Chapter 198 I am a Tibetan Mastiff, and you want me to do this?
There are both advantages and disadvantages to using Tibetan Mastiffs as hunting dogs. The advantages are that they are resistant to bitter cold, have a ferocious character, and are highly vigilant. Even if they encounter a blind bear, they are not afraid and will go straight for it. The disadvantages are that their IQ is not very high, they are not easy to tame, and they cannot understand complicated commands.
Therefore, except for special areas in the plateau, herders generally do not choose Tibetan Mastiffs as herding dogs or hunting dogs.
This may not be a problem for Xu Lingjun. He has animal affinity. In front of such a plug-in, even a Tibetan mastiff can be tamed quickly and can understand more complicated commands? "It looks like a good dog. I'll get it some food first!" Xu Lingjun took the puppies and put them in the dog cage that he had just made yesterday. He also found some leftovers and added some mare's milk to feed them.
The conditions nowadays are not as good as those in later generations. There are no special dog food or anything like that. The herdsmen have always fed their dogs whatever they have. If the two dogs were not still young, Xu Lingjun would not even add horse milk to their food.
"You have to take it slow and coax them first. If dogs like this don't recognize their owners, they won't eat the food fed by others." Dong Kuan watched from the side and reminded with a smile.
But before he could finish his words, he saw two puppies licking Xu Lingjun's hand and started eating happily. Dong Kuan quickly rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong. When he opened his eyes again, the two dogs were still eating happily.
"Wow, this is fate. I fed them all the way but they wouldn't eat. But as soon as they saw you, they ate so diligently. It means they have recognized you." Dong Kuan had no idea that Xu Lingjun was cheating and thought they really got along well.
"This saves me from making another trip. You can keep it and take good care of it. This kind of dog can be trained as a hunting dog when it is four months old. It will be soon. Come and tell me when you are ready to train the dog." After saying that, Dong Kuan put his hands behind his back and walked away.
"Grandpa, take care." Xu Lingjun sent him out of the yard, muttering to himself, I guess this won't be necessary, right? I'm afraid there's no one in the entire Qilian Mountains who is better at this than me.
After playing with the dog for a while, Li Xiuzhi came back with a basket filled with fresh wild vegetables picked from the grassland. Seeing the dog in the cage, she was very curious, "What kind of dog is this? Why does it look so strange?"
As she was about to squat down to take a closer look, the moment she approached the cage, the two puppies started barking and were very wary of Li Xiuzhi.
"Don't scream. Next time you two see her, be good and listen to her, okay?" Xu Lingjun said while patting the cage.
"Pfft." Li Xiuzhi laughed, "How come such a small dog can understand you?"
A magical scene happened. The two puppies suddenly calmed down, put their noses to the cage and sniffed, as if trying to remember the smell of Li Xiuzhi.
"Hey, now they are obedient!" Xu Lingjun was very satisfied. The reward of animal affinity really suits the world of "Horse Wrangler". "Come here and touch them."
As soon as Li Xiuzhi came over, the two little guys seemed to understand what Xu Lingjun said. They put their big square heads close to the cage and let Li Xiuzhi stroke them.
"Hey, so well behaved." Li Xiuzhi asked pleasantly, but then became worried again, "We can't keep them in cages forever, right? We have chickens in the yard, what if we let them out and they bite the chickens?"
"Don't be afraid, these two guys are very obedient. Just teach them slowly." Xu Lingjun is now full of confidence in his abilities.
Dong Kuan said that hunting dogs could only be trained when they were four months old at the earliest, but since Xu Lingjun was lucky, there was no need to wait that long. From that day on, he would play with the puppies for a while every day after returning from work. He also gave them names. The one with a bigger head was called Dahuang, and the smaller one was called Erhuang.
Dahuang and Erhuang are very attached to him and would follow him wherever he goes. Every time Xu Lingjun goes out to graze, he has to coax them for a while before they will come back to the yard.
They learn things very quickly and are soon able to be released from the cage. They don't chase or run after chickens when they see them, and will only run out to stop the chickens when they want to leave the yard.
Gradually, they were no longer panicked when they saw the horses. Xu Lingjun made two bags with straw ropes and put the two dogs in the bags when he went out on horseback. Dahuang and Erhuang would cling to the edge of the bags with their front paws, looking at the scenery along the way curiously.
Then they were taught not to bark randomly, let alone bite people. At the end of the teaching, Guo Zizi, Haisheng and others were surprised to see Da Huang and Er Huang. "Other dogs bark fiercely, why are your Da Huang and Er Huang so well-behaved? Could it be that they have been with you for so long that they have become more cultured?"
Dong Kuan was a little worried. "If the yellow four-eyed dogs are not fierce, they can't be good hunting dogs. Have you trained them too badly?"
"Why are they so fierce at home? When we really need to use them, they will definitely not back down!" Xu Lingjun seemed full of confidence.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-April, and the people on the ranch ran to the Qilian Mountains more diligently. Because with the gradual rise in temperature and the melting of the snow mountains, Cordyceps sinensis began to poke its head out of the soil. The season for going up the mountain to pick Cordyceps sinensis has arrived again.
This thing was sold at a very high price in later generations, and was sold by gram. One hundred yuan per gram was only the average price. If you came across one with good quality, it could be even more expensive.
It is not cheap now. The supply and marketing cooperatives have purchasing signs for several common medicinal herbs from Qilian Mountains. Cordyceps sinensis has the highest price, which can be given as 28 yuan per kilogram, which is equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary worker.
However, it is not easy to collect one kilogram. One cordyceps weighs only one gram, and it takes about eight or nine hundred cordyceps to make one kilogram. This thing is also small, so it is difficult for ordinary people to collect one kilogram.
Generally speaking, during the Cordyceps harvesting season, the amount of Cordyceps that herders can dig up in a day ranges from a dozen to dozens. Even if they dig every day, they can only collect a little over one kilogram in a month, which is considered a good extra income.
In the past, Xu Lingjun would go with them, but he was not very good at finding Cordyceps. After working hard for a month or so, he could only get a few yuan in exchange. He was not as good as those veterans.
This year was different. Xu Lingjun followed Guo Zizi, Haisheng and others to the mountain. He did not rush to look for Cordyceps everywhere. Instead, he took out a piece and put it in front of Da Huang and Er Huang's noses, "Come, smell this. If there is some there, take me over to dig it."
"Woof woof!" Dahuang and Erhuang barked in unison, as if saying to Xu Lingjun, I am a Tibetan Mastiff, and you want me to do this?
"Be good and go quickly. If you find a lot, I'll give you two a good meal when I get back in the evening." Xu Lingjun ignored their protests, patted his head and urged them to work faster.
"Old Xu, what are you thinking? Why let them do this? They won't do it." Guo Chenzi was speechless, thinking that Xu Lingjun was acting recklessly.
Before he could finish his words, he saw two little guys running forward quickly.
(End of this chapter)
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