Chapter 346: Harvest, Reclamation
"It's so cold, brother!"
Not long after Lin Heng came out, Lin Yue also came out of his room.
"It is indeed cold. After all, it is past the Frost Descent."
Lin Heng nodded and said that he felt a little uncomfortable after just coming out of the soft and sweet bed.
The sky was dark before dawn and it was damp and cold outside.
The Frost Descent has long passed, and the Beginning of Winter is approaching, and frost is about to begin to form on the ground.
While doing the activity, Lin Yue asked, "Where are we going? Lizi Mountain or somewhere else?"
Lin Heng glanced at Xiong Ba and asked, "You've been going up the mountain every day recently. Where do you think is suitable?"
Today I brought a dog named Xiongba with me, and Fengshou will stay at home to look after the house. Having a dog in the house will increase the safety factor a lot.
"I hunt bamboo partridges and golden pheasants near my home. Recently, I heard that prey can be found in places like Sanyegou, Baishigou, Lizishan, and Sanchagou. I don't know which one is more suitable."
Lin Yue explained that he was still a novice after all and didn't know enough about these things.
Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to Lizi Mountain. The chances of hunting wild boars there should be higher."
Wild boars like chestnuts very much, so there should be quite a few traces of them there. The possibility is greater than in other places.
It’s not that he wants to hunt wild boars. He wants to hunt roe deer, muntjacs, musk deer, and even black bears. However, the numbers of those animals are too few compared to wild boars.
After comprehensive consideration, it is more reliable to avoid air force or search for wild boars.
"Okay, then let's go to Lizi Mountain to hunt wild boars." Lin Yue nodded in agreement.
After the two of them made an agreement, they walked up the road. Lizishan was located at the junction with Shimen Village, where he found the carcass of the clouded leopard last year.
The wind was stronger and cooler as they walked. They discussed hunting methods as they walked.
I ate steamed buns and walked until dawn. At this time, hundreds of birds were singing, the forest was peaceful, and all kinds of animals became active.
The Lin Heng brothers had already arrived at the halfway point of Chestnut Mountain. The chestnuts here had been almost all picked, and not many people came here now.
Lin Heng and his elder brother searched up the mountain at a 45-degree angle. After walking a few steps, Lin Heng found a guy holding chestnuts and running onto a tree branch.
This is a gray squirrel. Lin Heng took a look at it, slowly took out a small slingshot from his waist, and took out the small glass beads he bought in the city from another small cloth bag.
At a distance of five or six meters, he took aim and shot it out with a thud. Along with the dull sound of the impact, the gray squirrel also fell down.
After Xiongba picked it up, Lin Heng took it and weighed it. It was about half a pound. The gray squirrel had already shed its fur, and its fur felt shiny and smooth.
"That's right, at least we won't come up empty-handed today." Lin Heng grinned.
There are many squirrels where there are many chestnuts. Squirrel meat is delicious and has a fresh fragrance. Its fur is also very valuable.
After throwing it into the backpack, Lin Heng took a few steps and found another red squirrel, but unfortunately he missed the target this time.
Xiongba walked in front looking for traces of prey, while Lin Heng followed behind, shooting a few squirrels at the same time.
At half past ten they crossed Chestnut Mountain and saw many traces of wild boars digging in the soil, but they were unable to track their prey.
After crossing Lizi Mountain, Lin Heng began to set up animal traps and wire snares.
There are many traces of wild boar activities here. We will set up our positions and check tomorrow. Maybe we will get something.
"Hey, pheasant!"
Lin Heng, who was setting a trap, was stunned. He immediately took out his bow and arrow and headed towards the bushes in front of him. Unexpectedly, a pheasant flew towards him.
Ten minutes later, he came back with an expressionless face. He finally found a pheasant but failed to catch it.
Because the grass was too thick, he missed the shot and the pheasant ran away. Without the pheasant, he could only continue setting traps.
Before they knew it, it was already noon. Lin Heng and his elder brother climbed to the top of an unnamed mountain. Looking up, they saw the forest dyed in red and yellow.
"Let's rest here for a while and have lunch." Lin Heng said to his eldest brother.
"Okay." Lin Yue nodded and took out food from his bag.
Lin Heng only brought steamed buns and water. What surprised him was that his elder brother actually brought soft pancakes and some shredded potatoes and fermented bean curd with chili sauce.
"You'll be in the mood to hunt only if you eat well. You should eat too. I brought some for you." Lin Yue said with a smile.
"Thank you, big brother." Lin Heng naturally would not be polite to his big brother. He picked up the chopsticks and started eating.
Because they brought a lot of food, Xiongba could also eat some.
