Phi-Fic Chapter 166 Eating venison and drinking deer blood wine with gusto, it was truly exhilarating.
Chapter 166 Eating venison and drinking deer blood wine with gusto, it was truly exhilarating.
When Zhao Pao and the hunters of Yingtun saw that Li Ju'an had actually shot a tiger, and that there were four freshly skinned tiger skins lying on the floor of the forest ranger's duty room, their feelings were like a spice jar being overturned, and their expressions were quite interesting.
Old Zhou, the falconer, was initially quite satisfied with his falcon's performance; it was incredibly effective at hunting wolves, diving down and diverting the wolves' attention with ease. But when the falcon was compared to the hunting dogs under Li Ju'an's command, the tension he had been holding in immediately dissipated.
No matter how you compare, you can't beat them. Li Ju'an led his hunting dogs into the mountains and killed a full four tiger kings!
Zhao Pao glanced at the eagle perched on his shoulder and glared fiercely: "Don't eat anything tonight."
The falcons of Eagle Village are hungry, so Li Ju'an's hunting dogs will have a big feast tonight.
Song Desheng quickly pulled Li Ju'an to sit down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), where they sat cross-legged to warm themselves by the fire and drink steaming hot pine needle tea.
Li Ju'an, with his legs propped up on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), said to everyone, "Today, everyone contributed to the tiger hunt, and we'll split the profits equally based on the number of people. When Captain Wang's tiger-hunting bounty arrives, we, the people from the village, will sit down and divide it equally. Uncle Qian, Brother Zhang, Brother Sun, and Xiao Shi, leave me your phone numbers. I'll bring you the money after the tiger skins are sold, on a per-person basis."
Lu Zhiqiang and Song Desheng were taken aback. Old Qian from the security department shouted first, "That won't do. Dividing it equally is against the rules. Li Pao'er, you have to take half. We'll divide the rest among ourselves."
Old Qian had contributed greatly to the tiger hunt. After he finished speaking, Xiao Shi and Xiao Zhao felt a little embarrassed. They were injured, slowing down the team, and hadn't even seen what the three tigers behind them looked like. By the time they realized what had happened, Li Ju'an and his men had already brought down the tiger.
"Li Pao, this won't do, it's really against the rules."
“We can’t let you lead the team and put in all the effort, taking risks and still suffering losses. Li Pao, you have to take half, don’t be polite with us.”
Li Ju'an, warming himself by the fire, said, "Brothers who fight tigers together are bound by loyalty. Today we've gathered together to fight tigers because we've risked our lives for each other. Money isn't important; what matters is our brotherhood. Let's just consider it making friends. If we meet in the mountains in the future, uncles and brothers, please be lenient with us. We'll learn from our seniors."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a warm feeling in their hearts and developed a good impression of him.
Such a young gunner, so courageous and responsible, and so loyal and righteous, makes anyone feel comfortable and genuinely respect him.
Zhao Pao from Yingtun sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), took out a wad of ten-yuan notes from his pocket, handed them to Li Ju'an, and said, "Everyone gets a share in wolf hunting. We'll take the horses over later and drag all the wolves back. You can keep this money. This is all I have right now. I'll give you more when I get back to the village."
He counted them and handed over 22 ten-yuan bills, plus some loose change.
Li Ju'an refused to take his money, saying, "I'm not asking you for a share of the money. I just heard a noise in the mountains and came to rescue people. You were the one who encountered the wolves, and we only helped kill six of them. Besides, you went into the ditch to save us. It would be unreasonable to ask you for money without giving you any thanks."
Zhao Pao was about to offer money again, but Li Ju'an raised his hand and decisively refused, saying, "It's not about the money."
His nose was still red from the cold, and he hadn't recovered from the harsh winter in the deep mountains. His righteous words made Lao Qian and the others from the ranch's security department feel a surge of goodwill towards him.
His words made Zhao Pao feel embarrassed. Zhao Pao folded the money back up and put it away, his tone softening: "Chengcheng, just let me know if you need any help in the future."
Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with Brother Zhao. If we meet in the back mountains, please give way to me."
Veterinarian Zhang was deeply moved. What a fine young man! He's loyal and kind; if he ever needs anything in the future, the ranch will definitely give him face and help him out.
Old Zhang pointed at Chen Xiangqian and said, "Everyone heard that. When Captain Wang asks later, that's what we'll say. Next time there's anything else, Captain Wang shouldn't bother with the forestry station; he can just ask Li Pao'er if he's free."
After he flattered him like that, Li Ju'an chimed in with a smile, "Then I'll have to rely on Uncle Zhang to introduce me to someone. Otherwise, Captain Wang is too busy to remember me."
Everyone laughed along, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Song Desheng's eyes darted around, sensing something else in the conversation. He whispered to Lu Zhiqiang, "How many wolves did you kill later?"
Lu Zhiqiang lowered his head and said, "Li Ju'an had four heads, and I took two."
