Start as a farmer from an ordinary world

Chapter 199

The first snow in winter comes quickly and goes quickly.

In just two days, the sunny hillside was completely cleaned up.

After sending the orchids away, Wang Manyin fed his fat pigs early, and then took the rhubarb and rushed towards the compound of the breeding room in the village.

Wang Lianshun specifically told him to help the team herd sheep for a whole day today.

Earlier, the cattle, sheep, and mules of the first and second teams of Guanzi Village were gathered together, and each of the two teams sent a member to take care of them.

Wang Guifa of the first team is mainly responsible for herding sheep, while Wang Jincai of the second team usually takes care of mules and horses and other large animals.

After Wang Lianshun visited Liujiawan this summer, he listened to Wang Manyin's suggestion and planned to gradually expand the size of the flock of the second team.For this reason, he specifically explained to Wang Manjun that he separated the livestock of the two production teams.

Although they still share the breeding room compound with the first team, the large animals of the second team have been handed over to Wang Fuchang to take care of them, and Wang Jincai has taken over the herding of the sheep.

This job looks very easy, just drive the sheep out in a while and come back before dark.

When the sheep are grazing in the ditch, they don't need to worry about it. The sheep guards can use this time to bundle firewood or dig some herbs to make money.

But the imagination is beautiful, but the reality is not.

First of all, the sheep guards have to go out to work regardless of the wind and rain all year round. If they are delayed for a day, the sheep will be hungry.

The sheep raised in the villages of Shigejie Commune are generally a mixture of goats and sheep.Sheep generally only eat grass stalks, and the damage to weeds is not so great.

The goat is a bearded goat with a particularly good appetite, and he ate all the roots when he ate grass.Where they have gnawed, it can be said that no grass will grow, and it will take several months for the turf to recover.

In addition, the Loess Plateau itself is dry and rainless, and the vegetation is sparse.So often in spring and summer, the grass near the village is eaten up.

In autumn and winter, many shepherds will start to worry about herding sheep.In order to fill the stomachs of the flock, they can run as far as ten or twenty miles.

Therefore, the size of the flock of each production team cannot be enlarged all the time.Generally, lambs are born in spring, fed for four to five months, and sold to supply and marketing cooperatives after harvest in autumn.

Usually there are only some ewes and three or two mating rams in the team, and the flock is kept at thirty or forty.

It is for this reason that Wang Manyin suggested that the second team plant alfalfa and raise sheep in captivity.

If they can make good use of the one or two hundred mountain valleys in Dongshan, and plant all of them with alfalfa and other vegetation, they will have no problem raising dozens of more sheep.

It's just that the alfalfa was planted too late this year, and the area is relatively small, so there is not much hay harvested, so we can only practice semi-captive breeding for the time being.When the weather is fine, Wang Jincai still wants to drive the sheep into the mountains.

However, he twisted his foot yesterday when he was holding the sheep, so he had to ask for leave.Wang Lianshun couldn't find any other idlers for a while, so he asked Zhi Ying for a few days.

It takes twenty or thirty miles to go back and forth to herd sheep in the mountains, so the sheep guards usually don't go home for lunch at noon.Bring gourd cold water directly, and make two black nests as a meal.

It's okay to eat like this in summer, but the stomach can't stand it after a long time in winter.In addition, guarding sheep is also a dangerous job, and it is common to accidentally break a leg or arm.

So before leaving, Wang Jincai told him to be careful.

Wang Manyin just perfunctory the past, for him, these are nothing at all.

After receiving the sheep-blocking shovel from the other party, he caught up with the sheep and set off.The sheep-blocking shovel is also a standard equipment for sheep-blocking people on the Loess Plateau. Its shape is very similar to the Luoyang shovel, an artifact of tomb robbers. There is a long thin wooden stick at the bottom, and its main function is to drive sheep.

There are many ditches in the mountains, and the sheep guards often have no way to get too close to the sheep.If you see a sheep harming the crops or going to the wrong place, you can use a shovel to scoop up a piece of dirt and throw it over.

Many old sheep-blocking men are very accurate, and they can accurately hit the problem sheep at a distance of 30 meters.

But Wang Manyin didn't have this ability, he was more of a show, anyway, he had rhubarb to help him.

As expected, along the way, he found that the ditch along the way was basically gnawed clean, and in many places he could not even see the grass roots.

No grass is not a big problem, there is plenty of space.

After driving the sheep into a remote cliff ditch, leaving Rhubarb to guard outside, Wang Manyin immediately dodged into the space.

First the peregrine falcon was released, and then he began to wave the scythe to harvest the weeds.

Now Wang Manyin has dug more than a dozen ditches in the space, and the water can flow directly to various places in the Yellow Land.

On both sides of the ditch, weeds are showing signs of flooding, many of which are nearly half a meter deep, so it should not be too easy to mow.

