Chapter 25 Chapter 25 All Stung
The next day, Kang He went to Zhang Shili's place alone.
When we returned later, Fan Jing was active at the border, and the two of us met and returned home together.
This continued for the next ten days, and it became a tacit understanding.
Kang He went to Zhang Shili's hill one after another and collected at least 400 kilograms of roots and stored them in the wooden house.
In the meantime, Zhang Shili and I served pickled fish, dumplings stuffed with shepherd's purse and chicken, and wild chestnut bone soup.
It was still early after we dug out some roots on the 1st or 2nd day, so I helped Zhang Shili prepare two snacks to go with the wine.
He was alone and could not bear to eat them. It was not worthwhile to sell the chickens, ducks and rabbits he had killed in the mountains at a low price. He was too lazy to prepare them and pickle or smoke them, so he just used them as a snack.
But he has no skills and can't even cook the good meat taste good.
Kang He cooked a good meat meal for him, enough for him to eat for a day or two. The food was ready and he could just heat it up and eat it. It was so easy.
Zhang Shili loved the food so much and was even happier that Kang He came over.
That day, Kang He finished his work early and cooked in Zhang Shili's wooden house.
He stir-fried pheasant meat and roasted rabbit with fennel, and the whole cabin was filled with the aroma.
Zhang Shili's mouth watered at the aroma and he said, "It would be a shame if you didn't become a cook with such good skills."
"I don't have that kind of skill. I can only make incense by myself. If I really try to do that, it would be a waste of time without someone to guide me."
When he went to the city before, he also asked the waiter how the cooks outside were doing business nowadays.
Pao Xian opened his mouth and asked him which master he learned from and what dishes he was good at. He also asked which official or wealthy family he had been hired by, and also asked which restaurants and hotels in the city he had experience in.
How many times have I received the feast? How big is the feast?
After hearing this, Kang He immediately gave up the idea of going this way.
With his half-baked skills, he could only provide his family with good food. It was not easy for him to make money from this business.
Firstly, he has no master and no experience. Secondly, he doesn't know how to cook the big dishes on the table, and his cooking skills are not that amazing. He is almost clueless, so what can be expected from him?
Zhang Shili said with some regret: "You are right. Nowadays, you need to rely on others to guide and introduce you to anything you do. Otherwise, no one will recognize you easily."
Kang He smiled. He deftly scooped the vegetables and meat into the pottery basin and said to Zhang Shili, "Brother, I've almost finished clearing the roots of the mountain here. After today, I'm afraid it will be too late to come back here for a while."
"I'll make two delicious dishes for you today. Thank you for your care these days."
After hearing this, Zhang Shili felt strange and reluctant.
"Why should I care about you? You bring me food and noodles every now and then, and even cook for me. If it were someone else, who would have the time to do these things?"
Although he was reluctant to leave Kang He, he also knew that people needed jobs and it was impossible to get one here, so he couldn't come here in vain.
Zhang Shili felt that Kanghe was considerate, good-tempered, and worth making friends with, and he didn't want the relationship to end like this.
He thought for a moment and said, "Are you still going to work with konjac roots?"
"Of course I'll get some. This stuff can be stored well in winter and can withstand storage."
Zhang Shili slammed the table and said, "Come back tomorrow. I'll take you to the mountain alley next door."
Kang He said, "Isn't the mountain next to it the territory of other hunters? Without permission, it's likely to cause a dispute."
"That's Ge Youquan's territory from my village. This guy borrowed two strings of cash from me for his wedding and used it to host a banquet and a gong and drum band. He still hasn't paid me back, and I haven't pressed him for it. Based on our friendship, I'd like to invite you over to get some mountain goods. He might even be willing to go."
Kang He thought that if he could find new land, it would be a good thing. He could get more roots to store. With so many people at home, he didn't have to worry about not being able to finish them all.
It's just that he was not very willing to use Zhang Shili's favor, because there was a layer of distance between them.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhang Shili knew he had reservations, so he said, "If you're worried he won't agree, then don't rush over tomorrow. I'll go over and tell him first. If he agrees, I'll talk to you later. What do you think?"
"That's good, but it will only trouble you, big brother."
Zhang Shili said, "What's the big deal? You call me big brother, and I recognize you as my younger brother. It's not right for a big brother to not help a younger brother. Besides, it's not a big deal."
Kanghe was simply grateful.
It would be difficult for Zhang Shili to run to Ge Youquan's hill and then go back to their hill to report back.
Kang He agreed with him that he would come in person to ask for the results two days later.
When returning, Zhang Shili originally wanted to bring a plate of meat to Kang He to eat, but he thought that Kang He could cook delicious dishes by himself, and if he gave it to him, he would have to eat less.
