Chapter 111: Let’s not catch this fish, let’s go back to the village
The father and son sat down under the shade of a tree. Lin Heng leaned against the tree, holding a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth and looking at the sky.
“It’s really blue.”
Lin Heng sighed, the blue sky, green trees, clear water, singing birds and chirping cicadas, what a harmonious scene.
Xiongba had eaten a lot in the morning, so he lay down next to Lin Heng, with his legs up in the air and his eyes closed, sleeping.
The dead grouse smelled a bit bad, so I simply cooked it and fed it to Xiongba in the morning. It is feeling very comfortable now.
"Don't you watch the fishing rod? What if you catch a fish?" Lin's father asked.
Lin Heng turned his head and saw that even when his father was talking to him, his eyes were fixed on the fishing rod. He was so dedicated.
He couldn't help but smile and said, "Dad, you don't have to stare so hard. It's not that easy to catch fish. It's good to relax under the blue sky."
"There's nothing interesting about the sky. I'd better look at the water." Father Lin shook his head, not very interested in the sky.
Lin Heng was helpless and touched the sleeping Xiongba. It licked his hand with its tongue, opened its eyes a little to look, and then closed its eyes again.
“We’ve caught a fish!!”
Suddenly, Father Lin climbed up, ran over and pulled up the fishing rod.
Pah! He pulled a fish out of the water and it fell behind him, landing in front of Lin Heng.
Lin Heng: “…”
"Dad, this is not the way you fish. The fish's mouth will be torn. Even if the fish's mouth isn't torn, the line and rod may break." He was speechless.
Father Lin didn't care about that. He walked over and caught the small catfish, which weighed more than a pound. He grinned and said, "You know what, fishing is really interesting."
“Woof woof!”
Xiongba climbed up and wagged his tail to show that he wanted to eat.
Father Lin couldn't bear to part with it, so he dug a puddle nearby and put the fish there.
He touched the dog's head and said with a smile: "If I can catch a five-jin fish, this will be given to you to eat."
"Woof woof!" Xiongba rubbed Lin's father happily.
"That's nothing. I'll catch you a big one later."
Lin Heng said casually.
Xiong Ba believed it, ran back, lay down in front of Lin Heng, and looked at his fishing rod.
Father Lin hung up the pig liver and threw it down.
Less than three minutes later, Lin's father suddenly cheered: "It's on again, it's on again."
He rushed forward, grabbed the pole and pulled it up hard. A catfish came out of the water. It was too big to fly up, but he still dragged it ashore directly.
Lin Heng shook his head helplessly, thinking that this was the aura of a novice, really interesting.
Fortunately, Mr. Lin used nylon line when fishing, otherwise the cotton line would probably have been broken by him.
"Two kilograms, right?" Father Lin came over with the fish and showed it to us, his mouth wide open with a smile.
"Not bad." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Woof woof!" Xiongba put one paw on Lin Heng's leg, his eyes full of questioning.
It seems to be asking you, where is the fish, my master.
"Don't be anxious, you will always catch fish. More haste, less speed. If you only look at small profits, you will not achieve big things." Lin Heng smiled and touched Xiongba's round and smooth head.
Xiongba looked at him and lay down again.
By the time Lin's father pulled up a big catfish weighing three or four pounds for the third time.
Xiongba didn't make any sound, but quietly crawled in front of Lin's father and wagged his tail.
Lin Heng: “…”
Father Lin put the fish down, touched Xiongba, looked at Lin Heng and said with a smile: "Son, you are good at hunting, but you don't seem to be so good at fishing."
Lin Heng: “…”
"Why can't I catch any fish? Is it because I'm out of bait?"
Lin Heng stood up and muttered to himself, walked over and pulled up the fishing rod, feeling that he was provoked.
As a veteran fisherman, how could I be defeated by a novice?
When I lifted it up by pulling up the bamboo pole, I saw a small piece of whitish pork liver still hanging on it.
"It's strange, it really is." Lin Heng changed a piece of fresh pork liver and threw it down again.
Ten minutes later, Father Lin caught another small catfish. He put the fish down and said to Lin in confusion, "This is a strange way of fishing. We are so close to each other and I can catch fish, but you can't."
Lin Heng: “…”
"Dad, do you know what the catfish's whiskers are for?" Lin Heng suddenly asked with a smile.
"What for?" Father Lin really didn't know.
Lin Heng smiled slightly and explained: "Catfish rely on taste to hunt, and they have 100,000 taste receptor cells on their body surface.
The whiskers are because it feels that there is no place on its body to place taste receptors. So it has specialized taste tentacles, which are all covered with taste receptors. This allows it to sense the smell released by its prey from a long distance, and it has a 360-degree coverage. "
Father Lin didn't understand, but was shocked: "Son, you are amazing. You can summarize so many things from fishing. Then why can't you catch anything?"
