Chapter 107 Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
"What is that?"
Lin Heng showed a hint of curiosity. Seeing his brother's excited expression, he thought that this thing should be worth at least five dollars.
Lin Wei held up the grouse and asked, "Dad, is it a wild boar muntjac?"
Lin Yue shook his head: "It's not prey. I found a nest of bees. I can get a lot of honey."
"Bees, this is not bad." Lin Heng nodded. Wild honey is very expensive, and it is indeed worth being happy about.
"Brother, help me, let's go harvest the honey. If we're lucky, we might get six or seven kilograms of honey. This bee colony is huge."
Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng and said that discovering a nest of wild bees was indeed very exciting for him, and it was more profitable than digging various medicinal herbs for a week.
"good."
Lin Heng nodded, and the three of them set off together. The distance was not far, and they arrived after walking about seven or eight hundred meters.
"Lin Wei, don't come over, let's do it." Lin Yue just warned and walked over with Lin Heng.
Lin Heng held an armful of dry pine needles, and his elder brother Lin Yue held some wet leaves to create smoke.
Originally, Lin Yue was planning to burn the bees to death directly because this was the safest way and he would not be stung.
Many people who don't know how to cut honey usually deal with wild beehives in this way when they encounter one.
But Lin Heng felt that it was unnecessary. He could keep them for picking next year. He had gained some experience from collecting bees last time and from the time he and his uncle collected wild honey.
"Look, my friend, the beehive is right in the crack of the rock. It's not easy to get rid of it. Why don't we just burn it to death?"
Lin Yue pointed to a pile of rocks in the distance and said.
"I'll try. If it doesn't work, I'll burn you to death."
Lin Heng took a look and thought that since it was raining today and there was smoke, there shouldn't be much danger.
If it really doesn't work, then we can only send them to the west. After all, human life is the most important.
Slowly walk to the bottom of the hive entrance, add pine needles and dry firewood to light a fire. After the fire is lit, cover it with wet leaves, and bursts of green smoke will billow out.
He took a piece of dry bark and fanned the inside of the beehive, and soon a swarm of bees came out buzzing.
Lin Heng covered his mouth and nose with clothes and squatted under the smoke. When he felt the time was right, he started to remove the stones.
After removing the stones, Lin Heng was a little dumbfounded. This beehive was actually underground. After removing the stones, he could only see two brood combs for breeding bees, but no honey combs.
Looking at the surging bees, he added more fire, smoked it again, then turned around and ran out.
"What's wrong? Is he okay?" Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng coming out and asked hurriedly with concern.
"Nothing, just give me your hoe for digging herbs. The beehive is underground, so we need to dig it out."
Lin Heng shook his head.
"Okay, be careful, cut it in half for each of us." Lin Yue handed over the hoe and said with a smile.
Holding a hoe, Lin Heng came under the smoke and dug gently, not daring to move too much.
After ten minutes, I finally dug a hole and saw what was inside.
This is really a big and strong group, even bigger than the one he and his uncle Li Baiquan picked last time.
The brood combs were lined up in a row, and he saw five honey combs alone, all of which were capped.
Looking at the densely packed bees nearby, Lin Heng did not dare to be careless. Fortunately, there was not much honey on the honeycomb.
Putting a plastic bag on the ground, Lin Heng went out to lengthen the knife and tied a wooden handle to it.
"Bee, bee, please don't sting me."
Lin Heng prayed quietly while extending his knife to cut the honey from a distance.
With a snap, he cut off a honey comb. With a buzzing sound, a group of bees flew up instantly, scaring Lin Heng so much that he quickly hid in the smoke.
To make the fire bigger and the smoke thicker, he cut off another honeycomb.
After repeating this several times, he finally cut off all the honey combs.
He hooked out the plastic bag, grabbed it and ran. He felt like he was being chased by a ghost and his adrenaline surged.
"I got it. Are you okay?"
Lin Yue came over and smiled when he saw the honey in Lin Heng's hand.
"It's okay, I was stung three times, it's no big deal." Lin Heng shook his head.
No matter how careful you are, you will still get stung. If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. He accepted the fact that he was stung twice for stealing honey.
"I'll squeeze out the poison for you." Lin Yue said quickly. He felt a little guilty and thought he should have insisted on burning the bees to death.
"Okay." Lin Heng stretched out his hand.
I got stung once behind my palm and twice on my arm, both are now red and swollen.
The pain was excruciating, but bearable. It was much better than being stung by a bee.
After squeezing out the bee venom, Lin Heng turned around and went back to seal the beehive with stones and loess, and then covered it with some leaves. He would come back to harvest the beehive in autumn or next year.
"How many pounds does it weigh?" After finishing making the beehive, Lin Heng walked back and asked.
