Chapter 350: Stern Rejection
"What's so exciting?"
Lin Heng asked puzzledly as he walked.
Father Lin held up a small black ball and asked, "Son, do you think this is a black truffle?"
“Black truffle?”
Lin Heng was stunned, walked over quickly to take it and asked, then looked at the chestnut trees around him and nodded, "This is indeed a black truffle, Dad, how did you find it?"
Father Lin pointed to the ground and said, "Isn't there a wild lily growing here? I dug it out with two hoes."
The lily stalks were still there on the ground. Father Lin had only dug a hole and hadn't dug it out yet, but a lot of black truffles were already scattered around.
"It's really like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it turns out to be a piece of cake. If we dig around, we may be able to earn hundreds of dollars today." Lin Heng said with emotion.
He had once told Xiulan that he would go to the place where they dug black truffles last year and get some back to eat. This thing is as delicious as MSG, and it makes the dishes taste especially delicious if you put a little bit of it in them.
I didn't expect to meet him by chance while herding cattle today.
"Good!" Father Lin was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He took a hoe and started digging up leaves and soil around him.
The task of herding cattle and sheep was temporarily handed over to Xiongba. The father and son conducted a thorough search here and finally roughly determined the scope of this area of porcini.
"It's about five or six square meters in total. How much can we dig?" Father Lin asked curiously.
"Not sure, it depends on how many are mature." Lin Heng said, and the two began to dig.
It took the two of them half an hour to dig up almost everything here, and the 50-pound snakeskin bag they brought was almost full.
There are still some immature Lin Heng left to be dug. The two of them remembered this place and could come back to dig again in a few years. Draining the pond to catch all the fish is a very bad choice.
"Son, this probably weighs more than 30 kilograms, right?" Father Lin asked while carrying it.
Lin Heng took it over and tried it, then nodded and said, "It's about right, ten yuan a pound, I can sell it for three hundred yuan."
Father Lin smiled from ear to ear and said, "That's great. This trip is going to be a straight one. It seems that our cattle and sheep will bring good fortune."
"It's really worth it." Lin Heng nodded and smiled, then turned around and went back to dig his own yams.
It took him more than an hour to dig out the yam, which was one meter long and as thick as his arm.
This is one of the absolute treasures of the mountains. It can nourish the spleen and stomach, promote the production of body fluids and benefit the lungs, nourish the kidneys and astringe the essence. It is an excellent qi-replenishing substance.
Unlike farmed yam, this kind of yam from the deep mountains takes a long time to grow and is extremely soft and sticky. Basically, you can't pick it up with chopsticks after cooking it for ten minutes. It tastes fragrant and sticky.
However, artificially grown yams are usually still hard after half an hour of boiling and have a bad taste. There is absolutely no value in comparing the two.
Lin Heng cut it into three small sections and put them into a bag, then continued to look for the next yam.
The cattle and sheep were kept away until after three in the afternoon. The yam was not easy to dig, as many of them grew in stone holes. Lin Heng dug out three in total, weighing about fifteen pounds in total.
Father Lin's luck was not as good as his. He only dug four or five kilograms and brought back a few wild lilies. Maybe digging black truffles had exhausted his luck.
"Xiongba, drive the cattle back home."
Lin Heng called out from a distance, shaking the bell at the same time, and yelled, "Go home and eat grass."
“Woof woof woof!!”
The next moment, Xiongba happily drove all the cattle and sheep over. He was even smarter than the Border Collie.
"A dog like this is great. I think with a dog like this I can go out and herd cattle and sheep in spring and summer."
Father Lin, walking behind, sighed, herding cattle had never been so easy.
"That's entirely possible, but don't let it out for a walk too often," said Lin Heng.
The father and son walked behind, talking and laughing as they went back. In front, Xiongba was directing the cattle and sheep, and none of them dared to run around.
“Moo!!”
When they were almost at Red Maple Mountain, they heard the cry of another big bull and saw another group of cattle herders in the distance.
"It's Jin Yan and his mother." Lin's father recognized them.
In the distance, Jin Yan's mother and daughter also saw Lin Heng and his son. They were extremely envious of the large number of cattle and sheep. They were even more surprised that Xiong Ba, a dog, could herd cattle.
After approaching, Jin Yan's mother asked curiously: "Why do the cattle and sheep you raise grow so fast?"
He has a cow that is about the same size as the one Lin Heng bought it, also a yellow cow, but now it is half a head shorter than these Qinchuan yellow cows.
"We just feed them grass and nothing else." Lin's father responded with a smile. He also thought that what Lin Heng said was unnecessary at first, but now by comparison, he thinks that scientific feeding does make sense.
The effect of fermented cow grass is good, and you can also feed some food that supplements trace elements regularly. You won’t see the difference in a short period of time, but it will be very obvious over time.
"Forget it. My cow won't grow fast even if I feed it grass every day." Jin Yan's mother was a little unhappy.
Lin Heng stood by with a normal expression, without any emotion. When he saw the cow running away, he smiled and said, "Aunt, your cow ran away."
"Oh, this thing..."
