Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 107 Is there a bright future?
  "What is it?"

Lin Heng showed a trace of curiosity. Looking at his elder brother's excited expression, this thing must be worth at least five yuan.

Lin Wei held up the grouse and asked: "Dad, is it a wild boar muntjac?"

Lin Yue shook his head: "It's not prey. I found a swarm of bees, which can harvest a lot of honey."

"Bees, that's not bad." Lin Heng nodded. Wild honey is very expensive, so it's really worth being happy about.

"Brother, please help me. Let's cut the honey. If we're lucky, it's possible to get six or seven kilograms of honey. This bee colony is very big."

Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng and said that finding a swarm of wild bees was indeed exciting for him, and it was more profitable than digging for various medicinal materials for a week.

"it is good."

Lin Heng nodded, and the three of them set off together. The distance was not far, and they arrived after walking seven or eight hundred meters.

"Lin Wei, don't come over here, let's go get it." Lin Yue just warned and walked past Lin Heng.

Lin Heng held an armful of dry pine needles, and his eldest brother Lin Yue held some wet leaves, which were used to create smoke.

Originally, Lin Yue planned to burn the bees directly, because it was the safest way and would not get stung.

Many people who don't know how to cut honey usually do this when they encounter a wild bee nest.

But Lin Heng didn't think it was necessary. He could keep it and pick it next year. He had accumulated some experience after collecting bees last time and harvesting wild honey with his uncle.

"Brother, look, the bee's nest is in that stone crevice. It's not easy to deal with. Otherwise, it's better to burn it to death."

Lin Yue pointed to a pile of stones in the distance and said.

"I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll burn it to death."

Lin Heng took a look and found that it was raining today and the smoke should not be too dangerous.

If it doesn't work, then we can only send them to the west. After all, human life is the most important thing.

Slowly walk to the bottom of the hive entrance, add dry pine needles to light a fire, cover it with wet leaves after the fire is burning, and bursts of green smoke will come out.

He took a piece of dead tree bark and fanned it into the hive, and soon a swarm of bees buzzed out.

Lin Heng covered his mouth and nose with his clothes and squatted under the smoke. When he felt that the fire was almost done, he started to remove the stones.

After removing the stone, Lin Heng was a little dumbfounded. This hive was actually underground. After removing the stone, he could see the two spleens that breed bees, but not the honeycomb.

Looking at the swarming bees, he added a fire, smoked it again, turned around and ran out.

"What's wrong, are you okay?" Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng coming out and quickly asked with concern.

"It's okay. Give me your little hoe for digging herbs. The beehive is underground and you need to dig it up."

Lin Heng shook his head and said.

"Okay, be careful, you'll cut each of us in half." Lin Yue handed over the hoe and said with a smile.

Lin Heng took a hoe and dug under the smoke gently, not daring to move too much.

It took ten minutes to finally dig out a hole and see what was inside.

This is really a big group, bigger than the one he picked up last time with his uncle Li Baiquan.

Zipi was in a row, and he saw five of Mipi alone, and they were all blocked.

Looking at the dense bees next to him, Lin Heng did not dare to be careless. Fortunately, there was not much honey on the honey spleen.

Putting the plastic bag on the ground, Lin Heng went out to lengthen the knife and tied a wooden handle to it.

"Bees, bees, please don't sting me."

Lin Heng prayed quietly and stretched out his knife to cut the honey from a distance.

Snap, a honey spleen was cut off by him, and a swarm of bees flew up instantly with a buzz, scaring Lin Heng into hiding in the smoke.

He made the fire bigger and the smoke thicker, and he cut off a honey spleen again.

After repeating it several times, he cut off all the honey spleens.

He hooked out the plastic bag and ran away with it. He felt as if he was being chased by a ghost, and his adrenaline surged.

"I got it, are you okay?"

Lin Yue greeted him and looked at the honey in Lin Heng's hand with a smile on his face.

"It's okay. I was stung three times. It's okay." Lin Heng shook his head.

No matter how careful he is, he still gets caught. He often walks by the river without getting his shoes wet. He recognized it after being stung twice while stealing honey.

"I'll squeeze out the poison for you." Lin Yue said quickly. He felt a little guilty and felt that he should insist on burning the bees to death.

"Okay." Lin Heng stretched out his hand.

I was stung once behind the tiger's mouth, and twice on my arms, which were already red and swollen.

The pain was excruciating, but it was bearable. It was much better than being stung by Hu Feng.

After squeezing out the bee venom, Lin Heng turned back, sealed the hive with rocks and loess, and covered it with some leaves. He could harvest it again in the fall or next year.

"How many kilograms is it?" Lin Heng came back and asked after finishing the hive.

