Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

The next morning, Jinghan and her eldest brother went to the river together and lifted out the dock they had built last night. Sure enough, there were a lot of fish in it. Everyone hurriedly poured the fish into the wooden barrel. Since Wenhan and Zixuan made the dock together, the fish was divided evenly, one share for each family. When all the docks were raised, the barrels of both houses were full. Zixuan carried the bucket and staggered home, "Wenhan, after breakfast later, let's go up the mountain to pick monkey legs together. The sun is good at this time, so we can dry them in the sun for two days."

Wenhan and Wencheng carried the bucket together, "Okay, after breakfast, we will go find you." Then they led Jinghan and Wenxuan home. Today it was Wei's turn to cook. She took her time to finish the meal, just as the children came back. When Mrs. Wei saw so many fish, she became happy and said, "Oh, it's so good to have so many fish. Let's stew some for lunch."

Wenhan glanced at Mr. Wei and didn't say anything. Instead, he found a big basin and poured all the fish into the big basin. These fish are not too big, only about two inches long. They are all willow roots, noodle fish, small loaches, etc., and there are few big ones. Wen Han led his brothers and sisters to squeeze out the intestines of the fish and put them into a basin. After a while, pickle it with some salt, take it out to dry, and it will become dried fish. This thing is a good thing to bring with you. When Zhixin goes to work in the field, he has to bring lunch. Get some dried fish, fry it in some oil, and serve it with pancakes. The more you eat it, the more delicious it becomes.

When Mrs. Wei saw that no one was paying attention to her, she became unhappy. "I said we were going to stew it for lunch, so why do we just salt it all?"

"This is reserved for dad and grandpa to bring food to the mountains. They are tired from working and need to eat something good. The whole family is still pointing them to make money, so of course they should eat well." Wenhan ignored her at all, holding his hand The fish was constantly busy, and a lot of fish were squeezed out in a short time.

"Oh, this is going against the grain, isn't it? Nothing I said will work. Wencheng, don't join in. It's not your part, and you will suffer all the trouble in vain." Wei pulled Wencheng up, but Let him work.

"Mom, what are you talking about? We are a family. My uncle and grandpa have earned money by working, but they have not only supported the family. What's wrong with counting them until they get tired and leaving 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 crowding the fish, she also reached out to help. "There's quite a lot of fish here, just in time. After drying the fish, grandma will fry it for you to eat. It's delicious."

"Milk, no need, leave it to uncle and grandpa to bring the food. We are not hungry for this." Wen Cheng said.

"Okay, there are so many, there will always be something for you to eat." Mrs. Chen was very happy to hear this. Everyone worked together, and naturally it was all packed up in a short while. "Wash your hands and eat. This stuff is very fishy. Get some plant ash and rub your hands together before washing them. It will feel better."

The children all went to wash their hands. Just as Zhixin and the old man came back from the fields, everyone hurried to eat. After breakfast, Wenhan was going to the mountain, and Jinghan naturally wanted to follow. Mrs. Chen knew that she was going to pick monkey legs, so she asked Wencheng and others to go too. Wei Shi refused to let him go, but Wencheng and Wenchang didn't listen to him, and followed Wen Han and others away, making Wei Shi jump around in anger.

"What are you thinking about all day long? It's not like you don't know the rules of our family. The money they get from the things they bring back from the mountains is their own. What are you doing there blocking the way? You're doing nothing all day long. Who said anything to you about the money? Go and feed the pigs. You have nothing to do." When Mrs. Chen saw Mrs. Wei still sitting there, she asked her to go to work.

Mrs. Wei twisted her body and went out. After a while, she finished feeding the pigs, then went back to the house, changed her clothes, and went out looking gorgeous. Chen looked at her like that and shook his head. "Boss daughter-in-law, look at what the second daughter-in-law is doing. I don't think it's a good thing? The second daughter-in-law hasn't been around for a long time. Look at her dressing up like a fairy. She's homeless all day long. She didn't want to work, she was lazy before, but not like this? I think she doesn't want to live a good life. "

Ms. Xue couldn't say anything. Although she often went to the mountain these days, she also noticed something was wrong. She couldn't tell the old lady this kind of thing, otherwise people would say that she couldn't tolerate her sister-in-law. "Mom, let's just keep an eye on it anyway. Maybe her second aunt was depressed at home and went out to visit. Now that it's been a hundred days, it's not good for her to go to other people's homes wearing too plain clothes."

