Chapter 39: Hunting Roe Deer to Eat Meat and Drink Soup

Carrying their guns, the two men took a wide detour before slowly approaching the roe deer.

Along the way, Feng Chengmin continuously taught Wang An how to perform a "liuwei" (a circling hunt).

This method, which involves entering the mountains with only guns and no dogs to lead the way, is called a *liuwei*.

The fundamental requirement of a *liuwei* is knowing how to "pinch tracks"—in other words, finding the prey!

If you can't even find the prey, what kind of damn hunt are you even doing!

When Wang An mentioned how he used to just "bump into" prey, Feng Chengmin burst into laughter.

After laughing, he showered Wang An with praise, because relying on "bumping into" them had indeed yielded decent results for Wang An!

However, when he heard the details of how Wang An and Li Biao fought off a wild boar, Feng Chengmin’s expression turned solemn. As an experienced hunter, Feng Chengmin knew all too well how dangerous that was!

He told Wang An that the hunters from several nearby villages knew about that wild boar forest!

It was also the place Feng Chengmin planned to take Wang An to see in a few days, because the large female roe deer was about to leave her nest!

He hadn't expected Wang An to dare charge in there with nothing but a reckless attitude!

During this season, unless a group of hunters with ruthless techniques and heavy gear gathered together, it was best to avoid the wild boar forest.

A large female protecting her nest was dozens of times more dangerous than usual! Feng Chengmin and the others were unwilling to provoke a herd of wild boars during this season; it simply wasn't worth the risk!

Recalling the experience, Wang An thought that the large female indeed seemed abnormal—she had clearly already run off, yet she had come back!

Feng Chengmin told Wang An that once a hunter mastered the *liuwei*, they could be considered a qualified hunter!

When they were about 200 meters away from the four roe deer, both men slowed their pace simultaneously, approaching the animals stealthily.

When they reached a distance of about 100 meters, they both stopped and brought their guns to their cheeks!

Feng Chengmin whispered to Wang An, "The big one and the small one to my left, and the ones to your right. I'll count to three, and we fire at the same time!"

Wang An whispered his agreement!

Feng Chengmin was using an SKS, a semi-automatic, very old rifle, but it was exceptionally well-maintained!

The Type 56 semi-automatic was modeled after this gun, but while the Type 56 used a spike bayonet, the SKS used a blade-style bayonet.

Aside from the bayonet, the appearance and performance were basically identical!

Two gunshots rang out—*bang, bang*. Because they fired almost simultaneously, the four shots sounded like two.

The four roe deer in the distance—two large and two small—hardly had time to react before they all collapsed to the ground!

The two men walked toward the four roe deer at an unhurried pace.

"Uncle, your marksmanship is seriously impressive!" Wang An complimented him with a smile.

"Since we both hit them, does that mean you're more impressive than me? How many days have you been touching a gun, and how many years have I been playing with them?" Feng Chengmin rolled his eyes at Wang An.

"But seriously, your shooting isn't just talk. Even some old-timers might not be able to match you!" Feng Chengmin remarked again in admiration.

"Hehe, as long as I don't embarrass you, Uncle!" Wang An began to act smug.

"Then tell me, why did the matchmaker turn her nose up at you the moment your name was mentioned? I'm just puzzled!" Feng Chengmin feigned confusion again.

Wang An: "..."

The man really didn't know how to hold a conversation! He just wouldn't let it go!

Seeing Wang An lose his footing again, Feng Chengmin burst into happy laughter!

Seeing Feng Chengmin pull out his skinning knife, Wang An immediately pulled out his own. He didn't dare let Feng Chengmin do all the work while he just watched!

Both men used their knives to bleed the roe deer. After finishing the bleeding, Wang An saw Feng Chengmin opening up a carcass!

Fine, let's get to work!

Even in this freezing cold, the work had to be done!

After Feng Chengmin finished eviscerating the two larger roe deer, he hung the intestines on a tree, retrieved the heart, liver, and lungs, and stuffed them back into the cavity along with some snow!

When he turned around, he found that Wang An hadn't even finished processing one deer!

Instead of helping, Feng Chengmin washed his hands with snow, rolled a dry cigarette, and watched Wang An gut the deer with a grin!

After watching for a while, he began to tease him playfully!

"What are you doing there?"

