Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 74 Going to the market with my wife [[-] words]

"Dong Dong Dong!!"

"Second Dad, get up and hunt rabbits!"

Early the next morning, just after five o'clock, there was a knock on the door of Lin Heng's room.

My eldest nephew Lin Wei, who is usually late for school, got up earlier than his mother today.

"Husband, get up."

Xiulan saw that Lin Heng was still silent and shook him.

"Ah, where is my big herring of more than [-] kilograms?" Lin Heng vaguely saw a beautiful face.

Xiulan looked at him with confusion: "Lin Wei asked you to hunt rabbits. Where did the herring come from? You must be talking in your sleep."

Lin Heng finally woke up and realized that it was a dream. He sighed regretfully: "I just dreamed that I caught a big herring of more than [-] kilograms.

He actually managed to catch a fish, he was really capable of anything in his dream. "

He felt that he was probably sick, and he actually dreamed about fishing.

"Second father, are you up?" Lin Wei spoke again outside the door.

"It's coming, it's coming." Lin Heng climbed out of bed helplessly, thinking that his eldest nephew was too positive.

After getting dressed, he yawned and took down the bow and arrow from the wall, opened the door and walked out.

"Second father, let's leave quickly."

Seeing Lin Heng coming out, Lin Wei quickly urged.

Lin Heng smiled and patted his nephew on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I'll wash my face and go to the toilet first. The rabbit may not be up so early."

"Okay." Lin Wei was helpless and excited.

After washing his face and peeing, Lin Heng untied Xiongba's iron chain and said, "Let's go up the mountain. It's up to you today."

"Wang Wang!!"

Xiongba held his head high and rushed out. Every time he went out, he had to have a few laps before he felt comfortable.

Lin Wei walked in front and led the way. He excitedly talked about how he saw the rabbit yesterday.

When he arrived at the place he was talking about, there was no rabbit anywhere.

Lin Wei explained anxiously: "Second Dad, I'm not lying. I really saw it yesterday, right next to the thatch."

Lin Heng smiled and patted his shoulder: "It's normal, don't worry."

After saying that, it squatted down and touched Xiongba's head: "Fuck Xiongba, find the rabbit hole."

Rabbit urine and feces are very smelly and not difficult for a dog to find, as long as the dog has been around recently.

"Woooo~"

Xiongba sniffed the ground, then burrowed into the thatch, all the way up.

Lin Heng and Lin Wei followed, and not long after, Xiong Ba stopped at a very hidden location in the grass.

"Wang Wang!"

Xiong Ba looked up at Lin Heng, indicating that he was here.

"Second father, Xiongba is so awesome, you can find all these."

Lin Wei knelt down and touched Xiongba and said in shock.

Xiongba held his head high, as if to say that you know nothing about my strength.

"Don't be too happy. Maybe the rabbit is not at home."

Lin Heng said, looking around for other exits. Rabbit holes usually have two or three exits.

After finding all three exits, Lin Heng turned to look at Lin Wei and Xiong Ba: "You take Xiong Ba here to guard them, and I'll light a fire to smoke them out."

"Okay." He ran over very excitedly and stood guard at the entrance of the cave, holding a slingshot in his hand.

Lin Heng found a few pine needles and some cypress leaves.

Light the fire, add some dry firewood, and throw the cypress leaves on top. With crackling sounds, thick smoke rises.

"Cough cough!"

Lin Heng turned his head to the side and fanned wildly with leaves. Within a few seconds, he saw smoke coming out of some other places.

This time Lin Heng searched carefully and found no exit.

Poor rabbit, there is no possibility of escape this time.

On the other side, not long after the thick smoke started to rise, a gray figure took the lead and rushed out of the cave entrance.

"Wang!!"

Before Lin Wei fired his slingshot, the rabbit rushed out. With a bark, Xiong Ba accurately bit the gray rabbit.

"I caught it, I caught the second daddy, the big gray rabbit I saw yesterday."

Lin Wei danced excitedly, hunting was so exciting.

"No problem, it's not difficult." Lin Heng smiled slightly, already expecting the result.

Just as Lin Heng was about to put out the fire, he suddenly heard his eldest nephew's exclamation again.

"Oh my god, there are rabbits. They're little rabbits. One just ran out."

"And the little rabbit!!"

Lin Heng didn't expect the unexpected surprise at all, so he hurried over.

