Chapter 31: There will be cocoon pupae this year, and three in two years.

Fire prevention in forest areas is a major issue and is emphasized every spring and autumn. However, such a mistake actually occurred. The forest farm expressed its great importance to this.

Fire prevention slogans were repainted on the walls of the site and several important locations, and the number of broadcasts that were already providing fire prevention publicity was doubled, with the broadcasts played on a daily loop.

Qi Fang and Shi Hu were naturally praised for their timely reporting and accurate monitoring, which prevented a fire from spreading. They'd probably even apply to the bureau to be designated a model forest fire prevention officer. All that remained was to repeatedly emphasize the importance of spring fire prevention: no smoking in the mountains, no open flames...

It is said that the fire that day was caused by a few children roasting potatoes on the mountain. Although the broadcast did not mention the names, everyone knew who they were.

After all, the forest farm is so small that many things cannot be hidden from people. And there is no need to inquire about this matter in detail. You can find out by looking at which child has walked in a strange posture because of being spanked.

Yan Xue listened to the live version more than others. Yu Cuiyun's son also went there, and Yu Cuiyun was so angry that she chased him and beat him halfway down the street.

Unfortunately, Yu Cuiyun had a shoulder injury and could not be hit. In the end, Liang Qimao took his son back and beat him up. Yu Cuiyun went to the hospital again the next day because of the pain.

"There's something wrong with her family's education method. How can they not care about their children in normal times but just beat them when they get into trouble?" Aunt Guo said this to Yan Xue when they were picking vegetables together in the yard.

Yan Xue also felt that there was something wrong with the way the Yu family raised their children. Both Yu Yongzhi and Yu Cuiyun's son spoke harshly but were actually very spoiled.

So one dared to wander around with a gun, the other cried and clamored for roller skates, and even went up the mountain to roast potatoes during spring, when fires are most likely to start. Even when Director Yu said he couldn't let his son touch a gun again, she was skeptical. After all, Yu Yongzhi still drank, and it seemed his family couldn't stop him.

"Auntie is really good at educating children," Yan Xue said with a smile, "Our Tiedan is so good, so smart and sensible."

"Do you think he never secretly started a fire? He didn't even put it out after he started it, and the flame burned his hand. He's a coward, so he never dared to do it again, so I pretended I didn't know."

Aunt Guo clearly understood when to be lenient and when to be strict. "Among all my children, Chang'an got the most beatings, and I loved him the most. When he was little, I beat him because he was stubborn and courageous. He dared to try anything, no matter how dangerous it was. At that time, the elders said that such children had great potential and would be great if they were properly disciplined. Who could have imagined..."

Guo Changan is indeed very capable. Whether he becomes a sawyer's assistant or finds a partner, he relies on himself, not his family.

But fate played a trick on him, and he still had to lie on the kang. He had been injured for less than a hundred days and couldn't get out of bed. Even if he could get out of bed in the future, he didn't know if he would be able to walk again.

It has been more than a month since he was discharged from the hospital. Living in the same courtyard, Yan Xue has never heard his voice, which shows how silent he is.

Yan Xue didn't want Aunt Guo to be too upset, so she calmly changed the subject, "Auntie, do you think this is celery or a cover?"

Aunt Guo adjusted her reading glasses and quickly took the one in her hand away. "You can't eat this. If you don't eat it properly, you'll die."

Guo Changping's wife couldn't sit still. As soon as the seasonal work stopped and the agricultural team hadn't started farming yet, she went up the mountain to get some wild vegetables.

There are dandelions, broccoli, swallowtail, and mountain celery, also known as large-leaf celery, which was picked from some warm and sunny slope. Each root is only as long as a hand.

This stuff is delicious in buns and dumplings, stir-fried, mixed, or even dipped in sauce. The only downside is that it's easy to pick the stalks. They look a lot like celery, except the stems are harder and the back doesn't reflect light like celery does. They're also highly poisonous; eating just two or three stalks can kill.

Yan Xue knew it was a cover-up, she was using it to divert Aunt Guo's attention. Sure enough, Aunt Guo forgot what had just happened, but she remembered something else -

"You and Xiao Qi have been married for two or three months, right? How is it going? Is there any news?"

As soon as she saw Auntie Guo lower her voice, Yan Xue knew it was probably some private conversation. Then she listened to the content...

