Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 375 Chapter 374 Little Squirrel

There are many dead branches and broken trees in the forest. Some are eaten by insects, some are broken by the wind, some are broken by lightning, and some are washed down by flash floods when it rains.

With the space in hand, Tang Zhitong didn't think about looking for dead branches and broken trees calmly. When he encountered scattered and dry trees, he took them into the space. He also didn't put away the dead trees whose roots were still buried deep in the soil. Pass.

Because this place is relatively remote, there are few people coming here to pick pine cones. There are still pine cones hanging on many trees. The height of the trees of 30 to 40 meters is within the scope of the space, so Tang Zhitong started the star-absorbing method.

Tang Zhitong used the space to gather and gather, trying to gather a large pine cone and collect a lot of seeds.

Well, we only collect the big pine cones, and leave the small ones as food for the squirrels. It just so happens that it’s difficult for them to pick up the big ones.

Tang Zhitong is like a little girl picking mushrooms, filling her space with various supplies that she thinks have practical value.

Including but not limited to dead trees, broken branches, pine cones, and even some hazel mushrooms, fungus, etc., Tang Zhitong picked them up into the car. How to deal with them will be discussed later.

Dashan was very generous, and what Tang Zhitong picked was just a drop in the ocean, but he was not greedy for more.

Tang Zhitong is very open-minded. He cannot take advantage of all the good things in the world, and besides, all the prostitution is for free.

Tang Zhitong was responsible for lighting the fire. The dry pine branches were rich in grease. He struck a match and it ignited without much effort. Then he stuffed some small branches into the stove and the fire started and became more and more prosperous.

When they were approaching the opposite ovary, Tang Zhitong pulled out two relatively large dead branches from the space, stuck the ax in his waist, and then dragged them towards the opposite ovary one by one.

Tang Gang directly threw the pine cone into the stove, and while he was busy in his hands, he taught the curious babies from Sijiu City how to eat pine cone: "There are generally two ways to eat pine cone in this season. The first one is to cook it directly. When the surface of the pine cone is burnt, you can take it out and let it cool and grill the pine nuts. The second one is even less skillful. Boil it in a pot with water, cook it for a while, take it out and pick out the pine nuts. eat."

"Good guy, you brought enough to survive." Tang Gang went out, squatted down, put his hands on the soil and rubbed it back and forth, and then rubbed his hands together, using this native method to deal with the pine oil on his hands.

"It's not difficult. How are the open pine nuts sold on the market made?" Tang Zhitong nodded and remembered it, planning to compare the taste later.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong ducked to the side, leaving room for Tang Gang.

Tang Gang entered the room and put down his tools, then turned around and went out, muttering: "It's a pity, there is no kerosene lamp here, so we two brothers will have to go out in the dark tonight."

"Don't hand it back. There is pine oil on this thing and it's very sticky." Tang Gang didn't hand it to Tang Zhitong. He took two quick steps and threw the pine cone on the ground. He said, "Throw it away first. Let's make a fire and roast it later."

At first glance, Tang Gang was leading a dog out again. In view of Tang Gang's understanding of the deep mountains and old forests, Tang Zhitong did not worry about his safety. He took out his ax and used a set of random convulsions on two dead branches. Ax method.

"Hey, it's my first time to go into the mountains, so I've prepared a lot of small things." Since Tang Zhitong had carried his own baggage when he set out this morning, he covered himself up.

Starting next year, power outages will become more frequent in Sijiu City, and the purchase of candles and kerosene will be restricted. It will be really dark then, but many people don't need it. Going to bed early can save some energy...

"Coming!" After a while, Tang Gang's voice came.

"What are you doing? You were just fooling around." After waiting for a while, Tang Gang walked over from the old forest, carrying something in his hand, with the hunting dog leading the way.

It’s good to leave some pine cones on the trees, whether they are left for squirrels to spend the winter or for the mountain people who go up the mountain to pick them, it will not be wasted.

"It's not dark, I brought a candle." Tang Zhitong immediately pulled out a candle from the space, which he intercepted when he was helping the supply and marketing cooperative purchase supplies at the construction site.

"Okay, then I'll make a fire." Tang Zhitong immediately gathered the chopped branches, carried them into the opposite room, and prepared to light a fire.

Arriving at the opposite room, Tang Zhitong saw the bucket, but no one from Tangshan Iron and Steel. There was only a hunting dog lying obediently at the door of the opposite room.

"Thank you, brother, I'll take it." Tang Zhitong was very moved and reached out to take it, because Tang Gang was holding the pine cone in one hand, and the other hand was holding the tree climbing tools and the wooden stick for climbing into the mountain. The top of the wooden stick was tied Holding a sickle.

