Chapter 260 Preparations before going into the mountains to hunt bears
"If you think it's okay, we'll go in two days."
Lin Heng looked at the gloomy sky and added, "It's been gloomy for many days. I think it's going to rain. Let's go after the rain."
"Okay, I'm not in a hurry."
Lin Yue nodded in agreement.
After walking for a while, the group dispersed and looked for Chinese toon. Most of the trees had turned green during this period, and the Chinese toon on the small trees above them had also emerged, but the big trees were still dead silent.
"Let's go to Shuijinggou and take a look." Xiulan said to Lin Heng.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded, held Xiaoxia in his arms and went to Shuijinggou with her. As soon as they crossed the ridge, they saw peach blossoms in full bloom in Shuijinggou.
"What beautiful flowers." Xiaoxia said, pointing to the distance.
Lin Heng nodded: "This pink and purple peach blossom is rare."
There are so many flowers in spring, but purple ones are indeed rare.
The small shrubs next to them were covered with dense white flowers, forming a huge patch. Most of the flowers on the mountain were also white.
The area near the top ridge of Shuijinggou is covered with purple peach blossoms, which is quite spectacular, as if they were planted by humans.
"I just happened to be going over there to see if there's any Chinese toon trees. Let's go take a look."
Xiulan said that with the arrival of Qingming Festival, the mountains became sleepy, with flowers blooming everywhere, which was incredibly beautiful.
When a breeze blows, you can always smell the fragrance of flowers.
"Okay~"
Lin Heng put Xiaoxia down, reached out to pull her, and followed Xiulan along the path in the woods.
There are many big toon trees in that ditch, and there must be some small ones.
After a while, the three of them arrived at the well ditch. When they got there, they found that there were two people picking Chinese toon trees here. They were late.
They knew these two people, the village chief's wife Tang Qing, and Li Yan from the village.
Tang Qing saw them and greeted them with a smile: "Xiu Lan, you guys come and pick Chinese toon too. It's great to have a family of three out together."
"Yeah, that guy in our family is as lazy as a dead pig. He won't come up even when we call him." Li Yan said with some envy.
"We are just visiting the grave and bringing some food with us." Xiulan said with a smile.
"There's more up there, we haven't been there yet." Tang Qing took the initiative to say.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded and walked upwards along the path that Niu Cai had taken. Their destination was originally upwards.
"You got a lot." Lin Heng said after looking at their bags.
Li Yan smiled and said, "We came early."
After saying a few words, Lin Heng followed Xiulan upstairs.
"Come to my house when you have time, Xiulan." Tang Qing shouted with a smile.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded with a smile and agreed casually, not caring about it.
Now many women in the village invite her to their homes to play, which is completely different from their previous attitude.
After walking a little further up, they found a lot of small toon trees. Lin Heng bent the tree and then watched Xiaoxia and his wife slowly pick off the toon on it.
Lin Heng enjoyed this feeling very much. Xiaoxia was always busy looking for Chinese toon everywhere, and sometimes she would pick some wild walnut tree buds and safflower tree buds that were very similar to Chinese toon.
After Xiulan got it, she was asked to identify it and then throw it away. When Lin Heng found Xiangchun Xiaoxia, he ran over to break it and waited to be praised.
After a while, the three of them had picked about three or four pounds of Chinese toon, and at the same time they came to the bottom of the peach blossom forest. The peach trees with purple flowers were very tall and grew on the slope above. As they walked over, they could smell a rich fragrance.
Sitting under the tree to rest, Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said, "Do you want to break some off and plant them at home?"
"Forget it, the tree is a bit tall." Xiulan shook her head.
Lin Heng stood up and said, "Then let me see if there are any shorter ones."
After saying this, he walked up for a distance and indeed found a short peach tree. He immediately broke off a few branches and brought them back.
"Let's go back."
Lin Heng handed the peach blossom to Xiulan and said.
"Well, there's nothing to see further up."
Xiulan smelled the peach blossoms and nodded.
Holding Xiaoxia's hand, the three of them walked slowly back through the woods. The spring days were long and there was no need to rush.