Lin Heng: “…”
He could tell that his father was asking the question sincerely, but it really hurt.
"I guess it's because catfish are most sensitive to sour taste, so we still have to use live earthworms. Live earthworms struggle in the water and release carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid, which catfish can sense better."
Lin Heng analyzed it, turned over two stones, and found a ten-centimeter-long blue-black earthworm, which was moving wildly in his hand.
“Definitely this time.”
Lin Heng pulled up another fishing rod, took off the pig liver on it, replaced it with the fat earthworm, and then threw it into the water.
"Hey, son, I've added a fourth one."
As soon as Lin Heng threw the rod down, Lin's father caught another one. The fish was not big, a catfish weighing a little over one pound.
“Woof woof!!”
Xiongba rubbed Lin's father's legs, sticking out his tongue to beg for food, with admiration in his eyes.
"Haha, I'll give it to you when we get back." Father Lin touched Xiongba's head.
"Don't worry, there will be no problem." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"It doesn't matter. No matter how many I catch, I can't catch as many wild boars as you do."
Father Lin said with a smile, and then looked at the sky: "The sun will be hot soon, let's go back and pick mushrooms."
"good."
Lin Heng was in no mood to look at the clear blue sky. The dogtail grass had also sprouted. He was looking at the tip of the bamboo pole, keeping an eye on the water surface.
As time passed, the water vapor on the ground evaporated, the freshness of the morning disappeared, the heat came, and the cicadas became noisy.
Father Lin caught another catfish weighing half a pound and then stopped moving. Lin Heng, on the other hand, was like a magic needle that stabilized the sea and did not move at all.
"Take it and go back." Father Lin said with a smile.
"Dad, you clean up first, I'll wait a little longer." Lin Heng was unwilling to accept it. How could he be empty-handed? Could it be that his luck was really sucked dry? "Okay then."
Father Lin nodded. He put the fish in a bag and was about to collect the fishing rod when he saw Lin Heng rushing out.
I pulled up the fishing rod and for a moment it felt like I had hooked the earth.
Just when Lin Heng was wondering if the fish was stuck, a powerful force pulled the fishing line out and the fishing rod immediately bent into a big bow.
"Big fish, definitely a big fish!!"
Lin Heng's surprised and high-pitched voice could not be concealed, and the nylon line squeaked as it was pulled.
"This fish must be big. What should we do? Do you want me to help you?" Father Lin was also very surprised and stood by in a panic.
"It's okay, I can just walk slowly."
Lin Heng grinned so widely that his back teeth showed: "I said my analysis was correct, live earthworms are more likely to catch catfish."
As a veteran fisherman, Lin Heng was not as anxious as his father. He pulled and released the fish alternately to wear down the fish's strength.
After sliding for more than ten minutes, Lin Heng finally felt that the fish had run out of strength, and pulled it out of the water with force.
When they saw the huge fish, the two men and the dog were all dumbfounded: "What a big turtle! It's not even a fish."
Lin Heng: “…”
You big toad, you've been bragging for a long time, but you end up with a turtle this big.
"Son, you are really capable." Father Lin gave him a thumbs up.
"It's okay, it's okay." Lin Heng smiled. Although he didn't catch any fish, this turtle was obviously more valuable.
When it was pulled ashore, although it was not as big as the big turtle found in Baishigou before, it definitely weighed about six or seven kilograms.
"This turtle is good, it must be about six or seven kilograms." Father Lin said with a smile.
Lin Heng pulled the nylon line and looked at the fishhook. It didn't go into the throat, but only pierced the jaw.
"Fortunately, Dad, you helped to remove the fish hook, so we can still feed him."
Lin Heng grabbed the turtle's legs with one hand and its neck with the other. Father Lin grabbed the fishhook and took a lot of effort to take it out.
"This turtle has definitely been here for more than ten years." Lin Heng took a look at it, showed it to his father, and then threw it into the snakeskin bag.
"Of course, this is an old turtle, and its value is comparable to a piece of white rice skin. Although you didn't catch any fish, you earned more than I did by catching five fish." Father Lin patted Lin Heng's shoulder happily.
Lin Heng: “…”
After packing up their things, the two people and the dog left, talking and laughing.
When we returned to the camp, big brother Lin Yue had not come yet, and Lin Wei was playing in the water and catching fish by the stream.
Seeing Lin Heng and the others coming back, he ran over excitedly: "Grandpa, Second Dad, did you get anything?"
"Of course, although there was no prey, we caught a catfish, and your second father also caught a big turtle."
Father Lin touched his grandson's head and said with a smile.
"You guys are awesome. I want to go fishing next time too." Lin Wei looked at the fish and turtle and his eyes widened.
