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

After listening to his brother-in-law's explanation, Qin Bowen grasped the key point: "Brother-in-law, according to you, this thing is extremely valuable?"

"You're right? It might even be worth more than one or two wild boars we hunt."

"hiss!"

Qin Bowen immediately perked up, "Then brother-in-law, we're going to strike it rich today!"

Zhao Lei gestured for him to be quiet, then pointed in a direction: "Let's go, sneak over there quietly, and take a look first."

As they spoke, the two men picked up their hunting rifles and slowly peered into the bushes ahead.

After walking for a while, the smell became stronger and stronger, and the source seemed to be on the high hillside ahead.

"Bowen, the musk deer should be just ahead. We need to be careful. These creatures are extremely alert; they'll run away the moment they hear any noise."

Qin Bowen nodded emphatically, instantly becoming focused.

Then, the two of them carefully reached forward again.

Qin Bowen followed suit, holding his breath and closely following behind Zhao Lei.

The scent of the musk deer can travel over a wide area. The two of them carefully made their way forward for two or three hundred meters before finally spotting their prey behind some rocks.

Zhao Lei gently parted the bushes and looked into the distance.

It was clearly a small musk deer, weighing no more than twenty pounds, with coarse, stiff brown fur and small, scattered orange-red spots.

It looks like a small deer, but upon closer inspection, you will find that the forest musk deer has shorter front legs and longer hind legs. It does not have antlers on its head, but it has a pair of rather conspicuous tusks in its mouth.

Zhao Lei could tell at a glance that it was a male musk deer.

Because only male musk deer grow tusks, but these tusks are not very aggressive and have no real fighting function; they are only used for courtship displays.

"Brother-in-law, is this a forest musk deer? And where does the musk come from on its body?"

Qin Bowen was also seeing this kind of animal for the first time, and he was full of surprise. He lowered his voice and asked a question quietly.

If Qin Bowen had encountered a musk deer alone, he would most likely have mistaken it for a wild boar or a deer, never imagining that it was a completely different species.

But he was more curious about musk, which his brother-in-law said was extremely valuable.

Qin Bowen looked for a long time but couldn't see where the so-called musk grew or where it was hidden.

Zhao Lei pointed to the young musk deer in front of him and explained, "For this kind of creature, you have to look at its tusks. Look at its tusks, they're white and small, it should only be about a year old, a young musk deer that has just developed."

Young musk deer with newly formed sacs produce very little musk; killing them only yields some meat.

"A mere ten or twenty pounds of meat is hardly worth our time, so let's leave this one for now; there's no need to hunt it."

"Hiss... Brother-in-law, we finally found one, are we just going to let it go like that?"

"Fool! The most valuable part of the musk deer is its musk, and we have to wait until it grows bigger. If you kill even the cubs, it won't be long before we never encounter these creatures again or find any more musk in the mountains. It's a complete loss!"

After being enlightened by his brother-in-law, Qin Bowen suddenly realized that this was indeed the case.

They have more than enough wild boar meat—a dozen or twenty catties—to cut off their long-term source of musk for such a paltry sum would be a real loss.

Zhao Lei continued to urge, "Musk is worth a hundred times more than this little bit of meat. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture."

Zhao Lei repeatedly explained these things because, having hunted for many years, he has always held the mountain forest ecosystem and nature in awe.

If hunters act without restraint, killing the old, weak, and young indiscriminately, the entire mountain's ecosystem will collapse completely within a few years. This is a short-sighted approach that cuts off a long-term source of income.

Moreover, having hunted for many years, he knew that the quality and yield of musk pods from adult male musk deer far surpassed that of young musk deer. It was better to keep them until they grew up and mature before hunting them, as the profits could be several times greater.

Qin Bowen nodded emphatically: "Then, brother-in-law, what kind of musk deer can we fight?"

Zhao Lei then explained the intricacies to him: "Generally, only male musk deer have tusks and musk sacs. Look at the tusks; if they are pure white, it means the animal is still young; if the tusks are yellowish or blackish, it is basically a mature and robust male musk deer."

Moreover, every autumn, roughly two weeks from now, is the musk deer's mating season. This is when musk production is highest and quality is best, making it the most suitable time to hunt.

Qin Bowen silently memorized these points of knowledge.

Suddenly he noticed that the little musk deer lying on the rock basking in the sun was in a very strange posture, sprawled out with its belly exposed.

Out of curiosity, she whispered, "Brother-in-law, look how big its heart is! It's lying on its back on the rock, looking really strange."

Zhao Lei gestured for Qin Bowen to move a little closer to him.

The two were only a dozen meters apart, and the naked eye could clearly see the entire appearance of the musk deer, but the other party still did not notice their presence.

Zhao Lei pointed to the musk deer's abdomen and said, "Look, the musk deer's sac is currently open, and the scent it emits is extremely attractive to small insects. Look at those ants and flying insects, they're all circling around the sac, crawling in and out. It's drying its sac."

As he got closer, Qin Bowen found the musky smell mixed with a fishy odor to be particularly pungent, making his head spin, but the strange sight before him still energized him.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed just as my brother-in-law had said.

Swarms of ants and flying insects clung to the musk sac on the abdomen of the forest musk deer, crawling in and out, which was a bit unsettling to watch, just like insects crawling into a person's navel.

But Lin She seemed used to it and did not feel uncomfortable.

This was the first time Qin Bowen had ever seen such a scene, and it made him grimace, a wave of physical revulsion rising in his heart.

suddenly.

The musk deer suddenly flipped over and stood up, tightening its closed sac, sealing many small insects inside.

It instantly became alert, looking around as if it had sensed the presence of strangers, and suddenly turned its head to stare in the direction where Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen were hiding.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he exerted force with all four limbs, plunged headfirst into the dense forest, and disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.

Qin Bowen then dared to raise his voice slightly: "Brother-in-law, we've been discovered."

Zhao Lei chuckled lightly: "So what if they found it? I wasn't planning on harming this young musk deer anyway."

Qin Bowen quickly took out a cigarette, lit it, and dispelled the lingering musky smell from his mouth and nose. He took a deep drag and sighed:

"Brother-in-law, holy crap, there really are such amazing animals in the world? Is that bulging, navel-like thing on its belly a musk deer's sac?"

As Qin Bowen spoke, he raised his hand to gesture the shape.

Zhao Lei found the analogy somewhat amusing, but still nodded: "Ah, I guess so."