"That one ran away. Xiongba bit the big rabbit but failed to catch up. I was careless." Lin Wei pointed at the hole and said.

"You go over and fan the smoke, and I'll catch it." Lin Heng handed the leaves to his nephew and said.

"Ok."

Lin Wei quickly ran over to fan himself.

Lin Heng glanced at the female rabbit that was bitten to death by the male bully, took out the snakeskin bag and pointed it at the hole, hoping to catch it alive.

Lin Wei fanned the smoke for a while, and there was movement in the hole again. With a whoosh, a rabbit got into the snakeskin bag.

Then there were a few more huffing sounds, and four more little rabbits got in.

Lin Heng was afraid that they would get back into the hole again, so he quickly picked up his bag and grabbed what he had first.

When the smoke in the snakeskin bag dissipated, Lin Heng saw five little rabbits running around, all only the size of two fists, two white, one gray, and two black and white.

"Second father, have you caught him?"

Lin Wei asked excitedly when he heard the movement.

"I caught you. Let's put out the cigarette."

Lin Heng said with a smile.

Lin Wei picked up the stick and put out the fire a few times, and ran over impatiently: "How many of them have been caught?"

"See for yourself." Lin Heng opened the bag.

"Five little rabbits, my God, we are rich." Lin Wei couldn't hide his excitement.

"Indeed, this little rabbit is an unexpected surprise. I took it back to raise it and give it to you."

Lin Heng said with a smile that following the novices would indeed lead to unexpected gains. He actually encountered a nest of rabbits, which was really good luck.

Lin Wei shook his head and said: "I just want two, and the rest are your second daddy. It's all up to you this time, otherwise I won't be able to catch one."

He is too particular about fairness and is already a qualified little hunter.

"It doesn't matter, you can raise as many as you want." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Second father, show me the big rabbit." Lin Wei smiled and stretched out his hand.

Could Lin Heng not understand what he was thinking: "Here you go, give it to you."

Lin Wei took the big rabbit and looked at it carefully. The rabbit's spine was bitten off by Xiongba. Although its body was still hot at this time, it was already dead.

Lin Wei looked at it with his ears raised, a smile on his face, and he jumped forward.

"Aunt Liu Lan, look at the rabbit we shot, it weighs four or five pounds."

"Uncle Yang, this is a rabbit that my second father and I shot together. We also caught five little rabbits, all of them alive."

At a young age, Lin Wei understood that hunting is not about showing off, just like walking at night in brocade clothes, not sparing any adult he meets.

Lin Heng shook his head and walked behind. Without saying anything, everyone in the village knew that it was his contribution, and their eyes were full of envy and admiration.

Lin Wei deliberately went to the big ginkgo tree where the elderly in the village often gathered. Unfortunately, there were no people here in the morning, so he had no choice but to go home. After all, he still had to go to school.

"Dad, grandpa, we have found prey!!"

It can be said that everyone arrived before anyone else arrived. Lin Wei's loud voice suddenly shocked everyone and looked towards the door.

"Dad, Mom, look."

Lin Wei showed it to them like a treasure.

"Your second father must have beaten him." Lin Yue used See Through.

"I also helped a lot." Lin Wei was not convinced.

"He really helped a lot. I was lucky today and caught five little rabbits.

Let’s make a cage later, raise them, and let’s share them. "

Lin Heng showed the rabbit in the bag.

"This is good. We often have rabbits to eat at our house." Mother Lin's eyes lit up when she saw the little rabbit.

"Thanks to Lin Wei's good luck as a newbie, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to catch these little rabbits."

Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Lin Wei, you are useful this time and have made a contribution, but it is already half past seven, so hurry up and go to school." Liu Juan praised and urged.

"Okay." Lin Wei couldn't wait to go to school today and wanted to brag to his friends about the rabbit he caught.

"It's not easy to raise this thing. You have to use iron pear tree or beef tendon tree to make a strong cage, otherwise it will easily chew up the wood and run away."

Father Lin found a deep wooden bucket and asked Lin Heng to pour the rabbit into it.

The five little rabbits huddled together, shivering and terrified.

"Indeed, rabbit teeth are very powerful." Lin Heng was also a little worried because there was no iron cage at home.

"I can only make one out of bamboo first. I'll go to the market in a few days to see if there is any barbed wire seller. I can buy some and keep it later."

