Chapter 25: Recruiting Allies

"Mm-hmm, I got it!"

Although Xiao Tao was a bit reckless, he had one great virtue: as long as he respected a person or a matter, he was extremely receptive to advice.

After Yue Feng had analyzed so much for him, Xiao Tao nodded repeatedly without showing a hint of displeasure.

Over the next two and a half hours, Yue Feng led Xiao Tao over two more gentle mountain ridges. The contents of their pockets increased by another six Flying Dragons and two Sand-half Chickens.

Unknowingly, the sun reached its zenith. As Yue Feng and Xiao Tao walked along the path, their stomachs began to growl.

"I'm hungry! Let's find a place to rest for a bit! We'll gather some dry wood and build a small fire! I brought some rations!" Yue Feng suggested.

"Alright, leave it to me!"

Receiving the command, Xiao Tao immediately got to work. He wandered around for a bit and returned carrying a bundle of dry branches.

The fire was soon lit, and Yue Feng took out the rations his mother had packed for him that morning from his satchel.

Inside the oil-paper wrap were three large pork buns and two large steamed buns made from mixed flour. Even looking at the whole village, the quality of this mountain meal was undoubtedly top-tier.

"Here, shave a few branches. Let's warm the buns and rations by the fire!" Yue Feng took out a meat bun for himself and handed the other two buns from the oil-paper wrap to Xiao Tao.

Seeing the white-flour buns, Xiao Tao froze, even before he had tasted them.

"White-flour buns?" Xiao Tao asked.

"If I give them to you, just eat them. Don't make such a fuss! You're my brother; I've looked after you since you were little. When have I ever let you go hungry?" Yue Feng's "big brother energy" was at full throttle.

As the buns were lightly toasted by the flames, releasing the aroma of rendered fat and green onions, Xiao Tao's mouth began to water instantly.

The Li family had five members, including two younger sisters for Xiao Tao. When Xiao Tao's mother gave birth to the third child, she suffered some health issues and couldn't perform heavy labor. Even though his father, Li Wentong, was a tractor driver for the production brigade, the Li family's lifestyle was only slightly better than that of ordinary villagers.

Every year, only after the first snow fell and Old Li and Yue Lei began heading into the mountains to set traps would the family's food quality improve. The mountain game meat and lard gathered during the winter would barely last until spring.

The cold meat buns from this morning, after being lightly reheated, had slightly yellowish skins. Xiao Tao couldn't wait to take a bite; the aroma exploded in his mouth, making him feel as if he wanted to swallow his very tongue.

"Pure pork and green onion filling!" Xiao Tao said, his eyes shining.

"Yeah, three mao each. I bought them at the state-run restaurant when I went into town this morning," Yue Feng said while tidying up the rations.

"Three mao each? That's so expensive! Where did you get the money?" Xiao Tao's heart sank upon hearing the price. Such expensive buns were a luxury to him.

"I'll have the money once we go to the ghost market in town to sell the Flying Dragons! A live, undamaged Flying Dragon goes for one yuan a piece. A Sand-half Chicken goes for seventy mao live!

Yesterday alone, I caught eighteen. I gave five to your family and the Village Secretary's family, and I sold the remaining thirteen!

You think the buns are expensive, but one Flying Dragon can buy almost four buns. Calculating it that way, do you still think it's expensive?" Yue Feng explained exactly how he was making money.

"I knew Flying Dragons were worth something, but I didn't realize they were *this* valuable!"

After hearing Yue Feng's explanation, Xiao Tao's breathing quickened.

The impact of these words was far greater than hearing that a weasel pelt could sell for twenty or thirty yuan this morning.

Weasels were hard to find, and most people in Northeast China held superstitions regarding them. But Sand-half Chickens and Flying Dragons were common in the mountains; you could encounter them almost anywhere.

"The crackdown on speculation in the city has loosened up quite a bit. In the ghost markets, people are secretly selling grain, coupons, meat, oil, cloth—all kinds of supplies. But most ordinary villagers and hunters don't dare to take the risk!

Therefore, the supply of wild game like Flying Dragons and Sand-half Chickens is very small. It's a seller's market with a monopoly, so naturally, you can command high prices! Plus, since we use hawks to hunt, we catch them alive, which fetches an even higher price!"

"So far, we've caught eight Flying Dragons, three Sand-half Chickens, and one weasel. If we calculate based on the prices you mentioned, wouldn't that be thirty or forty yuan??" Xiao Tao counted on his fingers, his expression becoming even more animated.

Earning thirty or forty yuan in a single morning was more than what Xiao Tao's father, a tractor driver, earned in two years at the production brigade.

"Exactly! I also met a master in charge of procurement at a coal mine. He said he wants as much of this high-demand wild game as we can get; he'll buy it all!"

Xiao Tao took a large bite of the meat bun and said thoughtfully, "It's a pity only you know how to train these little hawks. If we could train more hawks and find more people who know how to fly them into the mountains to catch Flying Dragons, that would be great!"

Hearing this, Yue Feng knew the timing was right. He smiled and said, "Why do you think I brought you up the mountain and taught you how to fly hawks step-by-step? So, how about it? Work with me. If we join forces, we can make this money together!"

"Really! Brother, you're actually willing to teach me how to fly hawks?"

Hearing this, Xiao Tao suddenly felt even the large meat buns weren't enough.

"If you're willing to do it, I'll find a few small hawk farms tomorrow to catch more hawks. Then we can make this money together!"

"Of course I am! A Flying Dragon sells for over a yuan. Even if you only give me twenty percent, that's still twenty mao! Ten birds is two yuan, twenty birds is four yuan! If I work hard, I can earn several yuan a day. In a month, I'll earn more than the forestry workers!" Xiao Tao said, showing he was very practical.

"Alright. Go home and discuss it with Uncle Li. Oh, and ask the Xiaowen and Xiaowu brothers while you're at it. You and them are close buddies, right? I'm not wrong about that, am I?"

"You're willing to bring Xiaowen and his brother along?"

Hearing this, the way Xiao Tao looked at Yue Feng changed completely.

Xiao Tao's mother and Xiaowen's mother were cousins, so the two families were distant relatives living in the same village. The children had been close since childhood, but at this point in time, Yue Feng and the Xiaowen brothers didn't interact much; they were merely acquaintances.

In his past life, Yue Feng only truly became close to them after his father's accidental death and his subsequent hunting trips up the mountain.

"My dad says they are loyal and reliable. As the saying goes, 'it takes three pegs to hold up a fence, and three helpers to make a hero.' If we want to do big things, we definitely need to build our own team!" Yue Feng said solemnly.

"Their family life is indeed quite hard, but my uncle is right about your family—Xiaowen and Xiaowu are both very loyal! I'll go tell them as soon as I get home. Once they hear this, they'll definitely agree!"

"Then it's a deal! Hurry up and eat. Once your stomachs are full, we'll cross another ridge and head back before dark!"

"Okay!"

Having finalized the candidates for the hawk-hunting team, Yue Feng was in high spirits. The two of them filled their stomachs with water from a flask and then continued their trek, deploying the hawks.

(End of Chapter)