Chapter 68
Gu Ran also saw the miasma coming from the front, and his heart tightened.
Pei Liu, who was standing behind her, also saw it.
It was the first time he saw the black fog with his own eyes. It turned out that there was miasma in the forest, it was real!
"Sixth Lady, if you see that the miasma hasn't been blown away, you must run back as fast as you can to save your life," Gu Ran instructed.
Pei Liu nodded.
The miasma finally drifted to a place not far from the big windmill. Before it could get any closer, the countercurrent wind caused by the windmill had a counter-effect on the wind that brought the miasma. The miasma encountered this wind that went in the opposite direction and was blown back to the miasma forest. Then it gradually dissipated and disappeared in mid-air. Some of the miasma that escaped the net and went to lower places were also blown away by the small windmill.
Gu Ran, who had been worried for a long time, was relieved and smiled: "Sixth Mother, it works, see!"
The windmill worked. Pei Liu saw it, and so did the villagers behind him who were busy dodging the miasma. They shouted happily as they fled the miasma drifting in from other directions, "It works! That windmill really does work!"
"The miasma was really blown away by the windmill."
"Village Chief, if we build a few more windmills in our village, won't we be more worried about the miasma drifting into the village?"
"Then we won't have to worry about the miasma that comes out after the rain!"
The villagers were excited, completely different from the panic they had felt when they were trying to avoid the miasma.
Village chief Wu also laughed.
Indeed, if they use this method to dispel the miasma, at least their village doesn't have to worry about the miasma drifting into the village.
In front of the Shen family's house, because there was no miasma coming from this direction, everyone stood at the door, their attention all attracted by the rotating windmill.
"Dad, the windmill built by Gu Er Niang is really useful!" Shen Dalang was surprised.
“As expected of her from the capital, she is knowledgeable and experienced, and she can even come up with this idea.” Shen Erlang also said.
"That's not important." Master Shen twirled his beard excitedly. "Since this big windmill works, our Shen family must build a few more. The more the better. We need to build more in front of our house and behind our house, especially in the area of the island forest in front of our house."
"How to build the big windmill? You have to ask Gu Erniang!"
So, after the rain stopped, Village Chief Wu and Mr. Shen came to the cottage to visit Gu Ran.
After hearing about their purpose, Gu Ran was naturally willing to teach them the method of making the windmill. She originally wanted to get the villagers to agree to build a windmill to dispel the miasma. Now the village chief is willing, and the Shen family also takes the lead in building one of their own. Although it cannot deal with the miasma in the island forest for the time being, it can at least prevent the miasma from drifting into Xiaxi Village. Then the village will become livable, and the villagers will no longer be afraid of miasma and be forced to leave their houses every time it rains.
Just hearing the cost of the entire windmill, Village Chief Wu and Mr. Shen couldn't help but gasp.
The windmill alone cost twenty-five taels, and building the windmill house required almost six taels of bricks, not to mention the labor costs of the masons!
I’m afraid it can’t be built without thirty taels!
"Don't think I'm so generous that I spent all my own money to build this windmill. In fact, all my income last year was spent on it. The money I had left was barely enough to buy a donkey cart. Otherwise, why would I ask Sister Lin's eldest brother to help me bargain for the donkey!" Gu Ran explained, "However, this windmill is related to my life. I have to do it, so I just bit the bullet and did it."
"Can you lower the cost?" Master Shen asked. "Master Huang made it, right? Practice makes perfect. Now that he's done the first one, I guess he won't have to grope his way through the second and third as he did the first time. It shouldn't take as much wood and time, right? Can't you negotiate the price with him?"
"Perhaps, if we look at how many windmills the village needs to build and let Master Huang do them all at once, it might be possible to reduce the cost," Gu Ran said uncertainly.
"Or, we can have the villagers get the materials that Master Huang needs, and he can just build it for us, and we can just charge the carpentry fee." Village Chief Wu also suggested, "Besides, this windmill will benefit the entire village, and the people who built the windmill are from our village, so they should be willing to do it regardless of the wages."
"Yes, yes, yes. Then, we can take care of Er Niang's windmill and build it. We can find the wood and other materials ourselves. The only thing left is to pay for the bricks." Mr. Shen nodded repeatedly.
