Good farming at the foot of Changbai Mountain

Chapter 12 Monkey Legs

The next morning, Jinghan and her elder brother went to the river together, and pulled out the dock that had been dropped last night. Sure enough, there were a lot of fish in it.Everyone hurriedly poured all the fish into the wooden barrels, because Wen Han and Zixuan put them together, so the fish were evenly divided, one for each family.When all the docks came out, the barrels of the two families were all full.Zixuan carried the bucket and staggered home, "Wenhan, after breakfast later, let's go up the mountain to pick monkey legs. The sun is good at this time, and we can dry them after two days in the sun."

Wenhan and Wencheng carried the bucket together, "Okay, after breakfast, we'll go find you." Then they led Jinghan and Wenxuan home.Today it was Wei's turn to cook, and he took a long time to finish the meal, just as the children came back.When Wei Shi saw so many fish, he became happy, "Oh, it's so good to get so many fish, let's stew some for lunch today."

Wen Han glanced at Wei Shi, but didn't say anything. Instead, he found a big basin and poured all the fish into it.These fish are not too big, only about two inches long. They are all willow root fish, noodle fish, small loach, etc., and there are very few big ones.Wenhan led his younger siblings to squeeze out the fish's intestines and put them in a basin.After a while, pickle it with some salt, take it out and dry it, and it will become a small dried fish.This is a good thing to bring with you. Zhixin always brings his lunch when he goes to work in the field.Get some dried fish and fry it with some oil, and serve with pancakes, the more delicious it is, the more delicious it is.

When Wei Shi saw that no one was paying attention to her, he became unhappy. "I said I'm going to stew it for lunch, so what's the point of salting it all?"

"This is reserved for father and grandpa to bring food to the mountains. They are tired from work and need to eat something good. The whole family is pointing at them to earn money, so of course let them eat well." Wen Han ignored her at all, holding his hand I kept busy on the ground, and I squeezed out a lot of fish in a while.

"Oh, this is the wrong way, isn't it? What I say doesn't work anymore. Wen Cheng, don't get meddled, and you don't have your share. It's a waste of time." Wei pulled Wen Cheng up. Let him work.

"Mom, what are you talking about? We are a family. Uncle and grandpa earn money by working, so they support the family. Counting them is tired, so why not make something good for them?" Wen Cheng Instead of relying on his mother, he continued to work.

At this time, Mrs. Chen also came out of the house. Seeing the children squeezing the fish, she also reached out to help. "There's a lot of fish here. It just so happens that the dried fish is dried, and grandma will fry it for you to eat. It's delicious."

"Grandma, there's no need, leave it to uncle and grandpa to bring food, we don't want this stuff." Wen Cheng said.

"Okay, there are so many, there will always be something for you to eat." Mrs. Chen was very happy to hear that.Everyone worked together, and naturally it was over in a short while. "Wash your hands and eat. This stuff is really fishy. Get some plant ash and rub your hands and wash it. It will be better."

The children all went to wash their hands, just as Zhixin and the old man came back from the field, everyone hurried to eat.After breakfast, Wenhan was going to the mountain, and Jinghan naturally wanted to follow.Knowing that she was going to pick monkey legs, Mrs. Chen asked Wen Cheng and the others to go too.Wei Shi refused to let him go, but Wen Cheng and Wen Chang didn't listen to him, they followed Wen Han and left, Wei Shi was so angry that he jumped there.

"What are you thinking about all day long? It's not like you don't know the rules of our family. The things they get back from the mountain are their own after selling them. What are you doing there? Don’t tell me what’s wrong with the second child’s money? Hurry up and feed the pigs, I don’t know what to do.” Seeing that Wei was still sitting there, Mrs. Chen drove her to work.

Wei Shi twisted his body and went out. After feeding the pigs, he went back to the house, changed his clothes, and walked out in a beautiful dress.Seeing her like that, Chen couldn't help shaking her head. "Eldest daughter-in-law, look at the behavior of the second daughter-in-law. I don't think it's a good thing? The second daughter has been gone for a long time. You see, she is dressed like a goblin. She stays away all day, no Pushing her away from work, she used to be lazy, but isn’t she like this? I think she doesn’t want to live a good life anymore.”

It was hard for Mrs. Xue to say anything. Although she often went up the mountain these days, she also noticed that something was wrong.She can't tell the old woman about this kind of thing, or people will say that she can't tolerate her sister-in-law. "Mom, anyway, let's just keep an eye on it. Maybe her second aunt is feeling bored at home, so she went out to visit. It's been a hundred days now, and it's not good for her to go to someone's house in too plain clothes."

"Hey, I don't pick what she wears, since she's gone anyway. But if she wants to remarry, she has to tell me whatever. Let's help her out. She's still young, so we can't delay her, just I'm afraid that if she sneaks into something with others, it will be shameful." Chen said with some worry.

