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

Chapter 171 Celebrating the New Year

"it is good."

Li Shengli nodded.

Two people carried a stretcher and led two dogs to find Shitou and Bingzi first. Soon Chen Weidong and Li Shengli met Bingzi and Shitou.

"Brother Wei Dong!"

"Brother Victory!"

Shitou and Bingzi pulled the big guy, who was wearing a sled with two wild boars and two injured dogs on it. After the reunion, Chen Weidong and his four companions led and pulled the other two wild boars.

Fortunately, there was a big guy. Otherwise, with three injured dogs, we would not be able to transport more wild boars back even if we killed more.

This time we killed four wild boars in total, a 300-jin egg-filled pig, a 300-jin old sow, and two yellow-haired pigs weighing less than 100 jin. After opening their bellies, they weighed about 700 jin.

The two dogs with minor injuries lay on the sled, while Erhei, who was the most seriously injured, was carried by Bingzi and Li Shengli.

This thing weighing several hundred kilograms was difficult for a big guy to pull, so the four of them returned very slowly!

The wild boar smelled very bloody after it was gutted, and coupled with the fact that the men were moving slowly, it soon attracted a pack of wild wolves roaming the mountains.

Chen Weidong and his three companions were no longer surprised by wolf packs. Wolves have a keen sense of smell. The four of them wasted a lot of time carrying the wild boar, so it was normal for wolves to come.

Chen Weidong and his four companions had guns in their hands, and they would shoot back from time to time, so the wolves did not dare to approach. There were not too many wolves, and they were not alone, so Chen Weidong and his four companions were not too afraid of the wolves.

Especially under the threat of guns, these wolves did not dare to act rashly, and could only follow them furtively for several miles along the mountain road.

The wolves looked at the four people and saw them leaving their territory, so they gave up chasing them.

This made Chen Weidong and the other three feel relieved. If these wolves had been following them, they would not be afraid, but they would have to put in a lot of effort to guard against them, and they would always feel a chill on their backs if they were not careful... Fortunately, these wild wolves retreated now.

Chen Weidong and his three companions then walked back for about another hour when they suddenly saw a group of four or five small elk in front of them.

"Big guy!" Li Shengli said in surprise, and was about to put down the stretcher and take out the gun.

It’s not that Li Shengli is careless and forgot about Erhei’s injury.

It's the instinctive reaction of a hunter seeing his prey.

A group of big guys suddenly appeared not far in front of him. If he let them go, he would be called a hunter.

"Brother Shengli, forget it!"

Chen Weidong spoke.

"Why?" Li Shengli was a little confused. It was less than 200 meters away, and the four of them could have saved one or two red deer. It would have been even better if they could have caught one alive.
You know, right now, one big guy pulling a sled is too slow. It would be much better if there were two. And when you go into the mountains to hunt in the future, you will have an extra good laborer.

"Brother Shengli, we have already killed four wild boars, and now our dog is injured. It would be too greedy to go hunting elk. Besides, this group of elk is different from a lone elk. Without hunting dogs, it would be very difficult to capture them alive. It is basically impossible."

Even if we kill them, it will be hard for us to return with three injured dogs and so many wild boars. Let's not waste time!
Chen Weidong said slowly that if he had encountered a group of red deer before coming here, he would definitely kill them immediately without hesitation.
But in the current situation, if you should give up, you must give up. The most taboo thing in hunting is greed.

"Let's go! It's getting dark soon! Let's find a place to make a nest in the snow and eat something while we're there!"

"Okay! I'll listen to you!" Li Shengli didn't say anything else and lifted the stretcher again. As for the group of big guys, it didn't matter if they were there.

Just like Chen Weidong said, one should not be too greedy, the way back is still long.
This time the big guy is dragging a wild boar and two injured dogs, so they may have to give up their harvest this time!

After all, when hunting in the mountains, the life of the hunting dog is more important.

Along the way, we didn't encounter any wild beasts.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Chen Weidong first found a place to start a fire, and then arranged for Li Shengli and the other two to start digging a nest in the snow!
Finished making the snow nest!
Chen Weidong turned his head and saw Shitou and Bingzi in the bushes under a tree, bending over and digging something.

