After looking at the house, they returned the same way. When passing by the vegetable market, Yang Chunyan bought some meat and two pieces of white lard before returning to Deshengtang.
After waiting in the clinic for half an hour and seeing that Zhou Yiding and Wan Xuejiao had not arrived yet, they went out, started the tractor and walked back. As soon as they reached the street corner, they saw two people rushing back carrying large and small bags of things.
Zhou Huaian raised his voice and said, "I thought you two went to the movies! There are so many of you. What good things did you buy?"
"The clothes sold at the stalls over there look pretty good. We each bought two sets, and also some wool." Zhou Yiding wiped his sweat, "Luckily we made it in time, I was worried that you had already left."
"Waiting for you!" Zhou Huaian waited for the two of them to climb onto the tractor, pulled the handbrake, stepped on the accelerator, and the tractor rumbled forward with black smoke coming out.
Arriving at the stone bridge, Wang Zhen looked at the sparkling river and said, "The scenery here is great, more comfortable than Ning'an City."
Zhou Yiding laughed and said, "We are used to it and don't think it's good at all. We just think the place is too remote. It takes several hours to go to the city and back."
Wang Zhen looked around and said, "The county is too dry. This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides and there are rivers. The climate is warmer than the county. The only drawback is the inconvenient transportation. It will be better when the transportation is more convenient in the future."
Zhou Yiding smiled and said, "Let's go fishing in the river this afternoon. It's so delicious to grill the fish in the river!"
Wang Zhen nodded and said, "Brother Zhou said we can go to the winter paddy fields to dig loaches and eels. Can we catch them?" He had never caught loaches or eels in his life and wanted to try it.
Zhou Yiding laughed after hearing this and said, "The water in those winter paddy fields has dried up recently, so it's just the right time to go there to dig loaches and eels. If you look carefully, as long as you see a smooth hole and signs of movement, there are fish inside."
"Loaches are easy to dig out. You can dig them out by digging vertically downwards with your hands 20 centimeters apart and about the same distance. The soil in the fields has dried up in the past few days, so we used a pry bar to dig out the loaches hidden in the soil."
"The eel holes are very small, but be careful of water snake holes. Water snakes don't dig holes themselves, so they will steal the holes of crabs or eels. If you're lucky, you can even pry open a hibernating water snake."
Wang Zhen listened to his clear and logical talk, "It turns out there are so many tricks to catching eels and loaches."
Zhou Yiding scratched his head in embarrassment. "When I was a kid in the mountains, I either went up the mountain to hunt birds and dig out bird nests, or I fished in the ditches on the edge of the sky, catching eels, loaches, and mountain crabs. I gradually summed up my experience."
Wang Zhen thought of his own childhood, "You guys had an interesting life."
The tractor climbed up the gentle slope emitting black smoke and arrived at the drying dam. The children playing there all ran over.
"Here comes the tractor!"
"Let's take a tractor ride!"
…
Zhou's mother had already cut the mutton, mixed it with seasonings and marinated it at home. She also cut a few slices of old ham and put them in the stewed radish with the lamb ribs and lamb shanks.
They also cooked smoked yellowish turtledoves, hares, greasy bacon, sausages, and killed an old duck and braised taro.
When the two dogs heard the noise from the tractor, they barked twice and ran out like arrows, all the way to the grove where they greeted their owner. They had smiles on their faces and their tails were almost shaking off their heads.
Yang Dongmei looked at the dog who seemed to be able to laugh in surprise, "Laifu and Wangcai have grown so big!"
Yang Chunyan smiled and nodded, "They are very well behaved. They know to drive the chickens to the woods every day. When they saw your brother-in-law taking Da Huang and Da Hei up the mountain, they wanted to go there so badly, but when they heard that they were asked to watch the house, they just lay there and refused to go anywhere."
Wang Zhen looked at it and said, "This is a mountain dog. I saw it at my friend's house in Liangcheng."
Yang Dongmei has loved dogs and cats since she was a child. In the past, people could only eat half full, so there was no extra food for her to raise dogs and cats. "Sister, when his dog gives birth, please take two of them home."
Yang Chunyan nodded. "Uncle Chen said before the New Year that his dog is about to give birth. Ask your brother-in-law to go and ask when it's time."
Zhou Huairong and others came out and greeted Wang Zhen enthusiastically, and Zhou Huaian shouted to them to come over for a drink.
Zhou's mother came out after hearing the noise and stood at the gate with a smile on her face. "Laifu and Dahuang are almost spirits. I didn't hear any noise, but they were already calling to pick you up."
Zhou Huaian parked the tractor and said, "The dog's ears are very sharp. It can hear it from far away."
Wang Zhen and Yang Dongmei got off the tractor. He took out the net bag from the back of the tractor and handed it to Zhou's mother. "Auntie, there are some food brought from the provincial capital. Try it."
Seeing that it was filled with candy and a few exquisite iron cans, Zhou's mother politely took it and said, "Doctor Xiao Wang, we are so happy that you came to visit us. Look, you brought so many things."
"A little food is nothing!"
Zhou Huairong's brothers also came over, and everyone greeted Wang Zhen politely and welcomed him into the yard.
He looked around and praised: "The countryside is still the best, the yard is spacious and bright."
Zhou's mother said cheerfully, "Doctor Xiao Wang, only the newly renovated house is this bright. Go to my old house and see, it's so low and low that I have to light oil lamps in the house even in the daytime."
