Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 363 The Art of Sheep Leatherworking

Grandpa Zhao laughed heartily and teased, "Li Pao, your dog is something else. It loves climbing rocks and isn't afraid of heights. If you train it well, it might even be able to hunt argali sheep. It can sniff out two at once."

This village in the Gobi Desert used to have a dog gang. But the dog trainers could never train a dog to properly lower its head, let alone raise its head. Hunting dogs' paws weren't suited for climbing the Gobi, and their sniffing ability was too far to detect the tracks of argali sheep, so they had to rely on falcons. That's why Captain Zhang was willing to risk the golden eagle's revenge to raid its nest.

The locals are obsessed with falcons, believing that only falcons can help them hunt large prey. Imagine how much oil could be rendered from the meat of a Himalayan ibex!

Aunt Zhao came out of the house. After hanging up the clothes, she saw two huge blue sheep being dragged into the front yard. Her eyes widened in surprise. She called out loudly, "Li Pao must have brought Old Zhao some good stuff. Come in quickly. We'll stew a good pot of meat for lunch to nourish him."

The local villagers from the barley field all came to watch. Li Ju'an couldn't handle two such large argali sheep by himself, so it was naturally best that the villagers came to help. According to custom, the villagers who helped were all given a seat to eat together, and sitting at a table to eat hot stewed mutton was also a way of thanking the villagers for their hard work.

In this way, if you hunt good meat, people will come to your house for a feast. If I have meat, people will come to my house for a meal. With this kind of social interaction, the love among the villagers will flow, and every household will have meat to eat.

Li Ju'an skillfully wielded the sharp knife in his hand, gutting the bighorn sheep, with the villagers working together to help with the slaughter.

As the lantern-like stomach was gently removed, he handed the warm sheep's heart to the lead hunting dog—a reward and a sign of respect. The sheep's lungs were casually tossed aside, calling the other hunting dogs to share this gift of nature. They quickly gathered around, frantically tearing and devouring this rare delicacy.

As for the sheep liver, Li Ju'an tossed it in the corner and gave it to the falcons. The two falcons swooped down almost simultaneously, their excitement barely concealed. They swiftly and precisely snatched the sheep liver and began to devour it, their wolfish eating manner more eager and wild than that of the hunting dogs, and their speed in eating was much faster than that of the hunting dogs.

Once the hounds and falcons had eaten about 80% of their fill, they each found a quiet spot and began to meticulously groom their fur, licking each other and exuding an aura of satisfaction and peace.

Li Ju'an removed the horns from the male argali sheep. They were enormous horns, heavy and quite imposing. The horns could be hung in the main hall as decoration, or sent to a pharmacy to be ground into powder; all the pharmacies in town would buy them.

He collected the ram's horn, and divided the meat among Chen Xiangqian and Lao Zhao. He had a falcon and was the leader, so he got a larger share. Chen Xiangqian didn't have a gun; the gun he used was handed to him by Lao Zhao, so Chen Xiangqian got a smaller share than Lao Zhao.

Even though Chen Xiangqian didn't get much, he was already quite satisfied and said with a grin, "We're called apprentices. How can an apprentice compare to a master craftsman, right? It's normal for an apprentice to get less; it would be improper for them to get more."

Several villagers laughed heartily, giving him a thumbs-up and praising him for his sweet talk, quick work, and ability to charm people.

Chen Xiangqian was full of energy and helped with all the work.

No hunter enjoys gutting animals, but after Li Ju'an gutted the argali, Chen Xiangqian excitedly rushed over to do the gutting as well. He wasn't prepared for it. He didn't even wear gloves, just sticking his hand in and twisting and pulling. The stench of wild argali emanated from the intestines, and once it got on his hands, it was impossible to wash it off even after several days of vigorous scrubbing.

Chen Xiangqian only smelled the pungent stench when he took it out, and he felt so nauseous that he gagged and wanted to gag his throat with his fingers. He had just opened his mouth and reached out when he suddenly remembered that his hands were covered in a fishy smell. Well, before he could even gag his throat, he vomited up all the sticky rice cakes he had eaten that morning.

The villagers around him laughed heartily at his simple-minded yet fierce appearance.

Aunt Zhao took the lumps from under the sheep's belly to fry in oil.