"Hey, I don't choose what she wears. She is gone anyway. But if she wants to marry again, she has to tell me about it. Let's help make arrangements. She is still young, and we can't delay her. Just I'm afraid it would be embarrassing for her to sneak up on others." Mrs. Chen said worriedly.

"Okay, mother, don't think blindly. She is an adult, not a child. She knows what to do." Mrs. Xue lowered her head to make clothes for the children.

Naturally, Jinghan and the others didn't know about their mother and grandma's worries. They were heading east today. The monkey's legs grow in a different place than the cypress. 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 from the front, "Please pay attention to the soles of your feet. There will be water in some places. Be careful not to fall into the water." Everyone was wearing the oldest shoes today, just for fear of getting them wet, anyway. It's old and doesn't hurt if it gets wet.

When you enter the meadow, you will find clusters of hairy monkey legs in the grass. Everyone spread out and went to find the monkey legs. Jinghan lowered her head and looked around, and soon she saw several bushes. This monkey's leg belongs to the bracken family. Usually there are more than ten pieces growing together, and it just needs to be broken off in one go. Now is the perfect time. It's about half a foot tall, and the leaves haven't spread out yet. The dark red or green stems are covered with many small dark brown scaly hairs, so they are called monkey legs. This thing can be eaten fresh, just wash it, remove the hair and fry it. When you eat it, the inside will be smooth and very delicious. In addition, it can 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 leg, and no one said anything. Jinghan's big apron has a use again. It can be put directly inside and can hold a lot. Wen Han, Wen Cheng, and Zixuan all carried baskets on their backs. Also coming with Zixuan was Zixuan's sister, Lin Yumei. A very sweet-looking little girl, slightly older than Jinghan, worked very quickly, and the basket in her hand was full in a short time. Then Zixuan would pour the contents of his sister's basket into the basket on his back, and then give the empty basket to his sister.

Yumei glanced at Jinghan and said, "Jinghan, your method is better. It can pack more and you don't have to carry the basket all the time. I will make one when I go back today."

"Okay, let's come back tomorrow. If you can get more while we have it, we can buy some delicious food with the money." Jinghan said there.

As soon as these words came out, everyone laughed, and Jinghan never forgot to eat. Jinghan didn't feel embarrassed when she heard them laughing there. Food is the most important thing for people, so what if they love to eat?

After staying in the meadow for about two hours, the baskets and baskets everyone brought were all 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 must be removed before it can be dried.

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

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

Jingya and Xue also came out to help. Jinghan quickly asked Jingya to step aside, "Sister, it's not easy for you to develop your hands like that. Don't do this. Otherwise, you won't be able to embroider until your hands become thicker." ”

Mr. Xue also said, "Yes, if you have thick hands, you will scratch the silk thread, so you'd better not do it. We will pull this thing out 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 them aside for the same reason. Then the aunt and niece sat there helplessly and watched.

Mrs. Chen came out of the kitchen. When she saw that there were many people in the old man's house, she helped Wencheng and Wenchang, "That mother of yours has not come back since she went out. She goes out all day to visit, and her children don't know how to come back after they get something." Work." As he spoke, his hands were not idle, and he quickly rubbed the monkey's legs.

Everyone worked for two or three quarters of an hour before all the monkey's legs were pulled out. I poured all the hair and stuff into the dung pit, then shook the two mats clean, sprinkled the monkey legs evenly on them, and put them in a place with better sunlight to dry. It’s not hard to count. It takes about twenty kilograms of fresh food to produce one kilogram. What you picked today can only produce five or six kilograms. Jinghan decided to go back tomorrow, while her eldest brother and Wencheng went to study, but there were Wenxuan and Wenchang, so it would be fine if they came back with less every day.

Jingya and Huixin quickly put the food on the table, and everyone had lunch together. Zhixin and the old man went to Bangchui Field. It was time to rake the grass. This work was very tiring. They had to drive the oxcart very early in the morning and came back very late in the evening. Mrs. Wei went out and never came back. Mrs. Chen couldn't help but sigh again.