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

"Holy crap, brother-in-law, that musk deer's sac is just left open like that. Lots of reptiles crawl in and never come out, they're just trapped inside. Doesn't it itch?"

Zhao Lei explained with a smile, "This is a unique characteristic of living things. It may be unpleasant for us humans to see, but it's their innate way of survival. Musk is formed by these tiny insects sealing themselves in the musk sac for many years, slowly refining and precipitating it."

Qin Bowen exclaimed repeatedly, "This is amazing!"

He had at least attended high school and was somewhat educated, yet he was completely unaware of the habits of this creature. Today, he finally filled in the gaps in his knowledge.

Qin Bowen felt both curious and amused. Although he had been there for a long time and had not been able to hunt any prey, he had truly broadened his horizons and gained new knowledge.

After finishing their cigarettes, the two carefully stubbed them out and pressed them down firmly to eliminate any potential fire hazard before continuing their journey deeper into the mountains.

Zhao Lei plans to figure out the activity routes of the musk deer in this area so that he can stake out and hunt them in the future.

Along the way, the two saw many wild fruits, picked some, and only stopped when their mouths were bitter and astringent.

The bag was also filled with quite a bit, which I planned to take home for the children to try.

Just then, Zhao Lei's expression suddenly turned serious, and he tilted his ear to listen intently.

Qin Bowen also vaguely noticed the strange noise and whispered, "Brother-in-law, did you hear that?"

The two of them turned their heads at the same time and looked at the dense bushes to the side.

Upon closer listening, one could hear a series of humming and chirping sounds coming from inside, along with the rustling of branches and leaves being rubbed together.

Zhao Lei immediately judged: "Oh? It's a wild boar."

Upon hearing the words "wild boar," Qin Bowen instantly perked up.

They had hunted quite a few wild boars recently. These animals were large, meaty, easy to shoot, and could be exchanged for a lot of money at the supply and marketing cooperative, making them much more profitable than pheasants or rabbits.

"Great! We finally found the goods!"

As a hunter who frequents the mountains year-round, Zhao Lei never allows wild boars to multiply unchecked.

This kind of wild animal always ravages crops in the fields and destroys agricultural products; it is considered a pest.

Whenever we encounter one, regardless of its size, we must hunt it down with all our might and never let it go.

The two bent low and crouched, quickly approaching the direction from which the noise came.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, Zhao Lei could see several small wild boars with striped patterns rolling around in the bushes, foraging for food.

Zhao Lei was secretly delighted. The wild boar meat was tender and delicious, and he loved eating it himself.

Zhao Lei immediately picked up his hunting rifle and gestured for Qin Bowen to check the rifle's ammunition and firing mechanism to prevent accidents during the hunt, especially to prevent the barrel from exploding.

Although the probability of a new type of homemade shotgun exploding is extremely low, it is still necessary to take precautions, as you will be the one who gets injured if something happens.

After quickly checking their equipment and confirming that everything was in order, Zhao Lei led Qin Bowen forward stealthily.

They then hid behind two thick, large trees.

Just now, they heard a deep, resonant humming sound.

Zhao Lei lowered his voice and warned, "It should be a sow with piglets. Wild boars that protect their piglets are particularly fierce, Bowen, you must be very careful."

Previously, hunting wild boars was always done in hunting teams of several people, and the hunting grounds were open.

Now, being in the dense forest, visibility and movement are restricted in many ways.

Zhao Lei knew that a mother wild boar protecting her cubs was far more aggressive than an adult male wild boar, and that if she were to be attacked or rammed by her, she would be very likely to get injured. Therefore, he repeatedly reminded Qin Bowen to be extra careful.

Qin Bowen nodded emphatically, a serious expression appearing on his face.

--------

Both of them rallied their spirits and prepared for the hunt.

Zhao Lei changed his position again and finally saw the whole picture of the wild boar herd through the gaps in the trees.

He discovered three large wild boars in the depression ahead.

A male wild boar weighing over 200 pounds was rolling and playing in a muddy puddle, while another was rooting in the mud for food.

Meanwhile, another female wild boar, leading a group of small wild boars weighing thirty to forty pounds and covered in patterns, was rummaging through a puddle for root and stem food.

Among this group of wild boars, only the female wild boars were the most vigilant.

Almost every time it dug its way up the soil to forage for food, it would look up and observe its surroundings.

Zhao Lei suddenly frowned, as if the sow had discovered something.

Perhaps sensing the unfamiliar scent in the air, the female wild boar immediately turned her head, staring at the direction where the two were hiding, and made a low grunt.

In an instant, the piglets scattered around seemed to receive a signal from their mother, and they all gathered from the bushes toward the sow, hiding under her belly one by one.

hiss!

The other two large wild boars in the mud and by the puddle immediately stopped all movement, stood still, and became highly vigilant.

Zhao Lei estimated that they were still thirty or forty meters away from the wild boar herd.

The range of a homemade shotgun is limited. Even if it hits, it won't cause much damage to the wild boar. It will only enrage the boar and reveal your position.

So he didn't rush to fire, but instead secretly looked for the right opportunity.

The next moment, the alert mother boar broke the silence and turned to run into the woods.

The other two wild boars also reacted, kicking their legs to escape the mud and following closely behind.

The baby wild boars huffed and puffed as they followed their mother in a frantic run.

Zhao Lei had a bad feeling: "Bowen, hurry up and follow them! Keep a distance in case they suddenly attack."

Qin Bowen nodded, and the two brothers quickly chased after each other into the woods.

Along the way, Zhao Lei noticed that the seven or eight wild boar piglets were not very big and ran much slower than the three adult wild boars.

After running a certain distance, the mother wild boar has to stop and wait, and will make grunting noises to call her cubs.

A few minutes later, the two adult wild boars bypassed the mother boar and disappeared into the forest.

Zhao Lei was overjoyed when he saw it.

The mother wild boar had separated from the other two large wild boars, and now she was alone with a group of piglets, completely exposed to the two men's view.

The two chased for a while longer, and Zhao Lei discovered a slightly higher cliff ahead, with gravel and scratches left by wild boar hooves on the cliff face.

It's clear that the two adult wild boars struggled to climb over here.

Zhao Lei knew that his opportunity had arrived!

So he shouted at Qin Bowen, "Bowen! Surround it and shoot it while it's climbing the slope!"

"Okay, brother-in-law!"

The two brothers had worked together on many hunts before, but this was their first time hunting a wild boar in the dense forest.

However, their past experience hunting wild boars in open plains gave the two a natural chemistry.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, quickly surrounded the enemy.

The mother wild boar sensed the approaching sounds from behind growing ever closer, and kept growling, urging her piglets to hurry and catch up.

Zhao Lei seized the opportunity and took the lead in flanking to the left, intending to block the wild boar's escape route.

But the wild boar was not stupid. After running away with its cubs for a while, it suddenly realized that there was a steep slope ahead.

Its massive body, weighing over 200 pounds, would have to struggle several times to climb up, and the piglets beneath it would have no chance of climbing up in a short time.

The sow grunted anxiously, then suddenly turned around and rushed off to the other side!