Tang Gang clapped his hands, took the iron pot from the house and went out, briefly brushed the rust, poured half of the pot of water, brought it in and squatted on the stove, then went out again, chopped down the pine cone with an ax, carried it back and said to Tang Zhitong : "Move over and I'll roast pine nuts for you."

"Didn't you ask how to eat it on the way? I just picked a few pine cones." When they got closer, Tang Gang held the thing in his hand and shook it in front of Tang Zhitong. It was a pine cone, with multiple fruits on one cone, two in total.

After cutting the branches, it was getting dark. Tang Gang hadn't come back yet. Tang Zhitong became a little anxious. Unable to hold back, he put his hands together to his mouth like a trumpet and shouted: "Brother!"

"It's stir-fried with sand and soil. It's quite tiring. You have to stir fry constantly. When you hear the crackling sound, it means the pine nuts have opened their mouths. When they stop popping, take them out of the pan and sift out the sand and soil. You can eat them. Although it's a bit tiring, it's dry-fried. It doesn't make your hands dirty when you eat it." Tang Gang cleaned the pine cone in his hand three times and showed it to Tang Zhitong.

"Don't tell me, it's quite pretty." Tang Zhitong looked at the pine cone with its coat removed by the light of the stove. It looked a bit like a pineapple with a long horse face.

"Try it, it's delicious raw." Tang Gang dug out a few pine nuts and handed them to Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong took it and put it in his mouth. He bit it for a while but didn't move. Then he bit it open again with force. Then he took out the pine nuts and tasted them: "It's delicious, a bit like peanuts, but it's a bit hard on the teeth."

"Haha, raw pine nuts are not very oily, but some people really think they are delicious. When the pine nuts are cracked out in winter, they will eat them like this." Tang Gang kept working, planning to dig out all the pine nuts.

"The teeth must be very good. I can't enjoy this blessing. How many pine nuts can be produced from such a pine cone?" Tang Zhitong tasted one and stopped eating. He watched Tang Gang dig out the pine nuts.

"Three pounds of dry pine cone produces one pound of pine nuts. This pine cone is small, only two taels of pine nuts." Tang Gang answered to Tang Zhitong while he was busy.

"That one tree can't produce many pine nuts. I just observed that there are only about eighty pine cones in one tree." Tang Zhitong counted carefully when he was using his space to dig down.

"Well, ten pounds will show up." Tang Gang confirmed.

"That's really not easy." The purchase price of ten kilograms is only three yuan, but it takes half a day to climb a mountain, then climb up to a pine tree twenty to thirty meters high to knock it down, and then carry a hundred ten kilograms sack. It takes a long time to dry, and then it is left in the sun for dozens of days, and then it can be obtained after beating and screening.

"It's not easy, but you can make more money, which is much better than farming. Before it was merged into a commune last year, many villagers would drag their families up the mountain to dig pine cones during this season. They could pick ten trees a day and wait for them to be dried. If you sell it, it’s more than a month’s salary for a forestry worker.” After digging out all the pine nuts, Tang Gang threw the long-faced pineapple into the stove to use as firewood.

"Risk is directly proportional to return. Although you make more money, the risk is also high." Tang Zhitong thought about the pine trees that started 20 to 30 meters away. If his hands slipped... he didn't dare to think about the consequences.

"That's right." Tang Gang picked out the burned pine cone with a branch and said, "There is a saying here, money is on the tree, and there is a grave under the tree. If you don't pay attention, it will be a grave. "

"Brother, since you also know the danger, we won't pick pine cones." Tang Zhitong took the opportunity to persuade again.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with climbing a tree. I'm just afraid of bumping into a honeycomb. I'm more concerned about safety than you are, so I brought a safety rope." Tang Gang pointed to Tang Zhitong's pile of tools on the kang, and did not give up the idea of ​​building a pine cone. . "Are there still honeycombs on the pine trees?" Tang Zhitong saw that he could not be persuaded, so he stopped trying. He couldn't do anything else, but he could still do it by collecting honeycombs.

"Yes, there are quite a few. Some talented people are so bold that they can make a lot of money by digging out honeycombs every year, but now they have to do it secretly." Tang Gang confirmed.

"Oh, it's all for stuttering." Tang Zhitong doesn't comment well on this kind of behavior seeking death. There is an essential difference between mountain people digging out honey and capitalists taking risks.

"The water is boiling. Let's eat first. After the meal, the cooked pine cone has cooled down, so it's time to try it." Tang Gang pulled the firewood out of the stove and said.

"Okay, I'll pour some water and help you wash your hands." Tang Zhitong saw that Tang Gang's hands were dirty, so he stood up and took a scoop of water.

"Let's go outside." Tang Gang had this intention, got up and went outside the couple's room.

