4. The magical "grass"
◎County Magistrate Ye, I'm not wasting soybean oil◎
In the early morning, a thin mist covered Lingnan County. The sunlight slanted through the clouds and leaves, and the light spots were reflected on Ye Yunzhao, making him look particularly vivid.
Early in the morning, she carried her own broken backpack, the county government's hatchet and fish basket and went into the mountains.
Ye Yunzhao did not go deep into the mountains. Yesterday, when she was looking for wood, she came across a bamboo forest. She walked and looked, and soon the bamboo forest with green willows came into view.
Different bamboo species have different growth patterns. Ye Yunzhao avoided the tall, thick bamboos that reached the sky, and chose the thinner, shorter ones.
After selecting five or six thin bamboos, Ye Yunzhao half-knelt and cut the bamboo poles diagonally. When all were cut, she could see the lush bamboo leaves huddled together, crowding each other. If she wasn't paying attention, the small bamboo branches would "violently" jump into her face.
Ye Yunzhao quickly cut off the bamboo leaves, and soon, five or six thin bamboos turned into bare bamboo poles.
If she had not worked in the village for several years in poverty alleviation, she would not have known this fishing method.
Use soft bamboo strips to tie the bamboo poles into a bamboo mat, place it in the river, and wait for the fish to bite.
Ye Yunzhao held the fishing tool he had made and chose a mountain stream of suitable width. The mountain streams were full of running water, clear and transparent, reflecting the shadows of the surrounding green trees and green mountains.
The mountain stream was full of big, agile fish. She put the broken backpack and other extra items on the shore, took off her shoes and socks, rolled up her trouser legs, and waded into the water.
As soon as her feet touched the water, she felt a wave of coolness, and from time to time, clumsy little fish would slap her calves with their tail fins.
Ye Yunzhao moved several large stream stones back and forth, and the stones formed a shape that converged from both sides of the stream to the center of the stream. She barely used the larger stream stones to create a water level difference.
Immediately afterwards, Ye Yunzhao unfolded the fishing artifact, connected one side to the stone in the middle of the stream, and pressed the other side with smaller stream stones.
In this way, a natural fishing basket is formed.
Ye Yunzhao covered the broken bamboo branches in the basket on the bamboo mat. Now that the fish had entered here, they could not jump out.
Ye Yunzhao came out of the water and did not dare to rest for a moment. She carried a broken bamboo basket on her back and went into the mountains again. She was afraid that she would not be able to catch any fish.
Therefore, we need to think of some other ways just in case.
Ye Yunzhao racked her brains to recall her original body's memories, but the scenery inside the mountains was not much different, and for a moment she really couldn't confirm the specific location.
But people cannot sit idle. Ye Yunzhao walked along the mountain path and looked around, and from time to time he could find a few blue-headed mushrooms.
Green bean mushroom is also called mung bean mushroom. It is named after its large green cap. Although its color looks intimidating, it is not poisonous. Add it to the soup and it will taste fresh just by smell.
Ye Yunzhao picked up half a basket of vegetables with nimble hands and feet, and dug up a few wild vegetables, so he had quite a harvest.
…
She thought she couldn't find that thing, but who would have thought that just three or five meters west of the bamboo forest, there were a few green leaves swaying in the mountain breeze.
This is what Ye Yunzhao was looking for - fish vine grass.
Although small and inconspicuous, the daffodil plant, known for its toxins, is incredibly effective. A two- or three-year-old daffodil plant can produce dozens of small fruits. While not edible, they can be ground into a powder and used as an insecticide, spread on fields to suppress pests.
However, the three trees in front of Ye Yunzhao were not very big, so she only dug out one, shook it twice, threw off the mud on the roots, and then walked happily towards the mountain stream.
When she took the fish basket to the bamboo mat, she heard the sound of fish flicking their tails. She quickly leaned over to take a look. Under the bamboo leaves were two larger sea bass and three or five smaller fish fry.
Ye Yunzhao reached out and threw the small fish into the stream, grabbed the perch and put it into the fish basket. She tied the fish basket around her waist and then remembered the fish vine.