As expected, it is impossible not to be asked this question after getting married, even if she and Qi Fang are currently just roommates.

Roommates who sleep in the same bed are also roommates.

Yan Xue lowered her head and said nothing. Aunt Guo knew at a glance that nothing had happened yet. "Then you better hurry up. It's almost May, and Xiao Qi won't be able to stay at home for a few months. He has to go up the mountain again. If you don't get one now, you might have to wait until next year."

Aunt Guo didn't seem to be simply urging her. "Some people in our forest farm are gossipy. If you don't make any progress next year, they'll start gossiping about you again."

What else could Yan Xue say? She could only promise her, "Qi Fang and I will work hard to have a baby this year and three in two years."

"You're going to have three babies in two years, or even triplets?" Aunt Guo was amused by her.

Yan Xue also wanted to laugh, but when she looked up, she saw a familiar tall figure standing at the gate of the courtyard. She didn't know how much she had heard.

This is a bit embarrassing, after all, she has had three children for two years without the other party's consent.

And although she calmed down after the quarrel that day, her emotions still fluctuated when she thought back to that time.

This was not common for her. In the past, no matter how harshly others said something, she could control herself and not take it to heart.

Besides, Qi Fang's words were not very unpleasant if you looked closely, they were just inappropriate at the right time. She was still unhappy and even said it to her face.

This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if she was someone who liked to make a fuss.

As a result, she felt awkward, and Qi Fang was even more awkward than her. The moment his eyes met hers, he even avoided her gaze.

He paused at the door before stepping into the yard and greeting everyone, "Auntie Guo."

Auntie Guo didn't notice the little awkwardness between the two. She smiled and said, "Hey, Xiao Qi is back? What happened to your face? Why is there a bruise?"

"I got it on the mountain." Qi Fang went in and put the things down, then quickly folded them out and squatted beside them to help the two of them pick vegetables.

He was tall, with long legs. Even when he was squatting, he was taller than the two people sitting on the small bench. Aunt Guo looked at him and said, "We're talking about you. You and Xiao Yan need to get on with it."

"Yes." Qi Fang lowered his eyelids and picked them seriously, "I will try to have one this year, and three in two years."

As expected, she heard it, and Yan Xue unconsciously slowed down her movements.

Qi Fang noticed it and immediately took the handful from her hand to pick them, but still didn't look at her.

Aunt Guo looked at the couple one by one, squinting her eyes and smiling, "I think it's okay. You two are good-looking, and the child will definitely be good-looking."

As he spoke, he divided the vegetables he had picked and gave some of each to the two of them. "There aren't many left. I can do it myself. Xiao Qi just came back. You two don't have to stay here with me."

Yan Xue didn't move at all. "You said there aren't many left. My hands are all occupied. Just pick them all."

She didn't move, so Qi Fang naturally didn't move either. He then quietly moved the vegetables that she hadn't picked to his side.

Yan Xue reached out and found nothing, only to realize that the food was gone. When she tried to pull it back, her arms were too short to reach it, so she could only chat with Aunt Guo with her hands empty.

Aunt Guo saw this and quickly quickened her pace, picking all the vegetables before she got too full.

Qi Fang immediately took the broom and swept the floor, throwing away what needed to be thrown away and feeding the chickens what needed to be fed to the chickens.

Yan Xue didn't wait for him. She went into the house first, put down the dishes, and started washing her hands.

After a while, Qi Fang came in. Seeing her washing her hands, he came over to wash them too. He used the remaining water and applied the soap she had just applied.

It's not like they haven't washed together before; after all, there's only one large basin in the house. But today, perhaps because it's too quiet, Yan Xue starts to feel a little awkward again.

This made Yan Xue speed up her hand washing. Just as she was about to shake off the water and get a towel to wipe it, someone suddenly grabbed her fingertips.

Qi Fang had very big hands, and Yan Xue noticed it when he was putting on shoes on his wedding day.

Not only are the fingers large, but they are also slender and strong, covered with a thin layer of flesh, making the joints appear distinct.

At this moment, he just gently grasped her hand, and her small hand was almost completely grasped in it. She could still feel the thin calluses on his fingertips through the slippery liquid.

Yan Xue pulled back subconsciously, and was immediately grabbed tightly. There was still some soap on the man's hand that had not been washed off, but he was still able to hold it.

