Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 277 Chasing Deer in the Mountains
Old Meng tried to persuade Qu Shaoyang to stay, but he didn't know how to refuse.

They stayed at the Meng family for the past few days, and the grandparents and grandchildren did their best to entertain them and helped a lot.

Without the two old men introduced by Old Meng, how could Qu Shaoyang exchange so many precious skins and medicinal herbs with just a few supplies?

Not to mention anything else, the things that were exchanged from the two old men alone would be worth more than two thousand taels if sold.

This favor was truly huge, and Qu Shaoyang didn't know how to repay him.

Qu Shaoyang looked at Meng Lanjun who was sitting in a daze at the end of the kang, then looked at old Meng, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Grandpa Meng, since you said so, let's bother you for another day."

The first day of the winter month is indeed not very suitable for traveling. Forget it, I'll just stay another day.

When Old Meng heard this, he was very happy, "Yes, yes, that's right.

Well, Tieniu, go home and get ready.

Lan Jun, hurry up and find the snowboard at home and give one to Xiaoqu.

Today you can take him up the mountain and teach him how to ski." Old Meng hurriedly called his grandson.

Meng Lanjun didn't want to go out. He was in a bad mood and wanted to stay at home.

But he couldn't resist his grandfather's urging, so he dug out a pair of snowboards and gave one to Qu Shaoyang.

He also found the clothes that Old Meng usually wore when he went up the mountain and gave them to Qu Shaoyang to change into.

Qu Shaoyang and his men brought so much silver and collected so many goods, they definitely cannot leave anyone behind.

So Qu Shaoyang didn't bring anyone else and asked the guys to stay at home.

This time, Old Mengtou did not follow. Zheng Qingshan, Wang Chun, and two hunters in the village were responsible for intercepting the weapons.

The Zheng brothers, Wang Junshan, Meng Lanjun, two other young men, and Qu Shaoyang, all carried snowboards and held snowball poles. They were responsible for chasing deer, or driving them away.

The group set out from the village and headed towards the mountains where they found the traces of the deer.

In winter, sika deer like to go to the sunny slopes, use their hooves to dig through the snow, and look for fruits, seeds, various mosses, lichens, and dead leaves buried under the snow to eat.

Generally speaking, they like to look for food in the morning and evening, and at night they like to dig holes in the snow and rest in the middle and upper parts of the hillside.

In order to facilitate their escape, Sika deer will not rest or sleep on hills or in valleys, and they also do not like places where the weeds and shrubs are very tall and dense.

Because those places may be hiding ferocious beasts such as wolves or tigers.

The places where sika deer rest are generally places with sparse bushes and rare and short weeds.

People who chase deer must be very familiar with the temperament of deer and know their living habits.

Zheng Tieniu and his team found traces of deer in the mountains. Based on the habits of the deer, they roughly guessed where the deer had rested last night.

So Zheng Qingshan and others discussed the specific hunting methods with Qu Shaoyang and others, and they guarded the mountain pass below.

Tie Niu, Meng Lanjun and others slid down on snowboards, driving the deer away.

After both parties had reached an agreement, they each went to their respective designated locations.

Zheng Tieniu and the others also took off the snowboards on their backs and started putting them on.

This snowboard is six feet long and half a foot wide, and the pedals inside are made of oak.

And it is the layer of wood closest to the fat layer after the bark of the oak is removed.

This layer is the strongest and most resilient, while the layer closer to the wood core is not as strong. The snowboard is wrapped in animal skin, usually wild boar skin.

The wild boar's skin is strong and its hair is coarse and hard, which helps it to slide on the snow. And when going uphill, the hair is rough and will not slide down.

The front of the snowboard is raised, and there are several leather buckles in the middle, which are used to fix the feet and the snowboard. The boots and snowboard must be tied firmly to prevent them from falling off during sliding.

In addition to the snowboard, there are also some tricks to the ski poles.

The ash wood stick is one to one and a half inches in diameter, straight, smooth, and about half a person's height.

The elm is solid and tough, and it is not only used to aid sliding, but also a weapon that can be used directly by deer hunters.

You might not know what situations you might encounter when you go into the mountains. Sometimes a wild beast might suddenly jump out, and you would not have time to take off your rifle while it was still on your back.

At this time, the ski poles in your hand are the best weapons, so they must be strong and unbreakable.

The bottom of the ski pole is surrounded by an iron or copper ring to prevent it from cracking and to make it more powerful when hitting prey.

At the bottom of the ski pole, there is a horseshoe nail, and the triangular tip of the horseshoe nail is exposed about half an inch.

This is used to prevent slipping when crossing glaciers, to prevent hunters from being flashed by the ice when passing through the frozen river.

Half a foot below the bottom of the two ski poles, there is a trumpet-shaped piece of animal skin with the mouth facing downwards. This is used to prevent hunters from accidentally falling into snow holes.

In winter, there is heavy snow and strong winds on the mountains. The wind blows the snow everywhere, filling the ditches and trenches.

Two leather snow covers are tied to the ski poles. Once passing through a large snow pit, the leather snow covers will buckle on the snow surface to prevent the ski poles from digging further into the snow. The deer chaser will be able to slide past without getting stuck in the snow pit.

A hole will be drilled on the end of the ski pole that is held in the hand and tied with animal skin.

When the ski pole is put on the hunter's wrist in this way, it will not fall out of the hand in an emergency.

Qu Shaoyang had never seen such a ski board before. While listening to Meng Lanjun's explanation, he admired the wisdom of our ancestors. How thoughtful was the idea for a skiing tool?

"What did the person who made this thing come up with?" Qu Shaoyang muttered as he tied the straps.

"I don't know. My grandfather told me that this thing was passed down from the Solon and Oroqen tribes. Later, the cattlemen of the Dasheng Ula Yamen all used it.

I learned this from my grandfather when I was young. I learned skiing at the age of five, lassoing deer at the age of ten, and chasing deer at the age of thirteen. "

Maybe because he was out, Meng Lanjun was in a much better mood than before and was in the mood to explain to Qu Shaoyang.

Everyone was dressed, and then Zheng Tieniu led the way and they started walking towards the top of the mountain.

When walking uphill with snowboards on, you should walk with your feet shaped like eight so that you won't slip down.

After reaching the designated location, everyone pushed hard on their ski poles, and taking advantage of the slope of the top of the mountain, they slid quickly through the forest and snow like an arrow.

As they slid, the crowd shouted "Oh, Oh" and then leaped onto the surrounding hilltops, surrounded the place where the deer were hiding, and chased them to the valley entrance at the foot of the mountain.

"Brother Qu, don't worry, follow me and be careful."

Meng Lanjun was afraid that Qu Shaoyang would not be able to adapt to skiing for the first time, so he gave Qu Shaoyang some special instructions before they started skiing.

Unexpectedly, Qu Shaoyang not only did not fall down, but he nimbly avoided trees and rocks and slid down the ridge smoothly like an eagle flying through the forest.

Meng Lanjun glanced at Qu Shaoyang and was amazed.
Of course, they were all gliding at high speed at this time and had no time to chat. They all paid full attention to the front and avoided danger at any time.

The herd of deer halfway up the mountain cleverly spotted the hunter, so they stopped looking for food and ran away.

(End of this chapter)