Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 166 Sister Sidan, you are finally here
After drinking Laba porridge, Liu Xueting and Wu Xiuqin took Da Ni and Er Ni to prepare sticky rice dumplings.

During the Laba Festival in Northeast China, many families make sticky rice dumplings and sticky cakes and store them in large jars outside to be eaten before and after the New Year.

Chen Weidong did not go to help, but was responsible for taking care of a few little girls. Chen Guangtian went back after drinking the porridge.

"Daddy, tell me a story quickly!" Si Ni urged in a baby voice.

"Okay, then Dad will tell you a story about Laba Festival, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

The three little girls were sitting on chairs clapping their hands. Although Xiaoliu didn't understand why, she followed her sisters and clapped her hands.

"It is said that in ancient times, our place was full of ferocious beasts and birds, and people lived a very difficult life. Not only did they suffer from hunger every day, but they also suffered from the cruelty of ferocious beasts and birds, as well as various diseases and plagues..."

Chen Weidong spoke slowly.

The children listened very attentively, their pairs of shiny black eyes fixed on Chen Weidong.

Even Da Ni and Er Ni, the two little girls who were helping to make bean buns, pricked up their ears to listen.

"Finally, we have a hero here! He is strong, brave, and smart. He led all the villagers to fight against the ferocious beasts. He found a lot of delicious food and a lot of medicines that can cure diseases. He also discovered that the ferocious beasts are afraid of the sound of drums!"

"So, he asked the villagers to beat drums to scare away wild beasts. Over time, he discovered that beating drums not only scared away wild beasts, but also scared away evil spirits! So that the villagers would no longer be infected with the plague!"

"But, after many years, he grew old and was no longer strong. One time, while fighting a wild beast, he was killed."

"All the villagers were very sad. To commemorate him, they decided that on the day of his death, which was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, everyone would drink porridge made from the food he found, and together they would drive away the evil beasts and evil spirits!"

"It has been passed down from generation to generation, and we now have the Laba Festival and the activity of drinking Laba porridge."

After Chen Weidong finished speaking, he found that everyone was still immersed in the story.

After a long while, Sanni asked, "Dad, is this story true?"

Chen Weidong smiled and said, "This is a legend. If you think it is true, it is true. If you think it is false, it is false."

Erni stopped eating the bean buns in her hand and said, "Dad, I want to be a hero in the future."

Chen Weidong was stunned for a moment, then encouraged: "Come on, you will do it!"

Si Ni: "Dad, I also want to commemorate this hero. Is there any Laba porridge in the pot? I want another bowl!"

"what!"

Chen Weidong didn't react at once.

As expected of Si Ni, I don’t know if she is greedy or really…

"I also want!"

Wu Ni soon followed.

"We just finished eating, it's only been a while! You can join in the fun!" Chen Weidong said with a smile as he touched Wu Ni's chubby belly.

"Weidong, something bad has happened. The deer jumped out of the fence!" Chen Guangtian hurried over from outside and said.

"Dad, you didn't run out of the yard!"

Chen Weidong asked quickly.

"no!"

"That's fine if there isn't any!"

Chen Weidong breathed a sigh of relief. Sika deer have very strong jumping ability. They can easily jump 1.56 meters and 2.3 meters in one leap.

That's a very normal thing. Being frightened and climbing over an obstacle more than two meters high is not a big deal at all.

Chen Weidong, Shitou and Bingzi went to the mountain to cut down tall oak trunks for pillars and some wood for fences. However, due to time constraints, the fence was not made too high. Maybe it was because Dad opened the door and scared it.

"Dad, let's go and make the fence higher!"

Chen Weidong said.

"We're going too!"

Si Ni shouted, "Dad, we can help you too!"

"Why are you going out? Stay at home! Don't let the deer hit you."

Wu Xiuqin scolded.

Si Ni didn't dare to speak anymore.