"The beehive weighs ten kilograms, and if it produces honey, it will probably weigh six or seven kilograms."
Lin Yue said with a smile, his face full of joy.
"I have twenty dollars." Lin Heng smiled.
"There are so many. Dad let me try one." Lin Wei's eyes lit up when he saw the two people coming.
"Don't eat too much." Lin Yue gave him a piece, and Lin Wei ate it together with the honey nest.
"Sweet, so sweet!!" After taking a bite, Lin Wei closed his eyes with happiness.
"Let's each have one." Lin Yue said with a smile.
Lin Heng did not refuse. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. The honey was sweet but not cloying, and it also had the fragrance of flowers.
Compared to the honey from the last beehive, the honey here is more moist and has a scent of locust flowers.
"It seems that this bee has collected a lot of locust flowers. Locust flower honey is more valuable." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Generally, honey is light yellow, while locust flower honey is moist and transparent.
This honey is light yellow and translucent, with a strong aroma of locust flowers. It is obvious that a lot of locust flowers were picked.
"Yes, that's why I said I made a profit." Lin Yue smiled.
Taibai Mountain wild honey is very famous, and Sophora japonica honey is even more popular.
Holding their things, the three of them happily returned to the camp.
"Let's stew the grouse. Otherwise, it's too small and three people can finish it in one bite. We also have taro and yam."
Lin Heng was making a fire and said, although honey-roasted chicken is a specialty, this grouse only weighs about 70 or 80 grams after being killed, which is too small.
"It's better to stew it." Lin Yue also felt that it was better to stew the grouse. It was a bit cold after the rain, and it could be a good way to replenish your body.
"But let's cook some noodles first. Big brother, go get some grouper."
Lin Heng smiled and said, let’s eat some noodles first, otherwise we will be too hungry by the time the chicken soup is ready.
Bring the fire to a boil, pour oil into the pot, put in ten killed stream groupers and fry until both sides are golden brown, then pour in cold water and bring to a boil to make a pot of milky white fish soup.
Add some noodles, some wild vegetables, and finally season with salt, then you can eat it.
Served with the garlic and chili I brought from home, it still has a unique flavor even without vinegar.
The noodle soup was fresh and fragrant, the fish meat was tender, and the garlic and chili added a spicy flavor. The three of them not only finished the noodles, but also drank up all the soup.
"What do you think? If we make some fish soup to stew the grouse, would it taste better?"
Lin Heng asked curiously.
"You can try it, it will definitely taste good. I'll go catch some fish." Lin Yue said with a smile, his eyes lighting up.
Lin Heng was processing grouse and other ingredients, while Lin Wei was looking for firewood.
Time seemed to have gone back to childhood, when rural children loved to play the "cooking" game, which was similar to playing house, but focused more on cooking.
We made a fire and used a pot to cook all kinds of things, all kinds of grass, all kinds of grass, stewed together. Even though we couldn't eat it, everyone was very happy.
In fact, they also wanted to cook their own food in the wild at that time, but they did not dare to steal the oil, salt, sauce and vinegar from home, because they would be hung up and beaten. The most they could do was boil a crab and roast two river groupers to eat.
It’s different now. We have all grown up. We have oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. The ingredients have become more high-end, and we have come to this deep mountain forest.
The environment is beautiful and the air is fresh. Except for the absence of my wife and children, the happiness of my childhood seems to have returned again.
A man is a boy until he dies. If he couldn't play when he was a child, he will find ways to play it when he grows up.
This kind of camping and wilderness survival feeling is not available in big cities. Just like a genetic imprint, Lin Heng has obviously been to big cities and seen the prosperity of the city, but he still likes outdoor activities such as fishing and camping.
“Bang!”
After the grouse offal was cooked, Xiongba started to eat it with a slurp.
Clean the pot, pour a little oil and fry the fish until both sides are golden brown, pour in boiling water, and when the soup turns white, throw the grouse in, add yam, taro, Codonopsis pilosula, Cibotium barbata, and Gastrodia elata. The main focus is on nutrition and health.
It’s not worth much if I sell it, so I can only cook the grouse myself and eat it to make a living.
At noon the rain got heavier and turned into moderate rain. The three of them did not go out and stayed in the camp.
Fearing that they would not be able to catch any fish due to rising water levels, the three men caught all the fish in the maze fishing trap and kept them in a small puddle beside the riverbed.
"Damn it, the rain is getting heavier." Lin Yue said helplessly while looking at the sky.
"I hope it doesn't rain continuously." Lin Heng has been a little anxious these past two days because he hasn't seen any prey.
Now that it's raining and we can't go out, it's even more difficult.
The words I said this morning to comfort my dad not to worry were all lies. How can a fisherman not be anxious when he can't catch any fish? He was just pretending to be calm on the surface.
