Trying to save a dying horse, this was the worst-case scenario. Lin Changfa used a stick to separate a fingernail-sized piece of charcoal from the burning fire and let it cool. When it was no longer hot, he let Lin Zijun eat it.
By chance, Lin Zijun stopped vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. He lay on the ground weakly, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Everyone who had been forced to accompany and work all night was finally able to have a good night's sleep.
The woods were bustling at night. The bright light from the campfire attracted many mosquitoes and beetles to fly around. From time to time, the sound of wild animals walking quietly could be heard from the outer circle of the thorn bushes. At this time, the night watchmen would use fire sticks to carefully drive them towards the source of the sound.
There are advantages to having more people. Even wild beasts would not dare to attack when seeing such a large number of people gathered together. The footsteps circled the thorn bushes a few times and then quietly left.
The morning mist in the woods had not yet dissipated. Lin Rui was half asleep, his body shaking violently.
"Uncle, uncle, get up quickly, my dad has caught some prey!" Six-year-old girl shook Lin Rui who was sleeping soundly.
Lin Rui was shaken awake, and the fire beside him had long been extinguished, with white smoke rising from it.
Zhao Qing, Lin Zikun and others came back chatting and laughing with their prey. The pheasants with shiny feathers and the gray rabbits with fat flesh were all shot through the heart by arrows. They were dead and drooped as they were carried back by them.
There were still many sparrows that fell into the trap in Lin Zizheng's pockets. Although the sparrows were small, they were meat after all and could satisfy his appetite.
Every family participates in making traps for hunting animals, so the prey caught in the traps is divided according to the amount of manpower each person contributes. Yesterday, only Zhao Qing in Lin Rui's family had the energy to make traps for hunting, so their family got a pheasant.
Fortunately, Zhao Qing, as a hunter, had excellent aim. When he passed by the bushes and saw some startled pheasants, he shot them with one arrow and brought back two pheasants.
According to Feng Zhenniang's suggestion, they pickled the food with salt and ate it slowly on the road. Zhao Qing wanted to say something, but his wife Lin Susu pulled his clothes and he stopped talking.
In their family, except for Lin Rui himself, everyone else looked pale. Lin Rui maintained this state entirely because of himself and the strong supplies in the house, but the oily intake of others was really pitifully small.
"Mom, we haven't touched the chickens, ducks, and fish at home. Let's stew this fresh pheasant directly to nourish everyone. My second sister is about to give birth. How can she have the strength to give birth if she doesn't eat well? If anything goes wrong, in this desolate mountain..." Lin Rui said half of the words, anyway, he had to let his mother understand the seriousness of the matter.
If the daughter-in-law Feng Zhenniang said this, she might have some complaints. After all, every woman has been a daughter-in-law. When she was pregnant with her eldest son, she was forced by her mother-in-law to weed in the fields on the day of delivery. But her son was born healthy, so why is he so precious?
But Lin Zaozao was the daughter that came out of her belly. If she hadn't separated the couple to save Rui'er, she wouldn't be bullied like this by Jiang Chengcai, the unfaithful man, and her in-laws.
"Eat, eat, eat, I don't care about you anymore!" Feng Zhenniang threw the pheasant on the ground and walked to the back of the ox cart.
Lin Zao Zao looked anxiously at the direction where Feng Zhenniang left: "Rui Er, why don't we not eat? I'm fine, I'm not hungry!"
Lin Rui picked up the pheasant and said, "Sister, could you please make a fire?"
"Are you really going to eat it?" Lin Susu glanced in her mother's direction, fearing that she would be angry.
Lin Rui looked at Zhao Qing carelessly: "Brother-in-law, do you want to eat?"
Zhao Qing swallowed his saliva and nodded readily: "I want to!"
"If you want to eat, let's eat. These two pheasants were hunted by my brother-in-law. Let's listen to him and eat, eat, eat!" After Lin Rui finished speaking, he stirred the smoking charcoal in the fire, found a piece of charcoal that was not yet extinguished, put some dry pine needles on the ground to start the fire, and soon the fire was burning again.
"Mom, look, my second uncle's family has a fire going and they're roasting chicken. Let's go eat some too." Lin Zicheng had been traveling for two days, and his mouth was dry from eating only bread and pickles. He'd even been stung by a caterpillar the night before, and now he dreamed of eating meat. If it was pickled, there was no hope. He didn't know when he'd be able to eat it.
Compared with pheasant and sparrow meat, Zhang Dacui felt more sorry for her two sons and her grandchildren. She gritted her teeth and simply cooked them all together. Their family was not one that would mistreat their daughters-in-law. Didn't they rely on each other to help each other along the way?
Eat! Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise. Since the trap is useful, if I can catch it today, I can catch it tomorrow too.
Every family lit a fire, planning to fill their stomachs before leaving.
After Lin Zijun slept for a night, his complexion looked a little better. He no longer had diarrhea and vomiting. He just sat there alone, looking weak and powerless.
The women from each family began to prepare the pheasants. Without hot water to scald the pheasants' feathers, they had to pluck them. Fortunately, they had wiped the pheasants' necks in advance. The chicken blood dripped into the bowl and sprinkled a little salt on it, and they had a bowl of edible chicken blood.
Such a pheasant with firm skin and flesh is actually perfect for making soup, but everyone was still scared by Lin Zijun's vomiting and diarrhea after drinking the smelly water from the puddle last night. It is better not to drink water until a clean water source is found, let alone use this water to make chicken soup. Who would dare to drink the chicken soup!
The common method is to roast the chicken. The pheasant's abdominal cavity is hollowed out and the blood is not cleaned before being put on the grill.
In short, if you can avoid using water, then don't use it. At least the pheasant's blood won't upset your stomach, but the smelly water in the puddle might.
Zhao Qing and Lin Susu were cleaning the pheasants neatly. Feng Zhenniang was not idle either. She took Xiao Mu and Niuniu to pick wild vegetables nearby. Lin Changxi fed the cows some grass and took stock of the things on the ox cart.
Lin hadn't assigned her any work early on. Her belly was so big that even Lin Rui was afraid, so he just let her rest. If she had nothing else to do, she could use her needlework to make some clothes for the unborn child. The cotton cloth Lin Rui had bought to wrap the tarpaulin and tent was still there, so it came in handy.
Lin Rui was not idle at this time either. He was wrapped tightly and used a wooden stick to explore the way ahead. This was a deep mountain forest with few people going. He was afraid that a poisonous snake would fall or jump out from the branches and dense bushes above at any time.
The dangers in the woods are hard to guard against, and he provides his family with the greatest protection within a limited range.
The woods were full of dangers, but also rich in resources. In just a short while, Feng Zhenniang had picked a lot of wild grasses. The dandelions, amaranth, and shepherd's purse were growing very well, and Mu Tou and Niuniu's pockets were full.
Vitamins! These are vitamins! Fresh vegetables can provide the body with essential trace elements and can be stir-fried or boiled.
Back at the fire, pheasants and five or six sparrows were already on the grill. Lin Changxi poured all the water in his water bag, which he had saved but was reluctant to drink, into the iron pot, and then poured in the solidified chicken blood, pickled vegetables, and wild vegetables picked by Feng Zhenniang and the two children to cook.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
