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

Chapter 125 Hunter's Gear

When Chen Tuo, wearing a hastily made wolf-head hat, entered the new wooden house where the men were gathered.

On the wolf-head hat, there are wolf bones for eyes, and the fierce wolf eyes were painted by the shaman Najiu himself.

The hunters in the settlements of Sudao, Morigen, and Dobukur were taken aback.

Wu Laowai, Zhang Taibao, Guan Dunzi, and Guan Tianpeng, who had come up the mountain with Chen Tuo, were also visibly stunned.

Wolf-toothed and fierce-looking.

Although Chen Tuo was wearing a border guard robe and riding trousers, the demeanor he exuded reminded everyone of the gangsters who had wreaked havoc in the three northeastern provinces back then.

Chen Tuo didn't need to show any ferocity; his chilling wolf fangs and fierce wolf eyes, though his very movements exuded enough intimidation.

"Brother Chen Tuo, did you alter this hat? It's terrible!"

Su Dao, who calls out "brother" when there's nothing to do but "Chen Zhiqing" when there's trouble, fell in love with the blue wolf hat on his head at first sight.

For more than twenty years, Su Dao devoted all his energy, apart from hunting and doing business, to recording the folk customs of the three Sauron tribes.

It was precisely because he recorded folk customs that he developed a sense of concern about their potential for being lost.

Chen Tuo's new work, the "Blue Wolf Hat," immediately evoked the spirit of the hunters he had documented for decades.

Compared to the wolf-head hat, the roe deer horn hat lacks the ferocity and bloodthirstiness of hunters fighting bears and tigers in the mountains.

"Shaman Najiu said that this is the Mergen's blue wolf hat, a hat only the most skilled hunters are qualified to wear!"

"Aren't we all the best hunters in the old forest?"

Regardless of how much exaggeration there was in Su Dao's words, they were met with the support of all the hunters in the room.

At this point, who can admit that they are not a good hunter?

"We can make them for you, but you'll have to exchange them for hides!"

After finishing the new wolf-head hat, Chen Tuo changed the design of the hunting outfit because there weren't enough wolf pelts at the settlement.

It's not that there weren't enough wolf pelts, it's just that the wolf pelts were to be made into Soviet-style fur coats to be exchanged for supplies across the river.

When hunters go into the mountains to hunt, they usually wear their fur coats inside out, leaving the fur side exposed.

There are three reasons.

Firstly, to prevent the needles from the bushes in the forest from scratching the fur coat.

Secondly, fur can be used as camouflage.

The third issue is hygiene. Although fur provides better warmth, fleas, lice, and ticks in the mountains also prefer to stay in the fur.

Wearing it inside out for a period of time can also freeze and kill fleas, lice, and ticks in the fur.

Chen Tuo's new hunting outfit is also simple, just a leather vest with pockets that covers half the body.

With an outer lining, the hunters can first and foremost stay warm in the wild.

Don't say that inherited survival experience is useful; many habits are just a last resort.

Chen Tuo traded his wolf hat for the hunters' pelts, a desperate measure he had to take.

Although Beishan is a settlement for Evenki hunters, and the hunters eat and drink together, there are still distinctions in terms of wealth.

Mink, deer, wolf, squirrel, rabbit, and raccoon furs from the mountains are all valuable and can be sold for money.

Thin roe deer hides, rough wild boar hides, and bear hides, though usable, are not accepted by the supply and marketing cooperatives at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Tuo wanted to exchange these unwanted hides, as well as old reindeer hides from various families.

"Uncle Guan, could you come here for a moment..."

This aroused the hunters' enthusiasm. Chen Tuo didn't mention exchanging any hides, but instead found Guan Dunzi, who knew how to make shoes.

We rushed to produce a batch of hunting boots, hunting clothes, and wolf-head hats; let's check their quality.

If it works well, take down a few bodies from the mountain as a pledge of loyalty for Xiao Kai's transformation into cultural tourism.

Only when the hunters have an imposing presence can they attract the attention of many parties.

