Reborn in 1977

Chen Fan wore a bamboo hat and a raincoat, riding on horseback with a hunting rifle in his hand and a pistol at his waist, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he surveyed his surroundings.

Zhang Wenliang was dressed similarly, riding a mule, with a 90% new Browning M1910 pistol at his waist, a prize he had won in a militia competition years ago.

However, instead of the commonly used Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, he held a very ordinary homemade musket. This was a primitive gun that fired iron pellets using gunpowder. It had no sights, just a seamless steel pipe. Each shot required reloading gunpowder and bullets, followed by tamping it down with an iron rod. Calling it an antique would be an understatement; it was practically a living fossil of the gun family.

In fact, compared to Chen Fan's two hunting rifles, this was the most common hunting equipment used by rural families these days.

Chen Fan searched for a while but didn't find his target, so he let the mare advance through the mud.

He turned to look at Zhang Wenliang's musket and asked, puzzled, "Why did you bring this thing?"

Zhang Wenliang was still pondering whether his intention in taking Zhang Cuie as a disciple was to teach her skills or to find a tool, making it easier for him to go hunting.

Objectively speaking, he was suspected of shirking work to go hunting, but logically, Chen Fan didn't seem like such an unreliable person.

Just as he was weighing the options, he heard Chen Fan's words, turned his head, glanced at the musket, and said, "Real hunting requires this. Otherwise, if you use a rifle, half a pound of meat will be lost with each shot, which is a waste."

Chen Fan blinked and thought for a moment, then raised his hunting rifle. "What about this one?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced at him. "Yours isn't really suitable for here. It's better suited for mountainous areas or grasslands with large prey. The Nanhu area is just a hilly region. The largest wild animal ever found here was a wild boar weighing over a hundred pounds, and they're very rare.

Nanhu has flat terrain and crisscrossing waterways, making it a paradise for birds and fish. As for beasts, there are foxes, weasels, hog badgers, Asian badgers, roe deer, otters, and hares. Those are basically the only ones you can hunt. The most common are rats. Do you want to hunt those?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, and he didn't want to bother with him.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Wenliang laughed. "So, in our area, powerful rifles and hunting rifles are basically useless. They're all small animals. If you use a rifle, a large chunk will be missing with each shot."

He shook the musket in his hand. "It's different with this kind of gun. One bullet will kill the prey without damaging the fur or meat."

Chen Fan nodded in understanding, then paused and asked, puzzled again, "But I saw you take a lot of rifles out this morning?"

Zhang Wenliang smiled. "Militiamen must carry rifles. In case we encounter dangerous elements, we can fight at any time. It's called never forgetting combat.

Also, although wild boars are rare now, we can't say they're completely gone. Wild boars can cross rivers. If they cross over from other places, a musket can't handle them. We need rifles to deal with them. Carrying a rifle is also in case of emergencies."

Chen Fan nodded again and smiled. "I see, I understand."

Then he raised his hunting rifle and said with a long face, "Did I buy the wrong gun?"

Hunting rifles looked good, but in terms of practicality, they were not as good as air rifles.

If he had brought an air rifle last time, the fox that stole chickens from Captain Zhang's house definitely wouldn't have escaped.

Should he buy an air rifle?

Just as Chen Fan was feeling a little conflicted, the cry of a hobby falcon suddenly came from the sky.

Chen Fan's spirits lifted instantly. He looked up at the sky, then gently patted the mare's neck, and the mare galloped away.

Splattering Zhang Wenliang with mud.

Zhang Wenliang wiped the mud off his face expressionlessly, then spurred the mule and galloped after him, shouting loudly, "Chen, you wait for me."

However, Chen Fan was riding a Dongyang horse, bred from world-renowned breeds such as the Anglo-Norman horse, Thoroughbred, Don horse, and Arabian horse. Although it hadn't undergone professional warhorse training, its speed was far beyond that of ordinary horses, let alone mules, which were only good at carrying loads and not at running.

Almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, Zhang Wenliang watched Chen Fan run further and further away, until he was just a small black dot.

Then, a gunshot was heard, and the small black dot slowly stopped.

Zhang Wenliang breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly thought of something, raised his whip, and whipped the mule's butt hard, rushing forward.

When he arrived, he saw Chen Fan holding a fox with its head smashed, looking smugly at him.

Zhang Wenliang was first shocked. Was this guy's marksmanship so good now?

Then his face darkened, and he said to him, "Don't you know that the whole brigade is hunting today? You're running so fast. If you run into the hunting team firing, aren't you afraid of being accidentally injured?"

