Chapter 061 Another Big Profit
Earlier, Ye Qing used maltose to make the syrup, but Gu Weidong only had about ten maltose in his pocket, and she had emptied them all. Where could she get more maltose now?
But these black bears were hiding here, obviously coming for the syrup in her hand.
If she couldn't produce it, these black bears would not have the patience to listen to her reason. They would definitely show their black claws and ask the people in the cabin whether they could understand this reason.
Here Ye Qing was so anxious that he was almost sweating, while Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei, the brother and sister, were still staring at the green python with curiosity.
After all, the Baishan Green Python is a willow fairy that the people of Northeast China revere in their bones. Its status is second only to the weasel and the hedgehog. Many people even believe that the magic power of the willow fairy is greater than that of the fox fairy. In short, people respect and worship snakes very much.
The Gu siblings were also very scared of snakes. In the past, when they were in the mountains, they were fearless people. But as soon as they saw a snake, they would scream in fear and their legs would become so weak that they dared not walk.
But now they saw such a big Baishan green python being stepped on by the black bear so undignifiedly and slapped in the face from time to time. It could be said that it was quite disrespectful. This scene instantly shattered the filters of the two siblings and they could no longer be in awe of the green python.
The brother and sister began to discuss that if the White Mountain Green Python today and the fox that exchanged the red Ganoderma lucidum for sweet potatoes yesterday fought, no one would know who would be more powerful. They even argued so hard that they almost came to blows again.
Ye Qing was so pissed off by the brother and sister that he almost gave these two unreasonable brats a good beating.
Seeing Ye Qing's solemn and tangled expression, Gu Weidong immediately reacted:
"Did you use all the candy?"
Ye Qing raised his head and glared at him: "What else do you think? It's already good enough to boil out so much juice from just a handful of sugar. If it wasn't for tricking those two bear cubs away, would I have come up with such a trick?"
She didn't expect to shoot herself in the foot and end up having the whole family of four relying on her!
Seeing Ye Qing as nervous and anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and comparing him to the bears outside who were sitting as obediently as kindergarten kids, the scene was so dramatic that Gu Weidong could hardly hold back his laughter.
Seeing that he could still laugh, Ye Qing immediately rolled his eyes wildly:
"You're still laughing. Hurry up and think of a solution. Otherwise, we won't be able to leave this house today. What if the two bears think we only gave candy to the coyotes and not to the couple? They get angry and might tear us to pieces!"
Gu Weidong was also frantically thinking of a solution at this moment. He remembered that Ye Qing had said that brown sugar could be made by squeezing beetroot juice. An idea suddenly flashed through his mind, and he asked tentatively:
"Can the method of making sugar you mentioned last time be replaced by squeezing fruit juice from wild fruits in the mountains?"
These words instantly awakened Ye Qing.
Yes, if there is no maltose, you can use fructose instead!
There may not be anything else in this mountain, but there are so many kinds of wild fruits. After picking them, you can crush them to get the juice, and then boil them into sticky fructose, such as sorbitan paste, blueberry jam, and cranberry jam. They are all extremely sweet and delicious. I guarantee that just one bite will make these black bears so intoxicated that they will lose their minds and they will definitely forget the taste of honey!
Ye Qing's eyes immediately brightened, and he looked at Gu Weidong as if he had seen a savior.
"Brother, what a brilliant idea! How come you have such a sharp mind? I admire you more and more!"
These words made Gu Weidong pause slightly. He turned his head away uncomfortably, his wheat-colored cheeks slightly flushed, but his eyes curved unconsciously, and the joy in his pupils could not be hidden at all.
Ye Qing didn't notice the change in Gu Weidong's expression. She was busy dealing with the family of four blocking the door. She tentatively stretched out her foot and commanded the four bears to move out of their way.
Several bears had seen the wolves submitting to Ye Qing, and they knew that Ye Qing was the only one among the two-legged beasts who could provide them with sweets. So when Ye Qing bossed them around, the family did not get annoyed. Instead, they obediently followed his instructions and came to the territory that Ye Qing had re-marked for them.
However, the bears were not willing to leave without tasting the sweet juice, so the family of four continued to wait quietly not far from the cabin.