So, that was settled.
Village chief Wu planned to go back and talk to the villagers about this matter, and then ask each family to contribute their efforts and money, and then go to persuade Master Huang.
Because Gu Ran had already built a large windmill and was willing to selflessly hand over the windmill blueprints to the villagers, Village Chief Wu did not ask her for money again.
Mr. Shen was wealthy and powerful. He asked Gu Ran that it was useless to build a windmill in front of or behind the house. If the windmill really floated in front of or behind the house, the windmill would not be able to save it in time. In addition, Gu Ran had doubts about the stability and reliability of the bricks and wood of the Dasheng Dynasty. He also did not recommend Mr. Shen to build the windmill too close to the Shen family mansion. If the windmill house could not bear the weight and collapsed, it would be a disaster.
So Mr. Shen decided to build windmills for the village instead. He built two in Dayu Lin in front of his mansion and also contracted to build another one for the village. In other words, Village Chief Wu only needed to raise enough money to build the other windmills.
As for how many large windmills are needed to completely expel the miasma wafting out of the island forest, we have to measure the distance between the village and the island forest, and then determine the distance between them based on the approximate range within which the windmills can dispel the miasma.
If the cost is more than the money the villagers can provide for construction, then people will live on the side where people live first, and the side where no one or few people live will be left alone for the time being.
In the end, five windmills were decided to be built. This was mainly because the houses in the village were scattered and far apart from each other, so they chose to build them in the general direction where the houses were concentrated.
When Village Chief Wu went to negotiate the wages with Master Huang, Gu Ran also took out the blueprint of the windmill and handed it to Master Huang. Gu Ran never took care of the matter again. All problems and matters were handled by Village Chief Wu and Mr. Shen!
She also had her own business to attend to. It had rained for two days in a row, making it difficult to go out. The He family's grass jelly business in the county town was probably temporarily closed.
When Gu Ran and Pei Liu delivered the roasted grass jelly to the county town that day, as expected, the roasted grass jelly at the stall run by Aunt He and Uncle He were all sold out, but Gu Ran did not deliver the roasted grass jelly as promised, and they were getting very anxious!
"Hey, if you hadn't come today, we were going to go straight to Xiaxi Village to find you. We thought something had happened to you."
"Nothing happened. It just rained over there for a few days. I rushed over as soon as the rain stopped."
When Gu Ran asked Uncle He to get the grass jelly off the donkey cart, he saw a little girl of about twelve or thirteen coming out of the house. Aunt He smiled and waved at her, "Come on, Second Aunt, this is our Huanhuan."
She is a pretty and elegant lady, with a strong scholarly air.
"Oh, he's the future first-rank official!" Gu Ran couldn't help laughing as he looked at Huanhuan, "Lord Huanhuan!"
"Hello, Sister Gu!" Huan Huan greeted Gu Ran gracefully and humbly waved her hand. "How can it be so easy to become a female official? I'm still far from it!"
"Then you should work hard, so that when you become a high-ranking official in the future, you can help us." Gu Ran said.
"Thank you for your advice, Sister Gu. However, Sister Gu, I have something I want to discuss with you. Could you spare some time to talk to me?"
"good."
Gu Ran found it strange. She had never met Huan Huan before, so why did she come to discuss something with her? So she glanced at Uncle He and Aunt He, but the couple just smiled awkwardly, their eyes drifting away.
If there is something going on, why don’t you discuss it with your own parents, but instead go to an outsider like me?
After Huanhuan invited Gu Ran into the main hall and sat him down, and served him tea, she explained her purpose of visit.
"Sister Gu, can you sell your recipe for making burnt grass jelly to our He family?"
Gu Ran was stunned, and then laughed.
No wonder he came to discuss it directly with me, it turned out to be about this matter.
"Sister Gu, you don't know that because you didn't deliver the grass jelly on time these past two days, the stalls outside the official school didn't have any grass jelly to sell today, and we lost countless customers. Our He family sincerely wanted to cooperate with you in this business, Sister Gu. Today, neither stall sold any grass jelly, and we lost a lot of income. We made less money, and in fact, Sister Gu, you also lost a day's profit."
