Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 171 Mushroom Hot Pot in Winter

Lin Heng came over and took a look, and couldn't help but look surprised. What Xiulan pointed to growing on the dead tree was none other than snow-white Tremella fuciformis.

This thing is extremely uncommon. I have encountered very few of it when walking in the mountains all year round.

"You can stew Tremella and lotus seed porridge twice after picking these." Lin Heng said with a smile. Tremella can nourish yin and moisturize the lungs, beautify the skin, and is very suitable for women to eat.

Xiulan smiled and nodded, took out a small bag and picked off all the white fungi.

After walking not far, Lin Heng saw a dry lily pole at the edge of the forest. Different from the ones he had encountered before, this pole was extremely thick. When dry, it was as thick as a thumb.

Lin Heng dug for a while, and a lily appeared in the soil. It was about the size of his palm. It was light red on the outside and pink on the inside, like a lotus blooming in the soil.

Xiulan opened her eyes wide and said, "It's really big. I'm afraid it weighs half a catty."

"I guess it's more than that."

Lin Heng said with a smile, dug it out completely with a hoe, shook off the soil, and his big hand could just hold it. The diameter of this lily was nearly 15 centimeters.

Lin Heng handed the lily to Xiulan and said with a smile: "This is completely edible. Go back and process it, dry it in the sun and make porridge with lotus seeds and white fungus."

"Well, this is really big."

Xiulan looked at it and put the lily into Lin Heng's backpack. This was an unexpected surprise, encountered by chance.

After walking up for a while, there was suddenly no trace of mushrooms. No matter whether it was enoki mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, there were only tree tongues growing on the dry trunks, each one bigger than the other.

This thing is useless, at most it is used to make fire.

Fortunately, the total amount of enoki mushrooms they picked up was more than thirty kilograms, which was considered a good harvest.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them arrived at the valley where they had previously hunted yellow muntjac. The harvest was pretty good when the two of them came here in the summer, but today there was not much harvest.

Moreover, the wind became even stronger, the branches were blowing loudly, and some trees that had been hollowed out by beetles even cracked in the wind.

The two of them stepped on the leaves, making crisp clicking sounds. Xiongba took two steps to pee, smelled the ground, and raised his head from time to time. He raised his ears and looked in all directions to detect any movement.

Lin Heng looked at his wife: "Let's go over to the other side and have a look."

Xiulan tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ears, stretched out her hand to hold Lin Heng and nodded, "Then go over and have a look."

The two of them stepped on the scattered pebbles and scattered sand in the ravine and walked to the other side. In winter, the water in this mountain stream dried up so much that it was only fifty centimeters wide. The two of them could easily cross it.

Xiulan saw the traces left on the tree and said, "It seems that the Hericium mushrooms here have also been picked."

Lin Heng pointed to a wooden pile in the distance and said: "There are still some leftovers. It's enough for us to pick some up and eat them back."

After a pause, he grinned at Xiulan again: "It doesn't matter what you sell, no matter who picks it, they will sell it to me in the end and let us make money."

This made Xiulan laugh: "We can't make money by picking it up ourselves."

The two searched the forest and occasionally picked up a few small Hericium mushrooms that had just grown.

This thing has high nutritional value, but the taste is actually not very good. It tastes a bit bitter when not blanched. It becomes dry when fried. It is usually dried in the sun and made into biscuits or something.

After walking a few hundred meters, Lin Heng saw a kiwi fruit vine owned by the boss. There were scattered kiwi fruits on it, most of which had fallen to the ground.

"Xiulan, come here to eat kiwi fruit." Lin Heng said to Xiulan who was not far away.

Wild kiwi ripens late and the fruit is small, but the fruit that softens when it hits the ground tastes very good.

After peeling off the furry fur, there is emerald green pulp inside, which is full of juice and sweet smell.

Lin Heng peeled one off. It tasted rusty in the mouth, sweet with a hint of sourness, and tasted very good.

"Try it. The ones that ripen automatically are more delicious than those picked in advance." Lin Heng handed one to Xiulan.

He liked the ones that fell from the trees. Someone in the village started picking kiwi fruits a month ago. The taste of kiwi fruits picked in advance and ripened was not as good as this one.

Xiulan also gave her approval: "This kind is so sweet and tastes better than the ones picked by mom and others."

"Then pick up some and take it back."

Lin Heng said that the two of them should sit here and eat before talking, and then pick them up.

Xiongba squatted next to Lin Heng and looked at him eagerly. Lin Heng glanced at him: "You don't know how to pick it up and eat it yourself? Do you want me to skin it for you?"

"Ow~"

Xiongba stuck out his tongue, indicating that he would not eat the skin.

Lin Heng glanced at it, shook his head, peeled a few and fed them to it. After eating five Xiongba, he shook his head and ran away, as if he was too disgusted with it.

Lin Heng and Xiulan ate a lot, which was not sour at all for them.

They took a bag and picked up about ten pounds before leaving. There are so many wild kiwis, and some mountains are covered with wild kiwis. People here often pick up hundreds or even thousands of kilograms and go back to make kiwi wine. It is said that the taste is not bad.

