Chapter 339: Catching Wild Boars
The arrow actually pierced through the wild boar's eyes in an instant!
The wild boar felt pain and roared even more violently.
Chen Fenghe shot two more arrows, hitting its other eye and heart. At the same time, he took advantage of the chaos to fire a shot from the silenced pistol in his hand, also towards the heart.
The lethality and penetrating power of a pistol were several times greater than those of a bow and arrow. The wild boar's heart was pierced and it fell to the ground with a "thump" and didn't move.
Seeing this, and because they were afraid of so many fires, the other wild boars hesitated for a moment, then let out a long roar, turned around and rushed towards the back wall of the main house!
The main house had been in disrepair for a long time and the door was long gone. The wild boars rammed the back wall, creating a big hole in it in an instant, and the remaining wild boars fled out of the hole.
"Oh no! That's Madam Qin's house behind us..."
Chen Fenghe was already running towards his home with a bow and arrow in hand like an agile cheetah.
The village chief and other villagers also hurriedly chased after them with torches in hand.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Chen Fenghe used a silenced pistol and a bow and arrow to get rid of a wild boar that was running at the end to clean up the mess. However, the leading wild boar still ran straight towards the newly built courtyard wall!
"Oh no! If this courtyard wall is also knocked over, then Madam Qin and those children..."
The village chief subconsciously stopped talking halfway through.
Because everyone saw that the wild boar, who was obviously the leader of this pack of wild boars, hit the red brick wall with all his strength, but the wall did not move at all and was still intact!
Instead, the strongest wild boar was hit so hard that it saw stars. Its huge body shook for a moment, and then it fell to the ground with a "thump", and was actually knocked unconscious!
Seeing this, the other remaining female wild boar let out a painful cry, lingered beside the male wild boar for a while, and finally fled into the forest with a few little wild boars.
Chen Fenghe ran to the unconscious wild boar and turned around and said, "Everyone, hurry up and get the rope."
Everyone came to their senses at this moment, and someone immediately came forward with a rope and hurriedly tied up the four hooves of the wild boar.
Everyone had just recovered from the shock and was still a little dazed looking at the big wild boar in front of them.
"We caught this wild boar just like that? Ten of us went hunting in the mountains before, and we set traps, but the injured boar got away. And now... we caught it just like that? Why do I feel like I'm dreaming? Give me a pinch, and I'll see if it hurts."
After hearing this, the person next to him really pinched him hard.
"Ouch! I told you to pinch me and you really did it! It hurts so much!" the person who spoke shouted.
But he immediately became excited: "But... this is true! We really caught a big wild boar!"
Someone also explained excitedly: "It's not one, it's three! Have you forgotten the other two that Miss Shen just shot to death with an arrow?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Three! This wild boar must weigh two or three hundred pounds! That's enough meat to last us forever!"
At this time, Qin Mengyue came out.
Chen Fenghe hurried over and whispered, "Mom, it's okay. Are Yichuan and the others scared?"
Qin Mengyue shook her head and said, "They were all fast asleep. It was just Hao'er who made a fuss for a while. I just coaxed him to sleep. What happened? It was like an earthquake just now. There was a loud bang and the whole house shook... Oh my! Where did such a big wild boar come from?!"
Qin Mengyue looked at the wild boar lying on the ground and couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock.
Chen Fenghe explained in a low voice, "A group of wild boars from the mountains ran out of food, so they came down to the village to look for food. They broke into the Zhu family's warehouse, and after being discovered, they rampaged through the village. I shot two of them. This one got so panicked that it bumped into our wall and was knocked unconscious before I caught it. The others all fled into the mountains."
"A...a nest?" Qin Mengyue asked with some stuttering.
Just looking at the size and fangs of this one, five or six adult men would probably find it difficult to subdue it, and yet... a whole bunch of them came running here?
