The watermelon vines in the field have turned yellow and the last batch of watermelons have all been picked. Since the vines are dead, most of the remaining small watermelons are not ripe.
However, these small watermelons will not be wasted, they can be chopped up and fed to the chickens.
Gao Mingcheng was inspecting his own land, and Zhang Chengyuan followed him. Zhang Chengyuan pointed at the land and said, "Mingcheng, do you want to grow rapeseed or cabbage?"
Gao Mingcheng said: "Let's plant rapeseed."
Rapeseed flowers are a high-quality source of nectar, and rapeseed can also be pressed for oil, so both are very useful.
As for cabbage, it is different here from the Northeast. Although they also grow cabbage and can eat it throughout the winter, they definitely don't need to stock up so much or pickle a large jar of sauerkraut.
If we plant cabbage, red cabbage, lettuce, spinach and other vegetables in the land in front of the house, it will be enough for our family to eat.
"Brother, let's use all these corners and edges to grow rapeseed!" said Gao Mingcheng.
"Okay." Zhang Chengyuan agreed. He was responsible for growing most of these vegetables, and they were indeed grown very well.
After planning the vegetables to be planted in autumn, Gao Mingcheng went to see the cassia seeds planted this year. Cassia seeds are easy to grow and do not require much fertilizer. They can grow on wasteland and slopes. Therefore, Gao Mingcheng found some empty spaces at the foot of Xiaofu Mountain, scattered a handful of seeds, and let them grow naturally.
Cassia seed is also called false mung bean. It looks similar to mung bean, with small yellow flowers and pods. At this time, the plant is full of green pods, but the seeds inside are not yet mature. It will take until October before the whole plant can be harvested, exposed to the sun and shelled.
After checking on the Polygonatum sibiricum he had transplanted, Gao Mingcheng concentrated on hunting rabbits. Rabbits are accustomed to coming out to forage in the morning and evening, and it is difficult to see them in broad daylight.
But it’s okay. Black Tiger and the elf have a keen sense of smell and are very familiar with the rabbit holes in this area. They led Gao Mingcheng to find several rabbit holes.
Unfortunately, the rabbit hid in the hole, and neither Gao Mingcheng nor the two dogs, Black Tiger Elf, could get into the hole.
"Hei Hu, you guys stay here, I'll go get some firewood!" Gao Mingcheng did not use brute force, but decided to use a strategy, using smoke to smoke the rabbits out of the hole. Once the rabbits come out, they will have nowhere to escape.
Gao Mingcheng collected some dead branches and leaves from the surrounding area and started a fire directly at the entrance of the cave. If he wanted thick smoke, the fire could not be too strong. He had to add some wet branches to burn and use his hands to fan the thick smoke into the cave.
Gao Mingcheng found it quite interesting to try hunting in a different way. He burned the fire slowly and steadily, keeping a close eye on the surrounding situation.
After a while, the rabbits in the hole could not stand the smoke and fled out one after another, waiting for the two dogs nearby - no, three dogs!
It was the first time for Gao Mingcheng to see the big yellow dog hunting. It was like a little girl who didn't have much skill but loved to join in the fun. At the slightest sign of trouble, it would immediately bark loudly, but when the prey came out, it would be a few beats slower and would not pounce on it immediately.
Fortunately, Black Tiger and Elf are both ruthless dogs and don't talk much. They were lying there motionless, but when the rabbit escaped from the cave, the two dogs quickly chased it.
A gray-haired hare was bitten on the neck by a black tiger!
The young and strong elf was not to be outdone and quickly bit the second rabbit.
Only then did the big yellow dog start chasing the rabbit.
Gao Mingcheng stared at the big yellow dog the whole time without taking any action. He saw the big yellow dog chasing the hare clumsily, and in the end the hare luckily escaped from the dog's mouth.
"Haha." Gao Mingcheng couldn't help laughing.
It seems that this big yellow dog must be a domestic one. I don’t know why it stays here and won’t leave.
However, dogs bring wealth, and the big yellow dog is a female dog, so Gao Mingcheng is quite welcoming.
"Okay, let's change the hole." Gao Mingcheng stood up and stomped on the fire to put it out until he was sure that all the sparks were out, then he changed to another place.