"Listen, is this the crow of the golden rooster?"

Xiulan pointed to the location halfway up the mountain and said, as the time gradually approached dusk, these golden roosters began to crow.

Lin Heng listened for a while and nodded in confirmation: "It is indeed a golden rooster, but the distance is a bit far, so forget it."

The golden pheasants and bamboo pheasants that the family had shot earlier had not been eaten yet, and he was too lazy to track them so far away.

The two of them walked all the way down the Baishi Valley. There were very few mushrooms on the road. Lin Heng even climbed into the pine forest and turned over the soil, but unfortunately he could not find any more black truffles.

There are fewer types of mushrooms in winter, so it is much more difficult to pick them. Even after traveling so far away, there is still no good harvest.

Lin Heng said with emotion: "In a few days, there will probably be only Enoki mushrooms left to pick up."

Xiulan nodded: "Yes, I'll just pick it up this year. It's enough to eat the dried mushrooms we dried at home."

After running so far in such a strong wind and picking up just a few fungi, both of them lost interest.

In a blink of an eye, it was past four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun had long disappeared, and although the sky was blue, it was very gloomy.

This is typical winter weather, the sun only comes out for a brief moment at noon and then disappears quickly.

The two of them walked together in the forest and no longer wanted to continue looking.

Just as he was about to leave the valley, Xiongba suddenly let out a cheerful call from the hillside not far away: "Woof woof~"

"Come on, let's go take a look."

The two looked at each other and walked past together.

After walking a few steps, the two of them saw something next to Xiongba. Xiulan said in surprise: "I didn't expect to find so many oyster mushrooms even after I go back."

"This can weigh more than twenty kilograms." Lin Heng was also a little surprised.

This is a fallen and rotting willow tree. There are clusters of oyster mushrooms growing on the trunk. The caps are silver-gray, which is different from the white color of the oyster mushrooms I bought.

After walking in the mountains for many years, they can be sure that this thing is definitely an oyster mushroom.

With smiles on their faces, the two of them ran over quickly and started picking. They felt at ease only if they had these things in their pockets.

Originally, the things picked up today could only fill Lin Heng's backpack. After picking the oyster mushrooms from this tree, Xiulan's backpack was almost full.

Lin Heng rubbed Xiong Ba's head hard and said happily: "Let's go home."

The two of them and the dog walked home together. On the way back, they didn't have the same good luck as before. The closer they got to the house, the fewer the mushrooms became.

After leaving Baishigou, they walked back along another forest path. Lin Heng looked everywhere for traces of prey. Unfortunately, he didn't see any prey until he got home. He only heard a few golden roosters crow in the distance.

Back in the village, the two met Liu Lan who had also returned from the mountain.

As soon as Liu Lan saw Lin Heng, she couldn't help but walked over and asked, "Did you pick up black truffles again?"

Lin Heng shook his head repeatedly: "How is it possible? I was lucky last time, and I encountered them again and again." Xiulan also said: "Only some oyster mushrooms and winter mushrooms, and I didn't even encounter a few Hericium erinaceus."

Liu Lan took a closer look at the baskets the two of them carried and felt relieved. Just when she was about to see black truffles again and again, her heart couldn't bear it. He smiled and said: "Li Baigen has finished picking the Hericium mushrooms. Yesterday, I took them and his son carried them back in a high basket."

Lin Heng showed a hint of understanding: "That's it, no wonder we didn't pick it up."

Liu Lan shook her head and said: "During this period of slack farming, there are too many people traveling in the mountains. Those who dig kudzu, yams, medicinal materials, and pick mushrooms and kiwi fruits have to go deep into the mountains if they want to gain anything."

The two nodded and were about to leave. Wang Kaidian, who had asked Xiulan to help braise the pig heads before, came over with a gun. When he saw Lin Heng, he shouted: "Lin Heng, didn't you hit anything?"

He was obviously going to go hunting in the mountains. This man often went up the mountains alone and was not afraid at all.

Lin Heng smiled and shook his head: "No, Uncle Wang, I just picked up some mushrooms today."

Wang Kaidian didn't believe it: "You probably hit the leopard and got too lazy to look for it."

Lin Heng spread his hands helplessly: "Really, I've been to Baishi Valley and found nothing."

Wang Kaidian then reluctantly believed it: "I have been the same these days. I saw a forest musk deer a few days ago and have been tracking it for several days. I guess there is no hope. This thing is too alert."

Lin Heng was surprised and a little envious when he heard this. He was actually looking for forest musk deer today, but he couldn't find any trace. The forest was so big that it was not easy to find prey.

After thinking for a while, he said: "Uncle Wang, if you give up, tell me the location. I want to see it too."

Wang Kaidian did not refuse, and nodded: "Yes, but this thing is running around, and I can't be sure that it is still in the original place."

He was also not optimistic about Lin Heng. Lin Shek was too much of a thief. Even if he could be hit with a bow and arrow, the hope of him being hit was slim.

