Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

Chapter 661 The Legend of the 'Imperial Rabbit Hunt'!
"What kind of fighting style is this?"

Little Eagle Liu frowned, his sharp eyes fixed on the black and red toy car in Jinlong's hand.

Jinlong grinned: "Let's not discuss the tactics yet, just tell me if it's beautiful or not!"

"Beautiful! This little eagle tripod is exceptionally well made!!" Grandpa Liu didn't argue at all; he was completely convinced.

Jinlong said smugly, "Hehe, Xiaofeng made this little eagle tripod for me! It's called a little car tripod! All of us, except Xiaojun who doesn't have one yet, have one each!"

"Let me see!"

"Okay, feel free to look around!" Jinlong handed the little cart to Grandpa Liu without hesitation.

Little Eagle Liu took the small car and carefully examined its details.

"The bottom part here is a five-pronged four-sided knot, the top part is a normal knot, and the top part is an opening. How was this made?"

Tsk tsk tsk, I've been making eagle-themed tripods for decades, and this is the first time I've ever seen this style!
What's this called, a little car trip?

Grandpa Liu muttered to himself for a while, then looked up at Yue Feng with a curious expression.

Yue Feng grinned: "This is a technique of tripping the eagle that has been passed down from many years ago!"

The standard method of wrapping the chives twice to tie up a large eagle is more advantageous, but when it comes to tying up a small eagle, the method of tripping the small cart is sufficient.

With a wide contact area, it's less likely to scratch the talons!

"This technique is quite dense, and most importantly, the moves are beautiful! Tying the hawk to the young is absolutely perfect!! Can you tell me how it's done?"

The first few sentences of Grandpa Liu's were quite normal, but in the last sentence, his tone and manner clearly carried a hint of probing, as if he were being somewhat cautious.

Yue Feng has a deep understanding of the mentality of these older generations. They were born in an era of scarcity and value any craft highly.

After a simple comparison, he could tell that the little cart tripod was far superior to the traditional little eagle tripod in both practicality and exquisiteness.

In this situation, wanting to learn but also fearing to break taboos leads to a somewhat hesitant tone of voice.

Yue Feng grinned: "What's wrong with saying this! I don't make a living by tripping these little eagles. If you want to learn, I'll demonstrate it for you in front of you!"

"Really, really can you teach me?" When Yue Feng said he could even teach me personally, Grandpa Liu's breathing became a little rapid.

“Really! Absolutely genuine!” Yue Feng nodded.

"If you put it that way, if you teach me how to make this little cart trip, I'll give you a pair when my little white eagle has its chicks!" Grandpa Liu solemnly promised in public.

Now it's Yue Feng's turn to be dumbfounded!

"Forehead……"

"What, you don't like it?"

Yue Feng waved his hands repeatedly: "No, I also do breeding myself, and I know how valuable these eaglets are. You're just starting out! If you give them to me, it's like losing a pair of breeding birds!"

Grandpa Liu looked into Yue Feng's eyes and said, "As long as you figure out the experience thoroughly, if you have a baby this year, you can have one next year too!"
If you take good care of these eagles, they can breed for at least ten or eight years. I'm not planning to run a breeding farm, so I don't need a pair of eagles!
However, if I can learn how to make this little cart tripod from you, I'll have another skill to earn a living. Then the traditional little eagle tripod won't fetch a good price anymore; anyone with a bit of taste will buy the little cart tripod I learned from you!

Having said all that, it would be disrespectful for Yue Feng to refuse again, so he readily agreed.

"Alright, I can't refuse a gift from an elder, so I won't stand on ceremony with you!"
From what you're saying, you seem to make and sell things like eagle traps on a regular basis?

Grandpa Liu replied with some emotion, "Yes! Five feet, toad-shaped, split, I make them all! During the spring and autumn falconry seasons, I can easily sell a hundred or eighty pairs, enough to cover my drinking and food expenses!"
As the old saying goes, there's always someone better. I used to be quite confident in my skills, but compared to yours, I'm nowhere near as good!

"So, do you make hats? I have some blueprints for goldfish-eye hats that can be made without a last!" Yue Feng continued to ask.

"Goldfish eyes? Isn't that something that's been lost to time? You can make it?"

"Hehe, sure! I brought one back for my buddy on this trip to Beijing! Young Master Jin, the hat should be at home, right?!"

Jinlong: "It's not at home, it's in the car! I was thinking of coming to select eagles today, so I left it in the car. Please wait a moment, I'll go get it from the car!"

Jinlong quickly greeted everyone, got up, and left the house. He then ran to the parking spot to retrieve the hat Yuefeng had given him.