Seeing this, Ye Qing had no choice but to quickly send Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei to the mountains to pick wild fruits. It didn't matter what kind they were, as long as they were ripe and sweet, they had to act quickly, the shorter the better.
The species in the deep mountain jungles are richer than those in the area behind the mountain of Kaoshantun, because there are still many old, weak, women and children who go into the mountain from time to time to wander around. With more people picking wild fruits, naturally there are fewer things.
However, the deep mountains where Ye Qing and his companions live are seldom visited by people on weekdays, and there are countless strange wild fruits. The key is that it is autumn and winter now, and these fruits are ripe. Just pinching one of them will make your mouth burst with juice, and your lips and teeth will be filled with the sweet fruity aroma.
In just ten or twenty minutes, Gu Weinan and his sister Gu Weibei came back with a basket full of wild fruits from the mountains.
The colorful wild fruits looked delicious. Ye Qing couldn't even name some of them, but that didn't stop her from taking out all the wild fruits in the basket, crushing them, filtering out the juice with gauze, and then pouring the juice into the pot and simmering it over low heat.
After boiling for more than an hour, until the bears outside were almost impatient, the juice in the pot finally boiled into a paste.
The sticky jam was slightly red and looked crystal clear. It smelled very sweet and made Gu Weinan and his sister drool unconsciously.
However, there were no broken bowls available this time, so Ye Qing asked Gu Weidong to use a piece of discarded wood that he had removed when he was renovating the wooden house.
Pour the jam directly onto the wooden board and bring it to the four black bears.
The maltose made before was made by Ye Qing using malt catalyzed by supernatural powers and fermented glutinous rice, so the maltose made was naturally different from ordinary maltose.
So this time, in order to imitate the wild fruit jam that was similar to maltose juice, Ye Qing also added a little bit of wood-based ability into it.
That's why Ye Qing took out the jam. Several black bears smelled the special sweet smell that was unique to the wood-type ability, and they immediately came over eagerly. They didn't even care about their hot mouths from the jam that had just come out of the pot, and they happily licked the wooden board with their tongues.
Seeing the black bears eating so enthusiastically, Gu Weinan couldn't help but pull Ye Qing's sleeve and asked tentatively in a low voice:
"Master, this jam looks really good. It will be delicious with steamed bread! Can my brother and I pick some in the mountains and bring them down? Then you can teach me how to make it? We want to bring it to school after the holiday and have steamed bread for breakfast in the morning!"
The three of them had originally planned to go down the mountain early in the morning, but they were delayed by these black bears, and several hours had already passed. They wouldn't be able to catch up for lunch anyway, so Ye Qing was no longer in a hurry and simply nodded and said:
"Okay, I'll give you two hours. I don't care how much you can collect. I'll make it for you once when we get back. You should be able to do it after watching and learning from me!"
"Yeah!" After the brother and sister looked at each other, they hurriedly grabbed the basket and carried it on their backs and ran into the mountains, picking wild fruits in a hurry.
Ye Qing was also somewhat tempted. She was also very interested in these wild fruits. After all, those things can be used not only to make jam, but also to make fruit wine and fruit vinegar. After drying, they can be used as candied fruits to make fruit tea. In short, there are so many things that can be made from them.
But her main purpose of going into the mountains was to collect herbs, so she had to put other things aside for the time being, so she could only think about this idea in her heart.
As if he had seen through Ye Qing's thoughts, Gu Weidong quietly took note of this matter. He did not say anything, but just watched silently as Ye Qing dealt with those black bears.
They poured the jam several times in a row until the whole pot was empty, but the black bears were still not satisfied and looked like they were not full at all.
But there was really no syrup left in the pot. Ye Qing even rinsed the bottom of the pot several times with clean water. Finally, he poured all the rinse water to the black bears. Then he brought the pot to these big guys, turned it over and shook it to indicate that there was really nothing left in it.
After demonstrating several times, the black bears finally understood what Ye Qing meant.
Although they were not full of food, they did not make any more noise. After dropping their prey at the door of the cabin, the couple turned around and left with the black bear cubs, quickly disappearing into the dense forest not far away with their round buttocks twisted.
Finally they left. Ye Qing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The coyotes over there finally stopped getting so angry and were ready to fight at any time. They retreated to their respective safe positions in twos and threes and crawled lazily around the cabin again.
Now it was Ye Qing and Gu Weidong's turn to have a headache.