She couldn't help but look up at the man. He paused, took the soap and rubbed it on her hand again, "There's mud."

"It's as if I didn't know there was mud and didn't wash it clean." Yan Xue still pulled it out.

In the past, Qi Fang would have let it go. After all, with his personality, he wouldn't take the initiative to grab someone's hand. But he actually shook hands again, both hands, and whispered, "I was wrong. Is it okay if I was wrong?"

I don’t know if he was referring to the “mud” he just said, or the words that made Yan Xue angry a few days ago.

And why do these two sentences sound so familiar?

It seemed like I ran into Liu Weiguo that night and heard him talk about this when he was coaxing Zhou Wenhui...

It was his cold and handsome face, coupled with his cold tone, that made Yan Xue suspect that she had actually heard it wrong.

Yan Xue couldn't help but look up at the other person again. The man didn't look at her, but lowered his eyes to help her wash her hands carefully. After washing, he took a towel to dry her.

This service was really good. Except for when she was a child and those few months when she fell on her head and had to lie on the kang, Yan Xue had never been served like this before.

Qi Fang probably had never served anyone like this before. He raised his eyes to look at her, then lowered them again, "I brought you something."

Why does this look so much like Jigang did something wrong and is afraid of her blame, so he's looking at her face to try to please her?

Yan Xue raised her eyebrows. The man had already walked into the house and opened the cloth bag that she had brought to the mountain.

It was just as full as when she brought it, but the difference was that the food inside had been replaced with silk cocoons, which were densely packed, much more than what they had picked up last time.

Yan Xue couldn't help but glance at the man again. "You're not going to wipe out all the silkworms from the nearby hills, are you?"

Qi Fang's expression suddenly froze.

"They really wiped out everything at once?" Yan Xue opened her eyes wide.

How long would this take? Last time, they had only picked up a dozen or so, having carefully walked along the way.

Qi Fang didn't know what he was thinking about. After hearing her say that, he paused and said, "Next year I will find a way to go to the neighboring province to buy it for you."

"I don't have to eat this." Yan Xue was speechless.

But even though she felt a little awkward, she didn't want to keep nagging about it since the other person had even offered an apology. After all, she felt that her anger was a little unlikeable.

She was still feeling awkward, so she didn't mention what happened that day and didn't want to ask. She just opened the silk cocoon with the man and prepared to eat it that day.

It's already the end of April. If I don't eat it now, the cocoon pupa will turn into a moth.

This time, I cooked it in a wok and stir-fried it with oil. Everything went smoothly, and soon the tempting aroma filled the small, semi-mud house.

Yan Xue scooped something out of the sizzling pot and filled a large plate. Qi Fang took it and was about to bring it to the table when someone came over, smelling the food. "What's that smelling so good?"

Before Yan Xue turned around, Qi Fang, who was facing the door, had already glanced over and pinned the person there.

"What's the matter? Did I come at the wrong time?"

Liu Weiguo had already stepped one foot into the door and looked at the two people in the room, but didn't see anything wrong in the atmosphere.

"No, you came at the right time." Yan Xue smiled, "Every time I make something delicious, you can always catch up."

After hearing her say this, Liu Weiguo reacted and glanced at Qi Fang, "Then I'll pretend I haven't been here and come back later?" As he said this, he made a gesture to leave.

Obviously, this was just a pretense. Unexpectedly, Qi Fang said calmly, "That's fine."

Liu Weiguo stopped there at that time, making Yan Xue almost laugh out loud.

"Okay, stop teasing him." She pushed the man.

Qi Fang lowered his eyes and glanced at the little hand on his waist. Without saying anything else, he carried the plate in and went in.

Liu Weiguo then stepped in, carrying a metal bucket. "I've never seen him so stingy before. What happened after he got married?"

"He was just teasing you." Yan Xue explained for the man.

Liu Weiguo snorted in disbelief, "Forget it, he would rather eat his fill than share a bite with anyone else."

When someone came in, Yan Xue could see that the bucket was actually full of fish. Liu Weiguo hadn't come alone. He was followed by Zhou Wenhui, whose face was flushed and eyes were still shining.

Yan Xue immediately understood. This guy was probably taking his girlfriend to show off his strengths. "Did you go fishing in the river?"