He was given a dead wild duck instead.
Kang He wanted to trouble others and was unwilling to accept it, but Zhang Shili refused, so Kang He had to accept it.
After returning home, Kang He collected the duck feathers, fried the intestines and ate them deliciously, and pickled the rest with salt and hung them on the stove to smoke.
This duck meat is good. Even if you don’t take it to the county to sell it, you should take it home and eat it with the whole family.
Their food in the mountains was not bad, but life at home was very simple.
The duck offal was rinsed seven or eight times, and then fried with the pickled radish brought from home. There was no fishy smell at all, and it was sour and fragrant, making it the perfect dish to go with rice.
Fan Jing ate two bowls of rice in one breath. When Kang He was adding the third bowl of rice to his bowl, he told him about the trip to Ge Youquan Mountain.
"He treats you well and is willing to lead you to other people's mountains."
Fan Jing put some food into his mouth: "It's worth it for you to cook for two families."
"What you said sounds sourer to me than this pickled radish."
Fan Jing didn't respond to him and just kept eating.
Seeing this, Kang He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his bowl: "If you don't like it, then I will only cook for you in the future."
Fan Jing looked up at him without saying anything. He took a few more bites of food before saying, "I'm not that stingy."
Kang He thought that if he was not stingy, he would keep silent for so long, but he was happy that Fan Jing was stingy because of him.
He said, "I don't particularly care to cook for others. My heart only desires to cook for you. It's a pity I had to please my grandparents, my uncle's family, so they'd take a liking to me and you'd let me stay. Now, out of favor, I have to cook for others, too. But I'm also planning for the long term."
After hearing this, Fan Jing looked at Kang He with concern and felt relieved.
That day, Fan Jing went down the mountain alone to sell live things. According to Kang He's instructions, he also brought five pounds of winter bamboo shoots dug from the mountains to the collector.
He originally thought that the guy was not interested in it, but he was unexpectedly very happy. He said that his father liked to eat pickled bamboo shoots with preserved vegetables, and the price of bamboo shoots was high in winter, so his mother was reluctant to buy them.
If he takes this bag of bamboo shoots back, his father will definitely be happy.
For the first time, the waiter asked for Fan Jing's water bag and filled him with a pot of good tea brewed in the restaurant.
Fan Jing was in a good mood and even bought two kilograms of flour to take back.
As soon as I reached the house, I saw Kang He dancing in the yard, scratching his head and chest, as if he was possessed by something.
He quickly put down his things and went over: "What's wrong with you?"
Hearing this, Kang He stopped what he was doing and returned to normal: "I'm back."
After saying that, he went into the house and brought him a bowl of warm water.
"And water."
Fan Jing held up the water bag at his waist and wanted to tell him that his friend had given him some so he wouldn't be thirsty on the road.
Kang He urged him: "Just take a bite."
Fan Jing frowned. Why was someone still persuading others to drink water?
He took it and put his mouth to the ceramic bowl, intending to pretend to take a bite, but a sweet taste flowed into his mouth, as if there was honey in the water.
He raised his eyes and looked at Kang He.
"How is it? This honey tastes pretty good, doesn't it?"
After Kang He finished speaking, he brought out a very clean ceramic jar, which was half filled with honey. When you got close, you could smell a sweet scent.
In fact, the jar was less than half full of honey, so Kang He did not squeeze out all the honey. He also broke off the honeycomb containing more honey and put it in.
Although the beehives were not completely removed, the wild honey from the mountains tasted very good, so it didn't feel shabby to have the beehives mixed in.
This afternoon, he went out to set up the beehive and saw a beehive on an old vine. It was golden and full of honey, so he went to get it back.
After saying that, he felt a sharp pain on his back again, as if he was pricked by a needle, and he couldn't help but scratch it.
Seeing this, Fan Jing quickly put down the bowl in his hand and said, "Take off your clothes. Maybe there are bees in it."
After hearing this, Kang He also wanted to take off his clothes and take a look.
He had just taken off his coat when two bees flew out with a buzzing sound.
Kang He was shocked. He had tied his sleeves and collar tightly when he was picking honey, and he didn't know how the bee managed to get in.
Thinking that he had just trapped all the bees in his clothes, he quickly took off his inner clothes.
Three or four more bees fell out from this side, and Fan Jing kicked two of them to death on the ground.
Kang He asked anxiously, "What's wrong? I got stung on my back."
Fan Jing looked at the big red bumps on Kang He's smooth back and frowned.
"Um."