In just half an hour, the space was piled up into a small haystack.

After a short rest, he left the space with a bundle of weeds in his arms.As soon as the straw bales were scattered on the ground, dozens of sheep immediately swarmed up to grab food.

For this, Wang Manyin had long been prepared.At a distance of four or five meters, he sowed the second and third bundles respectively...

After doing this several times, dozens of sheep were finally settled.

When entering the space, Wang Manyin did not choose the fresh and tender grass, but specially harvested half-dry and half-green withered grass.

Anyone who has raised cattle and sheep knows that it is not good to eat too much fresh grass, which will cause a lot of gas to be fermented in their stomachs, which will cause belly swelling and knocking noises.

At this time, it is necessary to irrigate the cattle and sheep with vinegar.If it still doesn't work, you can only find a veterinarian to deflate the stomach with a puncture.

After settling dozens of sheep, Wang Manyin completely relaxed.He randomly found a sheltered Gelao on the mountain ridge, and leaned against the sun to read a book.

There were a lot of books stored in the space before, but I never had a chance to take them out and read them.

Rhubarb stayed next to his master for a while, probably feeling bored, and quickly turned around and left, not knowing where he went.

When he returned, the guy took a hare.

Without saying anything, Wang Manyin directly entered the space to clean it up.He planned to stew it, but after thinking about it, he decided to make it into a roasted hare.

Mainly during this period of time, the stewed hare is a bit tired, and it is better to change the taste.

Generally, cumin is a must for barbecue, which can enhance the flavor and taste.

Although he doesn't have cumin in his hand, he has a lot of wild peppers, so it's good to use this instead.

Ground pepper, also known as thyme, is a very common wild seasoning in the Loess Plateau.When this thing blooms, it can smell a unique fragrance four or fifty meters away, so it is called thyme.

All mothers-in-law and aunts like to add some ground pepper as seasoning when steaming buns and pancakes, which tastes very different.When Wang Shouchang stewed meat before, he also added ground pepper and pepper.

In addition, ground pepper is not only liked by humans, but also by sheep, and they will fight for it when they see ground pepper grass.The reason why the mutton in the Loess Plateau has a unique taste is because they often eat ground pepper.

After doing so many barbecues, Wang Manyin's skills have been thoroughly practiced.

Roasted slowly over low heat, the finished rabbit meat is golden in color and steaming.In order to increase the taste, he also specially sprinkled a lot of sesame seeds on top.

The rabbit's head and two front legs were distributed to Rhubarb as usual, while Wang Manyin gnawed on the two hind legs beautifully.

Bite down, the golden and crispy outer skin explodes, and then the meaty aroma mixed with spices begins to diffuse on the tip of the tongue...

After eating the whole hare, Wang Manyin tapped another watermelon for dessert.

After eating and drinking enough, he brought rhubarb to the outside again.

At this moment, dozens of sheep are almost full, and they are lying in the cliff ditch and chewing cud.

Wang Manyin made a rough count and saw that there was not one missing, so he continued to read in peace.

It gets dark early in the winter afternoon, and Wang Manyin is ready to drive the flock back at just two o'clock.It's just that he waited and waited, but he never saw the released peregrine falcon return.

After waiting for half an hour, he simply ignored it.I have encountered a similar situation before. If the peregrine falcon can't find me, it will take the initiative to return home.

Slowly all the way to the outside of the village, the cliff ditch has begun to darken.

From a distance, Wang Manyin saw a few children standing on the road waving at him, and then ran over quickly.

When they got close, Shanwa excitedly said, "Uncle Manyin, why did you come back! We have been waiting for a long time."

"What do you guys want to buy? I'll talk about it after I drive the flock back to the breeding room." He thought that a few guys were waiting to buy something, so he answered casually.

It is said that the family opened a consignment point, which is also a great thing for the broken children in the three nearby villages. At least it is much more convenient to sell things, and there is no need to run to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Selling peaches and almonds in the spring, grilling scorpions, and digging various medicinal materials... As long as it is a money-making business, the children will not miss it.

Especially in spring and summer, when picking scorpions, many children are busy almost all day long, and the harvest is naturally not small.

Over the past year, there have been so many things. Although Wang Manyin has not made specific statistics, it is estimated that many people can also earn ten yuan.

Although most of the money is taken away by the adults, more or less will be left for the children.With money, this guy would come to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some candy every now and then.

"Uncle Man Yin, we don't buy anything, we want your two cats to catch pigeons. It's a big group, and Uncle Xiang Yang blocked them into the cliff cave, right in front."

"Where is it?" Hearing this, Wang Manyin asked curiously.

In winter, when the temperature is low, it is normal for rock pigeons to hide in cracks in the soil overnight.