The two brothers washed each other's hands upside down, then took out the steamed buns and pickles from the bag and had dinner.

The conditions for dinner were slightly better than lunch, with more hot water.

Tang Zhitong didn't like drinking too hot, so he mixed boiled water with spring water, and drank water while eating steamed buns.

Tang Gang is in the same situation, but he uses a kettle.

After eating, Tang Gang took two more steamed buns and went outside to feed the dogs.

Tang Zhitong felt a little stuffy inside the house, so he also followed him outside.

"The conditions are limited. Let's see if we can get some meat for you tomorrow." Tang Gang saw Tang Zhitong coming out, so he didn't go back to the house immediately and stood outside chatting with his brother.

"Then we two brothers will have to compete with each other in marksmanship tomorrow." Tang Zhitong chuckled and spread a cigarette to Tang Gang, but he decided to gather a rabbit to beat Tang Gang's teeth tomorrow.

"Okay." Tang Gang happily agreed, just to play with his younger brother, not because he was competitive.

The two brothers chatted for a few more words, finished smoking a cigarette, and went back to the house to taste the burned pine nuts. They were very fresh, but Tang Zhitong felt that they were more delicious after being dry-fried.

Although Tang Zhitong didn't eat much, his hands were inevitably stained with dust. After Tang Gang finished eating, the two of them helped each other wash their hands and fed the hunting dog some water with a bucket as a container.

After a day of driving on the mountain road, the two brothers were very tired, so they put the hunting dog into the couple's room, closed the door and locked it from the inside, lay down directly on the bed, covered it with straw and clothes and fell asleep.

You read that right, it’s straw.

According to Tanggang, last year, some rotten leather was still used here, but after this year's difficulties, apart from the most basic living utensils, there is nothing else that can be sold for money.

Although the conditions are difficult, they are still one level better than the big car shops.

At the beginning of the construction of the house, the issue of heating and keeping warm in winter was taken into consideration. Not only was the fire kang installed, the exterior walls made of solid wood were also very thick, and the surrounding walls and roof were filled with moss to prevent cold wind from entering.

All in all, Tang Zhitong slept very well that night. Without it, he would be tired.

Early the next morning, the two brothers had a simple breakfast, packed their bags, and continued moving forward with the guy on their shoulders.

This time, the pace slowed down.

"As we walk further in, there will be living things. Let's walk slowly and pay attention. We are not afraid of the small ones, but we are afraid of the big ones." Since there were only two brothers out this time, they couldn't hold the big ones. Dog, after going out, Tang Gang untied the rope from the hunting dog.

"Okay, brother, don't worry." Tang Zhitong held the five-sixth half in front of him, with the muzzle downwards.

"Last time I discovered that you are used to pointing your gun downward, which is not good. You won't be able to react when you encounter a big guy." Tang Gang glanced at Tang Zhitong's posture and reminded.

"Shouldn't it be downward? To prevent accidental injuries from accidental fire." Since he had no formal marching training, Tang Zhitong learned this aspect from the novels and film and television materials he had seen in his previous life.

"What you said makes sense, but we all rush forward or upward. This is what the militia teaches during training." Tang Gang emphasized.

"I'll leave it like this for now. I'll get used to it. I'll get familiar with it gradually when I go back." Tang Zhitong was worried that his reaction would be slower if he changed it rashly, so he reserved his own opinion.

"Okay, follow me." Tang Gang nodded and let the hunting dog lead the way, with himself in the middle and Tang Zhitong behind.

Since Tang Gang's speed was not very fast, Tang Zhitong followed behind him, squeezing, squeezing, and squeezing.

There is actually a honeycomb in this area, and you can also sneak it into the space with your hands, which is an unexpected bonus.

Just walking and gathering like this, more than two hours later, there was movement in the tree above the two of them.

The little squirrel squeaked: Family, who knows? The pine cone that had just been chewed was not warm yet, and it disappeared in a swish! It’s gone! Too humble!

"Hey, there's a squirrel." When Tang Gang heard the noise, he immediately stopped, raised his gun, and looked for the target.

The little squirrel was not aware of the danger at all, and kept cursing while standing on the treetop.

"Can you see it?" Tang Zhitong did not raise his gun to aim, but continued to look at other pine cones without any awareness of the initiator.

"You can see it, but it's blocked, forget it. If you fire the gun, other prey will be frightened. Let's keep moving forward." Tang Gang weighed it and gave up on the scolding little squirrel.

The little squirrel stood on the branch and continued to chirp, unaware that it had taken a free tour at the gate of hell.

Tang Zhitong used space to sense the squirrel. It was not big and couldn't eat much meat, so he ignored it and stayed in the deep mountains and forests to feed other animals.

(End of this chapter)