"Shi Tou, Bingzi, what are you two doing?" Chen Weidong walked up and asked curiously.

"Brother Weidong, when I was digging a hole in the snow just now, I scraped the snow and found something good."

It is said that the soldier then brought something that looked like a ginseng or a small tree root as an offering of treasure.

Good guy!
The two of them dug up a Codonopsis pilosula.

Chen Weidong's face lit up with joy. This wild Northeast Codonopsis is at least 10 to 20 years old. Codonopsis is a kind of ginseng and also a traditional Chinese medicine. This one has yellow bark and yellow-white wood. It has a large root, yellow outer skin, tight skin and firm flesh. It is a top-quality Codonopsis.

Moreover, Codonopsis has the effects of calming, relieving fever, lowering blood pressure and lowering blood sugar. It can also protect the liver, have anti-diuretic and anti-fatigue effects.

"Brother Weidong, I heard that this thing costs more than one yuan per pound!"

Shi Tou smiled naively.

"It's a pity that it's not ginseng. If it were ginseng, it would be worth a lot of money."

The soldier said.

There is only one word difference between Codonopsis and Ginseng, but their prices are also very different.
There are certain similarities between the effects of Codonopsis and Ginseng. Both have the effects of tonifying the middle and replenishing Qi, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, but the output of Ginseng is small and the price is expensive, while the price of Codonopsis is relatively cheap.

"Bingzi, where is the damn ginseng in our area? I have never seen anyone digging it."

Li Shengli said with a smile at this time.

"I've heard of it, but I've never seen it with my own eyes!"

Chen Weidong also smiled. It is said that the Northeast has three treasures: ginseng, mink fur, and Ula grass.

Among them, ginseng is the first of the "three treasures" of Northeast China and is the king of herbs. However, ginseng is not found in all places in Northeast China. Although ginseng is produced in Northeast China, most of it is found in Changbai Mountain and Lesser Khingan Mountains. Greater Khingan Mountains do not produce ginseng.

But I found that Codonopsis pilosula is also good. In Heishong County, Codonopsis pilosula can be sold for more than one yuan per pound.

But Chen Weidong had seen it on a wooden sign in Hajiang City last time, and the price was more than twice that of Hesong County. Moreover, Chen Weidong had been a mountain goods dealer in his previous life, so he knew clearly that Codonopsis pilosula had seeds! If he found one, he would buy one piece.

"Okay, both of you, stop digging. It's getting dark. How much can you dig with a knife? Let's go back to the snow cave and warm ourselves by the fire."

Chen Weidong greeted.

"Brother Weidong, let's just dig two and take a look!"

Shitou and Bingzi certainly understood that now was not the time to dig Codonopsis pilosula.

Back to the snow cave and roasting fire!
"When you leave tomorrow, leave a mark here. We can come back to dig these codonopsis pilosula when we have time!"

Chen Weidong took a bite of the pancake and said to Li Shengli and the other two.

"Well, I just dug up a few pieces of snow and looked. I think there are a lot of codonopsis in this place."

The night went by without any danger, and early the next morning, the four of them packed up and headed for the village!

On the way, they met a group of hunters going into the mountains. Chen Weidong recognized them as the four brothers of Zhang Da Kui.

When Zhang Da Kui saw that it was Chen Weidong, he quickly called his three brothers and came over to greet him.

"Brother Weidong, have you just come back from hunting? Today..." Zhang Dagui was about to ask Chen Weidong and the other three about their gains, but before he could finish his words, he was stunned when he saw the four wild boars on the red deer.
Zhang Dagui quickly gave a thumbs up: "Brother Weidong, you killed four wild boars, including one with a big egg. That's awesome."

"I spent almost two days in the mountains before I caught this!"

Chen Weidong said slowly that although he killed four wild boars this time, he was not in a very good mood because Black Tiger was injured.

"Weidong, what happened? Is the dog hurt?"

Zhang Da Kui also saw the three injured dogs at this moment, especially one of them was carried by Li Shengli and Bingzi, and it looked very seriously injured.

"Well, I was injured by a wild boar."

Chen Weidong nodded.

"The injuries are not serious! You should go back quickly! It is normal for dogs to be injured when hunting in the mountains, so be considerate!"

