sjar Chapter 308 Hunter's Skills, Jumping Cat's Voice Imitation
Chapter 308 Hunter's Skills, Jumping Cat's Voice Imitation
He eagerly awaited the mother eagle's guidance in teaching her eaglets to fly. He patiently observed them quietly for a long time. He saw two eaglets in the nest, one of which was particularly robust, with a sharp and powerful beak, and its body was much larger than its nestmate, making it stand out.
When the mother eagle comes to feed the eaglets, there seems to be no absolute fairness. The eaglet that opens its beak widest and cries the loudest is more likely to be fed by the mother eagle. After several such instances, the larger eaglet eats quickly and plentifully until its belly is round and full, at which point it closes its beak contentedly and stops crying.
Seeing this, the mother eagle waits until the eaglet sticks out its rear end, then quickly moves forward with her beak and catches the eaglet's droppings accurately, before gently tossing them out of the nest.
Li Ju'an, feeling utterly disgusted, thought to himself with a laugh, "Hey, do those eagle-training experts in Eagle Village really have to think about this every day? It's really nauseating."
This is understandable, as the path to eagle training is never easy. Eagles are naturally clean and have distinct personalities; they will never tolerate the slightest filth in their habitat, and they will even defecate away from their nests. Not to mention their inherently untamed nature; the approach of ordinary people will only make them more stubborn and unyielding. If faced with strong resistance, an eagle would rather exhaust its last bit of strength, even to the point of starvation, than bow its head and compromise.
Therefore, falconers must be well-versed in the nature of eagles, and be able to outwit and outmaneuver them, finding a delicate balance in silent contests rather than head-on confrontations.
Back then, the eaglets were too small; their hard feathers hadn't grown in yet, and they were just fluffy little tufts. Li Ju'an last saw this nest of eagles last week. Clearly, the two eaglets had grown plump and much larger. But they still retained the same habits as when they were eaglets, their beaks slightly open, emitting soft, eager cries, full of anticipation for their mother's return to feed them.
Li Ju'an thought to himself that perhaps in another fourteen or fifteen days, the two fledgling eagles would be able to grow strong feathers and take their first unsteady steps into their flying careers. When night fell and the flock returned to their nests, that would be the best time for him to take action and capture the two eagles that were about to enter their sub-adult stage.
He could then begin to tame and breed a loyal falcon that would become a powerful partner on his hunting expeditions.
Lost in thought, Li Ju'an stepped into his self-built hut. Lin Mei appeared just in time, holding steaming hot cornbread and soft, sticky rice cakes, which she handed to him. The warmed cornbread and sticky rice cakes were still warm in his hands.
"Ju'an, you're leaving now? You'll be gone for a few days. Come back soon."
Li Ju'an took the dry rations, smiled, and gently stroked his wife's soft hair, saying, "..." Lin Mei was very thoughtful; she had even packed a cloth bag and a basket for Li Ju'an, putting all the dry rations and food inside. The basket was made of bamboo. Since bamboo wasn't available locally, the Lin family had asked relatives in the Sixty-Nine Farm to bring them yellow bamboo. Then they had someone split the bamboo into strips, which were then woven into the basket.
Bamboo is scarce in the Xingan Mountains. Cold-resistant bamboo varieties include *Phyllostachys edulis*, *Phyllostachys edulis*, *Phyllostachys edulis* var. *mongolica*, and *Phyllostachys edulis* var. *mongolica*, which can withstand winter temperatures as low as -20°C. Their growing conditions are also very demanding; they require humidity and ample sunlight.
The bamboo basket, woven from the rare yellow bamboo, was very light and could hold quite a lot. Li Ju'an carried the bamboo basket carefully woven by his wife on his back, held her slender neck, and planted a kiss on it, making her giggle and scold him coquettishly, "Your sister is still watching from inside, aren't you ashamed?"
Li Ju'an turned his head and saw that the second-floor window was indeed open. Li Xiao was peeking out, twirling a pen and grinning foolishly at him. When he was discovered, he quickly pulled his head back and continued doing his homework.
He laughed and looked up, shouting, "Li Xiao, hurry up and do your homework, I'll have to check your essay when I get down the mountain."
