Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

While Wang Shouye was sharing Zhou Rui's experience, Gu Shaofeng and the others listened quietly to him, without moving around just because they already knew the information.

This is a matter of life and death; the more times I hear it, the more firmly I remember it.

Only after Wang Shouye finished speaking did Zhang Shitou speak up: "Master, should we block the warehouse entrance?"

"Clog the burrow entrance" is a hunter's term that refers to using a stick to block the entrance of a burrow, restricting the bear's movement and allowing the hunter to aim.

"No need, we outnumber them and have plenty of guns, we're not afraid of not being able to kill them, let's just call for help. Stone, go find two thick sticks, you and Zhenzi can hit the tree trunk together and wake up the bear inside."

"Master, no need, we have this." Gu Shaofeng pulled a firecracker out of his bag at some point and gestured to it.

"Hehe...that's true, having something like this really saves a lot of trouble. This firecracker is loud, and it's two-shot, enough to wake up Black Bear."

Unlike in the past, when we would beat tree trunks with sticks or light fires to smoke the granary, it would take a long time to wake up the bears and black bears.

I was so out of touch; I didn't even think to use something this good. Our system is outdated; it seems we won't need it anymore.

Seeing Wang Shouye's forlorn smile and self-deprecating tone, Zhou Rui didn't find anything wrong with it. After all, technology in later generations was much more advanced, with things like night vision, thermal imaging, drones, and cameras making hunting safer and more convenient.

Of course, you can't say it like that: "Uncle Wang, these are life-saving tips. We don't always have these firecrackers. What if we forget to bring them one day, or run out? Then we'll have to use your old methods, won't we?"

"Haha, Ruiwa, don't worry." Wang Shouye patted Zhou Rui's shoulder hard: "Your Uncle Wang isn't that fragile. I'm still young, and I can learn any new things."

"Come on, you fire the first shot today. Use your excellent marksmanship to get off to a good start. Remember, wait until the bear pokes out half its body before you fire, otherwise it'll be troublesome if it falls back into the cave after you kill it."

"Okay, I understand." Seeing that Wang Shouye had regained his spirits, Zhou Rui accepted the task without further ado.

You can't be as humble in the mountains as you are outside. If you have the ability, you should take it without hesitation. A hesitant and indecisive attitude won't work in the mountains.

Zhou Rui carefully inspected the firearms, bullets, and bolts. Then he gave a thumbs-up to Gu Shaofeng, who was already standing under the tree, ready to call for backup.

Gu Shaofeng immediately climbed up the tree from the chosen spot and quickly arrived at the cave entrance. He sat on a branch and then looked back.

Zhou Rui stood at the front, ready to raise his gun. A few steps behind, Wang Shouye, Wang Zhen, and Zhang Shitou also released the safety on their guns, prepared to provide follow-up shots in case of an accident.

Dog and Big Mule stood behind, quietly waiting for Gu Shaofeng's move.

Gu Shaofeng took out a firecracker and a match, lit the firecracker, threw it into the tree hole, and immediately slid down.

Boom... Boom! Two explosions, very close together, echoed in the tree hollow, like muffled thunder, shaking off a shower of snow from the tree and scattering it all over Gu Shaofeng.

Then a roar came from the tree hollow, ugh...

Zhou Rui could tell from the sound how grumpy this bear was when it woke up. He'd heard that the more grumpy a bear was, the better the quality of its bile, and he hoped this first bear bile would be a bronze one, making a good start.

Zhou Rui held the gun with both hands, waiting silently, his hands gripping the gun handles remaining motionless.

A dark brown bear head emerged, looking around to see who had disturbed its sweet dream.

Upon seeing Zhou Rui and the others directly in front of him, he roared again and poked most of his body out of the cave.

Bang... A bullet ripped open Hei Xiazi's skylight, and Hei Xiazi fell from the height with a loud bang, shaking the ground three times.

The dogs pounced on him instantly, barking incessantly around the bear, but the bear didn't even flinch.

"Stone, finish him off." Wang Shouye didn't put away his gun. Instead, he told Zhang Stone to go forward and give the motionless Black Bear another shot.

For experienced hunters, finishing off such dangerous behemoths is basic skill. Too many hunters have fallen victim to the claws of beasts feigning death—these are lessons learned in blood.

Bang! Black Bear got several bullet holes in his head, and that was the only other sound.

"Alright, gut it, remove the gallbladder, feed it to the dog." Wang Shouye turned off the safety.

Gu Shaofeng walked over at this moment, shaking his body incessantly. A lot of snow had fallen from the trees, and much of it had gotten into his collar.

"I'm never doing this job again, it's snow shavings. If there's any more snow, Hei Zi, you go set off the firecrackers."

"Hehe... You said you were good at climbing trees and insisted on going. I didn't force you." Wang Zhen was overjoyed to see Gu Shaofeng trembling like a fool.

"Master, it's an iron gall." Zhang Shitou held a dark blue bear gall in his hands, which was about a size larger than his fist.

Wang Shouye stepped forward to take a look.

"This black bear is only recently reached adulthood and is not very big yet. This is a good harvest." Wang Shouye kicked the black bear at his feet. It looked to be less than 400 jin (200 kg), and after removing its internal organs, it would weigh about 300 jin (150 kg).

"Remove the bear's nose, flap, and paws, and peel off the skin. Let's finish quickly so we can move on to the next place."

"Okay, Master." Zhang Shitou handed the bear bile to Wang Shouye.

Wang Shouye tied the gallbladder tightly, took out a white cloth bag from his bag, and carefully put it inside. These cloth bags were specially made for storing bear gallbladders; Wang Shouye had brought a stack of them.

Zhou Rui, Wang Zhen, and Zhang Shitou, each armed with a knife, quickly butchered the black bear. Meanwhile, Gu Shaofeng's dog had been fed halfway.

"Let's go."

Wang Shouye was very satisfied to see the bear meat and hide neatly arranged on the sled. His apprentices were obedient and skilled, making him feel quite comfortable as the foreman.

The group drove away with their mules, leaving behind only an empty tree hollow.

Woof...woof woof.

Everyone turned around and saw a silly roe deer in the distance, standing on the slope staring intently at them, its eyes revealing a simple-minded foolishness.

"Damn, so arrogant. Watch me blow its head off with one shot." Gu Shaofeng said as he took out his gun.

"Wait, Stone, come here. Shaofeng, get ready to finish off the enemy."

"Master, it's a bit far, I'm afraid..." Zhang Shitou looked somewhat troubled, mainly because he was afraid the prey would escape.

"The longer the distance, the more practice we need. Also, having Shaofeng fire the second shot is to train him. At this distance, Shaofeng is okay at hitting dead targets, but he's still a bit lacking when it comes to live targets."

Zhang Shitou looked at Gu Shaofeng, but to his surprise, his senior brother just made a face at him.

During the time everyone was talking, the roe deer didn't run away. No wonder everyone calls it a silly roe deer; it's a wonder it hasn't gone extinct in nature, given how stupid it is.