Chapter 874
Three Joyous Events
Yue Feng used to be very close to Captain Guo, and the forest protection team was one of the forest farm departments he was quite familiar with.
However, Yue Feng had no recollection of the name Li Cunming. He was a little confused and couldn't figure out what the problem was.
Old Man Yue Lei said, "Li Cunming just came last year. He's also a retired soldier. Because of his retirement rank, he became the deputy captain right away when he came to the forest farm! If he hadn't come, I would have been the deputy captain when your Uncle Sun retired last year!"
"He was parachuted in, right? And he's from the same hometown?"
"It seems so! Li Cunming is a good person, but he's a bit of a loner. He's also a bit too principled, so his relationship with the forest rangers and their superiors isn't great!"
Yue Lei carefully explained Li Cunming's general situation to his son.
It's normal for soldiers who have been discharged from the army and resettled to work to be a bit stubborn. Judging from what the old man said, Li Cunming's connections aren't that great.
Yue Feng nodded: "Okay, I understand. Tomorrow I'll take some things and go to the forest farm to talk to Old Zhou and sound him out first!"
If Lao Zhou doesn't give me a straight answer, I'll ask my Uncle Du for help and see if we can seize this opportunity!
Yue Lei: "I think it's good to ask Lao Du. Lao Du and his team are the top superiors here at the forest farm. Lao Zhou is a cunning guy, he'll probably be waiting for you, Uncle Du, to ask him for a favor, so we can get this favor for free!"
"Give it a try! Actually, even if you become an official, you won't get much more salary, and our family isn't short of money right now!" Yue Feng said quietly, pursing his lips.
"That's the same thing! I'm not even fifty yet, it'll be at least seven or eight years before I can retire! If this is a free opportunity, why not take it?" Yue Lei said with great importance.
"Okay, okay, I'll take care of it!"
Yue Feng was afraid that the old man would get angry and punish him, so he dared not be arrogant anymore and readily agreed.
"Call Xiaona over tonight, let's have a family meal at the old house, shall we? It's been a while since we ate together!" the old man asked again.
"Um, I called Xiaotao, Xiaowen, and Xiaowu. How about we all go to the new house to eat? Xiaona is also preparing dinner at home! We're free tonight, let's have a drink together!"
"Okay, I'll do as you say, let's go to the new house!"
……
The father and son finalized the dinner arrangements and chatted about other details at work before it gradually got dark.
Since we had decided to have dinner at the new house, Mom used a large enamel basin to put the stewed pork belly from the pot, and the whole family went to the new house together.
Xiao Tao and his three brothers, Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu, had arrived early and were chatting and eating the local specialties that Yue Feng had brought back in the living room. When they saw that Yue Lei and his family of three had also arrived, they immediately got up to get stools.
That evening, the dinner was quite lively. The ten of them ate together, drank, ate, chatted, and played drinking games. The atmosphere was excellent.
After having a few drinks, Yue Lei brought up his desire to become an official again. Yue Feng knew that the old man was now completely serious about it and was focused on the position of forest ranger captain.
Another round of reassurance, almost as if he was giving his father a guarantee.
After eating and drinking their fill, they played until after 9:30 p.m. before saying goodbye to their families and the hunting team. Yue Feng divided the various local specialties he brought back from Beijing into several portions for each family to take home.
After seeing off family and friends, the new house finally quieted down.
Wang Xiaona efficiently put the bowls, chopsticks, and leftover food on the table into the kitchen. Yue Feng happily saw everyone off, locked the door, went to the kitchen, took out half a bowl of fresh meat, and brought his son to the storage room where the fledglings were temporarily kept.
After about half a day of rest, the fledgling eagle's condition, which had declined due to the transport, had recovered considerably.
Hearing the noise, the little guy opened its mouth towards Yue Feng, while its two fleshy wings flapped incessantly, begging for food.
The fledgling eagle is hungry.
"Daddy, an eagle!!!"
I was thrilled to see the fledgling eagle opening its beak and flapping its wings. I excitedly pointed at the eagle, as if to say, "Look, the eagle's beak is open!"
Yue Feng put his son down from his arms and then used chopsticks to pick up fresh meat and feed the fledgling eagle.
The little guy really liked eagles, tilting his head and holding Yue Feng's knee as he watched the eagle eat meat with great interest.
Looking at the peregrine falcon chick, after being given water in the evening, it now has a big appetite. Its owner feeds it meat with chopsticks, and it accepts both big and small bites without hesitation. In no time, its crop on its chest swells up.