Huanhuan analyzed the situation for Gu Ran.
"This time, you were in the village and it rained and you couldn't deliver it in time. But if the next time, because of rain or other things, Sister Gu is delayed for three or four days or even longer, then wouldn't our He family also have to suspend this livelihood for three or four days or even longer?"
"I watched my father build up the porridge shop. In this business, the most important thing is the customers. One day's shortage is not a big deal, but if the supply is repeatedly insufficient, the customers we have accumulated will all leave."
"There are many snack vendors in our county, all competing for customers to patronize their stalls. How can we be like the He family, who don't even know when we can sell and when we can't? Don't you think so, Sister Gu?"
What she said made so much sense that Gu Ran had to nod.
"That's why I had the audacity to ask Sister Gu for the recipe for making burnt grass jelly." Afraid that Gu Ran wouldn't sell it, Huan Huan quickly added, "Of course, Sister Gu's share of the He family's business wasn't as much as it is now, but you still deserved more than a penny less. How about giving you 20% of the total?"
"Can."
According to Huanhuan, it is indeed more convenient to let the He family make their own grass jelly, so she doesn't have to go back and forth from Xiaxi Village to the county town all the time.
Moreover, it is of course easier to get the money directly than setting up a stall and taking a boat from the village to the county town every day to sell grass jelly.
"How much money are you willing to pay for this recipe?"
When Huan Huan heard Gu Ran asking for the price, her temper, which had been relieved because she agreed to sell the house, rose again. "Ten taels of silver, what do you think, Sister Gu?"
Giving the recipe to the He family can earn ten taels of silver, and in addition, I can continue to earn a share of the He family's business of selling roasted grass jelly every month. This is a good thing.
Gu Ran weighed the pros and cons and nodded.
Huan Huan smiled, then said awkwardly, "It's just that, Sister Gu, you know, our family doesn't have much income, and I still have to go to school. The money for the pens, inkstone, and official tuition is all saved by my parents through their frugality. So, can I write you an IOU for these ten taels of silver? When I finish my studies next year and can save up this huge sum of money, I will definitely pay you back immediately."
Good job!
What a great guy!
I didn't expect that this little girl, at such a young age, has so many tricks up her sleeve to get something for nothing.
This is a way to get your own method of making grass jelly without spending any money!
"If Sister Gu doesn't trust me, we can write an IOU and take it to the government to have it stamped with a red seal for record. If I, He Qinghuan, embezzle the ten taels of silver and don't return it, Sister Gu can take the IOU to the government office and ask the county magistrate to make the decision for you." He Qinghuan looked at Gu Ran and swore sincerely.
Seeing that Huanhuan was young but was busy worrying about the family's livelihood, Gu Ran nodded softly.
He Qinghuan immediately smiled and said, "Then I'll get some pen and ink right away and write an IOU to you, Sister Gu."
Seeing He Qinghuan really take out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, unfold the paper, grind the ink and pick up the pen, carefully write the IOU, and take the initiative to sign and fingerprint, Gu Ran was in a trance for a moment, as if he saw a scene when he wrote the IOU a year ago.
After the IOU was written and confirmed by Gu Ran that there were no other questions, he asked her to sign it, and then he asked Gu Ran to put it away in triplicate. He would take it to the government office for filing, and then he called out to the outside of the house: "Dad, Mom, it's okay, come in."
Aunt He and Uncle He outside were relieved to know that their daughter's matter had been settled. After coming in, they were more attentive to Gu Ran.
Asking them to come in naturally means redrafting the cooperation agreement.
The contract was based on He Qinghuan's previous promise of 20% of the profits from each of their grass jelly stalls, but after careful consideration, Gu Ran added another clause: if He Qinghuan opened another stall or started a business selling grass jelly, the He family would have to give him 20% of the profits.
After both parties had no doubts, they signed their names to each other and then handed it to Gu Ran, asking her to take it to the government office for filing and stamping.
After taking the contract, Gu Ran did not hesitate and used the pen and ink that He Qinghuan took out to write down the recipe for cooking the herbal jelly.
Aunt He and Uncle He didn't know many words, so it was He Qinghuan who understood them.