The next task is both difficult and complex; only tangible results that produce immediate and visible effects can truly persuade people.

Chen Tuo now truly sees himself as Mergen of the hunter settlement.

Regardless of whether this title existed before, it came into being once he arrived, and now the equipment is available immediately, isn't it?

Leading Guan Dunzi and his son, we walked to the back of the newly built wooden house, where there was a pile of discarded reindeer hides.

Chen Tuo pointed to the reindeer hide in front of him and asked:

"Uncle Guan, can these old reindeer hides be used to make leather boots?"

Reaching out to touch the hard reindeer hide, Guan Dunzi smacked his lips and said somewhat uncertainly:

"We can make it, but we're worried that the leather will get old and stiff and won't last long."

"That doesn't matter, the older the better, but the boots must be made perfectly straight!"

"It'll definitely be perfectly straight! How could such a stiff old deer hide not be perfectly straight?"

Having finalized the raw materials for making leather boots, Chen Tuo rejected Su Dao's idea of ​​continuing the deer blood banquet, took a quick bite, and then began to supervise the work.

With leather and a shoe-making machine capable of handling tough work, making a rugged leather vest wouldn't be difficult for Guan Dunzi.

The hunters in the mountains also have methods to tan and soften hides, such as soaking in water, smoking, burying in soil, mixing with brains, and mixing with liver.

They haphazardly cobbled together various methods, aided by a semi-modern shoe-pressing machine.

In just one afternoon, he managed to gather several sets of hunting boots, hunting clothes, and wolf-head hats that Chen Tuo had imagined.

Su Dao, Morigen, Zhang Taibao, and Guan Tianpeng became models for the mountain and its surroundings.

Wild boar skin vests, reindeer skin hunting boots, and wolf head hats with exposed sharp teeth were worn by the four men.

It also brought out the fierceness and bloodthirstiness that Chen Tuo had imagined.

The small change brought out the spirit and energy of the hunters, and for Chen Tuo, it was a means to continue the fishing and hunting tradition.

The clothing that hunters truly inherit is different from the clothing they wear every day.

Embroidery and carving are not absent.

But in real life, which hunter doesn't wear a greasy, smelly, tattered fur coat?

Even girls like Bai Long and Su Mo, who are particular about their clothing in hunter settlements, have no choice but to conform to the realities of their environment.

Whether it's a rabbit fur coat or a fox fur coat, it still won't look the way people imagine.

To achieve a so-called exotic or wild look, the first thing to do is to stay away from the fishing and hunting lifestyle in the mountains.

The so-called inheritance is nothing more than showing people what they want to see.

True inheritance has long been integrated into the lives of hunters. Without real life, how can there be any inheritance?

Therefore, Chen Tuo did not believe that he had changed anything; his actions were merely for the sake of the soil that had long been passed down.

"Chen Zhiqing, do you think it's possible to teach the techniques for making hunting boots, hunting clothing, and wolf-head hats to the various hunting settlements in the mountains?"

The settlement shaman Najiu confirmed that the wolf-head hat is a tradition inherited from the original tribe.

We stopped making wolf-head hats simply because there are fewer wolves in the mountains.

Su Dao has confirmed that the wolf-head hat is a tangible artifact passed down by the Evenki people.

Su Daodu believed that the wolf-head hat that came down the mountain must be it.

The wolf-head hat is fierce, and the hunting clothes and boots are smart and capable. Su Dao wants to popularize this traditional clothing in various hunting settlements.

The problem facing Su Dao now is that none of the hunters in the settlement know how to use a shoe-making machine.

Making it by hand takes a lot of time.

"Uncle Su, there's no rush. Let's take it slow. We need to give the forestry bureau down the mountain an explanation, don't we?"

Su Dao took the initiative to speak, thus saving Chen Tuo the trouble of persuading him.

Even if the Forestry Bureau can't equip each hunter's settlement with a shoe-making machine, getting a few dozen old ones shouldn't be a problem.

Hunting attire, hunting boots, wolf-head hats, roe deer horn hats, and roe deer fur coats don't necessarily have to be worn by hunters...