"Thank you then." Lin Heng said with a smile and left.

This period is not only the time when the forest musk deer is in estrus, but it is also the time when the male forest musk deer has the most and fullest musk in its body.

He planned to look for traces of forest musk deer in a few days. If he could kill a male, he would get at least 1,500 yuan, which was a fortune for him.

If you can catch one alive, it will be even more developed. However, this kind of thing is rare, and it is almost impossible without anesthesia.

"Dad~"

As soon as she entered the yard, Xiaoxia ran towards him, but was stopped by Caiyun.

"Come, let me give you a hug."

Lin Heng put down the backpack, held his good daughter in his arms, shook her, and tossed her in the air a few times. She suddenly laughed.

"Sister-in-law Xiulan, you have gained a good harvest." Caiyun said with a smile while looking at the fungi in the baskets carried by the two of them.

"It's okay. There are kiwi fruits here for you to try."

Xiulan said with a smile and handed the kiwi to Caiyun. Lin Heng also took one and peeled it for Xiaoxia to eat.

"It's so sweet." Caiyun's eyes lit up.

Xiaoxia finished several bites in a row and wanted to lick Lin Heng's finger. When she didn't succeed, she said coquettishly: "Dad, I want more~"

After feeding his daughter another kiwi fruit, Lin Heng put her down.

While handling the fungi, Xiulan asked, "Would you like to have hot pot tonight?"

Lin Heng nodded: "Okay, just the three of us will eat it and give it a try first."

If everyone is called, it will be too much, and we cannot prepare so many things in a hurry.

It is very simple to feed three people, just prepare a few dishes.

Caiyun was surprised and said, "Then I will benefit from it."

Lin Heng glanced at her and said with a smile, "You deserve this."

After saying that, he got up and got ready. He was already hungry.

Xiulan and Caiyun prepared vegetables and other items. He took the dried crucian carp and cooked a pot of crucian carp soup, lit the charcoal and added it to the copper stove.

This copper stove is a mandarin duck pot. On one side, he added the hot pot base ingredients he had prepared before, and on the other side, some soybeans and dried morels, porcini, matsutake and other mushrooms were thrown in.

Let the charcoal fire slowly heat and simmer, Lin Heng cut some leopard meat, pork, sausage, leopard belly, and leopard small intestine.

A hot pot cannot be without meat, otherwise it will lose its soul.

"Are these vegetables ready?"

Xiulan said while holding a bamboo sieve of vegetables, the most abundant of which were the wild enoki mushrooms picked today.

"That's enough, that's enough. Come and eat quickly. It's already cooked."

Lin Heng nodded. He was short of time, so he only prepared spicy and sour dishes.

Hot pot has been popular in China for a long time, and many people know it, but only the rich can afford it.

Xiulan and Caiyun were both eating hot pot for the first time, and they were a little curious.

"Is it okay to just dip it in the soup?" Xiulan asked.

"Yes." Lin Heng smiled and demonstrated to the two of them.

This bacon tastes very good when cooked, and the wild enoki mushrooms are a joy to eat. It is a dual enjoyment of taste and aroma. It is simply perfect. It is worthy of being a hot pot divine dish.

"It's really delicious. It's much better than stir-frying. No wonder rich people like to eat hot pot." Caiyun said with emotion after eating a piece of belly slice.

The tripe slices are already very fragrant when cooked in a red soup pot, and when dipped in the hot and sour dipping sauce prepared by Lin Heng, the taste becomes even more amazing, and the texture is very good.

"Yeah, I'll eat it more often in the future." Xiulan fell in love with this hot pot instantly.

Just cook it like this, and you can eat all kinds of dishes. It's simple, delicious and quick.

"Haha, this is relatively simple. Next time I will make sesame sauce and mix the dipping sauce, it will taste better."

Lin Heng said with a smile, hot pot just has this charm, otherwise it would not have developed into a popular delicacy that is loved by people all over the country.

Xiulan nodded fiercely: "Call everyone next time. It's much better than working in the kitchen for a long time, and it tastes better."

"Yes, eating a little bit in the winter will keep you warm all over." Caiyun nodded.

The three of them talked very little and kept eating. The hot pot cooked by Lin Heng using the fish soup became more and more fragrant. Whether it was red soup or clear soup, people couldn't stop.

Xiaoxia was waiting for food next to Lin Heng with her mouth open. She was also very satisfied with the taste of the hot pot.

Slices of leopard meat are also delicious when eaten in a rinse, while slices of leopard belly and leopard intestines are even more delicious when eaten in a rinse.

Although it is not as good as Maodu, it is also very elastic, has a good taste and has its own special fragrance.

The four of us chatted while eating, which was happy and warm. Another advantage of hot pot is that the food will not get cold, which is perfect for eating in winter.

The three of them were enjoying their meal when a shout came from outside the yard: "Xiulan, open the door."

"Mom and Dad, what are they doing here now?"

Lin Heng was stunned.

"I'll open the door."

Caiyun said something, got up and ran to open the door.

　There should be another chapter in the party, please give me a monthly ticket.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)