I looked around on the road here again. There were many people picking Chinese toon these two days, so the harvest wasn't that much.
It was noon when they got home. Xiulan went to cook, while Lin Heng went to the back mountain to get some tree sticks that he had cut down earlier, and went to the yard to build a rack for watermelons, cucumbers and cantaloupes.
These fruits and vegetables now have seven or eight palm-sized leaves, and are more than 20 centimeters tall with tendrils growing out.
It is very simple to build a rack. Just insert a branch on each melon seedling and then tie some horizontal branches together. Lin Heng built a three-layer, two-meter-high rack.
"It's time to eat." Xiulan saw Lin Heng finished and walked over to say.
"good."
Lin Heng nodded, washed his hands and ate.
I didn’t make Chinese toon this morning, but instead made stir-fried garlic sprouts with bacon. The garlic sprouts at home had all grown into garlic sprouts, and Xiulan picked some yesterday afternoon.
After dinner, Lin Heng went to find his father and elder brother to help him bury the water pipes. He planned to connect running water to Lin's father and mother's homes. The water pipes in his home were already installed when the floor tiles were laid.
I recently bought a water pump, thinking of getting running water to my parents and older brother's homes.
There were enough pipes left, and the tee connectors and faucets were all bought.
"Have you got everything ready?"
Father Lin looked at Lin Heng and asked.
Lin Heng nodded: "Yes, my family has been using tap water for two days, I just need to connect a three-way tap for you."
"Okay then, let's dig the trench and bury the pipes first?" asked Father Lin.
"Yes, I'll cast the line."
Lin Heng nodded, he took a bag of lime and started to spread the lines. After the water pipe came out of the well, it went directly through the wall to the outside of the wall, along the inner and outer walls all the way to his eldest brother and parents' homes.
The ditch was dug in a short while. After burying the water pipes, Lin Heng connected the tee and then connected the faucets to them respectively.
The tap water at his eldest brother's house was directly connected to the kitchen, while that at his parents' house was connected to the yard.
After connecting, Lin Heng turned on the power of the water pump, and immediately there was water in the faucets of the three households.
"Usually the water pump is turned off. If you need water, just go over and ask Xiulan to turn it on."
Lin Heng looked at his parents and said, there were no self-priming pressure-sensing water pumps in this era. If they were powered on, they would keep working, so they could only be turned on when needed.
But this is much more convenient than fetching water from the well before.
"Okay." Father Lin and Lin Yue nodded in unison.
"This is really much more convenient." Lin's mother said with a smile, no longer having to worry about drinking water.
Lin Heng looked at his father and asked, "Dad, when are you going to live over at Hongfeng Mountain? Do you need our help to move your things?"
Father Lin replied, "We will move there the day after tomorrow, April 7th. But there is nothing to move. Just some cups and bowls. I will take my time to move the rest if I see anything missing."
Lin's mother also said: "The main thing is to light a fire and eat on the day we move there, there's nothing else to do."
Lin Heng looked at Tian Dao and said, "Well, we'll see what happens then. I'm going to go bear hunting with my brother."
After saying a few more words, he turned around and went home. He went to the back of the mountain, where the pumpkins and winter melons planted there had all grown, and the saplings had also grown green leaves and were beginning to thrive.
"Hey, it's raining?"
As soon as he returned to the yard, Lin Heng suddenly felt his face was wet.
"It's going to rain. I can feel it too." Xiulan nodded. She was cleaning the dirt in the backyard.
Lin Heng said helplessly: "It seems that we need to prepare raincoats when we go out to hunt bears. It rains continuously in spring."
"Not only should we prepare raincoats, but we should also pay attention to safety." Xiulan said as she swept the floor.
"I know."
Lin Heng looked at the sky and went to the side of the pond to look at the fish. The fish were very active at this time of year, and the ornamental lotuses planted in the winter had already grown several palm-sized lotus leaves.
He could lie on the railing and watch the fish for an entire afternoon, and sometimes he would wonder whether these fish knew that there was a vast world outside the water.