Lin Heng smiled, dug a puddle of water and put the fish in it, and then put the turtle in the bag and hung it up. It would not die even without water.
"Dad, let's go pick some mushrooms." Lin Heng walked over and said.
Father Lin shook his head: "Lin Heng, you take Lin Wei to pick mushrooms, I will deal with the wild boar head, we will eat pig head meat for lunch."
He didn't want to waste the wild boar head. He felt sorry when he heard that Lin Heng fed the big wild boar head to Xiongba last time.
The pig head is delicious after being processed, so he planned to process the wild boar head and eat it at noon.
"Okay then, Lin Wei, let's go." Lin Heng understood his father's thoughts and took his nephew up the mountain.
"Today's goal is mainly to pick tea tree mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and ganoderma lucidum. I'll also pick up some egg mushrooms and blue-headed mushrooms if I see any."
Lin Heng looked at his eldest nephew and said that he had been picking mushrooms with adults since he was a child, so there was no need to teach him how to identify them.
"I understand, second father. Let's see who picks up more." Lin Wei was full of energy.
"Then you better work harder. You can sell what you picked up and buy what you want." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Okay." Lin Wei became more motivated after hearing this.
The two of them separated and started picking. Tea tree mushrooms were the most abundant.
There was a large clump every two steps. There were many on the roots of trees. After more than an hour of picking, Lin Heng's backpack was full. Almost all of them were tea tree mushrooms. He estimated that there were about 40 to 50 kilograms.
On the other side, Lin Wei had also picked half a basket.
Carrying the basket back, Lin Heng poured the tea tree mushrooms onto the pebble beach beside the stream to dry.
By the time for lunch, Lin Heng had picked three baskets of tea tree mushrooms, weighing more than 150 kilograms.
"There's really a lot of this stuff, but it's a pity that it only costs 30 cents."
Lin Heng looked at the tea tree mushrooms on the ground and shook his head slightly. It would be good if they could yield thirty kilograms if dried.
The mushrooms shrink so much that it is not uncommon to see ten pounds of wet mushrooms shrinking to only one pound of dry mushrooms.
"Second Dad, how many pounds do you think these are?" Lin Wei asked, pointing at the piece he picked.
"About 60 to 70 kilograms, not bad." Lin Heng patted his shoulder.
Back at the shelter, Father Lin had already cleaned all the hair on the wild boar's head and peeled it off.
"How is it? Not bad?" Father Lin asked with a smile.
"Yes, it would be perfect if it could be braised." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"If I take it back, it will definitely go bad. I'd better just fry the mushrooms and eat them."
Father Lin shook his head and started cutting the meat. There were no conditions for braising meat in the mountains.
Lin Heng washed the tricholoma and egg mushrooms he had picked and brought them over.
What was cooked in the pot was the skeleton of the pig's head, which still had a lot of meat. Normally, the meat would be removed and fried, but today it was fed to Xiongba the dog.
The pork head was cut and fried with mushrooms. The aroma immediately came out and spread everywhere, and everyone's stomach started to growl.
"What kind of meat are you frying? It smells so good."
At this time, Lin Yue's voice came from the stream.
"Dad, we fried wild boar meat. Second Dad and Grandpa killed a wild boar and caught two little piglets."
Lin Wei jumped up, ran over and hugged his father.
Lin Yue was stunned for a moment: "You killed a wild boar? How big is it?"
I've only been away for one day, but it feels like so many things have happened.
"You've come just in time. I'll tell you while we eat."
Father Lin said with a smile.
After the pork head was fried, the four of them sat together and started to eat, while the water was boiling and they were preparing the following.
There was still some rice and noodles left, and they planned to finish the noodles first.
Pig head meat is almost all pig skin. After frying, it becomes soft and chewy, just like pig ears, chewy and crispy.
After listening to what happened between Lin Heng and his father over the past two days, Lin Yue couldn't help but exclaimed: "This is so cool. If I had known, I wouldn't have left. I didn't encounter any wild boars when I was hunting."
Lin Heng smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll take you hunting next time. There's not much on the mountain except wild boars."
"Lin Yue, you and Lin Wei should go back again in the afternoon to deliver the wild boar meat and call someone over." Father Lin took a sip of syrup and said with a smile.
Lin Yue looked at the things he had now and shook his head, saying, "Dad, I don't think it's necessary. I looked and there aren't many things.
Wild boar meat is salty and won’t spoil easily, so we can leave together tomorrow afternoon without any problem.”
"That's fine." Father Lin thought about it and agreed.
After dinner, everyone went to the mountain to pick tea tree mushrooms. In the afternoon, Lin Heng picked more than 150 kilograms.
Lin Yue and Lin's father also collected more than 100 kilograms and placed them all on the stone man to dry.
