Chapter Fifty: It Is All Pure Profit (Please Keep Reading and Support with Monthly Votes)

Witnessing Qin Jun's movement, Qin Feng immediately asked in a low voice, "Something's coming?"

"A target is approaching!" Qin Jun replied in an equally quiet whisper.

Qin Jun's hearing remained exceptionally sharp; he had caught a rustling sound.

Such a noise was typically made by small animals stepping on fallen leaves and tall grass.

Hearing this meant something was indeed nearby, though whether it was a rat or a weasel remained to be seen.

In all likelihood, however, it was a weasel, as this area fell well within their usual territory, and rats would not dare to roam about here so brazenly.

Sure enough, a moment later, a weasel emerged from a straw stack in the courtyard.

Judging by its compact size, its body length was likely no more than forty centimeters.

Seeing that Qin Feng had already taken aim, Qin Jun hastily reached out to stop him.

Qin Feng glanced over, and Qin Jun simply shook his head.

The two men remained silent, lying flat atop the large boulder and waiting.

Before long, that small weasel vanished into the dark night.

After an indeterminate amount of time, another series of sounds echoed around them.

The two men heightened their vigilance and listened intently.

Soon enough, another weasel poked its head out from the grass not far away.

This one was quite large; based on Qin Jun's experience, its length definitely exceeded forty centimeters, perhaps even reaching forty-six or forty-seven.

This was another old weasel—it remained a mystery why it had not fallen into his traps earlier.

Spotting the target, Qin Jun swiftly raised the muzzle of his gun, then pressed it downward to make the necessary adjustment.

As the barrel lowered, Qin Jun had already aligned it to the proper position.

With the distance being merely a dozen meters or so, Qin Jun did not bother taking deliberate aim and quickly pulled the trigger.

Almost simultaneously, Qin Jun heard the sound of a barrel being lowered nearby; Qin Feng was also preparing to shoot.

Unfortunately, he was a fraction of a second too slow, beaten to the punch by Qin Jun.

Accompanied by a muffled report, the weasel that had been peeking out cautiously from the grass collapsed to the ground without a sound.

Qin Jun's marksmanship was quite formidable—at the very least, his young current body had fully assimilated the memories of his soul, enabling him to achieve a kill with a single shot.

Qin Jun's target had been the weasel's forehead, and the bullet struck squarely between its eyes, ending its life instantly.

Failing to secure the shot, Qin Feng could only sigh softly, then rose to quickly retrieve the fallen weasel.

Tossing the weasel aside downwind, Qin Feng dropped back down to the ground and muttered, "You're certainly fast on the draw!"

Qin Jun chuckled triumphantly, "Is it just about speed? Was my aim accurate or not? That was a moving target, you know!"

Qin Feng fell silent. Although the distance was relatively short, Qin Jun's decisiveness and natural shooting instinct were both top-notch; otherwise, he could never have dispatched the target with such ease.

"Can this thing really fetch twenty-five yuan a pelt?"

After a short pause, Qin Feng spoke up again.

Qin Jun replied, "I heard the price is going up even further, and it's doubling!"

Qin Feng shook his head directly, "Who on earth did you hear that from? Wouldn't doubling make it fifty yuan a pelt?"

"Are these made of gold? Fifty yuan for a single pelt—wouldn't that make everyone in the village go hunting weasels?"

"Impossible, pelts can't possibly be that expensive. That rumor is entirely unreliable!"

Qin Jun said offhandedly, "Even twenty-five yuan a pelt is plenty!"

Qin Feng hesitated for a moment before saying, "The commune purchasing agent said it himself—the very best weasel pelts go for eight yuan each!"

"That right there is why I call them crooks. Do you believe me? If I take the pelts I've harvested into the county town, they'll definitely fetch twenty-five a piece."

"If luck is on our side, we might even get fifty yuan each right now."

"Don't believe me? Do you even know what these weasel pelts are used for?"

"They're used to make fur coats, but these are exported for foreigners to use, bringing in precious foreign currency."

Having said that, Qin Jun stopped talking. Words were useless; the selling price when the time came would be the most persuasive proof.

Qin Feng fell silent as well, as he too heard sounds in the surroundings.

With no snow on the ground in winter, the area was covered entirely in withered grass; whenever animals moved about, noises were inevitable.

Whether it was setting traps earlier or waiting patiently by the tree stump as they were doing now, the locations chosen by Qin Jun were nothing short of prime.

This specific spot was the mandatory thoroughfare for weasels heading out to hunt.

At the very least, they were heavily accustomed to traveling along this route.