Kang He felt bitter in his mouth, so he quickly went to get the medicine box and asked Fan Jing to help him remove the poisonous needle on his back, then use cold water to reduce the swelling and apply some alkaline medicine.
Fan Jing didn't say anything and quickly helped him.
After cleaning his back, he applied medicine to the two swellings on his front waist.
He glanced at the trousers Kang He was wearing: "Did you get stung down there?"
Kang He, who was grimacing in pain, quickly covered his waistband and said, "I can handle it myself."
"You have eyes on the back of your head, can you do it on your butt?"
Kang He blushed: "I don't feel any pain, but who knows... Hey, hey... Fan Jing, don't..."
Kang He leaned on the door panel with one hand, lowered his head and saw that his pants had been pulled down to his feet, and his heart was dead.
After a while, he pulled up his trousers without saying a word, and for a moment he seemed to have lost all his strength and means.
"How can there be someone as domineering as you?"
Kang He pursed his lips and complained weakly to Fan Jing in a low voice.
Fan Jing picked up Jiang Cai's honey water and took another sip. He saw that Kang He's face was ashen, as if he had lost his soul.
He said, "Why are you being so shy as a man?"
"Do men deserve to have their buttocks seen?"
Kang He retorted hastily, his dignity shattered.
"Who taught you to mess with a beehive?"
"I just saw some honey and thought you might like it."
He doesn't like sweet things, and if it weren't for his preference, he wouldn't dare to poke the beehive without any protection.
Even if a jar of honey is valuable, you may not do this.
After hearing this, Fan Jing was speechless.
After a long silence, he said to Kang He, "I won't tell anyone else."
Kang He snorted. This time he was determined not to be coaxed into submission by a single word. He enumerated all of Fan Jing's faults: "It's fine that you touched me when I was sleeping, but today you even touched my buttocks. You've ruined my innocence. I'll never find a good family again."
Fan Jing put down his bowl and asked, "Who else are you looking for? Zhang Shili's sister?"
He told Kang He mercilessly, "He's the only son of the Zhang family. All the relatives have stopped communicating with him because of his imprisonment. There are no girls to introduce to you."
Kang He was stunned. He had forgotten about it. Fortunately, this person still remembered it. He usually didn't talk much, but he had a good memory.
It turned out that the two of them were playing a double act to trick him that day, and he was so sincere in speaking well of them.
Kang He said angrily: "Then I will be someone's fake son-in-law and live with the family for a while."
Fan Jing glanced at him and said coldly, "No one will want you even without a deed of residence."
"Then I'll steal the deed while you're asleep and see how you can still act so arrogantly."
"You dare."
Kang He put his chin towards Fan Jing and said, "See if I dare or not."
Fan Jing approached Kang He. Kang He was not afraid of anyone and stood up to confront him with his chest puffed out. Then he was hit on the butt.
Kang He lost his composure immediately and started to cry out "ouch, ouch".
At night, Kang He's back and buttocks were swollen and he could only sleep on his stomach in bed.
Fan Jing felt uncomfortable seeing the man's appearance and told him not to mess with the beehive again.
Kang He didn't respond to him. The honey water was delicious, and the bees were fried until crispy and fragrant, sprinkled with light salt and fennel powder. He often picked up his chopsticks to eat at night.
He couldn't stop saying, "I won't bother with the beehives anymore. I'll gather some wood and make a few beehives. I'll be able to raise bees there. Then I don't have to get wild honey anymore. I can have it myself."
Seeing that he was still thinking about the beehive, Fan Jing asked, "Are you not in pain anymore?"
"Of course it doesn't hurt. I can't even sleep because of the pain."
Kang He tilted his head to look at Fan Jing and slowed down his voice: "But if you kiss me, it won't hurt."
After hearing this, Fan Jing felt that the man was still not hurt by the sting.
Saliva can be more effective than medicine in the clinic. If this is the case, ordinary people will not have to worry about not having money to buy medicine or see a doctor when they are sick or in pain.
Seeing that Fan Jing ignored him, Kang He shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter whether I'm really in pain or not. It's really important that you don't hurt me."
"How come you talk so much even after being stung?"
Kang He said, "You always complain that I talk too much. You must be regretting that the bee didn't sting me on the mouth as well."
Fan Jing thought that he could never finish arguing with him, so he simply kept silent.
Kang He looked at the person beside him who closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He didn't say a word to him for a while, and he felt the swelling on his body hurt more.
He stared at the person for a moment, then suddenly leaned forward.
Fan Jing suddenly opened his eyes, but the man lay down again.
He subconsciously raised his hand and touched his lips, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.
He felt that he must have been stung by a bee.
Otherwise, why would your mouth be so hot?
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