"What are you daydreaming about? It's raining heavily."
Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and shouted.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded and turned to go into the house.
The rain soon got heavier, and Lin Heng went into the house to read a book. It was a good thing that it rained a lot during the Spring Festival, so there was nothing to complain about.
After dinner, Lin Heng Xiulan went to bed early. Xiaoxia suddenly wanted to sleep with them, so she had to take her along.
When I woke up at eight o'clock the next morning, it was still raining. It was a drizzle, not heavy but continuous.
When I walked out of the yard, I could see some fog on the mountain, and the green mountains were becoming greener in the rain.
Lin Heng had nothing to do during the day, so he read a book in the house. Xiulan squeezed some extra milk today and made milk powder at home.
Xiaoxia drew with colored pencils for a while and then went to play with the cat. Anyway, she was busy every day and was busier than adults.
In the afternoon, Lin Heng packed up some things for the bear hunt. The distance was far this time, so he didn't plan to take too many things.
As for weapons, there was a compound bow and a tempered steel dagger. Lin Heng spent some time sharpening the dagger to make it sharp enough.
As for arrows, Lin Heng took fifteen, five of which were specially designed for hunting large animals. They had four blade edges, which would cause larger cuts when they flew out and rotated, thus killing the prey quickly.
The survival equipment mainly includes a small iron pot for eating, a squirrel skin water bag, a kerosene lighter, two boxes of matches, a raincoat, a whole piece of film paper that is six meters long and two meters wide, five plastic bags, three snake skin bags, a compass, a flashlight, 100 milliliters of gasoline, 30 fish hooks, and 20 meters of fishing line.
He didn't buy a fire stick because kerosene lighters come with a flint on one side, and with gasoline, it is basically foolproof to start a fire in the wild. Even in heavy rain and without any fire starters, you can still start a fire.
Fire is one of the most important things in the wild, and he made sure he was safe. He almost failed to light a fire when he got lost on a snowy night last time.
Finally, there was the spare food. This time, Lin Heng only brought ten kilograms of flour and half a kilogram of salt, and nothing else. It was too far to carry so much.
He estimated that the hunting time for bears would take ten days. If he found nothing in fifteen days at the most, he would come back. He would not stay too long because he had to come back to raise shrimps.
We will start hatching shrimp fry at the end of April or May, and this is an important matter that cannot be delayed.
After everything was done and put together, Xiulan was still sewing the backpack, which she made with the coarse linen he bought. There was an inner pocket made of raincoat fabric, and she was also planning to sew more pockets on the outside to hold some small items.
The backpacks I bought during that era were not very satisfactory, so I had to ask Xiulan to sew one for me.
"I'll go see my eldest brother." Lin Heng said to Xiulan after packing up his things.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded in agreement.
Lin Heng went over to his eldest brother's house holding an umbrella and a compass.
"Have you started cleaning up today? I haven't done it yet." Lin Yue said with a smile.
Lin Heng nodded: "It's time to clean up."
Lin Yue nodded and asked, "Then what do you think I should bring?"
Lin Heng handed him the compass: "Here, find a rope to wear around your neck."
"As for the rest of the stuff, you only need to bring a shotgun, a hatchet, a water bag, a raincoat, a lighter, a plastic bag, a snakeskin bag, and some food. A little more than ten kilograms is enough."
Lin Heng thought for a moment and added that these were enough, and he had the rest with him.
"Okay, I've got it in mind and will clean it up later." Lin Yue nodded.
After saying that, Lin Heng turned around and went back home. It was almost dark, and Xiulan had put down her needlework and was cooking.
"What's for dinner?"
Lin Heng walked into the kitchen and asked with a smile.
"Sliced noodles, and then I'll stir-fry three dishes for you." Xiulan said while kneading the dough.
"That's great, I like eating noodles." Lin Heng nodded. He would not get tired of eating noodles even if he ate them for three or four days in a row.
"Go light the fire, I'll cook."
Xiulan looked at him and said, the dough has been kneaded, just let it wake up.
