Zhenzhen once again experienced that mysterious feeling. She seemed to have merged with the earth. She could not only see the roots of various plants in the soil, but also feel each plant on the ground.
She passed through the land, and the sweet potatoes and potatoes buried in the ground immediately turned from one to two, and then from two to a pile; the corn on the corn stalks grew two ears of corn inadvertently...
Zhenzhen fell into a deep sleep lying on the kang, but her consciousness was still wandering on the ground. She came to the river and saw the fish swimming in the water, and also saw Mingnan and Mingbei fishing with fishing rods on the shore. Zhenzhen thought that she had not eaten fish since she had teeth, and her mouth was watering immediately. She quickly drove away two ten-pound bighead carps to bite the hook.
On the shore, the fishing rods in Mingnan and Mingbei's hands fell down hard. The two screamed and hurriedly dragged the fishing rods up. Zhenzhen couldn't help but laugh, and continued to control her consciousness and came to the familiar Red Pine Mountain. At this time, the three women who were picking wild vegetables and mushrooms sat on the rocks and took out the wild vegetable dumplings they brought, and picked a few half-ripe wild fruits from the trees, eating dumplings and wild fruits to satisfy their hunger.
"We pick mushrooms every day. It hasn't rained much this year, so there are fewer and fewer mushrooms." said a woman who ate wild fruits to quench her thirst.
"Not so good." Another complained, "But we have to try our luck. If we pick them and dry them, at least we will have something to eat in the winter."
"How can mushrooms help you stay hungry? I think we have to go hunting. I saw Li Muwu from Old Li's family went up the mountain again today with a hunting rifle. I wonder if he can catch anything?"
Zhenzhen looked at the mushrooms and wild vegetables near the foot of the mountain, which had basically been picked up, and couldn't help but sigh. She gently pointed her little hand downwards, and a flash of green light drilled into the soil, and fresh wild vegetables and plump mushrooms grew out.
The further into the mountains we went, the fewer people there were. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Zhenzhen hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound and saw Li Muwu holding a /□□ pointing at a wild boar with fangs opposite. The injured wild boar stared at Li Muwu fiercely, looking ferocious. Mingxi was holding a hunting knife in the back, looking at the long fangs of the wild boar, and swallowed nervously.
When Li Muwu has free time, he usually goes into the mountains to hunt. He can usually find pheasants and rabbits without having to go too far, but if he wants to eat more meat, he has to go deep into the mountains and forests.
Mingdong will take the train to Bingcheng to attend university tomorrow, and Li Muwu is thinking about hunting a roe deer in the mountains and stewing some meat so that Mingdong can have a good meal before leaving home. But there was no sign of a roe deer along the way, and Li Muwu and Mingxi walked further and further away, and they ran into this wild boar head-on.
In the past, there were usually seven or eight people hunting wild boars, and at least three hunting rifles. Although Li Muwu held the gun and tried to block Mingxi, he was somewhat unsure.
The pain on its body angered the wild boar. It shook its head, let out an angry roar, and pounced towards Li Muwu. Li Muwu took a step back and shot the wild boar again.
It was a pity that the wild boar was too big. Although Li Muwu’s gun hit its head, it shook twice and still did not fall down.
There was another roar. The wild boar seemed to realize that what Li Muwu was holding was too dangerous. It moved a little to the left, and when Li Muwu moved the gun over, it suddenly pounced to the right.
Li Muwu watched the wild boar pounce from his side to his back, and his heart suddenly sank. He quickly turned around and saw Li Mingxi holding a hunting knife in both hands and chopping down the wild boar's head. Zhenzhen was watching from the side and was terrified. She was afraid that the wild boar would bite Li Mingxi, so she subconsciously stretched out her little hand and slapped it on the head. Immediately, the wild boar's head tilted and it fell to the ground and died.
Mingxi let go of the knife and took two steps back, his legs weakened with fear. He pointed at the bloody wild boar's head and asked in disbelief, "Did I hack it to death?"
"That should be it." Li Muwu looked at the large piece of the wild boar's head that had collapsed and was not sure: "Why did you break the wild boar's skull with one knife?"
"I don't know either." Mingxi almost cried: "Isn't this the first time I follow you to hunt wild boars? I guess I was scared and used too much strength just now."
After resting for a while, the father and son hung up the wild boar to bleed it. It was too big for two people to carry down the mountain. According to the previous hunting practice, they usually cut open the wild boar's belly after bleeding it, divide the meat and take it down, and leave the meat on the mountain for whoever finds it.
After bleeding, Li Muwu cut off all four pig legs with a hunting knife, tied two legs in front and two in back with hemp rope, and asked Mingxi to carry it. He also chopped off more than half of the wild boar, and Li Muwu didn't mind the fishy smell, so he carried the wild boar on his shoulders.
Li Muwu usually carried sacks at the grain store. He could carry one sack of 200 jin at a time and walked very fast. The wild boar weighed more than 300 jin. He had a little difficulty carrying the pork on his shoulders, but he still urged Li Mingxi from time to time: "Hurry up, this wild boar is not easy to cook. It needs to be stewed for a while. If it's too late, who knows when we can eat it in the evening."
The father and son walked for half an hour before they heard faint voices. Li Muwu thought the voices sounded familiar, so he walked over and saw three women digging wild vegetables. They were frightened when they saw a bloody man emerging from behind a tree.
"Oh, Li Muwu, you're so scary." A woman stood up and just as she complained, she saw the wild boar on Li Muwu's back and immediately became envious: "You've caught a wild boar, how come you're so lucky."
"Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Li, and Gangzi's wife are picking vegetables." Li Muwu greeted them one by one in a simple and honest manner, and pointed to the mountain: "There is still a small half fan left. Go home and ask your husbands to carry it back quickly. If it's too late, it might be taken away by some wild beast."