Chen Weidong and Chen Guangtian went to build a fence. When they passed by the haystack at home, they picked up a bundle of corn stalks, which the deer like to eat.

As soon as Chen Weidong entered the house, he saw the doe hiding in the corner.

Chen Weidong was not in a hurry to catch them. He put the straw aside, closed the gate, and began to build a fence. Chen Weidong, Shitou Bingzi and the other two had already chopped the wood and placed it in front of the gate of the yard.

The fence must be at least two and a half meters high to prevent it from escaping.

The fence is only about one meter high now. Chen Weidong and his father Chen Guangtian worked together very quickly. It took them more than two hours to complete the fence, which is about ten square meters.

The doe had calmed down now and was eating some gentian.

After Chen Weidong locked the doe in, he returned home. At this time, Liu Xueting and Wu Xiuqin were busy steaming tofu.

Chen Weidong then went over to help and soon finished steaming a pot. The temperature was minus 30 degrees Celsius and the wind was biting cold.
But the moment I lifted the lid of the pot, the hot steam that hit me in the face made me feel like I was in the warm sunshine of spring breeze.

Chen Weidong took one and tore open the skin. The bean filling inside was still steaming.

When you take a bite, the outer skin is soft and chewy, and the sticky and soft taste lingers on the tip of your tongue.
"Dad, how does it taste?"

Sanni asked in a baby voice.

Sanni was more reserved. When she asked how it tasted, it was equivalent to letting me have a taste.

Si Ni was more direct and ran over with the bowl in her arms!

"It's delicious! Everyone, line up, daddy will get it for you."

"it is good."

The little girls also lined up, waiting anxiously to eat.

~

The New Year comes after Laba Festival. Chen Weidong and Liu Xueting are much busier on weekdays, and soon it is the time for winter fishing in Taiping Lake.

That day, after breakfast, Chen Weidong drove the donkey out and harnessed it to the sled.

Liu Xueting was holding a basket containing some fried fruits and a few pieces of bacon that she had fried over the past two days, and she was planning to give them to her second sister and her family.

"Visiting relatives! Visiting relatives!"

“Visiting relatives!”

A few little kids were singing around the donkey cart.

"Take everything!"

Chen Weidong looked at Liu Xueting and asked.

"I brought them all."

Liu Xueting locked the door, and while she was at it, the little girls all got on the sled.

Then Chen Weidong drove the donkey cart to his eldest brother’s house, picked up his eldest brother Chen Weihai and set off!
Along the way, the six little girls were very excited, chattering and making a lot of noise.

Soon, the group arrived at Sun Tianjun's door.

Sun Tianjun and Chen Xiuxiu heard the noise and came out to greet them.

"Brother, why don't you bring your sister-in-law and the kids over to play?" Chen Xiuxiu looked at Chen Weidonghai and said.

"Your sister-in-law will take the child to her grandmother's house later."

"Brother-in-law, when does winter fishing start?"

Chen Weidong asked.

"Wait a moment, then we'll set off!"

"Xue Ting, you too, why are you still carrying so many things when you're here?"

"..."

The group started chatting at the door. After a while, Chen Xiuxiu finally said, "Weidong, brother, Xueting, you see, we are so busy talking. It's so cold outside when you go inside!"

"Xiaojuan, take out the fried dough twists your mom made a few days ago and let Dani and the others have a taste."

Sun Tianjun also greeted.

"it is good!"

However, before Chen Weidong entered the house, he suddenly heard a childish voice from not far behind him, "Sister Sidan! Sister Sidan! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Ok?"

Si Ni felt that the voice was very familiar, but she couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

At this time, a little boy ran over from the house in front and shouted, "Sister Sidan!"

When Si Ni saw him, she suddenly remembered who he was and immediately called out, "Brother Goudan!"

Goudan walked up to Si Ni and said with a smile: "Sister Sidan, you are finally here. I have a gift for you!"

"What is it? Is it delicious?"

