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

Chapter 78 Beggar Duck

Anyway, we will protect them when the time comes. In this era, they are not first-class protected animals. They are wild ducks.

Moreover, this Chinese merganser is known as a living fossil among birds and the giant panda of the water. Chen Weidong had never eaten it in his previous life.

This time you have to try it carefully to see if it tastes good enough.

But the only pity is that these wild ducks in front of us did not gather together, otherwise, we could use a stone gun to shoot and kill them all.

"Brother Weidong, the wild ducks were too scattered. I didn't dare to shoot or get close, for fear of scaring them away!"

Stone said.

"Great! You're smart, kid." Chen Weidong patted Shitou's shoulder and praised him.
The best thing to do right now is to use a slingshot, so Chen Weidong took out a slingshot, took out a bullet from the cloth bag he carried with him, pulled the slingshot empty first to try it out, and then put the bullet into the slingshot's bullet bag.

Pull the slingshot at the wild ducks in the distance.

Snapped……

Chen Weidong didn't look at the result. He took out another bullet and continued to pull the slingshot.

Snapped!
Then continue to release the bullets and continue to pull the slingshot.

Chen Weidong shot with the slingshot six times in a row before stopping.

It’s not that we don’t want to pull them, but the remaining wild ducks have been frightened and have gone into the reeds.

Shitou had already run over and found a long branch to fish out the Chinese merganser that Chen Weidong had just killed.

"Brother Weidong, you are so awesome. You are so accurate with your slingshot. You killed four wild ducks in one go."

Shitou reported the good news to Chen Weidong.

"It's just practice. When you often go up the mountain to shoot greyhounds, pheasants and rabbits with a slingshot, you will be able to practice it."

"However, this mud ball is still a little short. If I had used iron marbles, I could have shot down one more."

Chen Weidong put the slingshot into his waist and said lightly, "A mud ball hit him just now, but it only injured him, not killed him."

The next time he goes to the supply and marketing cooperative, Chen Weidong plans to buy some iron marbles as a backup.

Wild ducks are the fattest in autumn. This one weighs about five or six pounds. A wild duck plus a white radish is enough for a whole family to have a meal.

Shitou was holding the wild duck and grinning happily.

"Brother Weidong, I'm going to wash the pheasant!"

Shitou happily put the wild duck into the bag.

"Forget it, go find some dry branches and I'll take care of the pheasant! Just give me a pheasant, and today we'll try this freshly caught duck. I've never eaten this first-level protected animal before!"

Chen Weidong smiled.

"Brother Weidong, what is a first-class protected animal? Isn't this a wild duck?" Shitou asked curiously.

"Haha, you won't understand even if I tell you, so go quickly!" Chen Weidong instructed.

"okay!"

Shitou handed Chen Weidong a pheasant and a wild duck. Actually, one wild duck was enough for the two of them.
But there are also Da Huang and Hei Hu, and dogs eat more than humans. However, when hunting in the mountains, it is best not to feed them too much, so a pheasant and a wild duck are enough for two people and two dogs.

Chen Weidong came to the pond, took out a sharp knife, and began to clean up the pheasants and ducks.

With one knife, he chopped off the chicken and duck heads, turned them upside down, and drained the blood. Then he gutted the pheasants and ducks, cleaned out the internal organs, and then Chen Weidong began to rub salt inside the pheasants and ducks' stomachs.
Then he went to find some wild onions and stuffed them into the stomachs of pheasants and ducks.

Then they dug some mud from the edge of the pond and wrapped the whole pheasant and wild duck.

Chen Weidong planned to make beggar's chicken, and as for the wild duck, he would follow suit.

In the wild, there are not so many requirements.
It is even more impossible to make it as exquisite as the beggar's chicken in the restaurant.
Beggar's chicken is a cooking method developed for convenience when living in the wild.

The main reason is that it is not convenient to pluck the feathers in the wild, especially for the Chinese merganser. If you want to roast it directly, it will take an hour to pluck the feathers. Chen Weidong went up the mountain to hunt, not just to eat game.

After wrapping them in mud and baking them, the mud can remove the chicken and duck feathers.

Therefore, the Beggar's Chicken made by Chen Weidong is quite rough, but it is also very consistent with the original flavor of Beggar's Chicken (Beggar's Duck).

Chen Weidong was ready, and Shitou came back with a pile of dry firewood.

Chen Weidong usually has his own preferences when choosing a place to make a fire in the mountains, especially today when the mountain wind is strong, so he chooses a place that is sheltered from the wind and close to a pond. When making a fire in the mountains, Chen Weidong always pays great attention to safety.

After all, forest fire prevention is knowledge that everyone in the mountains must learn from a young age.

This is not about how noble Chen Weidong's character is, but it is related to the vital interests of every mountain resident.

For example, in Jiuqutun, a village in the mountains, before the production team was disbanded, some people played with fire in the mountains. They had to go to the production team to learn and reflect.

After burying the mud balls wrapped around pheasants and wild ducks in the fire, all that remains to be done is to wait.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Weidong took Shitou, Heihu and Dahuang and searched in the mountains for a while. When they didn't catch any prey, they hurried back.

At this moment, the bonfire had gone out, leaving only some sparks and smoke.

Chen Weidong dug up the fire and then dug out the mud balls of beggar chicken and beggar duck.

Knock the mud balls open one by one to reveal the tender pheasant and duck meat inside. The hot pheasant and duck exude a rich aroma.

After digging out the mud, Chen Weidong turned around and washed his hands in the pond next to him.

This pond is full of living water. The mountain spring flows into the pond, and then flows from the pond to the river.
Chen Weidong didn't say much. He just tore off a duck leg and handed it to Shitou.

"Here, try it. This is good stuff and most people can't eat it." Chen Weidong said with a smile.

"Brother Weidong, isn't this a wild duck? It just looks a little strange and you don't usually see it." Shitou took it with a smile.

Chen Weidong then tore off another duck leg and took a big bite of it.

This merganser is quite fat. A bite of it is full of oil. However, apart from the fat, Chen Weidong was a little disappointed that the Chinese merganser was not as delicious as he had imagined.

Maybe this method of cooking Beggar's Chicken is not suitable. After all, the duck is a bit fat. Fortunately, I still have a few of them. I will try other methods when I get home. However, Beggar's Chicken is indeed very delicious.

Then, the two of them happily held the pheasants and ducks and began to eat them. When they saw Hei Hu and Da Huang, they stuck out their tongues and looked at them.

Chen Weidong tore the merganser in half and threw it to the two dogs.

"Wang! Wang! Wang!"

Hei Hu and Da Huang called out to Chen Weidong, and then started eating.

"Brother Weidong, this pheasant meat is so delicious!" Shitou said happily with his mouth full of oil.

"Haha! Follow me from now on and I'll make you eat chicken until you get tired of it!" Chen Weidong said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)