"Your hands aren't even as nimble as those deer's hooves!"

"Good heavens! This job is painful just to watch!"

"I told you, that's why the matchmaker gave you the cold shoulder!"

"Tsk tsk... how did that girl from the Lao Mu family ever take a liking to you?"

"If it were my daughter, she wouldn't marry you even if I beat her to death! Tsk tsk...!"

"If I were the matchmaker, I'd turn my nose up too!"

At first, Wang An was a bit speechless. What kind of hobby did this uncle have? He just loved pointing out people's shortcomings!

It wasn't until Feng Chengmin mentioned "the matchmaker turning her nose up" several more times that Wang An suddenly understood!

The man had been slighted by the matchmaker! He had lost face!

With the strength of Feng Chengmin's three brothers, their influence in the village was certainly significant!

In this era, having many brothers and sons in a family meant you were quite formidable; no one would interfere if you got into a fight!

Even if you reported it to the public security, they would only come by to give a few words of persuasion and leave; more often than not, they wouldn't just ignore it, they would scold the person who reported it!

Therefore, in this era, the weight of one's words was basically determined by the number of men in the family!

And Feng Chengmin's three brothers were all hunters with guns! Feng Chengmin's uncles and elders also had sons!

This whole large group of uncles and brothers!

They had guns, and they had men!

Who in the village would dare to disrespect them?

However, Feng Chengmin, such a powerful figure in the village, had actually stumbled when it came to the matchmaker!

His dignity had been thrown on the ground and trampled into pieces!

How could Feng Chengmin take that?

But in matters like this, no matter how powerful you are, you can't just snatch the person away!

Who told his nephew to have such poor character!

So Feng Chengmin could only endure it, with no way to fight back!

But since they were his wife's kin, he still had to show some respect.

Besides, through their interactions, he felt his niece-in-law was actually quite a good person!

He couldn't beat or scold her, so to vent his frustration, he couldn't stand seeing Wang An acting smug; he could only make Wang An feel awkward to satisfy himself!

Thinking of this, Wang An actually laughed!

On one hand, his uncle was indeed standing up for him by addressing the issue!

On the other hand, it was funny to see his uncle so preoccupied with the loss of face!

But it would get better with time. Let him tease all he wanted; if Wang An ignored him, he would find it boring and eventually let it go!

Finally, Wang An finished processing both roe deer.

He smiled at Feng Chengmin and said, "Uncle, take a seat for a bit. I'll go get the sled!"

With that, he turned and left.

Watching Wang An's retreating back, Feng Chengmin wondered to himself: how could this nephew just smile through all the teasing without getting provoked or angry?

His temperament was truly excellent!

He increasingly felt that teasing his nephew was becoming quite dull!

When Wang An returned with the sled, he saw that the sun was nearing noon.

He asked, "Uncle, what's the plan? Should we eat something, or what?"

Feng Chengmin looked up at the sun. "Let's eat, then we'll take another loop!"

The two men drove the sled to a sheltered mountain hollow, gathered branches, and built two fires.

Wang An's small pot came in handy. He filled it with a potful of snow and propped it up on two stones!

He suddenly realized that this small pot should ideally be the kind that could fold up with the entire frame! That would make it easier to roast things around it!

Yes, he mustn't forget that!

Feng Chengmin was already slicing the roe deer meat, cutting it into thin slices, coating them in the salted flour he had brought from home, and then threading them onto shaved branches.

He placed them around the other fire; judging by his proficiency, he had eaten this many times before!

Wang An also pulled out the chili powder he had wrapped in paper and hadn't had a chance to use!

In a short while, the thin slices of meat were cooked, and the snow in the pot had turned into half a pot of water, which was just enough.

Wang An used his skinning knife to cut the heart, liver, and lungs of the two small roe deer into thick slices and tossed them into the pot.

He threw in a large handful of coarse salt crystals and a few dried chilies, then covered the pot.

The lid was a small mat made of millet stalks tied together with fine hemp rope!

He then took the cornmeal pancakes he had brought in the morning, sliced them into slightly thinner pieces, and laid them on top of the pot lid!

He added a few thick branches to the fire and went to enjoy the delicious roasted meat!

This roasted meat had no oil and no heavy seasonings—only salt and chili powder—but in these deep mountains, it was incredibly delicious!