With the addition of a sika deer and a wild boar, it became a problem to get them down the mountain.
The sika deer alone weighed no less than 200 kilograms, and one deer was worth as much as all the prey that Gu Weinan, Gu Weibei and the coyotes had previously hunted combined.
Not to mention there was an adult wild boar, which, judging from its size, must weigh at least three or four hundred kilograms. No matter how powerful Gu Weidong was, he couldn't carry such a heavy prey down the mountain by himself.
Ye Qing went over to check on the unconscious python and soon discovered that the guy was just pretending to be weak.
Although the green python was a little dazed after being slapped by the male bear, it actually only suffered some superficial injuries and was not in danger of death.
However, probably because it had learned from experience after being slapped a few times, the green python no longer dared to act rashly after realizing that the black bear couple was a bit tricky. It simply played dead on the ground, trying to reduce its presence as much as possible in order to find a chance to escape the clutches of the black bear.
As soon as the black bear couple left, the green python became lively after Ye Qing poked it a few times with the stick. It spit out its tongue at Ye Qing and burrowed into the bushes nearby.
It was already autumn, and the temperature in Changbai Mountain was dropping day by day. The python should have gone into the cave to hibernate soon. It was very likely that it ran into the evil woolly bear couple when it was foraging for food for the last time in the forest, and was caught.
Seeing that the green python was still able to move freely, Ye Qing stopped holding it back. Under Gu Weidong's slightly regretful gaze, he let it swim quickly and disappear into the jungle.
Ye Qing turned around and saw Gu Weidong's regretful expression. He was stunned for a moment and said with a smile:
"Why, do you still want to eat snake meat soup? Aren't you Dongbei Yin particularly wary of foxes, yellows, white willows and grays?"
Gu Weidong looked righteous and solemn:
"A thoroughgoing materialist is fearless. The People's Liberation Army fighters believe in the Party and the people. The leader has said that man can conquer nature. Ghosts and gods in this world are all nonsense. If people want to change their fate, they can only rely on themselves!"
Ye Qing asked subconsciously:
"If you don't believe in ghosts and gods, then you don't believe in the soul and immortality, the afterlife and reincarnation? So can you explain what's going on between us?"
Gu Weidong choked immediately.
Obviously, Ye Qing's question caught him off guard. With the little knowledge stored in his head, he was completely unable to explain it, so he crashed on the spot.
After receiving the revelation from the mother wolf yesterday, Ye Qing had some sudden realization, and even turned a disaster into a blessing, allowing her supernatural power, which had been stagnant for a long time, to unexpectedly rise to level three. So she roughly guessed why she was sent to this parallel universe by God.
Seeing Gu Weidong's troubled expression, she couldn't help but laugh:
“No one knows what the end of science is. It could be metaphysics, or it could be another advanced civilization or a scientific system of a higher dimension. We may think we are advanced creatures, but we don’t know that in the eyes of beings in another dimension, we humans may just be a group of insects.”
"Since we are already here, this life is earned, so why should we be afraid? We should just let go of the restraints and live freely. Don't live in vain like we did in our last life!"
Gu Weidong agreed with this statement very much. He remembered the question Ye Qing asked him when he was on guard in the cave.
"Didn't you ask me what my plans were before?"
"I want to use the information gap of the past twenty years to dig out as much knowledge as possible in my brain, tap into my potential value in the military field, and help the country and the army avoid detours in national defense."
"In addition, if possible, I would like to see if I can stand at the forefront of the times and make some money to provide a new way out for those veterans who have retired from the army due to injuries and returned to their hometowns. At least when they are old and face retirement, I can be their strong backing and prevent them from falling into despair for life and survival."
The magnitude of Gu Weidong's words was immediately apparent. Before his rebirth, due to a series of shocks brought about by reform and opening up, the Jiaotan County Iron and Steel Plant had to be reorganized, so many old employees in the factory were forced to resign. Gu Weidong had experienced this heavy rain and knew that there were many retired veterans who lost their jobs due to this shock, so this time he wanted to hold up an umbrella for others.
Ye Qing couldn't help but be moved.
