Chapter 132 Catching Bullfrogs and Picking Duck Eggs
Food is the most important thing for people. If you are craving for it, just eat it!
Gao Mingcheng walked along the hillside to the ditch under the mountain stream. This water is the spring water in the mountain. Because of the difference in terrain, it gathers here. The water is clear and only about half a meter deep. The excess water flows along the ditch to other low-lying areas.
The bottom of the water is covered with stones covered with algae and water plants, and on both sides are moist soil walls with some small holes on them. Most of these holes were made by bullfrogs and snakes.
As soon as Gao Mingcheng appeared, he startled the bullfrogs in the water, and they all hid in the water, making bursts of noise.
In fact, it is best to catch bullfrogs at night. Shine a flashlight on the bullfrog and it will stop moving. Then you can reach out and grab it. It is very easy to catch.
The same is true for catching frogs. Using this method is simply ineffective, but you have to wear snake-bite-proof shoes because some snakes are active in hunting at night.
Of course, Gao Mingcheng didn't plan to catch him at night, and he didn't have a flashlight, so he should catch him now!
There are also two ways to catch bullfrogs during the day. One is to find the bullfrog's cave and take the bullfrog out of the cave, but this method is likely to catch snakes.
Another way is to use bait to catch bullfrogs. When the bullfrog is hooked, take the opportunity to catch the bullfrog and put it in the bag.
Gao Mingcheng now has a good habit of always carrying a bag with him, so that if he gets something good in the mountains, he can put it in the bag.
He first took out the bag, shook it open, and then started working.
He had no bait, so he could only catch them with his hands. He first looked along the soil wall of the ditch. Bullfrogs would dig holes, and the holes made by bullfrogs were relatively easy to recognize. The hole entrance was large and horizontally oval, and the hole was not deep, making it very easy to catch them.
But it also feels like opening a blind box. What if there’s a snake inside instead of a bullfrog?
Gao Mingcheng also had this concern, so he went to find a wooden stick, probed into the hole with it, and then judged whether it was a snake or a bullfrog based on the touch.
Gao Mingcheng successfully caught several bullfrogs using this method. The ones he caught were not particularly large, only about half a pound. He had seen the big ones from a distance before, but when he came down, they had already disappeared.
But that’s okay, the small ones are just as delicious as the big ones!
After catching about ten, Gao Mingcheng stopped catching them. He only needed enough to fill two plates. He gave one plate to his grandmother and kept one plate for himself in the evening.
Because they wanted to catch bullfrogs, it was already noon and they were feeling a little hungry, so Gao Mingcheng didn't delay any longer. After identifying the direction, he started to go down the mountain.
He walked very fast, and the noise he made actually startled a wild duck that was hibernating by some water plants. The duck cried out, flapped its wings, and fled in panic.
Gao Mingcheng looked back and saw the wild duck hiding in the lush bushes on the opposite side of the ditch. He was slightly surprised. There were not many water resources in the mountains here, so wild ducks were rarely seen.
Now that he had seen wild ducks, it would have been a bit unreasonable not to look for them. He walked towards where the wild ducks had been before, pulled aside the grass, and sure enough, he found a pile of duck eggs in the grass!
Duck eggs are a bit fishy, but Gao Mingcheng doesn’t care. Since he came across it, he would of course accept it with a smile!
Wild duck eggs are not as big as domestic duck eggs. All of them have green shells, with a total of seven eggs. Gao Mingcheng picked up all the eggs. His pocket was filled with bullfrogs, so it was difficult to put eggs in it. So he took off his coat and used it to hold the eggs.
Today's harvest was fruitful. Gao Mingcheng ran quickly all the way to the foot of the mountain.
When I returned to my grandmother's house, it was already half past twelve. Smoke was coming out of the kitchen chimney and I could hear the sound of cooking in the kitchen. Great, it was time for dinner.
Gao Zhuang heard Gao Mingcheng coming back and walked out of the kitchen. The dishes were almost cooked and he didn't need to watch the fire anymore.
"Brother Mingcheng, let me tell you, Gao Feifei has gone back to her parents' home! Do you know why she went back?" Gao Zhuang walked over with a gossipy look on his face, but when Gao Mingcheng heard the name Gao Feifei, his face became a little uncomfortable.
Without Gao Mingcheng's reply, Gao Zhuang continued, "I heard that she was beaten by her husband! She even had a miscarriage! Alas, Gao Feifei has such a good personality and is hardworking, how could she meet such a man?"
"Men who beat their wives are trash! If I were married, I wouldn't beat my wife!"
Gao Zhuang said this with great confidence, and was full of sympathy for Gao Feifei's situation.
Gao Mingcheng didn't know what was wrong with him, and blurted out: "Well, it's good that your wife doesn't beat you."
Gao Zhuang was anxious and said loudly: "Xiu Man is not that kind of person! Xiu Man is so gentle! I went to her village to see her last time! She said she had never been to the county to watch a movie, so I said that after we get married, I would take her to the movies, to watch "Lush Mountain Love"!"
When talking about "Lush Mountain Love", Gao Zhuang's cheeks turned suspiciously red.
Gao Mingcheng sighed and commented: "He has bad intentions!"
While the two were chatting and laughing, the young lady in the kitchen brought out a plate of food and said, "It's time to eat. Mingcheng, go wash your hands!"
"Oh." Gao Mingcheng responded and ran to wash his hands. Gao Zhuang also went to wash his hands, and then helped to serve the dishes and rice.
The dishes are very rich, including a plate of stir-fried rabbit meat, a plate of bitter melon, and a plate of castor oil tofu. The castor oil tofu has a unique flavor. Every year, my grandmother would pick castor oil nuts, process them, and make castor oil tofu to eat.
At the dinner table, Grandma Xi said, "This Castanopsis tofu was made yesterday. There is still a lot of it soaking in the water tank. Mingcheng, take some back to eat later."
"Okay." Gao Mingcheng responded unceremoniously. The prepared Castanopsis tofu should be soaked in water, which can remove the astringency and also preserve it for longer. It can still be eaten after two or three days.
After lunch, Gao Mingcheng left four bullfrogs and two duck eggs for his grandmother and the others, then carried the things back to his home.
It was still early and Xuanyuemei had not yet returned from her third sister's house.
Gao Mingcheng put the bullfrogs, duck eggs and Castanopsis tofu away, and then went out to check on the cattle and sheep.
Cows and sheep all eat grass, and Gao Mingcheng took them outside to eat grass early in the morning. Normally, no one would steal the cattle and sheep if you leave them outside to eat grass. Everyone is from the same village, and they all know that the cattle and sheep belong to Gao Mingcheng's family.
If someone came to steal, it must be someone from another village.
Gao Mingcheng came to the place where the cattle and sheep were grazed and found that after one morning, the grass in that area had been almost eaten up. So he untied the rope tied to the tree trunk, led the cattle and sheep to the ditch, let them drink some water, and then moved to another place.
"Woof woof." A series of calls came from the black tiger and the elves. They circled around Gao Mingcheng and called out, and the atmosphere around them became cheerful and lively.
(End of this chapter)
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