Grandma Gao stayed in the hospital for three days before she was able to be discharged, but even after being discharged, her energy and spirit had not yet fully recovered.
When people get old, all aspects of their bodies begin to age, and they will be plagued by various old age diseases, which are beyond human control.
After being discharged from the hospital, Gao Mingcheng sent Grandma Gao, Gao Yuanjian and the Maozi brothers to Gaojia Village. As for the Maozi brothers, Gao Mingcheng told Gao Yuanjian that he was asking them to work.
Gao Yuanjian was full of doubt. What kind of work could be done in the village in such a cold winter?
But Gao Mingcheng didn't want to say more, and he was too lazy to ask more questions.
After returning to Gaojia Village, Gao Mingcheng first sent Grandma Gao and Gao Yuanjian home, and then continued driving to Niuweiling.
Once you reach Niuweiling, you will rarely see villagers here.
Gao Mingcheng's house sits alone at the foot of the mountain.
But few people does not mean desolate.
Here there are crisscrossing vegetable fields, well-kept orchards, chickens pecking at food, loyal dogs greeting people, and the sounds of cattle and sheep echoing in the mountains.
There is indeed not much work to do in winter. Gao Mingcheng left the Maozi brothers here mainly to avoid Du Hongyu's men from finding Maozi.
Gao Mingcheng's house is not big, with only three main rooms. The middle one is the living room, the left one is Gao Mingcheng's bedroom, and the right side is empty and used as a warehouse.
But there is also a wooden bed here, which was moved from Gao Yue’s own home when Gao Yue came to live in his house.
Now all we have to do is clean the room, put down bedding and quilts, and people can live here.
Maozi was quite hardworking. After Gao Mingcheng showed them the house, he immediately went to fetch water and cleaned up the house himself.
They brought quilts, spare clothes, and even some food.
Gao Mingcheng said, "For the next period of time, you two brothers will live in my house. You can eat some of the wind-blown meat that I have stored, and you can also eat the vegetables in the vegetable garden."
"You can read, right? I have some elementary school books at home. You can teach your brother to read when you have nothing to do. If you are bored, find something to do. I also have a radio here, which I will leave for you to use as well."
"You guys usually live here, and you can talk to the two families nearby, but it's best not to go to the old village. There are too many people there, and it's inevitable that the news will leak out."
Maozi nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would not go to the old village.
This time he came here to seek refuge, not to play. He had committed a crime in the neighboring county, and there were powerful and ruthless guys looking for him, so he wanted to keep a low profile.
His younger brother Yangyang, on the other hand, seemed quite curious about all this and kept staring at the dogs.
Yangyang had been bitten by a mad dog before, but he was a little dazed and didn't seem to be afraid of dogs. Instead, he stared at the dog in surprise. The two little black balls were not as alert as the big dog. They stayed closer, wagging their tails, and walked around in the crowd. However, Heihu and the others were standing some distance away.
After Gao Mingcheng and Maozi finished their explanation, he found the families of Zhang Chengyuan and Chen Dasong and told them that the two brothers Maozi would temporarily live in his house.
Maozi had to solve the problem of eating by himself, but Gao Mingcheng asked them to help with other life problems if they could.
Chen Dasong said: "Since he is your friend, don't worry, we are here to help take care of him."
Gao Mingcheng nodded and said, "If they are willing to help, let them do it together."
"OK."
After giving all the instructions, Gao Mingcheng prepared to go into the mountains to dig some winter bamboo shoots and see if he could catch some wild rabbits.
"Black Tiger, Elf, follow me!" Gao Mingcheng shouted, and led the two dogs into the mountains in a heroic manner.
"Brother Mingcheng, what are you doing in the mountains? Do you want me to help you?" Maozi shouted when he saw him.
Gao Mingcheng said: "No need, just take care of your brother at home. It's almost noon, why don't you cook lunch!"
"Well, that's fine." Maozi no longer insisted on following them into the mountains, but prepared to cook lunch.
Gao Mingcheng had already been told the location of all the daily necessities in his home, and was allowed to use them as he pleased.
Maozi washed the rice first and lit the fire in the stove. Then he asked his younger brother to look after the firewood while he went to wash and cut vegetables. Today Gao Mingcheng also brought back some tofu, and he gave half to Gao Yuanjian and kept the remaining half at his own home.
Fried tofu needs to be served with garlic, so Maozi walked towards the vegetable garden. Gao Mingcheng had said that the land nearby all belonged to Gao Mingcheng's family, and he could pick the vegetables in the garden as he pleased.
Maozi picked some garlic, pinched a handful of cabbage sprouts, and pulled out a radish, and the dish was complete.
