3 roots of Grade 5 leaves for each person; for Grade 4 leaves, Wang An got 6 and Wang Li got 5; for Grade 3 leaves, Wang An got 10 and Wang Li got 11; for Grade 2, Wang An got 21 and Wang Li got 22.
After thinking for a moment, Wang An took another Grade 3 leaf and handed it to Wang Li, saying
"Those two bear gallbladders can probably sell for about five hundred and forty or fifty yuan. I'll give you a Grade 3 leaf, and in exchange, the money from those gallbladders won't be split with you."
Wang Li seemed to want to say something, but Wang An cut him off
"Alright, that's enough for now. There's plenty of work outside; get out there and start working immediately."
After speaking, Wang An simply packed up the ginseng buns and walked straight outside.
Wang Li agreed, packed his share of the ginseng buns back into the burlap sack, and followed Wang An out.
However, once they left the house, Wang Li went to help with the work, while Wang An was drawn away by the cries of the golden eagle and goshawk chicks.
It had to be said that these four eagle chicks—Big Jin, Little Jin, Big Cang, and Little Cang—were quite unlucky to be following Wang An.
The reason for this was that according to the silk cloth, eagle chicks should be fed at least three or four times a day when they are young; feeding them five or six times would be ideal.
Only then would the eagle chicks grow rapidly.
Unfortunately, Wang An was often away from home during the day, and no one else but Wang An could feed them. This resulted in the four eagle chicks missing their midday meal.
They could only have a morning meal, an evening meal, and one more before bed, which barely met the minimum standard for raising them.
Thus, according to his family, these golden eagle and goshawk chicks would cry out from hunger from time to time throughout the day.
Fortunately, the Spirit-Opening Powder was very nutritionally rich, so they wouldn't starve to death.
Hearing their cries, Wang An casually cut a piece of lean black bear meat and walked toward the small basket containing the eagle chicks.
Whether it was because of the Spirit-Opening Powder or because they were simply too hungry, Big Jin, Little Jin, Big Cang, and Little Cang all looked exceptionally lively and healthy.
At this moment, the four eagle chicks performed almost identical actions, each opening their mouths wide, waiting for Wang An to feed them.
Wang An cut the black bear meat into strips and fed the four eagle chicks, dipping the meat in Spirit-Opening Powder.
Carnivorous raptors like golden eagles and goshawks have quite a significant appetite.
However, no matter how much they could eat, there was a standard: feeding them a lump of meat roughly the size of their head per meal was sufficient.
After feeding them, Wang An picked them up one by one, holding them in his palm and stroking them carefully for a while.
In the terms of the silk cloth, this kind of stroking was called "pan ying" (disk-eagle), though in some places it was called "bian ying" (flat-eagle).
Of course, the name didn't matter; the purpose was to let the eagle chicks become familiar with the owner's scent and increase the bond between the eagle and the human.
However, if one were to divide them strictly, "pan ying" and "bian ying" were different, because the method of raising and taming eagles on the silk cloth was fundamentally different from normal methods.
The method on the silk cloth required raising them from the time they were young chicks, using medicine to enhance the eagle's intelligence, and only required "pan ying" during feeding.
Normal eagle taming involved capturing semi-adult eagles that could already fly or adult eagles, and involved the most critical and cruel step of "ao ying" (starving/breaking the eagle). "Bian ying" also involved carrying the eagle on one's person for long periods, stroking them from time to time.
Simply put, the method on the silk cloth was a step-by-step cultivation from a young age, whereas the normal method was a forced domestication.
Furthermore, in normal taming, once the eagle was tamed, a hood had to be placed over its eyes to prevent it from escaping.
The method on the silk cloth required none of that; they only needed to be kept by one's side like hunting dogs.
After finishing with the four eagle chicks, Wang An played with the two little lynxes that had crowded around him for a while, feeding them some black bear meat coated in Spirit-Opening Powder.
These two lynxes grew incredibly fast—one could say they grew at a visible rate. Each now weighed over ten pounds, much larger than a normal house cat.
However, these lynxes—predators commonly called "tiger cubs"—seemed to have been completely raised as house cats by Wang An's family.
Every day, they spent their time catching mice, sparrows, or wild pigeons, and occasionally they would bring back a couple of squirrels to eat.
It had to be admitted that lynxes were born hunters; they required no training and would naturally develop their skills.
To prevent people in the village from harming them if they encountered them, Wang An specifically tied colorful ropes around their necks.
Calling them "colorful ropes" was a stretch; they were actually just a few strands of yarn twisted together.
Otherwise, given the value of lynx pelts, there would certainly be ill-intentioned people eyeing them greedily.
Fortunately, lynxes were naturally very alert; they would usually run away long before a stranger could get close.
Watching the two lynxes rolling around in front of him, a bold idea suddenly occurred to Wang An: if he used the lynxes to catch sables before winter, it would definitely be incredibly effective!
One must know that although sable pelts are small, their price is the highest among all furs.
Thinking of this, Wang An suddenly felt as if he were about to strike it rich!
After teasing the two lynxes for a bit longer, Wang An joined the work crew.
Just as Wang An was helping everyone rub salt-brine onto the black bear meat, Wang Dazhu suddenly said to him
"Xiao An, two does in the pen are in heat. And the buck from Old Ma's family at the east end of the village was sold. Think about it—should we catch a buck or what should we do?"
Wang An was stunned upon hearing this, because Sika deer normally go into heat from September to November, but it was only just entering June.
Just as Wang An was about to speak, his second mother, Yao Ping, also said
"I have a deer at home that's been fussing every day too; it's so annoying."
"Fussing" was a behavior of female livestock in heat; generally, mules, horses, donkeys, cows, dogs, and pigs all have their own behavioral expressions when in heat.
Speaking of which, one must mention the mule. Although a mule is the product of a horse and a donkey and is normally sterile, it possesses all the necessary organs and is no different from normal livestock in that regard.
Wang An pondered for a moment and said
"Let them fuss for now. We're so busy right now that we can't attend to them. Besides, a deer isn't something that can be caught in a short amount of time."
After all, the saying "A deer has a thousand years of life, but every step is filled with worry" was not just a figure of speech.
(End of Chapter)