Father Lin spread his hands and said.

"Brother, take two of the little rabbits and keep them, and give the rest to dad. I'm too lazy to raise them."

Lin Heng looked at the rabbit and said.

"You don't want to raise her?" Mother Lin was confused.

"Why are you raising it? It's everywhere on the mountain. If I want to eat it, I'll hunt it." Lin Heng spread his hands and smiled.

Mother Lin: "..."

"If you have the ability and you are great, we will support you." Father Lin will not refuse anyone who comes.

"The sauerkraut soup is ready. After you eat it, hurry up and repair the pig pens, chicken and duck pens."

Xiulan walked out of the house and said that she was cooking the morning meal.

After dinner, at eight o'clock the father and son went to the back mountain to build pig pens and chicken pens.

This thing is not difficult, just clear out a piece of flat land, nail stakes, surround a square railing, put up a frame and build a shelter from the rain.

Finally, you can raise pigs by taking out two wooden pig troughs.

The same goes for chicken pens, which can be made of bamboo or wood. Unlike pig pens, the top must be sealed, otherwise the chickens will fly out.

It sounds simple, but the workload is not small. It took a whole day to finish it.

And the pig trough hasn't been dug out yet.

In the evening, I ate the rabbit I caught in the morning. The rabbit meat tasted average when fried. Everyone in the Lin family who had been eating meat a lot this month was a little disgusted.

The next day was the 29th, the last market day in April.

When she woke up in the morning, Xiulan turned to look at Lin Heng: "Have you decided what to buy today?"

"You want to buy it? Do you want me to go with you?" Lin Heng reached out and touched his wife's face softly.

Last night, Lin's father gave him and his eldest brother fifty yuan each and asked them to buy some furniture for their new home while going to the market today.

Because I moved to a new home on the second day of May, this was the last market day before moving.

"Hmm, I don't know what to buy." Xiulan nodded and said softly.

"Okay, I'll go with you." Lin Heng originally wanted to clean up the small yard behind, but he couldn't bear to refuse his wife.

The two got up, changed into clean clothes, and tidied up.

"Brother, just pack up and leave when you're done."

Eldest brother Lin Yue and sister-in-law Liu Juan got up earlier.

"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.

"Then I'll go pull the cows." Lin Yue nodded, borrowing a wooden cart today and pulling it with the family's cows.

Because there will definitely be a lot of things to buy today, and it is impossible to carry them all by people, so ox carts are needed.

The oxen were pulled to the road and the oxcart was assembled. The eldest brother Lin Yue drove the car, and Lin Heng Xiulan and sister-in-law Liu Juan all sat on the cart.

Lin Heng didn't sell any of his suede, pig or badger skins, or mushrooms. He planned to save more and go directly to the city.

The cow walked slowly and leisurely, and the copper bell around its neck made a crisp sound.

Lin Heng sat in the car, facing the cool morning breeze, looking at the scenery outside the road, and listening to Xiulan and her sister-in-law discussing what to buy.

When he got tired from sitting, he would lie down, rest his head on Xiulan's legs and look at the sky. There was an indescribable sense of comfort in this slow life.

Setting off at half past five, the four of them arrived on the streets of Huangtan Town at seven o'clock.

Listening to the noisy sounds and looking at the dense crowd of people, Lin Heng had the illusion that he was back before his rebirth.

"Brothers and sisters, you go ahead and buy them. We'll look at the cows and cars."

Lin Heng said proactively.

Lin Yue didn't show any pretense, nodded and said: "Then take a look, Xiaojuan and I will be back soon."

The two said something and went out together.

Lin Heng tied the cow to a tree on the roadside and sat on the cart chatting with his wife.

He took a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down all the things he wanted to buy. Then he would just buy them one by one.

"How many bowls should we buy?" Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and asked.

"Ten bowls and plates are enough. More are useless. After the separation, there will only be three people in our family." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Then buy two more, and I'll give you two more." Xiulan blinked. She really wanted to give Lin Heng a son.

Lin Heng took his wife's hand and said with a smile, "Okay."

He is not in a hurry about this matter. He will wait until the preparation conditions are better, at least until next year.

With money, Xiulan's risk of giving birth will be lower, so there is no need to worry.

The two of them were leaning shoulder to shoulder, chatting and running out of things to say. Xiulan looked at the people on the street, and Lin Heng looked at her, waiting boredly.

