Chapter 46: Various Ways of Getting Mocked (Please keep reading, please recommend)

Wang An looked at his old uncle, whose mouth had been curled into a constant smile since harvesting two black bear gallbladders.

He actually said something that made Wang An feel like if someone were to beat him, no one would even step in to break up the fight!

He really felt like spitting a huge glob of phlegm right at him! He was the elder, after all!!

Wang An asked persistently, "Then, old uncle, didn't you say before that if you make a black bear rage before it dies, it'll produce a golden gallbladder?"

Hearing this, Feng Chengmin, who was currently chuckling to himself, rolled his eyes at Wang An and said irritably

"I said it increases the chance, meaning it's a possibility! You can't even understand simple words; no wonder you got kicked out of school. You're good for nothing!"

Wang An: "..."!

Every single day... this huge glob of... why do I want to spit it in his face so badly!!

Forget it... he is the elder!

Having been shut down twice in a row, Wang An became well-behaved. He shut his mouth and stopped asking!

Feng Chengmin put away the two black bear gallbladders and ignored his "good-for-nothing" nephew!

He turned around to gut the black bear. He didn't leave the heart, liver, or lungs; he took the intestines as well. This entire set of organs, known as a "lantern hanging," was hung up on a tree!

Wang An couldn't help himself. Wouldn't the black bear's large heart, large liver, once fully cooked, be delicious?

He asked directly, "Old uncle, why aren't you keeping the heart, liver, and lungs? Can't they be eaten?"

Feng Chengmin paused, stood up slowly, and said, "Even a dog wouldn't eat that stuff. It's fishy, smelly, and might even be poisonous. You want to eat it?"

There was no helping it; he had to ask!

It was because he simply didn't know!

"How could it be poisonous? If it were poisonous, wouldn't the black bear have poisoned itself to death long ago?" Wang An asked in confusion.

Feng Chengmin looked at Wang An as if he were an idiot and said, "Then what are black bear gallbladders used for?"

Wang An answered blankly, "They're medicinal ingredients! You don't need to ask me that."

Feng Chengmin was truly too lazy to deal with this fool, so he forced himself to calm down and said

"What I'm saying is, black bear gallbladders can neutralize poison! People use poison to hunt wild chickens, cats, deer, or even roe deer, but have you ever heard of anyone using poison that could actually kill a black bear?"

He continued, "And there are wild boars. Wild boars eat everything every day, even poisonous mushrooms, yet have you seen one die? Wild boars can find their own detoxifying herbs!"

After saying this, he turned to walk toward the other black bear carcass, not forgetting to add, "You don't know even the most basic common sense. Good for nothing!"

Wang An: "...!"

My huge...! Forget it, it's too damn disgusting, I won't say it!

He saw Feng Chengmin gutting all the organs of the black bear under the tree as well. Holding them in his hands, he glanced left and right, and with a "splat," he tossed them aside!

This time Wang An didn't ask, because he knew what was happening. There was no small tree next to Feng Chengmin, so he just tossed them away, and that was that!

After throwing away the black bear's organs, Feng Chengmin rubbed his hands carefully in the snow!

Then, using a skinning knife, he cut off the black bear's nose and pried out its two kneecaps!

A black bear's nose is also a medicinal ingredient; it is said to be very effective for treating "lamb madness," also known as epilepsy!

As for the kneecaps, they are the black bear's hind leg patellas, also called *galaha*!

Commonly known as "fake tiger bone," they have miraculous effects on rheumatism and joint pain!

He walked to the other black bear and repeated the same process!

Once finished, Feng Chengmin asked, "Have you learned it all?"

Wang An nodded and said, "Yeah, I got it! This isn't hard!"

Feng Chengmin said in a hesitant tone, "How about we don't take these two black bear carcasses? They aren't that tasty anyway. Should we just throw them away?"

Wang An knew these sold for about 3 mao per catty at the market.

So, he said somewhat urgently, "If we don't take them, wouldn't it be a waste?"

Feng Chengmin said with some worry, "But how are we going to get them home?"

Wang An replied casually, "Don't we have the sled...!"

Before Wang An could finish, he shut his mouth and turned to walk away.

He almost got caught in his uncle's trap again!

What a day!

Watching Wang An's retreating back, Feng Chengmin burst into laughter!

Wang An returned quickly, driving the sled!

These two black bears didn't seem to be a mother and cub; he didn't know why they were sharing a den, and it was a high den (sky den) at that!

Usually, dens shared by two black bears are low dens (ground dens), for a very simple reason: ground dens are spacious!

In a single den with two black bears, they normally move in one after the other.

Black bears sleep very deeply during hibernation, so when the second bear enters the den, as long as it doesn't disturb the first bear that has already entered hibernation, the first one won't really care!

There is another situation where there are two or three black bears in one den.

This is the most common case for multiple bears in one den: a mother and her cubs.

Young black bears leave the nest after two years, but before that, they live with their mother, so they hibernate and share a den with her!

If Feng Chengmin hadn't been poking them mercilessly with a pole just now, the bears might not have even woken up!

The larger one was about 350 catties, and the smaller one was over 300!

Working together, the two of them hoisted them onto the sled. This time, the large draft horse was basically the same as when they pulled the "earth leopard" (truck/cart) carcass last time.

After a brief moment of panic, it stabilized; it seemed like it could pull anything the same way.

Feng Chengmin marveled at it. He said he had experienced many horses, mules, and oxen, but he had never seen a beast as eerie as this draft horse.

Hearing this, Wang An's mouth twitched. Such a horse was clearly magnificent, yet Feng Chengmin called it "eerie"!

That was pure nonsense!

However, Wang An didn't dare argue, knowing how this old man would find ways to pick a fight with him!

Having harvested two black bears today, Feng Chengmin had no intention of continuing to look for prey.

"Nephew, let's go, let's go home!" Feng Chengmin called out to Wang An with a smile and climbed onto the sled.

Driving the sled, Wang An headed back home.

On the way, Feng Chengmin thought for a moment and said to Wang An

"I didn't expect today's denning would go so smoothly. Once the bear gallbladders are sold, after deducting the twenty percent we promised that man, the rest we'll split equally between us, okay?"

Wang An was stunned, because according to the rules, he should be taking a three-way split of the remaining eighty percent.

Furthermore, as an apprentice, he should get even less.

Before Wang An could speak, Feng Chengmin continued, "Since you have the 'earth leopard' bones, I won't give you these kneecaps; I'll use them to make some medicinal wine. The black bear nose isn't worth much, so I won't give you that either."

Just as Wang An was about to speak, Feng Chengmin paused and continued, "As for this black bear meat, how about you take the large one? That way, you'll suffer less loss!"

Now it was Wang An's turn to speak. He asked directly, "There's no such rule in mountain hunting, right? How could I possibly get so much?"

Even though the two were relatives, discussing the division of the harvest this way was perfectly fine—brothers settle accounts clearly!

Everything is said openly, without whispering behind backs; that is also the rule of mountain hunters!

Knowing Wang An's confusion, Feng Chengmin explained, "Your performance these past two days is not inferior to an experienced mountain hunter; it's just that your experience in finding prey is quite poor."

He continued, "Especially with these two black bears today, you were much better than many experienced hunters!"

He added, "You are steady-minded and have good marksmanship. Of the shots I took, only one hit the black bear's front leg; the rest were all misses! That black bear that lunged at you was killed entirely by your own hand!"