Chapter 42: Intelligence Revealed by the Stitched Eagle Jacket

“Is Jianguo’s wife home?” The courtyard gate was wide open, but Meng Yulan didn't push her way straight in; instead, she called out from the entrance.

“She’s home! Sister-in-law Yue, come on in!!” Zhang Cuilian heard the call and came out to greet her.

“Is the sewing machine free? Xiaofeng wants to make some hawk hoods, so I was thinking of borrowing yours!”

“It’s free! Xiaona and I don't have anything to do at home anyway, so I can lend you a hand!”

Because Yue Feng had come by several times recently to deliver wild game, Zhang Cuilian's favorability toward the Yue family had increased significantly. Originally, Yue Lei and his wife had a good reputation in the village, but now the relationship between the two families had grown even closer.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you!”

“We’re all family here, neighbors from the same village, no need for such formalities! Xiaona, pour some water for your Auntie!”

Soon, Xiaona brought a cup of water over to Meng Yulan.

“Auntie, have some water!”

“Ah, good! What a lovely girl!”

“I heard you say something just now—making what? What kind of hoods?? Such beautiful patterned cloth, why is it cut into such small little pieces?” Zhang Xiulian asked curiously.

“Hawk hoods! They used to be used for catching and binding hawks, but now that Xiaofeng is leading a few village buddies into the mountains for hawk hunting, they need them to bind the partridges and flying dragons they catch so they can be sold alive in the city!

Oh, and I also brought a few sets of work clothes and protective gear from the mine for Jianguo. He’s out working all day, so he’ll need them!”

As she spoke, Meng Yulan pulled out a set of three—gloves, a towel, and socks—from the bottom of her basket.

“Did Xiaoshan bring these back? The stuff from the mine is always so sturdy; look how thick this towel is!” Zhang Cuilian thought they were brought by the eldest Yue son, Yue Shan, and praised the snow-white towel.

“Xiaoshan? He’s been working at the mine for years; forget a three-piece set, he hasn't even brought back a pair of half-gloves!

These were given to us because Xiaofeng delivers wild game to the canteen. Live chicks are hard to transport, so the management gave him special permission! He went all the way to the warehouse to get a whole large crate!

Our family doesn't have many close relatives in the village, so we can't keep good things all to ourselves. Since I was coming over anyway, I brought a few sets for your family. Don't think they're too few!”

When mentioning her second son in front of outsiders, Meng Yulan’s face seemed to glow with a layer of golden light—an undisguised sense of pride and accomplishment.

“Sister-in-law, don't say that. We aren't strangers, and who would ever refuse to give away work gear!”

After a few pleasantries, Zhang Xiulian quickly flipped the sewing machine head out from its casing. After threading the needle and a brief exchange of instructions, she got straight to work.

When it came to being hardworking, the women of Northeast China were among the best in the entire country. After a quick familiarization with the process, she was soon busy.

Chatting about daily life while working with her hands, she finished the thick stack of patterned cloth in less than two hours.

The finished hawk hoods were like small capes, with two fabric drawstring loops running through the bottom. When needed, one simply wrapped it over the bird and tied the strings around the legs to secure it; whether it was a small hawk or a small bird, they would all be held perfectly in place.

While chatting, Zhang Xiulian had been subtly fishing for information about what Xiaofeng was currently doing. While other topics were easy to discuss, when it came to sensitive information like money, Meng Yulan’s responses were vague, stating only that her son led people into the mountains for hawk hunting and sold the wild game to the coal mine to earn money.

Zhang Xiulian knew how to maintain conversational boundaries; seeing that the other party was unwilling to elaborate, she didn't press the issue.

However, they were so engrossed in their work and chat that they didn't notice that their seven-year-old youngest son, Wang Mingyu, had slipped into the east room at some point. He had heard every word of the women's conversation.

At the foot of the Changbai Mountains, birds of prey were not unfamiliar to ordinary people, but hawk training and hunting were rare. In the surrounding villages, aside from the Yue family, who had an ancestral heritage, no one else knew how to do it.

When Wang Mingyu heard the Auntie say that Yue Feng took hawks into the mountains to hunt partridges and flying dragons, his curiosity flared up instantly.

As soon as Meng Yulan left with the finished hawk hoods, Wang Mingyu followed right behind her out the door. He went to the street and, upon running into Zhu Sanhai, began telling him the news with great mystery.

“Sanhai, Manjiang, have you ever heard of big eagles? In Yue Lei's house in our village, Big Brother Yue Feng is training hawks and leading people into the mountains to hunt. They've caught lots of partridges and flying dragons, even grey dogs and wild pheasants!”

...

There are no long-lasting secrets in a village. In less than half a day, the news of Yue Feng leading a hawk hunting party into the mountains had spread throughout the village.

At around four in the afternoon, Yue Feng was dragging his exhausted body home with his hawk when he reached the entrance of the alley and was immediately surrounded by a group of local barefoot kids.

“Big Brother Yue Feng, is this the hawk you trained?”

“Uncle Yue Feng, did you catch anything today? Can we see it?”

...

Yue Feng assumed it was just a chance encounter with the village kids and didn't take it to heart. He held up the large Blue Goshawk for the little ones to marvel at for a while before heading home.

Having seen the hunting hawk the adults spoke of up close, the kids were even more excited. Usually, raiding a bird's nest for a few mountain sparrow chicks was enough to show off to their friends, but now that someone in the village raised hawks that could catch wild pheasants, their brief moment of wonder wasn't nearly enough.

The kids crowded outside Yue Feng's door, peering through the cracks with longing eyes.

Less than half an hour later, Xiao Tao and Li Wentong also returned, each with a hawk.

The father and son had come well-prepared today; they had a great run in the woods around the small pond. With the two hawks working separately, they caught a total of over thirty partridges and more than ten flying dragons.

Their bags couldn't hold it all, so towards the end, they simply tied the birds' legs with wire and carried them by hand. This caused a massive sensation among the children.

Xiao Tao and Li Wentong each carried seven or eight live partridges with their legs tied, while their other hands held their hawks. With their gaiters tied for the mountain trek and their bulging bags slung over their shoulders, the sight was incredibly impactful.

“Little Uncle, are these the partridges you caught with the hawks? You caught so many!”

“Hello, Grandpa Li! Can I touch your hawk?”

“Uncle Xiao Tao, where did your hawks come from? Can they help me catch one too?”

...

They were all children from various households in the village, and since the adults all knew each other, the kids weren't strangers to Xiao Tao and his father. The bolder ones crowded around asking all sorts of questions, their eyes never leaving the partridges and the hawks.

In this era, life in the village was hard; catching an old sparrow meant bringing it home to fuel the stove for a meal. For Xiao Tao and his father to return with seven or eight partridges each—if they were cleaned and stewed with potatoes, how delicious that would be!

Xiao Tao had originally intended to show off to his little fans, but Uncle Li Wentong gave him a look that said "don't act up," so Xiao Tao immediately followed obediently into Yue Feng's courtyard, and the gate was soon closed again.