Old Man Jiang just wanders around the village like this, and occasionally tells people that he lives on the mountain behind the village. His appearance is irregular. Sometimes he wanders around the village every day for a month, and sometimes he disappears for a month or two.
People believe that he lives in the mountains. He has been here for 5 years, and people still know a little bit about him. They find that this old man Jiang does not lie, and if he doesn't want to talk about things, just make a fool of him. In the past, we didn’t make up nonsense.
In addition, most people in the village thought he was a poor wandering old man. Seeing that the village was relatively wealthy and had a good heart, they stayed here.
In fact, I have to say that this is a reason.
After smoking a cigarette, the sky became a little brighter again. My dad got up, simply tucked his trousers into his socks, and continued walking.
The roads on the mountain are difficult to walk, and there are many places where there are no roads at all. My dad drove slowly all the way, and before he knew it, 3 or 4 hours had passed, and there was not even a shadow of Old Man Jiang.
But fortunately, today is a rare sunny day in winter. Under the warm sunshine, my dad is in a cheerful mood and does not complain too much. He just thinks about finding a clean place, eating dry food, and looking for it again in the afternoon. , and then go back before dinner.
"If you don't find it, keep looking tomorrow. If you look a little longer, you can find it. Maybe you're lucky and you can meet him in the village." After taking a sip of mountain spring water, my dad said to himself, there are not many people in the mountains. Sheng'er, just say something to yourself to relieve your boredom.
The mountain spring water is sweet and refreshing. Taking a big gulp down it really relieves fatigue and thirst. Thinking that this place is good, eating steamed buns with the mountain spring water is also very sweet, so my dad decided to eat dry food here.
But not long after we sat down and the steamed buns were taken out, my dad heard a tuneless folk song, paired with the broken gong voice, which simply affected people's appetite.
But my dad is happy. This tune is so familiar to him. Who else could he be if he wasn’t Old Man Jiang? When he was wandering around the village, he often sang folk songs that were off-key, and the villagers often listened to his broken gong voice.
"Old Man Jiang, Old Man Jiang..." My father shouted at the top of his lungs. After all, the mountains were spreading and the mountain roads were twists and turns. At this time, my father could only hear his voice but not see his person.
After shouting a few times, I heard a strong voice coming from behind the mountain road where my dad was next to: "Hey, who is calling me?"
"Old Man Jiang, this way, this way..." My dad shouted happily, jumping and jumping, as if he was seeing his relatives in the Eighth Route Army.
Following my dad's voice, Old Man Jiang came out of the mountain road behind him soon. God knows where he was wandering in this mountain, and he happened to meet my dad.
He still looked dirty, even with a hint of vulgarity. It is very different from the image and imagination of rural people of a master. In their view, the so-called master must have a good "appearance", such as a fairy spirit, a childlike appearance, etc. No matter how bad it is, he still has a good appearance. It is so mysterious that no strangers can enter it.
However, the above has nothing to do with Old Man Jiang.
But my dad, who was already in a critical condition and sought medical treatment, could not care about this. Even if Widow Zhou told him that a pig is a master, he could still see the appearance of a master at this moment.
"Old Man Jiang..." As soon as my dad saw Old Man Jiang, he immediately ran over and stood in front of Old Man Jiang. He couldn't help but change his voice and shouted: "Master Jiang..."
Old Man Jiang didn't look surprised at all, and didn't ask my dad what was going on. He just enjoyed my dad's respectful attitude. When my dad finished shouting with a smile, he raised one of his hands and said: "Give me the steamed buns. Do you have any pickles?"
As soon as he raised his hand, my dad was shocked, what is this? A piece of 'rope' almost hit him in the face, and when he looked carefully, he saw that Old Man Jiang was holding a bunch of soft green bamboo leaves in his hand.
There are many bamboos in Sichuan, and Bamboo Leaf Green is a common venomous snake, but it is not that common. Its toxicity is not strong, but extremely poisonous. Mountain people have many legends about Bamboo Leaf Green.
This old man Jiang... My father can't say anything unnecessary. He can handle hibernating snakes and specializes in venomous snakes. He is really capable. Considering Old Man Jiang's natural temperament, my father has no doubts at all. This bamboo leaf green is what he uses to eat.
I thought about it, but my dad still respectfully handed the steamed bun over and explained: "I don't want the kimchi to taste bad after a long time, so I didn't pick it up. Master Jiang just eats it."
Old Man Jiang was not polite. He sat down on the ground with a bang, threw the green bamboo leaf in his hand that had probably been shaken to pieces, took the steamed bun and started eating.
My dad wondered why he didn't use his other hand and started with the hand that caught the snake, but he was dumbfounded to find that Old Man Jiang was holding a pheasant in his other hand.
At that time, there were still a lot of pheasants and rabbits in the mountains and forests, and even foxes and monkeys could be seen. But after three years of hunger, many of them disappeared. Old man Jiang was still able to get pheasants. He was really capable. .
