Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 137 Stealing a Master

"White Dragon, can you make those wrestling boots they're wearing?"

Chen Tuo's wrestling boots stunned Bai Long for a moment before he reacted.

"Those are Sohai boots too, right?"

Upon hearing Bai Long's answer, Chen Tuo shook his head. The Suohai boots were similar to the leather boots worn by Wu Laowai, without soles.

When he first fell, he remembered that wrestling boots had soles.

"They should be different. Their wrestling boots seem to have soles. I'll have Uncle Su bring back a few pairs later."

Thinking of the methods the female educated youth from the road and bridge construction section had taught her, Bai Long smiled and replied:

"Yes, Mergen of Dobkul, we will do as you say..."

Chen Tuo first stopped the wolf king in the Hetao region, who had killed a deer that had been biting a settlement.

Then, on a snowy night, he rescued her and her people from a pack of wolves.

They also designed hunting knives, hunting boots, and hunting clothes for Dobukur.

They also helped Su Dao and Morigen transport the goods to Eqi Nantun by train.

In Bai Long's view, his actions made him the wise leader that the female educated youth had described.

After agreeing to Chen Tuo's request, Bai Long pulled Su Mo up and found Su Dao, who was wandering around, in exchange for a pair of wrestling boots and a portable dinner knife.

In return, it brought the wrestlers the raw leather laces to tighten their wrestling boots.

Looking at the raw cowhide with a copper ring in his hand, and at Bai Long and Su Mo teaching him how to tighten the cowhide rope, Chen Tuo changed the design of the hunting boots again.

According to Bailong and Sumowenlai's usage, the leather straps on the wrestling boots were the method used by the Mongol army to tighten their boots when they roamed Eurasia.

This is a tradition passed down on the grasslands, and also a tradition passed down among the hunters of the Greater Khingan Mountains.

As for who copied whom, that's a question that's hard to answer.

Thinking of the military-grade anti-slip iron foot braces that Xiao Kai had found for him at the educated youth settlement, Chen Tuo asked:

"Bai Long, go ask them again if they can install anti-slip metal feet underneath?"

While he claimed it was for slip prevention, Chen Tuo secretly regarded the military-grade iron foot brace as a tangible relic of the Evenki tradition.

Xiao Kai provided two types of iron foot clamps: one with square teeth and the other with pointed teeth.

Chen Tuo thought that by tying the sharp-toothed iron foot brace to the sole of the foot, it could be used as a tool for climbing trees.

Whether it works well or not, I'll have to go back and test it out.

Bai Long went to ask Tie Jiao Ma, and Chen Tuo then ordered Su Dao, who had just returned, to do the same.

"Uncle Su Dao, ask Uncle Qing Gele if they still have any craftsmen who know how to make horn bows and arrows. You should learn this skill too!"

Since he had already decided to learn from others, Chen Tuo simply included techniques such as horn bows, Mongolian robes, and various tanning and leather-making methods.

According to Xiao Kai, if they couldn't steal the techniques from the herders, they could go to the local light industry bureau and ask for the corresponding technology.

Compared to some of the traditions inherited from the late Qing Dynasty, the traditions on the grasslands are right before our eyes, and there is no need to explore them.

Once the hunters in the Xinganling Mountains have produced a series of artifacts, from which Xiao Kai can benefit, it will not be too late to explore other technologies.

With Chen Tuo's planning and command, not only Su Dao, Morigen, Bai Long, and Su Mo were moving around the field.

Wu Laowai, Guan Dunzi, Guan Tianpeng, and Zhang Taibao also joined the ranks of those who learned from him.

Only Chen Tuo and Xiao Kai remained in their positions.

"Young Chen, we've put in so much effort, I'm afraid it will all be for nothing!"

Xiao Kai's words were not sincere; a single beet pulp pellet feed had already brought him some benefits.

While this wasn't a career advancement, it did expand his network of friends.

Xiao Kai, living in the forest area, lacked the cultural background to fully understand Chen Tuo's proposals for cultural and tourism initiatives.

"Section Chief Xiao, what you said makes sense. The Soren Chamber of Commerce I mentioned before, it would be best if you talked to Uncle Su Dao about it. Both of us want to have shares..."

When the topic turned to the Soren Merchant Guild, Chen Tuo got straight to the point.

His reason for giving Xiao Kai was very simple: to initially devote all his family's wealth to make it seem like he was helping him, and then withdraw his investment and leave when the time was right.

As for the shares of the Chamber of Commerce, Chen Tuo, who came up with the idea, wanted the largest share to ensure his right to speak.

"Alright! I can discuss this, but what about the hunters' belongings...?"

Having agreed to Chen Tuo's conditions, Xiao Kai still asked the question that had been bothering him.

In his view, the hunters' possessions should rightfully belong to them.

The hunters won't be upset if they take what they've learned from the grasslands out, but the person involved will feel very awkward.

"Section Chief Xiao, there are red pines in Songling, red pines in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, and even in Changbai Mountain. Can you tell which red pine tree a piece of wood comes from?"

The legacy that Chen Tuo wanted to inherit was not just the Solon Tribe, the Hezhe, and the Xibe of the Xingan Mountains.

If possible, he wouldn't mind introducing some elements of the American Western cowboy tradition to the grasslands after Wolf Totem.

In his view, many inherited traditions have similar functions, differing only in their appearance.

A truly good heirloom is one that can cater to the market and maintain the vitality of its inheritance.

As for where these relics came from, that's irrelevant.

From another perspective, it's not that China lacks good traditional artifacts and corresponding manufacturing techniques.

However, many of the things that have been passed down are not suitable for ordinary people, as many of them were items used by the powerful and wealthy in the past.

Such heirlooms are best used to further explore the essence of the heritage after the continuation of the tradition.

"Chen Zhiqing, so you mean we should just take what's readily available?"

"That's right! You can't possibly be going to excavate and preserve these traditions one mountain at a time, can you? There's no time to do that!"

For Chen Tuo, the inheritance of hunters was no different from plagiarism and writing.

If you can't truly delve into the heritage, it's fine to just make things up for a while.

We can make changes when we have the ability to delve deeper.

The efficiency of achieving results temporarily convinced Xiao Kai.

Chen Tuo also knew that if he really wanted Section Chief Xiao to devote all his energy, just like submitting an article, the first thing he needed was not publication, but payment for the article.

Next, those who went out to inquire and learn from others returned one after another, except for Su Dao and Guan Dunzi.

According to Wu Laowai, Guan Dunzi, who knows how to make leather boots, can really learn by observing on the spot.

Not only Suohai boots and wrestling boots, but Guan Dunzi can also understand the craftsmanship of Mongolian horn bows.

According to Wu Laowai, the traditional bow-making process is very simple.

It's nothing more than whittling wood, gluing cow horn together, and then gluing a few layers of dried cow tendon together.

Although Chen Tuo knew that Wu Laowai's statement was incorrect, he did not correct him.

The craftsmanship issues of the horn bow were difficult for him and Su Dao to resolve.

But for Xiao Kai, it was still not a difficult task.

If you have any difficulties, go to your superiors!

Once Guan Dunzi copied the design and produced the sinewy horn bows of the three Sauron tribes, improving the craftsmanship would definitely require support from various parties.

Whether the craftsmanship of the Solon sinew bow is genuine or not is not the issue.

Even if you glued cow horn or cow tendon onto a modern carrying pole, no one could pull it open, right?