It's just that there are still a few hours before dark, do they rest so early?
Leaving Shanwa to help watch the flock, Wang Manyin and the other children turned to the cliff ditch not far away.After turning over a mountain ridge, he saw Liu Xiangyang and Mao Dan guarding halfway up a cliff.Although the place is steep, humans can still barely stand.Under the feet of the two of them, there were still a lot of burnt plant ash.

"Brother Wang, you are finally back. I have been waiting for two hours." Seeing him appear, Liu Xiangyang hurriedly waved.

Following the direction of the other party, Wang Manyin finally found a [-] to [-] cm long crack next to the wild jujube tree, which was quite hidden.

If you don't look carefully, you can't see it at all.

He couldn't help but said, "How did you find out about this place?"

"After lunch, I had nothing to do, so I planned to take a few children into the mountain to dig a mouse hole. As soon as I arrived here, I suddenly saw an eagle chasing a group of rock pigeons above my head. Those guys were forced to fly to the mountain. Hiding in the cave. I led people to quickly block the cliff cave... It’s just that it’s relatively deep, and I used a wooden stick to fiddle with it several times, but I couldn’t drive the rock pigeon out.”

"Is there any other hole, won't it fly away from other places?" Wang Manyin looked around and asked.If there are other holes, no matter how long they are, they will be blind.

Hearing about eagles, he instinctively thought of the peregrine falcons he had released.Nine times out of ten, it was this guy chasing prey.No wonder I waited in the mountains for half an hour and didn't see him, and my feelings flew back early.

"No, I checked it earlier. At first I thought they had escaped from other exits, but as soon as they left, rock pigeons flew out. I was afraid that they would all run away, so I stayed at the entrance of the cave and beat."

"I originally planned to use cigarettes, but it turned out that the place is too high, and with the north wind blowing, I would run backwards when I lit the cigarette, so it didn't work.

Later, I asked Mao Dan to guard me, and wanted to go to your house to bring two cats over... I didn't know that they didn't come to me at all, so I had to wait for you to come back to catch them..."

Many people in the village know that Wang Manyin's two cats can catch birds.There is nothing unusual about this skill, and other cats in the village can do it too.

To say something special, probably the two cats caught more birds.

And the two guys are similar to Rhubarb, they only allow strangers to approach him and Lanhua when they are kissing each other.Liu Xiangyang often went to play, and he never got to know cats well.

"Well, you guys wait for me for 10 minutes, and drive the sheep back first."

Catching rock pigeons can only be done for fun, and driving sheep is a big deal, and it is not at ease to let a child guard him.If one is lost later, it will cause trouble for others.

After Wang Manyin drove the flock into the yard, Wang Jincai took care of it.

When I got home, I saw a peregrine falcon waiting on the side of my head.After taking this guy into the space, he took the two cats and rushed out of the village.

Standing at the entrance of the cave again, Wang Manyin touched the heads of the two cats a few times, then let them go.

The two guys should have understood the master's intentions, they went to the hole and sniffed it, then turned around and burrowed into it.

Soon, there was a cooing sound from inside.

Then, a dun cat returned with a dead rock pigeon in its mouth.Putting the prey in front of the owner, it turned around and entered it again.

Seconds later, the second cat also returns with its prey.

In just 5 minutes, they caught more than ten rock pigeons in a row, which made a group of people excited.

What's even more amazing is that in the end, the brown cat came out with a raccoon.The fur of this thing was not injured, but it just fell into a state of hibernation at the moment and was thrown to the ground without moving.

Everyone finally knew why this cliff hole was so deep, and the feelings had been transformed by Mao Geli.

Seeing the two cats disappear again, Liu Xiangyang was full of expectation and said, "There must be something inside."

As a result, when they returned, they took out peanuts, jujubes, and ears of wheat in their mouths... Obviously, this was the food stored by the raccoons before hibernation, and they were also tossed out by the cats.

After a while, there was a large pile of grain on the ground, weighing almost four to five catties.

"Brother Wang, what are you doing with these dead birds?" Seeing that the rock pigeons were caught cleanly, Liu Xiangyang asked aloud.

"I'll just take one back and give it to your sister-in-law to make soup. I'll take the Maoge raccoon back and feed it to the cat, and you can share the rest yourself." Wang Manyin thought for a while.

There are still [-] or [-] rock pigeons in the space. He is no longer interested in these things, so he might as well keep them for a few broken babies to satisfy their greed.

When he got home, Wang Manyin threw the Maoge raccoon to the cats directly, as a reward for them.

As a result, the two guys sniffed and showed an unusually disgusted look.

Wang Manyin was a little speechless, so he simply entered the space and let Peregrine Falcon do the job.

Lanhua was coming back soon, and he didn't stay in the space too long. After throwing the half-dead raccoon into the wicker cage, he left in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)