Chapter 180: Sable Traps
Early the next morning, Wang An checked his mountain gear, grabbed a good amount of firecrackers and "two-step" crackers, and drove his sled to Wang Li's house.
Ever since Wang Li started hunting in the mountains, his family had begun eating three meals a day. This was because hunters entered the mountains early in the morning and didn't have time for a late breakfast; furthermore, eating only two meals didn't provide enough sustenance to maintain one's physical strength.
During this season, normal households typically went to bed early and woke up late. In truth, this wasn't due to laziness, but rather a desire to save a meal's worth of grain!
After all, a person saves the most energy when lying still.
Wang An drove the sled directly into Wang Li's courtyard. Perhaps because the four yellow dogs already recognized him, only the lead dog—the yellow female—lay there and barked three times before settling back down.
The other three dogs merely glanced at Wang An and went back to whatever they were doing.
Wang An coughed twice and pushed open the door, happening to run into Wang Li just as he stepped out of the east room. Wang Li had likely come out to check after hearing the dogs bark.
"Fourth Brother, heading into the mountains already?" Wang Li said with a smile, seeing Wang An fully geared up.
"Yeah. Hurry it up, we're leaving now," Wang An replied casually.
"Aye, alright Fourth Brother," Wang Li responded with a grin.
The two entered the east room together. After Wang An greeted Second Uncle and Second Aunt, he sat on the edge of the kang, waiting for Wang Li to tie his leg wraps. As they chatted, Wang An pulled nine "Big Unity" ten-yuan notes from his pocket and tossed them onto the kang.
Wang An then said, "This is the money from selling those sheep lungs, wolf lungs, and black bear meat. Your share is ninety."
Yao Ping and Wang Daliang stared blankly at the money on the kang. After a moment, Yao Ping spoke: "Lao Si, why is it so much? He's only just started hunting; you don't need to give him special treatment. Take it back quickly."
"Haha, what's wrong, Second Aunt? Your son risked his life for this money, and you're complaining it's too much?" Wang An said cheerfully.
"This... this isn't right, he's just a beginner," Yao Ping said, feeling very embarrassed. As she spoke, she looked toward Wang Daliang, signaling for him to say something.
Wang Daliang also felt it was a bit too much, so he said awkwardly, "Xiao An..."
Knowing what Second Uncle was about to say, Wang An interrupted him directly. "Enough now, Second Uncle. Everything is done according to the rules. No one is losing out, and no one is taking unfair advantage. Stop refusing and just take the money."
Hearing this, Yao Ping finally picked up the money. Looking at the ninety yuan in her hand and then at her son, Wang Li, her hands trembled slightly.
Then, Yao Ping handed the money back to Wang An and said, "Lao Si, Xiao Li borrowed a hundred yuan from you the other day. As for the remaining ten, next time..."
Wang An looked at Second Aunt and was momentarily speechless. Was she really in such a rush to pay him back?
He interrupted her again, "Oh, let's just leave it for now, Second Aunt. We'll talk about it when the money from the sheepskins comes back in a few days. That won't be a small sum!" For the last sentence, Wang An intentionally put on a mysterious expression.
Seeing this act, Yao Ping was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
In truth, Wang Li had already told Yao Ping about these things, but human nature is the same: until the money is in your hand, it never truly feels like your own.
Yao Ping hesitated for a moment before putting the ninety yuan away. By then, Wang Li had finished his leg wraps, and with Wang An in front and Wang Li behind, they walked out of the house.
The two drove the sled to pick up Mu Xueli and his three dogs, and the three of them headed together into the deep mountains.
First, they checked their snares and traps. Because they hadn't set many wire snares in the forest this time, the trio only collected twenty-eight lynxes. The harvest from the traps wasn't great either: six pheasants, eight hares, and seven flying squirrels. At the same time, they set nearly two hundred new snares and reset the used traps.
Following Mu Xueli's directions, the three drove the sled directly into a pine forest.
Since the purpose of this trip was to set traps for sables, Wang An and Mu Xueli did not let the dogs off their leashes, choosing to lead them instead.
The main reason was that dogs, once released, would wander aimlessly, urinating and sniffing everywhere. If a dog accidentally stepped on a trap or touched one with its nose, it would be a disaster!
Every year in these great mountains, a fair number of hunting dogs were injured by traps; it was simply unavoidable.
But no one feels good seeing their dog injured. However, one couldn't blame anyone for it; everyone hunted this way. What, did you think you were special?
Sables are very solitary creatures. Generally, where one adult sable lives—regardless of gender—there will not be a second sable nearby, except during the mating season.
Following the teachings of his partner's sixth grandfather, Mu Xueli placed traps where sable paw prints were suspected, then placed chopped hare meat on the trigger as bait.
The hares were from their previous haul; there was no need to pluck the fur, just chop them into small pieces with an axe, and the job was done. It was very simple.
In reality, catching a sable with a trap was entirely a matter of luck. These creatures weren't as dim-witted as lynxes or pheasants; their hearing, vision, and smell were all incredibly sharp.
And it wasn't just sables; all mustelids were formidable. Yellow-throated martens and minks, though small, were fierce beasts—more accurately, small-scale predators.
Furthermore, they were extremely intelligent, with an IQ comparable to a dog's. If raised from a young age, they could be a great asset to a hunter.
However, catching a sable cub was essentially the same as catching a young hawk: it relied entirely on luck, or "stumbling upon" one.
If you stumbled upon one, you'd hit the jackpot. Even if you didn't keep it, selling it would fetch a significant amount of money.
If you tried to search for them intentionally, it was an incredibly grueling task. Sables were still the easier option, as you could just bring them home.
But the nests of fierce birds like hawks were either on sheer cliffs or in towering trees. For someone without real skill, raiding a nest was no easy feat.
Moreover, hawks were incredibly vengeful. If you dared to raid a hawk's nest, unless you went undetected, you had to be prepared for retaliation. Unless you had a gun and were a crack shot, you wouldn't even be able to hit it.
For the sake of this sable—which they weren't even sure actually existed—Wang An and his companions set a great many traps.
Furthermore, for every hole found under a tree, if the dogs sniffed it for more than five seconds, regardless of what kind of hole it was, one or two traps were inevitably placed.
This was the trapping tactic Mu Xueli had learned. However, whether they would actually catch a sable was entirely up to fate; overthinking it was useless.
After finishing up in the pine forest, having set about thirty traps, the three headed to the next location.
This place was a rocky plain where nothing grew but weeds. No one cared about the scenery; they just focused on setting traps. Aside from placing traps where sable prints were found, they relied primarily on the dogs to find burrows.
Because there were too many holes, only those where the dogs lingered longer were likely to contain living creatures. If there was nothing inside, it was a dead hole, and placing a trap there would be a waste.
In this manner, the three circled through a total of six locations. They didn't skimp on the traps in any of these areas; by the end, all two hundred traps were gone, not a single one left.
Of course, since they were already in the mountains, they couldn't just go home with a few lynxes.
After discussing it, the three decided to go "dig out" badgers.