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

"Holy crap! This eagle is wearing a hat, how come it's struggling so fiercely!" Jinlong couldn't help but ask curiously when he saw the Steller's Sea Eagle struggling on the perch it was on.

Yue Feng shook his head: "Don't come in yet, I'll come closer and take a look myself!"

The larger the bird of prey, the calmer it should be. Even without systematic training, it shouldn't be so sensitive.

The slightest disturbance caused it to struggle violently, a state of high stress, which Yue Feng considered clearly abnormal.

Yue Feng tiptoed into the tent alone, then slowly approached the Steller's sea eagle, which had landed on the ground and was struggling and flapping its wings, by the side of the wall.

Yue Feng knew that he couldn't immediately get close and conduct a rough inspection, otherwise it would further stimulate the eagle's stress state.

He stood there motionless, quietly waiting for the Steller's sea eagle to quiet down.

After waiting for about five minutes, the surrounding noises mostly subsided, and the struggling Steller's eagle slowly stopped, panting heavily, looking like it had exhausted its strength.

Yue Feng observed this huge creature with great patience. Once the eagle relaxed a bit, he tilted his head and carefully observed it from different angles.

The leather leg straps were intact, and the buckler was functioning normally. Visually, the eagle's feathers were also undamaged.

What's going on here?
Just as Yue Feng was patiently observing and pondering where the problem lay, he noticed an inconspicuous detail.

The Steller's eagle, which had already landed, raised its left talon and scratched the helmet on its head a few times.

The hat worn by common falcons is called an eagle hat, while the hat worn by eagles is generally called an eagle helmet.

Why is it called that? Firstly, it has thick leather and is quite large, resembling a small helmet.

Secondly, the style of the helmet does not use the inner drawstring for fixation, but instead uses a soft folded drawstring or the natural elasticity of folded leather for fixation.

Eagles are relatively large and intelligent. As long as the initial training with hats is done properly, eagles will not develop a negative attitude towards hats.

If you see an eagle scratching your hat, it means either the hat is unsuitable, or it has caught feathers or other foreign objects while you were wearing it; otherwise, it shouldn't be scratching your hat.

After discovering the problem, Yue Feng turned to the side and took the arm guard used to hold the golden eagle from the eagle harness rack next to him. He then put on a pair of thick double-layered cowhide gloves, grabbed the five-foot tether for the eagle, and used his arm strength to lift the eagle up.

Sensing someone, the Steller's sea eagle once again struggled as usual, jumping off its arm gauntlet twice in a row, only to be gently swung and supported back onto the gauntlet by Yue Feng.

Yue Feng seized the opportunity, grabbed the tassel of the helmet, and took off the hat.

The moment he took off his hat, Yue Feng knew where the problem lay.

The area below the beak of the Steller's eagle was slightly constricted, leaving noticeable marks on the short downy feathers close to its body.

Yue Feng turned the hat in his hand over and glanced at the bottom of the mountain from underneath.

The leather here is stained with blood, has turned black and hardened, and is rough to chew.

"What's going on, Xiaofeng?" Li Guangkun asked curiously from the doorway.

“A small problem! Uncle Li, since we got this Steller's sea eagle home, has it been fed with its hat on the whole time, without ever taking it off?” Yue Feng asked Li Fulin.

Li Fulin said, "That's right! This big guy is too strong, and its claws and mouth are sharp enough. I never intended to train it properly."

According to Jianjun, the eagle will be released after the falconry culture exhibition is over! That's why I usually feed it with my hat on! Is there a problem?

Yue Feng nodded and explained, "The blood got stuck on the cowhide at the bottom edge of the mountain. The leather hardens when it comes into contact with blood, and it's been stuck there without being removed, so it's uncomfortable to be constricted in this area!"
Steller's eagles are known for their fiery tempers, almost as if they're constantly under a tight rein, which is why they react wildly to the slightest disturbance!

"What should we do? It's too late to prepare a new helmet now!" Li Fulin panicked after hearing Yue Feng's explanation, glancing around as if looking for a spare hat.

"Don't panic, find a scalpel blade! There's one in the emergency kit!" Yue Feng reminded him calmly.

"I'll go get it, there's one next door!"

Li Fulin immediately turned around and went next door, quickly taking out a new scalpel from the spare emergency kit.

Yue Feng took the scalpel, secured the brand-new blade, and then precisely cut a curved piece of skin at an angle from the carved helmet-shaped opening on his chin.