"Okay, mother, don't think about it. She is an adult, not a child, so she knows what to do." Xue bowed her head to make clothes for the children.

Jinghan and the others naturally don't know the worries of their mother and grandma. They are going east today.The monkey's legs don't grow in the same place as the big leaf celery, they grow in the meadow.There is a meadow in the northeast of the village, and people usually go there to pick monkey legs.

Wen Han led the front, "Pay attention to the bottom of your feet, there will be water in some places, be careful not to fall into the water." Everyone is wearing the oldest shoes today, just in case they get wet, anyway The old one doesn't hurt when it gets wet.

Once you enter the meadow, you will find clusters of hairy monkey legs in the grass.Everyone dispersed and went to find the monkey legs.Jinghan lowered her head and looked around, and saw several clumps in a short while.These monkey legs belong to the bracken family, and usually more than ten roots grow together, just snap it off.Now is a good time, about half a foot high, and the leaves on it have not yet stretched out.On the dark red or green stems, there are many dark brown scaly hairs, so it is called monkey legs.This food can be eaten fresh, washed, and fried after removing the hair. When eating, the inside is slippery and feels very smooth.In addition, it can also be dried in the sun, and then soaked and eaten in winter. It is definitely a good thing when there are no vegetables.

Everyone was looking for the monkey's legs, and no one said a word.Jinghan's big apron is useful again, put it directly inside, it can hold a lot.Wen Han, Wen Cheng, and Zixuan all carried baskets on their backs, and Zixuan's younger sister, Lin Yumei, came with Zixuan.A sweet-looking little girl, slightly older than Jinghan, worked very fast, and filled the basket in her hand in no time.Then Zixuan would pour the contents of his sister's basket into the back basket, and then give the empty basket to his sister.

Yumei glanced at Jinghan, "Jinghan, it's better for you to pack a lot, and you don't have to carry the basket all the time. I'll make one when I go back today."

"Sure, let's come back tomorrow. Take advantage of this time, get as much as you can, and buy some delicious food if you sell it." Jinghan said over there.

As soon as this remark came out, everyone laughed, and Jinghan would never forget to eat.Jinghan didn't feel embarrassed when she heard them laughing there. People depend on food, so what's wrong with eating?
After staying in the meadow for about two hours, all the baskets and baskets that everyone brought were full.Wenhan led everyone out of the meadow, then broke up with Zixuan and went home.When she got home, Mrs. Chen saw that the children had made so many monkey legs, so she quickly boiled a large pot of water.This thing needs to be scalded with boiling water, and then the hair can be plucked before drying.

Wen Cheng and Wen Changcai were left alone, while Jing Han, Wen Han, and Wen Xuan were all together.When the water boiled, Wen Cheng and the others scalded the vegetables first, took them out and poured them on a broken mat, then scalded the vegetables Wen Han and the others picked, and poured them on another mat.

"Okay, let's roll out the monkey's legs first. With this hot pot, I'll cook first, and I'll come over to help you later." Mrs. Chen scooped out the boiling water and poured it out, then heated up the pancakes and vegetables .The firewood under the pot is just enough, and there is no need to add more firewood.

Jingya and Mrs. Xue also came out to help, Jinghan quickly asked Jingya to step aside, "Sister, it's not easy for your hands to grow like that, please don't come here to do this, or you won't be able to embroider until your hands get thicker." .”

Mrs. Xue also said, "That's right, if you have thick hands, you'll scrape the threads. You'd better not do it. We'll roll out this stuff in a while." Jingya had no choice but to sit there and watch everyone work.Huixin also came out of the house to help, and asked everyone to push aside for the same reason, and then the two aunts and nieces sat there helplessly watching.

Mrs. Chen came out of the kitchen and saw how many people there were in the old family, so she helped Wencheng and Wenchang, "Your mother, you haven't come back since you went out, and you go out to visit all day long, and the children don't know how to come back after getting things back." Work." While talking, his hands were not idle, and he quickly stroked the monkey's legs.

Everyone worked for two to three quarters of an hour, and all the monkey legs were pulled out.Pour all those hairs into the dung pit, then shake the two mats clean, sprinkle monkey legs evenly, and put them in a place with better sunlight to dry.There are not many of these things, about 20 catties of fresh ones can be dried out for one catty, and the ones that everyone picked today can also be sun-dried for five or six catties.Jinghan decides to go back tomorrow. Eldest brother and Wencheng go to study, but Wenxuan and Wenchang are still there.

Jingya and Huixin quickly packed up the meals and put them on the table, and everyone had lunch together.Zhixin and the old man went to Bangchuidi, and it was time to weed their heads. This job was very tiring. They had to drive the ox cart early in the morning and came back very late at night.Mrs. Wei went out and never came back. Mrs. Chen couldn't help sighing after seeing it.

(End of this chapter)