Li Xiao stuck out his tongue and shouted, "I know, bro."
Li Ju'an lingered with Lin Mei for a while longer, carrying a light bamboo basket filled to the brim with his wife's love. He met up with Old Zhang from the security department at the village entrance. It happened to be a day off for the textile factory, and Song Desheng also went up the mountain as agreed, carrying a cloth bag.
When Song Desheng saw Li Ju'an, he grinned and exclaimed, "Hey, Brother Li, you finally remembered us! You're all so newly married, you've completely forgotten about your brothers now that you have a wife."
Li Ju'an laughed back when teased, "Didn't I ask you out? How can you, a father, still manage to get someone to come out these days?"
Song Desheng was so embarrassed by his retort that his face turned bright red. He said, "Of course! Being a father means I can't even catch up on sleep. That's why I'm rushing out to earn some money for baby formula. Otherwise, if I leave him at home, my wife will scold me."
Li Ju'an and Old Zhang from the security department laughed heartily. Both of them were married and knew how formidable their wives were. Old Zhang said, "Old Qian will wait for us at the old pilgrimage route later. We'll go in together."
"Okay, let's go."
In September, the sky is high and the air is crisp. Mountain rafting teams from various villages are out on the mountain paths, and you can hear folk songs coming from near and far. The mountain road winds and turns, and the folk songs, with their melodious rhythms, are very pleasant to hear.
Old Qian from Wangxingtun also joined the group. Song Desheng listened to Li Ju'an's story and became quite interested in Old Qian and Old Zhang's ventriloquism.
Song Desheng said, "Uncle Qian, I heard you say last time that your ventriloquism is amazing, how about you give us a performance?"
Li Ju'an and Lao Zhang both saw that Lao Qian was very interested, and Lao Qian also got excited and immediately shouted, "Watch closely, give us a performance, listen carefully."
Old Qian was very good at imitating the sounds of four-legged wild animals. He cupped his rough hands to his mouth, opened his face, and the sound of a jumping cat came out of his chest.
The rabbit's squeak is incredibly lifelike, produced through the vibrations of its mouth, teeth, lips, tongue, throat, nose, and uvula, creating a unique sound signature.
This unique skill, when it appears in the mountains, is truly like a rabbit calling out.
Song Desheng slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "This is really amazing! It's so damn similar!"
Li Ju'an's eyes widened in disbelief. Old Qian, this old artist, truly had a "rabbit-like singing skill" when he opened his mouth.
Old Zhang laughed and said, "This is nothing, just a hopping cat meowing. Old Qian, get these two young men a proper beating, let them see what it means to call out 'Green Skin' in one go."
Among the ventriloquists in the Xingan Mountains, Lao Qian and Lao Zhang are considered the best. There's a ventriloquist story from the Warring States period about Lord Mengchang's night raid on Hangu Pass, and the "chicken crowing and dog thieving" technique was a well-established ventriloquist art passed down from that time.
Old Qian listened to Old Zhang's words, shook his head, and said, "Today we're going into the mountains to set a trap, we can't do this, it'll just be too tiring."
Old Zhang gave Song Desheng and Li Ju'an a wink.
Li Ju'an immediately chimed in, smiling as he said, "Uncle Qian must be tired after calling for a while; he needs a rest."
Song Desheng picked up the conversation even faster, his little mouth already chattering: "Uncle Qian's two shouts didn't summon the cat."
Upon hearing what the two said, Old Qian immediately felt a surge of anger, widened his eyes, and shouted, "Why didn't you confess? Open your eyes wide and watch carefully!"
Old Qian stood there, took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and emitted a unique cry from his chest.
His calls were high-pitched and rapid, a series of squeaks like a rabbit's. It sounded like three or four rabbits scurrying about in the grass, their cries of fright.
The voice was so lifelike that Li Ju'an and the others stared wide-eyed in surprise.
Li Ju'an gave a thumbs up and exclaimed in admiration, "That sound is really awesome!"
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes not far away. It was the sound of a wild animal running through the fallen leaves, attracted by the frantic cries of the jumping cat.
Li Ju'an reacted extremely quickly, raising his gun to his face and firing a shot at the dark figure running wildly through the woods.
boom!