"Magic grass? Where can I find magical grass?"
"I also occasionally saw it in our village. Later, when I discovered that it could be used to make grass jelly, I planted two acres of grass jelly myself and started this business." Gu Ran said half-seriously, "What does this grass jelly look like? I'll bring two over for you to see later. You can also look for it yourself."
"But, even if we go to look for fairy grass now, it's too late!" Aunt He slapped her knee anxiously. "Also, where can we find a field to plant it?"
"Mother, the recipe says that dried grass jelly is best used for cooking it. I'm sure Sister Gu still has quite a bit of dried grass jelly on hand, right?"
Gu Ran nodded, "That's right."
"In that case, Sister Gu, can you sell us the remaining immortal grass?"
"Okay." Gu Ran agreed.
"Also, if Sister Gu is willing, can you continue to grow the fairy grass? In the future, Sister Gu can sell all the fairy grass she dries to my family?"
Gu Ran thought of the acre of land that had turned green and nodded.
Anyway, there is nothing else to plant for the time being, and plants like fairy grass grow on their own without much care, so it is not impossible to let them continue to grow in the fields. This will also mean additional income from selling fairy grass.
This means that she will be the farmer who specializes in supplying fairy grass to the He family in the future.
The next day, Gu Ran and Pei Liu came again and delivered the fairy grass they had dried to the He family.
This time, He Qinghuan was too embarrassed to buy on credit, so he bought the bundles for twenty coins, and Gu Ran made four hundred coins.
Afterwards, the He family invited the two ladies to have a simple meal, because they had to teach the He family members how to make roasted grass jelly on the spot.
For this, He Qinghuan even took a day off from the official school, just to compare the prescription and watch Gu Ran perform the operation on the spot.
After Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang cooked the grass jelly together and confirmed that the recipe was correct, He Qinghuan finally felt relieved. Uncle He and Aunt He were in charge of cooking the porridge. Uncle He was a great porridge cooker, needless to say. Aunt He also learned the recipe quickly because she often cooked in the kitchen.
Of course, making grass jelly is actually very simple if you know the key steps.
After telling the He family all the methods, Gu Ran no longer asked how the He family made a living. He just collected money on time every month, planted the fairy grass, and dried the fairy grass.
The fairy grass I just sold to the He family is enough for them to use for more than two months, so there is no rush.
The cactus in the field had already sprouted out after the spring rain, and the newly grown leaves were very tender. Gu Ran took a look and felt that it was not yet time to pick them, so he decided to wait for them to grow a little longer.
However, the konjac buried in another acre of field has not moved to this day.
Gu Ran was also not in a hurry.
The weather has just turned warmer, and perhaps the little konjac plants underground have just woken up and are trying hard to sprout!
The earth is green again and all things are growing. It is also time for Gu Ran to go into the island forest to set traps again and hunt wild animals.
A lot of her stock has been consumed this winter, and she needs to replenish it.
*
In late spring in March, it may still be cold and icy in the north, but here the grass is growing and the birds are singing, and the whole field is full of vitality.
Rice seedlings have been planted in the rice fields of every household in the village. The blue sky is reflected on the clear water, as if the white clouds in the sky have fallen among the green rice seedlings, which is very beautiful.
All sorts of withered wildflowers and weeds were reborn. This included not only the fairy grass that Gu Ran had specially planted in his own field, but also other thriving weeds: foxtail grass had erected tall stalks along the edge of the field, plantain was gradually expanding its stem and leaf territory, and the wheatgrass had begun to ear, and in a few moments it would produce buds...
There are many more wild vegetables that can be picked to eat with meals: dandelions, sawgrass, taro, etc.
Now that I have become a professional grass jelly grower, I naturally have to take care of my own fields, so I go to the fields to weed every two days and check on the condition of the hairy konjac in another acre of land.
Since the grass jelly we grow can be sold to the He family, if konjac can be grown, we can also try to sell a recipe to the He family. Selling grass jelly is selling it anyway, and selling one more variety can also make more money. The He family will not object.
However, the movement of the sparse-haired konjac is still a little slow. So far, only two or three can be seen with leaves. The only thing we can do is wait patiently.
