A foot-trap that had caught prey had appeared in Feng Chengmin's hands; it was obvious that this prey had been acquired by Feng Chengmin.
The reason for saying this was that hunting tools like snares and traps need to be processed after catching prey before they can be used a second time. Otherwise, once prey smells the scent of its own kind from a distance, it will absolutely not enter a snare or step into a trap.
The foot-trap before him belonged to the same category of tools as snares and traps. If it wasn't handled properly after catching prey, catching a wild sika deer would be absolutely impossible.
Therefore, Wang An believed that Feng Chengmin had likely taken someone else's prey.
However, it should be known that something like stealing prey from another person's snare was the most despised act among mountain hunters.
It was just like when Wang An, Mu Xueli, and Wang Li had set traps for sable; they had finally managed to catch one, only for it to be taken away by three men on horseback.
Rabbits and pheasants were one thing, but a sable pelt started at four hundred yuan—was that some kind of joke?
If you didn't know who took it, that was one thing, but if you did, who wouldn't be furious?
As an experienced mountain hunter, Feng Chengmin naturally knew these rules of the mountains.
So, as soon as he heard Wang An say he had taken someone else's prey, Feng Chengmin immediately defended himself
"What the hell do you mean I took someone else's prey? That was a deer I chased; it stepped into this foot-trap. Don't go talking nonsense, damn it."
Based on Feng Chengmin's reaction, it could be concluded that Wang An was right; Feng Chengmin had indeed taken someone's prey.
Though it might be as Feng Chengmin said, it was also possible that this was just an excuse he had made up for himself.
Wang An didn't say anything, merely looking at him with a beaming smile.
After all, he was the junior and Feng Chengmin was the elder; it was somewhat inappropriate for a junior to make a joke at an elder's expense, regardless of the circumstances.
Fortunately, a well-placed look was also a form of silent strike.
Noticing the deep meaning in Wang An's face, Feng Chengmin suddenly snatched the wooden foot-trap back and cursed with a laugh
"You little brat, why are you so fussy? Look at it if you want, otherwise give it back to me."
After speaking, Feng Chengmin gave Wang An a sharp glare.
As the old saying goes: "See through it but don't speak it; perceive it but don't expose it; when hitting someone, don't hit the face; when exposing someone, don't expose their shortcomings."
But Wang An was something else; aside from the third phrase, he had perfectly demonstrated the meaning of the first two and the last one.
But Wang An forgot that, at this moment, he was the one asking Feng Chengmin for a favor.
Thus, Wang An immediately apologized with a grin
"I was just asking out of curiosity, I didn't say anything. Old Great-Uncle, why are you getting so worked up?"
As he spoke, Wang An took the wooden foot-trap back from Feng Chengmin's hand again.
Then, Wang An added
"Why wouldn't I look? I haven't finished looking yet, hehehe..."
Feng Chengmin cursed with a laugh again
"You little brat, you actually dare to make fun of me. If you dare to show off with me again, see if I don't beat you."
Wang An smiled and didn't dare say more. Mainly, when it comes to mocking people, if you stop at the right point, no one minds; in fact, it can promote the relationship between two parties.
But if you keep harping on one thing, it becomes annoying—not just annoying, but damn irritating.
Mainly, things in these great mountains were ownerless to begin with, so "rules" were really just a formality; how many people actually followed them?
Furthermore, many disputes had no clear standard of right or wrong; most were cases where both sides had their own reasoning.
Wang An then began to examine the wooden foot-trap again.
If one were to describe this wooden foot-trap, it was essentially a miniature door, except the door frame was significantly enlarged.
To put it simply, a hole was sawed into the middle of a wooden board, and two swinging doors were made based on the size of the hole.
Normally, this door remained closed; even if pushed open, it would automatically close.
This was because a thin rubber band connected the door frames on the left and right sides of the two doors.
Calling it a "thin rubber band" was a simplification; it was actually the kind cut from a bicycle inner tube.
As for the working principle, it was very simple: when setting the trap, a small pit had to be dug in the ground to allow space for the two doors to open.
Then, this door—more accurately, this wooden foot-trap—was placed over the small pit, and finally, the trap was simply covered with weeds or leaves.
As long as a deer stepped on it, its hoof would immediately drop into the small pit and be clamped by the doors.
To prevent them from desperately trying to escape after stepping in, several short nails were driven into the area where the two doors met. If the deer tried to pull its hoof out, the nail tips would pierce into the deer's fetlock.
One had to admit that no matter how scarce resources were, the methods mountain hunters used to catch prey remained incredibly diverse and bizarre.
Most importantly, the materials used for the tools these people developed were extremely simple and easy to obtain.
Who would have thought that by shrinking a door, it could be used as a foot-trap?
However, although this wooden foot-trap looked simple and wasn't difficult to make, catching a sika deer was truly no simple matter.
Because who could guarantee that while walking, a deer's hoof would land exactly and perfectly inside the trap?
No matter how great the trap was, if the deer didn't step on it, or if the deer walked over it but—of all the bad luck—didn't step on the two doors but instead stepped on the door frame...
Damn, then what the hell is the point of catching a sika deer? It would be enough to drive one crazy.
So, as Feng Chengmin said, using this thing to catch sika deer was incredibly laborious.
The only way was to win by quantity—setting traps in piles, across vast areas of land. One had to set hundreds or even thousands of traps to have a chance of catching a sika deer.
After finishing his examination of the wooden foot-trap, Wang An suddenly said to Feng Chengmin with a mischievous look
"Old Great-Uncle, are you busy these next few days? How about you..."
Unfortunately, before Wang An could finish, Feng Chengmin immediately interrupted
"Busy, I'm damn busy. I've got no time for other things."
Clearly, Feng Chengmin was very interested in catching sika deer, but he was completely uninterested in the act of making the wooden foot-traps.
Ignoring Feng Chengmin's dismissal, Wang An tried to coax him with a grin
"Old Great-Uncle, I have a circular saw at home. We can just slice the wooden boards in a couple of snaps; making these things would be lightning fast. Those are live sika deer; in the future, when you're bored, you can draw some deer blood and soak some deer blood wine. Wouldn't that be pretty great?"