It must be hungry, otherwise it would have no motivation to continue looking for prey.
"Brother, your harvest today is good enough. Unfortunately, my slingshot is not as accurate as yours. I only shot three squirrels." Lin Yue sighed while eating.
"I'm pretty lucky today." Lin Heng laughed. Although he didn't catch any big prey in the morning, he shot eight squirrels with his slingshot.
The total weight is about four or five kilograms, and the squirrel skin can be sold for twenty or thirty yuan.
This thing looks small, but it is not easy to kill. It can only be killed with a slingshot and a trap. A shotgun can destroy it in no time.
"Oh, I hope I can gain something in the afternoon." Lin Yue shook his head and sighed.
After eating, the two continued to explore the woods, looking for traces of wild boars.
Lin Heng unexpectedly discovered that there were quite a few enoki mushrooms and a few oyster mushrooms in the forest. Lin Heng picked them up happily and prepared to go home for a hotpot.
He didn't pick many mushrooms this autumn, including Hericium erinaceus and Matsutake. It's not that he didn't want to, but he was too busy to have time. There were several heavy rains in mid-October.
However, although he didn't pick any, his family had enough to eat. One reason was that his parents had some, and the other was that he would also bring some back from the purchasing station.
Lin Heng was happily picking up clumps of beautiful Flammulina velutipes when he suddenly heard his elder brother exclaim from a distance: "Brother, I found something here!"
"What?"
Lin Heng asked softly, and when he walked over he immediately saw that it was an itching tree. It looked like there were wild boars using it recently.
Lin Yue whispered: "This is a major discovery. I think it will be easy to catch wild boars if we set up some traps around this tree."
"It's very likely." Lin Heng nodded, looked around, found the path where two wild boars walked, and set a large trap there.
The itchy tree is easy to recognize, as wild boars have worn it smooth. Generally speaking, wild boars will come to scratch themselves when they are full. Living in the wild, they are harassed by all kinds of insects, so scratching is essential for them.
"Let's go, don't destroy this place, don't break any branches."
After Lin Heng set up the clamp, he made a mark and said that this kind of clamp cannot be left for a long time, otherwise it is easy to hurt people, even in such a remote place.
After setting the trap, the two men searched eagerly. Lin Heng took Xiong Ba with him, trying to find the wild boar cave.
The reason they came to this place was because they followed Xiongba. They had no say in the matter. This itchy tree showed that the general direction Xiongba was looking for was correct.
Maybe the wild boar was too fast to run, and we searched for an entire afternoon but couldn't find any nearby.
"It's very normal. This thing can run hundreds of miles a day." Lin Heng shook his head.
Lin Yue nodded, looked at the sky and said, "What a pity, we can only go back first."
"Let's go back and walk along the ditch to see if we can encounter golden roosters and bamboo partridges." Lin Heng nodded.
They all carry flashlights, and it is easier to find pheasants and golden pheasants in the area near the ditch than in other seasons.
After entering the ditch, the first creature Lin Heng saw was a big red squirrel, and he immediately chased after it.
Unfortunately, the guy finally jumped to the top of the tree and he had no chance.
Before they knew it, the sky had turned dark, with only a hint of bright red left by the setting sun. The two of them stood there quietly, observing.
At this moment, not only can you hear the calls of muntjacs and roe deer, but you can also see golden pheasants and pheasants flying to the trees to rest at night.
"There are bamboo partridges flying over there in the spinifex forest." Lin Yue said excitedly.
"I heard two golden roosters crowing on that hill." Lin Heng also said something, and the two separated immediately.
By the time they got there, it was completely dark. There were no stars or moon in the sky. The night was extremely black.
Lin Heng searched for a long time before he found his golden rooster resting on a tree branch.
The two grayish golden hens looked quite plump.
Lin Heng drew his arrow and shot them down accurately. Each one in his hand weighed one and a half pounds. Things in autumn are always plump and delicious.
Bang! At this time, a loud noise was heard from the forest below the mountain, and Lin Heng hurried over there.
"How's it going, big brother!"
Lin Heng asked in a low voice.
"Hey, I shot six bamboo partridges, how about you?" Lin Yue's excited voice rang out.
"I am two female golden hens, how can they be similar?" Lin Heng walked over holding the golden rooster.
"It's easier to hunt prey in autumn. Today is okay." Lin Yue said happily.
After saying a few words, they took Xiongba back. It was already 12 o'clock in the evening when they got home because they had run too far.
Unfortunately, they didn't find any new prey on the way home, and they didn't want the few hedgehogs either.
"Second brother, you are finally back. We almost thought you would not come back today."
Caiyun opened the door and said with a smile.