Next, he prepared to make wind-blown pork with boiled radish, fried tofu, and stir-fried cabbage sprouts!
While Maozi was busy preparing lunch, Gao Mingcheng had already entered the mountain. He was heading towards the bamboo forest as he was preparing to dig some winter bamboo shoots.
"Black Tiger, Elf, go look for the trace of the hare." Gao Mingcheng ordered, and the two dogs were very human-like.
If they are on hillsides or in valleys, they are definitely hunting rabbits. If they go deep into the mountains, they are hunting wild boars.
Black Tiger and the Elf sniffed the scent left by the hare and led Gao Mingcheng to find it.
With hunting dogs, hunting can be more efficient. The hunting dogs can find the traces of prey, and when Gao Mingcheng kills the hare, the hunting dogs can run over and bring the prey back.
When hunting in the mountains, Gao Mingcheng never used a gun because guns made a lot of noise and he didn't need one at all. If he was hunting a wild boar, a javelin would be enough. Hunting a rabbit was even easier. The small knife on his waist could kill small animals such as rabbits and pheasants.
He likes this more primitive hunting behavior, and he feels more accomplished every time he gets something.
In broad daylight, the hares were not inactive and most of them hid in caves. But the black tigers and elves were not vegetarians either. They would smell the scent and tear down the hares' homes!
Gao Mingcheng calls the rabbits in the mountains wild rabbits, but in fact, there are differences between rabbits. Some rabbits run very fast, and it is difficult to kill them even with Gao Mingcheng's eyesight and accuracy, while some rabbits are easier to kill.
If a biology expert were here, he might explain that some of these hares are native to the country and belong to the category of wilderness hares, which means they live in the wilderness. They do not dig holes, run extremely fast, and their hind legs are very powerful. If an eagle is hunting a hare and is unfortunately kicked by the hare's hind legs, the eagle's life may be in danger.
The other part of the wild rabbits are burrowing rabbits, which are alien species. In ancient times, they were brought into my country as tribute. Later, some of them escaped and survived and reproduced in the wild.
As to which dynasty it was introduced into, there is still no particularly accurate answer.
Of course, Gao Mingcheng didn't care about such academic questions. He just needed to find the hare, aim, shoot, and kill the target hare!
With the help of two dogs, the man and two dogs destroyed three rabbit holes and hunted eight wild rabbits!
It’s a good harvest!
Gao Mingcheng piled the hares together and said, "Call it a day! Next I'm going to dig winter bamboo shoots!"
Gao Mingcheng came with a hoe. He found a bamboo forest and, based on his experience, judged whether there were winter bamboo shoots growing on the bamboo whips by observing the growth of the bamboo branches.
Anyone can dig spring bamboo shoots, but it is difficult to dig winter bamboo shoots without experience!
Winter bamboo shoots will not grow out of the soil, they are hidden in the soil. You can't see any traces when you look at the soil surface. You have to rely on experience to judge and find them.
Gao Mingcheng dug out more than a dozen winter bamboo shoots from this small piece of bamboo forest. The big ones weighed two or three pounds, while the small ones weighed only a little over one pound. For the small ones, there was not much meat inside after peeling the shells.
Gao Mingcheng dug a few larger winter bamboo shoots and then finished his work with satisfaction.
He shook open the bag he was carrying and put the winter bamboo shoots and wild rabbits into the bag.
It is much better to use a bag to carry things than a bamboo basket or a backpack! The main reason is that the bag is light and more convenient when traveling in the mountains.
"Black Tiger and the Elf are gone!" When Gao Mingcheng was digging winter bamboo shoots, Black Tiger and the Elf did not surround him, but were playing in the nearby woods. From time to time, Gao Mingcheng could see a bush shaking and heard a few tiny sounds.
But with his shout, Black Tiger and the Elf came out of the woods one after another. There were some dead branches and leaves on the fur of the two dogs, but their dark eyes were full of vitality, and they were obviously very excited.
Gao Mingcheng hadn't interacted with the two dogs for a long time. Looking at their energetic appearance, he smiled and stretched out his big hand, stroking them hard.
"Let's go!" After satisfying his desire, Gao Mingcheng carried the bag and followed the two dogs down the mountain.
The mountain road is rugged and covered with dead branches and fallen leaves, among which there are some tree seeds.
Gao Mingcheng saw quite a few soapberry seeds.
The soapberry is a deciduous tree. Now it is bare, with only a trunk left standing on the hillside, but the soapberry seeds all over the ground are also a treasure.
The seed coat of soapberry is similar to dried longan, which has a cleaning function. Its seeds are round and can be made into beads and processed into bracelets.