Yue Feng stopped feeding the dog when it was about 80% full, having devoured at least half of the fresh meat prepared in the bowl.
After feeding the fledgling eagle its fill, Yue Feng fed the remaining fresh meat through the cage to the other eagles. The other eagles were all quite plump, and as long as they weren't thirsty, going hungry for a meal wasn't a big deal. They could eat a little something and then be fed again the next day after they came out of the cage.
After feeding the fledgling eagles he had brought back, Yue Feng tidied them up and then carried his son back into the house.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw my wife, Wang Xiaona, boiling water in the back.
"Honey, what are you doing! Boiling water?"
"Yeah, I've been on the train for dozens of hours, and my clothes are all musty! It'll be fine in a bit. After I take a shower and change into clean clothes, I can go to sleep!" Wang Xiaona said logically.
Upon hearing this, Yue Feng subconsciously touched his nose.
Taking a shower and changing clothes was just a pretext; the real intention was to give her husband extra lessons and help him with his homework. Yuefeng and his wife are at a good age now, and absence makes the heart grow fonder—those who know, know.
However, although Yue Feng usually prides himself on being strong and fearless, he still feels a little guilty after being "severely punished" by his wife a few times.
"Okay, it's not cold outside now, as long as the water's warm, it'll be fine! I'll just take a quick shower!"
"You watch over our son and wait. I'll call you when he's ready!"
Yue Feng knew that whether he stuck his neck out or not, he would be in trouble anyway, so he might as well be more open-minded. He carried the child into the house, then took an open box of matches from the table and started playing with Kaixin.
He briefly examined the mechanism of the matchstick gun, then took out a match, inserted the match head into the firing position to close it, and then handed the gun to his son.
Kaixin took the gun from his dad, who had already loaded it with 'bullets,' and excitedly muttered, "Fire!!"
The next second, he pulled the trigger at Yue Feng!
*Snap!* The powder from the match head was aroused by the impact, producing a crisp sound, and at the same time, a slightly pungent smell filled the air.
The little guy fired the gun himself, laughing happily, and kept pulling the trigger at his dad, but it wouldn't go off no matter what he did.
"You need to reload! You're out of bullets!"
Yue Feng patiently reminded his son, then used a tool to remove the residue from the match head and replaced it with a new one. Soon, the sound of a matchstick being fired echoed through the room again.
Seeing his son laughing heartily, Yue Feng was overjoyed.
This feeling is so real, so pleasant, so comfortable!
The son is smart, the daughter-in-law is considerate, and the parents are in relatively good health.
The family's life was getting better and better, with money coming in every day.
As a married man, what more could I ask for?
Over here, Yue Feng played with his son for a while, and then the hot water in the back was ready. Wang Xiaona took over from Yue Feng and watched as her husband went to the back to take a bath.
Yue Feng slipped on his slippers and went to the back room, where he took a long, hot bath. The fatigue from his journey vanished without him even realizing it.
After changing into clean clothes and returning to the bedroom, Kaixin was already fast asleep, hugging his matchstick gun. His wife, wearing only her undergarments, had also gotten into bed.
Yue Feng closed the door, took off his shoes, got onto the kang (heated brick bed), and turned off the light. Soon, a smooth, soft arm reached out to him.
……
Fifteen thousand three hundred and twenty-one words are omitted here.
The next morning, Yue Feng slept until 6:30 before opening his eyes.
I was quite tired last night. When I got up to move around, I felt noticeably weak. But thankfully, I got an excellent 80 on the 'tutoring class' exam, so Yue Feng managed to maintain his absolute authority as the head of the family.
After getting up and washing up, Yue Feng released the big black eagle and the little white eagle from the eagle house to fly around and play. During this time, Yue Feng finished eating the breakfast his wife had prepared.
After finishing these trivial matters, Yue Feng said goodbye to his wife, took the breeding birds and some local specialties he had brought back, and rode his motorcycle straight to the breeding farm on the mountain.
Just as Xiao Tao told Xiao Wen yesterday, everything is going well at the mountain farm under the meticulous management of Master Zhao Dashan.
Yue Feng rode his motorcycle to the entrance of the farm. Before the gate was even open, the barking of the three Canglong brothers filled the yard.
The old man, wearing a tank top and carrying a foot tub, walked over from the cages in the breeding area and bumped face-to-face with Yue Feng at the gate.
"Master! Have you had breakfast yet?" Yue Feng greeted him proactively.
