Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 202: Encountering the Golden Eagle Again
Chen Weidong let the stream water flow into the big pit and slowly flushed it until the water in the pit became clear.

The outlet below was blocked with stones, allowing the water to flow out, but the fragments of the deer's antlers could not flow out.

Only then did Chen Weidong put the chopped deer antler pieces into the pit to soak.

With two pots and a big pit, Chen Weidong was very busy.

Before dark, Li Shengli and his two companions finally built four shacks and came over to help Chen Weidong.

"Weidong, the shack is ready. Is there anything you need our help with?"

"Brother Shengli, you are responsible for stirring the water. When the water becomes turbid, pour it out.

Rinse and scrub the broken pieces with a brush, then add water and continue soaking. After washing them clean, light a fire and boil them overnight. You can make deer antler glue tomorrow!"

Chen Weidong taught Li Shengli the soaking method and then handed the job over to him. In fact, according to some later methods of making deer antler glue, it takes about seven days to soak.
But Chen Weidong naturally couldn’t wait that long, so he just washed it and started boiling it!
"Brother Weidong, what about us?"

"Shitou, before it gets dark, you need to find all the shed antlers you can find. Bingzi, you need to find some dry wood. We need to keep the two pots going all night tonight."

"Okay!" Shitou and Bingzi agreed, turned around and prepared to go to work!

"By the way, we will probably be busy until midnight today. At night we will have Feilong soup and a few pheasants. Do you want to eat roasted chicken or fried chicken?" Chen Weidong suddenly asked with a smile.

"Let's eat roast chicken!"

"The roast chicken made by Weidong. I still feel craving for it when I think about it now." Li Shengli didn't hesitate and ordered the dish directly.

"Row!"

Chen Weidong helped Li Shengli wash the deer glue. After the deer were done, he cleaned the two large pots, added the washed deer antlers, scooped up mountain spring water and poured it into the two large pots, lit the fire, and started to boil!
The four people were busy, each with their own division of labor.

Soon it was dark, but where Chen Weidong was, there was a fire.
Chen Weidong simply lit a few more bonfires and torches, and continued to dig out the deer antlers and put them in the puddle to wash! Wash the deer antlers.

Chen Weidong was busy until after nine o'clock, then he started roasting the pheasant!

After roasting the chicken, the four of them gathered around the fire, ate the chicken, and then went to bed after the meal!

"Brother Weidong! With so many deer shedding their antlers, how much money can we make this time!"

Lying in the shack, Shitou and Bingzi were a little excited and couldn't sleep, so they chatted with Chen Weidong for no reason.

"Haha, this time, I can at least make over 2,000 yuan!"

Chen Weidong said with a smile.

"More than two thousand!"

Shitou and Bingzi's eyes lit up and they couldn't wait to continue working on it!

"Brother Weidong, there are really too many deer with shed antlers in this valley. We are only digging out the surface now, and there are still many buried in the ground."

"This valley has been used by deer as a shed-antler place for who knows how many years. There aren't many deer in our area, at least 100 or 200, right? And deer shed their antlers once a year. How many deer do you think have shed their antlers in this valley?"

Chen Weidong said.

The shed antlers of deer are old antlers that have become ossified. Even if they are buried in the soil for hundreds or thousands of years, they will not rot.

Bones buried in the ground will not rot but will only turn into stone. However, the antlers shed from some old deer cannot be used to make antler glue.

"Brother Weidong, do you hear that as a wolf howling?"

"Brother Weidong, will there be wolves entering our valley?"

Listening to the sounds coming from the deep mountains in the dark night, Bingzi and Shitou asked with some fear.

"Don't worry, the wolves won't come in. If they do, they'll just give us some wolf skins. Don't be afraid when you two are on guard. Most wild animals won't come over when they see the fire!"

Chen Weidong comforted.

The dark night in the mountains is when wild animals are most active. Wolves, leopards, and lynxes all come out at night to hunt for food. Their calls are really creepy. People with less courage will tremble with fear.

However, this is a common thing for Chen Weidong.

Soon, Chen Weidong took over Li Shengli's night watch and walked under the two large pots to add firewood to the earthen stove.

Stir and stir. The color of the water in the two large pots will change! However, we still need to wait until the antlers are easy to break.

When he returned to the shack, he saw that Shitou and Bingzi were still asleep. Chen Weidong said something and then lay down in the shack! Spending the night in the mountains was a painful thing. He couldn't fall asleep at all. He didn't know what time it was before Chen Weidong fell asleep in a daze. When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.
Chen Weidong was awakened by his biological clock. He glanced at Bingzi, who was on night watch in a daze, and knew that he did not sleep well last night, so he said, "Bingzi, go to sleep for a while!"

"Brother Weidong, aren't you going to be busy later?"

"We won't be busy for long. We will stay in the mountains for several days this time!"

Chen Weidong said with a smile.

"Ah."

Bingzi ran to the shack and continued to sleep.

Chen Weidong washed his face by the river! He felt much more relaxed after washing his face.
He came to two big pots, took out a deer antler, and broke it gently. The antler that had been boiled over a high fire all night was crushed into pieces.

Chen Weidong knew that it was almost time to cook.
He called Li Shengli and Shitou who had already woken up and started making deer antler glue.

The equipment I brought with me this time up the mountain was very complete, including the basin and gauze for boiling deer antler glue.

Then Chen Weidong and the other two filtered out the antlers from the two large pots and continued to boil them! They boiled them for about two or three hours.
When the water is thick enough to hold the string, it is ready to be served. Put it in a basin and cool.

After boiling two pots, add the washed antlers back in and add water to continue boiling!

There was no need for supervision at this time, so Chen Weidong started cooking.

"Gah!"

Suddenly, there was a cry of an eagle in the sky.

Chen Weidong and the other three all raised their heads and looked over.

"It's a golden eagle! There is a golden eagle here!" Shi Tou shouted excitedly.

"Ok!"

Chen Weidong looked at the golden eagle circling in the sky and nodded.

He had seen a golden eagle in the mountains last time, but he never encountered one again, which shows how rare golden eagles are.

At this moment, probably like last time, they occupied the golden eagle's foraging area. The golden eagle wanted to come down to hunt, but when it saw someone below, which affected its hunting, it made an unhappy cry.

Weidong, looking at the flight path of the golden eagle, its nest should be on the top of the Black Mountain."

Li Shengli said with bright eyes.

On the left is Huang, on the right is Cang. Wearing brocade hats and sable coats, a thousand riders roll across the plain.

This is every man's dream. As a hunter, Li Shengli naturally wants to be able to ride a hawk and lead a dog.

"I didn't bring much rope this time. I'll come back next time! I'll get a golden eagle cub and raise it."

Chen Weidong's eyes lit up. He had been thinking about the golden eagle since the last time he encountered it. Unfortunately, it was hard to encounter this creature, let alone rob its nest!
Moreover, golden eagles usually lay eggs in February or March, and the incubation period is more than 40 days. Now is the season to dig out golden eagle cubs.
"Haha, that's exactly what I mean!"

"Weidong, let me tell you, my ancestors once raised golden eagles, and we still have an armband left by my grandfather at home! It's made of pure copper."

“It’s made of pure copper. Your grandfather didn’t say he would leave you an armlet made of pure gold or jade.” Chen Weidong teased with a smile.

The armband is oval in shape with holes on both sides. It is made of jade, silver, copper and bone. It is a unique hunting tool for falconry. It is tied to the arm to protect the arm and falconry during hunting. This is also the origin of the practice of falconry and leading dogs.

(End of this chapter)