"Why bother with a man? We'll do it for you." Mrs. Zhao rolled up her sleeves and touched the axe on her waist: "Hurry up, why bother digging wild vegetables when we have wild boar meat?"
"It's half a wild boar, weighing over a hundred pounds. How are we going to carry it?" Gangzi's wife, who had just gotten married, was a little timid.
Sister Li rolled her eyes at her and couldn't help tapping her forehead: "You're not starving yet. You're worried that you can't carry the food back if you have it. You have to drag it back at all costs."
Seeing Gangzi's wife's pale face, Sister Zhao couldn't help laughing. She put the wild vegetable basket aside, pulled her up and said, "Don't listen to your Aunt Li's threats. I have an axe and we can carry it down. But let's make a deal. If you can't carry it, I will split it with your Aunt Li."
After taking a look at the fat and strong wild boar meat on Li Muwu's back, Gangzi's wife gritted her teeth and said, "It's nothing that can't be carried. Let's go, Auntie."
Mrs. Zhao responded, then turned around and said to Li Muwu, "Thank you, Brother Muwu! I'll make you a pot of meatballs tomorrow."
"That's great. The meatballs cooked by my sister-in-law are delicious." Li Muwu smiled naively.
Sister Li immediately said, "You didn't take the pig's head off? I'll take it home and boil it for you later and ask your brother Li to send it to you."
"Okay, my sister-in-law's stewed pig head is more flavorful than Dongzi's mother's. I still have some sorghum wine at home. Ask Brother Li to come to my house for a drink."
Seeing that both aunts had things to send, Gangzi's wife suddenly became anxious. She rubbed the corners of her clothes and said, "Why don't I make pork dumplings and send them to Uncle Li."
Li Muwu immediately laughed: "Every family is short of food, so don't waste that noodles. It's not easy for you two to live alone right after your marriage, so keep it for yourself." After saying that, he took his son down the mountain without looking back.
Zhenzhen didn't stop after she killed the wild boar. She continued to drift deeper into the mountains. Suddenly, she saw a pile of yellow things three or four meters below the ground. She was curious and was about to dive in to see what was going on when she heard Wang Sufen's voice: "Zhenzhen, get up. How come you can sleep so well?"
Zhenzhen regained consciousness instantly, opened her eyes, looked around the room sleepily, and seemed to have not yet come to her senses. Wang Sufen looked at her lying on the kang in a daze, and couldn't help but pat her little butt with a smile: "This guy has slept for five or six hours. How can he sleep at night if he doesn't get up?"
Old Mrs. Li poked her head in from outside and said, "She may have dozed off in her sleep, but it's okay. Children her age grow taller when they sleep. Our Zhenzhen has been a worry-free girl since she was little."
Wang Sufen washed a towel and wiped Zhenzhen's face. Zhenzhen came back to her senses. She sat up and climbed to the window sill to look out. She couldn't help but recall the feeling in her dream. Zhenzhen didn't know whether it was her soul or her mind that was out of her body, but this feeling didn't make her feel tired. Instead, she felt like she was soaking in warm water in the cold winter. She felt warm and comfortable, as if she was being fed and nourished by the earth.
When Wang Sufen saw Zhenzhen sitting on the windowsill and unable to get up, she clapped her hands and waved to her: "Come here quickly, Mom will carry you to eat egg cake." Zhenzhen touched her stomach and realized that she had missed lunch, so she quickly crawled towards Wang Sufen.
Holding Zhenzhen in her arms, Wang Sufen carried her to the west room. When Guihua saw Zhenzhen coming out, she quickly took out a bowl of stewed tender egg cake from the big pot, opened the cupboard, scooped a spoonful of crushed pine nuts and put them on the egg cake.
Wang Sufen sat under the stove holding Zhenzhen and fed her mouthful by mouthful. Guihua opened the lid of another pot, picked out the pastries one by one and put them aside to cool.
Wang Sufen took a look and said, "We'll be on the train for several days. Tomorrow morning, fry some egg sauce and put it in a can. Give it to Mingdong to eat on the train."
Guihua's face lightened and she quickly responded. At this time, Mingnan and Mingbei pushed open the door and shouted in the yard: "Grandma! Mom! Look what we caught!"
Old Mrs. Li walked out leisurely, holding her pipe in her hand. She saw at a glance that Mingbei was holding a bighead carp weighing about ten pounds, and Mingnan was holding a wooden barrel with water splashing out from time to time. It was unknown what kind of living thing was in it.
"Such a big fish? You two boys are really good at it!" Old Mrs. Li smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed into slits. She took two steps forward and looked into the bucket. Wow, there was still a living fish.
"Hurry up and put this live fish in the big basin at home and put it up high. Don't let the mice take it away at night." Old Mrs. Li gave instructions in a panic, and she didn't forget to shout at the top of her voice: "Guihua, quickly take the fish in and cook it in two meals." She also instructed Mingbei: "Go to your third uncle's house and ask them to come over for dinner in the evening."
Mingbei sat on the small wooden stool at the door, rubbing his arms and shouting, "Oh my dear grandma, can you at least let your grandson rest for a while? It took me and my brother almost an hour to catch these two fish before we could walk back home."
In the past, Mrs. Li would have definitely called him a waste and hit him with her pipe, but today, for the sake of the fish, Mrs. Li was generous and didn't bother with him. Instead, she took a handful of roasted pine nuts for them to satisfy their cravings.
The courtyard was bustling with activity when a voice as loud as a gong shook the earth and shouted outside the door: "Oh my God!"
Old Mrs. Li trembled with fear, turned around and said, "Why are you shouting? I'm not dead yet!"