Chapter 388
The charcoal fire was still burning slowly, and the red flames jumped up from time to time, reflecting Uncle Qi's weather-beaten face.
Uncle Qi lowered his head slightly, speaking in a low voice, and slowly said, "When we had no food, we dug wild vegetables and looked for wild fruits. In the end, even the wild fruits were almost gone. Fortunately, we don't have snow here in winter, so as long as there are non-toxic wild vegetables and weeds, we can always fill our stomachs."
The fat on the piglets' bodies would drip onto the hot charcoal from time to time. With a "hiss", a brief but bright flame would suddenly appear, sparks would fly everywhere, flash for a moment, and then disappear.
Uncle Qi's tone suddenly changed, and he became excited: "One day I was so hungry that I could only see stars in the daytime. I was lying in bed and felt like I was going to die in the next second. Suddenly, your uncle rushed into the room, grabbed me and walked towards the mountain.
When I asked him what he wanted to do, he didn't say a word. He dragged me into the mountains until I could no longer walk, and then he stopped.
Uncle Qi's voice rose a few notches as he spoke, his face brimming with excitement. "I looked over and saw a trap! Your uncle's trap in the mountains had caught a bunch of wild boars! A whole bunch! Eight of them! I was so hungry I wanted to just jump in and bite them."
Su Miao also became excited after hearing this: "Why are there suddenly so many little wild boars? Where are the big pigs?"
"At that time, most of the animals in the mountains had been killed. The big pig was caught by the neighboring village. We envied them for several days, but we didn't expect that the piglets would be discovered by us.
At that time, your second uncle was already in his twenties and smarter than me. He suggested that we first find a place to hide the little wild boar, raise it and eat it slowly, so that we can eat it for a long time.
I was so hungry that I asked if I could have one first. Your uncle plucked some grass from his feet and stuffed it into my mouth.
When Su Miao heard this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. The elders were also quite energetic when they were young.
"What then? Have you found a place to hide? Will you be discovered by people going up the mountain?" Su Miao asked anxiously.
"We found a cave far from the road. It wasn't big, but it was big enough to keep the pigs. We built a fence around the entrance and covered it with grass to prevent it from being seen. We decided to kill one the next day.
We didn't dare tell too many people about this at the time, or we would have to hand over the pigs! Although it sounds a bit cruel and illegal, who knows how long we would have to starve! This is our life-saving ration! No matter what, we have to survive first! "
Su Miao nodded in understanding. There were so many people in the village, if everyone got a share, it wouldn't be enough at all. It was understandable that he should first ensure the rights and interests of himself and his family.
Then he asked, "And then what? Should we talk about roasting the pig? Why roasting it? At the time, wouldn't it be easier to just sneak the meat home and throw it into the pot with other things? And it would cook faster."
Second uncle waved his hands and said, "That won't do! Dishes with pork in them are too fragrant!
At that time, every family could only cook wild vegetables to eat, except for going to the village head to get two bowls of porridge so thin that you could see your reflection in it. If the aroma of meat got out, it would be terrible.
Besides, if someone caught me eating it, that would be a big mistake! So I definitely couldn’t bring it home to cook.
But bringing a pot or something up the mountain would arouse suspicion, and the most I could bring was a machete, so I finally decided to go to a farther place in the deep mountains and forests to barbecue.
At that time, it was me, your fourth uncle, your seventh uncle, and we were supposed to call your fifth uncle too. Oh no! Your fifth uncle always failed us at the critical moment.
The day we were supposed to call him, he broke his leg in the fields. Now, when we asked him to lead the team in hunting pigs in the mountains, he got rheumatism. Really! Such a good opportunity for him to show off his power was missed!"
Su Miao silently expressed his sympathy for Uncle Wu. Maybe he had a conflict with the wild boar or something, so he was never included.
"So Uncle Qi practiced his cooking skills on these pigs?"
"Yeah! But I definitely put in the effort first. Such a rare and good thing must be made delicious. I can't let it be ruined!
There were a number of books in the village at that time. I remember there was a book that gave a general recipe for roasting a pig. I read it at night when it was dark and windy, and it was almost discovered!
But at that time, there weren’t so many seasonings, so a little salt was good enough. Then I would try to make some flavorful fruits into sauce, and the meat I made was so fragrant that it would make you swallow your tongue.”
"So that's how it is! Uncle Qi, you're so awesome! Where are those books? I want to take a look at them too." Su Miao said with anticipation.
The second uncle shook his head helplessly and said, "It was burned a long time ago, how could it be left here?"
Uncle Qi took over the conversation and chuckled, "Hey, let's continue talking about roasted pigs! Every time we roast a pig, we share half of it and cut the rest into small pieces and hide them on our bodies to take home. Once we lock the door, we quickly let the family eat it.
We raised and slaughtered the pigs at the same time, roasting them once a week. By the time we slaughtered the last two, the pigs had grown half-grown and there was a lot of meat left. We were reluctant to throw away the bones, so we hid them under our backpacks and carried them back.
The last time, we had too many relatives, and we were discovered while stewing wild vegetables with bones."
Second Uncle snorted and cursed, "What a dog's nose! All the doors and windows were closed, and the chimney was almost blocked, but it was still discovered. I always thought that someone didn't take the report."
Su Miao also became nervous and asked quickly: "What if we are discovered? Will we be arrested by the team?"
"I did find it, but there's no way they'll find it. When they knocked on the door, I told your Seventh Uncle to run out the back door with the pork bones wrapped around his waist. When they came in, there was only a pot of wild vegetables left! They asked us why we smelled meat and why there was oil in the pot, hehe! Anyway, I don't know anything. If they can't find it, then it's not there."
Su Miao asked, "Second Uncle, decades ago, most of the people in this village were probably from the Su family. Were they also so defensive?"
"Most of the people in the village are from our Su family, but there are also people from other families. They are all under the management of the brigade. There are several villages in one brigade. At that time, the villages were not as big as they are now, and any little disturbance could be discovered.
However, raising wild boars has opened up our minds. After eating the wild boars, we will raise chickens in the cave.
There were no breeding eggs, so your fourth uncle and I went up the mountain to cut down trees and made a lot of benches. We then went to other villages to exchange seven or eight of them for the old hens to hatch.
After they were hatched, they were kept in a small dark room and raised until they grew a little bit. Then they were taken to the cave to raise them. Fortunately, no one broke into their nest, so no one in our family starved to death.
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