Aunt Zhao quickly tied on her apron, her movements practiced and skillful. She selected mutton tallow with whitish edges, its surface smooth and clean. The tallow, freshly hunted from the mountain sheep, was neither crumbly nor entirely reddish; it was all very fresh.

She cut the pork fat into sections, put them in a pot of cold water, added more water to cover them, and skimmed off the foam after the water boiled. Then she removed the pork fat sections.

Then, simmer the oil in a pot over low heat. At first, the broth will be milky white, but gradually the oil will become clearer. After simmering for an hour, the oil and water will float to the surface, the color will darken, and it will appear very clear again.

This is what happens when the oil is heated through.

The entire Zhao family's old house was filled with the aroma of mutton fat. Aunt Zhao's cooking skills were excellent, and the villagers who came to help couldn't resist their cravings. They all looked up at the earthen stove, wondering what smelled so good.

Some people joked, "Sister Zhao, with your skills, you could open a restaurant in town. We would definitely support your business."

"That's right, Sister Zhao's skill in making mutton fat is unparalleled. Not to mention dumplings, even her steamed buns and flatbreads smell so good that the town's inspectors can't tear themselves away from the aroma."

The villagers laughed heartily, recounting how they had dealt with the inspectors while riding tricycles.

Small-scale pig farming is possible in barley fields, but if a household raises too many, they will be summoned for questioning. Some locals put their pigs in bamboo cages in their backyards and take them to the market to sell, but they encounter inspections.

The inspections were quite strict, leaving no room for leniency. If caught by the inspectors, not only would the pigs in the bamboo cages be confiscated, but a fine would also be imposed. In serious cases, they could even be arrested.

When the villagers talked about this, they said indignantly, "We know that inspector. He's Li's third son's nephew. When his own uncles go to town, he doesn't dare to say a word. How come he's so arrogant towards us?"

"They're just making a big deal out of nothing, not giving any leeway whatsoever. Last time I gave Li's third nephew some cakes, he didn't even glance at them, thinking we hadn't given him enough."

"Old Tian, ​​your flatbread is so hard and thick, it's so tough it could break my teeth if I bite into it. Even a dog wouldn't eat it. You expect Li's third nephew to accept it? What are you thinking? If you handed me a flatbread, I'd think you had a grudge against me and wanted to ruin my dentures."

The group burst into laughter, teasing the inspectors and creating a wonderful atmosphere.

Li Ju'an, smelling the aroma of mutton fat in the air, along with Chen Xiangqian and Grandpa Zhao, began skinning the argali sheep.

In later generations, obtaining sheepskin became a craft. Some merchants, in pursuit of efficiency and perfection, would first inflate the sheep's body to make it swell like a drum, and then meticulously slice open the skin with the tip of a knife, so that the entire sheepskin would easily slip off like a shed coat.

However, in those years, more people used traditional and ancient crafts.

Li Ju'an held the sheep firmly in place, his eyes revealing unwavering focus and reverence. At the sheep's neck, he made a precise and deep incision, about seven to ten centimeters long, to peel back the sheep's skin.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the blade plunged deep into the incision, cleanly severing the trachea and blood vessels, guiding the warm blood to flow out slowly. He carefully pulled these life-giving vessels out of the skin and meticulously cut them off, lest a single drop of crimson stain the fur.

He had to begin skinning the sheep while it was still warm. He gently laid the sheep flat, raised the sharp knife again, and moved quickly and gently, carefully tracing every part of the sheep's body. Each stroke was just right. He lifted the sheep along the midline of its chest to the lower lip, then back along the midline to the back, lifting it to the anus.

Finally, the two horizontal lines on the limbs are separated, reaching between the hooves, and about 5 centimeters of skin is peeled off. Two people around him use their fists to pound the mutton. He pulls it while the helpers hit it, and the mutton skin is peeled off very quickly.

He unfolded a peeled sheepskin and laid it on the ground to dry, making sure to avoid direct sunlight and not expose it to direct heat.

Aunt Zhao also came to help. She scraped off the grease and meat scraps with a knife throughout the process, which made the preparation of raw skin much easier.

The villagers, seeing his skillful craftsmanship, all gave him a thumbs up and exclaimed, "His speed is like that of two people!"