the bamboo by writing and drawing, and then began to split the bamboo with a machete.

After some trial and error, the bamboo strips of suitable thickness were almost finished.

Grandpa Liu placed the bamboo strips next to the stove fire and carefully roasted them. Then, according to his own requirements, he bent the bamboo strips into a suitable arc.

Once the shape is confirmed to be suitable, use cotton thread to tie and secure the bamboo strips.

Next up is the triggering device. This is relatively simple. Little Eagle Liu simply found a ready-made mousetrap, cut open the outer frame with pliers, and fixed it to the bamboo outer frame of the net.

Test the pedal force, adjust the sensitivity range little by little, and after that, the final step is to take out an old net and assemble it onto the outer frame of the racket net.

After all the devices were completed, Grandpa Liu unfolded the newly made battering net and then tried to apply force to the pedal to trigger it.

The effect is good. The thin bamboo strips are not heavy, so the rebound speed after being triggered is very fast. The time it takes for the net to trigger the rebound is so fast that even a falcon with a very short reaction arc will not be able to react in time.

Once the two nets are closed, the eagle will be completely trapped in the net and will have no chance to escape.

By the time the old man finally put down his artwork with satisfaction, the moon was already high in the sky! It was past nine o'clock. He got home without even having dinner!
When the old man gets engrossed in something, he's so focused he forgets to eat and sleep, just as he was in his youth.

Aunt Liu heated up the meal again, and Uncle Liu and Uncle Li ate and drank their fill before going to bed early.

The next morning, Yue Feng got up early, fed the gray falcon, let it wander around the yard for a while, and waited for Xiao Dong to come and get the people. Yue Feng and Xiao Dong went to Grandpa Liu's house to meet up and have breakfast.

When we arrived at Grandpa Liu's house, Grandma had already prepared breakfast.

When Xiao Ying Liu saw Yue Feng arrive, he immediately showed off the net he had worked on until midnight the night before.

As soon as Yue Feng saw the structure and shape of the net, he knew that this thing would definitely be enough.

The hawk nets used abroad are cylindrical in shape, resembling a base with a sloping net bag. This structure is advantageous because it allows for the placement of bait.

The trap net that Grandpa Liu made is a modified and upgraded version of a hunting trap. By fine-tuning the sensitivity of the trigger pedal, the mechanism can be activated. It has a more sophisticated design, better concealment, and is more practical.

"How about it, Xiaofeng? Will my net work?" the old man asked with considerable confidence.

Yue Feng nodded: "Definitely no problem! Dig a shallow pit in the middle of the trap, set up the trap, and then cover it with snow or soil! Just tie the pigeons on top!"
"Uncle Liu, did you take the weight of the pigeons into account when adjusting the sensitivity?"

Grandpa Liu nodded: "Don't worry, we've taken that into account! The margin of error is about the weight of two eggs! A pigeon stepping on it normally won't trigger anything."

"That's settled then. Morning is when eagles hunt for food, so let's eat our fill early and set off early!" Yue Feng nodded, picked up his porridge, and slurped it down.

Having witnessed Grandpa Liu's ingenious scheme, the group became quite interested in the escaped falcon. After quickly eating and drinking their fill, they got into their car and headed straight for the reservoir hunting grounds.

When they arrived at the reservoir at the usual spot, at least half an hour earlier than yesterday, the group took the newly made nets and went to the first spot to set up the nets. They immediately divided the tasks and began to set up the nets.

Yue Feng had learned how to set traps from his master, so using his skills to set up this kind of net was a waste of his talents.

In no time at all, the net was set up, and then the mechanism was covered with snow foam.

Everything is ready, except for the final push! (End of Chapter)