NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22 Wild Boar
It was the forest break period in spring, and the government stipulated that people could not go up the mountain to cut down trees.
Mu Zhiyuan originally wanted to chop some bamboo to make a few traps to prevent wild boars from running into the fields again. When he came to Luda's garden, he saw his courtyard was open and he was chopping firewood in the yard.
"Lu Da, will you go hunting in the mountains after the Qingming Festival?"
Lu Da just split the firewood and touched the sweat on his forehead: "I have already raised rabbits. I don't have the energy to go up the mountain recently. You can see that I have given birth to several litters."
There were more than 20 rabbits of different sizes in the rabbit pen. Mu Zhiyuan took out a bow from the pile of farm tools and dusted off the dust on it: "How long has it been since you went up the mountain? The bow is full of dust!"
"These rabbits are not easy to raise. I have to pick leaves to feed them every day. Unfortunately, the leaves that rabbits eat cannot touch water. They have to wipe off the dew. Now Xiulin simply won't go up the mountain."
"The crops in the millet fields were overrun by wild boars yesterday, did you know?"
"I heard, didn't you drive me into the mountains? Oh~ you want to dig a trap in the mountains and catch the wild boar?"
"Exactly! Wild boars like to go out at night. If they are not caught, they may even eat other farmers' crops in the future."
"Okay, I'll go up the mountain with you after the Qingming Festival!"
After the Qingming Festival, Mao Xi planned to go up the mountain to dig some bamboo shoots and wild mushrooms. She asked her mother-in-law to take her little sister to the snack shop first, while she took the little spirit rat up the mountain.
Rhubarb disappeared early in the morning. Needless to say, he must have followed Luda up the mountain to hunt again.
There were only two little local dogs, Pi Dan and Yuan Bao, left at home. Mao Xi was worried about taking them into the mountains. He locked the yard, took a small shovel and a backpack, and went out early.
Since she had the help of the little rat "bamboo tube", it is not difficult to go up the mountain to find wild mushrooms. Today she harvested some red mushrooms and morels. She sold 100 copies in the virtual mall, and the quota was full. She used the rest. Moved to space.
Then she started digging bamboo shoots. The spring bamboo shoots were huge. It took her two-quarters of an hour to dig out 50 kilograms. She left half a basket to carry on her back and moved the rest into the space.
On the way down the mountain, I vaguely heard the barking of dogs in the distance, which sounded like the sound of rhubarb. Brother Luda should be hunting nearby.
Mao Xi followed the sound and went to the mountain forest to explore. He saw Lu Da and Mu Zhiyuan standing by the trap, and Dahuang barked at the trap.
"Brother Mu, Brother Lu, what did you catch?" Mao Xi stepped forward and saw a wild boar with exposed tusks and bristles on its back. It was trapped in the trap. It was the one that ate the crops a few days ago. Xiao Ling When the rat saw the wild boar, he was so frightened that he huddled among the bamboo shoots in his basket.
"I don't know who made the trap. This wild boar was trapped in the net in the cave. It was tightly closed and did not struggle. It must have been trapped for a long time."
"Brother, look, we caught it!" A female hunter ran over and shouted to the two hunters behind her.
Seeing three people and a dog beside the trap hole, the female hunter clenched the handle of the knife at her waist, her eyes sharp and defensive.
The eldest brother and the second brother arrived one after another. The eldest brother Niu Yida stopped the huntress behind him: "Sanhua, don't worry."
Mu Zhiyuan clasped his hands in his fists: "I am from Liujia Village. I dare to ask my brother, did you dig this trap?"
Niu Yidao: "Yes, you are?"
Ma Xi: "We are all villagers in Liujia Village. This beast destroyed my crops. Fortunately, the hero caught it!"
Mao Xi's heroic words made the female hunter laugh. Niu Sanhua laughed heartily and said: "We are from Niujia Village. This is my eldest brother Niu Yidao, second brother Niu Erfeng. My name is Niu Sanhua. I came to the mountain to hunt today."