"It weighs ten kilograms with the hive attached. If the honey is produced, it will probably weigh six or seven kilograms."

Lin Yue said with a smile, his face full of joy.

"Twenty yuan is enough." Lin Heng chuckled.

"There are so many, dad let me try a piece." Lin Wei's eyes lit up when he saw the two coming over.

"Don't eat too much." Lin Yue brought him a piece, and Lin Wei ate it together with the honey nest.

"Sweet, so sweet!!" After one sip, Lin Wei's eyes were filled with happiness.

"Let's have a piece each." Lin Yue said with a smile.

Lin Heng did not refuse. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. The honey was sweet but not bitter, and it also had the fragrance of flowers.

Compared with the honey from the last hive, the honey here is more moist and has a scent of acacia flowers.

"It seems that this bee has collected a lot of locust flowers, and the locust nectar is more valuable." Lin Heng said with a smile.

Generally, honey is light yellow, while sophora nectar is watery and transparent.

This honey is light yellow and translucent, and has a strong scent of locust flowers. It is obvious that a lot of locust flowers have been collected.

"Yes, that's why I said I made a profit." Lin Yue chuckled.

Taibai Mountain wild honey is famous, and Sophora japonica honey is even more popular.

Taking their things, the three of them returned to the camp happily.

"It's better to stew the grouse, otherwise it will be too small, and three people will eat it in one bite. There are also taro and yams."

Lin Heng said while lighting the fire that although the honey roasted chicken was a must-have, the grouse only lasted seven or eight taels after being killed, which was too small.

"It's better to stew it." Lin Yue also thought that it would be better to stew the grouse. It was a little cold after the rain, so it could be replenished.

"But let's have some noodles first. Brother, go get this stream grouper."

Lin Heng said with a smile, eat the noodles first, otherwise you will be hungry when the chicken soup is ready.

Bring the fire to a boil, pour oil into the pot, add ten chopped creek groupers and fry until both sides are golden, then pour in cold water, and after boiling, there will be a pot of milky white fish soup.

Add some noodles, add some wild vegetables, and finally season with salt, then you can scoop it up and eat it.

Paired with garlic chili brought from home, even without the vinegar, it still has a unique flavor.

The noodle soup was fragrant, the fish was smooth and tender, and the garlic chili added a spiciness. Not only did the three of them finish the noodles, but they also drank up the soup together.

"You guys think, if we make a fish soup to stew the grouse, would it taste special?"

Lin Heng asked curiously.

"You can try it. It won't taste bad. I'll catch fish." Lin Yue said with a smile, his eyes brightening.

Lin Heng processed grouse and other ingredients, while Lin Wei also looked for firewood.

Time seems to have returned to childhood. At that time, rural children liked to play the game of "cooking rice", which was similar to playing house, but focused more on cooking.

Make a fire and use a pot to cook various things, such as this kind of grass, that kind of grass, all stewed together in a mess. Although they can't eat it, everyone is very happy.

In fact, they also wanted to cook their own food in the wild at that time, but they did not dare to steal the oil, salt, sauce and vinegar at home. They would be hung up and beaten. At most, they could only cook one crab and grill two creek groupers.

It’s different now, I’ve grown up, I have oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, the ingredients have become high-end, and I’ve come to this deep mountain and old forest.

The environment is beautiful and the air is fresh. Except for the absence of my wife and children, my childhood happiness seems to be back again.

A man is a boy until he dies. If he couldn't play when he was a child, he will definitely try his best to play when he grows up.

This kind of camping and wilderness survival feeling is something you don’t have in big cities. Just like a genetic imprint, Lin Heng has obviously been to big cities and seen its prosperity, but he still likes outdoor activities such as fishing and camping.

"Bah!"

After the grouse offal was cooked, Xiong Ba started to eat it.

Clean the pot, pour a little oil and fry the fish until golden brown on both sides, pour in boiling water, and when the soup is boiling, throw the grouse in, add yam, taro, dangshen, bergamot, and gastrodia elata. The main thing is nutrition and health. . It's worthless to sell, so I can only cook grouse and eat it to make ends meet.

The rain got heavier at noon and became moderate rain. The three of them stopped going out and stayed in the camp.

Fearing that the water would rise and they would not be able to eat fish, the three of them caught all the fish in the fishing trap of the Ecstasy and kept them in the small beach next to the river bed.

"It's over, the rain is getting heavier and heavier." Lin Yue said helplessly, looking at the sky.

"I hope it won't rain continuously." Lin Heng has been a little anxious these past two days because he hasn't seen his prey yet.

It's even harder now that it's raining and there's no way to go out.