She recalled that Gu Weidong was able to draw a Desert Eagle just based on the few pieces of information she provided. She could tell the whole picture from a single glimpse. This man was actually a man with great ambitions and aspirations. It was just that after his legs became crippled in his previous life, his spine was completely broken and he also lost his will to fight, which is why he spent half his life in darkness.
When they started over again in this life, this guy was full of ambition and energy, and it seemed like they were really planning to do something big!
Ye Qing smiled and gave him a thumbs up:
"Very good. In the song "Jiecheng Welcomes You" that I mentioned before, there is a line that goes like this: Anyone with a dream is great! If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. I hope that if you are really successful in the future, you will still remember your original intention and remember what you said today."
Gu Weidong's expression was more serious than ever before:
"Then please ask Comrade Ye Qing to supervise. If I break my promise in the future, please give me some advice and suggestions. If I still refuse to fulfill my promise, just use your flying needle to prick me and take back the leg you cured for me!"
Ye Qing's eyes suddenly flashed with surprise: "Are you serious?"
Gu Weidong said with a smile: "I am a man of my word, and I will never say empty words! If one day I really become that black-hearted businessman who loves money like his life, you don't have to show any mercy!"
Ye Qing nodded: "Okay, then I'll remember this. If there really comes such a day, I will definitely fight you to the death. I will never give up until I destroy all your life's hard work!"
Although he said so, Ye Qing knew very well in his heart that with Gu Weidong's honest character, he probably would not become a black-hearted businessman.
But this man is too honest. Even if he can take advantage of the information gap and reap the dividends of the times in the future, funding is only the first step in building his dream building. He needs to find a team that truly fits and identifies with his ideals to collaborate with him, and he must also prevent himself from being cheated by cunning people with ulterior motives. In short, if he wants to build a true utopia for those veterans, there will be many difficulties and a long way to go. It is definitely not something that can be completed in a few months or even a few years.
This will be a protracted battle, and he may have to devote half his life's energy and efforts to it.
But Ye Qing will definitely support him unconditionally. Even if Gu Weidong needs her support in the future, it is not impossible for her to help support the veterans in finding jobs.
Of course, that's all later. The current situation is that there are five or six hundred kilograms of extra meat, and how to transport it is a big problem.
However, Gu Weidong directly told Ye Qing not to worry about it, and that he would think of a solution. As for what solution he would think of, he did not say, and Ye Qing did not ask.
Anyway, she was happy to be the manager and after looking around for a while, they finally picked two baskets of wild fruits. Then the three of them went down the mountain carrying the baskets on their backs and holding the baskets.
During this period, Ye Qing taught Gu Weidong to identify all the herbs she had collected one by one. Gu Weidong had a good memory. After identifying those herbs several times, he could find them out from a pile of weeds without any error.
As long as he knows about the medicinal herbs, he can help Ye Qing dig another batch of medicinal herbs if he is bored during the next few days in the cabin.
When Ye Qing and his group were about to leave, the mother wolf immediately brought a few coyotes to escort them all the way, and did not stop until the three of them reached the foot of the mountain.
After being away for three days and two nights, they finally returned to the Kaoshan Brigade smoothly, and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Ye Qing didn't care about the mother wolf and her tribe. After she returned to the village, they would probably return to the mountains on their own. Ye Qing had no doubt about this.
When we got back to the end of the village, Aunt Gu and Grandma Zou were sitting in the yard.
Both of them were sewing shoe soles, but Auntie Gu chatted with Grandma Zou while busying herself with the work at hand, and from time to time she would stretch her neck to look towards the back mountain.
When she saw Ye Qing and the Gu siblings returned safely, she immediately dropped the needlework basket in her hand and went out to greet them.
"You guys are finally back. I was so worried these past few days that I couldn't sleep at night because I was afraid something might happen to you guys in the mountains. Hey, where's your brother? Why didn't he come down the mountain with you guys? Did he encounter any danger?"
As Aunt Gu was speaking, she realized something was wrong, as if one person was missing.
Gu Weibei quickly pulled her mother aside and whispered:
"Mom, keep your voice down. My brother is still in the mountains. Although the situation is a bit strange, it is indeed the truth. You don't know how many incredible things have happened to us in the mountains."
"Ye Zhiqing saved a group of coyotes in the mountains, and then the coyotes gave her a lot of prey as a thank you gift. Later, a few bears also came, dragging hundreds of pounds of wild boars and sika deer to ask her for candy. In short, Ye Zhiqing won this trip to the mountains."
