The meat wouldn't keep well, so I thought I'd make more steamed buns; they could take something to eat on their way up the mountain.

Zhang Shuzhen didn't feel anything while chopping the filling, but after her daughter-in-law said that, she looked back at the house and the surrounding area and burst out laughing.

"Yes, we have a lot of family members. Except for Xinhua, everyone else is still able to eat. If we make more steamed buns, it will be easier for us to cook tomorrow and the day after. That's good."

Zhou Qinglan thought about it and realized it made sense. People were so busy right now, so it would be better to prepare more food in advance to save them from having to work so hard every day.

When the first batch of steamed buns came out of the pot, the whistle of a commuter train sounded at the small train station north of the forest farm.

Needless to say, the people who went up the mountain to gather cattle hair returned by car.

“Perfect timing, your dad will eat as soon as he gets home. He went up the mountain to pick vegetables by himself today, so there aren’t many. We can just boil the vegetables after we finish eating.”

Zhang Shuzhen picked the buns out of the pot and put them into a small basket, then had Sheng Yunfang and the others bring them into the house.

Sheng Xi'an ran to the vegetable garden, picked a few garlic sprouts with roots, cleaned them, and chopped them up.

At this time of year, where can you find the garlic left over from last autumn? It's all sprouted and grown long ago.

But eating steamed buns without garlic felt a bit bland, so Sheng Xi'an went to the field to pick garlic sprouts, figuring it would be enough to make do.

Two baskets of steamed buns and a bowl of garlic sauce were placed on the kang table. The remaining buns were picked up and placed on the lid. Just then, Sheng Liancheng entered the room with a bag on his back and heavy steps.

"Hey, what delicious food are you making at home today? I can smell the aroma from the yard!"

"Xiping, I just heard that you brought back two black bears today? What's going on?" Sheng Liancheng asked loudly as soon as he entered the courtyard.

"Dad, the steamed buns we made today are filled with bear meat and celery, they smell amazing."

Hurry up and change your clothes, wash your hands, and eat. My mom just said to eat first, then cook the vegetables.

Before Zhang Shuzhen and the others could speak, Sheng Xitai, who had finished his homework and was coaxing his little nephew in the yard, quickly spoke to his father.

Sheng Liancheng went into the mountains alone, so naturally he couldn't gather that many hairy catties; he could only gather about sixty or seventy catties.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Liancheng threw the bag on the ground, took off his coat, patted the mud off his pants, then went inside, scooped up a basin of water, and washed his face and hands.

The family was all together, and Zhang Shuzhen urged them to hurry up and eat. Steamed buns were simple; no side dishes were needed, just garlic sauce and vinegar.

So each of them grabbed a bun, took a big bite, and savored the unique freshness of the celery leaves mixed with the succulent bear meat. The juice flowed down the seams of the bun with every bite, and the taste was absolutely amazing.

"Oh, these steamed buns are so delicious."

Sheng Liancheng took a big bite and chewed, nodding repeatedly. The others echoed his sentiments, even the little guy Sheng Xinhua was shouting "Good!"

Zhou Qinglan is about four months pregnant. She didn't experience much discomfort or vomiting in the early stages of her pregnancy, and now she has no symptoms at all and has a good appetite.

The only thing is that I love sour food. Whether I'm eating steamed buns, dumplings, or noodles, I have to add vinegar.

Just now, everyone else used a spoon to scoop a little garlic sauce onto the bun, but she used a separate sauce with a lot of vinegar in it, and she thought it tasted better that way.

Pregnant women have all sorts of cravings, and everyone's used to it, so nobody says anything.

Eat whatever you like, as long as you're healthy.

Everyone ate their meal to their heart's content; even Sheng Xinhua ate a steamed bun.

These days, people don't care about refinement; they just want to be full and work quickly. So, the steamed buns the Sheng family makes are about the size of a palm.

For a child as small as Sheng Xinhua to eat one steamed bun is quite a lot.

I made quite a lot of steamed buns today, steaming four batches, and the steamed buns filled a large basin.

Zhang Shuzhen glanced at it and was quite pleased, knowing she wouldn't have to worry about what to cook for about two or three days.

After tidying up the house, the cowhair outside was also scalded. It weighed sixty or seventy pounds. Sheng Yunfang, Sheng Yunfei, and Sheng Xitai all rushed to scald it without anyone else having to lift a finger.

The two sisters were quick, each carrying out a basket of soil. Sheng Xitai was slow, so Zhang Shuzhen helped him, and they managed to get out most of the baskets.

However, in the end, Zhang Shuzhen still gave him five cents, which made Sheng Xitai jump for joy.

Sheng Xiping didn't need to lift a finger to handle that small amount of deer antler; he simply processed and prepared it.

The next day, those who needed to go up the mountain went up the mountain, and those who needed to go to school went to school; everyone was busy with their own things.

At home, Zhang Shuzhen cut off the fatty parts of the bear meat to render oil. The rendered oil can be eaten for a long time, and it can also be stored even if it gets greasy.

The remaining lean meat and venison were placed in a cool, shady place and kept submerged in cold water so that they could last for a couple more days.

These past few days, the Sheng family has been eating meat in various ways: stir-fried meat slices, stewed soup, meatballs, and fried meat sauce. At least they finished it all before it spoiled.

With meat to eat, people have strength and can do more work.

Sheng Liancheng led his three sons up the mountain every day, as long as it didn't rain heavily, and they could bring back quite a few cow hairs every day.

Before we knew it, more than half of June had passed, the forest farm's afforestation production had begun, and this season's mulberry planting season was coming to an end.

The price of dried ox hair has risen a bit this year. More than 300 jin of dried vegetables sold for more than 1,700 yuan, which made Zhang Shuzhen very happy.

The forest farm is only so big, and it's impossible to keep the price each household sells for a secret. If they sell in the morning, the news will spread throughout the forest farm by the afternoon.

The four able-bodied men of the Sheng family earned 1,700 to 1,800 yuan in less than a month just from selling cow hair, not even counting the bear bile and deer antlers that Sheng Xiping processed. With such a speed of making money, who wouldn't be tempted?

With the second son of the Sheng family reaching a certain age, every family in the forest farm with a daughter of the same age would have their eyes on him.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!