Zhou Huaian and the other two went to the kitchen, took down the medicine jars on the cupboard, scrubbed them, and scooped a ladle of boiling water from the steel pot into the medicine jars.

Lift the hemp rope tied to the gallbladder and put the bear gall into boiling water. When the boiling water covers the bear gall, the gall quickly deflates.

Wang Zhen nodded with satisfaction after seeing it. Zhou Huaian took the bear gall and hung it on the beam, and the three of them went to the main room.

Zhou Yiding picked up a bear paw and said, "I heard that eating bear paws is good for the body. How about we clean the bear paws and make braised bear paws?"

Wang Zhen smiled and shook his head, "You can't eat freshly cut bear paws. You have to leave them for a year until they are completely dry the next year, then you can stew them and eat them."

“Pickle it with salt?” It was the first time Zhou Yiding heard that bear paws had to be pickled for a year before they could be eaten.

"It's not salt." Wang Zhen smiled and said, "Do you two put it together or separately?"

Zhou Yiding: “Let’s release them together.”

Wang Zhen looked at Zhou Huaian, "Brother-in-law, do you have lime and straw paper at home?"

Zhou Huaian looked at the old man, and he nodded and said, "Yes, I'll get it for you."

Wang Zhen smiled and said, "Then let's clean up the bear paw first."

Zhou Huaian and the old man took out firewood and a brazier and lit it in the yard. Several people put the bear paw on the fire, and immediately an unpleasant and pungent smell emanated.

"Fuck! It stinks." Zhou Huaian hurriedly went to the steps to collect a few handkerchiefs and handed them to the three people to plug their noses. Only then could they endure the unpleasant burnt smell.

The four of them burned the fur on the four bear paws completely clean. Since they could not get wet, they just used a knife and a stiff-bristle brush to roughly clean the burnt surface, and then wiped the blood and dirt on the bear paws with straw paper.

While the old man went to get the lime, Wang Zhen asked Zhou Huaian to find a jar. He wiped the pot dry, scooped a few bowls of rice into the pot and stir-fried it until it turned brown. A fragrant rice aroma spread out.

Zhou Yiding saw that he was very skilled in frying and asked, "You can cook too?"

Wang Zhen smiled and shook his head, "The dishes I cook are not tasty. I learned this when I was preparing medicinal herbs."

"What are you doing with fried rice?" Zhou Yiding said as he grabbed a handful and put it in his mouth. It was crispy and delicious, even better than fried beans. "Fragrant! Fried rice is even more fragrant."

"Put the pickled bear paws in jars." Wang Zhen scooped up the fried rice and put it into a basin, and Zhou Huaian and the old man brought the jars and lime.

"The lime is here, all fine lime." Zhou Huaian said with a smile, "Are you going to use the lime to pickle the bear paw?"

"Lime is used to pad the bottom and seal the mouth." Wang Zhen picked up the small wooden shovel in his basket, scooped some lime and poured it into the bottom of the jar to make a layer, and then spread a thick layer of fried rice on it.

Put the bear paws into the jar one by one, pour the remaining fried rice into the jar and stuff it tightly around until the bear paws are completely covered with fried rice, then put lime on top to seal the mouth, and then seal the jar lid.

Wang Zhen took off his gloves and said, "Move it to the wine cellar and store it there. When you eat it next year, take it out, clean it, spread a thick layer of honey on it, simmer it over low heat for an hour, and then wash off the honey.

The bear paws are tender and soft when stewed with charcoal for three or four hours with eight delicacies. If you don’t stew them with honey first, you can’t even eat them after stewing them for three days and three nights.”

The three of them were stunned. They didn't expect that having a good meal would take so much effort and involve so many details.

Wang Zhen paused and looked at the old man. "Bear paws can cure rheumatism and cold legs. Next year, we will stew them so that grandpa and Yiding's father can eat more. Also, pregnant women and infants cannot eat bear paws."

Zhou Huaian asked curiously: "Bear paws are very nutritious, why can't we eat them?"

Wang Zhen thought for a moment, "If pregnant women eat bear paws, their children may be born with allergies. Also, these tonic foods are not very good for infants and young children."

After hearing this, Zhou Huaian recalled what Dr. Wang said to the patient, "No wonder the old man said that whole grains are good things, and eating too much tonic food is not good."

Wang Zhen: "Yes, the whole grains and vegetables and meat we eat on a daily basis contain all the nutrients our bodies need. If we don't need them, there's no need to take them specifically."

Zhou Huaian understood and looked at the old man with a smile, "Grandpa, next year I'll stew it for you, my mom, my husband, and Uncle Daqing to eat more."

The old man said happily: "After Doctor Xiao Wang gave me acupuncture and applied medicine last year, my knees and waist haven't hurt much this winter."

Wang Zhen smiled and said, "That's good. I'll check your pulse later to see if I need to change the prescription."

The old man said gratefully: "Then thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, old man."

Seeing the two men being polite, Zhou Huaian smiled and pulled Zhou Yiding over, and took the jar containing the bear paw, the pheasant, the hare, the ganoderma lucidum and some bear meat to the wine cellar.

He took out a piece of bacon that was so fat it was dripping with oil, and said to Wang Zhen, "Let's take the bear skin to Lao Xiazi to make saltpeter. Do you want to come with us?"

Wang Zhen waved his hand and said, "Grandpa and I are going up the mountain to look for herbs."