In a short while, Jinlong returned, bringing back four bottles of Moutai liquor with iron caps in addition to the hat.

"This is the goldfish eye spinning a screw cap that Xiaofeng was talking about. We'll drink this wine at noon later!"

Jinlong presented the hat as if it were a precious treasure.

When Xiao Ying Liu saw the hat made by Yue Feng's skillful hands, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

"This...you made this yourself?"

"Hehe, yes! But this thing requires a pattern, a three-edged needle for sewing hats, and special high-strength thread. I didn't bring these tools with me when I went to Beijing!"
If you're interested, I'll send you a set of drawings and tools later!

"These are goldfish eyes! Many older falconers have said they've seen them before, but this is the first time I've seen one in person! They're so beautiful!"

Meeting you guys today is incredibly lucky for this old man!

"Haha, sir, please don't be so polite. We're all just like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified of them. You're the one who truly loves them!" Yue Feng muttered modestly.

"This young master Jin even brought Moutai with him, so we'll have to have an extra cup at noon! Old woman, old woman!! It's almost noon, go buy some wine and food! I'm in a good mood today, I must drink with these young friends until we're both drunk!"

Grandpa Liu called out a few times from the doorway, and soon an old woman in a light blue cloth robe returned from the front door. The old woman had a kind face and was carrying a bowl of vegetables that hadn't been picked yet.

"Are you having friends over for dinner?" The old lady nodded to Yue Feng and the others, then asked.

"Yes, prepare more impressive dishes!"

"it is good!"

Yue Feng winked at Jinlong, who understood and immediately took the 25 yuan that the old man had returned from his pocket and handed it to the old woman.

"Auntie, this is the money from the hawk sale. We men agreed to use it to buy food and drinks! Please spend it according to this amount, just enough to eat, don't waste any more!"

"Alright, you don't need to worry about it!" The old lady was a quick and efficient person. She took the money, turned around, and went out to prepare lunch.

After this series of exchanges and discussions, Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu found themselves getting along very well.
They were all eagle lovers, and the old man had a wealth of experience in the field. When he talked about his experiences in his youth, Jinlong and the others listened with shining eyes.

Any culture, as long as its transmission continues unbroken, will accumulate a wealth of experience over the long years. Although falconry is a niche skill, it is not exclusive to royalty and nobility; in a place like the capital, it has a broad following. Under Yue Feng's deliberate guidance, the old man recounted many details and experiences of his years of training falconry young, some of which even Yue Feng had never heard of before.

For example, when the old man got excited, he mentioned a friend from Tianjin who had learned the "courtly falconry" game from his ancestors.

The haystack is removed, the monkey drives a carriage, the goat carries the eagle, the falcon works with the hunting dog, and the rabbit and swan are surrounded!
The general idea is that this hunting 'team' needs one peach tree, one monkey, one goat, plus a greyhound and two falcons.

After setting off, the monkeys drove the cart, which was pulled by goats, while two falcons, a male and a female, sat on the goat cart with their hats on.

Upon arriving at the hunting grounds, the owner would first release the hunting dogs and then search for the rabbits. Once the target was found, the owner would throw the rabbit-tiger with its hat on into the air and release it.

The rabbit and tiger, with their hats on, couldn't see clearly and instinctively flew upwards. Once they reached a suitable height, their owner released the peach blossoms.

Although the stack was small, it flew fast, overtaking the rabbit and tiger in the air and snatching the hat off, returning it to its owner.

By this time, the rabbit and tiger had climbed to a high place and gained the advantage of height.

With the advantage of altitude, the success rate of rabbits hunting rabbits will be higher, which can be combined with the hounds for air and ground operations.

Once the rabbit-tiger kicks over the rabbit, the other peregrine falcon (the female is called rabbit-tiger, and the male is called peregrine falcon) will take to the air and cackle to locate its companion and prey.

At this point, the monkeys on the ground will drive the goat cart to rejoin their companions, until the hunting dogs return with the rabbit and the falcon.

Yue Feng had heard of Tuhuwei before. In his previous life, after the millennium, he even spent a winter with a fellow eagle enthusiast from Jinan.

But the version of the rabbit-and-tiger enclosure he came across involved two rabbits and tigers, two hunting dogs, and an eagle handler.

The "Palace Rabbit and Swan Encirclement" game that Little Eagle Liu described was something that Yue Feng and the others had never heard of before, and even Yue Feng found it quite amazing.

"Grandpa, is there still anyone who knows the complete process of this kind of imperial rabbit and swan hunt?" Yue Feng couldn't help but ask after listening to the process.

