Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 120 The tiger cub's skin is worth a fortune

Upon seeing the falcon, Li Ju'an immediately recalled what Lao Qin had said: some people traveled over mountains and valleys to Muhu Pass to buy falcons. There were skilled falconers there who captured young falcons every year to sell. Young yellow falcons could catch rabbits and pheasants. Goshawks could catch foxes and gazelles.

He carefully examined the leg band on the falcon's leg, and it seemed familiar. He had met Zhao Pao once before at the forest farm. Hunters from Yulou Village in Tuchengzi Township all had a majestic falcon perched on their shoulders, which is the origin of the name "Eagle Village."

“I’ve seen this eagle before; it looks like Zhao Pao’s hunting eagle.”

Song De angrily kicked the eagle, sending the already injured eagle sprawling, yet it still managed to glare at him menacingly with its eagle eyes. He cursed, "What kind of feathered beast are you? You're nothing but a bullet in front of me."

The falcon was extremely persistent with its prey. Even when it was surrounded by eleven dogs and held upside down by Li Ju'an's talons, it could still turn its eagle eyes to stare at the tiger cubs on the tree branches. It was very arrogant and did not submit to anyone.

Song Desheng teased the falcon with a twig, and the falcon angrily pecked at him. Luckily, he reacted quickly and dodged in time, otherwise he would have had a piece of flesh pecked off his finger. He cried out in pain and insisted that Li Ju'an give him the falcon so he could get his revenge.

"Get the tiger cubs down first; the flat-feathered bird's wings are damaged, so it can't escape."

More and more great tits gathered in the air. These carnivorous birds, hungry in the dead of winter, swarmed around when they heard their companions calling, seizing any opportunity to peck at the tiger cub's carcass. The tiger cub's pelt was valuable, and the hunter couldn't let the great tits ruin it; a single bite would spoil the carcass and cost him tens of dollars.

The tiger barked around the base of the tree, trying to startle the great tit.

Li Ju'an raised his gun, aimed at the loudest great tit, and pulled the trigger.

boom!

The tree branch was about ten meters high. The bullet ricocheted out and shattered the great tit. Its head and body were indistinguishable, and it sprayed out a cloud of blood mist.

The shot startled several great tits into flight, and only then did the area around the tiger cub's carcass quiet down.

The three men stared up at the tiger cub's carcass in the same posture. Lu Zhiqiang said, "Magpies are only good for their name; they've probably ruined all the good pelts. How are we going to get this tiger skin off?"

Li Ju'an and Sun Weimin were also tinkering with how to get it down.

If Flower Ears hadn't been shoved on the back by the falcon, it could have climbed up to the top of a tall tree, given its climbing ability. But the problem was, Flower Ears, the only one who could climb trees, had its back torn and bleeding from the injury, and none of the other dogs could climb trees.

Lu Zhiqiang, leaning on his spear, shouted, "You two both have guns, why don't you use them to break the branch? Then the branch will fall down."

He fell silent after being given strange looks by the two men. Sun Weimin retorted, "I'll give you the gun, you try it and see if it works. What do you think a tree branch is, something that can be broken just like that? With your talkative skills, chainsaw factories should all be shut down."

The branch was thick and wouldn't break anytime soon. Da Hu tried, but his paws couldn't grip the frozen bark at all, and he slid down. "Watch this, buddy," Sun Weimin said, rubbing his hands, which were covered in mittens, as he also started climbing the tree.

Sun Weimin climbed a shorter distance than Da Hu.

Lu Zhiqiang below watched and laughed heartily. Li Ju'an kept a watchful eye on the tiger's movements, but none of the eleven hunting dogs barked, nor did the injured falcon in his hand caw, so there should be no tiger nearby.

He also sensed something was amiss. The tiger cub had been dead in the tree for so long, why hadn't Tiger King arrived yet? The falcon in his hands was injured, and it had been calling for so long, but Zhao Pao hadn't come either. Had Zhao Pao from Eagle Village run into Tiger King head-on?

Unable to bear the torment of the tree any longer, Sun Weimin simply took off his gauntlet, grabbed a broad axe from his cloth bag, and began chopping at the tree trunk.

"I'll see if I kill this tree or not."

The tree, so large that it would take three or four people to encircle it, was frozen solid. The already hard trunk was covered with a layer of frost in the freezing cold.

Sun Weimin swung his axe and smashed it down, barely scratching the tree. Cutting it down would have been a real struggle.

He stubbornly refused to believe it, and with all his might, he swung the axe and chopped away, yelling and shouting about a thousand yuan, five hundred yuan, until sparks flew from the axe. Half an hour later, he looked closely with excitement, then closed his eyes sadly. He had only managed to peel off a piece of bark.

Lu Zhiqiang joked that the food he ate all ended up inside his anus. He took the axe from Sun Weimin, gritted his teeth, and with great effort, clenched his biceps and chopped down hard. Another half hour later, the tree, which three or four people could barely encircle, only had superficial wounds.

He was sweating profusely, his body burning hot. The sweat poured out like crazy, soaking through his undershirt, crotch, and trouser legs.

He had just stopped moving when a cold wind blew, freezing his sweat into ice crystals that made him wiggle his hips and feel itchy all over.

"This despicable thing, we have to get it out of here."

He roared and swung the axe even harder, sparks flying off the tree trunk.

The three of them had been busy for a while, and the big tree was only slightly injured.

The three of them looked up at the tiger cub's corpse with a touch of sadness. It was like having a beautiful girl right in front of you, but not being able to have her – how frustrating!

Lu Zhiqiang took off his glove and shouted, "I can't take it anymore! I'll go find the forest farm and get a chainsaw."

Li Ju'an looked at the tree trunk, which was frozen solid, and thought that even if he borrowed a chainsaw, it would be difficult to make ends meet.

He suddenly said, "Lu Zhiqiang, do you still have that sheepskin felt mat with the landmine?"

Lu Zhiqiang slapped his forehead, realizing he'd completely forgotten about this. The old man's sheepskin felt was used as a landmine; once they had the material, they could use it directly. He quickly rummaged through his cloth bag, pulled out a piece of sheepskin felt wrapped in gunpowder, and shouted, "Brothers, kill it!"

The sheepskin felt was used as a landmine and tied to a tree trunk. The three men quickly retreated a few steps, and Li Ju'an aimed his gun at the sheepskin felt and fired.

boom!

The gun fired, the gunpowder inside the sheepskin felt exploded, tree trunks and sawdust burst open, and the smell of gunpowder and thick smoke billowed out.

The once thick tree trunk was now blasted into a large dent, exposing the core of the wood. The three felt the blast wave hit their faces, and felt the sting of splinters hitting their skin. Li Ju'an grabbed the axe stuck in the snow and began hacking away at the dented tree trunk.

With a crisp "crack," the tree trunk fell.

The tiger cub's carcass, perched high in the tree branch, fell to the ground along with the tree trunk.