Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Hearing Yu Qiutang's question, Lao Qin subconsciously looked around again, making sure that no one was looking at them or coming over, and then he lowered his voice.

"Brother, if ordinary people ask me, I will definitely not tell you. We are the only ones who have a life-and-death relationship. I tell you, you must not tell anyone else. If you can't do it, telling you will harm you."

Yu Qiutang laughed and said, "Brother Qin, don't you know my temper? If I can't tell you, even if you take my teeth out, I won't tell anyone.

But, you received this thing openly, why are you hiding it as if you can't show it to others?"

"That's because you don't know the rules. Let me tell you, this is different from collecting wild animals. Anyone who plays with these kinds of things in the wild will make a windfall.

You say you want to hunt wild animals to sell, I can buy almost any of them, and make some money by tinkering with them. Others won't be jealous because I earn money through real hard work.

But if I tell others that I got some treasure and sold it, and suddenly made some money, they would be jealous to death if they knew about it.

Besides, I just told you that this thing is extremely valuable. If I find all seven of them and sell them in the provincial capital, I can at least sell them for... 10,000 yuan. I estimate that I can sell them for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

I told them that this thing only sold for over a hundred dollars, and that they didn't know the value of it, otherwise they would have kept pestering me.

It's a pity that the person who sold it to me only picked up one. I've been looking around here these past two days to see if anyone wants to sell the other six.

It looks like there is no hope. It has been several days and there is no sign of it. It is as if this one suddenly fell from the sky."

"What did you just say? The guy who sold you the stuff, did he say he picked it up?!"

When Yu Qiutang heard what Lao Qin said, he actually had some confidence in his heart. Maybe these things came from the old birch forest.

When he and his father went in, those people seemed a little strange, but since his father was there, he didn't want to get too involved.

I actually had this thought in my mind. They must have discovered something, otherwise they wouldn't have run into the deep mountains and forests and acted so mysteriously.

As for whether it is possible to find good stuff, of course it is possible.

After all, that was the bearded man's lair.

Those bearded men also came from other places, and they must have brought a lot of treasures with them. They were suddenly wiped out, and some of them probably weren’t moved away, so they could only be buried underground or hidden somewhere else.

It wasn't discovered in a short period of time because it was well hidden and few people came here. It's very likely that it was found later based on some information.

In fact, this kind of thing has happened frequently in recent years.

Not only Rongcheng, but many nearby places were also swept by the antique craze.

Most of them are fakes. There are not many truly valuable things. They are all counterfeits.

Later, the state became more regulated in regulating such matters, and all items had to be handed in. Gradually this trend was curbed.

"Isn't it just picked it up? Let me tell you. That guy didn't tell me where he came from at first, but with the way he looked, how could he hide it from me?
That guy is probably just a bark peeler and doesn't have any real skills.

He initially said that this thing was a family heirloom and that it was a lie. With his tricks, could he fool my eyes?
After my further questioning, he told me that he accidentally came across it while cutting wood in the mountains, and it was right on the ground at the time.

There were also two or three silver dollars together. Only this one was valuable, the other two or three were very common.

This is because I know the value of the silver. If it were someone else, they might not recognize it and would just accept it as an ordinary silver dollar."

What Lao Qin calls skinning here is actually a profession that is rarely seen in other places.

Peeling bark means peeling birch bark. Since birch bark can be used for writing and lighting fires, some people specialize in collecting this kind of thing.

Just cut the birch bark, dry it, and sell it in the city.

It's also a way to make a living.

However, this method caused too much damage to the trees, so the Forestry Bureau later regulated it and no longer allowed bark peeling. Gradually, this livelihood disappeared.

"Brother Qin, you know the value of things, so did you give people more?" Yu Qiutang said with a smile.

Old Qin chuckled.

Yu Qiutang understood what he meant. How could he give more since this was not a charity?

This kind of antique trading is exactly like this. It all depends on whether you know the value of the goods, and making money is actually making money from the information gap.

I know what’s good, but you don’t. So I can buy your things at a low price and then sell them to someone who knows what’s good at a high price.

After going back and forth, I made the profit from the difference.

