On his first trip to the city, Wang Tianxiao gained a general understanding of the prices of these wild animals.
No one eats the meat of the stone marten; everyone is after its pelt. If it's in good condition, a single pelt can sell for over ten yuan. Whether it's ten or twenty yuan depends entirely on the size and condition of the stone marten.
Although Wang Tianxiao has money from selling deer blood to support himself every month, he is more optimistic about medicinal herb cultivation, which he believes is the only way to truly scale up and sustainably generate wealth.
The government will soon impose many restrictions on hunting and will confiscate guns, so hunting will only be a pastime for the next few years; you won't starve, but you won't make a fortune either.
It's fine to use it only for a little bit of excess.
Once his agricultural industry chain is fully operational, hunting will simply become a true pastime and enjoyment.
"You can actually stop a stone marten?" Wu Wenhua exclaimed excitedly. "Stone martens are incredibly slippery. I've heard people say that you can't shoot a stone marten with a gun, you can only use a slingshot to hit its skull, is that right?"
"That's right. The little thing is only about the size of a cat. Its valuable part is its fur. If you shoot it, the fur will be shredded into pieces, and then it won't be worth anything."
"It's quite difficult to shoot a sable with a slingshot; you simply can't do it without practice."
"That's right. It requires very strong skills, almost to the point of hitting the target every time. If you miss the first time, they will run away quickly, and you won't have a second chance to hit them."
"Then... are you sure you can manage?"
Wang Tianxiao had already unscrewed a sturdy slingshot frame, which was slightly larger than a regular slingshot frame.
He pulled a leather belt from Wang Tianxin and gestured with it next to the slingshot stand, saying, "Fortunately, I've loved playing with slingshots since I was a child, and even if I can't hit the target every time, I'm at least pretty close."
Actually, Wang Tianxiao was good at using a slingshot in his previous life because he had always worked and lived in the mountains. Sometimes, in order to protect certain rare animals or birds, he needed to warn and persuade the culprits who harmed them to back down at crucial moments.
But in nature, everyone has their own perspective.
Preventing others from harming vulnerable animals is already an act of human intervention that disrupts the natural balance. In the animal kingdom, everyone simply wants to reproduce and survive.
If the weak aren't allowed to be eaten, then the strong will only starve. Everyone is just trying to survive; there's no absolute right or wrong.
“If that’s the case, I’m really excited.” Wang Tianxin squatted down next to his brother and said enthusiastically, “Putting everything else aside, just take slingshot shooting for example. Looking at the whole Wangjia Village, if I say I’m second, who dares to say they’re first?”
"Look how capable you are." Wang Tianxiao gently tapped his younger brother's head with a wire. But what Wang Tianxin said was not wrong. This child was not good at studying, but when it came to playing, he was indeed very good at it and had not missed a single one.
"Second brother, others may not know my skills, but you do. Fifth brother, tell me, am I not the slingshot king of our village? I hit the target every time. As long as I'm in the village, even the birds don't dare to make a sound near our house."
Wang Tianxin smiled and said, "Yeah, you're amazing."
"See? Fifth Brother doesn't lie. Second Brother, you still won't admit it."
The three brothers chatted away, while Wu Wenhua and Wu Qiancai squatted to the side, unable to join in the conversation. They finally managed to interject during a break, saying, "The brothers among you small business owners have such a good relationship."
"..."
Though the speaker meant no harm, the three Wang brothers felt a slight embarrassment for a moment.
Wang Tianxin, ever quick-witted, changed the subject, saying, "Second Brother, your slingshot looks bigger than the ones we played with when we were kids, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it needs to be bigger," Wang Tianxiao said, having already tied the leather strap to the first slingshot. He also secured both sides tightly with thin wire and wrapped the handle of the slingshot firmly with a wide leather strap.
That basically completes a slingshot.
"Because we're shooting at stone martens this time, and perhaps some other small creatures as well, these things are very alert. They often run away or hide in cover as soon as they hear the sound of steel balls being fired. Therefore, we must make the steel balls we're firing very fast so that they don't have a chance to react."
"I see."
"In addition, stone martens have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. Even if we stand upwind, we can't get too close. In my previous experience, we can only get about 30 meters away from them at most. If we get any closer, they can smell us, and then we won't be able to catch them."
"Wow, they're that strong! Do they have dog noses?"
“You, still talking about a dog’s nose,” Wang Tianxiao handed him the finished slingshot. “Here you go, let’s see how many you can catch. I have to tell you, there are things in these mountains that are more sensitive than a dog’s nose. Take wild boars, for example. Don’t let their silly appearance fool you, when it comes to smell, they far surpass dogs.”
"Is it really that strong? You're making it sound so scary." Wang Tianxin smiled, thinking his brother was exaggerating. Everyone says his nose is as sensitive as a dog's, but no one says it's as sensitive as a pig's.
"Whether you believe it or not, you have to believe it," Wang Tianxiao said seriously, his smile fading. "Maintaining respect and vigilance for every animal in the mountains is an essential psychological element for an excellent hunter. If you look down on them, all that awaits you is a failed attempt, or even injury or death. Do you understand?"
Seeing his brother become serious, Wang Tianxin stopped joking and nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, second brother, I'm just telling you. I know what I'm doing."
"That's good." Wang Tianxiao nodded.
About twenty minutes later, Wang Tianxiao had finished making the second slingshot. Currently, only he and Wang Tianxin were good at using slingshots, so making more would be pointless.
It's time to set off.
After discussing it, Wang Tianxin and Wu Qiancai decided to stay at the station and chop some wood so they could use it to cook meat when they returned from hunting.
In addition, the station cannot be left unattended. Leaving his wife and two children at home is not safe, even during the day.
Wang Tianxiao thought for a moment and decided to leave Aying behind as well. He also placed the old homemade gun on the windowsill, in case anything happened, since his wife knew how to use a gun and could use it to fight back.
That should solve the problem.
Ah Ying has a very good temper. She was all prepared to go out into the mountains for a run, but was left behind to look after the house at the last minute. She didn't have any complaints and just squatted at the door watching the three people and two dogs walk down the mountain ridge.
The two leopard cats, A-Qiang and A-Zhen, are a bit shy. When there are many people around, they always hide in the corner and don't come out. Only then do they slowly slip out and run to A-Ying's side, gently playing with his white tail.
Ah Ying turned her head and glanced at him, but she wasn't angry. She slowly lay down face down.
On the kang (a heated brick bed), Wang Fang was taking a nap. She was laughing so hard she couldn't stop, and she didn't know what she was dreaming about.
Li Yali gently tucked her daughter in, then patted her son's blanket. Gazing out the window at the distant mountains, she seemed to be able to follow her husband into the mountains.
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