As he was speaking, the village chief came up and said with a smile: "Madam Qin, your daughter-in-law has impressed everyone today! She is a weak woman, but she actually shot down two big wild boars! If it weren't for Madam Shen's excellent archery skills, our village would have been in trouble tonight without several casualties! And this wild boar that knocked itself unconscious, if it weren't for the red bricks and the 'water'... 'cement' that Madam Shen made, the wild boar would not have been able to knock itself unconscious! In short, Madam Shen is a great hero to our village tonight!"
The village chief’s surname is Wu, and he is Grandma Wu’s husband.
Qin Mengyue was naturally happy to hear her daughter-in-law being praised, but she still had to be modest and couldn't help but laugh: "Village Chief Wu, you are too kind. Feng He is still young, she will be embarrassed if you praise her like this."
Village Chief Wu laughed, then turned to look at Chen Fenghe and asked, "Madam Shen, although the wild boar that was knocked unconscious was also due to the red bricks and cement made by Madam Shen, everyone in our village helped to drive away the wild boar. Even if there is no credit, there is still hard work. Therefore, I thought of taking out this wild boar and dividing the meat among the villagers, so that everyone can have a good New Year and can survive until the beginning of next spring. As for the other two wild boars, they were killed by you, Madam Shen, so I will leave them to your family to deal with as you wish. Madam Shen, do you think it is feasible?"
Chen Fenghe listened and smiled, "Village Chief, we're new here too, and I was lucky enough to shoot those two wild boars tonight. I thought everyone had helped a lot with the renovations, so we'll only keep half the meat from one of the two wild boars, and share the remaining half. Oh...if no one wants the offal or trotters, just give them to us."
Village Chief Wu couldn't help but stare at Chen Fenghe with wide eyes after hearing this. "Ms. Shen, are you serious? You're going to give up one and a half of this wild boar meat? Wouldn't that be too much of a loss for your family?"
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "We don't have many people in our family, so even if we make bacon out of half a wild boar's meat, we can eat it for a long time. And, as the village chief said, catching the wild boar was a joint effort, so I don't dare to keep it all for myself. It's better for the whole village to share it. If you really feel bad, just help our family out in the future."
After hearing this, Village Chief Wu couldn't help but give Chen Fenghe a thumbs-up and said, "Ms. Shen, you really are... I admire you so much. I'll tell everyone right now, and everyone will be so happy."
As Village Chief Wu said this, he returned to the crowd and told everyone that Chen Fenghe wanted to give up one and a half wild boars for everyone to share.
After hearing this, everyone immediately became happier.
Just when they were feeling happy, Zhu Huaihua came running over crying, "Everyone, please go to my house! My father and my brother... are almost dying! Everyone, please go and save them!"
When everyone heard this, they remembered that a big hole had been smashed in the Zhu family's warehouse, and Zhu Huaihua's father and brother had been injured by the wild boar.
Village chief Wu immediately called on the villagers who were quick to run to call a doctor.
The person being ordered said, "Village Chief, it will take until dawn to get from here to the doctor's village. By the time I get back, it will probably be almost noon. I can only hurry, but... I'm afraid I won't make it."
Village Chief Wu nodded and said, "If they really can't make it in time, that's their fate! Alas! Everything depends on human effort!"
Chen Fenghe stepped forward and said, "Village Chief, I have learned some medical skills. If the Zhu family doesn't mind, I can help with the diagnosis."
She didn't really want to be in the spotlight, but she was planning to grow medicinal herbs in the future. If she didn't tell others about her medical skills during this crisis, it would not look good in the future, so she just told them.
Village Chief Wu was stunned when he heard this. He looked at her suspiciously, then came to his senses and said, "Ms. Shen, you are so young, do you really know medical skills? If you really know some, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda! If the Zhu family dares to despise you, I will take care of it for you!"
Having said that, they surrounded Shen Fenghe and went to Zhu's house.
Zhu Huaihua had heard the discussions of the people around her and knew that Chen Fenghe had stolen the limelight, so she looked at Chen Fenghe with eyes full of jealousy.
