Chapter 8: Good Luck, Eat Chicken Tonight
A juvenile Sand Grouse, noticeably smaller than an adult, was pecking at small insects under a bush, chirping softly as it ate.
How could Yue Feng let such an opportunity pass? He prepared the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), then held her level and released her.
Just like a flash of lightning, the Da Qing Yao shot forward close to the ground. As it neared the bush, it struck downwards fiercely, and the next second the Sand Grouse's pained cry rang out.
Hit in one strike!!
No wonder those senior falconers had so many specific criteria for choosing a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female).
Choice is more important than effort. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) with good innate conditions is truly effortless, whether training her or using her!
The first successful real-world hunt with a newly trained Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) was achieved on the roadside less than a li from the village!
Yue Feng patiently waited for seven or eight seconds before slowly and methodically reeling in the line as he walked towards where the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) had landed.
Under the bush, the Northern Goshawk's large talons were firmly gripping a Sand Grouse. It kept pulling feathers off the head bit by bit. Even when Yue Feng approached, the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) wasn't afraid of people. After completely plucking the feathers from the Sand Grouse's neck, it quickly tore open the skin and began pecking heartily.
With the first successful ground hunt using the released Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), Yue Feng wasn't in a hurry to take the prey. Instead, he let the Da Qing Yao eat. Only after the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) had torn off and swallowed the Sand Grouse's head and entire neck did Yue Feng remove his left glove and cover the prey under the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)'s talons.
Unable to see the prey, the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) naturally released its talons. Yue Feng gripped the jesses with his right hand, remounted the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), and using his left hand through the glove, held the Sand Grouse behind his back, then turned and hurried home.
The real-world hunt was successful, so today's task was complete. A newly trained Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) shouldn't be flown too much; there's a gradual process involved.
The Sand Grouse's neck plus the entire head weighed considerably more than a Sparrow. Now that the crop had blood-food, if the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) were released again, it would likely not hunt properly. If flown further, it might not catch prey and instead become lazy.
By the time he returned home with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) mounted, it was only six-ten. Mom had already made breakfast, but the youngest, Jingjing, hadn't gotten up yet.
Yue Feng gently pushed open the door to the east room and softly called out, "Jingjing, get up and eat Sand Grouse!"
The little girl, who had been sleeping soundly, heard the words "Sand Grouse" and almost reflexively flipped over on the kang and lifted her head.
Yue Feng turned sideways, blocking the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)'s view, and dangled the Sand Grouse without its head or neck in front of his sister's eyes with his left hand.
"Look, this is what I caught with the newly trained Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) this morning! Hurry and get up, let Mom roast it for you with pot ash to eat!"
"Oh, you really caught one! Why doesn't this Sand Grouse have a head?" Jingjing rubbed her eyes, quickly put on her clothes, and examined the prey Yue Feng had brought back.
"The head and neck were eaten by the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)! The rest of the chicken is yours!"
"Second Brother is the best! Time to eat chicken!!" The little girl's happiness was that simple. With a small chicken in hand, she bounced off to find her Mom.
Actually, a Sand Grouse isn't very big. An adult male is only about half a jin. What Yue Feng caught this morning was a young hen from this year's breeding, weighing less than four liang. Without the head and neck, the remaining meat was at most two liang.
But even so, the little girl was quite content. Mom didn't even pluck the feathers, just threw the whole thing directly into the stove fire.
Soon, the strange smell of burning feathers drifted into their nostrils. The little girl stayed by the stove, not moving an inch, until it was cooked. Then, her mother pulled a black, charred lump of meat from the ashes.
This thing was a bit like roasted pigeon. Don't look at it right after it's pulled out, looking black and unappetizing. But after peeling away the charred feather shell, the red, tender meat inside was completely unaffected. When eating, you just needed to pull out the clump of internal organs, and the rest was edible.
Mom tidied up the roasted Sand Grouse and then handed it to the youngest, who was practically drooling.
"Are you just going to eat it?" Yue Feng looked at his sister with doting eyes, pretending to be angry as he asked.
"Huh?" Jingjing gave him a clear but bewildered look.
"Give Dad and Mom a taste of the two little chicken legs! You eat the meat from the breast!" Yue Feng said without question.
"Okay!" The little girl was a bit reluctant but still listened to her Second Brother and obediently handed the two slender chicken legs to Mom and Dad.
Dad and Mom knew Yue Feng was intentionally educating his sister, so they didn't stop him. After taking the chicken legs the little girl broke off, they symbolically tasted them.
"The chicken is so fragrant!" Jingjing tore off a strip of breast meat and took a bite. Her pretty eyes instantly curved into crescent moons.
"Once the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) is stable, I'll catch Sand Grouse for you to eat every day from now on! Don't put the bones in your mouth, you could choke!" Yue Feng reminded her with a smile.
With the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) mounted on one hand, a simple breakfast was finished.
After Dad heard about Yue Feng's morning outing to train the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), his evaluation of this Da Qing Yao rose a few more points.
For the rest of the day, Yue Feng strolled around the village with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) mounted. The more familiar she became with faces, the better. When it was getting dark around four o'clock in the afternoon, Yue Feng used the last remaining live Sparrow in the yard to reinforce the training operation. Then he kept her mounted until midnight before going back to the kang to rest.
Yesterday, the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) had two meals of blood-food, one in the morning and one in the evening. After casting out the feather shafts in the morning, her spirit had significantly improved. This morning, Yue Feng walked out with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) mounted. He hadn't even reached the River along the village road when he spotted traces of prey again.
A large Eurasian Turtle Dove was walking unhurriedly along the roadside, no more than ten meters in a straight line from Yue Feng.
The Eurasian Turtle Doves in this mountainous area might be slightly larger than Sand Grouse. Autumn is the season to fatten up, and there's no shortage of grass seeds and other food in the fields. This fellow was so round it gave the illusion it could barely walk.
Yue Feng had plenty of falconry experience in his previous life, so he knew that hunting Eurasian Turtle Doves wasn't a great choice. Their feathers are very loose, and you might end up just grabbing a handful of feathers while the bird itself flies away.
Normally, Yue Feng definitely wouldn't release the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) when he wasn't very confident. It was just that this unlucky Eurasian Turtle Dove was too bold today. Yue Feng had walked within seven or eight meters, and the Eurasian Turtle Dove still didn't fly, its plump body still feeding by the roadside.
This was blatant provocation! Uncle could bear it, but Aunt couldn't!
Seeing this, Yue Feng decisively released the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female).
The Da Qing Yao, held by Yue Feng, had already struggled impatiently several times. After breaking free, it was like a precisely guided black brick, slamming directly onto the large Eurasian Turtle Dove.
"Coo coo coo!"
The large Eurasian Turtle Dove, which had shown no fear of humans a second ago, was now firmly held down by the Da Qing Yao's talons. It was taken down without even putting up a decent struggle.