Chapter 211 Deer Herd
As they talked, the group dragged the roe deer back to the hut on the hillside.
The roe deer was thrown to the ground, where it kept the mountain weasel company.
Everyone was quite happy to see the two guys on the ground.
"Come on, hurry up and get something to light the way. We need to take care of these two guys before they're completely out of control."
When an animal dies, its body surface cools down rapidly, but its internal organs remain warm.
If you don't gut and clean it quickly, the internal organs will become smelly and the meat will also smell awful.
After all the hard work of hunting, how could we just stand by and watch our prey die?
They did bring a few flashlights, but those things always burn out the bulbs; they're fine for emergencies, but you can't keep them on all the time to provide light.
If it breaks down again, we'll have nothing to use in an emergency.
Fortunately, while gathering firewood last night, I found a fairly large piece of pine needle, which I split open with a hand axe and lit to use as a torch.
And so, Zhang Zhijun and the others lit torches to illuminate the way, Sheng Xiping hunted the roe deer, and Chen Weiguo gutted the roe deer.
They took out the roe deer's internal organs, dug a deep pit in the snow and buried it there, then stuffed snow into the roe deer's belly and buried it in the snow as well.
This way, the smell of blood will be less noticeable, preventing other wild animals from being attracted at night.
The lynx pelt was shredded into a roll, put into a white cloth bag, and the entrails and meat were buried in the snow in the same way.
After all this commotion and activity, it's almost 2 o'clock.
No one was sleepy, and since there wasn't much firewood left in the fire and it was getting a bit cold in the shack, Zhang Zhijun quickly added some more firewood to the fire, and then everyone sat around the fire chatting.
This trip into the mountains yielded two musk pouches and a lynx pelt. These two items alone could fetch a considerable sum, making it a very successful haul.
Not to mention, there's also a fairly large roe deer, which can yield quite a bit of meat.
Everyone was delighted and looked forward to hunting traps again tomorrow, hoping to catch something.
As they chatted, drowsiness crept in, so they leaned together and dozed off, eventually falling asleep without realizing it.
Fortunately, nothing much happened in the latter half of the night, and everyone managed to get some sleep.
Of course, in these snow-covered mountains, it's unlikely you'll get to sleep for long.
Around five o'clock, the firewood in the bonfire burned out, the temperature in the shack dropped, and everyone felt cold and woke up again.
Alright, it's this late, why are you still sleeping? Get up when you should.
After stretching their limbs, the group emerged from the shack. The eastern sky was faintly tinged with orange-yellow, casting a golden hue over the distant mountains and snowfields.
It was already quite bright outside, so Sheng Xiping simply led Wang Jianshe and Chen Weiguo, the three of them carrying guns, down the hillside.
Arriving near the warm spring, they hid behind rocks and bushes, lying in ambush.
In the early morning, most of the animals in the mountains and forests will come out to wander around, eat, and drink.
This warm spring is the only water source in the vicinity. I saw it when I came here yesterday afternoon, and there were many animal footprints around it.
So Sheng Xiping planned to lie in ambush here and shoot whatever animals he encountered.
Their vacation is only a few days long, so they must make the most of it and hunt as much game as they can.
The time before dawn is when the temperature is lowest. In order to hunt, Sheng Xiping and the others could only endure the low temperature and wait patiently.
Fortunately, as the sky gradually brightened, animals did indeed come from afar.
"Xiping, it's a deer, a sika deer."
Wang Jianshe spotted a group of animals approaching in the morning light; it was a herd of sika deer.
"This place is truly a treasure trove. If I had known, we should have come here yesterday."
He muttered to himself, but his eyes were fixed on the herd of deer ahead, and he deftly removed half of his glove.
In the forest areas of Northeast China, temperatures often drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius in winter. In such weather, it is essential to keep warm. Thick cotton hats, scarves, and cotton gloves are all necessary.
In Northeast China, cotton gloves are called "cotton hand gloves" because only the thumbs are separated, while the other four fingers are together.
The two cotton glove covers are connected by a rope. When not wearing them, the rope is tied together and placed behind the back.
This thing is great for keeping warm, but it's no good for hunting. You can't tell your fingers apart and can't pull the trigger.
Therefore, the gloves worn by hunters are specially made, with the right glove connected to the back of the hand, while the palm is divided into two sections.
When not in use, it's just a cotton glove cover. But when hunting or using a gun, you can open it halfway up so your fingers can move freely without any hindrance.
"Okay, let them get closer before we shoot. The three of us will each aim at one and try not to miss."
Sheng Xiping gave a soft instruction, and then the three of them waited quietly behind the bushes, their fingers on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment.
This herd of deer is quite large, with more than a dozen deer of various sizes.
During this season, the male deer have shed their antlers and new velvet antlers are just beginning to grow, so their heads are bald.
In most animals, males are larger than females, and deer are no exception; adult male deer can weigh over 300 pounds.
Generally speaking, deer hunting is also seasonal.
February and March are the season for killing deer fetuses, mainly targeting female deer, in order to obtain the precious fetuses.
May and June are the best time to hunt deer antlers, mainly targeting male deer, as the medicinal properties of the antlers are at their peak during this period.
From September until the first snowfall, it's the tail season for hunting deer. During this period, the deer meat is plump and delicious. The meat caught can be cut into strips, dried, and stored for winter.
After October, it is the best time to extract deer antler velvet, as its medicinal effects are strongest at this time.
Of course, this is just a saying. Once you're in the mountains, you just shoot whatever you encounter. Who cares about male or female deer, deer fetuses or deer penises?
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