Upon hearing that the little girl in front of him was already discussing how to eat it, the rabbit struggled even more fiercely. As Lin Xiao listened to Er Ya's various ways of eating rabbits, his stomach rumbled incessantly.
When Er Ya heard the noise, she knew that Lin Xiao's stepmother probably hadn't let him eat breakfast. This boy was at the age where he should be eating a lot; how could he go hungry every day?
Er Ya blinked and asked Lin Xiao, "Brother Lin Xiao, have you made it popular?"
Lin Xiao nodded, not understanding what was going on. Er Ya thought it would be easy to handle when she heard there was fire. She instructed Lin Xiao to kill the rabbit and eat it there. At first, Lin Xiao disagreed. This thing was a rare commodity and could be sold for a good price. Even if he didn't sell it, it would be enough for his family to have a meal at home.
Er Ya asked him quietly, "Will you be able to eat it when you take it home?"
Lin Xiao fell silent, picked up the rabbit, and went to find a place with water to wash it.
Er Ya started busy gathering firewood, and after gathering a pile, Lin Xiao also came over with the washed rabbit. He found a sturdy branch, skewered the rabbit on it, lit a fire, and placed the rabbit on the fire, turning it back and forth. The rabbit oil crackled and popped as it roasted for about ten minutes, then he turned it over and continued roasting.
Er Ya found a tree nearby whose trunk would "sweat" when it got hot. After the "sweat" evaporated, it left behind a layer of white, snow-like salt water. People discovered this secret and began to carefully scrape the salt off with a knife to use in cooking. It was said that its quality was comparable to refined table salt, so people gave it a fitting name—"Wooden Salt Tree."
Er Ya slowly scraped the salt off with a twig, caught it with a leaf, and when she saw that she had enough, she ran over to give it to Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao was puzzled as to how there could be salt in the mountains.
Er Ya explained the origin of the salt tree to him. Lin Xiao was about to say that he wouldn't need to buy salt after scraping off the salt, but Er Ya poured cold water on his idea. This kind of tree is very rare, and only a thin layer can be used. How could it possibly supply enough salt for a family?
Lin Xiao dismissed the idea; as long as it could help him now, that was enough. He carefully sprinkled salt on the rabbit meat and continued roasting.
Er Ya was searching for beehives in the woods again. How could a barbecue be complete without honey? Her eyes lit up when she spotted a large beehive not far ahead. Er Ya took off her clothes, covered her head with them, and poked the beehive down with a long branch. She then quickly ran away and hid behind a tree.
A swarm of wasps flew around for a long time but couldn't find who had knocked down their nest. Helpless, they could only call their brothers and sisters to find a new place to build their nest. This time, they had to find a high place so that it wouldn't be knocked down by a single poke.
Er Ya squatted behind the tree, watching the wasps fly away, then ran to the beehive, hugged the large beehive, and went to find Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao was stunned once again when he saw the honeycomb, which was as big as a basin. This Er Ya is too amazing. She can get whatever she wants. He handed the rabbit meat to Er Ya to continue roasting and went to deal with the honeycomb.
Without cups, Lin Xiao broke off a bamboo pole, split it into sections, and used them to hold the honey. He filled four sections with honey, found some large leaves and some sturdy grass, and tied the honey securely together.
Leave a piece of honey and coat the rabbit's entire body with a thick layer of honey. The key to roasting lies in controlling the heat. A gentle heat is as delicate as a breeze, while the texture of the rabbit meat depends on brushing on the oil. Since there is no oil, honey is used instead. The rabbit meat gradually turns golden brown in the oil. Brush it on three times, not too much and not too little.
If you brush too much, the skin won't be crispy; if you brush too little, the skin will burn easily. After about twenty more minutes, the rabbit meat was finally cooked. Er Ya couldn't wait any longer. Lin Xiao tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to Er Ya. She took a bite and found that the roasted rabbit meat was fragrant, crispy, and tender, without any greasiness. No wonder it is said that rabbit meat is "the vegetarian among meats".
Er Ya quickly devoured the rabbit leg and tore off another one. Only after finishing both rabbit legs did Er Ya feel full. Seeing that Er Ya was full, Lin Xiao quickly finished the rabbit leg in his hand and found a large leaf to wrap the rabbit meat.
Er Ya protected the bag with her hands, saying, "Brother Lin Xiao, you only ate so little, are you full? I'm so small, and I ate two rabbit legs."
Lin Xiao smiled and said, "I've eaten most of it. I'll wrap up the rest for you and take the rest home. Your aunt can heat it up for you at noon."
"No way, you have to finish this rabbit meat today. If you don't," Er Ya's eyes darted around, "I'll tell your mother that you stole the rabbit."
Lin Xiao glanced at Er Ya and said, "I know you wouldn't do that."
"Oh, Brother Lin Xiao, just eat it, otherwise I'll pretend I don't know you anymore."
Lin Xiao had no choice but to open the rabbit meat and start eating. As the saying goes, "A half-grown boy can starve his father to death." At his age, he was at the age where he could eat and drink a lot. After finishing the whole rabbit meat, Lin Xiao, who had been starving for a long time, finally felt that he was about 70 or 80 percent full.
After finishing eating, they stomped out the fire, covered it with another layer of soil to prevent it from reigniting, put the honey in Er Ya's basket, and continued searching for wild vegetables.
After eating her fill, Er Ya started humming a song again: Pulling Radishes
Pulling radishes.
Hey yo hey yo,
Pulling radishes
Hey yo hey yo,
It can't be pulled out.
old lady,
Come quickly!
Come help us pull up the radishes.
Pulling radishes
Pulling radishes
Hey yo hey yo…………
Listening to Er Ya's cheerful singing, Lin Xiao felt his worries dissipate. This little girl was such a joy to behold. He wished his family had one like her. But then he thought about his own chaotic home and decided it was better to leave it alone. He could keep the troubles of his home to himself; he didn't want to cause trouble for others.
After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, they decided to venture a little further in. The outer perimeter of the mountain had been cleared away, but the inner part was rarely visited because of the fear of large wild animals.
Spring has arrived. The trees have sprouted buds and tender green branches. Wildflowers are in full bloom all over the mountains and fields, some yellow, some pink, some red... forming a colorful carpet. A gentle breeze blows, and the flowers dance gracefully like butterflies.
Knowing that Er Ya liked this, Lin Xiao skillfully wove a large flower wreath and gently placed it on Er Ya's head. The colorful flowers made the little girl look even more charming and cute. Er Ya loved it and skipped ahead with the flower wreath on her head.
Lin Xiao saw a pretty little girl wearing a beautiful flower wreath, playing freely among the flowers, like a little butterfly covered in pollen, her silvery laughter echoing throughout the hillside.
To be continued!
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