Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 24 Hunter Levels

"It's not difficult! Anyone with a gun can be a hunter..."

Chen Tuo clearly heard the mockery in Wu Laowai's words.

His question was clearly a bit naive.

"Uncle Wu, how can I become a hunter?"

Chen Tuo asked a similar question again, but Wu Laowai pointed to the puppy looking for milk under the belly of the mountain dog.

"We'll get used to the smell eventually, no rush. With the puppies around, we might actually be able to raise some mountain dogs. Bringing those things up the mountain would be really something..."

The wolverine, also known as the mountain dog, is a creature that can climb trees, swim in rivers, and is not afraid of tigers or leopards.

If Chen Tuo can really raise these two mountain dogs.

Old Wu really didn't mind teaching him hunting skills.

When the time comes, watching him lead a pack of mountain dogs, making a ruckus in the mountains, will be a unique sight in Songling.

"Really?"

Chen Tuo didn't believe a word Wu Laowai said. If it really worked, who the hell would keep hunting dogs?

"Damn it! With these two bastards around, you're practically living the high life, digging up a bear's den."

"The two of them crawled inside and scratched away, and no matter if it was a black bear or a brown bear, it would try to run away."

"Then, you can just point a gun at them, 'bang, bang,' one after another. Sell the bear bile, make coats from the bear skin, and eat the bear meat. Wouldn't that be great?"

After teasing Chen Tuo about taking the mountain dog hunting, Wu Laowai said seriously:

"But being a hunter has nothing to do with hunting bears!"

"During the Qing Dynasty, the Oroqen hunters of the three Solon tribes were considered low-class hunters if they could hunt four deer, ten elk, thirty roe deer, and two hundred gray squirrels per year."

"Medium-level hunters: 10 deer, 15 elk, 50 roe deer, and 350 gray squirrels."

"Top-quality hunters include twenty deer, thirty elk, eighty roe deer, and four hundred gray squirrels."

Old Wu was counting on his fingers!

Chen Tuo asked, somewhat confused:

"Uncle Wu, do the Oroqen people raise deer?"

Chen Tuo knows nothing, yet dares to spout nonsense. Wu Laowai raised his head and rebuked him:

"You know nothing! The Evenki are reindeer herders, while the Oroqen and Daur are hunters and fishermen. The Evenki raise reindeer, and the Dobukur settlement on the northern mountain is the Evenki reindeer farm!"

This time, Wu Laowai was not led astray by Chen Tuo, but continued talking about the hunter's levels.

"Back in Zhang Xiaoge's day, a top-tier hunter could catch thirty deer, forty elk, one hundred roe deer, and six hundred gray squirrels. Once you joined their gang, every single one of them was a master hunter!"

"For intermediate hunters, the minimum wage is 15 for deer, 25 for elk, 70 for roe deer, and 350 for gray squirrels. With this hand grip, even if you join a gang, you'll be at least a cannonhead."

Without going on about inferior hunters, Wu Laowai asked instead:

"Do you know why Zhang the Shorty was about the same level of a mid-level hunter as a top-level hunter in the Qing Dynasty?"

Wu Laowai couldn't get a word out of Chen Tuo.

Although he majored in Chinese literature, he also had some knowledge of history.

"They have guns now!"

"That's right! The hunters of the three Solon tribes in the former Qing Dynasty weren't without guns, but they weren't allowed to use foreign cannons. They hunted with bows."

Upon hearing the word "bow hunting," Chen Tuo's eyes lit up.

"Uncle Wu, could you get me a hunting bow?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Laowai revealed a contemptuous smile and glanced sideways at Chen Tuo.

"A hunting bow? You? Don't you dare shoot me in the foot!"

"They use bows not because of the bow itself, but because of their ability to navigate mountains and track terrain, and their courage to kill bears and tigers with a knife. Do you have those qualities?"

"Besides, those antler bows take years to make, and they're more expensive than a special gun. Why don't you just go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy a gun instead?"

After reminding Chen Tuo once again, Wu Laowai brought up the hunter levels again.