Ye Yunzhao took the fish vine and walked upstream, finding a suitable spot to place it on a large stream rock. She fished out a small stream rock from the water and banged it twice at the tangled roots of the fish vine.
When the roots of Derris ulmoides are crushed, white juice will flow out. Ye Yunzhao grabbed the roots and washed them in the stream. The juice dyed the stream water pale white.
In less than half an incense stick of time, nearby sea bass were seen swimming downstream one after another, but due to the difference in water level, they jumped onto the bamboo mat.
This method would cause the fish to faint temporarily, so Ye Yunzhao took advantage of this opportunity to quickly put the sea bass and crucian carp on the bamboo mat into the fish basket, counting them as she put them in.
Twenty-one sea bass and seven crucian carp! What a great harvest!
Ye Yunzhao was stunned. In her previous life, she and the aunt in the village used this method to catch fish, but at that time they only caught three or five fish, and they were much smaller.
Only when he saw the fish in person did Ye Yunzhao feel relieved.
The villagers finally have food to eat today!
She pushed the bamboo mat and leaves along the current to the shore, put the fainted fish and shrimps in it back into the water, and they swam away in the blink of an eye.
Ye Yunzhao happily threw the fish basket into the stream twice, and the big fish that seemed dead just now immediately jumped up and down.
You feel relaxed when going up the mountain and gain a lot when going down the mountain.
Sun Ning's house was built in a remote area, and behind it was a large piece of unowned wasteland in Xixiang.
In addition, Ye Yunzhao didn't want to leave her home until the Autumnal Equinox because he had found good wood, so the villagers who were cutting trees, chopping wood, and processing wood were all busy here.
It looked deserted in the past, but it is very lively today.
Apart from the three-legged plow, the villagers also discussed lunch.
"The lunch will definitely be that black steamed bun. I won't eat it this time."
"Wang Er, what delicious food did you make at home? You actually want to go back and eat it."
"What's good? Just a cornmeal bun is enough. Have you forgotten the food you ate during the hard labor two years ago?"
"Don't tell me, that rice is so hard it's going to break your teeth! It's too hard!"
Lingnan County was impoverished. Every year when taxes came due, the people would delay paying as much as possible, saving as much as possible. Back when the corrupt county magistrate was still in office, he recruited hundreds of able-bodied men to pave the city's main road with bluestone slabs. They claimed the labor covered the taxes, but even without wages, they were provided with two meals.
Whoever eats this so-called meal is actually clear water with two wild vegetables floating in it and a piece of black, hard, coarse flour steamed bun.
For these reasons, no one was looking forward to today's meal. If it weren't for the able-bodied men who could use the high-speed plow cart, no one would be willing to do such a hard job.
But despite this, everyone couldn't help but look at the smoke rising from Carpenter Sun's house, and couldn't help but wonder: What if it weren't for that black, hard steamed bun...
Although Sun Ning appeared weak and timid, she was a very generous person in her work and life. She found a few of the forty people who had done simple carpentry work at home and asked them to learn sawing wood from her. Among them, two or three were quick to learn and seemed to have some talent. Sun Ning decided to let them learn to operate a plow the next day.
If she could do it, the burden on her shoulders would naturally be lighter. If she couldn't, she could learn how to saw the wood into the shape she needed.
For the selected villagers, they don’t have to pay any apprenticeship fee, but can learn carpentry from Carpenter Sun, which is a huge advantage.
All in all, it's a good idea that satisfies both parties.
After Ye Yunzhao learned of Sun Ning's proposal, he had some extra thoughts.
The county government's finances were indeed tight, so many positions were vacant. With fewer staff, the salaries were also low, and Ye Yunzhao didn't even have anyone to help her, which really made her very busy.
Sun Ning is smart and speaks little. He generously shared the method of making a plow cart, and even shared the seasonings that were in short supply in his own kitchen.
The more Ye Yunzhao looked at her, the more he liked her and felt that she was suitable for him.