After seeing the condition of his own herbal jelly field, Gu Ran took Pei Liu into Dayu Forest.
As the island forest regained its former splendor, the originally fresh air was gradually warming up. Even if you didn't breathe directly, you would feel a sticky sensation on the exposed skin.
This was Gu Ran's first time entering the mountains this year, and it was also her first time seeing the recovery of Dayu Forest after spring.
Looking at the green amaranth and purple ferns growing all the way up along the stream, I couldn't stop smiling.
These are all delicious ingredients that you can eat without spending any money!
So walk along and pick along the way.
Pei Liu didn't need her to ask him. He picked up the wild vegetables he could eat and put them in the bamboo basket he was carrying.
Because she insisted on following Gu Ran into the mountains, Pei Liu had already cut a lot of bamboo strips while building the bamboo shed. After soaking and drying them, she used them to weave things. The bamboo basket she carried on her back was made by herself. In addition, the small house also added many bamboo baskets, bamboo winnowing dustpans, and bamboo baskets, all of which were her masterpieces during this period.
After the two of them picked all the wild vegetables they could find, Gu Ran taught Pei Liu how to make a pit trap.
The pits are mainly dug in places where the most traces of animals are found. The size of the pit is determined by the size of the animal you want to hunt. A large pit is dug for hunting large animals, and a small pit is dug for hunting small animals.
Then they set up a net in the pit to catch the prey that fell into the trap.
In addition, you should also store some food in the trap according to how often you go into the woods. Otherwise, if you hunt wild animals, but fail to enter the mountains in time to capture them, the animals will starve to death and become smelly, which will not be worth the loss.
Just like last year, Gu Ran also planned to set three traps.
The two of them first observed and determined the areas where the small animals often moved nearby, and then dug three traps and camouflaged them.
Gu Rancai continued to take Pei Liu to the bamboo forest.
"Digging bamboo shoots?" Pei Liu was puzzled.
It is already March, so if we want to dig, we should go look for spring bamboo shoots. The winter bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest are probably either too old or have already turned into bamboo.
"Of course not. In the bamboo forest, there are other good things besides winter bamboo shoots."
This good thing is naturally the bamboo rat.
After a winter, bamboo rats should have reproduced more, right? And after resting for half a spring, they should have gained weight, right?
The delicious and plump bamboo rat meat, here she comes.
When Gu Ran taught Pei Liu how to hunt bamboo rats in the burrows, Pei Liu finally understood how she got so many skins drying in the yard!
Pei Liu was also very clear about catching bamboo rats.
Even before Gu Ran found the bamboo rat hole and smoked the bamboo rats out, she had already dug out two fat and tender bamboo rats.
Gu Ran had to admit that Pei Liuniang did have some abilities.
Seeing that Pei Liu was still trying to find a burrow to catch bamboo rats, Gu Ran quickly stopped her: "Enough, enough!"
"Only two, is that enough?"
The number of skins he had seen in the yard before was much more than this.
"Hey, we catch bamboo rats, but we can catch them every time we go into the mountains. If we catch too many every time, the bamboo rats will be gone in the future, and we won't have any more to catch."
Although bamboo rats feed on bamboo roots and bamboo shoots, which are very harmful to bamboo forests, many of the winter bamboo shoots produced in this wild bamboo forest every year will grow into bamboos, which not only provide food for bamboo rats but also expand their territory.
Moreover, bamboo grows very fast, and the presence of bamboo rats in the bamboo forest will not cause the bamboo forest to dry up.
Although there are probably quite a few bamboo rats here, we still have to hunt them rationally, right?
If we kill all the bamboo rats at once, where will we find the endless supply of delicious bamboo rats raised naturally?
Gu Ran briefly explained to Pei Liu the meaning of sustainable development, and Pei Liu immediately understood it.
"Well, I have two, so you don't want to catch them?"
"This is my first time coming here after the New Year, so of course I can't go home empty-handed. I want to catch two too." It's a good omen for a good start!
So after Gu Ran caught two bamboo rats, the two of them went home.
The first thing I did when I got back was to process the four bamboo rats while the sun was shining, tan the skins and hang them up to dry.