"But if we really bring so much meat down the mountain, it will attract too much attention. What if the people in the village are unreasonable and insist on giving Ye Zhiqing a share of the meat? So my brother is helping to guard the mountain and let us go back first. He asked my brother-in-law to go to the town to find someone after work in the evening. I think he is planning to secretly take the meat to the county to deal with it at night."
Aunt Gu felt dizzy after hearing what she heard and thought her son was talking nonsense.
But seeing that her two children were looking at her seriously and didn't seem to be lying, she was immediately confused.
But there are wolves and bears here, and just hearing about them makes people scared. Xiao Lin is too brave. What will happen if he encounters danger and is bitten by a coyote or slapped by a blind bear?
She immediately turned around, carefully felt up and down Ye Qing's body, and asked nervously:
"Ye Zhiqing, are you okay? Are you able to handle the days in the mountains? Are you scared?"
Ye Qing quickly shook his head and said with a smile:
"No, you don't know my physical strength. When I went to work in the fields, I competed with the aunties in harvesting rice and I never lost."
"Although the road in this mountain is not easy to walk, I think it is quite fun. I feel that I have seen a lot of new things and learned a lot."
"Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei were working hard to help me dig herbs the whole time. Most of the time I was just a hands-off manager directing them to do their work. I didn't do any heavy work at all."
Auntie Gu was very happy that the two children at home could help Ye Qing:
"Don't be reluctant to use them. They are already 17 or 18 years old, and they can't even do such a small job. Isn't it a waste of my food for more than ten years?"
"So don't feel embarrassed. It's not just this time. From now on, whenever you need their help, just command them to do it. Don't do it yourself!"
As she spoke, Auntie Gu glared at her two naughty children.
"Did you two hear me? In the future, you need to be more active and take the initiative. Don't wait for Ye Zhiqing to tell you to move every time!"
Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei looked at each other, and fearing that their mother would take advantage of the situation, they nodded quickly:
"I know, I know!"
The brother and sister did not really mean the answer, but in fact, after this three days and two nights in the mountains, they were really astounded by Ye Qing. In their hearts, Ye Qing's status was even higher than that of their eldest brother Gu Weidong.
The two of them have always lived under the aura of Gu Weidong since they were young. They respect and admire Gu Weidong very much and protect him very much. They can't bear to hear anyone say a bad word about their eldest brother.
But now, these two have been completely convinced by Ye Qing, and the title of eldest brother has to stand aside.
She could easily tame the wild animals in the mountains, and even make those naturally wild and unruly beasts willingly deliver their prey to her. This Ye Zhiqing either knew some mysterious magic or had some special physique. In short, no matter which one it was, she was definitely extraordinary.
They had been studying in the county for so many years, and had heard all kinds of gossip and anecdotes, but they had never heard of anyone with such ability.
Just for this reason, Ye Qing is like a god in the hearts of the Gu siblings. He is so great that they admire him and cannot be more amazing. Not to mention the she-wolf, the siblings feel that they have already surrendered to Ye Qing. If Ye Qing tells them to go east, they dare not go west.
Ye Qing really wanted to ask this brother and sister for help. After she sent all the herbs she had picked from the mountain back to her yard, she prepared to go find Captain Wu.
Just when they were about to go to the field to look for someone, Wu Yongbing came over by himself. Seeing that Ye Qing and the others had finally returned, he finally felt relieved.
"Finally you're back. The day before yesterday, you guys went into the mountains and never came out. The old branch secretary and I were so worried that a bunch of production team cadres went into the mountains to look for you. Later, Dongzi said he would come up with a solution and asked us to come back first. We old guys were so worried that we didn't sleep well the whole night. If Yang Dazhi hadn't come back the next morning and said he had found you, the old branch secretary and I would have mobilized everyone in the village to look for you."
Ye Qing quickly apologized to Wu Yongbing:
"I'm sorry, Uncle Wu. We did encounter some problems when we entered the mountain, which delayed us. Later, we encountered thunderstorms in the mountains. The rain was so heavy that we dared not rush forward. We could only hide in the cave and wait for daybreak."
As she spoke, Ye Qing explained how the mother mandrill came to ask for help and how they went to the cliff in the mountains to rescue the little mandrill. She did not mention anything else.
