Chapter 396: Local Customs and People
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, it seems that the whole village is filled with a festive atmosphere.
Niuweiling is relatively remote and far from the old village, but you can still hear the sounds of children running and laughing.
There were several small hills near the old village, and there were crowds of people. It turned out that they were going into the mountains to pick fruits.
At this time of year, there are still some chestnuts hanging on the branches, and the purple-black small wine glasses are hidden among the leaves, which are very tempting. However, people's main focus of picking is not them, but the hairy chestnuts.
Hairy chestnuts are wild chestnuts. They are small in size but still taste sweet. They can be found everywhere in the mountains and are the most important source of snacks for children in autumn.
In addition to chestnuts, there are also some wild hawthorn trees. There are not many wild hawthorns here. Gao Mingcheng knows of only about ten trees. When he was a child, he was just like these greedy children, and he would go to the mountains every day to find some food.
What impressed him most was eating the sugar jar, the fruit of which is scientifically known as Laevigata chinensis. This thing is also a medicine, but because it tastes sweet, it is a favorite snack for children.
Almost every child has a love-hate relationship with it, loving its sweet taste but hating its thorns!
Gao Mingcheng believes that anyone who has ever picked a candy jar to eat must have had their hand pricked by it!
In addition to these, you can also pick wild persimmons in the mountains. Wild persimmons are small in size and are late-ripening fruits. If you don't use the right method, even if the wild persimmons are soft, they will taste very astringent.
When Gao Mingcheng was a child, no matter how greedy he was, he was unwilling to pick wild persimmons to eat. However, some people in their village were good at making persimmon cakes. Those wild persimmons that no one wanted were made into sweet and soft persimmon cakes by him, which became extremely popular.
The last time I went to visit Eldest Sister Xuanyue Jin at her home to pay New Year's greetings, Xuanyue Jin made a lot of persimmon cakes to entertain the guests.
After returning to Gaojia Village, Gao Mingcheng went into the mountains early in the morning as usual, first practicing boxing and then looking for prey.
The easiest prey to find is naturally the hare.
This thing has no natural enemies now and reproduces quickly. As long as you go into the mountains, you can see its traces. Of course, whether you can catch the rabbit depends on your personal means.
It is a little difficult for ordinary people, but for Gao Mingcheng, it is not difficult at all, all you need is hands!
Sometimes, he didn't even have to do anything. He could just command the two dogs, Black Tiger and Elf, to hunt the hare. Then, with him watching from the side, the hare would be doomed.
Look, when he went down the mountain, he was holding several wild rabbits in his hands.
After returning home, he first processed a wild rabbit, cut the rabbit meat into two halves and gave them to the two dogs to eat.
He was not at home often, and as a result the quality of the two dogs' food declined.
In the morning, Gao Mingcheng was busy at home until eleven o'clock, and then prepared to leave for his parents' house.
He drove a tractor because he had to bring a lot of things with him. He wanted to give his parents a box of mooncakes, two bottles of wine and two wild rabbits.
The same is true for Xi Nainai's family and Zhang Chengyuan's family.
As for those cousins’ families, just give them a box of mooncakes, and carry a pack of cigarettes with you. When you meet relatives or friends who smoke, give them a pack.
When passing by the second sister of Xuanmei, Gao Mingcheng got out of the car and handed the gift to Zhang Chengyuan.
Xuanyu is Xuanmei's second sister, and her brother who married into the family is Gao Mingcheng's employee. For this big festival, they must prepare some generous gifts. So in addition to these gifts, Zhang Chengyuan also gave an extra red envelope to the employees.
After putting down the things, Gao Mingcheng did not stay for long and went down the slope directly.
Zhang Chengyuan came outside to see him off, and after watching him leave, he returned to the house.
"Look at how much money is in that red envelope? Tsk tsk, their family's lives are getting better and better." Xuanyu's tone was sour.
Zhang Chengyuan glanced at the red envelope in his hand. It was given to him directly by Gao Mingcheng, but he didn't even look at it. He was given a lot of jade directly.
The money in the family is managed by Xuanduoyu.
Generally speaking, Zhang Chengyuan doesn't need money.
After handing over the red envelope, Zhang Chengyuan silently began to make the shoulder pole.
One of the shoulder poles at home was broken, so he had to make a new one quickly. There are two kinds of materials for shoulder poles, one is wood and the other is bamboo.
Bamboo is light and easy to obtain, but it has a disadvantage, which is that it cannot be used to carry heavy objects. It is only suitable for women to carry things weighing less than 100 kilograms.
As for heavy objects such as food, fertilizers, bricks, cement, etc., it is best to use a wooden shoulder pole to carry them.
What Zhang Chengyuan is making now is a wooden shoulder pole. The wood used is mulberry tree, a common tree species in the mountains. It has the right weight, moderate hardness, high strength, good elasticity, and is not easily deformed or eaten by insects, making it very suitable for making shoulder poles.
Almost every household in Gaojia Village has a few mulberry wood shoulder poles.
While he was making the shoulder pole, his son was playing on the ground next to him. After Xu Duoyu put away the red envelopes, she tied on an apron and went into the kitchen.
Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, so of course they have to eat well. They had already bought two kilograms of pork, and now Gao Mingcheng gave them two wild rabbits, so the dishes are even more diverse.
Life is peaceful, but having food and drink is a kind of happiness.
The tractor came all the way to the old village and stopped at the pond at the entrance of the village.
Gao Mingcheng didn't let Xuanyuemei take the things, he just said: "You walk slowly, I will take the things!"
He had already packed the things in a big bag, and now it was convenient for him to carry a big bag in one hand.
He walked as fast as the wind and soon arrived at his parents' house.
Before I even entered, I heard people talking and laughing inside.
Gao Mingwan usually drives his car, Gao Mingli works in a sugar factory, and Gao Shufang works in a clothing store. As for Gao Mingcheng, he had left the family long ago, so Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua usually felt a little lonely.
Now that our children are at home, parents are naturally happy.
Gao Mingcheng carried the things in first, handed one of the bags to Gao Yuanjian, and then said, "I'll go give the mooncakes to the uncles first, and come back later."
As he said that, he went out with another bag.
I went to my grandmother's house first, put my things down, and prepared to leave.
The grandmother hurriedly called out from behind: "Come over for dinner tonight!"
"Okay." Gao Mingcheng responded with a smile on his face. He had originally planned to come here for dinner in the evening.
After taking out the gifts for his grandmother's family, there was not much in the bag, just a few boxes of mooncakes and a pack of cigarettes, and he went door to door to deliver the gifts.
In their place, the interactions between relatives are not that close. If you are bullied, you just shout and relatives and friends will come to help, but if nothing else, they just live their own lives.
And because many people come from families with many children, sometimes they choose to break off relations because they cannot afford so many social interactions.
After the relationship is severed, there is no need to send gifts to each other during festivals such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year.
Of course, if there are major events such as weddings, birthdays, births and deaths, you still have to go out to eat with the gift money.
In a case like Gao Mingcheng, if he lived an ordinary life, it would be understandable for him not to send mooncakes to his uncles and aunts. But now his life is so good and everyone knows that he is rich. If he doesn't send something, he will easily be gossiped about.
However, Gao Mingcheng still has a good reputation in the village. When working in the orchard, he will hire people to do it, and every autumn, he will also purchase a large amount of medicinal materials, providing the villagers with a way to make money.
In addition, he has the best relationship with Gao Guobing, so even if some people feel jealous, they will not say anything blatantly.
When he finished running this lap, Xuanyimei came over slowly, and then the couple went to his parents' house together.
(End of this chapter)
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