We still had pig's head for dinner, but the head was too big, so we only ate one third of it in the morning.
The next morning, they went to an oak forest farther away and each collected nearly 100 kilograms of tea tree mushrooms.
Because we were afraid that there were too many to carry back, we stopped at ten o'clock, spread the picked mushrooms on the stones, and they could be dried in the afternoon.
As for yesterday's, it was completely dried out. The sun in the dog days of August is so terrible.
When packing mushrooms in the afternoon, Lin Heng still had fifty kilograms of the more than three hundred kilograms of tea tree mushrooms.
Both Lin's father and Lin Yue weigh only about 30 kilograms, a little less than Lin Heng.
Lin Wei's weighs only a dozen kilograms.
When packing things, three people each took a musk deer and two wild boars and put them at the bottom of the backpack. They used wooden sticks to separate the wild boar meat, mushrooms, herbs, catfish, turtle and other things on top.
The three of them shared the things, and when the basket was full they tied it to the top with a rope, and eventually they managed to fit everything in.
There is no need to worry about wild boars or musk deer suffocating to death, as the backpack is made of bamboo and has holes the size of a little finger.
Lin Heng looked at the backpack that was almost as heavy as himself, lifted it up and tried, saying with a smile: "This time it's going to cost someone's life, it must be over 100 kilograms."
"It's my fault. It didn't seem like much yesterday, but when I packed it up today I didn't expect there would be so much." The eldest brother Lin Yue said embarrassedly.
"It's okay, just take a few more breaks on the way, let's go home!!"
Father Lin waved his hand, picked up the backpack and shouted.
"Let's go home!"
Lin Heng looked back at the shelter, then looked at the fantastic dreamlike mountains, forests and streams, then turned and left.
He misses his wife and children.
It would be a lie to say that carrying more than 100 kilograms is not strenuous, but for healthy rural people, it is just more tiring.
And as long as they can make money, no one will complain even if the work is heavy, just like the migrant workers on the construction sites.
Everyone has the same goal, to make their home better.
We set out from the camp at around three o'clock and walked until the sun was setting in the west, which was still five or six kilometers away from Hongfeng Mountain.
Although they walked in a straight line on the way back, the stuff was too heavy and everyone walked very slowly.
Fortunately, the days are longer now. It’s not dark at 8:30 and you can still see the road at 9 o’clock.
It was already past nine o'clock when everyone returned home, and many people were still outside enjoying the cool air and chatting.
Lin Heng and others wanted to go home quietly, but the cries of the piglets and musk deer soon attracted many people.
A group of people searched for it and just happened to see Lin Heng and four others returning from the mountain with their backpacks intact.
"Lin Heng, did you go up the mountain to hunt again? And you caught wild boars and deer?" Tian Baishun widened his eyes. This kid didn't even take him with him when hunting.
"Lin Heng, what the hell are you doing? Several bags this high, this is too much."
Li Caifeng asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"I was wondering why I hadn't seen him recently. Turns out he went to the mountains to hunt." Liu Lan couldn't help but say with a sour tone.
"The three backpacks are all very tall. How many things must they hold?"
"Are you going to the mountains to buy supplies?"
A group of people were talking to each other.
"We didn't get much this time. There were only tea tree mushrooms in the bag. We set a trap and caught two piglets and a female musk deer. We don't want the wild boars. If you want to buy them, you can come and buy them tomorrow."
Lin Heng said with a smile, then carried the things into the room and put them in the main room.
Seeing that Lin Heng didn't want to show off, and it was already dark, everyone had no choice but to go back.
"I guess he has a lot of good things, but he doesn't even dare to show them. He must have made a lot of money again." Liu Lan's eyes turned green with envy.
"That's for sure. I know this guy Lin Heng. He definitely has good stuff." Tian Baishun sighed.
"It's really infuriating. Why can't I get so many things when I go up the mountain? He's just buying goods here."
Li Caifeng didn’t understand, and not only her, many people didn’t understand.
They are all human beings and have been to the mountains before, so why didn’t they gain as much as Lin Heng’s group?
Apart from anything else, just that wild boar cub is enough to make people jealous.
Tian Baishun understood that this was a difference in ability, but he didn't say it, otherwise he would offend people again.
In fact, everyone knows it in their hearts, but they just don’t want to admit it.
Whether it is hunting or setting up a snare, there is a skill to making a noose.
The traps set by Lin Heng were all in places where Xiongba found the scent of prey, so naturally the probability of them being set was higher than those set randomly by ordinary people.
"Well, even though they lose money buying Coriolus versicolor, they are really good at making money."
"It looks like there will soon be another 1,000-yuan household in the village. I didn't expect it to be Lin Heng's family."
A group of people sighed and were extremely envious. Three months ago, they would never have thought that the Lin family would become like this.
(End of this chapter)
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