Song Desheng did some quick calculations, then slapped his thigh in realization and said in a low voice, "Wolf pelts are worth a lot of money! One wolf pelt is worth 150 yuan, so six pelts would be 900 yuan. And that doesn't even include the wolf teeth, wolf meat, and wolf bones, which you have to sell separately. With Zhao Pao's meager 22 ten-yuan notes, he can't even buy two wolves. Do you think Brother Li will agree to that?"
The two exchanged a knowing smile, understanding Li Ju'an's thoughts.
Li Ju'an would never do anything that would put him at a disadvantage. As for selling the tiger skin and splitting the money equally, it would also help him build good relationships with the ranch people. With good relationships, it would be easier to ask them for favors later or get more work from the ranch, since having someone in the team would make things easier.
Lu Zhiqiang mentally gave Li Ju'an a thumbs up. "It has to be you! So shrewd, so adept at winning people over, and so calculating—you never suffer the slightest loss."
Li Ju'an wanted the two intact deer. One large stag and two female deer, perfectly healthy and untouched by wolves. Lu Zhiqiang had already taken the stag's antlers, and Zhao Pao had taken the deer penis.
He buried the two does in a snowdrift outside, planning to bury them again in the snow near the village to make specimens after bringing them back. About half a month later, he handed the two deer over to the forestry station.
The antlers of the stag were precious, and he felt bad handing them over. Coincidentally, the antlers were given to Lu Zhiqiang to hang in the Lu family home, making a grand display. The deer penis was given to Zhao Pao as a favor, and the blood was also drained and made into deer blood wine by Old Zhou.
The task assigned to him by the forestry leader, Chen, was to produce one bear, three red deer, and two red fox pelts within a month. The larger the bear pelt, the better, and the red fox pelts had to be intact and undamaged. He also needed six yellow pelts; they couldn't be grayish-black, they had to be yellow.
Now, five days have passed, and he has only managed to kill two deer, nothing else, which is making him a little nervous.
Old Qian and Old Sun helped prepare the venison; they would have venison hot pot for dinner.
The men removed the venison and blanched it in cold water until it was thoroughly cooked. Then they boiled snow water to blanch it, and then simmered it in a large pot for an hour and a half. The steaming venison stew was bubbling and gurgling. The room was packed with hunters, and the aroma of meat kept wafting into their nostrils.
Everyone had been busy all day, from morning till night, and was starving. It wasn't reasonable for Li Ju'an to lead the group to sit and eat meat while the others watched him eat. These were all matters of social obligation.
Li Ju'an called out, "Uncle Zhang, Brother Zhao, sit down and eat with us. We're all family, so don't be shy."
A cheer erupted from the crowd, and a dozen hunters and falconers sat down at the kang table, each pulling out a bag of corn cakes and other provisions. Old Zhou brought out fresh deer blood wine and loudly and generously announced the order.
"Come and try some fresh wine! The New Year is almost here, so let's eat meat and drink wine to our hearts' content. The more we drink, the stronger our brotherhood becomes."
Amidst laughter and chatter around the kang table, Li Ju'an, with a hearty appetite, buried his head in the stewed venison and devoured three bowls of rice.
The broth from braised venison, when mixed with rice, creates a flavorful and delicious dish that will make you feel completely refreshed and your eyes squint with delight.
"Li Pao, come on, let's toast you!"
"Brothers, let's all raise a toast! Don't try to save me, Old Zhou, money on drinks."
Lu Zhiqiang ruthlessly cut off the deer leg and roasted it over the campfire. The venison sizzled and dripped with oil as it was roasted. He simply sprinkled it with salt and seasoning, and the aroma of the roasted meat filled the air, making people's mouths water.
"Roasted venison is here! Brothers, make way for me!"
Before a plate of roasted venison was even served, Chen Xiangqian was already eyeing the fire so eagerly that he was practically drooling, his mouth watering. He was then beaten by Lu Zhiqiang.
Lu Zhiqiang slapped the back of his outstretched hand and scolded him in his second aunt's tone: "It's so much more enjoyable to eat it on the table, why are you the only one in a hurry?"
Chen Xiangqian scratched the back of his head sheepishly, chuckled, and said, "Brother Lu, you've worked hard. I'll take it. Just leave it to me. Be careful not to burn yourself."
In the 80s, venison was considered highly nutritious. In comparison, farmed venison in later generations is nothing. The wild red deer in the forest ran for miles every day in the mountains and valleys, their legs were full of tendons and muscles. They ate plants such as Codonopsis pilosula, Polygonum multiflorum, wild hawthorn, and kudzu vine. These plants had high medicinal value, and their high activity level made the medicinal value of venison incomparable to that of later generations.
A dozen hunters devoured roasted venison, drank stewed venison soup, and took a sip of fresh deer blood wine. Everyone's faces were flushed, their mouths were greasy, and the air was filled with laughter.
Zhao Pao had drunk too much. He lay down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in a drunken stupor, sprawling out incoherent ramblings.
"When we get back this time, we'll get some deer penis. Damn, I'll make my wife kneel down and willingly fetch me a basin of water to wash my feet. I'll show her what it means to regain your virility."