Gao Mingcheng knew about soapberry, but he rarely used it. Sometimes he used tea leaves to wash his hair, but most of the time he used shampoo and soap for convenience.
So he ruthlessly stepped on the soapberries with his big feet and strode down the mountain to go home.
When I got home, I immediately smelled the aroma of vegetables.
"Brother Mingcheng, you are finally back. If you hadn't come back, I was afraid the food would have gotten cold!" Maozi came forward with a smile, proudly showing off the meal he had prepared.
Maozi, who has no father or mother, is actually a good hand at life. He is quite good at cooking, washing clothes, cleaning and other housework.
Gao Mingcheng put the bag down, took a look at the dishes on the table, and said with a smile: "It looks good."
"Maozi, call your brother to eat. If I don't come back next time, just leave some food for me. You don't have to wait for me." Gao Mingcheng said casually, washed his hands first, and then served a bowl of rice.
Seeing that he had started eating, Maozi and his brother started to eat too.
Maozi’s cooking skills were pretty good and Gao Mingcheng was quite satisfied with the meal.
After dinner, Gao Mingcheng took the Maozi brothers to the chicken coop and then to the beehives in the shed. The weather was not good today, so the bees were not active and only flew out of the hives when they were fed with sugar water.
"Brother Mingcheng, you raise so many bees!" Maozi was quite surprised. Although he had known Gao Mingcheng for a long time, he was not very clear about Gao Mingcheng's family background.
Gao Mingcheng smiled. Now that Chen Duofu has mastered the beekeeping skills, he can breed a few more boxes of bees.
The more bees you have, the more honey you can produce.
In a year, you can earn tens of thousands just from selling bees.
After inspecting his own property, Gao Mingcheng prepared to return to the county town.
He left a small wild rabbit for the Maozi brothers and gave them some small winter bamboo shoots. Then he said, "My room is locked, you don't have to worry about it. The other places just need to be cleaned daily."
Maozi nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Gao Mingcheng picked some vegetables and then drove the tractor back to the county. As he left, Chen Dasong came over with some prepared bamboo strips.
Chen Dasong laughed and said, "Brother Maozi, can you weave bamboo baskets? If not, I'll teach you! Bamboo baskets are most needed after the fruits in the orchard are harvested, so we should take advantage of the winter to weave more bamboo baskets."
Maozi really didn't know how to weave bamboo baskets, but he expressed his willingness to learn. Even his younger brother sat on a small stool stupidly, watching Chen Dasong teach them how to weave bamboo baskets.
A bamboo basket is much larger than a bamboo basket and is mainly used to hold fruits. When full, a bamboo basket of fruit weighs about 50 kilograms.
Next, Chen Dasong took Maozi to do some small jobs from time to time, under the pretext of helping him get familiar with the environment.
Maozi didn't expect that after living in the village, he actually unlocked several skills: weaving bamboo baskets, weaving brooms and repairing farm tools!
Gao Mingcheng knew nothing about the Maozi's affairs. After he hid the Maozi brothers in Gaojia Village, he felt much more relieved. All he had to do next was to communicate with the police to see if anyone suspected to be Du Hongyu showed up.
In this atmosphere, the New Year's Eve has arrived quietly!
Gaojia Village boasted that their ancestors had a Jinshi degree, so naturally they celebrated the Little New Year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. On that day, Gao Mingcheng and others did not rush back to the village, but celebrated it in the county.
The festive atmosphere is still strong at this moment. Even though it is a minor new year, every household is very happy. Gao Mingcheng also asked many beautiful people to buy a lot of delicious food and prepare to have a good meal.
Originally, Gao Guobing asked Gao Mingcheng to go to his home to celebrate the New Year, but Gao Mingcheng refused.
If it were just his family, he would definitely go over, but Gao Mingli and his wife and Gao Shufang are also here, so naturally he has to celebrate the Little New Year with his family.
The dishes that night were extremely rich, with chicken, duck, fish and meat, as well as wild rabbit and winter bamboo shoots that Gao Mingcheng had brought from the mountains two days ago.
On the second day of the Little New Year, two rare customers came to Gao Mingcheng's shop.
"Wanwan! You're back?" When Xuanyuemei saw Deng Wanwan, she almost didn't recognize her for a moment, but fortunately her eyesight was good and she quickly recognized Deng Wanwan.
When Deng Wanwan left, she was still a delicate and timid little girl, but now, she is full of competence and has the air of an urban beauty.
Deng Wanwan smiled as she looked at Xuanyuemei and Gao Shufang, and then glanced around the Xinxin Clothing Store. It was great. The people and things here were the same as before. (End of this chapter)
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