Any words I comforted my dad not to be anxious in the morning were all lies. If a fisherman can’t catch a fish, then there’s no reason why he’s not anxious. He’s just pretending to be calm on the surface.

However, Murphy's law tells you that the more you don't want something to happen, the easier it is to happen. The rain didn't stop all afternoon.

The chicken soup has been simmering for more than three hours, and the aroma has already overflowed.

"Forget it, let's have some soup!" Shaking his head, Lin Heng came over with salt.

Add salt and taste it. It is sweet and delicious, with a strong chicken aroma. If you think about it carefully, you can still feel the umami flavor of the creek grouper.

"Absolutely awesome." Lin Heng shook his head and sighed, the taste was so delicious.

After adding a little salt, he took the grouse out. The grouse had been completely stewed and was rotten at the slightest touch. It took a lot of effort to fish it out.

"It tastes really good, much better than the broth my mother stewed." Lin Wei praised.

"Of course." Lin Heng smiled.

In this day and age, when adults make soup, even the dirty-looking layer of oily foam on the surface is not willing to scoop it out and pour it out.

I didn't even have the heart to clean the pot where the meat had been fried, so I added some sauerkraut or something and stir-fried it until the oil was all gone.

This causes the soup to always have a fishy smell, and the smell will be even greater if it is cured pork ribs.

There is no way, this is the frugal spirit created in hard times, it has been engraved in the bones, and it is difficult to change it.

"It's also good to dip grouse meat in some garlic and spicy pepper. You can try it." Lin Heng said with a smile. The stewed meat is also delicious when dipped in garlic and spicy pepper.

"It's better to stew. You can eat meat and drink soup to warm your body. And my brother, your soup stewing skills are really good." Lin Yue praised, even if it is summer in the mountains, as long as there is light rain, the temperature will drop quickly.

The three of them were not wearing thick clothes, so naturally they were a little cold.

"Yes, let's finish the dry food, and the remaining soup can be eaten later in the evening." Lin Heng nodded.

After drinking some soup, eating chicken and stewed taro and yams, the three of us were very full. It was a good time to go out hunting to eat, but the nasty rain made it impossible to go out.

Light rain is okay, but moderate rain can't be covered even with film or paper.

Fortunately, the shelter was well built and covered with film paper and pine needles on the top, so there was no need to worry about getting wet in the rain.

"Forget it, just cut down a paulownia tree and get two bowls."

Lin Heng looked at a paulownia tree with a diameter of [-] centimeters not far away, and went to cut it down with a thin film wrapped around it.

The Paulownia tree is not only light and soft, but such a thick tree fell down in five minutes. I cut two sections with a small hand saw and brought it back to the shelter.

His father brought the small handsaw and didn't take it with him when he left.

"I'll saw it for you." Lin Yue came over and took the saw.

"Thirty centimeters long is fine." Lin Heng said with a smile.

After the saw was cut and the outer bark was peeled off, Lin Heng drew the picture with charcoal, and then started cutting the shape with his own knife.

It took half an hour to finally trim the outside, but it turned out to be very crooked. After taking out the inside, Lin Heng was speechless for a long time looking at this ugly monster.

Let's call it a bowl, but it's really crooked. It's thick in some places and too thin in others.

Shaking his head, he started making the second wooden bowl. In his previous life, it seemed very simple for people to make it when watching videos, but it was completely different when he started making it himself.

Originally, he was itchy and painful after being stung by a bee, and after failing to cut a bowl, Lin Heng didn't want to do anything anymore. He lay on the hammock, closed his eyes and listened to the sound of rain and the stream, relaxing himself and adjusting to the depression caused by the air force. .

Lin Yue took his son to play backgammon on the ground. Naturally, there was no chessboard or chess pieces. The chessboard was drawn randomly on the ground, and the chess pieces were random white and black pebbles.

In the evening, they made noodles with chicken soup. After eating, the three of them cut down branches and surrounded the shelter door to prevent people from freezing due to the cold wind at night.

Even so, it was still a bit cold at night. Lin Wei and his father slept together. Lin Heng called Xiong Ba to bed and slept together, and it immediately felt much warmer.

Early the next morning, I didn't need to go out to see the three of them to know that the moderate rain had not stopped and it had rained all night last night.

After removing the branches in front of the gate, everything was moistened by the rain. The water level of the mountain stream increased by [-] meters. The originally calm and clear stream now turned into an angry yellow dragon.

"Why is God so disrespectful?" Lin Yue shook his head helplessly. He finally went up the mountain once, but it started raining continuously.

"Let's cook." Lin Heng shook his head. He made rice in the morning. There were no vegetables, so he mixed it with fermented bean curd.

The water rose too much, and all the creek groupers growing on the shore were washed away.

