"Don't worry, I will slowly adjust my mood. The main reason is that the incident happened too suddenly and I was not mentally prepared at all." Old man Wu turned his back and wiped the tears from his face.
"Life must go on. If you can relax, your sister-in-law will feel better too. I see her hair is all white, and I believe she's just as sad as you are."
"As the backbone of the family, men must support it at all times," said Yun the butcher frankly.
"Brother Yun, you are right. Give me some time, I will get through this." Old Man Wu patted Butcher Yun on the shoulder.
"Yiyi, you're awake now. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
"Dad, I'm not sleepy anymore. It's more interesting to come down and take a walk." Yun Yiyi turned to look at Old Man Wu.
"Grandpa Wu, do you often go hunting in the mountains? Are there a lot of wild animals there?"
Old man Wu looked at Yun Yiyi with a curious look on her face and laughed.
"Yiyi, what do you think about hunting? My family is a hunter, and we basically make a living by hunting. We don't have much land because we don't need to grow food. We buy the food we eat at the grain store in town."
"Of the four seasons of the year, autumn is the peak time for hunting in the mountains. In spring, the wild animals in the mountains need to reproduce. Therefore, spring is the time when we go into the mountains the least."
"In the summer, we don't go into the mountains very often. It's not that there aren't many wild animals in the summer, but because it rains so much. If we want to hunt big game, we usually have to stay in the mountains for several days. Once it rains in the summer, the wild animals don't like to come out. Besides, if it rains and there's thunder and lightning, it's not safe to stay in the woods."
"Autumn is our favorite season as hunters. Wild animals grow fatter in autumn. There is also more food in the mountains, and wild animals like to come out and roam. It's easier for us to find wild animals."
"Besides, the weather in autumn is good. The temperature is not as high as in the summer, and there is not as much rain. It is more comfortable for us to stay in the woods. Autumn is when we harvest the most."
"It snows a lot in the winter. Spending a day in the mountains occasionally is fine, but staying there for too long can easily lead to colds. Also, fewer wild animals come out in the mountains in winter. But the ones we encounter are usually quite ferocious, like wolves, tigers, and bears."
"If they encounter one, they'll generally get hurt. It's winter now, so they don't come out much. When they do come out, they're looking for food, so they're more aggressive. They'll even attack people if they encounter them."
"Grandpa Wu, I always thought that winter is the best time to catch wild animals. It snows in winter, and the animals in the mountains run slower, so it should be easier to hunt." Yun Yiyi asked in confusion.
Old Man Wu touched Yun Yiyi's hair and slowly explained to her.
"Although winter limits the speed of animals, many animals in the mountains will prepare food for the winter in advance. Only those animals that have no food will come out."
"Especially carnivorous animals like wolves and tigers. They struggle to get enough to eat in winter. Hungry animals are also very violent. We generally don't want to run into them. If we do, it's too easy to get hurt."
"However, there's one animal that's easier to catch in winter: rabbits. After the snow falls, set a trap near the rabbit hives. Then go back the next day and you'll probably catch a rabbit."
"Wow, Grandpa Wu, it would be so fun for you to go hunting in the mountains." Yun Yiyi said longingly.
"Haha, silly kid. That's not something you can envy. You see, when we go into the mountains in the summer, it's especially easy to encounter snakes. If it's a non-venomous one, it's okay. But if it's a venomous one and it bites you, don't you think it's dangerous?"
"If you run into a bear in the mountains in winter, it can slap you several meters away."
"If you're lucky and encounter a lone wolf, it's easier to kill it. But if you're unlucky and encounter a pack of wolves, it could take you days and nights."
"So, every time we go into the mountains, we do it knowing there are tigers there. Otherwise, if everyone knows there are wild animals in the mountains, why are there so few hunters in each village?"
"That's true. Especially every summer, there are villagers who are bitten by snakes. It's not easy to be a hunter." Butcher Yun sighed.
"Grandpa Wu, did your family have a good harvest? Can it support the family?"
"Haha, you little clever guy, you hit the nail on the head. My family makes a living by hunting." After saying this, Old Man Wu looked down at Yun Yiyi.
Yun Yiyi thought about it for a moment, then she said with sudden enlightenment, "Grandpa Wu, I understand. Your family must be pretty good at hunting."
"Yes, you are right. My family is a hereditary hunter family. Therefore, when it comes to hunting, we have many ancestral methods. These methods cannot be learned outside. They are the experience summed up by my father and his generation from long-term hunting." Old Man Wu said proudly.
"Brother Wu, hunting is a very difficult thing to learn without someone to guide you. Once you enter the mountains, it's very easy to get into trouble if you don't have the skills." Yun the Butcher said with deep emotion.
Every autumn, some young people from Yunjia Village would sneak into the mountains without the knowledge of their elders. If they went to the outskirts, they could catch some small prey like rabbits.
If a few brave young men ventured into the mountains, they would be lucky if they could escape unscathed. The unlucky ones might encounter tigers or wolves, resulting in injuries or even death. If the villagers came to look for them early, they would generally return unharmed.
Every autumn, the village chief repeatedly urged the village's young people not to venture into the mountains. The dangers abounded there. However, there were plenty of brave young people. This concern had nearly turned the village chief's hair gray. It was only during the past two years of drought, when the wild animals in the mountains had dwindled and the dangers were less prevalent, that the village chief finally stopped forbidding young people from going up.
"This kind of thing happens every year in our village. Some people in the village are so shameless that they come to my house and ask me to take their children hunting."
"I told them that as long as they weren't worried about their children getting hurt or being bitten or killed by prey in the mountains, I would take their children with me."
"They don't think about it. If hunting were so easy, everyone would go hunting. Who would be willing to farm? If everyone could easily catch prey, the price of prey wouldn't be so high."
"The villagers weren't convinced, saying I wasn't really taking care of their children. But they didn't really think about it. These are the skills I use to make a living and support my family. Why should I give them to them for free?"
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