With the two brothers lying in wait here now, any weasel either just setting out in search of food or returning home with a full belly would have to pass through this area.

Consequently, within a short while, the brothers heard the scurrying sounds of weasels once more.

These little creatures would sprint rapidly for a short distance before stopping to survey their surroundings.

Finding no danger, they would dash forward for another stretch, moving in this stop-and-go fashion as they wove swiftly through the grass.

Once a weasel like this caught Qin Jun's eye, escape was practically impossible.

Qin Jun understood their habits intimately, timing his shots for the exact moment they paused to observe their surroundings.

At such moments, after coming to a halt, a weasel would raise its head to scan the area.

And right then, the attacks from Qin Jun and Qin Feng would arrive.

This time, however, Qin Jun deliberately lagged half a beat behind, letting Qin Feng pull the trigger first.

With a soft crack, the weasel that had raised its head to survey the situation collapsed onto the ground instantly.

Qin Feng's marksmanship was passable. Coupled with the distance being under twenty meters and the decent power of his rifle, he too managed to secure a kill with a single shot.

There was no other way; at greater distances, they simply couldn't see the weasels clearly.

Therefore, they had no choice but to wait until the animals drew close before attacking.

At such close range, missing was virtually out of the question for the two brothers.

Having bagged a weasel, Qin Feng was immensely pleased.

After fetching it back, he whispered, "Even at twenty-five yuan a pelt, that's still an awfully high price!"

Indeed it was. In just this short span of time, two weasel pelts were in the bag.

If they really sold for twenty-five each, that came out to fifty yuan.

Meanwhile, Qin Jun's recent labor at the brick kiln only paid a monthly wage of sixty yuan.

And even with that meager amount, there was no guarantee he would actually receive it.

After all, the wage system had not completely collapsed yet; if anyone felt disgruntled or filed a report, Qin Jun might end up empty-handed!

Though Qin Jun didn't think much of the money, in the eyes of his family, it constituted a massive windfall.

Earlier, Qin Feng had thought twenty-five yuan was a lot and lived in constant fear of trouble.

Now, however, he felt it was no big deal!

He finally understood why Qin Jun had never taken his work at the brick kiln seriously.

Previously, Qin Jun would only work half a day and spend the other half tinkering with firearms in his hands.

Now he realized that the latter was the truly important business.

Reflecting on it now, he remembered being utterly thrilled when he accidentally learned a single weasel pelt was worth eight yuan.

Only now did he realize how shallow his perspective had been.

Of course, he had never imagined that the commune purchasing station could be so unscrupulous.

As for Qin Jun lying—how could that be? What possible benefit would there be in lying?

Just as Qin Jun's mind drifted elsewhere, he spotted another target.

This time, he discovered three weasels moving in single file, weaving back and forth as they advanced.

Taking a closer look, he realized there were two adults and one juvenile among them.

Fortune favored them today; Qin Jun nudged his second older brother, motioning for him to take the lead one while he himself targeted the trailing one.

"On three! Start!" Qin Feng said, beginning a silent count.

Qin Jun began counting in unison. The moment they reached three in their minds, the three weasels halted almost simultaneously.

Regardless of whether the animals raised their heads or not, Qin Jun and Qin Feng pulled their triggers simultaneously.

Bang! A single report rang out, and two weasels in the distance collapsed together.

At that exact moment, the remaining smaller weasel let out a sharp squeak and bolted into the grass, vanishing from sight.

The two men paid it no mind. They stood up together and walked over to retrieve their respective catches.

Qin Jun calculated silently: the three traps set earlier had yielded four adult weasels.

Now, having laid in wait for over an hour, they had harvested another four.

Based on his observations, the total population of the weasel pack active in this area should exceed ten individuals.

With eight adults already eliminated, very few mature weasels should remain.

"Let's go! It'll be even darker soon, and before long we won't be able to see a thing," Qin Feng said after gathering all four weasels and stuffing them into a hemp sack.

Qin Jun nodded. The darkness before dawn—he understood!

While checking the traps earlier, the pre-dawn dark hadn't affected him much, but actual hunting was a different story altogether.

Four weasel pelts by early morning constituted a substantial haul.

"We'll switch spots and continue tomorrow!" Qin Jun said cheerfully.

Qin Feng was equally delighted. Although the harvest belonged entirely to his younger brother, Qin Feng was happy nonetheless.

As for the weasels around the village, Qin Feng certainly wouldn't contest them with his brother—nor was there any need to, since such creatures were everywhere in the countryside nowadays.

As long as the purchasing station accepted them—whether at eight yuan a pelt, twenty-five, or even fifty—it was all pure profit!