My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 211 Pigeon Soup

Chen Ling said he wouldn't eat wild boar meat, and that's true, but he still ate the wild boar stomach.

When I got back, I washed it several times with alternating amounts of wood ash and flour, and then soaked it in seasoned water overnight. There was no longer any fishy or foul smell. The next day at noon, I stewed a big pot of pork tripe soup.

After the stew was cooked, Chen Ling filled a bowl to the brim, stuck two steamed buns into his chopsticks, and went to the restaurant in front of Cui the Cripple's door.

Despite the cold winter months, people still come out to eat.

There are still plenty of people.

Chen Ling didn't join the crowd. Instead, he found a stone roller on the side, squatted down, and slurped down the fragrant meat soup. He ate the chewy pork belly with steamed buns, listening to the villagers chatting and bragging. It was a real treat.

However, halfway through the meal, no one around him spoke, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

They stared at each other for a while.

"What's wrong? Keep talking."

Chen Ling was still a little confused when he saw this.

"Damn it, this kid..."

Many people, smelling the delicious aroma wafting from Chen Ling's bowl, felt their own food suddenly tasted bland. Seeing his bewildered and innocent expression, they couldn't help but curse and lost all interest in going to the dinner party, picking up their bowls and heading home.

As he left, he kept saying that he needed to hurry up and slaughter the pig for the New Year, otherwise there would be a naughty boy who would just be drooling over them all day long.

These words made Chen Ling feel a little embarrassed.

He forgot that these days, who doesn't eat meat secretly at home? Who brings it out to eat? Isn't that just deliberately making people drool?

I'll be more careful next time.

……

In the following days, no one knows what the restless men in the village said to Wang Laishun, but Wang Laishun actually agreed to give them guns.

After getting the guns, these people approached Chen Ling in twos and threes, asking him to patrol the mountains together, planning to take advantage of the heavy snow blocking the mountains to carry out a big operation.

These people were actually people who had helped when their families were building their houses, such as the brothers Wang Lihui and Wang Lishan, and Er Maolu's son, among others.

The relationships weren't bad.

However, Chen Ling got lazy again and didn't go even after being called two or three times.

The weather has gotten colder after the snowfall, and the wind has been quite strong on the mountain these past few days.

Why go up the mountain and suffer like that?

There's nowhere as comfortable as staying home.

When you have nothing to do, go outside the village to set some traps and catch a couple of fish. You're not going to catch nothing at all.

Putting everything else aside, at least there are wild rabbits and pheasants every day.

After a heavy snowfall, these two wild creatures often can't withstand the hunger and will come out of their burrows to look for food.

All a person needs to do is scatter some grain next to the trap, and they'll catch one after another.

After bringing the rabbit home, Chen Ling didn't keep any of them. He gave two to his dogs and took the rest to Wang Lixian to exchange for a few pigeons.

These pigeons were caught by Liu Ni'er and her group of children on the snow outside the mushroom shed these past two days. Before they could even eat them, Chen Ling, who had heard about it, came and took them away.

Now, including the pigeons in Chen Ling's net, there are eleven or twelve of them.

Pigeons, whether stewed, roasted, or fried, always taste delicious.

It's so cold in the middle of winter, stewing is more suitable than roasting or frying, so Chen Ling decided to pluck the feathers from these pigeons, stew them into a big pot of soup, and have a comfortable meal.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, there's not much to do but prepare various kinds of food.

After returning home, Wang Susu felt that there were too many pigeons, and that they would not be able to finish them if they were stewed in one pot.

Is it a lot? Actually, not much.

Her worries were not a problem at all.

These flying creatures are all lean meat. After plucking their feathers and draining their blood, there's hardly any meat left. One or two of them are hardly enough to eat.

A dozen or so pigeons may sound like a lot, but once cooked, they only need a little wine, and two men can devour the whole thing, soup and all.

These days, people don't have much oil in their bellies, so a dozen or so pigeons are nothing, not a big deal at all.

When he was a child, he even saw someone eat over a hundred sparrows at once.

……

"Ah Ling, Ah Ling, come quick! It seems we're missing two old hens."

Today is the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month. Just as Chen Ling put the pigeons he had acquired into the cage in the storeroom, Wang Susu called out from the courtyard.

"No way, count again, maybe it's hiding in its den." Chen Ling lifted the curtain and walked into the yard, saying.

It's been windy these past few days, so the chickens and ducks haven't been leaving their coops much.

"No, I've checked. They're not in the nest. There are just two missing."

Wang Susu frowned. She had just come over to collect the eggs when she noticed that the number of chickens in the coop was incorrect. After counting them carefully, she found that there were indeed fewer chickens.

She knew exactly how much of her belongings there was and where they were located, and she even knew the sex of the chickens and ducks.

After counting twice more, they realized that two hens were missing.

The good mood I was in this morning because of the sunshine vanished instantly.

"Don't worry, I'll go look for them. It's so cold, they can't have gone very far."