Lin Heng nodded and went to make a fire. Xiulan made a stir-fried bracken, a stir-fried bacon with toon, and a cold-mixed ash vegetable.
When it was served on the table, Lin Heng and Xiulan made some rice wine to drink, and after getting a little tipsy, they ate a bowl of knife-cut noodles and felt very satisfied.
After washing up and coaxing Xiaoxia to sleep, Lin Heng went out to the study and took out a black box and handed it to Xiulan: "Wife, I have something for you."
Xiulan tilted her head, looked at him and smiled, "For my birthday present?"
"Well, I'll buy it when we go to Ancheng." Lin Heng nodded with a smile. Xiulan's birthday is March 8th of the lunar calendar, which is two days away.
"You are an old married couple and still buying these." Xiulan looked at him happily and opened the box curiously.
There were two things lying in the black box, one was a Maitreya Buddha made of green Hetian jade, and the other was a comb made of yak horn.
"Jade carving, this must be expensive, right?"
Xiulan was a little surprised when she saw the jade carving, but at the same time she felt a little sorry for the money.
Lin Heng smiled and said, "It's just made of ordinary Hetian jade. It's not worth much. I'll bring it to you."
As he said this, he picked up the jade and put it on her neck.
"It looks really good!" Lin Heng said with satisfaction after taking a look.
Xiulan was wearing underwear at this time, and the beautiful jade was placed on her white chest, forming a very sharp contrast.
"Thank you, husband!" Xiulan looked at the jade and didn't ask how much it cost. She kissed him on the cheek.
She thought Lin Heng was too busy to remember, but she didn't expect him to be waiting here. She didn't need a gift, as long as Lin Heng remembered her, she would be happy.
Lin Heng looked at her and said, "If you want me to spend your birthday with you, then I won't go hunting tomorrow. I can go in a few days."
"There's no need to delay your hunting since your birthday is celebrated every year. Just go ahead." Xiulan shook her head and said with a smile.
"You really don't want me to accompany you? It's okay to be a day late." Lin Heng looked at her.
Xiulan placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled, "That's really not necessary. Just hunt well and be safe."
After saying that, she pushed Lin Heng down again, lying on him and looking at him closely: "But, you have to behave yourself tonight."
She turned off the wait with one hand, slowly leaning over with her red lips, and they tried again to have a baby.
…
…
The next morning, which was April 6, the rain was still falling, and it changed from a drizzle to a light drizzle. The mountains were now completely crisp and the leaves were growing very fast.
After breakfast, Xiulan continued to sew a backpack for Lin Heng, while Lin Heng took Xiaoxia with him to prevent her from making trouble.
When the rain stopped at noon, Xiulan's backpack was also finished. Although it was not very good-looking, it was sturdy enough, had many pockets, and was wrapped in waterproof cloth inside, which met Lin Heng's requirements.
After looking at the words, Lin Heng decisively packed all the things into the backpack. He weighed it and found that it weighed more than 20 kilograms without counting the compound bow. Together with the compound bow and arrows, it weighed almost 30 kilograms.
"Not bad, it's very comfortable to carry." Lin Heng tried carrying it and said with a smile.
Xiulan smiled slightly and asked again, "It's sunny today, are you planning to leave early tomorrow morning? Your parents are moving to Red Maple Mountain to start a fire, are you not going?"
"Go ahead, get up early tomorrow morning and finish it, then have a meal over there and leave."
Lin Heng thought for a moment and said.
"Okay then, be careful." Xiulan said it again. She was very afraid that he would be in danger, but she knew it was impossible to persuade her husband not to go, so she didn't say it at all.
"Don't worry."
Lin Heng smiled, checked the things again, and then put them on the cabinet.
The sun came out in the afternoon. There were no clouds in the sky and the sunlight was very hot. Many people in the village went up the mountain to pick toon. After this rain, many toon trees must have sprouted again.
Sorry, it's still 4,000 today. I'll get back to 8,000 after Qingming Festival. I'll take a break these two days and go fishing twice to find some inspiration.
(End of this chapter)
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