Chapter 33: The Working Hawk's First Day on the Job
Xiao Tao and his father, plus the Zhang family brothers, formed two-person teams and began trying to fly their hawks to catch birds on the surrounding hills.
Yue Feng still went alone with the Northern Goshawk, but he chose the mountain ridges deeper in the mountains for his hunting grounds, leaving the areas they were already familiar with to the other four members of the team.
Opening up new grounds had its pros and cons.
The downside was that it was further from the village at the foot of the mountain, the terrain was unfamiliar, and flying the hawks was prone to accidents.
The good side was that the Sand Grouse and Flying Dragon populations here hadn't been ravaged by hawk handlers yet; they were very bold. Sometimes, Yue Feng could even use tree trunks for cover to get within five or six meters. For the Da Qing Yao, catching this type of prey was practically a sure thing.
It was another day of going into the mountains to fly hawks. Around 4 PM, Yue Feng, carrying his hawk and a bulging satchel, returned to the village via the winding mountain path.
In the morning, the five of them had set off together from Yue Feng's house, agreeing to come down the mountain in the evening and gather back at Yue Feng's place.
By the time Yue Feng returned, Xiao Tao and his Grandpa had already been back for a while. The two hawks, who had worked all day, were now tethered in the courtyard with full crops. Yue Lei was inside talking with Xiao Tao and his Grandpa.
"Li Shu, Xiao Tao, how was your harvest today?" Yue Feng asked kindly as he entered and took off his satchel.
"It was alright, that Zi Yao was quite skilled at catching! It was our first official day out, and we caught 12 Flying Dragons and three Sand Grouse! Most of the work was done by this Zi Yao. After two more days of flying without the tether, it should be even more efficient!" Li Wentong replied with a chuckle.
"My Mahaozi is a bit sneaky when it comes to working. If a little chick takes off slightly further away, it'll chase for a few dozen meters and then just fly up a tree! It went up a tree three times today! Luckily, it was still tethered. Feng Ge, what should I do about this?" Xiao Tao was less composed than his father and had some complaints about the hawk assigned to him.
Yue Feng said, "This means its drive is a bit lacking. I'll work with it for a bit tonight, then try again tomorrow! Was the hawk fed back home, or did you feed it its fill up on the mountain?"
"The last prey, we caught a White Wagtail by the roadside at the foot of the mountain, so I wet the feathers and fed it right there! My dad's Zi Yao was put on the perch when we got home, and my Grandpa fed it the food he personally prepared!" Xiao Tao replied.
The White Wagtail is a small bird. Feeding it after wetting the feathers ensures it will cast a pellet tomorrow morning. Once it has cast the pellet, working on the mountain tomorrow should be much better.
Yue Feng nodded, "Just let it slowly adapt. You're working with Li Shu, so for opportunities that aren't as good, let Li Shu use the Zi Yao to catch it!
The one you have should only go for prey that is close, has a good opportunity, and a higher success rate! The priority in the early stage is to build the hawk's confidence. Once its drive is built up, it will definitely become more efficient when working later!
I wonder how the Zhang family brothers' harvest was today. It's this late, they should be back by now!"
They waited and waited, from 4:30 until 5:30. It was almost dark when Xiao Wen and Brother Xiao Wu finally returned, carrying their hawks and the satchels they took into the mountains.
"Feng Ge, Li Shu, Grandpa Yue, we're back!" The brothers called out to announce their arrival as they entered. After greeting everyone, they tethered their hawks to the hawk perches under the eaves.
"Why are you back so late? Did you run into trouble on the mountain?" Yue Feng asked with concern.
"No, in the evening, Xiao Wu and I went into a new forest. There were a lot of birds there, so we came back a bit late!" the older brother, Xiao Wen, explained.
"How was it? What's your harvest today?" Xiao Tao was more impatient than Yue Feng and couldn't help but ask.
"We caught about seven Sand Grouse and 18 Flying Dragons! The hawk my brother has is really good at working. I feel like it's similar to your Northern Goshawk, Feng Ge; it basically doesn't miss birds. If there's an opportunity, it takes it. Most of the chickens today were caught by his hawk," the younger brother, Xiao Wu, said, pointing to the hawk on the perch that had no side talons.
"That bold one caught quite well? What about the hawk you have, how did it perform?"
Yue Feng was quite surprised after hearing about their harvest. After all, these were hawks that had just started their first official day of work, yet they caught a full 25 pieces of prey. Although it took a bit longer, it was already excellent.
Xiao Wu scratched his head and said somewhat dejectedly, "My hawk is too weak. It flies slowly and can't catch up if the prey is a bit far. Several times, it got tangled in the string by diving into the bushes! When I flew it later, if the forest was a bit noisy, it would just go up a tree!"
Yue Feng nodded after listening. Xiao Wu's hawk was in a similar situation to the one Xiao Tao had – lacking drive and confidence in hunting. Coupled with the tether holding it back, its poor performance on the first day of work was understandable.
For newly released hawks, this issue isn't exactly a common problem, but there are ways to deal with it.
The solution is to help it cast pellets, clear its crop, and build its drive. Also, when flying the hawk later, choose easier prey to give it opportunities to strike. Once its drive is right, and it has caught a few easy ones to build confidence and its stamina improves, its performance will gradually get better.
Today, Yue Feng alone with his single hawk caught 22 Flying Dragons and an additional seven Sand Grouse, just one bird shy of breaking the 30 mark.
Adding the Zhang family brothers' 25 and the Li Family's 15, the total number of prey to be sent tomorrow morning reached a record-breaking 69!
"Anyway, this is the harvest from us taking the hawks out ourselves. Why don't you all keep a few to take back? I'll sell the rest in the city tomorrow morning!
Subtract half a Sand Grouse per hawk for their food consumption, and the rest will be counted as money for everyone. We'll settle up on the spot tomorrow evening!" Yue Feng's gaze swept over everyone in the room.
Li Wentong waved his hand, "My family just ate the ones you sent the day before yesterday, so we won't keep any of the ones caught today!"
Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu exchanged glances simultaneously. The older brother, Xiao Wen, said, "From our harvest, we'd like to keep two Flying Dragons and two Sand Grouse to take back. The last time my family ate Sand Grouse was last winter when it snowed, given to us by Zhao Daye at the village entrance!"
Yue Feng nodded, "Okay, we'll set those aside separately. You can take the rest back after you've eaten your fill later!
I've discussed it with my parents. Starting tomorrow, as long as we're going up the mountain to fly hawks during the day, come to my place to gather and eat breakfast before heading up. We can't afford big fish and meat all the time for now, but providing a hot meal and making sure everyone is full is definitely not a problem!!"
"How can that be? It's a long-term thing, and grain is so precious! We're already grateful enough that you're helping us earn money, and now you want to provide meals too!" Xiao Wen was the first to shake his head and refuse after hearing this.
Yue Feng pursed his lips, "The birds you and Xiao Wu caught today, I'll divide them into two shares. How much money can we earn by selling them? If everyone works properly, how much grain can we eat with just one meal? Can we really eat the family into poverty?
So, the matter of eating breakfast at my place in the morning is settled!
What does it mean to be 'old iron' (close friends)? It means earning money together and sharing blessings together! Let's take it slow, there's still a long way to go!"
Yue Feng, having lived two lives, deeply understood the importance of making a few close friends. With a stable way to earn money, the usual expenses for food and drink were just small change. Since giving them a 50/50 split wasn't accepted by the brothers, he would compensate them indirectly in other ways.
Over time, the bonds of friendship formed are the most precious things.