PFC Chapter 243 Test of Talent
Chapter 243 Test of Talent
After breakfast, Li Xiangyang saw Li Xiaoyun to the door.
Watching his wife's figure disappear at the village entrance, Li Xiangyang then rode his bicycle towards Old Zheng's house.
Just as they arrived at the gate of Lao Zheng's courtyard, they saw Lao Zheng and Wang Ergou coming out, preparing to go up the mountain.
When Old Zheng saw him arrive, he smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. We're going up the mountain today to teach the eagles how to fly. The weather is just right, not too hot or too cold."
Li Xiangyang took a closer look and saw that the bamboo basket contained several bundles of thin rope, leather sheaths, and some shredded meat.
The young eagles in the wooden cage were blinking their round eyes as they looked them over.
"Let's go to that hill to the east first," Old Zheng said, pointing into the distance. "It's open there, with dense trees, and a good location."
The three walked along the forest path for about an hour and came to a gentle slope.
The slope is covered with trees, but it doesn't feel crowded; there is plenty of space between the trees.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of pine resin.
Old Zheng carefully observed the terrain and pointed to two pine trees about five meters apart, saying, "This is it. First, build a platform on each of these two trees, then connect them with horizontal beams."
Under Lao Zheng's guidance, the three divided the work and cooperated.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou were responsible for securing the planks to the tree, while Lao Zheng was responsible for building the crossbeams.
The platform should be erected more than two meters above the ground, which makes it convenient for people to operate and ensures that the eagle has enough takeoff height.
“Remember,” Old Zheng explained as he helped, “the beam must be securely fixed so the eagle can’t wobble when it’s standing on it. Also, hang a safety net underneath to prevent it from falling and getting injured.”
The three of them worked for most of the morning and finally completed the scaffolding setup.
Old Zheng carefully inspected every joint before nodding in satisfaction.
"Now comes the most crucial step." Old Zheng carefully took the eaglet out of the cage and tied a thin hemp rope to its leg ring. "This rope must be tied tightly; too loose and it will break free, too tight and it will hurt it."
Then, Lao Zheng placed the young eagle on the high platform, gently stroking its feathers to soothe its emotions.
At this time, Wang Ergou had already prepared several pieces of fresh meat and stood on the high platform at the other end as Lao Zheng instructed.
"Ergou, call it with the meat," Old Zheng said, gently nudging the young eagle.
The young eagle seemed somewhat panicked, pacing back and forth on the high platform.
Wang Ergou, holding up the meat, kept calling out, "Come on, little guy, come on."
After a while, the young eagle seemed to smell the aroma of meat and looked in the direction of Wang Ergou.
It tentatively flapped its wings a few times, but still dared not take off.
"Don't rush," Old Zheng reassured him, "Let it adapt slowly. The instinct to fly is developed little by little through practice."
Just as the three were waiting patiently, a mountain breeze blew by, and the young eagle seemed to be inspired, its wings opening involuntarily.
Old Zheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately lowered his voice, saying, "It's here, it's going to have its test flight."
Sure enough, the young eagle took two more steps on the leather leash, then suddenly spread its wings, mustered its courage, and leaped into the air toward the jerky in Wang Ergou's hand.
This first flight was not perfect.
The young eagle flapped its wings a few times and flew erratically toward Wang Ergou, almost crashing into a tree trunk.
Fortunately, Wang Ergou reacted quickly and caught it, placing it steadily on the higher leather cover.
"Great!" Old Zheng couldn't help but cheer. "As long as it can fly, that's good. If it can't fly well, it can practice slowly. Er Gou, now you can reward it and feed it."
Wang Ergou quickly took out some meat and fed it to the young eagle.
The eaglets were initially reluctant, but were quickly attracted by the aroma and began pecking at the food.
“Remember this,” Old Zheng said to Wang Ergou, “From now on, every training session will be like this: first, let it go hungry for a while, then use meat to entice it to fly. Give it more meat if it flies well, and less if it doesn't. It will understand your meaning quickly.”
"Uncle Zheng, when can it finally take flight?"
Old Zheng chuckled and shook his head: "It depends on its understanding. It usually takes about twenty days. The most important thing during this time is to build a bond with it, making it inseparable from its owner. Once it completely recognizes you, you won't need the rope anymore. Then you can choose a different altitude and set up a protective net at the foot of the mountain."
Just then, the young eagle finished eating the meat and stood upright on the leather hood, its eyes fixed intently on Wang Ergou's hand.
“Look, it wants to fly again,” Old Zheng said. “Er Gou, go to the other side and try again.”
Wang Ergou nodded, moved to another tree, and softly called out while holding up the dried meat.
This time, the young eagle took flight almost without hesitation.
Although the flight posture was still not graceful enough, it was significantly more stable than the first time.
Seeing Wang Ergou intently continuing to train the golden eagle, Li Xiangyang felt he was no longer needed and said with a smile, "Master Zheng, this little guy won't be able to fly very high anytime soon, so I'll be going now. I haven't been hunting in the mountains these past few days because I've been busy catching this little guy; I need to find some game to supplement our income."
Old Zheng squinted at the sky: "Go ahead, but the weather in the mountains is unpredictable these days, so be careful."
"Okay, don't worry, we won't go deep into the mountains," Li Xiangyang replied with a smile.
As I turned to descend the mountain, I could still hear Wang Ergou's expectant calls and Lao Zheng's patient guidance.
Back home, Li Xiangyang began to carefully inspect the equipment.
He first disassembled the Type 63 automatic rifle, meticulously cleaning each part to ensure it wouldn't malfunction at a critical moment.
After putting away the guns, Li Xiangyang watched as Xiao Hu played with the black cat and decided to train it properly.
Little Tiger has grown very quickly during this period, and his size is already almost that of an adult dog.
Xiao Hu's excellent genes are there, so he can learn some basic instructions after just one lesson.
Running, jumping, swimming, and even hunting skills are things it naturally doesn't need Li Xiangyang to train it specifically, as it usually runs all over the mountains with the black cat.
Right now, Xiao Hu is only a matter of time before he becomes an excellent hunting dog; he just needs to obey commands without question.
Li Xiangyang immediately took it into the woods.
The woods are cool and damp, with a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, making them ideal for tracking training.
Li Xiangyang deliberately chose a route with a stream running through it, so that he could test whether Xiaohu could continue tracking even if the scent was interrupted.
"Remember this scent." Li Xiangyang squatted down and let Xiaohu carefully sniff a piece of fur that smelled of roe deer.
After saying that, he led Xiaohu around the woods a few times, deliberately walking past a patch of wild garlic and several rabbit tracks, before finally letting go of the leash: "Go find it!"
Little Tiger immediately spread his four legs and began searching with his nose close to the ground.
Li Xiangyang followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching Xiao Hu stop to sniff carefully one moment and then run forward quickly the next, and nodded secretly.
Little Tiger's sensitivity to smell is quite similar to that of its mother, Nightshade.
When Xiao Hu chased him to the stream, Li Xiangyang held his breath.
This is the most crucial step, because the target is hidden on the other side of the river, and an ordinary dog would lose its way here.
Little Tiger ran back and forth by the stream, his nose twitching incessantly.
Suddenly, it stopped and looked up at Li Xiangyang, as if asking its master what to do.
"Think for yourself," Li Xiangyang said, deliberately keeping a straight face.
Unable to receive instructions, Xiao Hu glanced at Li Xiangyang, then looked back at the stream, showing some hesitation.
Li Xiangyang's heart also tightened.