"I didn't catch it, I got it from Xiawuziwu." Liu Weiguo put down the bucket and said, "Didn't I cause trouble for your Qi Fang last time when I repaired the watch? This is our apology."

Yan Xue laughed, "Didn't we talk about that right then? You even helped us get firewood for the whole afternoon."

"That's different," Liu Weiguo said seriously, glancing at Zhou Wenhui. "An apology is an apology, and our apology is ours."

This was the third time he said “the two of us”. If Yan Xue still couldn’t see that he was still trying to show off their affection, then she would be a fool.

She wasn't going to refuse this, since it was a bonus with the dog food anyway.

Zhou Wenhui, however, came along not just to deliver the fish, but also to bring Yan Xue a message. The people from the county's local product supply department agreed to help Yan Xue find those seaweeds. "They said they might not be able to find the first two, but they're sure to find the laver. How much do you want?"

Nori has the lowest gelatin yield among several raw materials, but since the other two are not available, this is the only option.

Yan Xue thought for a moment and said, "If you have the other two, buy ten kilograms, and if you have seaweed, buy twenty kilograms."

After a pause, he asked again, "Did you do it?"

"It should be dry."

In those days, it was too inconvenient to transport kelp wet, so kelp was sold dried.

When making agar, the dry agar needs to be soaked first, but it does not affect the gelatinization.

Zhou Wenhui took note of it carefully and was about to say goodbye when Yan Xue called them over with a smile, "Since you're here, eat something before you leave."

"No, I'll just go to the cafeteria to eat." Zhou Wenhui quickly refused.

However, Liu Weiguo was attracted by the smell outside the door and was extremely curious. "What did you make? I'll ask my mom to make some when I get home."

"That's difficult. Qi Fang has taken over several nearby mountains." Yan Xue laughed and simply took the bowl and chopsticks into the house to pick some. "These are silkworm pupae picked up from the mountains. See if you can get used to eating them."

Zhou Wenhui also thought it smelled delicious, but once she saw the food, she didn't dare to eat it.

Liu Weiguo was not afraid of that. He had roasted and eaten all the fireworms he chopped. He took one and said, "This thing smells delicious, even better than meat."

The surface was already a little crispy because it was stir-fried, and when you bite into it, the protein inside is soft and tender. The combination of the two completely captured his taste buds.

He immediately picked one up and gave it to Zhou Wenhui, "Try it. It's usually difficult to get something out of Qi Fang's mouth."

Zhou Wenhui looked down and still didn't dare to eat.

"It's delicious," Liu Weiguo emphasized. "Otherwise, there aren't many of these things on the mountain. How could Qi Fang have caught them all?"

Yan Xue also asked her to try it, so Zhou Wenhui blushed and plucked up the courage to try one.

She even closed her eyes while eating, feeling like a hero. She took a small bite, chewed it, and couldn't help but open her eyes again, "It's really delicious!"

"Is it delicious?" Liu Weiguo didn't care about himself anymore and hurriedly handed the bowl to her.

Zhou Wenhui ate two more but refused to eat any more. Liu Weiguo didn't eat any more either. "Ask Qi Fang which hills are left to be taken. I'll go get them right away."

This was obviously a joke. Qi Fang just happened to come out from the inner room, so Yan Xue raised her chin and said, "Ask yourself."

"Forget it, I'm afraid he'll make me vomit." Liu Weiguo quickly left. "You guys are busy, we'll go back first."

Yan Xue took out some of the meat that she had marinated earlier and fried some celery, and the meal was complete.

Wild vegetables are delicious, but they also absorb a lot of oil. If you don’t use enough oil when cooking, the dish will taste a bit dry.

Qi Fang took it as usual, and Yan Xue also took off her apron. "The celery is still a little tender and the flavor is not strong. I will go up the mountain to pick some more in a couple of days. I will make dumplings in May."

When she mentioned going up the mountain, she paused and unconsciously recalled what the man said to her that day.

Qi Fang also thought of it, raised his eyes and looked at her seriously, "I was scared that day and said the wrong thing. I didn't mean to stop you from going up the mountain or talking to people."

His sincere apology made Yan Xue feel awkward again. "I know, I was just in a bad mood at the time."