I have to say, with two people, everything goes much faster.
In addition, Pei Liuniang seemed to be a person who often went into the mountains, and she also knew how to process the skins - all the wild rabbit skins caught on the way to exile were given to her to process. Although the method was different from Gu Ran's, it was basically the same.
Soon, four complete skins were cleaned and hung out to dry, and it was time to prepare tonight's dinner.
Since we have brought back fresh ingredients, we naturally have to use them and eat them while they taste the best, so that they will not be in vain for growing so well!
A bamboo rat was pickled, and two bamboo rats were placed in the refrigerated raw meat area in the warehouse - the two wooden barrels were still full of ice. Of course, this was because Gu Ran quietly added ice when he came here to get ingredients every day.
There is only one left, eat it now.
We happened to have winter bamboo shoots, so we made winter bamboo shoots as the main dish, and also made some stir-fried fern and a radish and lean meat soup, which was enough!
Cut the bamboo rat into pieces, heat the oil and stir-fry until it is 80% cooked, then add the sliced winter bamboo shoots.
Because bamboo rat meat itself tastes sweet and juicy, you only need to add a little salt when seasoning it, and then you can serve it after the bamboo shoots are stewed.
As for stir-frying bracken, it is also very simple. After washing the bracken, blanch it in water, prepare some shredded ginger and minced garlic, sauté them in hot oil, add the bracken, stir-fry for a while, then add salt, pesto and fish sauce.
Originally, Gu Ran handled all the ingredients himself. After Pei Liuniang came, she would help him in the kitchen every time he went to cook, washing and picking vegetables, removing bones and taking meat. The preparation work Gu Ran had to do was reduced a lot, so now it is much easier for him to cook in the kitchen every time.
Soon, two dishes, a soup and a jar of rice were placed on the table.
While Gu Ran and Pei Liu were sitting and eating, they heard Daju's shrill cry from the bamboo house behind the house.
Gu Ran's face darkened.
Spring has come, and so has the big orange tree. It cries strangely day and night, and is no longer the lovely little heater in winter.
Because Gu Ran didn't lock up Daju, Daju regained its wild cat nature after it went into heat. It ran outside every day and only returned to the small house occasionally.
I don’t know if he came back tonight because he didn’t find anything to eat outside.
Gu Ran put down his bowl and chopsticks and went to the back room to check on the situation. Seeing Pei Liuniang also stand up, he quickly said, "No need. I'll go take a look and be back soon. Can you, can you help me with the soup first?"
She planned to take some fish and shrimp from the space grid to feed the cat. If Pei Liuniang followed her, how could she do it?
Pei Liuniang nodded, "Okay."
Outside the cat house, Daju was crying sadly. Seeing Gu Ran coming, he stopped immediately and stared at her with his round eyes. He didn't hide when she approached.
"Big Orange, where have you been going crazy again?"
Gu Ran reached out and touched Daju's little head. Seeing that she closed her eyes in enjoyment, he took the opportunity to check her soft body. Finding no external injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he took out the food tray from the cat house, took out the fried dried fish from the space and put it on it, then moved back into the cat house.
When the big orange cat smelled the fish, it immediately wagged its tail and went into the cat house to eat the fish.
Seeing that Daju was enjoying his meal, Gu Ran went back to the house.
"Big Orange?"
"It's okay, I'm fine. I guess I'm just hungry." Gu Ran said, picked up the full bowl of hot soup and started drinking.
When he was about to eat the bamboo shoots soaked in sweet gravy, Gu Ran asked, "I'm going to Donglin Township tomorrow. Why don't you stay at home and look after the house?"
"What's up?"
"Ah, I plan to find a veterinarian in Donglin Township and have Daju...do a sterilization." After a sterilization operation, Daju won't cry so painfully in the future, and he won't have to suffer so much.
Pei Liu was enjoying his meal. He frowned when he heard what Gu Ran said. After understanding what was going on, he volunteered, "I don't need anyone else to do this. I can do it."
"You...you can do it?" Gu Ran was surprised.
Gu Ran knew that Pei Liuniang was a very capable person, and his impression of her had completely changed from what Aunt Mai had told him at the beginning. But could castrating a cat also do that?
