Chapter 33: The Dog is Not Bad; Learning to Hunt

After listening to Feng Chengmin's explanation, Wang An was utterly shocked!

This dog had actually fought a wolf and managed to live to tell the tale! How vicious must it be!

Normally, a dog couldn't beat a wolf, unless it was one of those few super large breeds!

For a trained hound like this, being able to fight a wolf to a standstill with another hound was incredibly impressive! Dogs and wolves were simply not on the same level!

It seemed the lady selling the dogs really hadn't lied!

This purchase was truly worth it! Great! Great! He felt an immense sense of satisfaction!

Wang An recounted the entire process of buying the dogs to his elder uncle, Feng Chengmin!

After listening, Feng Chengmin couldn't help but sigh with emotion! As fellow mountain dwellers, though they were accustomed to life and death, they were strangers to one another, yet he felt a genuine sense of sorrow for the animal!

Having finished speaking, Wang An led Feng Chengmin to see the five puppies!

When he saw the little black puppy, Feng Chengmin's eyes lit up. He immediately crouched down and, ignoring the puppy's growls and displays of defiance, picked it up!

After checking its mouth, he pried it open to inspect its teeth. Then, he felt the puppy's four legs with his hands, checked its back, and finally lifted its tail to inspect its anus!

After completing the inspection, he let out a deep breath and said, "A good dog! Compared to a wolf cub, it's not much different!"

Wang An didn't know much about dogs and looked puzzled, but after hearing Feng Chengmin's words, the smile on the corners of his mouth couldn't hide his inner joy. He asked, "Uncle, what does that mean?"

Feng Chengmin rolled his eyes at Wang An and said, "If you want to laugh, then laugh! Don't hold it in until you choke!"

Wang An finally burst into laughter, unable to stop his "hehehe" chuckling!

Ignoring the giggling Wang An, Feng Chengmin continued, "When looking at a dog, look at the mouth first. The mouth needs to be wide. Some hounds have narrow mouths; while they might be good hunters, a narrow, long mouth lacks biting power. They're great for catching jumping cats or flushing out wild chickens, but when it comes to large game, they're useless!"

After saying this, he watched Wang An. Seeing him nod, he continued, "Next, check the teeth—the canines. A wolf's teeth are sharper than a dog's, so the sharper the canines, the fiercer the dog! After that, look at the shoulders. A dog with wide shoulders has strength! If a dog lacks strength, it can't hold down large game!"

Having finished, he seemed to wait for Wang An to understand. Wang An was also pondering these puppies, poking and prodding them as he observed. After a moment, Wang An nodded again!

Feng Chengmin continued, "A wolf has a copper head, iron bones, and a tofu waist; a dog is the same. The thicker the waist, the more resilient the dog. Usually, it can take a few hits without any issue! Finally, look at the anus. The larger the anus, the bolder the dog! Aside from facing massive beasts, it'll dare to take on anything. It'll just go for it—even if it can't win, it'll still fight!"

After a thought, Feng Chengmin added, "The legs might all look about the same thickness, but the thicker they are, the more force they can withstand. Their endurance is incredible; when chasing game, they just keep running!"

"Hearing you say that, it sounds like I really bought a good dog!" Wang An said happily.

"Mhm, you did well there! It's just hard to tell what the nose is like, but wolf-crosses usually have decent noses. This dog is at least a top-tier tracker!"

Wang An couldn't stop smiling and asked, "What about these four spotted puppies? Uncle, help me take a look."

Feng Chengmin scanned the four spotted puppies and said casually, "Those are just four ordinary, dim-witted dogs. Like most hounds, there's nothing special about them!"

Wang An had always wanted to find an experienced hunter to teach him. With his current mediocre skills, his hunting relied entirely on luck; he wasn't going anywhere!

Thinking for a moment, he said to Feng Chengmin in a flattering tone, "Uncle, my skills are really poor and I don't know anything. Would you be willing to take me under your wing?"

To be honest, no experienced hunter was willing to take on a novice, whether they were a relative or anyone else!