"Back in the Japanese occupation of Manchukuo, top-notch hunters numbered ten deer, twenty elk, sixty roe deer, and three hundred gray squirrels. Even the best hunters back then couldn't compare to the gunners in the gang."

"By 1959, the price of deer was still 10, elk 20, roe deer 60, and gray rats only cost 250 to become a top-notch hunter."

"But there aren't many hunters who can properly hunt all of these anymore. The hunters in the mountains don't care about hunter ranks; they just hunt whatever they can get."

Although Wu Laowai did not introduce the middle-class and lower-class hunters in Manchukuo and 1959, Chen Tuo still guessed the reason.

"Uncle Wu, is it because no one is going into the mountains to hunt anymore?"

Demand determines the market, and this applies to the hunting grounds as well.

Chen Tuo's insightful analysis revealed the reason why legitimate hunters were becoming increasingly rare, earning Wu Laowai a higher opinion of him.

"Yeah, that's why! Venison and roe deer aren't worth much anymore, so nobody's willing to put in the effort in the mountains..."

"In my opinion, just focus on your own river bend. Once you've set up the fish nests, catching tens of thousands of catties of fish will be a piece of cake..."

Although Wu Laowai's words were somewhat exaggerated, they were entirely well-intentioned.

The Xingan Mountains are different from the Changbai Mountains.

The snow in the mountains, which starts in November, basically doesn't melt until May of the following year.

The snow in the ditches and ponds is now waist-deep.

When the blizzard picked up, the snow in some ditches and ponds was at least a meter deep.

Both the Evenki and Oroqen people hunt on horseback.

Hunting on foot only allows you to explore the outer edges of the mountain area.

Even so, it's easy to get stuck in a snowdrift.

With a large group of hunters and a few hunting dogs, it's not impossible to enter the mountains.

But Chen Tuo was all alone, so even if he was taught hunting skills, he wouldn't be able to enter the mountains...

"Uncle Wu, fish, rabbit, and chicken are low in fat. If you eat them three times a day, you'll starve to death..."

Wu Laowai wanted to persuade him, but Chen Tuo insisted, for reasons similar to how a water sprite kills a catfish.

Catfish has a high oil content, which is why he felt it was a pity.

Without sufficient oil, even if he could survive the harsh winter in the Xingan Mountains, he wouldn't be very comfortable.

"Wow... you know quite a lot. Let me ask you, do you know how to get into the mountains? Do you know how to get through snowdrifts and snow crusts?"

It's not that Wu Laowai looks down on Chen Tuo; if you want to be a mountain runner, you first need to have a strong physique.

Traveling dozens or even hundreds of miles a day, sometimes even through snow.

That's the standard.

Let alone Chen Tuo, a sent-down youth, most of the young and middle-aged people in the Songling Forest Area could not do it.

If you can't do it, if you can't get out of the mountain area and can't find a place to stay, then the old foreman will leave you in the mountain area.

"have no idea!"

"You know absolutely nothing, yet you dared to enter the mountain area. Should we call you arrogant? Or just reckless?"

The atmosphere was heated, and Wu Laowai, getting a little carried away, yelled at Chen Tuo:

"You're fucking brainless! A grown man died a violent death in the mountains, and you think that's a good thing?"

Chen Tuo didn't react much to his shout, but the female mountain dog who was eating rice at his feet was unhappy.

The little thing bared its teeth, raised its head, and headed straight for Wu Laowai's crotch.

"Holy crap! Quickly drag this bastard back..."

Seeing this, Wu Laowai's scalp tingled, and he cursed again.

Provoked by him, the female mountain dog leaped even more fiercely and faster, and just as it was about to rip his crotch, Chen Tuo shouted.

"Come back! Just eat your rice..."

That really worked. The suppression just now made Mushan Gouzi familiar with his voice.

Seeing that Mushan Gouzi had been stopped by Chen Tuo, and then, under the urging of the axe handle, continued to eat fish offal.

While Wu Laowai was shocked, he also sighed, thinking that this kid was really lucky, but unfortunately his days were numbered...