Mao Xi had long heard that the people in Niujia Village were engaged in hunting as their main occupation, with farming and breeding as their sideline. Today, when they saw them, they were all muscular men, and even the women were not inferior to the men.
Luda clasped his hands in his fists: "I am Luda. I usually go hunting in the mountains, but they are all pheasants and hares. This wild boar is huge. How are you going to bring it back?"
"Hahaha..." Niu Erfeng took out the tools he brought with him, "We have our own way."
The trap hole is more than three meters deep and contains a looper. The wild boar has been tightly tightened. The three siblings, Lu Da and Mu Zhiyuan worked together to pull the pig out. Niu tied the limbs of the wild boar to a horizontal bar with a knife and tied them with Niu Erfeng carried them on his shoulders, one behind the other.
After handling the wild boar, Niu Sanhua saw Mao Xi carrying half a basket of fresh bamboo shoots on her back and patted her shoulder: "Sister, can I trade 5 kilograms of wild boar for your half basket of fresh bamboo shoots?"
Mao Xi nodded hurriedly, and the three of them followed the three Niu family brothers and sisters to Niujia Village next door.
After the villagers dissected the pig and wanted to leave the three of them to eat "pig-killing vegetables", Mao Xi had to rush back to the snack shop, so she carried 5 kilograms of pork and wanted to take rhubarb back to Liujia Village.
Before leaving, Niu Sanhua stuffed two more pig's feet to Shu Xi: "Sister Shu, I will go to Liujiacun to find you next time I have time."
"Sister Sanhua, I usually sell some food at Liuxiang Snack Shop on the cross street of Lihua Town after midnight. Come and have a meal when you have time."
After bidding farewell to Niu Sanhua, Mao Xi took Dahuang back to Liujiazhuang. She first placed the wild boar meat in the cold storage, then spent another two-quarters of an hour peeling the bamboo shoots, leaving some bamboo shoots in the freezer and soaking the rest in water until her mother-in-law came back to make sour bamboo shoots.
Yuanbao and Preserved Egg are already 6 months old and almost 40 centimeters tall at the shoulder. When they saw their mother Da Huang coming back, they barked non-stop, as if they were complaining about why they were not taken with them when they went up the mountain.
In order to facilitate the transportation of ingredients, Su Xi bought a donkey. Normally, in the afternoon, her mother-in-law would prepare the baked potato skewers, vegetarian skewers, and cold dishes to be sold at the night market, and use the donkey cart to pull it to the food shop to replenish the supplies.
Today, it's Mao Xi who will deliver the ingredients.
Maoxi taught her grandma how to make the store's two signature dishes: hot and sour noodles and pickled fish. Usually Chen prepares ingredients and grows crops at home, while Mao Xi cooks at the food shop.
The two mothers divide the work between each other and take turns taking care of their little sister Ajiao.
After returning home after a busy day, Mao Xi bought some Angelica sinensis and Codonopsis pilosula for stewing soup, and made a "wild boar and ginseng soup".
"Ajiao, go next door and ask Uncle Lu Da to come and have some soup." After hearing this, the younger sister Ajiao trotted out the door.
Mao Xi opened the lid. The aroma of meat was mixed with the medicinal smell of angelica and dangshen, with a hint of sweetness.
"Sister, where did the wild boar meat come from? Did Uncle Lu Da go up to the mountain to catch it today?" Xiaodouzi was so greedy that his saliva started to flow again.
Mao Xi poured the soup out bowl after bowl. After a while, the little sister rode on Lu Da's neck and returned home.
"Ride a cow, ride a cow..." Ajiao grabbed Lu Da's beard on both sides and played happily.
"You little calf, it's time for your midnight snack!" Luda carefully carried Ajiao to the chair.
"Big cow, big cow! I want to lift it high... lift it high!"
Mu Zhiyuan remained silent and followed Lu Da to Mao Xi's house for a meal.