A folk song goes: "Wheat-yellow crab, bean-yellow turtle."

It's said that when the wheat is turning yellow, the crabs are at their fattest, the males are full of meat, and the females are full of roe. They're all quite heavy.

And now is the season when turtles are at their fattest.

After a long day of farm work, the villagers would go into the water to catch wild turtles after dinner.

As evening approaches and the sun is about to set, walk along the riverbanks of Baiyang River and Sanzhi River, and you'll see many people wading in waist-deep water, wielding long wooden-handled U-shaped iron forks, occasionally thrusting them forcefully into the water.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

If you hear a "plop" sound, like it's been stuck into a pot lid, then you've probably stuck a turtle.

At this point, you must not pull the fork straight up, but rather use the fork horizontally to lift the turtle out of the water.

Water splashed everywhere, and the turtle thrashed about with its limbs. Once it was thrown into the pocket, it could never escape again.

There are many turtles in the river; you can catch one or two in one night.

Whether sold to the production team or eaten at home, it is excellent.

The aquaculture base in Lijiapo also has two ponds specifically for raising turtles. There is a restaurant in Yanjing City that specializes in turtles, and its specialty dish is the Longevity Banquet.

Listen to this, wow, a longevity banquet!

Just by listening to it, you can tell that this whole table of dishes is made from turtle.

Now is the peak season for turtles to be sold in large quantities, and Guo Daming led his men to drain all the water from the turtle ponds, leaving only mud and sand at the bottom.

Many small fish and shrimp were jumping around at the bottom of the pond, but the turtles all plunged into the mud and sand, and not a single one could be seen.

It would be too time-consuming to search the bottom of the pond one by one.

Li Guoqing came up with a good idea.

Because turtles usually hide one or two centimeters below the mud and sand, the teeth of the rake can reach them.

After draining the water, we drove the old ox into the pond, harnessed it to a rake, and with a flick of the whip, the ox began to slowly walk through the mud and sand.

As the old ox moved, the rake was moved, and then one by one, big turtles covered in mud, with their necks and limbs tucked in, were raked out.

The people following behind were quick-witted and threw the turtles they had raked out into a glass fiber bag.

Seven or eight large, fat turtles, each weighing over ten kilograms, can fill a sack. Once they've gathered a thousand kilograms, they're sent to Yanjing City.

From these two ponds, a total of over 5,000 catties of turtles were harvested. At 3 cents per catty, they sold for a total of 1,863.68 yuan.

Li Xiangdong led a few friends to watch the turtles for a while, and then went to the crab pond to take a look. The crabs raised there were the "Orchid No. 1" hairy crabs, a new variety cultivated by Professor Liu Minle.

These hairy crabs are fresh and not fishy, ​​with a rich, fatty flavor and a sweet aftertaste. They also have the advantages of being plump with roe and not easily losing their roe.

When Li Xiangdong arrived, there were many students interning at the crab pond, recording the growth of the hairy crabs.

As Li Xiangdong walked out of the aquaculture base, he suddenly felt a little hungry.

He wants to eat kiln-roasted chicken and kiln-roasted sweet potatoes!

"How about we make a kiln-roasted chicken for National Day?"

"Sure! Autumn is the perfect time to eat kiln-roasted chicken!"

Li Guoqing readily agreed.

Let's do it!

There's no need to buy chickens elsewhere; Li Xiangdong's chicken coop already has plenty of plump little hens!

After a flurry of activity, several people caught three hens, boiled water, plucked their feathers, and gutted them. In no time, the three hens were transformed into three white-feathered chickens.

Massage the three chickens inside and out with soy sauce, salt, and various seasonings. Then stuff fresh ginger, scallion segments, and Sichuan peppercorns into the chicken's cavity. Just wait for the kiln to be fired before putting them in.

The most important thing in making kiln-roasted chicken is to use a good kiln.

They carried chickens, matches, and a few bricks straight to the second road plot!

The soil there is quite hard, making it perfect for building kilns.

They found a field where the crops had already been harvested and dug a hole with shovels.

A stove was built next to the pit using red bricks for burning, and the rest of the space was filled with fist-sized hard clods of earth, piled up around the edge of the pit to form a half-meter-high earthen kiln.

"Second Brother, Xiang Jie, Yu Xi, Xiao Jun, go find firewood, the more the better!"

Li Guoqing placed the last clod of earth on top of the kiln, and then instructed the others to gather firewood.

To make kiln-roasted chicken, the residual heat of the earthen bricks is used to bake the chicken meat, so the earthen kiln must reach a certain high temperature.

It usually requires everyone to burn it continuously for two or three hours.

Although it is autumn now, there is not much firewood in the field.

In the years when gas and natural gas were not common, every household needed firewood for cooking, so even the smallest dry branches in the fields would be picked up and brought home by diligent people.

Li Xiangdong and his group went around for a long time and only picked up some dry corn stalks.

Li Guoqing was speechless. "There's not even enough firewood to dry the damp soil!"

Li Xiangdong hadn't expected the problem to be about firewood. He scratched his head and thought for a moment, "Xiaojun, you haven't finished dismantling the planks from your old house, have you? Shall we get some first?"

"Sure! Anyway, my dad won't be able to tell whether there's a lot or a little more beating."

Lured by the kiln-roasted chicken, the group headed straight for Zhao Xiaojun's old house, despite the hardship.

This is the last old residential area to be renovated. No one lives here anymore, and there are broken plates, bowls, and bottles scattered everywhere.

Pushing open Zhao Xiaojun's door, the four of them headed straight for his wooden plank.

"Banzhangzi" refers to a fence or wall.

Wealthy families or families with many members would build courtyards with adobe bricks, but most families, lacking this ability, would use thin bamboo poles, planks, and small logs to enclose their courtyards.

This type of fence built with wooden planks is called a "plank fence".

After decades of exposure to the wind and sun, the planks have dried out, making them perfect for burning as firewood.

They worked together, continuing to dismantle the plank from the gap where Zhao Xiaojun's father had dismantled it.

As Guo Yuxi disassembled the device, she said worriedly, "Your dad won't be able to tell, will he?"

That's so much less!

Zhao Xiaojun said nonchalantly, "My dad's heart isn't in this firewood right now."

Where?

"At a slaughterhouse!"

"That's true, your dad's a deputy factory director now, no less!"

Guo Yuxi asked enviously, "Second brother, when will my father become an official?"

Li Xiangdong: ...

"Uncle Jin Fang doesn't seem to like being an official; he prefers growing watermelons."

"Sigh, my dad is so unambitious!"

Li Xiangjie retorted nonchalantly, "What does it mean to be ambitious? As long as you have food and drink and do a job you like, that's enough. Why do you have to become an official?"

Guo Yuxi was easily persuaded, and after thinking about it, he realized it made sense and stopped dwelling on the issue.

As they were pulling on their canes, they suddenly heard a hen clucking, and then a large hen fluttered out of the nearby weeds.

"Oh dear, that hen that lays eggs! Quickly check if there are any eggs!"