What kind of life did she lead in the Pei family back then?
Then he remembered that Pei Liuniang was very skilled at skinning rabbits. She even claimed that she had practiced the skinning and bone removal skills for a long time in order to seek revenge. Could it be that this skinning and bone removal skills also included castration...
Gu Ran didn't think about it any further, and of course didn't ask Pei Liu anything else.
It would be good if she could.
I don’t know if there is a veterinarian in Donglin Township. Even if I find a veterinarian, I don’t know if he or she will perform sterilization surgery on cats.
Since Pei Liu said he could do it, and since he had done a great job before, she didn't need to find another veterinarian.
However, when they planned to ask Daju to come over for surgery the next day, Daju ran away again.
It was half a month later when Daju appeared again.
This time, although he was covered in dirt, he was in good spirits, with his tail held high. When he saw Gu Ran, he jumped towards him happily.
Gu Ran didn't despise her either. When she rushed over, he picked her up. She kept calling him "big orange" and he took a basin of water to wash her clean.
"Which family did you find to take you in? You're so happy there you don't even want to come back! Look at you, you've gained so much weight."
After being washed, the fat orange cat ate a lot while drying in the sunshine from the patio. It ate up all the dried fish that Gu Ran put in the food bowl and meowed for more.
Thinking that Pei Liuniang would have to perform a sterilization operation on the cat tomorrow, he had to give Daju more delicious food, so Gu Ran generously filled Daju with another bowl of cooked fish.
Daju had also eaten up all the fish she had fed him. Gu Ran was afraid that Daju would eat too much and something would happen, so she didn't dare to feed him anymore.
"Really? You look like you've been starving lately because you can't find food. How come..." Gu Ran suddenly thought of something and grabbed Daju, who was licking his paws and washing his face after finishing his meal. He lifted him up and weighed him. "You've gained weight, Daju, you..." When Gu Ran looked at Daju's belly again, he understood everything. "Daju, Daju, you're really good!"
"What happened to Daju?"
Pei Liu, who was sorting dried grass jelly at the other end, came over and looked at Daju, whom he hadn't seen for many days. "Can we castrate her tomorrow?"
"No, no."
Gu Ran waved his hand.
"Didn't you say that?" Castration?
"Yes, that will take some time." Gu Ran picked up Daju and held one of her paws, waving at Pei Liu: "Daju is going to be my mother."
Pei Liuniang was stunned, and when she looked at Daju's round face, her expression became softer.
"She is, pregnant?"
"That's right. I've been away for half a month, and I even took my child with me."
Gu Ran had raised a cat before, and he saw signs of pregnancy in the big orange cat, so he said affirmatively.
"So, what should we do?"
"first……"
First of all, the orange cat must have come back at this time to prepare for giving birth. Cats like to choose a safe place when giving birth.
Daju's willingness to return to the small house at this time is a subconscious affirmation that the small house is a safe place for her to give birth without worry.
"Daju, my dear girl, I will definitely be a competent grandma." Gu Ran said, hugging Daju and kissing her hard on the forehead.
Pei Liu looked at her speechlessly.
"Hurry up, make a bigger cat house so that Big Orange can lie down and give birth to her kittens."
Even if I don't do it, Big Orange will build her own nest due to her cat's nature, so she doesn't have to be afraid to go to such a high cat nest when she is pregnant. It's better to do it for her directly and save her trouble.
Gu Ran said this to Pei Liu while holding Daju. Seeing Pei Liuniang turning around to get the bamboo strips, he called her back, "Wait, let me make a rough sketch first, and then you can build it according to the pattern."
Pei Liuniang nodded, and when she turned around to choose bamboo strips, she couldn't help laughing.
Without even getting married, she adopted a cat girl as her daughter and was immediately promoted to a grandmother.
This kind of woman is totally unheard of!
However, Pei Liu still built a bamboo house according to the cat house blueprint given by Gu Ran. It was in the corner where Daju was originally fed. It was half a person's height and as big as three of Daju's bodies. It was also covered with a fine cotton mat stuffed with cotton.
The feeding place is on the corridor next to the cat house.
