frightfiction Chapter 230 Can we survive one eagle's nest this year?
Chapter 230 Can we survive one eagle's nest this year?
Li Ju'an stared enviously at the large red pine tree. It belonged to Zhao, the head of Eagle Village, and the eagle had likely made this tree its base. The pine was forty meters tall, nestled against a cliff face. There must be an open nest for the eagle in a cave or among the rubble above.
By mid-to-late April, during the egg-laying season, there should be about one brood of eagle eggs in this spot. The incubation period is about forty-two to forty-five days, and the eaglets will hatch in June. He can keep an eye on this brood of eaglets until they are sub-adult, and then he can take down a brood of sub-adult goshawks. When everything is in place, he might be able to train a hunting eagle.
Which hunter wouldn't want to own a falcon?
A good falcon can easily hunt small animals and even distinguish those with valuable pelts. A hunter might only encounter two sables a year by sheer luck, but within the falcon's 3-kilometer-wide field of vision, it can clearly see the movement of small animals across the entire mountainside. A falcon's success rate in catching sables is far higher than carrying the finest incense sticks into the mountains. Moreover, a falcon can catch a green lemur in a single swipe.
Take Old Qin from Taozi Village in Changbai Mountain, for example. He dreams of having a hunting falcon perched on his left arm and a dog on a leash in his right. In the more than ten years he's been in the village, he hasn't even managed to train a dog, let alone a sub-adult falcon.
Li Ju'an marked the bark of the red pine tree by cutting off some dead leaves with a knife.
Lu Zhiqiang asked him what he was doing. Li Ju'an said, "Remember, coming back will make you rich."
Li Dong laughed at him: "You got rich because of me. I found this tree first, didn't I? You want to get rich by using this tree? Fine, shake two pheasants down first."
Upon hearing this, the Lu brothers realized that Li Dong hadn't been subdued yet and raised his fist to punch them in the face. Li Dong shrank back, quickly gripped the ash wood stick, and started banging on the big red pine tree, muttering, "They're all just talkers, useless in real combat. I'm the one who has to do the work."
Li Ju'an asked him, "You could have just taken the wire off. But you're holding the clip that's bent like that and not even trying to pull the wire out. What are you going to do with the deformed clip?"
Li Dong said, "You guys can go into the mountains to set traps, but I can't? It would be great if we could catch a bear cub, preferably alive."
Lu Zhiqiang sneered and said, "I can tell from your voice that you're an amateur who never goes hiking. You think bear cubs can get caught in traps? Normally, if you try to set traps along bear tracks, the mother bear can come over and tear them apart."
Li Dong said, "Let's give it a try. If it really catches the bear, I can sell it for 1000 yuan and make a profit."
Li Ju'an was also puzzled and asked him, "What kind of teddy bear can be worth a thousand yuan? A small bear skin is only worth four or five hundred at most."
Li Dong said seriously, "Li Pao, think about it. If I sell you the bear cubs, now that the policy has been relaxed, you can raise them and sell their bile. A single bear bile will be worth at least 2000 yuan after the New Year. Wouldn't you make a net profit of 1000 yuan?"
Li Ju'an and Lu Zhiqiang looked at him and laughed. Lu Jinyang asked him, "If it's so profitable, why don't you do it yourself? Why do you have to sell bear cubs to us?"
Li Dong was straightforward: "I don't have the money. I can't afford to raise bears."
Li Ju'an laughed heartily and said, "You're a real talent. If you ran into Song Desheng, you two would be evenly matched."
Song Desheng had indeed said something similar to Li Dong's: he wanted to start a bear farm to raise bears and extract their bile. Li Ju'an knew about the policies of the future; bears were listed as protected wild animals and were subject to key protection. These bear bile factories were all illegal, and those in charge would go to jail if caught.
Lu Zhiqiang counted on his fingers, thinking seriously for a moment, "You guys are all saying the same thing, I'm almost being fooled. Hey, Li Ju'an, thinking about it this way, it really makes sense. We should have taken those three bear cubs from Wolf Eyes last time. We should have chained them up with iron locks and raised them ourselves."
He actually discussed it with Li Dong. Bear cubs, especially when they are young, are not much different from dog cubs or wolf cubs in terms of wildness. If they are raised from a young age, the bears will not be as wild as they are when they grow up in the wild, and their aggression will be much weaker. They can be tethered with a thick chain weighing several tens of kilograms.
Lu Zhiqiang felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Li Ju'an said, "Brother Dong, I happen to have an egg. I'll sell it to you for fifty yuan a egg."
Li Dong shouted, "Sell me an egg for 50 yuan? I'm not stupid, who would pay 50 yuan for that thing?"
Li Ju'an continued, "How is 50 yuan a single egg expensive? Once the eggs hatch into chicks, you can raise them for a while, and then they'll lay eggs. It'll only take about a year. Chickens lay eggs, eggs hatch into chickens, and in three to five years you'll be rich. How can you say 50 yuan is expensive? If you become successful, you'll have to thank me."
Li Dong was speechless, staring at him with his eyes wide open.
Lu Zhiqiang slapped his forehead and said, "That's exactly right. Catching cubs is easy, but raising them is difficult. Let alone bear cubs, even raising chickens is a science in itself. Otherwise, the chicken farm in the production brigade would have been rich long ago. The aunties in the village who raise chickens would have become millionaires by now."
Li Dong looked at the two of them with their obnoxious expressions and, unable to argue with them, could only give them a blank stare and say, "So annoying."
The group burst into laughter and continued to shake the giant red pine tree vigorously.
Several traps hanging high up were indeed shaken down by the group. The branches of the red pine were not sturdy, and the traps were easily shaken down. The four men exclaimed in surprise and quickly moved away from the tree trunk. Several traps containing prey were shaken down. Li Ju'an glanced over and realized he was very lucky: three pheasants, a half-pound pheasant, and a red fox.
The pheasant and the silly half-pound chicken were pecked and bruised by the great tits, and were covered in bits of meat. The red fox, on the other hand, was perfectly intact. It seemed that the great tits didn't like to eat fox meat, but preferred the tender and fresh taste of the pheasant.
Li Ju'an examined the red fox and found that its pelt was intact and undamaged. He was overjoyed.
The specimen collection at the forest farm is now complete. Six weasels and one bear have already been handed in. He'll dig up the three red deer, one red fox, and one sable from the snow near the gate, and with the red fox, the collection will be finished.
The head of the forest farm promised him that once he submitted the specimen, he could learn to drive from an experienced instructor. With a license, he could hold the steering wheel, and in these mountains, a driver was highly sought after; everyone would give him a thumbs up.
He rubbed his hands together excitedly, unable to wait any longer.
The titmouse above was still munching on scraps of meat, oblivious to the trap falling. The entire tree was the eagle's storehouse of meat. Suddenly, a hawk's cry rang out.
The four looked up and Lu Zhiqiang cursed, "It's that flat-haired beast again. I'll beat it down."
The eagle, which doesn't hunt at night, landed behind the large red pine tree, quite wary. The shadowy figure vanished into the darkness in an instant, making it impossible for Lu Zhiqiang to even aim.
Li Ju'an said, "It's good to keep it. This year we can raise a whole brood of eagles."