But the fact that the female mandrill asked for help was enough to make Wu Yongbing marvel.
However, Wu Yongbing couldn't help but remind Ye Qing:
"I have never seen a mandrill, so I don't know what it looks like, but when I was a kid, I heard from an old hunter in the village that there were wild men in the mountains who were more ferocious than giant female insects. Not only did they eat people, they also ran down the mountain and forcibly took women to the mountains to rape them. I suspect that the mandrill with a human-like ghost face you are talking about may be the wild man that the old man mentioned before!"
Ye Qing didn't know whether to laugh or cry:
"Uncle, that's impossible. Mandrills are also called drill baboons. They are a type of primate, belonging to the same family as other tropical and subtropical monkeys, gorillas, and baboons. Although they are larger than monkeys, they can only grow to a little over one meter long and weigh about 30 to 40 kilograms. How could they abduct a woman? They are more likely to capture children under three or four years old."
"That thing is actually just like the monkeys in Mount Emei. It may be a bit fierce and naughty. It will steal people's crops and destroy human buildings and facilities, but it will definitely not eat people or rape women."
"It is estimated that there were a lot of mandrills in the Changbai Mountain area in the past. They often came down the mountain to damage crops and farmland. In addition, the creatures were ugly and incredibly strong, so people spread rumors, mixed true and false rumors, and evolved into wild men eating people and raping women."
"But I have seen the mandrills face to face, and I am sure they will not attack humans easily. Moreover, this species has now migrated to the main peak of the deep mountains, and generally will not come down the mountain. You can rest assured that there should be no danger in the village."
Wu Yongbing laughed:
"We were born and raised at the foot of the mountain. We have seen everything since we were young. Among those who served as militiamen with me in this village, who has not fought in the battlefield? We are not afraid of even the most vicious and evil enemies, so why would we be afraid of a mandrill?"
"I am reminding you that even if you are safe this time, don't be too vigilant. There are many dangers in Changbai Mountain. Even men like us have to go into the mountains in groups in winter, for fear that we will be left alone and unable to return. If you encounter such a situation again in the future, you must not be so reckless, understand?"
Ye Qing felt warm at heart and quickly thanked Wu Yongbing, then she mentioned that she wanted to build a herb garden.
"I will not occupy the farmland. I want to go back and open up a small yard behind Grandma Zou's house. After the health station is built, it would be better if I could leave a private plot next to it. Then I will plant the medicinal herbs I dug from the mountains."
"The health station can't just rely on the medicine allocated to us by the county. Just look at the commune. The medical resources in the entire county are limited. The amount of medicine that will actually be provided to our Kaoshan Village is estimated to be small, so we still have to plan ahead and be prepared for self-sufficiency."
"We can't use Western medicine, but we live off the land. There are definitely enough medicinal materials in Changbai Mountain, so I want to think of ways to use herbal medicines. I hope that in a few years, we can realize the freedom of seeing a doctor and free medicine in the village. What do you think?"
This is a great thing. How could Wu Yongbing not agree? He nodded immediately:
"Don't worry about planting them in the backyard. I'll go back and discuss this with some village officials and work out a plan. Medicinal herbs are a big deal. If you can really make medical treatment and medicine free in our village, I'll even set aside a piece of land for you!"
Wu Yongbing's eyes almost lit up when he looked at the medicinal herbs Ye Qing brought back.
An idea flashed through his mind, but he was too excited at the moment and couldn't calm down and think deeply for a while.
Ye Qing also expected that Wu Yongbing would not object. Although this uncle would be frightened when he saw the county leaders, he was very wise and reliable most of the time. He did not have a long-term vision, but when it came to things that were beneficial to the village, he would definitely support them against all odds.
Ye Qing likes to deal with such clear-headed people. If she encounters a clueless leader who knows nothing but likes to give orders, she will not have the energy to run a health station or carry out rural basic medical reform. She will probably be so angry that she will be exhausted every day.
So if you think about it carefully, she is really lucky to come to this Kaoshan Village and meet village cadres who are smart and responsible.
It is very worry-free to cooperate with such a leader. She doesn't have to worry about any village cadres who are selfish and come to make trouble every day. She can devote all her energy to the establishment and development of the health station.