It's about lighting a fire, creating smoke, and then waiting in the hole for the rabbit.
When the rabbits could no longer bear the smoke, they ran out from another hole and went their separate ways. This time Gao Mingcheng did not just watch and do nothing. He held a few knives in his hands and swishly shot them at the rabbits.
He hadn't played with a knife for a while, and he didn't feel good at first, but he soon regained the familiar feel. Even though there was no rabbit, he couldn't help but feel itchy and attacked the bird flying in the sky.
After failing several times, he did not get discouraged and continued looking for the target.
The most common bird in the mountains is the sparrow.
The sparrow family has also experienced many ups and downs. In the 1950s, they were labeled as one of the four pests and have been exterminated ever since. The number of sparrows has dropped sharply across the country.
But after the 1960s, it was removed from the list of the four pests and became a national second-class protected animal in 2000.
It is now 1989, pesticides have not yet become widespread, and people have not continued to exterminate sparrows, so the number of sparrows in the mountains is countless.
Sometimes, the sparrows would run to the chicken coop to steal food. Whenever the rice was ripe, sparrows would appear in groups in the rice fields, devouring the food that the villagers had worked so hard to grow.
For villagers who make a living from the land, sparrows are still one of the four pests!
Gao Mingcheng got into a fight with the sparrows and tracked several of them. After his knife missed several times, he finally succeeded!
A small knife pierced the sparrow's abdomen, and the injured sparrow fell headfirst to the ground. Another small knife hit the sparrow's head directly. This accuracy made Gao Mingcheng very happy.
He was like a child who had got a new toy. He was so busy chasing the sparrows in the mountains that he even forgot to hunt rabbits.
When he came back with his spoils, he had a dozen sparrows and two turtledoves in his hands.
The turtledoves were the last one he caught. At that time, he had a very good feel and hit every turtledove in the head, which made him very happy.
"Hey, I'll give you a snack today, sparrows!" Gao Mingcheng stroked Heihu's dog head and said with a smile. He then looked at the rabbits piled on the ground. Although there were not many, only seven, well, but it was enough to eat!
The sun was shining brightly at noon. He returned to his yard with his three dogs, carrying his spoils.
There was little sparrow meat, and Gao Mingcheng was too lazy to eat it himself, so he plucked the sparrow's feathers and gave them to the three dogs to eat.
When plucking the feathers of chickens and ducks, you need to use hot water to scald them, but when plucking the feathers of wild birds, you don't need to scald them. Just grab a handful of feathers and pluck them randomly, and the feathers will fall off.
Of course, you can also use hot water to scald it, which will make it cleaner.
While Gao Mingcheng was plucking the feathers, he threw the processed sparrows to Sangou to eat. At this moment, Chen Duofu came in with a large bowl full of steaming food.
"Mingcheng, I've brought you some food. My mother specially cooked a lot of delicious dishes today. Oh, and there's half a pound of kudzu powder. My mother made it last year, and she asked me to bring it to you. Thank you for taking us two brothers out to broaden our horizons." Chen Duofu handed the large bowl and kudzu powder to Gao Mingcheng.
Kudzu powder is packed in a bag. The color of homemade kudzu powder is not pure white, but a little gray-brown. If it is not washed clean enough, the color of the impurities will be darker.
Gao Mingcheng looked at the kudzu powder handed over by Chen Duofu, and remembered that there were kudzu vines everywhere in the mountains, but he hadn't made kudzu powder for several years.
He didn't hesitate and accepted the thank-you gift directly.
But he just gave a wild rabbit to Chen Duofu.
But this time Chen Duofu refused to take his rabbit. He waved his hand hastily and said, "No, I can't have it."
He was tongue-tied and couldn't say more, so he just walked away quickly.
Gao Mingcheng looked at his back as if he was running for his life, and after a moment of silence he burst into laughter.
Chen Duofu refused to take it, but he didn't force him. Smelling the aroma of the food, he was indeed hungry, so he picked up the chopsticks and started to eat.
To thank him, Aunt Liu did cook a lot of delicious dishes. Although there were no big fish or meat, they were cooked with enough oil and salt, and the taste was quite good. (End of this chapter)
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