Chapter 138 Herbs
Finally, place two large basins of water at the entrance of the fence so that the chickens and ducks can come over and drink some water when they get thirsty while wandering around.
We couldn't let our guard down on the first day. The chickens and ducks ate wild vegetables and caught insects inside the enclosure, while I cut some fresh grass outside the enclosure.
As evening approached, the exciting moment arrived.
Open the gate to the fence and herd the chickens and ducks home. Once this step is done, the free-range chicken plan will be a success.
I used a small stick to herd the chickens out, and the ducks ran out first, followed by the chickens one after another.
This area is too big. I'm afraid that by the time I get to the very back, the chickens and ducks outside will have already disappeared.
After chasing all the chickens out, I was surprised to see a flock of chickens following the ducks home.
Little Melon and Little Third and Little Fourth even knew to protect the chickens on both sides, and would rush them back if any chicken ran off to the wrong place.
This moment brought me great comfort, even though I was exhausted.
The dog is sensible and can take care of the chickens and ducks; the ducks remember the way and know to run home; and although the chicks are slow-witted, they can still follow the ducks obediently.
My heart felt warm. I closed the fence gate, looked at the sunset in the distance, and felt that the future was promising.
When I got home, all the chickens and ducks were in the yard. Some of the well-behaved ones had already gone back to their burrows, while the rest lingered in the yard.
I gently shooed them a few times, and they all wisely went back to their nests.
Quickly mix some warm water with food and let the chickens and ducks have another hearty meal before it gets dark.
Then he carried a large bag of freshly cut grass and threw it into the rabbit pen, where the rabbits ate it happily.
Springtime is great; the rabbits don't need to eat hay and can get very fat.
The next day, I got up early as soon as it was dawn.
I swept the chicken droppings in the yard with a big broom, so that the chickens and ducks wouldn't linger there and it wouldn't get so dirty.
When I opened the chicken coop door and the yard gate, some of the chickens and ducks were still fast asleep. As soon as they saw me open the door, the ducks excitedly flapped their wings and quacked as they ran outside.
The wings I cut short looked like dog-chewed bangs—ugly but cute.
As soon as the duck quacked, all the other chickens woke up and blindly followed the duck outside.
They all obediently entered the free-range enclosure without exception.
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder should definitely raise chickens and ducks; it's incredibly therapeutic.
The chickens and ducks were playing inside the enclosure, while I was cutting grass outside, just like yesterday.
I cut a big bundle of fresh grass to feed the rabbits.
Next, prepare some pig and chicken feed, feed some to the pigs, and take the rest to the free-range chicken pen.
Even though chickens forage outside, they still need to be fed a little, otherwise they might not get enough to eat.
It wasn't very hot today, so I took a basket and a hoe and went up the mountain to dig up some fresh plants.
Back when I lived in the countryside, I would go up the mountain with other friends to find medicinal herbs. We would dig them up and sell them for money. I wandered around with them and became familiar with some of the herbs.
The most familiar and memorable thing is licorice. When I was little, there were few snacks in the village. My friends and I would dig up a licorice plant, pinch off the outer skin with soil with our fingernails, and put it directly into our mouths to chew raw.
I ate some too, and it was indeed a bit sweet, but the licorice always had a herbal taste, so I wasn't used to it at first.
But when my friends ate it, I endured the discomfort and ate along with them. Before long, I could chew it properly.
I don't know why, but I always had the impression that licorice would grow on the cliffs of mountain gullies.
Following my childhood intuition, I went straight to the top of the ravine where the pond was, and sure enough, I saw clumps of licorice.
The leaves of licorice are quite ordinary, similar to the leaves of many trees. They are oval-shaped and symmetrical on both sides. The small purple flowers grow in clusters, and their shape is similar to that of sorghum.
Although the gully is somewhat dangerous, the licorice is easier to dig up here. Just pull the seedlings into the gully, and the long, dry grass roots will all be pulled out along the cliff edge of the gully.
I only stopped when I was satisfied with the amount of licorice I had gathered, which was half a clump.
He slapped the ground hard, shook off the soil from the licorice roots, pulled out a licorice root, and bundled all the licorice roots together.
This big bag of licorice is enough for me to eat for a long time.
He tossed the bundle of licorice near the free-range chickens' pen and continued searching for other herbs with his basket.
After wandering around for a while, I saw a large patch of small yellow flowers. Each flower was very small, but they were densely packed together, forming a small sea of yellow flowers.
A branch radiates out with more than a dozen small flowers. Whether it is a large flower branch or a small bud, they are all straight with hard flower stalks. This is clearly Bupleurum chinense.
Bupleurum is still used as medicine from its root, and is often used for colds and fever. Other effects can be studied later in books.
Take out a hoe and slowly dig. Once you've dug up the roots, pinch them off with your fingernails and put them in a basket.
It took me an entire afternoon to clear this large patch of Bupleurum chinense. Some of the remaining plants were quite small and had thin roots, so I left them alone to grow next year.
I've accumulated almost half a basket of Bupleurum roots, and I can't bear to throw away a whole bunch of flowers. I'll just grab some tough grass and tie the flowers into a big bunch. When I get home, I'll put them in a bottle; they'll look really beautiful.
Holding a large bunch of yellow flowers and carrying a basket, she returned to the fence.
With the gate open, Xiao Di and Xiao Gua cleverly herded the chickens home.
I picked up the licorice from the ground and carried it home with me.
After arriving home, I first fed the pigs, chickens, and rabbits. Then I washed the licorice root and bupleurum root by the well and put them in a basket to dry in the yard.
It seems he's become addicted to finding Chinese medicinal herbs. Luckily, he doesn't need to tend to the vegetable garden right now, so he drives the chickens up the mountain to continue his search for herbs.
I went quite far today and found some herbs, including Polygala tenuifolia, Leonurus japonicus, Plantago asiatica, Sophora flavescens, and Astragalus membranaceus.
Motherwort was something I often ate when I was a child. I would pull the small purple flowers out of the plant, put them in my mouth, and suck out the sweet nectar. I preferred motherwort to licorice.
After returning home, I processed the herbs in various ways, dried them in the yard, and then put them into transparent glass jars and labeled them.
That evening, I carefully searched through traditional Chinese medicine books to make sure that there were no mistakes in the selection of each herb, and wrote down all their effects and pasted them on the jar.
Take an unused notebook and copy down the commonly used prescriptions for these medicinal herbs recorded in the book. You can use them directly in the future.
When I arranged all the identical transparent jars filled with Chinese medicinal herbs on the bookshelf, with my notebook next to them, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
My dreams tonight were especially sweet.
I've now mastered the correct way to use a hammock. During the day, when the chicks are in their enclosure, I hang the hammock next to them, listen to music, and lie on it to sunbathe.
Less than three days of leisurely living had passed, and the seedlings of corn and grain in the vegetable garden had grown quite large.
When the sun is not too strong in the early morning or late evening, use a hoe to weed and pull out any excess seedlings.
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