With such a group of village cadres leading the way, it is only a matter of time for Kaoshantun to become rich!
After finishing his talk, Wu Yongbing was about to go back to the field. Seeing this, Ye Qing quickly stopped him.
She went into the house and found a sack. She separated out about ten pounds of pine nuts from the two baskets that the squirrel brother had given her and gave them to Wu Yongbing to carry out.
"Uncle, these are the pine nuts I brought back from the mountains. You can take them back and share them with the old branch secretary and the cadres in the village. These should be the new fruits that have been harvested this year. There are not many of them, so I guess they can't be used to make oil. But they are good as a snack when you have nothing to do."
There are a lot of pine nuts in the back mountain and they don't cost much, but it's not easy to pick them up one by one. Usually, only families with children and elderly people will go into the mountains to pick these things before and after the autumn harvest.
Seeing Ye Qing taking so much at once, Wu Yongbing subconsciously wanted to refuse.
Ye Qing smiled and said, "Don't refuse. This is also my harvest from this trip to the mountains. I was lucky enough to dig a squirrel hole, which filled two large baskets. Even if I give you some, we can't finish them at home. I also plan to find time to take the rest to the oil mill to press oil."
Having said that, she stopped pushing and shoving Wu Yongbing and directly stuffed the bag into Wu Yongbing's arms.
After sending the person out, Ye Qing shouted for people towards the Gu family's yard.
With Wu Yongbing's approval, Ye Qing prepared to capture the Gu siblings to serve as bodyguards and reclaim the medicinal garden at the back of the house.
After work in the evening, Gu Zhenxing and Yang Dazhi came back and joined in helping. By around seven o'clock in the evening, a yard of about 70 to 80 square meters had been built behind Grandma Zou's house, and wooden fence stakes were nailed around it.
Ye Qing was very satisfied with this. Although the yard was not big, she had supernatural powers and the various medicinal herbs she planted were of high quality rather than quantity. As long as there were enough varieties, this small medicinal garden could serve as a mother plant and continuously provide various small medicinal seedlings for the medicinal herb planting base in Kaoshantun, without having to worry about shortages.
They had dinner at Gu's house. After dinner, Yang Dazhi went to the old party secretary's house, borrowed a bicycle, and secretly went to the town. He must have listened to what Gu Weibei told him and went to the town to help Gu Weidong look for someone.
Ye Qing used vines to build a small shed in the corner of the yard. He put a lot of straw inside and then stuffed the female rabbit that was about to give birth and was caught in the mountains into the shed.
There are rabbits and hens in the front yard now. Next spring, various vegetables, fruits and melons will be planted in the private plot, and this small yard will become full of vitality and spring.
Ye Qing couldn't help but think of the little golden retriever again, and felt a little melancholy.
If the little golden retriever had not died, but traveled to this time and space with her, how wonderful it would be! She could play with it in this yard, and go into the mountains together to hunt, pick mushrooms, dig wild vegetables and pick wild fruits. Just thinking about that fairy-tale life makes her heart bubble with beauty.
Not daring to think about it any further, Ye Qing quickly called Gu Weinan and Auntie Gu, and asked them to use the wild fruits that Gu Weinan and his sister had picked from the mountains to make jam. Everyone worked together to take out the fruit pulp, and then put it into the pot and simmered it over low heat.
The conditions in the mountains were limited, and the black bears were pushing things too fast, so Ye Qing didn't add anything else when making the jam.
But now that he's back in the village and making the jam for himself, Ye Qing is more meticulous in making the jam. Not only does he add several more steps, he also adds a lot of maltose to it, trying to bring out the flavor of the jam to the fullest.
While Ye Qing was teaching Gu Weinan and Aunt Gu how to make jam, Yang Dazhi had already secretly led a few people into the mountain from another hidden mountain road.
The group avoided the villagers of Kaoshantun and shuttled through the deep mountains. At around ten o'clock, they arrived at the cabin where Gu Weidong was.
There were many coyotes surrounding the wooden house. When they heard the noise, they immediately started howling like ghosts and wolves, almost scaring several people. Fortunately, Gu Weidong had been waiting in the house. When he saw the coyotes getting restless, he immediately ran out to stop them, thus preventing a fight between humans and wolves in time.
