Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Looking far into the distance, the gentle willow wind blows across the water, stirring up ripples. Under the sunlight, the waves sparkle one after another, which is magnificent.

The white clouds in the sky and the surrounding mountains are reflected in the water, moving with the wind, like a mirage in the fairyland. It makes people feel like a dream.

The beautiful scenery before our eyes is no less than the world-famous Guilin landscape.

Crescent Bay is now larger than Xu Huizhen remembered, and its ecology has not been destroyed. In the distance, a wild duck paddles across the water quickly, as if demonstrating its unique skill - floating on the water.

From time to time, fish jump out of the water, perhaps practicing their ancestral martial arts - fish leaping over the dragon gate.

Xu Huizhen watched with great interest, and at the same time thought of the delicious old duck soup, pickled fish, etc. She couldn't help but sip her saliva, as it would be ugly if her saliva flowed out.

She said to herself, "If we can catch a wild duck, we can have an extra dish for dinner."

Jianmei: "Forget it. Wild ducks can fly and swim, and are harder to catch than pheasants. Even if you shoot them with a bow and arrow, they will fall into the water. Don't dream. But you may find wild duck eggs in the bushes near the reservoir."

"Really? Let's look for it."

"Cousin, don't hold your hopes too high. I don't know how many people have turned over those bushes."

"How do you know if you don't try?" Xu Huizhen, who is more than 70 years old in her two lives, still has a childlike heart. She is eager to go find wild duck eggs. Humph, if I can't catch you, I will raid your house and kill all your children.

The two men used the shovels they used to dig wild vegetables to move the reeds, and their eyes scanned the surroundings like searchlights.

Ideals are full, but reality is very skinny. After searching for a long time, there was no result. Xu Hui was very discouraged and hit the dead vines beside her with a shovel. Suddenly, a "cuckoo" sound came from the bushes in front of her, and then a pheasant flew out of the bushes in panic, but was stopped by a dead branch and fell down again. It might have been frightened by the sound of Xu Hui hitting the dead vines.

Xu Huizhen was quick-witted and the shovel in her hand flew out with a whoosh. It just hit the pheasant's wings. The pheasant struggled and tried to get up. How could Xu Huizhen give it this chance? She quickly stepped forward and held the pheasant down. There was a cut on her hand from the branch, but she didn't feel any pain at all.

"Jianmei, come quickly. I caught a pheasant."

"Really, cousin, your hands must be the hands that bring fortune. I, a native mountain man, can't compare to you." As he said that, he ran over, took the pheasant, looked at it left and right, and loved it very much.

Xu Huizhen thought to herself, "This hand of mine must have been blessed. It's very accurate. It can hit whatever I point at. It was the same thing when I caught the human trafficker last time."

She reached out and saw that she was injured. She had even bled because of the pheasant, but luckily the wound was not serious. She quickly took out a Band-Aid from her pocket, or actually from the space, and wrapped the wound.

The pheasant was not dead yet, so Jianmei tied it up and threw it into the backpack. She said, "It's a hen. It might have laid eggs here and you scared it. Check if there are any eggs nearby."

Jianmei said as she went into the bushes to look for pheasant eggs.

Xu Huizhen found a long branch, took out a piece of steamed bun skin from the space, inserted it into the top of the branch, and then stretched it into the deep water. She wanted to try if a fish came up to eat the steamed bun, could she use her mind to collect the fish into the space.

The branch moved slowly in the water, and as expected, when the branch touched the fish, she moved her mind and the fish entered the space. It was just a little time-consuming.

It is said that big fish grow in deep water. She changed to another place with deeper water and continued to collect fish. Jianmei looked up and thought Xu Hui was really playing in the water, so she didn't disturb her.

"Sister, I found six pheasant eggs." Jianmei's shout interrupted Xu Huizhen's action of collecting fish. She turned around and took out three big fish from the space while Jianmei was picking up eggs, a carp weighing more than four catties, a grass carp weighing more than two catties, and a fish weighing about one catty. She placed them in the grass on the shore.

Jianmei held the eggs in her lapel and ran over to show them to Xu Huizhen, with a beautiful smile on her face.

Xu Huizhen teased her: "You look so beautiful when you smile, like a beautiful flower!"

Jianmei felt embarrassed by the compliment and said, "Cousin, you are the prettiest, more beautiful than flowers." The two of them laughed out loud at each other's flattery, and their laughter floated in the valley, startling a flock of birds.

There are many birds and birds here, and there are many kinds of them. At this time, Xu Huizhen remembered Adou's famous saying: "I am so happy here that I don't miss Shu."

Suddenly, Jianmei discovered the fish under Xu Huizhen's feet. She exclaimed, "Sister, where did this fish come from? It's so big."

Xu Huizhen: "Ah? I don't know. I didn't catch it. It jumped up by itself, fell into the grass, and couldn't get back."

Jianmei's eyes widened: "Really? I've heard of people waiting for rabbits, but I've never heard of people waiting for fish."

Xu Hui felt really guilty and could only laugh foolishly.

Jianmei: "Sister, you must be God's daughter. You are so lucky. I come to the mountains so many times a year, but I am never so lucky."

Xu Huizhen: "You also picked up eggs. We are both lucky."

It was getting late, so the two had to start their journey home.

Xu Huizhen looked back at the valley and saw a large open space next to the reservoir. She had an idea in mind: she could build a breeding farm here to raise chickens, ducks and pigs. The manure could be used as farm manure, and the meat and eggs could be sold for money.

The most important thing is that this valley is relatively hidden. As long as the villagers keep their mouths shut, it will not be easy for the people above to find out, so they can do some small tricks.

How could she have any bad intentions? She just wanted her tribesmen to earn some money and improve their living conditions.

You have to know that the current policy is unified purchase and sale, and agricultural and sideline products must be sold to the state's purchasing stations to supply urban residents, and the prices given are not high. She can use the convenience of space to transport them to the capital and sell them at a good price.

Crescent Bay and Yadan Bay at the foot of the mountain are of the same origin. When it rains a lot, the water from Crescent Bay will flow down the canyon between the two mountains to Yadan Bay. The lower reaches of Yadan Bay are connected to a small river that meanders through the south of the village. Xujia Bay can be said to be a good place surrounded by mountains and water.

But in this era, Xujiawan was a poor mountain village, and daughters from other villages were unwilling to marry in. Because the land in the village was small mountainous areas, it was not convenient to irrigate, and they could only rely on the weather for food, and the grain yield was relatively low.

Dinner was naturally braised fish with sauce and pheasant stewed with mushrooms. People living near the mountain store dried mushrooms all year round, and they can just soak them in water when eating, which is very convenient.

Jianmei also made a wild vegetable and egg soup, which was a very rich dish for their family.

Aunt Xu fished out a chicken drumstick and a chicken wing, put them in the bowl, and said, "Jianmu, after you finish your meal, give this chicken drumstick to your brother Jianshe. Don't let anyone else see it."

Xu Huizhen was right. Second Aunt Xu was a person with high emotional intelligence and good at handling things. She knew that she came for Xu Jianshe, so she took good care of her.