Catch the Mountain 1985

Chapter 27

Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming then went up the mountain, preparing to find a place to stay. First, there must be a water source, and secondly, it must be near a place where prey often appears, so that they can quickly find the target and pursue it.

It is not easy to find such a place. Some places have been occupied by others. After searching for more than an hour, they came to the vicinity of Xianren Cave. Both of them thought this place was good. There was a small river to the east and a view in front. It's an open, gentle slope facing the sun, but it's just a little far from the village. Overall, it's a good place to stay.

Then the two of them walked around and found that there were many signs of animal activity about one kilometer away from here. There were many hairs falling on the ground. Zhang Peng picked them up and looked at them, and found that they looked like deer, and some looked like The wolf's should be dropped in the changing seasons. The animal paths in the forest intersect together, and you can see that they are the marks left by the passage of large animals.

As long as Zhang Peng walks along one of the animal paths, he should be able to find the trace easily.

The two of them walked slowly along one of the relatively obvious animal paths. After walking for about half an hour, they found a group of wild boars feeding the fallen leaves in the ground with their mouths, looking for fallen tree seeds and insects. Eat, this wild boar herd is not big, one cannon egg, three old sows and eight yellow-haired pigs.

When Zhang Peng saw it, he quickly stopped Zhao Chunming, and then the two of them retreated in tacit agreement. The gun egg not far in front also suddenly stopped eating, then raised his head and twitched his nose, sniffing the smell in the air, and... Fortunately, Zhang Peng and the two retreated in time. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, Pao Zizi lowered his head again and looked for food.

Knowing that there are wild boars on this road, Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming have completed their mission. They don't need the wild boars now, and there is no shortage of meat at home. When the weather gets colder and freezing, they plan to hunt some more. Meat is also easy to store, so you don’t have to worry about meat and meat fat throughout the winter.

The two of them walked a few more animal trails, but nothing came of it. They just found a cave entrance near the southwest. It looked like a bear's den, but it was a bit old and there didn't seem to be any signs of activity. I didn't know if it would be winter this year. Will there be a bear entering the position?

What people in the northeastern mountains call a barn is actually a place where bears hibernate and sleep. There are two types of barns. One is the sky barn. Bears will look for a thick hollow dead tree and pick it from the root of the dead tree. Dig in, then use your hard claws to remove the rotten wood from the tree to the bottom bit by bit.The smart bear knows very well what tree to choose as its nest. Most of the dead trees it chooses to build its nest are red pine, because dead red pine rots from the inside of the tree outwards.

Another advantage is that woodpeckers like to peck small round holes in such large dead tree stumps. Some of the round holes are used as entrances and exits for the woodpecker's nest, and some are made by it to search for insects in the wood.These small round holes not only allow the black bear to see from the inside out, but also provide ventilation.Throughout the cold winter, it lay in the hollow of a dead tree covered with hay and leaves, warm and safe.

The other is the underground barn. This hibernation method is the safest for bears. Most of the bears who choose underground barns for nesting are female bears with cubs, so the space for movement is relatively large to avoid rolling over and moving. Dead bear.

As early as the autumn wind sweeps away the fallen leaves, the female bear begins to look for the location of the winter barn. Although the female bear is ferocious, she is timid and very good at protecting her cubs.It looks for old forests in deep mountains as far away from human habitation as possible, and locates its barn in dense pine forests or mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests in the sun. It looks under a big tree or beside a fallen log, digs forward and backward with its sharp paws to break through the soil, and digs a hole of more than one meter. Make a cave deep enough to accommodate two or three bears. Clean the roots and rocks from the cave to the outside.Go to a place far away from the cave entrance to bring hay and spread it into the bottom of the cave. The underground warehouse is basically completed.

Bears are very good at camouflage. Not only do they keep the newly dug soil away from the cave entrance, they also never damage the vines and shrubs in front of the cave entrance, which are very hidden after being covered by winter snow.If there is no big disturbance, the black bear will never give up this cozy nest easily. It will stay in the nest until the spring of next year, and only come out of the hole to look for food when the ice and snow melt.

