One must realize that this season is precisely when eagles begin to lay their eggs, and Wang An possessed a complete set of methods for raising them.
Most importantly, Wang An's desire to raise an eagle was incredibly strong and urgent.
That is simply how humans are; when someone is obsessed with a certain matter, they will constantly dwell on it.
For example, if a person wants to see beautiful women, the moment they step outside, their eyes will inevitably be fixed on women's thighs.
The reason for saying this is because of the old saying: "To see if she's beautiful, look at the thighs!"
Of course, looking at thighs doesn't just apply to women; it applies to men as well.
Similarly, no matter where a fishing enthusiast goes, the first thing they care about is always which body of water has fish.
If they spot fish in a certain spot, they will immediately think: Why the hell didn't I bring my fishing rod before I left? Dammit!
At this moment, while using his slingshot to hunt sparrows and squirrels along the way, Wang An's eyes were focused on observing various large bird nests and the silhouettes of eagles.
Generally, eagle nests are very difficult to find. More importantly, even if one is found, people often give up automatically.
This is because the vast majority of eagle nests are located on sheer cliffs or in towering trees, and they are extremely well-hidden, meaning they are rarely spotted by other animals.
Even if someone finds them, it is very difficult to capture them.
However, for humans, nests in large trees are slightly better; after all, if it's in a tree, there's a chance to catch the eagle if one finds a way to climb up.
As for those on sheer cliffs, it is safer to just give up. Otherwise, it would be truly idiotic to lose one's life just to catch an eagle.
It must be admitted that there is a saying that is very accurate: "Heaven does not fail the diligent!"
While Wang An, the "diligent one," kept pondering how to catch an eagle, he actually discovered a nest that was quite suitable for raiding eggs.
This nest was also on a cliff. To call it a "sheer cliff" was a bit of an exaggeration; it was actually on the side wall of a vertical rocky mountain, and looking up from below, the nest was invisible.
The reason Wang An was able to discover it was because he happened to see the nest's owner—a male goshawk—flying in with a large rat in its beak.
Furthermore, beneath the nest, there were many years of accumulated droppings.
Only then did Wang An dare to be certain that an eagle's nest must exist on this cliff.
This discovery immediately left Wang An exhilarated!
The reason he was so excited was that he had seen eagle nests before, but after careful observation, he found that those nests could only be viewed from below; there was nothing he could do.
But this nest was different. Although the location seemed high, it wasn't actually that high. He only needed to climb up a gentle slope nearby and then walk carefully to the front of the nest.
Just as Wang An was smiling and observing the route to climb up, Feng Chengmin noticed this and walked over.
He said with a smile as he approached
"What are you staring at with your mouth wide open and your neck craned? Did you find something good?"
Without turning his head, Wang An pointed toward the nest and said
"Look over there, Old Great-Uncle. There's an eagle's nest. I just saw a big eagle fly in with a big rat."
Feng Chengmin looked in the direction Wang An was pointing, but after staring for a long while, he couldn't see where the nest was.
However, as an experienced hunter, Feng Chengmin could naturally use the droppings and the terrain to roughly determine the position of the nest.
After observing, Feng Chengmin suddenly said with a laugh
"You kid really have the luck to raise an eagle. This nest is easy to raid; there's a place to step. Even if you fall, it'll be fine—you definitely won't die from the fall."
Hearing this, Wang An felt speechless. Mainly, he hadn't even raided the nest yet, and the conversation had already shifted to "it'll be fine if you fall" and "you won't die."
Noticing that Wang An wasn't speaking, Feng Chengmin turned his head in confusion. Seeing Wang An's face full of resentment, Feng Chengmin realized that what he had said was problematic.
Then, Feng Chengmin burst out laughing
"Hahaha, my bad, my bad! I've gone and angered my grand-nephew, hahaha..."
To be fair, Wang An wasn't actually angry; he just didn't know how to respond to the phrase "it'll be fine, you won't die."
After further observation, Wang An said to Feng Chengmin
"Old Great-Uncle, I'm going to climb up now. In a bit, when the eagle flies out, help me keep an eye on it with your gun. If that eagle flies back to peck me, just blast it."
Having said that, Wang An started to walk away, but Feng Chengmin rubbed his chin and said
"Xiao An, wait a moment. If it's as you say and that big eagle flew in with a rat, that means there are already eaglets in the nest."
After saying this, Feng Chengmin thought for a moment and added
"I heard you rambling before that you wanted eagle eggs so you could hatch the chicks yourself, right?"
"Hatch" here referred to "brooding the nest."
Wang An nodded
"Yeah, that's what the falconry method says. It's best to take the eggs and hatch them; that way, you have more control."
Feng Chengmin replied
"Then if you want the eggs, get me one of those eaglets from inside. I'm thinking of raising an eagle for fun too."
Wang An was momentarily stunned. Looking at Feng Chengmin's serious face, he asked in great surprise
"Old Great-Uncle, you're already in your forties, and you still want to raise this thing... for fun?"
When he reached the last two words, Wang An's accent became significantly heavier.
Wang An's meaning was obvious: You're already this old, why is your desire to "play" still so strong? Aren't you embarrassed?
Hearing this, Feng Chengmin gave Wang An a sidelong glance and said indignantly
"The damn Emperor himself could be sixty or seventy, with the dirt practically buried up to his neck, and he'd still be thinking about finding young girls to play with. I'm just playing with an eagle; is that against the laws of heaven?"
It had to be said that Feng Chengmin's argument was very reasonable; there wasn't a single flaw in it.
While Wang An was dazed, Feng Chengmin continued
"If you're not going, I will. This day-to-day life is just boring."
Hearing this, Wang An snapped back to his senses and said with a flattering smile
"I'll definitely go. You've got old arms and legs; what if you fall? Hahaha..."
As he spoke, Wang An thought for a moment, took the Type 81 rifle off his back, and handed it to Feng Chengmin for safekeeping.
Then, with agile movements, Wang An climbed up the slope.
A few minutes later, Wang An reached the designated position and peeked quietly into the eagle's nest.
(End of Chapter)