Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 117 The Pipe Knocks on the Badger's Nose

Believe it or not, the badger is quite well-off. It has a raccoon dog living with it and guarding the entrance, and it even knows to leave ventilation holes in the burrow so that it can be ventilated.

The hunting dogs barked excitedly, the three mixed-breed dogs barking the most enthusiastically, as if they had already caught the badger. Song Desheng shouted happily, "Oh, the badger has been chased to its den!" He had been anxiously waiting at the entrance of the den, afraid that the badger might suddenly run out and escape without stepping on the trap. He even stuck a probe into the den and poked around.

But the badger's den is very deep and winding; there's no way he could reach it.

After smoking for a long time, there was still no movement in the cave, which made the three of them very nervous. They were afraid that it was an empty cave and that the badger had already run away through other cave entrances. Lu Zhiqiang picked up his spear and said, "You guys stay here and guard the cave. I'll check if Da Hu has missed any other cave entrances."

Suddenly, a "crackling" sound came from the ground.

Li Ju'an became excited, "That's it!"

The group dared not disturb it, waiting for the badger to succumb to the smoke and emerge on its own. This creature had a pointed snout, short legs, and a round waist; it was clever and agile, and could disappear in the blink of an eye if it spotted even the slightest opening. If they hadn't blocked the badger's hibernation burrow this time, and had only encountered it in the bushes and grass, the creature could have easily covered its snout with its front paws and rolled down the hillside in one tumble.

By the time the hunter chased it into the ditch, the clever creature had already made a clean getaway, unharmed at all. It was perfectly round, plump and shiny, so fat that it didn't feel any pain even after falling.

A crackling sound came from the ground, and Lu Zhiqiang quickly added a pile of dry leaves to cover the entrance of the burrow. He also puffed out his cheeks and blew on the fire to make it burn brighter. Song Desheng stopped him and shouted, "That's enough, that's enough. If this keeps going, not only will the badger oil be gone, but it will be roasted into roast meat. Who the hell wants to eat badger meat?"

Lu Zhiqiang was anxious and choked by the thick smoke, his eyes watering. He took off his hat and fanned the badger's den while shouting, "This beast won't come out. It's so cunning. It thinks it's safe in its den."

The group listened intently, and even the hunting dogs choked, retreating several steps as they warily guarded the cave entrance. Half an hour later, the dogs inside seemed unable to bear the choking any longer and began digging with a hissing sound. Big Tiger leaped up, letting out a low, menacing growl, as if giving the dogs an order to kill anything that darted out.

Suddenly, a short, stout dog darted out, but before the surrounding dogs could bite its nose, it was caught by the clamps at the entrance of the hole.

A piercing howl rang out, and the snow collapsed, creating a snowdrift. The dog, with its dark brown fur, was about half a meter long and had a tail that was about 20 centimeters long. It tried to break free from the trap and bite.

Li Ju'an shouted, "It's Mao Gouzi!" Mao Gouzi, also known as raccoon dog, is very loyal to the badger guard. Its entire body is white except for its muzzle, and its face looks like it has a black "pirate mask".

He stopped the tiger, and the hunting dogs following behind the tiger did not bite or attack, but just kept barking around the raccoon.

Song Desheng said with a grin, "I got a raccoon pelt for free."

Raccoon dogs are fur-bearing animals; their pelts, after the guard hairs have been removed, fetch a high price and are excellent raw materials for fur making. In the mountains, raccoon dog owners organize workers to skin them each season. However, the raccoon dog's hooves are useless, so the workers cut them off and discard them. Raccoon dog meat is edible, but it doesn't taste very good, so farms process it into animal feed to feed the raccoons.

Li Ju'an is not a breeder; he only wants raccoon pelts, and the meat is just enough to feed the dogs and increase their fighting spirit.

The raccoon barked, alarming the badger in the burrow, which frightened it even more into staying inside. He killed the raccoon with a knife, tossed it to Lu Zhiqiang, and told him to take it a distance away to gut it, bleed it, and then skin it.

Lu Zhiqiang, still reeling from the thick smoke, pulled out his pipe, lit it with a stick used for smoking, and squatted down on the snow to smoke. He pointed at Song Desheng with his five-foot-long pipe and said, "Tell Little Song to skin it. We have important business to attend to. We'll need to keep an eye on my pipe when we hunt badgers later."

Song Desheng wouldn't have it: "Really? You're just imitating your old man, 'plop plop' finishing one pot and then filling another, isn't that just trying to be lazy? Are you embarrassed because you're choked by the smell and your eyes are watering?"

Lu Zhiqiang snapped, "Who lost face? When it comes to hunting badgers, you have to rely on my pipe. How could that be false? When have I ever lied?"

He tapped the ash off his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, straightened up, and listened to the hole where the noise was coming from. Thick smoke swirled around the hole, and he could vaguely see a dark shadow that seemed to have its front paws raised in front of its mouth, howling "woof woof woof," but it wouldn't come out no matter what.

Lu Zhiqiang stretched out his pipe, stuck it into the hole, and slammed it hard on the badger's nose with a loud "bang."

The tobacco pipe was heavy, and he struck it with great force, causing the badger's neck to tilt and it to collapse limply.

Fearing the badger might be feigning death, none of the men dared to make a move. Song Desheng glanced at the two men, then used a probe to probe inside. He poked something soft at the spot below the hole and realized the badger was dead.

Several people worked together to dig open the hole and drag the badger out. They dug again, but there was nothing inside, only a dead badger.

Song Desheng laughed and said, "Guess what? The badger's nose is all cooked."

The three men were very pleased to have killed the badger.

A strong wind rustled through the snow-covered forest. Lu Zhiqiang, mimicking the old man's high-pitched voice, began humming a line from a traditional opera: "Li Yuhe, carrying a red lantern, looks around... His superiors have sent someone to Longtan. The appointment is for 7:30, and the bus is this one..."

After putting away the traps, Song Desheng had an idea and said, "Badger oil is really useful. Let's set blind traps later. If we can catch one after the 15th, we'll make a fortune."

Blind traps involve digging a hole in the badger's path, setting the trap, and then waiting for it to escape. The success rate is not high, but there is a chance of occasionally getting something else.

Li Ju'an patted the back of his head and laughed, "In the dead of winter, who would want someone's badger running around like that? You don't want to catch a badger, you want to catch Big Skin."

The price of sable fur has been soaring year after year. Who wouldn't want to own a big pelt? It's purely a matter of luck. Even the most experienced hunter is useless without luck.

Despite his verbal jabs, Li Ju'an's actions spoke volumes. He tossed the badger and raccoon dog onto the sled and continued towards the fifth ridge, calling for Da Hu to lead the dogs in searching for sable tracks.

The three men led the mules along the gently undulating slope. Looking down, they could see the fifth ridge to the south of the mountain village at the crest of the ridge. Behind them, at the bottom of the ridge, lay the valley they had just traversed, Wenxiang Gully.

In less than half a day, the three of them had already walked that far.

Suddenly, hunting dogs barked ahead.

In the past, the tiger didn't bark much, and would charge at any wild animal it encountered and start a fight. Li Ju'an could only wait until he heard the fighting before finding a spot, grabbing his gun, and rushing over. Now, the mixed-breed wolfhound barks enthusiastically, and Hua Er, leading three other experienced dogs, barks to alert the hunters, making his dog-hunting operation much smoother.

The tiger in front stopped and quietly watched him.

Li Ju'an didn't find any prey, but he did find a series of shallow footprints on the ground.

His eyes lit up with surprise when he saw it clearly, and he exclaimed, "It's Big Skin!"