"We went too far while hunting." Lin Heng explained and locked the gate to the yard.
When she entered the room, Xiaoxia was already asleep on the sofa, and Xiulan covered her with a summer quilt.
"Two golden roosters, a good harvest!" Xiulan smiled as she looked at the golden roosters in his hands.
"Not only that, there are also mushrooms and squirrels."
Lin Heng opened the bag and laid out the things.
"Eight squirrels and so many enoki mushrooms!" Caiyun widened her eyes.
"That's amazing!" Xiulan also praised in surprise.
Neither of them was surprised that they didn't catch the wild boar. If it were that easy to catch, not everyone would go hunting.
"Let's set a trap and see if we can catch the wild boar tomorrow." Lin Heng said.
"The meal is ready. Let's eat first and then hunt for prey," said Xiulan.
Caiyun had already gone to the kitchen to bring the meal, just for Lin Heng. He had a bowl of rice and a small bowl of vegetables, which included stir-fried bacon with sour beans and half a bowl of garlic-flavored greens.
Lin Heng was already hungry, so he ate while chatting with the two of them.
After he finished eating, Caiyun boiled the water, blanched the golden chicken, removed the fur, and cut open the intestines, leaving most of the internal organs. They wanted to eat chicken noodles.
Put the two golden roosters in the freezer first, and save the internal organs for the chicken noodles tomorrow.
Squirrels are easier to handle. Just make a cut around the neck and pull hard to pull the skin off.
The squirrel skins were stretched and hung under the eaves to dry in the shade, and the internal organs and brain were cooked and fed to Xiongba and Fengshou, who only ate one squirrel meat.
By the time he finished washing up and resting, it was already two o'clock in the morning of the next day.
"You should go to bed earlier. It's too late." Lin Heng said as he got into the fragrant bed.
"I took a nap in the afternoon, and I couldn't fall asleep even if I went to bed early." Xiulan leaned against him and said, "Do I have to get up early tomorrow morning?"
"No, let's go at six or seven o'clock. It's useless if we go too early." Lin Heng shook his head.
"That's fine." Xiulan nodded, stopped talking, and rested next to Lin Heng.
The next morning, Lin Heng got up early and exercised tirelessly. He almost never stopped. Even if he was delayed by other things, he would make up for it or exercise at night.
Giving up is too easy. Persisting day after day is more challenging. It is also the best way to educate children by setting an example.
After breakfast, he and his elder brother went to Chestnut Mountain excitedly, looking forward to a harvest.
On the way, I was still thinking about what to do if the wild boar grows big and I can't catch it, what to do if I catch a roe deer or a muntjac, etc.
However, reality gave them a wake-up call. After a round, they didn't see any big prey.
There were none at the Itchy Tree either. Just three small traps that caught three squirrels.
"This shouldn't be the case!" Lin Yue couldn't understand.
Lin Heng took a sip of water and shook his head, "There are many itchy trees for wild boars, so they may not come here. Or maybe we have been discovered. Anyway, let's take the traps back and come back next week."
Lin Yue thought about it, shook his head and said, "Leave it for two more days, I'll come and take a look and I'll collect it."
"That's fine." Lin Heng did not refuse, and the two continued searching on the mountain.
Today's harvest was not as good as yesterday's. When he returned home in the evening, he caught a willow-leaf chicken (blood pheasant) and five or six kilograms of enoki mushrooms.
But since he came back early, the dinner tonight was sumptuous, including the squirrel he made yesterday.
Squirrel meat tastes firm and has a special flavor, it is very good.
The disadvantage is that there is less meat and more bones, and most of them were sold cheaply to Xiongba Fengshou.
As Monday came and Caiyun went to school, Lin Heng took care of Xiulan at home and began to plan with his father the work of reclaiming Hongfeng Mountain.
After discussion, the two thought it would be better to call twenty people, and notify his third father, third uncle and uncle-in-law, and call a dozen more people.
I started working the next day, Tuesday, and the daily wage was 70 cents, which was no longer as high as before.
But even so, many people are still willing to come here, because there are not many opportunities to make money in rural areas.
There was no need for his guidance in the land reclamation, as his father and others were all familiar with it.
Lin Heng also had some free time, and took Xiulan and Xiaoxia to experience the last few days of autumn.
The autumn winds are like raging knives, and no one dares to disobey them.
In the blink of an eye, it was already Thursday. That morning, Lin Heng was hanging out to dry things when he suddenly heard a lively discussion outside.
"What's going on?" Xiulan asked curiously as she was leaning back in a chair basking in the sun.
As the two were talking, the sound of discussion suddenly got closer and there was a knock on the door.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