Chen Ling went out to look for it, but found nothing, so he pulled Heiwa out of the doghouse and let it look for him.

This is a small matter; Xiao Jin doesn't even need to get involved. Heiwa can handle it easily.

Sure enough, after learning what Chen Ling wanted it to find, Heiwa sniffed twice and slowly ran into the kitchen.

Reaching the stove, the dog quickly pulled two ash-covered old hens out of the stove with its two paws.

"So that's where they were hiding."

Wang Susu breathed a sigh of relief; she had thought she had gotten lost.

Chen Ling bent down, grabbed the wings of two old hens, and casually tossed them out of the kitchen. "They really know how to pick a spot. If they crawl into this place again, I'll catch them and stew them."

That's all thanks to the pigeons; otherwise, he really wanted to stew an old hen for a meal.

"Are we going to stew the pigeon today? If so, I'll put the water on to boil, and we'll pluck the feathers later."

Wang Susu stood on tiptoe and brushed the chicken feathers and ash off Chen Ling's shoulders, reminding him.

"Of course we'll stew it. Eating more pigeon meat is good for your health. One pigeon is equivalent to several chickens. It's a good way to nourish you."

Chen Ling smiled.

"Still need more treatments? What have I done to myself?"

Wang Susu glanced down at her chest, then pouted and gave him a reproachful look: "If you keep pampering yourself, you'll turn into a pig."

"Haha, it's alright, pigeon meat won't replenish the baby's granary."

By then they had eaten breakfast, and since there was nothing much to do at home, they boiled water to bleed and pluck the pigeons.

Pigeon meat is naturally of good quality and not too gamey.

Just like stewing pigeon, besides ginger slices, red dates, goji berries, codonopsis, astragalus, and angelica, you can add some mushrooms that suit your taste, preferably dried mushrooms.

After cleaning the pigeons, the two put them into a large pot on the stove, added water and seasonings, brought them to a boil over high heat, and then simmered them over low heat for two hours.

So, just after 11 a.m. today, enticing aromas began to waft from Chen Ling's house again.

The villagers living nearby were used to it.

Today, Chen Ling didn't go out to eat with a bowl in hand. Instead, he scooped out two bowls of pigeon soup with golden oil droplets floating on top, and filled two bowls with tender, stewed pigeon meat. The couple drank the soup and ate the meat at the same time.

“Hiss…”

Chen Ling slurped up two mouthfuls of clear broth. The rich aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of herbs was released in his mouth. Although it was clear broth, the aroma was extremely strong. After it went down his stomach, he felt warm all over, which was more comfortable than drinking a bowl of hot porridge.

"It tastes so good!" he exclaimed.

"It's really delicious, and the meat is so good too. I almost don't want to swallow it."

Wang Susu picked up a piece of meat with the skin on and tasted it. The more she chewed, the more fragrant it became, and she even chewed the bones until they were mushy.

Her appetite has increased dramatically recently.

Knowing that it was the baby growing inside her, she ate as much as she wanted.

After finishing one bowl, go get a second one.

Unexpectedly, just as I was halfway through my second bowl, people came to my house.

It turned out to be Qin Qiumei and Zhong Xiaoyun.

"Wow, why is lunch so early at your house?"

"Did he just wake up?"

The two parked their bicycles in the yard, took off their gloves, rubbed their hands together, and walked over.

"What do you mean 'just woke up'? Who starts stewing meat right after waking up?"

"But you two are really something, did you pray to the rolling pin on the first day of the Lunar New Year? You always manage to arrive just in time for mealtime."

Chen Ling stood up and smiled, "Get them both chairs."

"Hey, what are you saying? We weren't planning on staying for lunch, but since you put it that way, we really won't be leaving this afternoon."

Qin Qiumei rolled her eyes at him and pulled over a stool to sit down.

Zhong Xiaoyun chuckled and said, "Okay, I'm not leaving."

Then the two of them moved closer to Wang Susu, looked at her belly, and whispered among themselves.

However, when he saw Chen Ling going to the stove to serve them meat, he quickly got up and stopped him.

"Stop serving, I'm just kidding. I didn't eat breakfast this morning, and I haven't had much of an appetite lately."

Qin Qiumei interrupted halfway through her sentence, adding, "If you're going to serve, serve Xiaoyun a bowl. I'll just have some hot water later."

"What's wrong? Is your stomach upset?"

Chen Ling noticed her expression was off and asked.

"It's not a stomach issue, and I can't really pinpoint the problem. It just flares up every time the seasons change. No matter spring, summer, autumn, or winter, I feel cold all over, and it gets even worse in winter."

Qin Qiumei shook her head.

Zhong Xiaoyun said, "Amei is doing well this year. In the past, her face would be pale and her lips would be purple at this time. You have to say Susu is amazing. She carried the two packets of herbs given to her in the fall until the twelfth lunar month. Now I can come over with her. In previous years, she couldn't go out at all. She stayed in bed all day and drank ginger and brown sugar water all the time."

