Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 640: Making vermicelli and pickled cabbage and going into the mountains to avoid the limelight
Xu Ning was not particularly surprised when he heard that Lao Wei was arrested by the forest farm security department.

On the contrary, Xu Ning had already expected that this day would come, so he told Lao Wei to mention him if he met anyone from the forest farm.

Xu Laonian was not angry about this. After all, he and Lao Wei had been friends since childhood and he knew Lao Wei very well. Lao Wei was a kind person, but he was greedy.

What can I say about this kind of person? Maybe it’s human nature…

The next day, Xu Ning drove Yang Jun's car to the street. He had talked to Liu Xuemin on the phone yesterday. The purpose of this trip was to borrow a grain grinder from him and return the mixer used when building the house. However, he left the hand-crank mixer because his family had to build another house next year and build an outdoor kitchen and pavilion on the east side.

When he arrived at the agricultural machinery station in the street, he sat in the office and chatted with Liu Xuemin. Liu Xuemin wanted to invite him to a big restaurant for dinner, but Xu Ning declined on the grounds that he had a lot of work to do at home.

Liu Xuemin did not force him to do anything. After asking someone to lift the crusher into the car, he waved goodbye to Xu Ning.

After returning home, Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu, Da Laba, Lao Jiang, Li Feng and others all came to help pick up potatoes and sweet potatoes. Liu Lizhen said that she wanted to grind all the potatoes and sweet potatoes into powder, and then make some vermicelli herself...

The process of making vermicelli is very simple, but a bit time-consuming. First, grind the potatoes into powder and soak them in a vat. After the starch sinks to the bottom, pour out the dirty water and then pour in clean water to soak until the water in the vat becomes clear. This process should be repeated five or six times, and the soaking and washing should continue for two or three days.

But the Xu family didn't have a flour press, what to do? Xu Ning personally asked his father-in-law to make one for him, and Meng Quezi made one in just half a day. However, the newly made flour press needed to be debugged. For example, if the sieve hole was too small, it had to be ground with a round file.

The old ladies worked very hard at first, until they finally hung the vermicelli on the rack in the yard, Liu Lizhen finally said, "It's just asking for trouble to do this, I won't do it again."

Xu Ning burst into laughter, but after the vermicelli dried, Yang Shuhua made a pork, cabbage and vermicelli stew, which everyone enjoyed. When Liu Lizhen saw their smiles, she felt that all her previous efforts were worth it!

"Old man, when your brother Jun goes to the city someday, bring some of our homemade vermicelli to your uncle."

Xu Ning waved his hands and said, "Oh, forget it. My uncle doesn't cook at home. If I send it to him, he won't know how to cook it."

Liu Lizhen thought about it and realized that it was indeed as Xu Ning said, so she said, "Then let's wait until your brother comes back. What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Go to the street and deliver the crusher to Brother Liu. This thing is strictly inspected. If you deliver it late, Brother Liu will be easily held accountable."

"Okay! Then get some vermicelli for your brother Liu and Liguo. They both live on the street and someone in their family knows how to make it."

This time Xu Ning did not refuse. Although vermicelli was not a valuable thing, this toy was the one that best reflected the human touch. What's more, it was vermicelli made by the Xu family, which had a different meaning.

November 1984, 11, the 5th day of the th lunar month.

Just after breakfast, Liu Lizhen led a group of old ladies to move the cabbage piled up in the cellar. This was to prepare for pickling sauerkraut. The cabbage needed to be dried outside for a few days before it could be put into the jar, blanched, salted, and poured with wine...

Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu moved the crusher into Yang Jun's car and drove towards the street.

After arriving at the agricultural machinery station, Xu Ning heard that Liu Xuemin was not at the unit. He asked two familiar people to put the crusher into the warehouse and went directly to Liu Xuemin's house.

Liu Xuemin's father was arranging cabbages in the yard. Xu Ning got out of the car with a sack of vermicelli and shouted, "Uncle! My brother Liu is not home?"

"Ah! You are... Erning? Oh, how come you have time to come here today? I heard from your eldest brother that you have been very busy recently."

"Well, I made some vermicelli at home. I thought I'd bring some to you."

"Hey, kid, you always think of me when you have good things. Last time I ate the venison you sent me, which was very delicious. This time you sent me vermicelli. Come in quickly! Don't stand at the door. Don't be polite to those two guys behind you. Your elder brother and your sister-in-law went to the school to do something for the child today..."

Xu Ning was stunned when he heard this, and asked as he walked into the yard, "What do you want to do for the child? Did the child cause trouble at school?"

"His classmate's head was split open. This kid might be a demon!"

After entering the house, Xu Ning put the vermicelli on the counter, looked at the old man making tea, and said, "All children are like this. School is also a small society, and bumps and bruises are inevitable."

"Of course. Even couples have fights, not to mention classmates."

