[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw":3,"chapter-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-117":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn in 1981: Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1933998,2572,"Chapter 117: Small-Caliber Hunting","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-117",117,"\u003Cp>The \"fox-child\" is simply a fox. On these Gobi alkali flats, they are considered local natives, along with badgers, water rats, and wild rabbits. Even now, one can occasionally spot a wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Li Long grew old, in order to protect the environment, the number of foxes and wild rabbits increased, and there were even pheasants. Water rats had once disappeared due to the value of their fur and musk, but after the county leather factory went bankrupt and no one was buying the pelts, they slowly reappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long’s reaction was extremely fast. The moment he saw that fox, the fine wire loop in his hand was already thrown to the ground. His body gave a slight twitch, and the small-caliber rifle slid from his shoulder into his hands. His left hand supported the rifle body, his right hand had already gripped the handle, and with a flick of his index finger, he disengaged the safety, completing the preparations before aiming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that fox was exceptionally clever. After Li Qiang’s shout, it had already bolted. By the time Li Long aimed, it had already run behind a cluster of red willows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long quickly carried the rifle and ran forward. Li Qiang, in a panic, picked up the wire snare and followed, occasionally getting hit by the red willows, but he could no longer care about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long crossed the cluster of red willows and saw a flash of brown. He made a split-second decision and fired!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bang!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to a 56-semi-automatic, the sound of the small-caliber rifle was very crisp. The brown figure did not stop for even a moment; he must have missed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long felt annoyed, but he could see that because the snow was quite thick in the red willow thicket, the fox didn't seem to be running fast. He quickly gave chase again, circled around two red willows, and seized another opportunity to fire two shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second shot hit the fox, but the fox was very tenacious and continued to crawl forward. However, the small-caliber bullet had struck its abdomen, and it lost a lot of blood. Soon, it couldn't crawl anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long walked quickly to the fox. The fox turned its head and bared its teeth at Li Long in a threat, but it was only the size of a small puppy and was injured; how could Li Long be afraid of it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Li Long was pointing the small-caliber rifle at the fox's head, preparing to finish it off, Li Qiang ran up to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Uncle, what is this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A fox,\" Li Long said. \"The cunning fox from 'The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Terror.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the evenings, Li Jianguo would occasionally tell Li Juan and Li Qiang idioms; Li Qiang should know this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the fox saw Li Qiang and suddenly began to whimper, \"Ying, ying, ying.\" The sound was incredibly pitiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Uncle, what is it calling for?\" Li Qiang asked, tilting his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long smiled and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's begging you for mercy.\" This fox was truly cunning; it knew Li Long wouldn't let it go, so when Li Long approached, it only threatened him by baring its teeth, but when Li Qiang came over, it pretended to be pitiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly spiritual!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then is its meat delicious?\" Li Qiang asked, ignoring the fox's plea for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The meat probably isn't delicious, but the pelt should be able to sell for some money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then kill it,\" Li Long said without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long laughed out loud; the fox’s \"flirtatious eyes\" had been cast in vain. Children these days, upon seeing a living creature, basically don't think about whether it's easy to raise or cute; their first thought is whether it's delicious. If it's not delicious, then whether it's valuable is the next question to consider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long didn't bring a knife this time. He pressed the gun against the fox's neck and fired one more shot. The fox twitched and stopped moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long grabbed the fox by the tail and lifted it up. It felt like less than ten kilograms, but it had some weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't brought a knife, so he would have to go back to skin it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uncle, here is your snare. Are you still going to catch rabbits?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Li Long thought to himself that the rabbits must have been scared away by now, so he led Li Qiang out of the red willow flats first, circled to the north, and then entered again. There were no traces of people coming here, but there were plenty of footprints and claw marks from various animals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long followed several paths frequently taken by rabbits and found two places where red willows were close together to set the snares. Twenty minutes later, after Li Long finished setting the rabbit snares, he returned to the original spot. This time, he discovered that at the location of the fox, there was more than half of a frozen rabbit. The rabbit had been caught in a snare and had been dead for a long time, but it had been targeted by the fox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long untied this half of the rabbit and, relying on his memory, went to find the other snares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Li Long’s surprise, beside a cluster of red willows, the snow had covered a frozen-stiff rabbit that hadn't been discovered by other animals or people. It counted as an extra harvest for the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After collecting these snares and rabbits, Li Long led the panting Li Qiang back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Uncle, are we going back to eat rabbit?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sure. I'll have your mother cook it tonight,\" Li Long said. \"We'll eat rabbit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With something delicious to look forward to, Li Qiang didn't feel so tired anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dafa was strolling on the road and, seeing Li Long carrying the fox, said in surprise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiao Long, you're capable! You can even catch a fox. If you take this fox pelt to the county, it should sell for at least ten-plus yuan, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't know. I shot it through the eye, so it probably isn't worth much,\" Li Long said. \"It even gnawed on my rabbit snare.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That rabbit isn't worth much; the fox pelt is precious.\" Xie Dafa showed an envious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long took Li Qiang back, while Xie Dafa pondered whether he should also get some fine wire to set a snare. If he couldn't catch a fox, catching a rabbit would be fine too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the Li house, Li Long put the gun in the east room, and Li Qiang had already impatiently carried the fox into the house to show off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although fox meat isn't delicious, it looks good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long put down the gun, took out the small knife Li Jianguo had prepared for him, pulled it out, tested the blade with his thumb, and then went to the west room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiao Long, did you hunt this fox?\" Li Jianguo still couldn't quite believe it. It wasn't that there weren't people in the team who could hunt, but the production team was primarily agricultural. While some families might hide guns, very few had the skill to hunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, it was just luck today. Qiangqiang has sharp eyes and saw the fox. Plus, it was in the red willow flats, the snow was scattered, and it couldn't run fast, so I managed to get it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Long spoke, he began to skin the fox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This pelt is not bad,\" Li Jianguo said, coming over to touch it. \"Winter pelts are the best; they are second-rate when they shed in the spring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's a pity there's a hole in the belly; it probably won't be worth much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's hard to say,\" Li Jianguo shook his head. \"It's so beautiful, it should still be worth some money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll go to the procurement station in a couple of days to see.\" Li Long slowly skinned the fox, using his foot to step on one of the fox's legs to hold it steady, otherwise, it was hard to skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qiang also came over to help, pulling on the other leg, while Li Juan squatted on the side, watching curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we making rabbit meat later?\" Liang Yuemei asked as she entered from outside, seeing the rabbit thawing by the stove, and then she also saw the fox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone had seen this creature from afar, but this was the first time seeing a dead one right in front of them, and they were very curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Long, meanwhile, thought that his first time hunting with a small-caliber rifle had been quite lucky. If he went to retrieve the snares tomorrow, would there be a harvest?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1460,"2026-06-14T06:06:39.549Z",1,"Qwen3.5 122B","f798bc3382dd9b3245d4b18d0f92ad95d981b89e1cbaefbe8a1d6b71ba89f777","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-118","reborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-chapter-116",825,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-in-1981-fishing-and-hunting-in-the-northw-cover.jpg"]