Chapter 170 Horse Dung Bag

The temperature seems to have dropped without us noticing; it even felt a little chilly when I woke up early. Looking at the morning dew, I guess I can skip the watering work.

A few days ago, a hen was staying in the henhouse and wouldn't go to the pen. When I opened her belly, I saw that it was full of eggs. I didn't stop her.

On this slightly chilly morning, as I opened the chicken coop door, I heard the faint chirping of chicks.

I squatted down next to the hen's nest where the chicks were hatching, and sure enough, I saw four chicks that had broken out of their shells.

Its fur was already fluffy, each hair round and pale yellow, probably sprouting during the night.

To prevent the mother hen and her chicks from being bullied, the nest where she incubated the eggs was moved directly to the threshing ground. Once the chicks had hatched, the mother hen led them in a procession around the yard.

The weather is getting cooler, so it's time to pick autumn mushrooms.

We should hurry and pick as many mushrooms as possible before the vegetables ripen.

With two willow baskets, six plastic crates brought back from the apple factory, some water and dry food on the cart, I set off with the dogs to pick mushrooms in the mountains.

Last year's mushrooms were harvested after the autumn harvest, but this year it's not as hot, so mushrooms can be harvested before the vegetables ripen.

I parked the car in a relatively spacious area in the woods and walked into the dense forest with the basket.

After walking a few steps, I saw a small pile of pure white spheres on the ground. I squatted down and saw that they were horse manure sacks.

The horse manure bag was about the size of a fist, pure white in color, and had a slight elasticity when squeezed, emitting a fresh mushroom fragrance.

These white horse manure buns are not fully ripe yet, so they can be stir-fried and eaten directly; they have a very tender texture.

When I was a child, I only ate it freshly stir-fried. I don't know if it can be dried and stored.

Pick the ones that look fresh and put them in the basket.

We'll just cook some dishes for dinner.

I strolled around for over an hour and picked a whole basket of mushrooms. Apart from the horse manure mushrooms, they were mostly pine mushrooms, poplar mushrooms, and red mushrooms.

The main problem is that I only recognize a few types of mushrooms in autumn; I naturally can't pick and eat the others that I don't recognize.

He poured a whole basket of mushrooms into a plastic box in the cart, then continued picking mushrooms with the empty basket in hand.

I came across another pile of horse manure bales, but I wasn't sure if they could be dried and stored, so I didn't collect any more from this pile.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw some mature, gray horse manure bales next to me. I hesitated for a moment, then carefully picked off these fully mature gray horse manure bales and put them into the plastic bag I was carrying.

The tender, immature white pufferfish can be eaten like normal mushrooms. When mature, it turns grayish-brown, and the tender flesh inside turns into gray powder. Although it looks poisonous, it is actually a medicinal herb.

Applying the gray powder from the horse manure bag to the wound can effectively stop the bleeding.

When working in the countryside, bumps and bruises are inevitable. Keeping these mature horse manure bales safe will allow you to use them if you get injured in the future.

My physical condition has improved this year. I spent a whole day walking over two hills and picking six full baskets plus two extra baskets of mushrooms.

Pulling the cart home, I sorted all the mushrooms and laid them out to dry in the yard. I'll continue picking mushrooms after the autumn harvest; this year's mushroom harvest is much larger than in previous years.

I only had a simple meal of dry food at noon, and I was starving when I got home.

Take the horse manure bale to the kitchen and start processing it from the part with soil at the base. Insert your fingernail into the base and pry it off. You can see that the horse manure bale has an outer skin at the prying point. Tear it off along the marks on the skin, and you can peel off the whole outer skin in a few strokes.

Picking out the mushroom pods is a particularly therapeutic activity. Seeing the entire outer skin peeled off to reveal the tender white flesh inside fills me with immense satisfaction.

Place the tender white mushroom flesh that you picked into a clean bowl and start making dinner.

Cut some of the mushroom balls into thin slices, and dice the rest.

Take out a piece of fresh pork and slice it. Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry the pork until fragrant. Add a handful of chopped green onions and minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant as well. Then throw the sliced ​​horse manure into the pan and stir-fry together.

Horse manure bags love oil; they release a strong aroma within seconds of contact with lard.

Add some light soy sauce and thirteen-spice seasoning, stir-fry for a few more seconds, and once the mushroom flesh has turned completely yellow and softened, remove it from the pan.

Add more oil to the pot, fry the minced pork until fragrant, add soybean paste and stir-fry until fragrant, then add a large amount of diced horse manure.

Once the horse manure dumplings are fully cooked, add a generous amount of chopped green onions, stir-fry evenly, and serve.

Pour the mushroom sauce directly into a glass jar. After finishing one meal, store the rest in the refrigerator; it will keep for a long time without spoiling.

I didn't steam rice today, so I took out some steamed buns from the refrigerator, sliced ​​them, and pan-fried them until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Then I just started eating.

Spread mushroom sauce between two slices of steamed bun, add two lettuce leaves, and take a bite like eating a hamburger. The savory aroma of the steamed bun and the oily fragrance of the diced pork blend together, making it both satisfying and filling.

The horse manure slices were fried until they turned slightly yellow. They tasted somewhat like king oyster mushrooms, but were more tender and had a stronger mushroom flavor.

After eating, tear the remaining bread slices into small pieces, mix them with the stir-fried meat and horse manure bread slices, and divide them into two portions to feed the dog and the kitten.

The main focus is on what people eat and what animals eat.

The day after picking mushrooms, it's time to start preparing for the autumn harvest.

This year's autumn harvest is much heavier than last year's. In addition to harvesting vegetables and corn, we also need to learn how to process millet and buckwheat flour.

However, the weather is still warm, and the grains, peanuts, and sesame seeds are still green, so we should start with vegetables.

Following last year's autumn harvest method, we harvested leafy greens, green beans, eggplants, peppers, and other vegetables that are not easy to preserve.

They harvested and processed the vegetables simultaneously, using methods such as blanching, freezing, slicing, and drying. It took them nearly ten days to finish harvesting all the vegetables.

After the perishable vegetables are harvested, the next crops to be harvested are peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sesame seeds.

I wanted to let the potatoes and sweet potatoes grow a little longer, but I was hoping to feed the rabbits with the peanut, potato, and sweet potato vines, so I had to cut the vines and harvest them first.

First, pull out the peanut vines, remove the peanuts, and throw them directly into the plastic box. The still-green vines are neatly stacked to one side.

It took a whole day to harvest the peanuts, and we got two whole plastic boxes full of them.

I smiled as I looked at the peanuts still covered in mud; this year, I wouldn't have to be so frugal with the peanuts anymore.

Shake the plastic box vigorously to try and get the dirt stuck to the peanuts out through the gaps in the box.

Then, the slightly cleaner peanuts are laid out to dry on the threshing floor. Once they are dry, they can be stored away.

Take a large pair of scissors and cut off the thick roots of the peanut vines one by one. Sweep the yard clean and spread the peanut vines on the ground to dry.

Don't throw away the cut roots; smash off the soil, pile them up next to the woodpile to dry, and they can be used for firewood in winter.

Suddenly I realized how interesting it is to live a farm life. Peanuts can be eaten, seeds can be saved, peanut vines can be used to feed livestock, and even peanut roots can be used to make firewood.

It's truly heartwarming to see that every crop is used to its fullest potential without any waste.