"Hmm, Sister Qiumei has a lot of cold energy and doesn't have much fire power."

Wang Susu said softly.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling took out two pairs of bowls and chopsticks: "Since that's the case, I'll go and get you a bowl of pigeon soup. Have a bowl of soup to warm yourselves up first."

When the clear and delicious pigeon soup, along with a piece of pigeon meat, was served, Qin Qiumei took a couple of small sips. She hadn't really had any appetite and was just drinking it like hot water, but unexpectedly, after finishing the soup, she suddenly burped and felt a wave of relief in her stomach, so she drank several large mouthfuls in a row.

After drinking only half a bowl of the steaming pigeon soup, beads of sweat began to stream down Qin Qiumei's fair forehead.

"This feels so good."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and exhaled softly, "What kind of pigeon soup is this? It warms me up a lot after I drank it."

"It's pigeon soup. It helps with digestion and promotes sweating. Drink a couple more bowls today. Don't worry about getting a sore throat..."

Wang Susu smiled and said that pigeons, also known as spotted pigeons, can be used in medicine. They are beneficial for people who are weak and have poor energy, as they have a certain nourishing effect. However, pigeons are considered to be hot in nature, and eating too many can cause mouth ulcers and cause internal heat to travel to the large intestine.

There's a saying that one pigeon is worth nine chickens. While the dove can be considered a type of wild pigeon, its effects aren't quite as exaggerated.

Chen Ling also said, "The pot is hot, and there's plenty of meat and soup. You can help yourselves after you've finished drinking."

……

"Sigh, we came here for medical treatment, how come we're eating here?"

Zhong Xiaoyun sighed and took off her glasses, otherwise the heat would keep fogging up the lenses.

"What's the big deal? Eat what you want. If you're still hungry, I have some wine here. Let's have a few drinks." Chen Ling turned around and carried a wine jar over from beside the stove.

"Haha, you know what, Ah Mei and I used to love drinking, especially the local beer. But after we got married, we haven't drunk it in a long time."

"Susu, do you drink alcohol? Let's have a drink together after you give birth."

“Great! I have wine and kiwi wine at home. Come and have some next fall.”

Wang Susu also laughed.

These two friends, whom she met by chance, became even closer and more natural to her than the two old classmates she had been longing for.

She's been thinking lately that maybe it's because neither of them has any ulterior motives, and neither of them tries to compete with her. They're just simple friends, which makes things much easier and more enjoyable.

Chen Ling had long since realized that these two women were simple-minded and naive.

He was also happy that his wife had two friends she could talk to.

These friends are definitely different from the women in the village; it's a way for her to make up for the distorted friendship she had with her classmates.

"Did you ride your bicycles here? Was the road easy to travel?"

Chen Ling asked.

“It’s not easy to walk. We have to get off and push our bikes for a while after riding for a while. We set off here before eight o’clock in the morning, but we didn’t get to your house until after eleven o’clock.”

As Qin Qiumei spoke, she pointed to the bicycle in the yard: "Look at the mudguards on my bike, they're covered in mud. The snow has started to melt these past few days, and after the sun comes out, some places become very muddy."

"What's wrong? Are you going to the city?"

"Yes, if the mountain road is still passable, we can go to the city to sell our things and buy all the New Year's goods. If it snows heavily again in a couple of days, we won't be able to leave before the New Year."

"That's right, we should buy the New Year's goods as early as possible. We're expecting a baby soon, so let's have a good New Year this year."

They had also heard that Chen Ling hadn't properly celebrated the Lunar New Year for two years because of her father's death.

……

The next day, the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, happened to be market day in the county town.

The mountain road is indeed passable now. Some villagers have been watching it for the past two days, waiting to go to the county town to buy New Year's goods.

So after breakfast, Chen Ling and his wife packed all the wild boar meat into snakeskin bags, along with more than ten rabbits, and then drove their oxcart to the county town to sell them.

There were a lot of people on the road today, all heading to the city for the market.

They were all villagers from Chenwangzhuang. After breakfast, men, women, and children carried bamboo baskets and snakeskin bags, wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, and walked along the mountain road towards the city.

In winter, especially after a snowfall, they mostly walk to the market like this.

Of course, there were also people like Chen Ling who were rushing to catch the train.

There are hardly any cyclists to be seen. The mountain roads are icy and slippery in the morning, making it easy to fall while cycling.

Today, the mountain path is full of people from the same village, so I'm not lonely on the way.

The young couple chatted with acquaintances along the way, slowly making their way to the county town.

By the time the sun peeked out and was already quite high in the sky, around nine or ten o'clock, they finally arrived in the county town.

Then they rushed to the small courtyard in the south of the city, opened the small storefront facing the street, and displayed the wild boar meat.

The small blackboard was also hung up.

The label also reads "Newly arrived wild boar meat, priced at 4.5 yuan per jin" written by Wang Susu.

"Alright, let's start selling!"

Six months later, his little shop reopened.

(End of this chapter)