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but shook her head in her heart.
Some people are just petty and confused.
When they arrived at Zhu's house, Shen Fenghe was a young daughter-in-law after all, so she did not go in. She just let Yang Baozong in and described to Shen Fenghe the specific situation where Zhu Huaihua's father and brother were injured.
It seemed that he was just bitten, and the wound was quite deep. A piece of flesh was torn off from Old Man Zhu, but there were no broken bones. It was just a superficial injury.
Chen Fenghe asked, "Does anyone in the village have mugwort, cork, or honeysuckle?"
After hearing this, everyone nodded and said, "Yes! I have dried mugwort at home."
"There are a lot of yellow cypress trees in our back mountain. I just cut down a lot of them for firewood a few days ago. I'll go get them right away!"
"I have some honeysuckle vine at home too. I'll go get it now!"
After a while, these three things were brought
Chen Fenghe then said, "Everyone, light these three things on fire and burn them to ashes. Then boil a pot of water and put a clean white cloth in to boil."
After Shen Fenghe finished speaking, everyone looked at Zhu Huaihua.
Zhu Huaihua and her mother just stood there like wooden statues, not saying a word or moving.
Zhu Huaihua couldn't help but frown and said, "Why are you looking at me?"
Yang Baozong was almost laughing out of anger: "Zhu Huaihua, those lying in that room are your father and brother. We've found everything for you. What? You still want us to boil water for you? Are you and your mother planning to not do anything at all?"
Zhu Huaihua's face flushed red as she said confidently, "I... I don't know how! My mom doesn't know how either... Usually, my dad and my brother cook..."
Zhu Huaihua, like her mother, was quite pretty, and therefore was spoiled by her father Zhu and was not allowed to do any work.
Yang Baozong: “…”
Chen Fenghe: “…”
Well... She didn't expect that such a spoiled girl could be raised in this village.
Yang Baozong was furious: "You can't learn on the spot! Your own family members aren't nervous, so what? You plan to let us do everything and let you be the boss? You should see if this is your fate!"
When Zhu Huaihua and her mother heard this, their faces turned pale and they cried out of grievance.
But this time everyone felt that Yang Baozong was right. They were frantically chasing wild boars and looking for medicine for her family, but they just stood there like nothing had happened, watching everyone busy themselves.
Even Zhu Huaihua's brother only had minor injuries, which shouldn't be enough to drive away the wild boar together. Isn't it because he's afraid of death and pretends to be seriously injured and stays at home?
This is why Yang Baozong was so angry.
Zhu Huaihua and her mother pretended to be pitiful for a long time, then glanced around and saw that no one was willing to help them. After all, the lives of the two pillars of the family were at stake, so they had no choice but to clumsily go to the kitchen to find a tinderbox, try to light a fire, burn the ingredients, and boil water to cook the cloth.
Both of them were choked by the smoke and coughed non-stop. When they raised their hands, their faces were smeared with dust, and they looked very embarrassed.
Yang Baozong finally calmed down a bit and turned to ask Chen Fenghe, "Miss Shen, why do we burn mugwort, phellodendron, honeysuckle, and the like into ashes? Can the ashes cure diseases? And why do we boil the cloth? It can't be boiled with the water, right? Is this some kind of folk remedy?"
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but smile and said, "These two are not decoctions, they are not for drinking. The ash from burning mugwort, phellodendron, honeysuckle and vine is called plant ash, which is used for bandaging wounds. Plant ash has a very good hemostatic and disinfecting effect, and it is also relatively easy to obtain when treating wounds urgently. If you don't have these three materials, other plants and the like can be used as substitutes after burning them into ash. As for boiling cloth, it is used to bandage the wound. Cloth boiled in boiling water will be cleaner and the wound will heal faster. The most important thing now is to treat the wound first. As for oral medication, I will prescribe it separately. After the wound is bandaged, it will not be too late to go to the pharmacy to get the medicine."