Si Ni asked, tilting her head.

"no!"

Goudan quickly took out four colored stones from his pocket. All of them looked like little eggs, colorful and very beautiful.

"what is this?"

Si Ni liked it very much. She held it in her hand and looked at it over and over again.

"Four stone eggs? Hehe, Grandpa said, these are the four eggs. Do you like them, Sister Sidan?"

Goudan looked at Sini expectantly.

Si Ni nodded and said, "I like it."

"This is for you!" Si Ni said reluctantly. She took out a frozen bean bun from the pocket of her "cotton pants" and handed it to Goudan.

Then he took out another one and blew air on the frozen bean bun with his little mouth for a while, otherwise his mouth would be sticky due to the cold, and then he took a few bites.

I gnawed a few small grooves on the bean curd. It was icy, and when I bit into the bean filling, it was sweet and had a rice aroma.

"Really delicious!"

Si Ni said in a sweet baby voice.

"Are the dog eggs delicious?"

"good to eat!"

Chen Weidong and the others had already entered the house. Si Ni and Xiao Qi also held Goudan's hand and prepared to leave. "Come on, Goudan, let's play together."

"Goudan, you have to call me sister too!" Wu Ni reminded him in a baby voice.

"Sister Wudan!"

"Hehe! Do I have a present?"

"no!"

"Then I won't let you eat my bean buns~"

~

Chen Weidong and a few adults chatted in the house for a while, and soon it was time for winter fishing. All the sleds in Sunjiatun were mobilized, pulling fishing nets and other tools, and left the village.

Chen Weidong drove a donkey cart, taking Chen Weihai, Sun Tianjun, Chen Xiuxiu, and Liu Xueting with him to watch the fun.

In fact, it was not just Liu Xueting. All the old ladies and children in the village followed the winter fishing team to Taiping Lake.

Sun Jianming and Sun Juan also followed the main group with their seven little girls.

Winter hunting is an ancient hunting activity full of survival wisdom.
This is a rare and exciting event for the young and old men in several villages near Taiping Lake. Not only people from Sunjiatun, but also people from several nearby villages will organize everyone to go winter fishing today.

In the leisurely winter, everyone in the village will naturally not miss such a lively event.

Leaving the village, there is a world of ice and snow outside, with white everywhere.

The temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius cannot stop the enthusiasm of the people in the village.

Soon, we arrived at Taiping Lake.

When Chen Weidong and others arrived, people from other villages were already clearing the snow on the lake.

The first step in winter fishing is not to dig holes in the ice, but to clear the snow on the lake.

Sun Xianghai, the village chief of Sunjiatun, directed the people in Sunjiatun who were participating in winter fishing today, and they started clearing the snow with shovels.

Only by clearing away the snow and exposing the ice can you find the location for making holes in the ice.

Finding the location to dig a hole in the ice is a matter of knowledge.

They were fishing in the lake with a dragnet, unlike Chen Weidong who had used a scoop net before, so finding a suitable location was very necessary. Only by finding a spacious place with suitable water depth could they ensure that they could catch enough fish.

Determining the underwater situation through thick ice is definitely a skill.

There was an experienced fish leader in the village. He walked around on the ice and quickly determined the location.

Use an ice trowel to mark the ice surface.

Sun Xianghai began to arrange people to chisel holes in the ice. At this time, the thickness of the ice layer was much thicker than when Chen Weidong was chiseling in Luwei Lake.

When starting to cut ice, you need to use an ice pick to detect the thickness of the ice layer, and then choose the appropriate tools and methods to cut ice according to the actual situation.

There are two people in a group, one holding the hammer and the other holding the ice plow.

eighty!

eighty!

……

The tinkling sound of knocking sounded on Taiping Lake.

Men were wielding hammers on the lake and digging holes in the ice, while women in the village were standing on the ice chatting and gossiping, not feeling cold at all.

(End of this chapter)