Sheng Xiping had originally planned to raid the badger's den in a few days, and since he happened to run into it today, he decided to go again tomorrow morning to give it a try.
If the badgers hibernating in that burrow weren't scared away by the lynx, we might be able to catch a couple more.
Zhang Shuzhen thought it was a good idea, so she put the badger oil into a small basin, carried it outside, and froze it.
"How about we stew badger meat and radishes for dinner tonight? Since you're back, go to the garden, dig up the cellar, and bring me back a few radishes."
Winters in Northeast China are long and cold, freezing the ground solid and ruining all kinds of vegetables.
Therefore, eating and storing vegetables in winter has always been of paramount importance. If vegetables are not stored properly, one can only eat dry bread all winter, which is unbearable for anyone.
Therefore, in addition to pickling two large vats of sauerkraut, every household also needs to properly store radishes and cabbages.
Some families would build a simple cellar in their vegetable garden. They would dig a long pit, put radishes and cabbages inside, cover them with corn stalks or something similar, and then cover them with soil.
When you want to eat vegetables, just open one end of the cellar, take them out, and then cover them with soil.
Around the time of the Gregorian calendar year, when the temperature is particularly low, temporary vegetable cellars become less effective.
Take the vegetables out of the cellar, put them in an empty room, and cover them with straw bags, straw mats, and the like.
They would take the cabbage as they went, eating it as it rotted, until by the time the New Year came, the cabbage was almost completely rotten, leaving only the heart.
Of course, some families dig cellars and then move the vegetables into them after the weather gets cold.
Too early won't do; the cellar is warm, and the vegetables will rot inside if it's too early.
After finishing his meal, Sheng Xiping went to the cellar and brought back a few radishes.
That evening, the Sheng family ate stewed badger meat with radishes.
To be honest, we've had meat at home all year long. Even when Sheng Xiping went hunting in the mountains, and Hua Hua brought it back, we had wild boar, roe deer, venison, and the like. There was no shortage of meat on our dinner table.
However, badger meat has a unique flavor, and when prepared in unexpected ways, the children enjoy it very much.
Even Sheng Xinhua, who is not yet a year old, ate two pieces of meat and two pieces of stewed radish.
That evening, Zhang Shuzhen put the lynx meat back into the pot to stew.
Lynx meat is very firm and doesn't easily fall apart when cooked. So, simmer it in a pot overnight, and it'll be perfect to eat tomorrow.
The next morning, Sheng Xiping got up early, took his tools, and went straight into the mountains.
Arriving at the badger's burrow at the foot of the yellow earthen embankment of Badger Ridge, Sheng Xiping found the tools he had used to dig out the burrow that day.
At this time of year, the ground is frozen solid, and the surface is rock hard. Using a pickaxe to dig holes and catch badgers is the most foolish method; it's just a waste of energy.
Sheng Xiping always tries to be clever when he works. He's on the day shift today, so he can't linger in the mountains for too long.
Sheng Xiping brought a rather long brown rope today, with a hook made of No. 8 thread that has three claws, similar to an eagle's claw, tied to the end of the rope.
This thing is much smaller than the eagle claw hook, and the hook is not as curved, but it is sharpened quite a bit.
Tie the hook to the end of the hemp rope, then twist the hemp rope along the hole and push it in.
Badger dens usually have several entrances. This badger den under the yellow earthen embankment was quite large. Sheng Xiping found a total of five or six entrances.
Yesterday, the lynx went into the main hole, but Sheng Xiping didn't put the rope in from that end; instead, he found another hole.
The brown rope itself is quite stiff, and if you twist it, you can use it as a stick.
But unlike a stick, this brown rope can follow the curves of the terrain inside the badger's burrow.
The brown rope was stretched inwards until it could not be stretched any further. Sheng Xiping then held the other end and continued to twist it upwards.
At first, I could turn it, but gradually it became difficult, and eventually I couldn't turn it at all.
At this point, pull the hemp rope outwards. You can feel that there seems to be something on the other end of the rope, making it very difficult to pull.
Especially when you're almost at the cave entrance, you can feel something struggling on the other side.
Sheng Xiping used his arms and feet to push off the stones on the ground, and with all his might, he pulled out a badger that was squealing as it was dragged out.
Sheng Xiping was already prepared. He stepped on the rope, swung the butt of his gun, and smashed it down on the badger's head.
In just a few blows, the badger was struck so hard that its nose and mouth bled, and it was unable to move.
After killing the badger, Sheng Xiping came forward and tried to remove the hook from the badger's body.
This trick works for dealing with small, furry animals in caves.
At this time of year, badgers are already deep in hibernation, and their dens are quite large. It's likely that the lynx that went in yesterday didn't disturb the other badgers. Therefore, these badgers are still sound asleep and haven't abandoned their dens.
So Sheng Xiping changed the hole and continued to operate in the same way as before. Before long, he pulled out another badger from the other hole.
Including yesterday's one, we've caught three now, and there are probably a few more in the hole.
Sheng Xiping wasn't greedy. He knew when to stop, unhooked the hook, coiled the brown rope, and then carried the two badgers back home.
I got back to the forest farm after 7 p.m., quickly skinned and gutted the badger, ate a quick bite, and rushed off to work.
There was quite a bit of oil from the three badgers, and Zhang Shuzhen cut it off while Sheng Xinhua was sleeping.
It is cooked in a pot, cooled in a basin, and then poured little by little into glucose bottles.
These days, the glucose bottles used for IV drips in clinics are really valuable; they have many uses.
You have to have a good relationship with the doctor at the clinic to get a few.
The items Zhang Shuzhen used were obtained in exchange for a bottle of badger oil she had promised to give to the clinic doctor.
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