She didn't mention any bacteria or germs, otherwise it would be even more difficult to explain.
Even so, Yang Baozong and others seemed to understand what they said.
However, after experiencing the things like burning red bricks and cement and hunting wild boars, they already had considerable trust and admiration for Shen Fenghe. Even if they didn't quite understand what she said, it didn't prevent them from being willing to do what she said.
The ash was quickly burned, the cloth was cooked, and then dried over the fire. Then, under the guidance of Shen Fenghe, Yang Baozong bandaged the wounds of Zhu Huaihua's father and brother.
Then, Chen Fenghe prescribed a decoction, which included Bletilla striata, Herba Agrimoniae, Stovetop soil, Pollen Typhae, Cirsium japonicum, Artemisia selengensis, etc. These are all astringent and hemostatic herbs.
Chen Fenghe said, "Take this prescription to the pharmacy tomorrow morning to get the medicine, then boil it and take it. Boil three bowls of water into one bowl of water."
Zhu Huaihua reluctantly accepted the prescription and asked, "Since you know medicine and your family is so rich, you must have some herbs. If you do, please give them to us. My father and brother are seriously injured right now. What if we go to the pharmacy to get medicine tomorrow and it's too late? What if that's too late? Besides, my family doesn't have much money..."
Chen Fenghe: “…”
She said this so confidently that she almost thought she owed this family.
"Miss Zhu, what you said is quite funny. We have been exiled all the way here. Where can we find these herbs?"
These medicinal herbs were naturally available in her space, including high-quality wound medicine for stopping bleeding and bandaging, and anesthetics for relieving pain.
If someone else in the village was injured, she wouldn't mind giving it to them for free.
It’s just that the other party is the Zhu Huaihua family, and they are so hostile to her. Is she crazy enough to provide them with medicine for free?
If it weren't for the fact that she would have to reveal her medical skills in the future, she wouldn't even bother to save him.
Village Chief Wu couldn't stand it any longer and couldn't help but say, "Zhu Huaihua, you're almost there! How could your family be so fond of taking advantage? Miss Shen has already treated you. If you go to the doctor yourself, you have to pay for the consultation fee, right? Now the consultation fee is not charged to you, and you want the herbs for free? Your family doesn't have much money? How can you afford to buy rouge and powder in the town or the city? Anyway, it's your father and brother's life. You and your mother can save them if you want. If you don't want to spend money to save them, we outsiders can't say anything. It's up to you!"
Chen Fenghe felt that she had done her best, so she said, "Village Chief Wu, I can only help you up to this point. If there is nothing else, I will go back first."
Village Chief Wu nodded immediately after hearing this and said, "You can go back. We'll take care of everything else. Tomorrow morning, come to the village with your mother and we'll divide the wild boar meat. I'll find a few young men to deliver the half-boar meat for you to your family. As for the other two and a half, your family won't be short of the remaining meat, so don't worry!"
Chen Fenghe smiled and thanked him before leaving.
The next morning, it was a rare good day, and all the villagers, young and old, male and female, ran to the village to watch the excitement. The scene was even more lively than the Chinese New Year!
There were three big fat wild boars placed on the three eight-immortal tables. A villager who used to be a butcher had already cleaned the three wild boars, separated the internal organs from the meat, and placed the internal organs in several wooden barrels and basins in different categories aside. Only the meat was left on the table.
The butcher cut off half of the largest wild boar's flesh and asked several strong young men to deliver it to Chen Fenghe's house.
The rest was weighed and divided among each family, about seven or eight pounds of meat and one pound of pork offal.
Village chief Wu was careful to reserve the large intestines, hearts, lungs and feet of the pig, and he also collected a full basin of pig blood and asked someone to send it to Chen Fenghe.
Chen Fenghe did not refuse and accepted it.
Qin Mengyue had no idea what to do with all this pig offal: "Can these things... be eaten? How should I clean them up?"
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "These are easy to deal with. First, clean them up, and then marinate them. In this cold weather, they can be stored well and eaten for a long time."