"I regret not bringing an extra piece of clothes, otherwise I could go out and see." Lin Yue shook his head and said.

It doesn't matter if it's sunny. I can just wash and dry it and it will dry in an hour. There is no need to change clothes. But if it rains, it will be very troublesome.

Lin Heng shook his head and continued making wooden bowls. The pain from the bee sting today was no longer painful, so he decided to continue.

After sawing two smaller sections of the paulownia tree, Lin Heng started making again.

After a day of practice, he made five bowls, and the last two were extremely straight and even in thickness. They only needed to be polished with sandpaper before they could be used.

As a rural person, I have a foundation in carpentry. I will always succeed if I try a few times.

With experience, Lin Heng started making larger wooden bowls on the second day, and small wooden basins on the third day.

Later, not satisfied with the simple wooden bowl, Lin Heng even made patterns and strange patterns on it.

It rained continuously for four days, and Lin Heng mastered the unique skill of making bowls from paulownia trees. Not counting defective products, he made five wooden bowls, three small round wooden basins, one small rectangular wooden basin, and one small square wooden basin in the past four days.

Once dry, sand it with sandpaper and you can take it home and use it. Paulownia trees don't crack, so you don't have to worry about that.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them have been here for 13 days, and the day has come to July 29th in the solar calendar and June 12th in the lunar calendar.

On the night of the [-]th, the rain stopped.

"Ah, the rain has finally stopped. You can go out and have a look tomorrow morning."

During dinner in the evening, Lin Yue looked outside and sighed.

"Let the sun bask in the sun tomorrow morning, let the water recede, and give the prey some time to set up. Then we can go see it in the afternoon."

Lin Heng looked at the turbid stream water and analyzed it. He had not been out for the past few days and thought about his strategy carefully. He felt that there were still problems with the previous strategy.

"Definitely, otherwise there would be dirt everywhere and there would be no way to walk." Lin Yue nodded.

But it's a good thing it hasn't rained. They don't have much rice and noodles brought with them, and they will be gone if they hold on for a day or two.

As long as it doesn't rain, there will be no problem whether you go back to get it or pick it in the wild. No one will starve to death in the Qinling Mountains in summer.

On the morning of the [-]th, the sun finally came out after disappearing for almost a week. The golden sunlight scattered down and gradually changed from warm to hot.

The cicada, which had been silent for a long time, began to howl desperately again, but after not hearing it for a long time, it still felt a little pleasant.

"Let's pick up mushrooms nearby in the morning. There are a lot of mushrooms here. Make some stir-fried mushrooms and eat them, and then go see the traps at noon." Lin Heng said.

"That's what I meant. These days, people are going crazy after eating without food." Lin Yue nodded, and the two of them went to pick mushrooms nearby with their backpacks.

Even the rain is not without its benefits. After a rain, there will always be a big explosion of mushrooms. There are only three of them in the deep mountains, so they can pick them up as much as they want without worrying about anyone coming to snatch them.

"I picked up three red Ganoderma lucidum just after I went out. It looks like there will be a good harvest today." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Wang Wang!!"

Xiongba barked and walked around. Even the rain these past few days had obviously suffocated it.

"Just find me Ganoderma lucidum. We don't need other fungi." Lin Heng looked at the mushrooms Xiongba was looking for, and took out a Ganoderma lucidum tree and let it look at it and smell it.

In more than half an hour, Lin Heng picked up more than ten kilograms of mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms were the most numerous, as this place produces shiitake mushrooms, followed by green head mushrooms and a large number of tea tree mushrooms.

The end of July is the season when tea tree mushrooms bloom. When you walk into the forest, almost every rotten tree stump has clusters of tea tree mushrooms growing on it, with the most common ones growing in acorn forests.

Lin Heng estimated that if he and his elder brother picked carefully, it would be possible to pick up hundreds of tea tree mushrooms here even in rainy weather this time.

"Wang Wang!!"

Suddenly, Xiongba heard an excited cry from a distance.

Lin Heng looked up and suddenly remembered, wasn't that the direction where he laid the fishhook? Did the fishhook catch some prey?

He quickly ran over, and when he saw the specific situation, his back molars couldn't help but show out: "Finally, I've been waiting for you!!"

A big pheasant fell to the ground, with blood dripping from its mouth and twitching. It had obviously been caught not long ago.

"Hey, you've finally been fooled." Lin Heng reached out and smoothed his hair to the top of his head, combing it into a slicked back. He came over and picked up the pheasant.

It's not big, a hen pheasant weighing more than two pounds, but it has some meat today.

"Let's go and see other fishhooks, maybe there are some." Lin Heng rubbed Dahuang's dog's head and said loudly, and the air force spirit in his chest was wiped away.

(End of this chapter)