Hearing this, Chen Fan quickly looked around. "Where's the hunting team?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a team of a dozen people came running out of a forest.

The leader was laughing loudly. "Teacher Chen is amazing! He shot down this fox with one shot. We've been chasing it for a long time and couldn't catch it."

Chen Fan smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't know it was your prey. Well, …"

He raised the fox in his hand. "This is yours."

Zhang Wenliang took a few steps forward, pulling the reins, and walked shoulder to shoulder with Chen Fan, whispering, "This is Team 9. The leader is Wu Fengfei, the militia squad leader of Team 9."

Chen Fan looked thoughtful. "Is Wu Fengwen of the veterinary squad related to him?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced at him and chuckled. "His younger brother."

Chen Fan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was okay.

Snatching someone else's prey was unacceptable anywhere. Although he had decided to return the prey, if he encountered someone petty, they would still feel resentful.

This was what Xiao Liewen and Zhang Wenliang had told him, one of the rules of hunting: whoever shoots the prey, it belongs to them. Others can't interfere, even if it's out of good intentions. You're not them, so who knows if you're being kind or malicious?

So when Chen Fan heard that they had been chasing it for a long time, he didn't hesitate to return the prey. Anyway, he mainly came out to enjoy the thrill of hunting. Being able to shoot and hit the prey was enough; the ownership of the prey didn't matter.

But now, it was estimated that this fox couldn't be given away.

Sure enough, when Wu Fengfei approached, he immediately said loudly, "What are you talking about? Teacher Chen shot the fox. How can we take it?"

Then, without waiting for Chen Fan to say more, he said, "Teacher Chen, it's rare for you to come to Team 9. Why don't you have a simple meal here at noon today?"

Chen Fan dismounted and immediately waved his hand. "No, no, I've made an appointment with Company Commander Zhang to cook at his house."

Wu Fengfei grabbed the mare's reins and turned to Zhang Wenliang. "Company Commander, won't you give me this face?"

Zhang Wenliang also got off the ground, looked at Chen Fan, then at Wu Fengfei, and nodded with a smile. "Okay, I'll listen to your arrangements today."

Wu Fengfei laughed loudly. "Good, good, I'll make the arrangements today."

The dozen militiamen behind him also felt honored, grinning from ear to ear.

Zhang Wenliang raised his hand and looked at his watch, saying, "It's still early. Why don't we hunt another round?"

It was only 8 o'clock, and it was still early before noon. Moreover, in order to avoid other teams' hunting areas, they had been walking on the main road. So far, Chen Fan had only shot one fox. He hadn't even started yet, so of course he didn't want to go back so soon.

Wu Fengfei smiled. "Okay, let's continue hunting."

Then he turned to one person and said, "Go, tell Third Uncle to make arrangements."

The man nodded and turned to run back.

Chen Fan looked around and could only passively accept.

Fortunately, before going out today, he had told Jiang Lili that he might not come back, saving him the trouble of going back to report.

After that person left, Wu Fengfei looked at Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang and smiled. "Are you with us, or are you acting alone?"

Zhang Wenliang and Chen Fan looked at each other. "We'll still hunt on our own. We'll go to your house for dinner later."

"Okay."

Wu Fengfei nodded. Zhang Wenliang kept his word, so he was sure that they would come. He said to Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, give us your fox first. We'll hold it for you. You can come directly later."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony and handed over the fox. "Then I'll trouble you."

Wu Fengfei smiled. "It's no trouble at all."

He took the fox, turned around, and handed it to another person. Then he took two steps back, waved to Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang, and watched them leave.

Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang continued hunting. As the militia squads from each team moved out, wild animals were startled and scurried everywhere.

They didn't dare to run into the paddy fields because they would sink into the mud and be captured alive, so there was almost no impact on the growing rice seedlings.

As a result, they could only run around on the ridges and slopes.

After being reminded by Zhang Wenliang, Chen Fan didn't dare to fire randomly anymore. He only fired at the prey when there was no one in front.

One morning, they hunted from the southernmost end of Lujiawan to the northernmost end. After reaching the dam, they circled around it. Gunshots echoed throughout Lujiawan, scaring the wild animals out of their wits.

By the time they returned to Team 9, the two burlap sacks that Chen Fan had brought were already full, hanging on both sides of the horse's back.

This was only a small part of his prey.

Because most of the prey, such as weasels, hog badgers, and hares, he didn't want. Some were because he helped other teams intercept them, so he naturally didn't want them. Others were because he hunted them himself and then gave them to nearby teams, exchanging them for fox skins.

So at this time, almost all of the sacks were filled with foxes.

He wanted to see if he could save enough for a fox fur coat as a souvenir.