If everyone knows the goods and the market price, then these things will not make much money. Even if you buy them, you are optimistic about their future increase and they are just for collection value.

"Hey, Brother Qiu, let me tell you, you are very familiar with the mountains, so you can go and give it a try.

If you can find one or two, let alone six, what else do you want to hunt? I guarantee you can enjoy yourself for many years. "

Lao Qin suddenly shifted the topic to Yu Qiutang, with a gleam in his eyes.

Yu Qiutang immediately shook his head, "Brother, stop joking. You said this thing is worth so much, but I don't see how it is valuable.

If I spend a lot of energy to find it, and if I can't sell it at a good price, it would be a waste of my efforts. I can't just give you the item and you pay me."

"I can't afford to pay you that much. I've already told you this thing is extremely valuable. I usually spend a thousand bucks to buy your stuff, but I have to pool my money together, and I can't even come up with that much cash.

I also want to sell this thing to others, but I know where this outlet can be found.

You can try it. If you find someone, I can introduce you to someone. Then you can eat the meat and let your brother have some soup."

Yu Qiutang still shook his head and said, "I think this is unreliable. The mountain is so big, how can I know where it is?
If you want to know what kind of animal it is, and if it's alive, I can go out and look for it, and trace it.

This thing is small. Once it falls somewhere, you won’t be able to find it unless you look carefully, even if you trip over it.

Even if I had this fortune, I wouldn’t be able to distribute it.”

"Isn't that hard to say? I told you, he is a bark peeler, and the place where he walks is the land with birch trees, right?
Besides, he is not a hunter, so he will definitely not come to the mountains. I guess he is just wandering around nearby.

As long as you are in the shallow mountain area here, you can see those places where tree bark is peeled, and there are not many wild animals..."

Lao Qin paused slightly and touched his chin when he said this.

"Although this place is still very big, how can I put it? If you want to get rich, you can't let others deliver things to you. It's just that I don't have this ability, otherwise I would definitely go there by myself."

Yu Qiutang smiled and did not go into the topic further.

He actually had a plan in mind. As long as it came to peeling bark, the only place nearby was the old birch forest.

Pretty much what he thought.

Although that environment is still very large.

Finding something is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, as long as you have a big goal and look for it, you may find a chance. It is always easier than searching for treasure in the deep sea.

Moreover, the people he saw in Hu Zi’s lair last time must have something to do with these things.

The wealth left by this kind of beard was made by others, so why can't he make some of it?

Just like Lao Qin said, finding this kind of thing can make money faster than hunting in the mountains, and it is much safer.

When hunting, ordinary things are safe, but they can't be sold at a high price. Things with higher value, such as bears, are very dangerous.

Moreover, valuable wild animals all live deep in the mountains, and it takes time to go in and out every time.

I can only regard hunting as an important means of making money, but I won’t hang myself on that tree. If there is a better way, I am still willing to try it.

After chatting with Lao Qin for a while, Yu Qiutang joked, "If you can't find the rest, are you going to just stay here and not collect your wild game?"
Lao Qin smiled and said how could that be.

These things all depend on luck. If you spend all your time on them, you will starve to death.

He had tried it these days, and apart from the one in his hand, no one had sold anything else like it.

This means that either the remaining items have not entered the market, or have not been found yet.

The most important thing is that the person who sold things to him ran away after getting the money, and his family didn’t know where he went.

"ran away?"

Yu Qiutang was very surprised.

"Didn't you say that you took other people's things just to pick up bargains? Then there shouldn't be much money. Isn't it worth running away with it?"

Lao Qin also shook his head. "It's not much. It's only more than 50 yuan in total..."

He said 50 yuan at once, feeling a little embarrassed, as he had just told Yu Qiutang that the things he received were worth more than 1000 yuan.

In the blink of an eye, his little secret of collecting more than 50 yuan was exposed.

Yu Qiutang didn't care about this.

He was still more concerned about that person.

Even though people in this day and age are generally poor, 50 yuan is not a huge sum of money, at least not enough to run away with.

To make them abandon their families and flee their hometowns, they would need at least 500 or even 5000 yuan.