However, Murphy's Law tells you that the more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen. The rain didn't stop all afternoon.
The chicken soup has been simmering for more than three hours and the aroma is already overflowing.
"Forget it, forget it, let's drink the soup!" Shaking his head, Lin Heng came over with salt.
After adding salt, I tasted it and it was sweet and delicious, with a strong chicken aroma. If I savored it carefully, I could still taste the freshness of the brook grouper.
"It's amazing." Lin Heng shook his head and sighed. The taste was so delicious.
After adding a little salt, the grouse was taken out. The grouse had been thoroughly stewed and was rotten at the slightest touch. It took a lot of effort to take it out.
"It's delicious, much better than the broth my mom makes." Lin Wei exclaimed.
"Of course." Lin Heng smiled.
Nowadays, when adults stew soup, they are reluctant to scoop out even the dirty-looking oil foam on the surface.
I can't bear to clean the pan after frying meat, so I add some sauerkraut or something and stir-fry it until the oil is clean.
This causes the soup to always have a fishy smell, and the smell is even stronger if it is made with cured pork ribs.
There is no way. This is the spirit of thrift formed in difficult times. It has been engraved in our bones and is difficult to change.
"The grouse meat dipped in garlic and chili is also very good, you can try it." Lin Heng said with a smile, the stewed meat dipped in garlic and chili is also a delicacy.
"It's better to stew it. You can eat the meat and drink the soup to warm your body. Besides, your skill in stewing soup is really good." Lin Yue praised. Even in summer in the mountains, the temperature will drop rapidly as long as it rains a little.
The three of them were not wearing thick clothes, so they were naturally a little cold.
"Yes, let's finish the dry food and we can have the remaining soup in the evening." Lin Heng nodded.
After drinking some soup, eating the chicken and stewed taro and yam, the three of them were very full. It was a good time to go out hunting to digest the food, but the nasty rain made it impossible to go out.
Light rain is okay, but moderate rain cannot be blocked even with film.
Fortunately, the shelter was built firmly, with film paper and pine needles on the top, so there was no need to worry about getting wet in the rain.
"Forget it, I'll just chop down a paulownia tree and get two bowls."
Lin Heng looked at a paulownia tree with a diameter of 30 cm not far away, and went to cut it down while covering it with film paper.
Paulownia trees are not only light but also soft. It only took Heng five minutes to fell a tree this thick. He used a small hand saw to cut off two sections and brought them back to the shelter.
The small hand saw was brought by his father, but he didn't take it with him when he left.
"I'll saw it for you." Lin Yue walked over and took the saw.
"Thirty centimeters long is enough." Lin Heng said with a smile.
After sawing the tree down and peeling off the outer bark, Lin Heng started drawing with charcoal, and then took his knife to start carving the shape.
It took him half an hour to finally peel the outside, but it turned out to be big and crooked. After taking out the inside, Lin Heng looked at this ugly thing in silence for a long time.
Let's call it a bowl, but it is too crooked. Some places are thick and some places are too thin.
Shaking his head, he started to make the second wooden bowl. It seemed very easy to make it in the videos he saw in his previous life, but it was a completely different story when he did it himself.
Being stung by a bee already made him feel itchy and painful, and he also failed when trying to carve a bowl. Lin Heng didn't want to do anything anymore. He lay on the hammock, closed his eyes, listened to the sound of rain and stream, emptied his mind, and adjusted the depression caused by air force.
Lin Yue and his son were playing Gobang on the ground. Of course, there was no chessboard or chess pieces. The chessboard was randomly drawn on the ground, and the chess pieces were randomly found white and black pebbles.
In the evening, they ate noodles with the chicken soup. After eating, the three of them cut branches to surround the door of the shelter to prevent people from being frozen by the howling cold wind at night.
Even so, it was still a bit cold at night. Lin Wei slept with his father. Lin Heng called Xiongba to sleep on the bed with him, and it immediately became much warmer.
The next morning, I didn't need to go out to see the three people to know that the moderate rain had not stopped. It had been raining all night last night.
After removing the branches in front of the gate, everything was soaked in the rain. The water level of the mountain stream rose by one and a half meters. The originally calm and clear stream now turned into a yellow angry dragon.
"Why is God so disrespectful?" Lin Yue shook his head helplessly. He finally went up the mountain, but it started to rain continuously.
"Let's cook." Lin Heng shook his head. He made rice in the morning without any vegetables and ate it with fermented bean curd.
The water level rose so high that all the brook grouper that lived on the shore were washed away.
"I regret not bringing an extra piece of clothing, otherwise I could go out and have a look." Lin Yue shook his head.