"Xiaofeng is back! I knew it was you from the sound of Canglong and the others! I didn't sleep all night, and I only had some cold porridge before dawn!" Zhao Dashan said with a hint of weariness in his eyes.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you asleep so late at night?" Yue Feng asked with concern.
"The female musk deer in the rear breeding area also gave birth last night! She gave birth to three in one litter, one of which was much smaller and didn't look well at birth. I was afraid that if I rubbed it, it would hurt, so I sat on a stool in the enclosure and watched over it all night!"
"The female musk deer has also given birth to offspring?" Upon hearing this, Yue Feng was overjoyed!
The pregnant live musk deer caught in the wild gave birth to five offspring for Yue Feng in the summer.
After two or three years of careful tending, the first generation of musk deer has now reached the breeding stage, and this is their first litter this year.
"Yes! It's off! The smallest one has started nursing too! It should survive!" Zhao Dashan said truthfully.
"You can just take the baby inside, why make him suffer like this? The dew is heavy at night!" Yue Feng said in a low voice, feeling sorry for the old man.
"That won't do! If this thing gets mixed up with my scent, the female musk deer won't recognize it! I'm afraid it will get my scent on it, so I haven't dared to touch it!" The old man shook his head repeatedly.
"Is the situation stable now? Why don't you go back inside and rest for a while?" Yue Feng invited.
"It's alright, I'll just take a nap at noon! By the way, the second-generation sable cubs we had last month were born with fur on their backs, and two of them were white sables. Did Xiao Tao tell you?" Zhao Dashan said excitedly.
"Yes, you told me! Where is the white weasel now? Take me to see it!"
"That whole nest of white minks lives in individual rooms! Come on, I'll take you to see them!"
They're about forty days old now. Before that, I only knew they had kittens, and I hadn't paid attention to their fur color. I only discovered it a few days ago—there are two white kittens in the nest!
Zhao Dashan put down the rubber bucket and turned to walk towards the cage area.
Yue Feng followed behind and soon arrived at the area of the breeding cages for the first generation.
The best-located large breeding cages are all occupied by the offspring of the white mink we kept. The offspring have grown up, paired up, and taken up the best-ventilated and best-lit single cages in the enclosure.
Zhao Dashan walked to the cage door and knocked on it with an iron spoon. Soon, the little guys, hearing the noise, all crawled out of their nests.
The sable cubs, around forty days old, have already grown their guard hairs, but they look tiny, like large mice, with a pair of small, jet-black eyes that are very beautiful.
These little guys received Zhao Dashan's artificial imprint from the moment they opened their eyes, so they are not afraid of people. When they hear the knocking sound, they think it's time to eat and keep sniffing the location of the feeding trough.
Two of the white sable cubs had newly grown guard hairs that were snow-white, but the short fur close to their pelts was still light gray. The color difference was quite obvious compared to the other cubs in the litter.
The adult female mink in the den soon emerged, circled around the babies to make sure they were safe, and then retreated back inside.
Even the female mink had been tamed by Zhao Dashan, and after the cubs turned one month old, he could look at them freely, almost without any defenses.
"Tsk tsk! It really is white! Master, among the first generation of white mink, are there any other pairs that have bred cubs?"
Yue Feng reached out and gently stroked the little ferret, then asked curiously.
"There's another brood that's paired up. I saw the nest a few days ago, but I didn't see any pups! It must be a little late!"
Before the guard hairs grow out, you can't really tell the difference! The short, downy hairs it comes with is a slightly lighter color; it's not pure white!
Yue Feng nodded: "Looking at it this way, ideally, there's still a chance that one more litter might produce white mink!"
"Well, in about another week, the little ferret will open its eyes and we can take it out of the nest. Then we'll know."
The other litter of female mink was much more timid. It was their first time giving birth, and I was afraid of causing them stress, so I didn't take them out to check on them!
Yue Feng was quite pleased that his guess had been confirmed by his master.
The musk deer gave birth to offspring, as did the albino sable. Yue Feng also brought back baby peregrine falcons and saker falcons from Beijing. The number of high-value species in the breeding farm continues to increase. This is a triple celebration!
After several years of continuous accumulation, the farm is now starting to see a return on investment.
These offspring, whether sable or musk deer, are extremely valuable treasures. Once the population expands again, they can reliably produce high-value harvests.
This period isn't long; at most, it'll be two more years! By then, the wealth Yue Feng can control will experience another explosive growth! (End of Chapter)