Thinking of this, my dad looked at Old Man Jiang with a smile. At this time, this man who had no image in front of him and ate steamed buns was simply the incarnation of an immortal.
Old Man Jiang finished one steamed bun, clapped his hands, scratched his beard casually, and drank a lot of mountain spring water. After drinking, he burped, and my dad quickly handed over another steamed bun.
Old Man Jiang was not polite, he grabbed it and ate it. After finally finishing the steamed buns, Old Man Jiang patted his belly, stood up, and said: "It would be nice to have kimchi. This Sichuan kimchi is crispy and sour." , and it’s a little spicy, so delicious.”
"Then you go to my house to eat. You can eat as many bags as you want!" My dad was really worried and didn't know what to say. Old Man Jiang mentioned kimchi and said quickly. At this moment, he wanted to trick Old Man Jiang into getting him to my house.
"Kimchi? You asked me for help, and you just sent me with kimchi? Are you thinking too well?" Old Man Jiang looked disdainful, casually grabbed the green bamboo leaves on the ground, and stuffed them into my dad's hands along with the pheasant in his hand.
After hearing what Old Man Jiang said, my dad felt as if he had met a god. He couldn't react for a while, so he had to stupidly and subconsciously accept what Old Man Jiang handed over.
"The taste of venomous snakes is the most delicious. It is best to stew it with this pheasant. Remember to simmer on low heat until it is full. In addition, if you have anything delicious at home, bring out all your specialties to entertain me. Wine I also want to drink, not bottled wine sold outside, but good home-made wine. I will come to your house to eat at noon tomorrow, let’s go!” After saying that, Old Man Jiang turned around and left.
My dad was left stunned, still in a daze.
My dad came home in the afternoon.
As soon as my mother opened the door, my father rushed into the house. Regardless of my mother's surprised gaze, he threw the pheasant and bamboo leaves on the ground, grabbed my mother's arm and rushed into the house.
"I said, Lao Chen, what are you doing? Going hunting in the mountains? Why don't you do your business?" My mother was so angry when she saw the things my father threw in the yard. I immediately cursed.
My dad was anxious and couldn't explain it, so he simply pulled my mom closer to the house. After closing the door, my dad said: "What am I hunting for? Do you think I have what it takes? Do you think I will let us go?" My son doesn’t care about anything, and then he has the time to go hunting?”
My dad's endless questions confused my mom. Yes, my dad is not such an unreliable person.
"Pour me a glass of water first, and I'll tell you slowly, this time I really met an expert!"
one hour later.
First, my dad went out carrying the food.
Then my mother went to the yard and quickly handled the chickens and snakes.
At that time, it was not unusual for rural people to eat snakes, so my mother was very good at handling venomous snakes.
Two hours later, a bamboo leaf and a pheasant were cleaned by my mother. The snow-white snake meat and fresh chicken were put in two pots by my mother, covered with plastic bags, and then tied.
Then, my mother put two pots in a wooden basin, went to the well in the backyard, tied the pots to the well rope, then hung the pot of meat down, and stopped it about 10 centimeters from the water. Got off.
Finally, my mother worked hard to move a big stone and cover it on the well. It fit tightly without leaving any gaps.
The well is my family's natural refrigerator. My parents have always believed that the food kept in the well is the freshest. Tomorrow, when the master comes to have dinner, my mother will not neglect it at all.
After finishing all this work, my mother packed the basket and went to the bamboo forest on the back slope. The winter bamboo shoots now are very good, and my mother is going to get some.
My mother had just finished picking winter bamboo shoots when she saw my father coming back. My mother asked anxiously: "Have you got the meat back?"
Rural people don’t have meat stamps, so whatever they can’t eat after killing the pigs is made into bacon. To eat fresh meat, they have to use grain in exchange. It’s unjustifiable to entertain guests without meat.
But even so, meat is not easy to get.
My dad hurriedly ran back and forth to the town. It was difficult for him to sweat all over from running in the winter. He said happily: "I got it. It's a pound of meat. It went well."
"Oh, once the food is exchanged for this little meat..." My mother felt really distressed.
"Okay, for the sake of my son, this little food is nothing. As long as people come to our house to have a good meal, it's fun enough." My dad was very happy. Old Man Jiang's words of asking for help made my dad think that he had met a real master. .
Not counting all this, my dad then ran to the river again. In short, he was going to do his best for tomorrow.
In the evening, my dad got back two fresh river fish and then went out again.
"Old Chen, you haven't eaten yet, where are you going?" My mother took the river fish and threw it directly into the water tank. Seeing that my father was about to go out again, she couldn't help but asked in confusion.
"Go get some eel. You know my skill in stir-frying eel is excellent. I must make Mr. Jiang... Master Jiang satisfied with the meal." My dad seemed to be in an extremely excited state.
"It's winter, not summer, where are you going to get eels?" My mother couldn't even laugh or cry.
"Who said you can't get it in winter? In winter, it hides and sleeps under the mud. It's just hidden deep. Don't worry, I can get it." My dad was full of confidence.