Since Liu Xuemin didn't stay at home, Xu Ning and the other two chatted with the old man for a while and then left. However, the three of them did not go back to the village directly, but went to Yang Li's home.

His wife Zhao Lan was at home alone, so they only sat in the house for a while. The three of them went to the supply and marketing cooperative. Although Lao Qian was not in the supply and marketing cooperative, the young woman at the cashier was already familiar with Xu Ning, so she collected the money according to the manager's lowest price.

I didn't buy anything interesting at the supply and marketing cooperative, mainly coarse-grain salt, soy sauce, and aged vinegar. Old Xu's family still has a lot of things like rice, flour, and oil, which can last at least four months.

Large-grain salt is mainly used to pickle sauerkraut and pickled vegetables. If fine salt is used, the cost-effectiveness will not be high. Even if the Xu family is rich, they have to save money where necessary...

Two days later in the morning, Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu were about to take the dog for a walk in the mountains, but were stopped by Liu Lizhen, who asked them to help pick cabbage leaves.

Xu Ning smiled bitterly when he heard this, thinking that he had not been able to escape this disaster after all. Why did he break the cabbage leaves? The reason was that the cabbage had been exposed to the sun in the courtyard for several days, and the leaves on the two layers on the surface had dried up. Such cabbage leaves could not be put into the jar to pickle sauerkraut, but the broken leaves would not be thrown away, so they were just right for the dog gang to eat.

There were more than 10 people working in the courtyard of Old Xu's house. Some were breaking cabbage leaves, some were carrying water, some were putting cabbages in the jar, some were pouring salt into the jar...

They worked until around four o'clock in the afternoon. After putting the big stone on top of the cabbage, Liu Lizhen covered the mouth of the jar with white cotton cloth. Only then did they finish.

Xu Ning slumped down on the sofa and muttered, "Mom, don't make Doubao this year."

"You don't want to eat? Why are you so hesitant when I ask you to do some work? Do you want to eat or not?"

He was speechless after being reprimanded by his mother. There was no bean buns at home last year. It was only when Da Laba brought two bags that Xu Ning was able to satisfy his craving.

Zhang Guifang replied, "Brother, I don't need you to make the bean buns. I can make the fillings myself."

Xu Ning grinned and said, "Then I'll wait to eat!"

Liu Lizhen glared at him: "You just have a head for eating..."

"You gave me this brain, didn't you? Tomorrow the three of us will take the dog for a walk in the mountains. Sister-in-law, please make me some egg cakes. I'm craving them."

Yang Shuhua smiled and nodded: "Okay!"

At this time, Sun Lianfang looked up and said, "Brother, can you take me for a walk in the mountains?"

"You are a dog? I will take you for a stroll, let the stone lead you!"

"How can this damn kid talk like that?" Liu Lizhen said through gritted teeth.

Sun Lianfang bared her teeth and said, "It's okay, Auntie. As long as my brother can take me for a stroll in the mountains, anything is fine! Sister-in-law, do you want to go? Let's go to the mountains to dig out bird nests."

"Why are you robbing bird nests? You might as well pick some mushrooms..."

Meng Ziyan also wanted to go into the mountains for a wander, but she knew Xu Ning would not agree, so she never told him.

Xu Ning waved his hands and said, "Don't even think about it. There are so many mushrooms at home, aren't they enough to eat? When Shitou comes back, I'll let him stay at home for two more days. Don't keep nagging me."

"Okay!" Sun Lianfang nodded in response. Today was the beginning of winter, and the old woman was making dumplings in the north kitchen while Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang, and Wang Hu were sitting in the west room watching TV news.

Some people may ask, isn't the beginning of winter Xu Ning's birthday? Why didn't his mother cook two eggs for him?

In fact, Xu Ning’s birthday is the fourth day of October, which happened to be the beginning of winter last year, but this year his birthday was celebrated before the beginning of winter.

That night, Meng Quezi, Liu Fenfang, Meng Yinhe, Dalaba, Zhang Guifang and others all had dinner at Lao Xu's house, while Guan Lei, Liu Daming and Ma Liu also came back from the mountain.

Everyone gathered in a room and had a lively drink. The next day, Liu Daming and Ma Liu returned to Lengchang, but left Guan Lei behind. Sun Lianfang had been feeling very lonely recently, so he had to come back and help for two days, otherwise Sun Lianfang would be so anxious that she would die.

Therefore, when Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu took the dog into the mountains, they did not let Guan Lei follow. They left him at home to spend more time with his wife, which would help the couple to produce the fruit of their love.

This morning, the three of them parked their donkeys at the foot of Mangtou Mountain. They did not rush into the mountain, but walked around the three mountains and picked up three pheasants and two jumping cats.

"Brother, I see there seem to be fewer jumping cats here, not as many as last year."

