Chapter 29: Zhang family brothers
Xiao Tao pondered for a moment and replied, "My dad didn't say, but I guess it must be at least two or three hundred yuan! Although his gun is old, the barrel is a new one he's only used for less than two years. He got someone from the militia to get it for him!"
"If he didn't say, how do you know it's at least two or three hundred yuan?"
Xiao Tao spread his hands and replied, "Because my dad only saved 170 yuan. He kept saying he was still a bit short and it wasn't quite enough.
He was even hesitating about asking your dad to borrow money, but my mom said your Grandpa's leg was injured and your family needed money because things were tight, so he temporarily dropped the idea... If he had enough money, wouldn't he have bought the gun back already!"
Yue Feng nodded, agreeing with Xiao Tao's analysis.
"Alright, let's earn for a few more days. When we've earned enough money and the opportunity is right, we'll buy that barrel gun!"
Yue Feng had already mentally claimed Chen Pao's gun and dog as his own.
The two brothers walked back together and unknowingly arrived home.
Because they were delayed at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, it was already 8:20 when they returned to the village.
From a distance, Yue Feng saw two somewhat familiar figures waiting under the big elm tree behind Xiao Tao's house. Looking closely, it was precisely the brothers Zhang Xiaowen and Zhang Xiaowu.
Both brothers were a bit thin, about 175 cm tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. They wore blue jackets with patches on noticeable areas like the elbows and shoulders, but they were washed very clean.
"Xiao Wen, Xiao Wu!!!" Xiao Tao also spotted his good buddies and greeted them from dozens of meters away.
The two brothers heard the greeting and turned around.
"Xiao Tao, Feng Ge, you guys are back from the city?" Xiao Wen was the same age as Xiao Tao, but he was clearly more mature in dealing with people.
Needless to say, Yue Feng knew what they meant. Xiao Tao had gone to them yesterday to talk about Falconry and making money together, so the two brothers came early to wait.
Yue Feng nodded with a smile, "Have you been waiting long? Don't just stand here, come to my place. Let's have a quick meeting! Xiao Tao, put your stuff down and come over right after!"
"Okay!"
Entering Yue Feng's house, the brothers Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu respectfully greeted Yue Feng's parents. Yue Feng led them into the west room where he slept.
The newly bought pastries and candy were unwrapped and placed on the table. Soon, his mother, Meng Yulan, brought over sweet water with added sugar for Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wen, Xiao Wu, have some water! When you come to Dàniáng's house, treat it like your own!"
"Thank you, Dàniáng!" The two brothers thanked her repeatedly.
"I don't understand anything about Falconry. You guys can figure it out yourselves. If I'm here, you won't be relaxed! If you need anything, Xiao Feng, just call me!" Meng Yulan made a brief appearance, then pushed the door open and left.
Soon, Xiao Tao also arrived, and everyone was here.
With four young people in the room, Yue Feng wasn't in a hurry to get to the main topic. Instead, he placed the newly opened pastries in front of the two brothers.
"Xiao Tao and I went into town and bought these pastries from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Have a taste!"
Neither of the brothers ate the pastries placed in front of them. Xiao Wen couldn't hold back first and asked, "Feng Ge, I heard Xiao Tao say that following you up the mountain for Falconry and small hunts can earn money!"
Yue Feng nodded, "Xiao Tao should have told you roughly what's going on. I want to organize a few trustworthy people, teach you Falconry, and then sell the Flying Dragons, Sand Grouses, and other things we catch in the city. I've already found a sales channel!"
"But we don't have any hawks!" His younger brother, Xiao Wu, also asked.
Yue Feng: "Don't worry about that. Now that Hanlu has passed, it's the season for migrating hawks. I've already prepared the nets and lures for catching hawks. We'll go up the mountain to set the nets later!
You don't have to worry about Falconry either. My dad and I will be responsible for getting the hawks ready first, and then we'll take you into the mountains for a few days of practical training. Once the hawks are flying smoothly and you've learned enough, you'll be able to go up the mountain independently for Falconry and small hunts!"
"There's one more thing I need to ask clearly beforehand, Feng Ge, and please don't think I'm being too practical. If everything goes smoothly as you say, how will we split the money after catching and selling the prey?" Xiao Wen braced himself and asked again.
Xiao Wen was just that kind of straightforward person who said what he thought and did what he said. Asking about the earnings directly was also in line with his personality.
Yue Feng replied, "I'm responsible for providing the hawks and the sales channels for the prey, and you're responsible for going up the mountain for Falconry."
After I sell the prey you each catch, we'll split the earnings fifty-fifty!"
Today, Xiao Tao and I went into town, and the Flying Dragons we sold were one yuan and one jiao each! If the market changes later, we'll decide based on the actual situation!"
Hearing the distribution plan Yue Feng proposed, Xiao Wu's eyes widened, and he said with a look of disbelief, "You mean, catching one Flying Dragon means we get fifty-five fen?!"
This was no small amount of money. When they didn't have work in the fields, the brothers would usually do odd jobs for others. Getting thirty fen a day was considered a good employer.
In comparison, the price Yue Feng offered was too generous. Even if each brother only caught one Flying Dragon a day on the mountain, they would earn more than doing odd jobs for others.