Little Eagle Liu nodded: "Yes! My friend in Tianjin is three years younger than me, and he's very healthy!"
The craft I'm talking about was passed down in his family for generations. I met him about ten years ago when his father showed it to us!
Goats and monkeys are expensive and troublesome to keep around, and while rabbits and swans create a lively scene, it's not as efficient as using eagles to catch rabbits. So, they stopped doing it every year! But the skills are still there!

Hearing Grandpa Liu nod in confirmation, Yue Feng felt a strong sense of curiosity.

Yue Feng had already mastered hunting gyrfalcons, deer, and swans, but he had never experienced the imperial rabbit and swan hunt before, and after hearing about it, he felt a strong urge to try it.

Jinlong couldn't help but exclaim, "You can play like this? When will you show us around and broaden our horizons?"

Grandpa Liu smiled and pursed his lips: "Interested? I'll ask my friend when the rabbits and tigers come out of their cages in the fall and see if he's still going to do it!"
"We're really good buddies. If it's nothing more than you guys wanting to experience it, I'd risk my reputation and get him to get it done for us!"

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll go with you to take a look in the fall!" Yue Feng agreed immediately, seeing that Grandpa Liu was being sincere.

For Yue Feng, ordinary hunting and falconry were no longer of any interest; no matter how many he hunted, it was just a matter of accumulating numbers.

I've tried everything – eagles, falcons, hawks – both the ones I should and shouldn't try. If I could experience firsthand the imperial rabbit and swan hunt that Grandpa Liu described, it would be far better than simply going up the mountain to hunt ordinary prey.

Once the material needs are met, the pursuit can gradually shift towards the spiritual realm.

The people inside discussed it for a long time, and around noon, the old lady returned from buying groceries.

Pig's head meat, braised pig's trotters, roast chicken, braised pork hock, and a few seasonal vegetables.

Such a feast to entertain Yue Feng and his friends who had just met today was definitely a show of sincerity.

After the old lady returned from shopping, she went into the kitchen and got busy, while Yue Feng and Grandpa Liu gave her a hands-on demonstration of how to make a small car trip.

Yue Feng wasn't the type to hoard his knowledge; since the old man was interested, Yue Feng was naturally willing to teach him.

We prepared the materials on-site and then got to work in detail.

Grandpa Liu had a foundation in tripping the eagle, so he learned new styles very quickly. He could understand the key parts of a tripping routine as soon as he finished one.

After a few simple questions about details such as how to close the knot and how to adjust the length, the old man had a basic grasp of how to make this small cart-shaped knot.

Having learned the new skill, Yue Feng noticed that Grandpa Liu was visibly happier.

The purity and passion in his eyes far surpassed that of the young people in the room.

Less than half an hour later, the lunch dishes were ready.

The old lady called out to clear the table, and then everyone busied themselves with the task.

The meat bought from the street was served one by one, and Jinlong opened and poured the Moutai liquor he took from the car. When drinking with a close friend, a thousand cups are not enough, and soon Grandpa Liu was drinking with everyone.

Friends who share common interests, regardless of age and without any consideration for self-interest, sometimes form the purest form of friendship.

The meal lasted from a little after noon until 2:30 pm. The six of them finished all four bottles of Moutai and were still not satisfied.

Yue Feng considered that everyone still needed to take care of the eagles they had just acquired, so he stopped the suggestion to get more wine.

After dinner, everyone chatted and drank tea at Grandpa Liu's house until nearly five o'clock before reluctantly leaving to go home.

Today's trip to the bird market was incredibly rewarding for Yue Feng.

Firstly, I helped my friends pick out their favorite little eagles; secondly, I got to know Uncle Liu, the little eagle.

They even used their skills in making toy cart tripods and goldfish-eye eagle hats to trade for a pair of albino chicks that would be born in the future and temporarily put on hold.

This doesn't even include the injured, rotten leg that Yue Feng got from Grandpa Liu.

In short, the trip was incredibly rewarding.

When they returned to their lodgings that evening, a group of young masters got busy.

With each person holding a small eagle, even breaking into someone's face became much simpler.

Five or six people, each with a small stool, sat down in the courtyard, enough for Little Eagle to squeeze in.

Based on his past experience, Yue Feng judged that the batch of eaglets in his hands should be ready to be set up and put to the ground in two to three days at the latest.

Anyway, since the important business in Beijing was already done, Yue Feng wasn't really interested in climbing the Great Wall or visiting other tourist attractions.

I'd rather spend a couple of days with my buddies playing with the little eagle and having some fun.

(End of this chapter)