When she arrived at Sun Ning's house, Aunt Wang was already busy in the kitchen.
Aunt Wang is a very simple and hardworking rural woman. She is not tall and has a dark face, but her smile is very kind.
Sun Ning specially asked her to help today.
When Ye Yunzhao entered the kitchen carrying a basket on his back, Aunt Wang just put the cut old tofu into the pot. The hot oil splashed and a bean fragrance rose up.
After the old tofu was fried until both sides were golden brown, Aunt Wang poured the loofah pieces into the big iron pot, stir-fried them a few times, and poured in a bowl of water. Only then did she see that there was another person in the room.
"County Magistrate Ye, please put down the backpack quickly." Aunt Wang quickly wiped her palms on her skirt twice and raised her hand to take the backpack.
"Auntie Wang, I'll do it myself." Ye Yunzhao said with a smile, "It smells so good, Auntie, your cooking skills are really good."
"Hey, it's not a special cooking skill, it's just a home-cooked dish." Aunt Wang waved her hands with embarrassment on her face, "As long as you add more oil, any dish will be delicious!"
Before Ye Yunzhao could speak, she hurriedly explained, "County Magistrate Ye, I'm not wasting soybean oil. I thought that even though there's no meat, if there's some oil, everyone will have more energy, right?"
Ye Yunzhao shook the fish basket at his waist and blinked: "Auntie Wang, guess what's in this fish basket?"
Ye Yunzhao said this as he handed the fish basket to her.
The fish basket was not very big, and the fish were struggling inside, flicking their tails. Aunt Wang heard the noise and hurriedly looked out.
"Oh! So many fish!" Aunt Wang hurriedly took the basket and exclaimed happily, "County Magistrate Ye, how come there are so many fish!"
"Hurry up and let me find a tank to put them in. Fresh fish are delicious! Fresh fish are delicious!" Aunt Wang turned around and looked for one in a hurry.
"I caught this fish. I guess there aren't many people fishing in the village, so I got lucky." Ye Yunzhao said with a smile.
"Oh! The county magistrate actually has the ability to catch fish! Everyone is in for a treat today!" Aunt Wang poured the fish into the tank with a "splash".
Lingnan County is backed by mountains, with more than a dozen hilltops around it and naturally many mountain streams.
In late autumn, women would take their children to the mountains to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables, and they would naturally see the big fat fish in the mountain streams. However, the fish were very agile. If you scooped them from the left, they would slip away to the right; if you netted them from above, they would swim between your legs.
At first, some people refused to give up and made fishing nets and harpoons, but they caught nothing every day and gave up the idea of fishing.
Unexpectedly, this seemingly weak county magistrate arrested so many people at once, which made Aunt Wang very happy.
Just as he was about to ask what method of fishing he used, he turned around and saw County Magistrate Ye pouring a wooden basin full of wild vegetables and green mushrooms.
"Oh my! County Magistrate Ye, you can't eat this mushroom! It's poisonous!"
Ye Yunzhao was stunned when he heard this. He pointed at the blue-headed mushroom and looked up to ask, "Has anyone died from eating this?"
This question stumped Aunt Wang, and she was speechless for a moment.
"If no one is poisoned to death, why do you say it is poisonous?" Ye Yunzhao asked again.
"Of course the doctor in the state clinic said so."
"He said this mushroom is poisonous?" Ye Yunzhao shook the green-headed mushroom.
Aunt Wang was completely speechless. She thought for a moment and said, "The doctor only said that brightly colored and strange mushrooms are mostly poisonous."
"County Magistrate Ye, look at the green cap of this mushroom. It must be a poisonous mushroom!" Aunt Wang was afraid that Ye Yunzhao would not believe her, so she pointed to the gray-green spots on the mushroom and added.
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao let out a faint smile. "Don't worry, Aunt Wang. Although it looks strange, it's not poisonous. Today, I'll show you how to make it. I'm sure you'll want to eat more after you've tasted it."
【Author’s words】
Qingtoujun: Aunt Wang, why are you wrongly accusing me~
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