Li Fuqiang nodded: "Yeah, I think it's too little."

Xu Ning said: "It's not snowing now, so the trap we set might be a little off. We can just find the animal trail after the snow stops."

No hunter dares to say that his traps can catch prey 10%. The places where the traps are set are fixed. Only by finding the animal paths can the prey be captured successfully. If the trap is set centimeters off, the small animal can bypass the trap...

"It should have snowed at this time of year in previous years, but it's so cold today. This year is really weird."

Xu Ning nodded: "I'm afraid there will be a heavy snow this year. It will be difficult to go hiking then. We can only use skis."

"Snowboarding is so exciting! Last time when Xu Pao and I went to the Old Sow Forest, we were snowboarding. My crotch almost ripped open, and my brother Qiang almost crashed into a tree."

Li Fuqiang laughed: "Hahaha, that's not bad! This thing should be practiced often. It's good to have a heavy snowfall. Then the livestock in the mountains will have nothing to eat, so it will be easier to fight them."

Xu Ning said, "They are also skinny and hungry, so why should we eat meat? Let's go and stroll to Heishitang first."

"Aren't you going to the back garden today?"

"No, I'm just going to walk around and then go back."

The dog gang was trotting ahead, and the three men were following at a leisurely pace behind.

At this moment, the deciduous trees in the forest have become bare, with only a small number of stubborn leaves still hanging on the branches, such as some oak leaves that have not fallen off. However, the vision is much better than in spring and summer, and you can at least see what is happening fifty meters away.

Li Fuqiang pointed at the small hole in the tree and said, "Brother, there is a rat trap here! Do you want to dig it out?"

"Don't bother. Old Wei was fined 5000 kilograms of pine cones by the forest farm. He can send some to us when he finishes picking them."

"That's really convenient. Hey, brother, how much money do you think Lao Wei can make from beating pine cones?"

"He can't earn too much. It depends on how much the forest farm wants to give him. My dad will beg for him at the forest farm. I think the new Zheng Yunlong can give him more."

Wang Hu said, "Second brother, my dad said that Zheng Yunlong is quite particular?"

Xu Ning grinned and said, "How can there be so many people who are particular about things? They talk about ideals during the day and do business at night. No one is a fool. What can you do if there is no profit?"

"What else can I say... People should stick together for warmth. When he first came to the forest farm, he must have gathered a few veterans. Take me for example. I didn't have any relationship with anyone in the village before, but later I drank with my brothers, and the more I drank, the deeper our relationship became. Now my brothers have helped me get out of poverty."

Wang Hu nodded: "Yeah! If Brother Qiang says so, I understand."

Xu Ning waved his hand and said, "Let's find a leeward slope, light a fire and cook some rice. After we finish eating, we can go home and have a look for mushrooms along the way. If we pick some up, we won't be empty-handed."

Li Fuqiang was stunned: "We're not going to fight anymore?"

"Why are you fighting? I just wanted to go out for a walk to get out of the spotlight. I've been working at home all the time, and I'm so tired these days. My arms and legs are sore all over..."

Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu looked at each other and laughed.

"My second brother is really good at playing tricks!"

"Brother, we can't run around the mountains all day, there must be time to be at home."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Shitou is already at home, let him do more work."

"Hahaha, if Lianfang knew you were thinking this, she would definitely kill you."

Xu Ning couldn't help laughing: "Who asked her to nag me all day long? I even had to eat the food she cooked. My, the taste is even more exciting than the dishes my uncle prepares!"

"..."

Laughter was heard from the forest. After the three of them found a leeward slope, they began to make a fire and cook rice.

Today, Yang Shujuan prepared stir-fried bean sprouts with oil and cabbage with vinegar. The taste is a hundred times better than the dishes prepared by Sun Lianfang.

Xu Ning was picking at his food, and said with emotion: "It really takes talent to do anything. If Lian Fang stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, it would definitely become cabbage pickled in vinegar."

"Haha, Lianfang's personality is like that of an old man. It's normal that she has no talent for cooking. It's OK as long as Leizi can do it."

Wang Hu said, "Second brother, how is the dish my wife prepared?"

"Very good, she has already learned six things from my sister-in-law."

Wang Hu smiled foolishly and said, "Yeah, she's pretty good at cooking..."

In the afternoon, around 1 o'clock, they packed up their things and headed towards the northeast branch along the Xiaoshi River.

As he had plenty of time, Xu Ning didn't want to go home too early, so he thought about going down the mountain from the northeast fork and going back to Shuangfengling to ride his donkey.

Who would have thought that when there were still two miles left to the northeast fork, the blue wolf suddenly started to attack.

Xu Ning was stunned for a moment and shouted, "Chase him!"

"Why are you making noises at this time? Oh my god..."

Li Fuqiang laughed and said, "I said we can't run away today!"

(End of this chapter)