Subconsciously, he brought up another topic. "Liu Weiguo sent quite a bit of fish. The big ones fill up a whole plate, and the small ones take up half a plate. How are you going to eat them?"

"All right." Qi Fang never cared about food. He picked up a few cocoon pupae for Yan Xue, and when he saw that Yan Xue didn't mention anything about that day, he paused and said nothing more.

It’s better not to let Yan Xue know about some bad things, so as not to ruin her mood for eating. Last time she didn’t get to eat the cocoon pupae.

If Qi Fang hadn't said anything, Yan Xue would have just moved on. Unexpectedly, Liu Weiguo arrived just after dinner, shovel and pickaxe in hand. "Are you all done eating? The four tractors from the forest farm have arrived, and several tractor drivers are testing them. They want us young people to go clear the big rocks off the mountain."

"We're here so early?" Yan Xue thought it was almost autumn.

"New things must be tested for a while, otherwise who would dare to let it go up the mountain to cut down trees?"

Liu Weiguo reminded Qi Fang: "My father and Uncle Hu both recommended you this year. You have to hurry up and perform well now, and don't give them a chance to catch you."

Going up the mountain to clear rocks is voluntary labor and you don't get paid, but these days voluntary labor is common.

Building the headquarters building, repairing the forestry roads... all of this was done by the employees during their off-work hours. When it got busy, even the children from every family had to tag along. The last time we patrolled the mountains, we were given a bonus, and that was because it was dangerous.

There wasn't much stone-clearing work this time, so he could go or not. But if Qi Fang didn't go at this time, it would be easy for people to make trouble.

Qi Fang also understood his good intentions and glanced towards the inner door, "Wait for me to change my shirt."

"We are all grown men, what are you afraid of?"

Liu Weiguo said this as he walked out. Halfway through, he felt something was wrong. "If you think it's dirty, just change your pants. Why change your shirt?"

From the inner room came a casual remark: "Yan Xuexin bought this for me."

"Damn it!" Liu Weiguo couldn't help it.

He just came here to show off before dinner, and after dinner, someone showed it directly to his face. Qi Fang definitely did it on purpose!

When the two arrived, Liang Qimao and another tractor driver had already started testing the machine on flat ground.

Secretary Lang, Director Yu, Xu Wenli and a few unfamiliar faces were standing by. When they saw the two people coming, Director Yu even glanced over here.

"Did you see that? We're going to catch you," Liu Weiguo whispered, then immediately raised his voice and asked, "Which mountain are you clearing?"

The trial area had been marked out long ago. Secretary Lang raised his hand and gestured, "Over there, by the big rock halfway up the mountain. Just clear out the areas that are in the way, and don't worry about the rest."

A stranger nearby also said with a smile: "It's enough to just clean it up. Our wood is called 'Ivy', so we don't mind the difficult road."

Unlike after the household contract responsibility system was implemented, when the land was divided into small plots and small four-wheel tractors became popular, the main force in agriculture at that time was still crawler tractors.

Forestry tractors differ from agricultural tractors in that they have wider tracks and greater power to adapt to the rugged mountain roads of forest areas. The truck bed has also been replaced by a simple trailer. During transport, the large end of the original tractor is fixed to the bucket, and the small end drags the ground, allowing for quick and convenient movement through the forest.

Now that it was free of load, the logger 50 moved even more smoothly and soon went up the mountain along the mountain path cleared by everyone.

Liu Weiguo stood at a distance and watched, "This time the approval is quite impressive. Such a steep slope and such a deep ditch, they just crossed it in no time."

Qi Fang was busy with his own things and just said "hmm", not looking very interested.

"I heard the engine has been replaced with a gasoline-powered one," Liu Weiguo continued. "The Russians' RT-12 used to run on firewood, which was very difficult to drive."

In fact, the country later introduced a batch of J40s from Sulguan, which did not require burning firewood, but Jinchuan Forest Farm did not have them, and Qi Fang still did not say anything.

When it comes to being a listener, Qi Fang is far inferior to his wife Yan Xue, so Liu Weiguo was not so happy to speak.

But he continued, "I heard that this batch of loggers from our forest farm is different from other loggers. It uses the latest hydrostatic system..."

Before he could finish his words, Qi Fang, who had been making people wonder if he was listening, suddenly looked up and asked, "What did you just say? What system?"