Having made eagle hats and similar tools by hand for many years, Yue Feng has a very professional eye and feel for crafts. With just one cut, he completed the modification of the helmet, shaving off the excess leather at the grinding point.

"Don't be afraid, be good, I won't hurt you!"

Yue Feng handed the scalpel to his companion, then pinched the tassel of the eagle's helmet and gently rubbed it against the breast feathers of the Steller's sea eagle.

With its hat off and no longer feeling constricted, the Steller's sea eagle became noticeably calmer. Under Yue Feng's continued soothing and gentle touches, it slowly relaxed.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Yue Feng aimed at the eagle's head and beak, placed the helmet on the eagle's head, and then gently pushed it back, so that the helmet was accurately placed on its head.

This time, the modified helmet didn't feel so tight. The Steller's eagle lost sight of the sea again, shook its head a few times, and quickly calmed down.

In less than a minute, all the feathers on its body became fluffy again, which meant that this big guy was finally comfortable and had completely calmed down.

Yue Feng carried the eagle back to its perch, gently rotated his arm to let the eagle stand back on its perch, and finally re-tied the five-foot rope before letting out a long breath.

"Alright, problem solved!" Yue Feng said, taking off his gloves and arm guards.

Li Fuli gave Yue Feng a thumbs up: "Tsk tsk, it has to be you! I haven't observed these big guys' daily behavior enough! Look at them now, this guy is much more obedient!"

Yue Feng grinned: "We can't blame it all on you. You went back to your hometown a few days ago, and you had a lot of trivial things to do after you came back. Who would have thought that the helmet, which was originally just right, would harden and become a little tight after being stained with blood! It's good that the problem was solved in advance!"

……

After this little incident, Yue Feng and Jin Long walked around the venue for a long time and checked it carefully again.

It was eight o'clock, and the invited guests started arriving one after another at the entrance, making the place lively.

Ye Jianjun and his team were responsible for welcoming and seeing off guests. Most of them didn't have much of a relationship with Yue Feng, so after exchanging pleasantries outside for a while, Yue Feng went back to the tea room with Feng Huanping, who had just arrived, to have some tea.

Feng Huanping knew Yue Feng's background, so he treated Yue Feng with great familiarity. The group chatted and drank tea in the room, in a very relaxed state.

Ten minutes later, a convoy of five cars drove up from the intersection.

Hearing the commotion, Feng Huanping glanced out the window and immediately stood up. "It's Zhang Chaochao with the foreign guests! I recognize the license plate! Should we go out and make an appearance?"

"Let's go! Let's go out and see what foreign guests who know how to train eagles are like!" Yue Feng immediately stood up, and the two of them quickly went out to greet them.

As they came out of the tea room, the cars outside had also come to a stop. Soon, they saw Zhang Chaochao, Li Wenhu, and Qian Fenglin getting out of the lead car.

The two Toyota Crowns behind quickly opened their doors, and the two foreign guests, who were similar to Yue Feng's expectations, along with their translators, got out of the cars.

Zhang Chaochao and Li Wenhu are already acquaintances, so I will introduce these two foreign guests separately below.

The person who got out of the second car was a tall, fair-skinned, blond American man who was nearly 1.9 meters tall and looked to be in his early forties.

The American was dressed very smartly, wearing a signature cowboy hat, a light brown hunting jacket, olive green work pants, and brown leather ankle boots.

From the moment he got off the bus, the American looked around aimlessly, occasionally whispering with the translator accompanying him, as if observing key information such as the size of the club's premises, while discussing something.

The other foreign guest was dressed in typical Middle Eastern attire, with a cloth on his head and his entire body wrapped in a very representative robe. He was probably more familiar with Zhang Chaochao, as he quickly met up with the people in the car in front of him after getting off the bus.

Feng Huanping, who was standing next to Yue Feng, gently nudged him: "Have you ever seen a foreigner before? Come on, let's go say hello?"

Yue Feng grinned, stood up without flinching, and said, "Let's go!"

Soon, the two walked up to Ye Jianjun and officially appeared in front of Zhang Chaochao and the others.

Zhang Chaochao was exchanging pleasantries with Ye Jianjun just a moment ago, but when he saw Yue Feng and Feng Huanping coming over, he immediately greeted them with a smile.