During this period, the eldest brother came back three times. The first time he brought back fifteen chickens, the second time he brought back a series of pots and pans, and the third time he brought back some sheets and quilt covers.

By the time the two brothers came back four times, it was already eleven o'clock in the morning. The two men were carrying snakeskin bags filled with things.

"Brother, you can go buy it, now we'll watch."

The eldest brother Lin Yue said with a smile.

"Okay." Lin Heng and Xiulan jumped out of the car, their buttocks hurting.

When moving to a new home, the first thing you need to buy is pots, pans, knives and shovels. Food for eating is the most important thing.

Secondly, you have to buy some basic daily necessities, such as two quilts, pillowcases and sheets.

It cost 12 yuan to sell all these, and the pots and pans were not expensive. The main thing was the quilts. A five-pound cotton quilt cost three yuan, and two sheets cost another yuan.

But the one I bought was of relatively good quality. After all, it was a new house.

After buying these, I bought some red paper to write couplets on, and a portrait of the Stove Lord, ready to go back to offer as an offering.

After putting the purchased items in the car, Lin Heng said again: "Let's go to the river to see the chickens."

There were pigs, chickens, ducks, cows and sheep for sale on the river beach under the bridge. They were all bred by farmers themselves. There were very few large-scale breeding farms at this time.

"How much does this chicken cost?" Xiulan walked up to an uncle selling chickens and asked.

"This is a black-bone chicken with black legs. These are half-month-old and cost [-] cents a piece. The one-month-old one next to me costs [-] cents a piece."

The half-month-old chickens are all down, the size of a fist, and the one-month-old down has turned into thick feathers.

"Buy one month old. Buy ten. The bigger ones are easier to raise. Can you give me a bamboo cage?" Lin Heng noticed that behind the uncle there was a simple bamboo cage for chickens.

"These are two cents each, or if you buy five more, I'll give them to you." The uncle grinned.

"Forget it, let's go to other houses and ask." Lin Heng glanced at him and left with Xiulan.

"Don't leave, I'm just kidding, I gave it to you. I'm the best kid here." The uncle quickly stopped Lin Heng and said with a smile.

"Let's wait until we see the rest." Lin Heng ignored him and went to look at several other chicken sellers.

"It seems that the one from the uncle's house is better. Although it is a little more expensive, the black-bone chicken is delicious." Xiulan looked around and commented.

"Then go back." Lin Heng smiled slightly.

"I told you that this black-bone chicken is my only one, and the price is really reasonable." The uncle smiled and brought the bamboo cage to the two of them.

"It only costs [-] cents for a one-month-old baby. It's too expensive for you." Lin Heng shook his head and said.

"You get what you pay for." The uncle chuckled.

Lin Heng didn't care. The price was indeed about the same. He turned to look at Xiulan and said with a smile, "How many males and females do you want first?"

Xiulan looked at him in surprise: "Can you tell the male from the female in such a small chicken?"

The uncle selling chickens didn't believe it either: "Young man, don't brag. Chickens this small can't recognize male from female. Those who say they can recognize are all fooling you. Don't lie to your wife."

Lin Heng smiled slightly and looked at the uncle: "If I tell you why, how about you give me an extra chicken?"

The uncle took out a piece of paper, poured some welding smoke and rolled it slowly, and said proudly: "If you really convince me, I will give you one."

Xiulan also looked curious. Catching chickens in rural areas, especially those under two months old, almost depends on luck, and you can't tell the male from the female.

Lin Heng smiled: "That's what you said."

"I said so." The uncle was very proud.

Lin Heng grabbed a chicken cub from the bamboo cage, turned it over, looked at the chicken's butt, and said, "This is a female, Xiulan, you catch it, and I'll catch another male."

After rummaging inside for a while, Lin Heng quickly found a male and said with a smile, "This one is a male."

"Why do you say that?" The uncle selling chickens looked unbelieving. He took out a kerosene lighter and lit the welding smoke. The smell of smoke and kerosene filled the air.

I have been selling chickens for so many years, and he still doesn’t know if the chickens can tell the difference between male and female?

It's not that easy to just pick two chickens at random and try to trick him.

"It's okay, just listen and I'll tell you slowly." Lin Heng was not in a hurry.

　Yesterday I dreamed that I caught a [-]-pound herring. I was so excited that I woke up from the dream. What a shame.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)