If it is a sunny day, it doesn’t matter. You can just wash and dry it in the sun. It will be dry in an hour and you don’t need to change clothes. But it will be very troublesome if it rains.
Lin Heng shook his head and continued making his wooden bowl. The wound from the bee sting no longer hurt or itched, so he decided to continue.
After sawing off two thinner sections of paulownia tree, Lin Heng started working again.
After a day of practice, he made five bowls. The last two were already very straight and evenly thick. They only needed to be polished with sandpaper before they could be used.
As a rural person, I already have a foundation in carpentry, so I will succeed if I try a few more times.
With experience, Lin Heng started making larger wooden bowls on the second day, and small wooden basins on the third day.
Later, not satisfied with the simple wooden bowl, Lin Heng even started making patterns and strange designs on it.
It rained for four consecutive days, and Lin Heng had mastered the skill of making bowls from Paulownia trees. Not counting defective ones, he made five wooden bowls, three round wooden basins, one rectangular wooden basin, and one square wooden basin in these four days.
After it is dry, you can sand it with sandpaper and use it at home. Paulownia trees will not crack, so you don't have to worry about this problem.
In a blink of an eye, the three of them have been here for 13 days, and it is July 29th in the Gregorian calendar and June 12th in the lunar calendar.
On the evening of the 29th, the rain stopped.
"Ah, the rain has finally stopped. We can go out and have a look tomorrow morning."
While having dinner in the evening, Lin Yue looked outside and sighed.
"Let the sun shine for a while tomorrow morning, let the water recede, and give the prey some time to set the trap. Then we'll go back in the afternoon."
Lin Heng looked at the muddy stream and analyzed it. He had not been out for a few days and thought carefully about his strategy. He felt that there were still problems with the previous strategy.
"Of course, otherwise everything would be in a mess and we wouldn't be able to walk on the road." Lin Yue nodded.
But it’s a good thing that it didn’t rain. They didn’t have much rice and flour left, and they would be gone in another day or two.
As long as it doesn't rain, there will be no problem whether you go back to get it or pick it in the wild. No one will starve to death in the Qinling Mountains in summer.
Early in the morning on the 30th, the sun, which had disappeared for almost a week, finally came out. The golden sunlight scattered down, gradually changing from warmth to heat.
The cicadas, which had been silent for a long time, began to howl desperately again. It was a pleasant sound after not listening to them for a long time.
"Let's pick some mushrooms nearby in the morning. There are still a lot of shiitake mushrooms in this place. Make some stir-fried mushrooms to eat, and then go check the traps at noon." Lin Heng said.
"That's exactly what I meant. We've been eating without any vegetables these past few days and we've become exhausted." Lin Yue nodded, and the two of them took their backpacks and went to pick mushrooms nearby.
Even rainy days are not without their benefits. After a rain, mushrooms will always bloom. There are only three of them in the deep mountains, so they can pick as many as they want without worrying about anyone snatching them away.
"I picked up three red Ganoderma lucidum just after going out. It looks like we will have a good harvest today." Lin Heng said with a smile.
“Woof woof!!”
Xiongba barked and walked around. It was obvious that the rainy days had made him feel suffocated.
"Just find Ganoderma lucidum for me. No other mushrooms are needed." Lin Heng looked at the shiitake mushrooms that Xiongba found, took out a Ganoderma lucidum and let it look at it and smell it.
In more than half an hour, Lin Heng picked up more than ten kilograms of mushrooms. The most were shiitake mushrooms, as this place produces a lot of shiitake mushrooms. The next most common ones were blue-headed mushrooms and a large number of tea tree mushrooms.
The end of July is the season when tea tree mushrooms explode. When you walk into the forest, you will find that almost every rotten tree stump will have clusters of tea tree mushrooms growing on it, with the largest number found in the oak forest.
Lin Heng estimated that if he and his elder brother picked carefully, it would be possible to pick hundreds of tea tree mushrooms here even if it rained.
“Woof woof!!”
Suddenly, Xiongba's excited shout came from a distance.
Lin Heng looked up and immediately remembered. Wasn't that the direction where he had set the fishing hook? Could it be that the fishing hook had caught some prey?
He ran over immediately, and when he saw the details, his back teeth showed: "Finally I've waited for you!!"
A big pheasant fell to the ground, blood oozing from its mouth and its body twitching. It was obviously caught not long ago.
"Hey, you finally got fooled." Lin Heng reached out and smoothed his hair over his head into a slicked back bun, then walked over and picked up the pheasant.
It’s not big, just a female pheasant weighing more than two kilograms, but it means I can have meat to eat today.
"Let's go and check out other fish hooks, maybe there are more." Lin Heng rubbed Dahuang's dog head and said loudly, all the hope in his chest gone.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