Even if she couldn't keep it, she would just put it in the space and take it out whenever she wanted to eat it, and it would always be as fresh as when it was just out of the pot.
She instructed Qin Mengyue and the three little ones to clean the pig intestines with wood ash and clean the other ingredients.
Then, she took out more than a dozen ingredients for the marinade from the space, such as star anise, cinnamon, fennel, galangal, cardamom, etc., mixed them according to the proportions, wrapped them in a small gauze and put them in the pot, added water, and then put all the ingredients to be marinated into the pot.
All that’s left is to simmer it over low heat until it’s soft and tasty.
Chen Fenghe threw half of the pig's trotter into the marinade, and mixed the other half with soybeans to make a stew of pig's trotter and soybeans.
A section of the pig’s large intestine was also left behind and stir-fried with green onions to make a dish called stir-fried large intestine with green onions.
In addition, I used fresh wild boar meat to make braised pork, and used dried bamboo shoots to make stir-fried pork.
The family sat around the table and ate a table full of sumptuous dishes, accompanied by white flour buns and millet and sweet potato soup, which was quite a peaceful time.
As for the leftover wild boar meat, just like the two wild roe deer that Xiao Yunshuo had brought back from hunting before, it was first smoked with firewood, then smeared with salt, and hung under the eaves to dry, making bacon.
Just as Shen Fenghe and Qin Mengyue were settling down with their three little ones in this barren little village in exile, in the palace in the capital, Concubine Zhao handed a secret letter to the second prince Xiao Yuncong.
After Xiao Yuncong had a falling out with Qu Wenmin in Dingzhou, he pretended to leave, but in fact he secretly sent people to track down Qu Wenmin, trying to find the whereabouts of the gold that Qu Wenmin had obtained from the gold mine that he had mined privately.
However, Qu Wenmin had always been cautious, and Xiao Yuncong still lost him. In addition, his mother in the capital sent a secret letter asking him to go back as soon as possible. Xiao Yuncong did not dare to delay and had to put the matter of finding gold aside and ride back to the capital as soon as possible.
The journey from Dingzhou to the capital was long, and even with a fast horse it took almost twenty days to reach the capital.
At this time, Xiao Yunshuo received a secret report from the capital. Ministers in the court wrote to Emperor Yucheng one after another, questioning the Fifth Prince's report of rebellion to the Crown Prince and demanding a thorough re-investigation.
This was also the reason why Concubine Zhao rushed eight hundred miles to send a secret letter to the Second Prince, asking him to return to the capital immediately.
The Fifth Prince was commended and valued by Emperor Yucheng because he exposed the Crown Prince's rebellion and executed him. The ministers in the court saw that the Fifth Prince was in power and tried to guess the emperor's intention. In addition, the Fifth Prince married the daughter of Prime Minister Shen, which meant that he had the support of powerful ministers and important officials. He became very popular for a while, so many ministers changed their minds and joined the Fifth Prince's camp.
Of course, more people are still taking a wait-and-see attitude.
After all, Emperor Yucheng is a thoughtful person, and his intentions are hard to guess. If you reveal your cards too early, you will be the one who gets hurt if you bet on the wrong thing.
Under such circumstances, the second prince Xiao Yuncong and the sixth prince Xiao Yunzhi, who had more powerful backgrounds in the palace and were favored by Emperor Yucheng, had to temporarily avoid the fifth prince's edge and lie dormant.
However, this time, the fact that the court ministers vindicated the crown prince gave both the second prince and the sixth prince's factions an opportunity.
An opportunity to bring down the fifth prince.
The Second Prince took the secret letter from Concubine Zhao, opened it, and looked up at her, asking suspiciously, "This is the situation of the deposed Queen and the deposed Crown Princess in exile. Mother, why are you still sending people to monitor them? When I was in Dingzhou, I did encounter the exile group and saw them. The deposed Crown Princess is indeed... unique..."
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