They were nothing but trouble—constant headaches, having to divert attention to protect them in danger, and having to share the spoils of the hunt. What was the point of that?!

It was just like when Wang An took Li Biao into the mountains. Although people like Li Biao were rare, in the eyes of an experienced hunter, all novices were the same!

Seeing Feng Chengmin frown, looking reluctant as if he were contemplating how to politely refuse his nephew, Wang An quickly recounted the entire story of his recent kill, explaining exactly how he did it, and even patted his chest to claim his marksmanship was actually quite impressive!

After Wang An's long-winded boasting, Feng Chengmin looked at his nephew with deep suspicion, as if asking, *How can you brag so much?*

Seeing that Feng Chengmin wasn't agreeing, Wang An felt helpless!

He thought for a moment and then told Feng Chengmin about the wild boar, leading him to the back room to see the boar skin and bones!

After seeing those, Feng Chengmin was completely convinced!

Moreover, he was beyond shocked! As an experienced hunter, Feng Chengmin knew exactly how difficult it was to hunt a wild boar!

It could be said that if Feng Chengmin were to hunt a wild boar right now, he would be recognized as a true marksman!

Even though Wang An had used a sneak attack, in hunting, as long as you aren't just stealing someone else's kill, it counts as real skill!

All that talk about "good luck," "high points," or "good fate" was nonsense!

Feng Chengmin was stunned for a long time before muttering quietly, "Did your father not 'thunder' you?"

In Northeast China, there were different levels of discipline: scolding, cursing, hitting, beating, thrashing, pounding, and "thundering." "Thundering" was the highest level!

"Huh?" Wang An blinked, momentarily stunned.

He had been in the middle of a great boast! To be interrupted halfway through felt terrible!

Because of the interruption, Wang An lost the desire to keep bragging!

The flattery vanished, and he asked directly, "Uncle, will you or won't you? Give me a straight answer. Why are you dragging this out?"

Feng Chengmin laughed loudly. "Are you getting impatient? Do you want me to give you a hard time?"

Seeing Feng Chengmin laugh, Wang An knew he had agreed. He said with a grin

"Well, look! With my skills, I won't be a burden to you! I might even help you bag a big one!"

"Hahaha, just keep bragging! Fine, I'll take you along for a while! I'll teach you everything I can!" Feng Chengmin laughed heartily.

"It's a deal then, Uncle! I'm going to visit my father-in-law tomorrow, and I'll come to your house first thing the day after!" Wang An said happily.

"Deal! It just so happens that in a few days, some of my close friends in the village are going to do a large-scale dog hunt. It'll be a good chance for you to see how it's done!" Feng Chengmin said.

"Hahaha, then I definitely have to see it!"

A group of men stayed in the house drinking water and rolling cigarettes, while a group of women helped clean up in the outer room!

Once the cleaning was done, everyone prepared to head home. Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan took the meat that had been frozen since yesterday out of the vats.

Each household received a fair share: a large piece of rabbit meat, a piece of sow or piglet meat, and a small piece of wild boar meat!

The wild boar meat was just for tasting; it was gamey, pungent, and a bit sour, so the texture wasn't great. But in this era, who would turn down meat!

The families of the Great Uncles from the same village also received portions in basins; since there were many people, there wasn't much left!

It was a gesture of goodwill. In these times, leftovers were still considered good things, unlike in later generations where they were discarded!

Just as they had arrived, everyone headed home. Wang Dazhu drove the sled to take the distant family of the Eldest Aunt back!

Since Wang An had nothing else to do, he drove his mountain sled to take his uncle's family back!

Staying over was out of the question; every family needed people at home, and besides, Wang An's house didn't have the space!

While chatting, many relatives expressed confusion regarding the rapid changes in Wang An's household!

However, Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan worked together to make up excuses to brush the questions aside!

When asked about the two horses, Wang An's answer was even simpler: he said that while he was drifting around in the county town, he had helped a friend, and the friend owed him a favor and sold them to him cheaply!

Although the relatives had many doubts, every family had their secrets!!