Zhang Da Kui comforted him. At the moment, he didn't know that the dog from Chen Weidong's family was the most seriously injured and looked to be dying. He thought it was about to die.

Upon hearing this, Chen Weidong did not explain further. After Zhang Da Kui and his four brothers finished speaking, they did not delay any further and took their men to bypass the four of them and continue hunting.

Then Chen Weidong and his four companions went to Li Shengli's home in Lijiatun. After all, one thing was the same as what Zhang Dagui said. After spending a night in the mountains, Erhei's situation was not optimistic.

There were four wild boars. The two big ones were taken to the county town to sell, and Chen Weidong planned to keep some of the two small ones for himself.

Then, Bingzi drove the big guy to pull the wild boar back to his home, and Shitou also went home carrying the injured Dahuang.

Chen Weidong carried the black tiger and the white tiger back to his home.

arrive home.

"Dad~"

"Dad, I'm back," "Weidong..."

When they saw Chen Weidong coming home, Liu Xueting and the little girl in the yard all came to greet him. Dalong, Erlong, and the other four dogs had already turned into licking dogs and came to Chen Weidong's feet, barking.

As soon as Chen Weidong returned home and saw his wife and children welcoming him, he felt warm in his heart.

"Weidong, are you cold?"

Liu Xueting put Liu Ni down, then hurried into the main room and lit the stove. Considering that Chen Weidong probably hadn't eaten breakfast, she went to the kitchen and started busying herself.

"Dad, what happened to Heihu?" Dani asked as she looked at Chen Weidong holding Heihu.

The other little girls also asked with concern.

"Nothing, just a little injured."

Chen Weidong smiled, holding Heihu, and walked into the main room. The younger kids were also very well behaved. They didn't ask for hugs like before, but followed him happily.

After warming his hands, Chen Weidong carefully examined Hei Hu's injuries. Fortunately, it was only a minor fracture as shown in the previous examination.

"Erni, bring some bones over here."

Chen Weidong greeted.

"Sanni, go feed the white tiger too!"

"Dad, what about us!"

Si Ni and Wu Ni asked in a baby voice.

"You guys take Xiaoliu to play in the yard!" Chen Weidong said helplessly.

"Hei Hu, take good care of your injuries,"

After feeding some bones, Chen Weidong touched the dark and shiny hair on the black tiger's neck and spoke softly.

"Wang!"

The black tiger barked at Chen Weidong and licked his hand with its tongue.
"What a good dog that understands human nature!"

Chen Weidong praised.

Then Dani brought a basin of hot water: "Dad, wash your hands and eat."

"Ah."

After washing his hands, changing into clean clothes and having a simple meal, Chen Weidong went to Bingzi's house to deal with the wild boar!
Six little girls followed him happily.

Boil the meat and remove the hair!

After processing the wild boars, the two little wild boars weighed about 180 to 190 kilograms, and each person got about 40 kilograms of meat.

The next day, early in the morning, Chen Weidong drove a donkey cart, accompanied by Bingzi and Shitou, and pulled the two big wild boars into the county town.

The two wild boars were sold for a total of more than 200 yuan. Chen Weidong did not take more, and each of them got more than 50 yuan.

After Chen Weidong and the other two divided the money, they went shopping in the county town before Chen Weidong drove his donkey cart back home.

When they got home, Liu Xueting was busy washing clothes for Chen Weidong. The other little girls were playing outside. Chen Weidong was not idle either. He walked to the dog pen and took Heihu out.
It's not that Chen Weidong is cruel, the dog was injured and he had to drive it out.
Chen Weidong took it out so that it could go to the bathroom, as dogs also need to pee and poop.

Time passed day by day, and Chen Weidong had no time to go into the mountains recently.

In a blink of an eye, it was already the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

Today is the Little New Year, the day to worship the Kitchen God and sweep the house.

The date for celebrating the Little New Year is different in the north and south. In the south, it is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

When celebrating the Little New Year in Northeast China, the first thing to do is to sweep the house. Sweeping the dust on the Little New Year's day is also called spring cleaning or sweeping the house in Northeast China.