"Xiao Feng! Brother Feng! You've both arrived ahead of time! I'm a little late, please forgive me!"

Yue Feng grinned: "Welcome, Young Master Zhang, for your guidance. It's an honor to have you here!"

Feng Huanping added, "I just arrived too. Now that all these foreign guests are here, aren't you going to give us a proper introduction?"

"Look at my brain, I'm so nervous. Come on, let me introduce myself!"
This is my friend in the United States, Evan Thorne. He is the Senior Director of the North American Breeding Department of the Peregrine Falcon Foundation, and also a Senior Falconer Breeding Trainer! A raptor breeding expert!

This is my friend in the Middle East, Khalid bin Salman. He is a legitimate sheikh from the Gulf, a descendant of an ancient falconry family, and a core member of the Dubai Royal Private Falconry Academy!

After introducing a long list of names and backgrounds, Zhang Chaochao changed the subject and began to introduce Yue Feng.

"This is my good friend Yue Feng. He is our top local falconry expert, a successor of traditional falconry culture, and one of the founders of the club!"

Next to him is Feng Huanping, a seasoned falconry enthusiast and a core member of the club!

After a brief introduction, both the Americans and the white-robed men shifted their attention from Ye Jianjun to Yue Feng.

The man in front of me, Yue Feng, looked to be only in his early twenties. Although he was no longer green, he was still young and didn't quite match the title of top falconry expert that Zhang Chaochao had described. At first glance, there was a noticeable discrepancy.

After listening to the introduction, the American frowned slightly, looking somewhat puzzled, and then uttered a string of gibberish.

Yue Feng wasn't highly educated and couldn't understand these foreign languages. After a few seconds, the translator next to him said, "Are you sure this young, handsome Chinese man is the top local falconry expert you mentioned? He looks no more than thirty years old. That's too young!"

Yue Feng grinned: "I am indeed not very old, but that does not prevent me from being an expert in falconry culture."

In our country, falconry culture is not yet fully developed. I was already a qualified falconer when I was seven or eight years old!

The translator quickly translated the original words to the American. After listening, the American's expression still showed obvious doubt, but he nodded and then said a long string of words.

"Oh, okay! That sounds reasonable, but I think for such an important event, you should probably bring your parents or grandparents along. That might be more convincing!"

After saying this, Zhang Chaochao's expression became noticeably stiff.

The Americans are too direct. They don't understand Yue Feng's professional abilities at all. Just because he's young, they've already started questioning his qualifications.

Yue Feng smiled and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense. Next time, I can arrange for my father to come and talk to you in advance!"

"Hahahaha!"

After a brief test, everyone burst into laughter.

After the Americans finished their brief exchange, the man in the white robe next to them also spoke up.

"Hello, Yue Feng! I've seen the documentary you filmed for the TV station, it was excellent! Perhaps we could have a chance to spar in real-world falconry!"

"Oh? Hello, Mr. Salman! I didn't expect you to have seen my work. Today's falconry culture exhibition, in addition to the static displays, also includes practical demonstrations. Perhaps we can exchange ideas then!"

"I'm really looking forward to it! I want to see what falconry is really like in your country, behind the scenes! The footage in the videos is impressive, but..."

When asked what followed, the other person didn't elaborate but instead shrugged and shook their head.

The meaning is simple: the video is well-made, but I don't believe it. I strongly suspect that you used technical means to fake it; it's purely for the sake of the show, not a real falconry.

Although the other party tried their best to be polite, their tone, attitude, word choice, and body language all revealed a disdain for Yue Feng.

After all, in the minds of foreigners, age equals experience accumulation; without age, skill level is mostly limited.

Yue Feng wasn't bothered at all, and said with a smile, "Haha, I definitely won't let you down!"

May I ask if you brought your main combat Falcon with you on this trip to China?

I'd like to see what condition your top-quality item is in!
As you can see, I'm still young and haven't had the opportunity to go abroad and exchange ideas with other colleagues yet!

"Of course, we brought our best falcons with us for this overseas exchange trip, hoping to put them to the test on the battlefield and compete with you!" the white-robed man said confidently through the translator.

We were actively communicating when the car horn behind us went off again.

Two Jeeps 212s led the way, and a Hongqi CA771 brought up the rear; the three vehicles drove over in a very open and unreserved manner.

Yue Feng knew the old man had arrived as soon as he saw the big red flag. (End of Chapter)