Regardless of Tiancang or Tiancang, as long as no accident occurs, the black bear will have no choice but to choose another place.In fact, there are very few black bears like the legendary "Zuo Tuozi" (black bears that do not hibernate). "Zuo Tuozi" are usually frightened out of the cave by hunters or loggers. They dare not return to their dens for a long time, so they have to Ending hibernation early is what it has to do.

The two walked for a while, but when they found nothing, Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming walked down the mountain to their homes. When they returned to the village, they made an appointment to collect the half-dried bear bile hanging on the beam tomorrow. Sell ​​it, and then add some money to buy Zhao Chunming a handy gun. We are about to go up the mountain. There are many dangers on the mountain, so we need to get it as soon as possible. After some practice, we can hunt normally.The next morning, Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming set off. As usual, Zhang Peng was still carrying a gun. There are many jealous people these days. They must pay attention to their own safety first. It was almost noon when they arrived at the state-owned store. After entering the state-owned store, Zhang Peng went straight to Wang Wencheng's counter and saw him bargaining with an old hunter over furs. Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming stayed aside without disturbing him. After waiting for a while, they finally saw him. The two negotiated a suitable price, and then Zhang Peng stepped forward.

Wang Wencheng didn't pay attention at first. After all, there were too many people coming and going in front of the counter all day. He just said hello and took a look, without raising his head, he just kept his head down and recorded the accounts.

Zhang Peng and the other two didn't pay attention. They walked to the counter and said with a smile: "Busy, Brother Wang."

Hearing the sound, Wang Wencheng raised his head and took a closer look.

"Oh, aren't these two little brothers selling mallets? Did they come out with something good again today?" Wang Wencheng said in surprise.

"Yeah, Brother Wang, isn't this a piece of bear bile I got from the mountain two days ago? I want to come over and let you pass it on and estimate the price. If it suits us, we will make the move." Zhang Peng also replied with a smile.

When Wang Wencheng heard that it was bear bile, he felt a little regretful. The boss who collected the sticks last time was very happy and specifically told him to collect some high-quality ones.But then I thought about having bear bile. After all, old sticks are not that easy to come out.

"Okay, little brother, take it out and let me check the quality first," Wang Wencheng said with a smile.
Zhang Peng then took out the cloth bag from his satchel, opened it and took out a black semi-dry bear bile with some wrinkles on the surface.Then he handed it to Wang Chengwen. Wang Chengwen took it with one hand, held it in his hand and looked at it for a while, and then said: "Little brother, this is an iron gall. It's not completely dry yet, and it's a little weighed. Let's You have to wait until it is completely dry before you receive it, so the price will definitely not be very high, don’t you think?”

There are three types of bear bile: golden yellow, transparent and bright like amber, crunchy in texture, bitter and sweet in taste, which are customarily called "golden gall" or "copper gall"; those which are black, hard and brittle in texture or in the form of thick paste are customarily called "bear bile". "Ink gallbladder" or "iron gallbladder"; those that are yellow-green, less bright and brittle are customarily called "cauliflower gallbladder".The smell is slightly fragrant or slightly fishy, ​​melts in the mouth, and tastes extremely bitter, refreshing and not sticky to the teeth.

Of course, bear bile is best if it is large, has golden and bright kernels, and tastes bitter but sweet, and the price is also the highest.

"Brother Wang, just name them. They are all real people. We think we can just sell them." Zhang Peng and Zhao Chunming looked at each other and then turned to Wang Wencheng and said
"Let's do this. We won't be lying. I'll give you three yuan per gram. Do you think it's okay?" Wang Chengwen pondered for a while and said.

Zhang Peng calculated in his mind that this piece of bear bile was probably only about 20 grams. To be honest, the quality was average. Wang Chengwen did not lower the price, so the price was considered fair.

(End of this chapter)