The whole family cleaned the yard, cleaned the stove, washed the dishes, washed the bedding, wiped the windows, etc.

Those who worship the Kitchen God will take down his portrait, and then there is a saying: The Kitchen God's surname is Zhang, he rides a horse and carries a gun. He speaks good things to the gods in heaven and keeps the world safe.

After cleaning the stove, we put the portrait in place. Sweeping the dust also means sweeping away old things and cleaning the old dirt in the courtyard, and also refers to the unhappiness encountered in the past year.

People hope to get rid of all the bad luck and bad things in the past year and pray for good luck and happiness in the new year.

Therefore, Chen Weidong took the children to start cleaning the house inside and out early in the morning.

Since they had swept the house some time ago, this time it was much easier. Chen Weidong led Er Ni, San Ni, Si Ni and Wu Ni to work together. It took almost half a day to clean the entire house.

The second thing to do during the Little New Year is to worship the Kitchen God: According to folklore, the Kitchen God is the "Nine Heavens East Kitchen God" appointed by the Jade Emperor, also known as the Kitchen God, who is responsible for managing the stoves and food of each family and recording the good and bad deeds of each family. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will report the family's behavior to the Jade Emperor. In order to get the Kitchen God to say good things, people will offer sesame candies, small glutinous rice cakes, etc.

When offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, people will say some auspicious words, such as "May the Kitchen God speak good things to the heavens and keep the world safe", praying for the Kitchen God to bless the family with happiness and health.

At this time, Liu Xueting and Dani had already prepared small glutinous rice cakes for offering to the Kitchen God.

Small rice cakes are made of glutinous rice and rolled into a round shape.

"Dad, it's time to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God."

Dani reminded.

"it is good."

Chen Weidong washed his hands, then placed the glutinous rice cake in front of the stove and muttered to himself for a long time.

This is not superstition, but a beautiful hope.

Dani asked curiously, "Dad, will the Kitchen God really bless us?"

Chen Weidong smiled and said, "Of course, if you believe it, it exists, if you don't believe it, it doesn't exist."

Erni asked seriously, "Dad, is there really a Kitchen God?"

Chen Weidong smiled and said, "The Kitchen God does not exist. He is just a beautiful imagination of ours."

"In fact, when we offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, we are not offering sacrifices to the God, but to the good wishes in our hearts. The reason why we do these strange actions is just for the sake of a ritual."

"You all need to remember that a good life cannot be achieved by relying on others, but by hard work and creation with your own hands."

“Well, we remembered it.”

The children nodded.

Si Ni: "Dad, can we eat the glutinous rice cakes now?"

"No, we just offered glutinous rice cakes to the Kitchen God. Children can't eat them. They will get stomachaches if they eat them."

Chen Weidong said.

"Ah? Didn't Dad just say that the Kitchen God is fake?" Si Ni said with a pout.

"Hahaha, he's real now, so you can't eat it, only I can eat it." Chen Weidong said with a smile.

"Why?" Wu Ni was confused.

Si Ni: "Fifth sister, you are so stupid! Dad lied to us, let's rush to eat it!"

Before she finished her words, she had already pounced on the little ciba.

"Don't grab it!"

Chen Weidong shouted, "These glutinous rice cakes are cold. Eating them will give you a stomachache. If you want to eat them, heat them up first."

"it is good."

Si Ni shouted loudly, but a glutinous rice cake had already been thrown into her mouth.

Chen Weidong didn't let her spit it out. He took the remaining glutinous rice cake to the kitchen, heated it up for Liu Xueting, and then the family started eating together.

After the children finished eating glutinous rice cakes, they would paste window decorations. In the afternoon, the whole family would start making dumplings. In the 1980s, they would cut their own window decorations.

People in Northeast China are accustomed to eating dumplings on the night of the Little New Year. They are reluctant to eat them on other days, but they always have to eat them during the New Year. However, most of the dumplings are stuffed with sauerkraut, one reason being that they are cheap, and two because sauerkraut has the meaning of "tying up wealth".

However, there is a taboo when eating dumplings on this day - don't crush garlic. Crushing garlic means being plotted against or becoming poor. Eating dumplings means seeing off the Kitchen God.

(End of this chapter)