"Okay, we'll be back after we deliver it." Zhou Huaian cut a piece of bear meat, took a piece of rib meat, two bottles of wine and two bowls of noodles, a bundle of leaf tobacco, and rode his bicycle out with Zhou Yiding.

When he arrived at Zhou Yiding's house, he took the dog home, took a shower and changed clothes. Zhou Huaian went to Lao Xiazi's house and saw him sitting alone in the yard, staring blankly at the sky.

Zhou Huaian looked at him, and for some reason he remembered the lonely look of Yang Chunyan in his dream, and his heart ached.

He always felt that the dream was too real, as if she had really lived a lifetime like that. So for so long, he didn't dare to ask Yan'er, was it a dream, or did people really have past lives and present lives?

She secretly made up her mind that since he left her alone in her previous life, he would protect her well in this life and give her a peaceful and happy life.

Old Shrimp turned his head and saw him sitting astride a bicycle, standing outside the fence gate and staring at him blankly. He smiled and said, "Youngest, why didn't you go to your mother-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings during the New Year?"

Zhou Huaian came to his senses, "I went there yesterday and came back." He got off the bike and pushed it in, "Uncle Xia, we encountered an old bear when we went into the mountains today... I'd like you to help nitre the bear skin."

"Great, great!" Old Shrimp brought the bamboo basket over and caught the bear skin. "You are lucky, kid. I have been hunting for decades and have never encountered anything like this."

"Hehe, I also think I'm lucky." Zhou Huaian took out the things he brought and put them on the small square table on the eaves. "Uncle Xia, Happy New Year and all the best!"

When Lao Xiazi saw the things on the table, his nose felt a little sour. Ever since his two nephews came to borrow money and he didn't lend them money, they haven't even come to see him during the holidays.

I have seen a lot in the past few years and I have long understood that even my own children are not necessarily reliable, let alone my nephews and nieces. I am a lonely person. If I give them the two dollars I have, then I will be helpless.

"Happy New Year to you too!" He took out a red envelope from his pocket that he had prepared long ago but had not given out yet, "10 cents and 2 cents, red every month, and everything will go smoothly up the mountain."

"Thank you, Uncle Xia." Zhou Huaian took the bag with both hands and put it in his trouser pocket. "If you have any problem, you can come to my house to find me. My grandfather and the old man are all here."

"Okay, okay!" Old Shrimp politely sent him out.

When Zhou Huaian got home, he saw that the old man and Wang Zhen had not returned from the back mountain yet. He parked his bicycle and went to the back mountain as well. He walked all the way to the woods before he saw the two of them in the field where orchids and dendrobiums were planted.

He walked forward with a smile and said to Wang Zhen, "Spring orchids are pretty good looking when they bloom! Which kind do you like? I'll dig a few and plant them in pots. When they grow well, I'll send them to you."

Wang Zhen: "Okay, I'll go back and find some flower pots, bring them back next time, and dig up a few plants that are easy to grow."

Zhou Huaian remembered that he said last time that he wanted to go to the big pit, "Are you guys done with your shopping? Do you want to go to the big pit?"

Wang Zhen nodded and said, "We're done with the tour. The old man has taken good care of the medicinal fields."

The old man felt relieved after hearing this. "Growing herbs is just like growing vegetables and crops. Once you understand their habits, it won't be difficult to take care of them at all."

He liked the Wang family's grandparents and grandchildren very much. They were capable but not arrogant. It was a blessing for the youngest son to be relatives of such a family.

The three men came out of the medicinal field. Zhou Huaian and Wang Zhen went to the big pit, and the old man went to repair his fence. He tied the vines of chicken shit vine, rose, codonopsis pilosula, golden vine, wild yam, etc. planted beside the wall to the fence with straw, so that they could climb along the fence to prevent them from climbing everywhere.

Zhou Huaian took Wang Zhen to the big pit. After leading him in, he walked a few steps to the east on the thick moss and pointed at the green dendrobium. "Look, the whole area below is full of dendrobiums. When the whole area is in bloom, it looks even prettier than the calendar painting."

Wang Zhen followed the direction Zhou Huaian pointed, looked at the green dendrobium sprouting from top to bottom, and imagined the scene when a large area of ​​dendrobium bloomed. "Let me know when it blooms, and I will definitely come to see it and take a few photos to preserve."

Zhou Huaian didn't believe it, "You always say you'll come, but by then you'll be too busy to leave."

Wang Zhen smiled and said, "I can't get away. You are still here! I will give you the camera and you can take pictures for me."

Zhou Huaian shook his head like a rattle, "Yours is too advanced, I don't know how to play it, let's wait until you are free to shoot it."

Wang Zhen: "When I went back this time, I heard from them that there is a new type of camera called a point-and-shoot camera. I will call the boss there and ask him to send a few over. I guarantee you will be able to use them."

"Point-and-shoot camera!" Zhou Huaian read it once and laughed, "From the literal meaning, it means it's very simple, even a fool can use it, right?"

Wang Zhen smiled and nodded, "Yes! It will definitely not be difficult for a clever fool like you."

Zhou Huaian pointed at him and said, "If Chunyan and Xiaomei hear this, they will say that you learned this from me and are becoming more and more slick!"

Wang Zhen looked at him seriously, "No, I'm telling the truth!" In fact, he still loved to joke, but he just hadn't found someone to joke with before. (End of this chapter)