The big orange cat liked it as soon as he saw it. He walked inside and walked around for a few times. He stepped on the milk for a while and then squatted down gracefully.
Seeing Daju satisfied, Pei Liu felt relieved. Gu Ran also looked at her and praised her: "She is worthy of being our clever and skillful Liu Niang!"
Pei Liu raised the corner of his mouth and smiled at Gu Ran.
Cats usually give birth about two months after conception. Although we don't know the exact date when Daju became pregnant, based on what she can judge, we can infer that she has been pregnant for at least half a month, so there is only one and a half months left or even less.
Before that, Gu Ran naturally had to make adequate preparations.
The cat food you feed your big orange cat must be nutritious enough, and you also have to prepare a nutritious meal for the kittens that will be born in the future. Chop the fish into a paste and brew it into a water paste, then add some processed goat's milk suitable for cats to keep it in case your big orange cat doesn't have enough milk.
Prepare handkerchiefs and towels to clean the kittens. Also, ask Pei Liuniang to sew two more muslin pads for the kittens so that they can take turns to replace them and keep them in a clean environment.
Then he took out the fire basket that the kitten had used during exile. Although the weather was hot now, it was just in case the kitten needed to keep warm.
Only after everything was ready did Gu Ran breathe a sigh of relief.
In comparison, the big orange cat seemed much calmer. He ate and drank, and jumped around every day. When he was tired and sleepy, he would run into the cat house to sleep. He was very leisurely. Until his belly swelled up little by little like grass in the wind, he stopped being so noisy and became much quieter.
Gu Ran felt relieved after seeing her performance.
Daju must have been a mother before, so it wasn’t her first time giving birth. No wonder she reacted so calmly.
Sure enough, a month and a half later, one afternoon, before Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang noticed, Daju gave birth to her cub quietly.
When Gu Ran heard a small meow, he thought it was the big orange cat calling at first. He was about to go over to check it out, but then he remembered that the meow was different from the big orange cat's. He rushed into the cat house quickly and saw a wet little kitten next to the big orange cat. It was the kitten that made the sound.
The big orange cat was concentrating on licking her first big cat. When she noticed Gu Ran coming, she looked up and meowed at her, as if showing off her cub.
Gu Ran smiled and immediately turned around to take out all the things he had prepared. Seeing that Daju stopped licking, he carefully took his first granddaughter... no, grandson in his arms with a handkerchief, then wiped the amniotic fluid off her body with a fine cotton cloth and put her back next to Daju.
And then stood guard by the side.
Pei Liu came over with a fire basket and squatted aside. He started a charcoal fire inside and warmed a towel on it. When he felt the temperature was suitable, he gave it to Gu Ran.
After Gu Ran took it, he waited until Daju finished licking it before covering his grandson with the handkerchief.
The eldest grandson started lying on his mother's body to drink milk with his eyes closed, while Daju was also eating the placenta that had flowed out to accumulate strength to give birth to the next baby.
After the second kitten was born, Gu Ran also wrapped it in a handkerchief, but did not help wipe the amniotic fluid himself. Instead, he handed it to Pei Liuniang, who was squatting and watching: "Try it, wipe all the water off her body, put her back to Daju, and cover her with a small warm blanket."
Pei Liuniang looked at the trembling kitten, which was smaller than her fist, and hesitated.
"Hurry up, can't you see she's shaking?"
Pei Liuniang had no choice but to take the cat with extreme caution, as if she was holding some fragile porcelain. When she wiped the sticky amniotic fluid off her body, she didn't dare to breathe, for fear that she would crush the cat with too much force.
After finally wiping it clean, she followed Gu Ran's example and put the kitten back into the cat house. When the big orange cat saw his daughter coming back, he stretched out his tongue to lick it and licked Pei Liu's hand.
Pei Liu only felt the warmth and softness on his hands, as well as the numbness and tenderness, which made him feel happy and touched.
"Look, Daju is thanking you!" Gu Ran smiled, "This granddaughter is yours!"
Pei Liu pursed his lips, and was about to refuse such a ridiculous thing, but he nodded unexpectedly. Then he picked up the warm quilt, and seeing that Daju stopped licking it, he covered his grandson with it.
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