When the man saw Gu Weidong, he immediately rushed up with a smile and punched Gu Weidong twice on the shoulder:
"Donzi, we haven't seen each other for several years since you joined the army! Shouldn't we find a place to have a drink together?"
Gu Weidong also laughed, but still explained:
"Not yet. I was shot in the leg a while ago, and the wound hasn't fully healed yet. I think I need to recuperate for a while. When I'm fully recovered, I'll treat you to a good meal at the state-owned hotel in town. How do you think that is?"
Those people immediately responded with a smile, and without further greeting, they packed the prey piled in the wooden house into several large sacks, and hurried down the mountain with the things on their backs.
The next morning around three or four o'clock, Ye Qing was sleeping soundly when she heard a knock on the window frame. She woke up immediately, put on her clothes and went out.
Sure enough, Gu Weidong was already waiting in the yard with two huge sacks at his feet. When he saw her come out, he hurriedly took out a bulging rag bag from his arms and handed it to her.
"I'll give you a little bit of money. After slaughtering the wild boars and scorpions, we produced a total of 420 kilograms of meat. The price of meat in the county is 50 cents per kilogram, but you have to buy it with a ticket. On the black market, it's 80 cents without a ticket, but because I hired someone to transport the meat down the mountain to slaughter it, they gave me 70 cents. "
"The price of yellow sheep and sika deer is higher than pork. It's 90 cents per pound. I got 200 pounds of meat in total."
Gu Weidong said this while kicking the two large hemp bags at his feet.
"According to your request, I'll leave you the bones, heads, viscera, and other miscellaneous things left after the prey is slaughtered. I'll also leave you ten pounds of pork, ten pounds of venison, and five pounds of yellow sheep meat. Do you think that's okay?"
There's nothing wrong with that. Ye Qing is simply too happy, okay?
Ever since she came to Kaoshantun, she has been spending money all the time. For the stamp album alone, she spent twenty big reunion stamps. With the speed at which she was spending money, she was really afraid that she would end up with nothing.
But she hadn't expected that Gu Weidong was so efficient. He actually helped her deal with all the prey in just one night. She deposited four or five hundred yuan into her account at once. Ye Qing instantly felt like she had become rich overnight, and her skinny wallet became full again.
She roughly counted the money in the cloth package and put it all into her pocket, then squatted down to check the meat and offal in the snakeskin bag.
"The internal organs, heads, and bones are not tasty without oil, water, or firewood, so not many people want them. Even if they are sold on the black market, they can only be sold at a low price. So when you said you wanted to keep them, they took them back without saying a word."
Gu Weidong still remembered the iron pot fish stew that Ye Qing made last time. Knowing that Ye Qing was a good cook, he was very curious about the things that Ye Qing brought back. He wanted to know what Ye Qing would do with these unwanted things.
Seeing that Gu Weidong's eyes were full of greed, Ye Qing couldn't help but smile:
"If we wait another month or so, we can just put these things outside to freeze, but the temperature is still a little high during this period, so we can only pickle them and then smoke them. After they are made into marinated products, they will not go bad for a whole year. When we want to eat them, we can cut a plate of them and have them as a snack with wine."
Gu Weidong really likes this dish. When he was in the army, there was a comrade-in-arms from Sichuan and Chongqing. After returning to his hometown to visit his relatives, he brought back a jar of stir-fried sausage cut into small pieces. Gu Weidong tasted it with chopsticks at that time, and he still can't forget the taste.
So when he heard Ye Qing say this, his mouth was watering and he wished he could try it right away and have another bite of the marinated flavor that he had been longing for for two lifetimes.
Seeing the strong desire in Gu Weidong's eyes, Ye Qing couldn't help but smile in his heart. At the same time, he silently decided that after this batch of marinated meat was ready, he would give half of it to the Gu family.
After all, she went into the mountains this time thanks to the help of the Gu siblings and Gu Weidong, otherwise she would never dare to go into the mountains alone, and she would not have had so many adventures. Even if she received gifts from the coyotes and black bears, she would not be able to deal with this batch of prey so neatly.
It was about to dawn, so the two did not chat much. Gu Weidong was just about to help Ye Qing carry the two sacks into the kitchen, when unexpectedly at this moment, a dark shadow suddenly jumped over the fence and rushed directly into the yard from outside.
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