Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

the other side.

Zhao Lei, along with Qin Bowen, rode their old-fashioned bicycles to the foot of Qingfeng Mountain.

With the help of a 28-inch scooter, it only took about twenty minutes to reach the foot of the mountain on this dirt road.

Normally, it would take them an hour or two to walk this distance to reach the depths of Qingfeng Mountain.

They chained the 28-inch steel bar to a tree, hid it in the bushes, and then covered it with grass leaves.

This is the most standard procedure, after all, there is no surveillance in this day and age, and the public security has not yet reached the point where people don't pick up lost items on the road.

If you park your car on the side of the road and a thief sees it and rides it away, where are you going to find the person?

Especially since Zhao Lei had his car stolen once before, he became even more vigilant.

The two hid the car and then carried their equipment up the mountain.

Throughout the journey, Qin Bowen seemed quite excited: "Hehe, brother-in-law, why did you decide to take me into the mountains so soon?"

Zhao Lei sighed, "Oh dear, there's no other way. I have to support my family. I have to support three families by myself, so I have to work like a slave every day to earn money for my wife and kids."

"Oh, brother-in-law, I'm so envious of you."

"What's the use of just being envious? Study hard and learn properly. Today I'll teach you some real skills."

"Really? Brother-in-law, don't worry, I'll definitely follow your orders!"

The two chatted as they followed the path up Qingfeng Mountain.

We wandered around in the mountains for almost two hours, occasionally spotting wild rabbits that suddenly dart out, or pheasants that startle and fly away from the bushes.

Several animals were shot down sporadically by the two brothers, but no large prey was seen.

Zhao Lei wasn't in a hurry. He had guarded this mountain for decades in his previous life and was already used to this situation.

However, Qin Bowen has been encountering large animals while hunting lately, and he's gradually becoming impatient.

"Brother-in-law, we've been wandering around these mountains for so long, how come we haven't encountered a single large prey?"

"You brat, you've become too picky, haven't you? We already got two pheasants and three rabbits, so it wasn't a wasted trip. And you're already complaining?"

"Oh, brother-in-law, that's because of the big deals we did before."

Zhao Lei lectured, "Bowen, this kind of thinking won't work. When you go hunting in the mountains, you have to be calm and patient. Your impatience is affecting your mindset."

After being told off by his brother-in-law, Qin Bowen couldn't help but reflect on himself, realizing that he had indeed been a bit too ambitious lately.

But my brother-in-law has a point.

Uncle Changlin used to wander around the mountains all day and might not even catch a pheasant, but he still went up the mountain every day, didn't he?

He's now following his brother-in-law Zhao Lei, and every time they go into the mountains they make a profit; he's really aiming too high.

So he gradually calmed down and continued to explore the deep mountains with his brother-in-law.

This time, Zhao Lei didn't linger on the periphery and went straight into the depths.

Based on his decades of experience guarding the mountain in his previous life, he had an intimate knowledge of Qingfeng Mountain.

What season, what kind of prey, and in what general area will they appear?

He memorized every detail: where there were mountain springs and ditches; which forest was most likely to hide wild animals.

The only difference might be between decades later and decades ago.

Although there are some differences, the mountains have not changed much.

As the two walked until nearly noon, they still hadn't encountered any large prey.

However, Zhao Lei could sense that the atmosphere around him had changed.

Besides the chirping of cicadas and birds, there were rustling sounds from the branches and bushes of the nearby trees, indicating that the ecology of this area is excellent.

As the two walked, Zhao Lei suddenly raised his hand and stopped.

Qin Bowen, startled from behind, whispered, "Brother-in-law, is there something there?"

Zhao Lei sniffed, frowned, and said, "Something's not right. I smell something strange."

Hearing this, Qin Bowen mimicked his brother-in-law and took a deep breath: "Wow, there really is! What's that smell?"

The odor was hard to describe; it was very pungent and, besides being smelly, seemed to be mixed with other strange smells that were hard to pinpoint.

But Zhao Lei, standing ahead, revealed a look of delight and whispered, "Bowen, can you smell what it is?"

"I don't know, brother-in-law, do you know what this is?"

Zhao Lei chuckled: "Hehe, Bowen, today I'll show you something good."

"What is it?"

Do you know what musk is?

Musk?

Qin Bowen scratched his head, as if he had heard of it before.

But in his mind, shouldn't musk smell sweet? Why does it smell so awful?

"Brother-in-law, I've heard of it, but I've never seen it before and don't know what it is. But it smells strangely pungent, hard to describe. Could this be musk?"

Zhao Lei smiled slightly at Qin Bowen's description.

This strange smell doesn't contain any sweet aroma that would make humans drool; instead, it's mixed with a fishy and foul odor, and most people wouldn't associate it with musk at all.

But Zhao Lei has decades of experience guarding the mountain and has encountered musk deer several times on Qingfeng Mountain.

The musk deer, also known as the forest musk deer, is a very peculiar wild animal.

Zhao Lei not only saw musk deer in Qingfeng Mountain, but also personally extracted the musk sac, leaving a deep impression on him with its scent.

The forest musk deer is similar in size to a wild deer, but smaller, weighing only about 30 to 50 kilograms.

Although it doesn't have as much meat as wild boar, musk is an extremely precious medicinal material with very high medicinal value.

Even in this day and age, its price is not inferior.

However, capturing musk deer is extremely difficult.

The musk deer is very timid, yet it runs extremely fast, leaving most hunters helpless against it.

However, Zhao Lei has been deeply involved in this mountain for decades, and he knows the hunting habits of Qingfeng Mountain very well.

Musk deer have a fixed activity pattern: they inhabit the mountaintops around July, move to the mountainside in August, and migrate back to the river valleys and gullies in September. This seasonal migration pattern is basically not disrupted.

Therefore, the forest musk deer, which may seem to roam freely, actually have fixed animal trails and habitats.

This animal, in particular, is cautious by nature and will generally only take routes that are considered safe by the group. It will even defecate in fixed places and bury the waste with its forehooves.

If you find the right spot to wait, you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Moreover, the musk deer is very attached to its nest; even if it is startled and flees, it will soon return to the vicinity of its nest.

Once you understand the habits of the musk deer, capturing and hunting it becomes much easier.

Zhao Lei briefly explained these intricacies to Qin Bowen.

Qin Bowen gasped, never expecting there to be so much to learn about hunting. He had truly broadened his horizons today thanks to his brother-in-law.

If he had paper and pen, he would love to write it down on the spot, because these are all very valuable hunting experiences. If a hunter were to figure them out by himself little by little, who knows how long it would take.

It can be said that what his brother-in-law is now teaching him is the real, unique secret.