50 yuan is just over a month's income.

It's okay in their small place, but if you take it out, it's nothing.

"Forget it, why bother with him? He just needs to sell the things to me, and then he can do whatever he wants. It has nothing to do with me."

Lao Qin was not interested in this topic.

When the two were about to part, Lao Qin still suggested that Yu Qiutang go for a walk in the mountains. If he could find the rest, he would really be rich.

Yu Qiutang smiled and said that he could give it a try if he had the chance, but he shouldn't have too much hope.

He didn't want to say too much, nor did he want Lao Qin to place any hopes on him in advance.

I still have the same idea. This kind of unexpected fortune would be hard to find without any accidents.

Finally, I talked to Lao Qin about the recent wild animal market.

What Lao Qin meant was that as the weather got colder, both meat and fur became much more valuable.

At this stage, ordinary hunters can hardly get any prey, so the market is relatively tight.

For good stuff, the price is at least 3% higher than in spring and summer, and the most expensive of them are mink furs.

Of course, it would be even better if we could get a bear.

Bears are valuable all over, and their oil can treat frostbite, but bears hibernate in winter and it is difficult to see their shadows. Therefore, bears are very popular in winter every year.

There are also some medicinal materials in the mountains, such as astragalus, codonopsis, and panax notoginseng. Medicinal materials are most effective in winter, and as long as they can be found, they can basically be sold at a good price.

Of course, in addition to these, others are still being acquired for the long term, but their cost-effectiveness is not as high as these.

Yu Qiutang remembered all of them.

These are the basic sources of income and are relatively stable.

We need to take a two-pronged approach and be strong in both areas.

After parting with Lao Qin, Yu Qiutang walked around the streets again to buy some things for his family.

Including cloth and needlework for Yu Chunmei, kitchen utensils, stationery for the two children, tobacco and tea for Yu Qiujiang, etc.

By the way, I also bought some fried dough sticks and cakes to take back for my grandma.

I've been busy lately and haven't seen him for many days, so I don't know how he is doing.

It’s not that I have too much affection for her, I just think that she is my grandma after all, and it’s not that bad that I have bad feelings for her, but it’s not that bad either.

If you didn't do anything during your lifetime and suddenly died, you would feel bad.

He started out with nothing in his hands, but as he walked around he started to carry more things on his back. As he walked, he noticed someone selling red dates in the front, so he prepared to squeeze over to buy some.

You can give some to your third sister to replenish her blood, and give some to Miali as well. Her health is not very good and she has anemia. Red dates can replenish blood, and eating them for a long time is good for the body.

He was about to go over when he suddenly heard someone behind him shouting happily, "Tangtang!"

The voice was particularly familiar. He turned around suddenly and saw a woman in her twenties looking at her with a smile.

She was quite tall, more than 1.7 meters tall, dressed in grey coarse cloth, with short hair, thin cheeks, dark and rough skin, and only her eyes were bright.

He suddenly felt a little sad and almost collapsed from exhaustion.

He stared at the woman for dozens of seconds before stammering, "Second sister."

The woman in front of him was his second sister Yu Chuntao.

This was the first time he saw his second sister after his rebirth. Actually, it couldn’t be blamed on him for not taking the initiative to visit her.

There is a special reason.

His second sister was married in an old mountain in the next county. He had only been there once in his previous life and had even long forgotten how to get there.

As for why I only went there once, it has a lot to do with the local customs.

Girls here, once they get married, especially those who marry into the deep mountains, basically cut off their ties with their parents' family.

At most, we travel here once or twice a year.

First of all, it is very inconvenient to travel back and forth.

Secondly, the betrothal gifts offered by people in the mountains are relatively high. They don’t say it out loud, but subconsciously they think that the daughter-in-law is bought and don’t like them to have too much contact with her family.

Therefore, it is generally not easy for the daughter-in-law's family to go there, otherwise they will not only be considered to be taking advantage of the woman, but also blame the daughter-in-law for looking for her family to help her after they leave.

Yu Qiutang was naturally surprised to see his second sister in Qingquan Town.

It was also unexpected. (End of this chapter)