"No way! How can we split the money like this when we're hunting together? This isn't according to the rules!!" Xiao Wen glared at his younger brother with dissatisfaction at this moment and directly rejected Yue Feng's distribution plan.
Xiao Tao also echoed, "I also think splitting it like this isn't quite right. You're leading us to make money, providing the hawks, teaching the skills, and handling the sales channels. You should definitely take the larger share!"
Hearing the stance of his companions, Yue Feng felt a warmth in his heart. His intentional proposal of a fifty-fifty split as a test seemed a bit petty in retrospect.
Not being swayed by profit but prioritizing rules – these are the kinds of people who can truly be brothers for life.
If he had mentioned a 55 split just now and the others had agreed without any dispute, then Yue Feng wouldn't have changed the split ratio either, but his cooperation with them would definitely have stopped at Falconry and small hunts. When it came to the big hunts in winter, he wouldn't have taken them along.
Yue Feng glanced at Xiao Wen and asked, "Xiao Wen, how do you think we should split it?"
Xiao Wen thought for a moment and said, "In the past few winters, Xiao Wu and I have sometimes followed the local hunters up the mountain to do some peripheral manual labor during hunts, so I know a little about the rules.
According to the rules for big hunts on the mountain, when distributing the hunting proceeds, the team leader counts as two shares, the lead dog as one share, three helper dogs as one share, the gun as one share, those assisting with the hunt also count as one share, and if there's someone providing intelligence, they also count as one share!
Our Falconry and small hunts are different from their big hunts, but the principle is the same. We don't have guns and dogs, but we have hawks.
Personally, I think a fair distribution plan is: the hawk counts as one share, learning the skill of Falconry from you should also count as one share, the person who takes the hawk up the mountain counts as one share, and the money earned from selling the caught prey in the city also counts as one share! What do you think? That's a total of four shares, with each share accounting for 25%."
While asking the others, Xiao Wen shot a sharp glance at his younger brother, Xiao Wu, before softening his gaze towards Xiao Tao.
Xiao Wu realized that he had been a bit out of line just now and his brother was reminding him, so he nodded along with Xiao Tao and said in unison, "I think what Xiao Wen (my brother) said makes sense!"
Yue Feng pondered for a few seconds and said as a compromise, "How about this, the hawks were caught by you guys with me on the mountain, so that one share won't count. That leaves a total of three shares. I'll take two shares, and each of you will get 33% of the value of your respective prey!"
Everyone likes money, but I think there are things more important than money in this world. Following rules is fine, but there should also be a little human touch. Don't let money make relationships too cold. What do you say, Xiao Wen?'"
Xiao Wen was silent for two seconds, as if struggling internally. Facing Yue Feng's gaze, he nodded, "Alright, we'll listen to Feng Ge!"
"We'll listen to Feng Ge too!" Xiao Tao and Xiao Wu echoed again.
Seeing that they had reached an agreement on the split, Yue Feng continued:
"But don't get too happy too soon, I still have rules to tell you!"
"Tell us, Feng Ge!"
"For Falconry and catching birds to make money, for now, it's just you two brothers, plus Xiao Tao and my Li Shu, making a total of five of us!"
This Falconry skill is a family tradition of mine. Besides us, you cannot tell anyone else any of the Falconry details I teach you!"
And you can't show off the money you earn to others. Earn money discreetly to avoid causing jealousy among the villagers!"
"Okay, Xiao Wu and I are tight-lipped. We definitely won't say anything we shouldn't!" Xiao Wen agreed without hesitation.
Yue Feng glanced at the wall clock and said, "Alright, it's settled then! Let's go set the nets first, and then I'll take you for a walk around Erjia Gully to give you some simple training! You'll eat at my place for lunch, I'll have Dàniáng make us something delicious!"
"Okay, we'll do whatever you say!"
Soon, Yue Feng took the other three, bringing the ride-in nets, lures, Da Qing Yao, and other things, then left the village and headed straight for the small woods by the River where they caught hawks last time.
They left home a bit late today, and the Da Qing Yao hadn't eaten yet. It was hungry, so it was very spirited. As soon as Yue Feng left the village with the hawk on his arm, he noticed several magpies perched on an elm tree by the roadside, chirping.
Although they weren't the target prey, using them to feed the hawk was definitely fine. Yue Feng walked a few steps forward and quickly sent the hawk out to show the brothers Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu his skill.
Magpies aren't particularly good at flying. With a distance of about fifteen meters, the Da Qing Yao flew close to the ground. Only when it was within ten meters did the magpie spot it. It hadn't flown far yet when the Da Qing Yao performed a stylish Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) flip, directly snatching it from mid-air.
The brothers Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu had never seen such a display before, and they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise again.
Yue Feng let the Da Qing Yao eat some magpie meat to fill its stomach a bit, then explained how to cover the talons with a glove and how to take the prey off and hide it in a pocket.
Having dealt with the first prey, Yue Feng quickly brought the three brothers to the small woods by the River.
Last time they set nets, there was only one ride-in net with holes. This time, Yue Feng brought a full three net pieces.
This small woods area was the best spot near the entrance of the village to catch young hawks. Yue Feng chose three different spots to set the nets, then carried the hawk on his arm and led the three brothers up the gentle slope of Erjiazi Gully.
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