Chapter 39: The Eagle with Deadly Talons

The moment he entered the courtyard and saw Yue Feng, Xiao Tao began shouting with excitement: "Brother Feng, let me tell you, my old man and I really hit the jackpot today!

We caught 16 sand partridges and 13 flying dragons! More importantly, that hawk of mine that was performing poorly yesterday—I finally got it flying smoothly today!"

After listening to Xiao Tao's report, Yue Feng asked with a smile, "Did you go over to Laopo Ridge?"

"How did you know?" Xiao Tao asked, looking incredulous.

Yue Feng grinned. "There's a mountain stream over there with a small pond below it, lots of shrubs, and a large population of sand partridges! Since you and my uncle caught more sand partridges than flying dragons, I guessed you must have been at that spot!"

"Hehe! That's exactly where we were! I'm telling you, the sand partridges there are truly thick! If I had used that Great Green Sparrow of yours today, I might have actually brought back a whole sack!

My dad and I are going back there tomorrow! Even though the unit price for sand partridges is a bit lower than flying dragons, there are more opportunities for the hawk to strike! I feel like this sparrow of mine isn't too bad either; now that it's flying smoothly, we basically didn't lose a single bird all afternoon!"

Yue Feng nodded. "Right! First, get the hawk's temperament and condition adjusted; only then should you consider the value of the prey! As long as the hawk in your hand is tough enough, the entire mountain belongs to us!"

"Brother Feng, how much did you catch today? You're back even earlier than us!" Xiao Tao asked again.

Yue Feng smiled without answering and led him into the nearby warehouse.

"Whoa, you caught so many gray dogs! You've struck it rich, Brother Feng!"

Xiao Tao had been present when Yue Feng was asking the supply and marketing cooperative about the fur purchase prices. Even though Yue Feng said the cooperative's price was slightly low, in Xiao Tao's eyes, it was already a high price.

The cage was stuffed with gray dogs—at least six or seven by the look of it. If they sold them, what a massive sum of money that would be!

"I went for a stroll over in the red pine forest. Most of these gray dogs were likely smoked out of their dens using pine torches!"

"Are you selling these live ones to the Second Canteen too? I thought they didn't take pelts there?"

Yue Feng replied, "The Second Canteen definitely won't take pelts, but the meat from gray dogs slaughtered on-site is worth more than the dead ones! The advantage of using hawks to hunt small game is being able to catch live prey!

If we slaughter them on the mountain, the meat won't be fresh after a night of transport, so we won't get a good price! At worst, I'll just wait a bit longer at the canteen; once the squirrels are processed, I'll just take the pelts then!"

Speaking of which, it did make sense. In terms of problem-solving, Yue Feng was indeed more comprehensive than Xiao Tao.

While the two were chatting in the courtyard, Xiaowen and Xiaowu also returned with their hawks.

As soon as they entered the door, Yue Feng noticed the large wild rooster Xiaowen was clutching in his hand.

"Yo! You caught a big wild rooster today?" Yue Feng's eyelid twitched, and his eyes immediately darted to the hawks in the brothers' hands.

It wasn't easy for an ordinary sparrow to take down a wild rooster; Yue Feng knew the difficulty all too well.

Xiaowen handed the wild rooster in his left hand to Yue Feng, then brought his hawk to the perch to tie it up with his right hand. Only then did he say leisurely, "Don't even mention it, we almost lost the hawk!

Xiaowu and I had finished clearing one ridge, and as we were passing through a patch of shrubs at the bottom of a gully, a wild rooster flushed out at our feet. Xiaowu got hot-headed and released the hawk immediately. As a result, that big rooster carried Huang Dadan on its back for two flaps of its wings before landing! Xiaowu and I had to chase it across two mountain ridges to catch up!

This big wild rooster is quite a rare find, so we didn't have the heart to slaughter it; we brought it back alive! I don't know if the canteen accepts them, but it should be worth something, right?"

Huang Dadan had actually done some heavy lifting! This was somewhat unexpected for Yue Feng.

After all, Xiaowen and Xiaowu were just beginning to learn hawk hunting, making it difficult for them to provide rapid assistance to the bird. And while Huang Dadan was bold, the physical disparity was huge; Yue Feng had previously predicted that at most, it would attempt an attack and give up if it didn't succeed in the first round.

He hadn't expected it to actually succeed!

Yue Feng asked for more details, such as where the hawk struck and the final state of the hawk and the prey.

After listening, Yue Feng looked thoughtful.

After organizing his thoughts for about two seconds, Yue Feng said unhurriedly, "If this happens again, don't think about bringing a live wild rooster down the mountain!

While this thing is worth a little money, it's more important to let the hawk increase its hunting skills and experience!"

"Huh? Then what should we do?"

"If it happens again! Hold the chicken down so it can't move, then make a small incision on the chicken's head to let the hawk eat it alive! Once the hawk pecks a few times and the chicken struggles in pain, then you let go!" Yue Feng answered.

"Eat it alive? Won't the wild rooster go crazy? Huang Dadan won't be able to hold the chicken down either!"

"Making an incision on the head is to guide the hawk to strike at the chicken's head. After all, when a hawk eats meat, it's in the habit of tearing downward where its talons are planted!

You certainly can't hold it down by force, but if the talons are clutching the rooster's head, and the hawk's full body weight is pressed against the rooster, the pressure from the chicken's struggling will be minimized for the hawk!

As long as the hawk successfully completes one 'double-talon headlock,' it will know that this is the most efficient way to fight prey! Next time it does the same job, it will use that technique, and the hawk's work will become more skillful and less strenuous!

This Huang Dadan is such a big dummy, yet he's actually a rare hawk that knows how to deliver a killing blow!"

"Is a hawk that delivers a killing blow good or bad?" Xiao Tao asked, leaning in.

Yue Feng shook his head. "If used well, it's a good thing; a hawk that delivers a killing blow won't easily lose its prey. If used poorly, it's a bad thing. If that wild rooster had dove into the shrubs on its first flap today, Huang Dadan's large feathers would likely have been stripped off even if he wasn't dragged to death!"

Hearing Yue Feng's words, Xiaowen and Xiaowu exchanged glances, both feeling a wave of lingering fear.

"Our hawks have basically been flying smoothly these past two days. When are we going to train them for long-distance calls?" Uncle Li, who had been silent, asked Yue Feng while holding his own purple sparrow.

"Tomorrow! When we go down the mountain tomorrow, don't rush to feed your hawks. When you get back, I'll prepare the food for everyone and we'll train the long-distance calls together!

By the way, yesterday's prey was all sold in town this morning. I've handed the accounts and the money to my mother. Go collect your money first!"

Upon hearing about collecting money, aside from the relatively calm Uncle Li, the three younger boys looked full of anticipation.

The production team only distributed dividends once a year, and even a strong laborer wouldn't get much after a whole year of work. But yesterday's catch alone could give each person several yuan, something they hadn't even dared to dream of before.

Inside the house, Meng Yulan had already organized the accounts clearly for them. How much total revenue was brought in, who the rounded-off change belonged to, and how much money each person received based on their catch—everything was laid out clearly and transparently.

The excitement for the boys didn't end there. After they collected their money, Meng Yulan waved her hand and said, "Xiao Tao, go call your mother and sister over! Xiaowen, you go get your mother too! Oh, and Xiao Feng, go call Grandma Li from next door to come over and make dumplings with us!

Xiao Feng bought some pork belly this morning. We'll grab some sauerkraut, and tonight we'll all eat dumplings with pork and sauerkraut filling!"