Wang Zhen nodded and said, "When I went to Yangjiapingzi, I saw that most of the houses in the village were made of mud walls and straw."
Zhou's mother: "This year, things are much better. Many people in the village are planning to build new houses!"
Yang Chunyan and Yang Dongmei went to the kitchen to help with cooking, and Zhou Huaian took Wang Zhen to the backyard to visit the baking room and oven.
Wang Zhen saw the tap installed on the pool, turned it on and looked at it. He asked, "Is this the spring water you mentioned that comes down from the back mountain?"
Zhou Huaian nodded somewhat proudly, "That's right! I'll take you up the mountain later. Thanks to the installation of such water pipes, it will be much easier to wash the truffles."
"Okay, I'll go up with you later."
Wang Zhen followed him into the baking room and took a look around, and then the two went to the back mountain.
The old man was preparing the land for the medicinal field on the mountain. It would be time to plant plants like dandelions, rhubarb, and stinking peonies in a while. The two men came up and greeted him cheerfully, then squatted down and got busy again.
"These Viola yedoensis are growing well, so don't pick them this season. Wait until they bloom and collect some seeds before harvesting them."
Zhou Huaian nodded, "That's what I planned too. After planting the herbs this season, I'll keep them for seeds and sell them next season."
Wang Zhen: "When I was in the provincial capital, I asked a teacher who was engaged in planting. He suggested that we should not plant the same kind of herbs in a large area, but should plant those herbs with insect repellent and insect prevention functions in intervals. This way, the herbs can restrain each other and prevent pests..."
Zhou Huaian listened carefully to his suggestions. "I've remembered it. It's also mentioned in the planting book that some herbs can naturally prevent and control pests, such as Polygonum aviculare, Artemisia selengensis, Sichuan pepper, Tripterygium wilfordii... These can kill insects."
"We have planted some Cistanche deserticola and Codonopsis pilosula around the fence... I plan to plant some Tripterygium wilfordii, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, and Rosa rugosa, which can serve as barriers and kill insects."
After hearing this, Wang Zhen nodded repeatedly and followed him to see the planted white hyacinth and the straw covering the Paris polyphylla seeds that had been uncovered. He saw spores breaking out of the black mud.
After looking around, I went to the unflowered forest and saw the fragrant mountains... Tripterygium wilfordii and Magnolia officinalis. I thought their idea of planting half of the plants with short planting cycles and fast returns, and the other half with long planting cycles was a good one.
"Brother Zhou, you have to record the experience and insights you have accumulated during the planting process. As long as your herbs are of good quality, you won't have to worry about selling them."
After hearing this, Zhou Huaian said awkwardly: "During this period, my grandfather and old man have been helping to manage the medicinal fields. They grow herbs using the same method as growing vegetables at home."
Wang Zhen smiled and said, "Their idea is correct. My grandfather said that the old farmers in the countryside have been farming for decades, and some agricultural experts still seek their advice!"
"Youngest, Doctor Wang, it's time to eat!" At this time, the old man's voice came from the bottom of the hill.
"Here we go!" Zhou Huaian waved his hand and led Wang Zhen down the slope. "The well with a lid over there is where we draw water to irrigate the fields when there is no water."
“Go and have a look!”
The two men arrived at the well, and Zhou Huaian lifted the well cover, revealing a well with an opening about the size of a large wooden basin, with mist rising from the water inside.
Wang Zhen looked down at the water surface only one foot away from the well mouth and said, "The water output of this well is really good!"
Zhou Huaian closed the lid and said, "My brother and his friends also dug a well in the mountains, but the water output is not as good as mine."
Wang Zhen laughed and said, "You must have hit the spring with your bite."
After the two of them went downhill, Zhou Huaian picked up the pig grass in the basket on his back and said, "My family raises six pigs. We sowed reeds, flowers and grass on the land we cleared, and ramie over there. We don't have to cut pig grass anymore."
Wang Zhen saw that there was indeed a field of ramie over there. The green leaves looked full of vitality under the sun. "Ramie is also a herb. The roots have diuretic and antipyretic effects, and the leaves can stop bleeding. People in the old days used the seeds to press oil for consumption, and later some people used it to make soap."
Zhou Huaian smiled and said, "My grandma used to pick tender ramie leaves to make baba for us to eat. The baba she made was very green."
Wang Zhen: "When I was in college, some of my classmates were Hakka people. They liked to use ramie leaves to make a kind of food called Hakka bǎn (bǎn). The production method is a bit similar to the way we make glutinous rice cakes."
"The finished Hakka rice cake can also be fried. It has a fresh, sweet and unique flavor. He said that eating ramie leaf rice cake can resist hunger and thirst, increase strength, cure skin diseases, and strengthen the body and bones. I think it should be because of the ramie leaves."
Zhou Huaian: "Then we can also add some ramie leaves when making glutinous rice cakes!"
Wang Zhen thought for a moment and said, "I think we should first crush the ramie leaves, squeeze out the juice and add it in."
Zhou Huaian: "After dinner, let my mom soak some rice for wine and rice, and we'll try pounding it tomorrow!"
Wang Zhen smiled and waved his hand, "Don't bother, we will go back tomorrow morning."
Zhou Huaian said, "Since you are here once, you can spend more time here in the morning. Tomorrow morning we will go to the river to fish. After lunch, I will drive the tractor to take you back to Ning'an."
"Okay! Let's go after lunch tomorrow." Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement. (End of this chapter)
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