Jin Yan's mother said something and hurried forward to drive the cattle. Jin Yan glanced at Lin Heng and followed him.
"Son, you know what, this forage grass has a great effect when made into silage." Father Lin said with a smile.
"Of course. I will buy a machine specifically for silage storage later." Lin Heng said with a smile.
While chatting and laughing, the two of them had already arrived at the Red Maple Mountain. Xiongba drove the cattle down, and Lin Heng walked towards the ginseng garden on the red and yellow leaves "carpet".
The ginseng plants had withered long ago. Lin Heng came here mainly to see if there were any wild boars or other troublemakers. He would not care about anything else.
After looking around, he found two places where people had been killed. Fortunately, the area was not large. He took a knife and blocked off the area again.
Then he went to see the bees in the center of the ginseng garden. After the summer and autumn, the honey in the beehives was almost full, and they could find time to harvest it.
"It will take some time to clean up this cabin and apply some anti-corrosion paint."
After taking a look at the cabin, Lin Heng said to himself, no matter what kind of house it is, it needs regular maintenance.
The situation at the reservoir is basically stable. Except for a few deaths of the mullets living in it at the beginning, there have been no problems so far.
This shows that the water quality is suitable and breeding is not particularly difficult.
At the foot of the mountain, the cattle and sheep have returned to the cowshed, but the workers are still working and talking about the cattle and sheep. Some think it is not cost-effective to reclaim so much land to grow pasture, while others think that raising cattle and sheep is too risky.
When Lin Heng came down, Lin's father was showing off the black truffles he had dug to Lin's mother.
"Why are you showing off? It's all thanks to our son. We should give him at least half." Lin's mother said, unable to stand her man's arrogant face.
"Of course, I will give half to my son." Father Lin said proudly.
"No need, Dad. I'll just take some home to eat." Lin Heng smiled and shook his head. His parents didn't ask him for money, so this was just right for pocket money.
After taking two kilograms of black truffles, Lin's father gave him some wild lilies he had dug and asked him to take them back for Xiaoxia to eat, saying that this thing has the effect of moistening the lungs and relieving coughs.
Lin Heng took the things home and found the gate of the yard half open. He walked in curiously and found a middle-aged woman talking to Xiulan with a bitter face, and Xiulan looked a little embarrassed.
Seeing Lin Heng, Xiulan's slightly frowned brows immediately relaxed, and she said with a smile: "It just so happens that my man is back, you can talk to him."
"What's wrong?" Lin Heng walked in with something and asked. He knew this middle-aged woman, Aunt Li Yue from the Li family. Strictly speaking, they were some relatives of his family, but he had never met her before.
The middle-aged woman Li Yue looked at Lin Heng and smiled bitterly, "My cousin, it's like this. Your uncle has been in poor health recently, and I want to borrow 20 yuan from your family for medical treatment."
When Lin Heng heard this, he didn't even ask the reason, but shook his head and said, "That can't be helped. I don't have any money to borrow recently."
His words made Li Yue stunned, as if she didn't expect him to refuse so directly. It was obvious that Liu Xiancun in the village had borrowed 50 yuan from him when his house collapsed. How could he refuse her so directly if she was only asking for 20 yuan since they were relatives?
Li Yue continued, "My cousin, I really have no choice. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lowered my face to lend you this money. I will only lend you 20 yuan, and I will return it to you within next year."
"I said I have no money and can't lend you money. You can go borrow from someone else." Lin Heng refused again without any mercy.
Li Yue was stunned. The smile on her face could no longer be suppressed. She gradually became gloomy. She was silent for a long time and said, "If there is no one, then forget it. I won't bother you anymore."
After saying that, she walked out dejectedly. After she walked out of the door, she spat fiercely and cursed, "It's just a few stinky money, what's the big deal?"
When he heard the sound of Lin Heng closing the door, he quickly quickened his pace and left, fearing that he would be stopped by Lin Heng.
Inside the room, Xiulan handed Lin Heng a towel and said, "If you reject her so ruthlessly, she will definitely spread the news and say bad things about us when she gets home."
That's why she didn't know what to do. Twenty wasn't much, but if she lent it to her today, someone else would come to borrow it the day after tomorrow. She could only say that she couldn't do it and had to wait for Lin Heng.
But she was a little surprised by Lin Heng's direct refusal.
"Let her talk about it. The more she spreads it, the better. This will prevent other relatives from coming to borrow it. The founding father of the country once said, 'Strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows.' If you borrow it today, you will never have peace in the future."
Lin Heng waved his hand indifferently. There were countless people in the village who were counting on working under him to make money. With this benefit in mind, and the fact that he had selflessly lent Liu Xiancun fifty yuan before, public opinion would definitely not be what his cousin thought.
Her publicity will only discourage those who want to borrow money.
"You see things more clearly. I'll listen to you."
Xiulan smiled brightly. She felt that everything became simple in Lin Heng's hands.
"That's right." Lin Heng grinned and showed Xiulan what he had dug. "I dug some yam today. Dad was lucky. He found some black truffles, more than 30 kilograms."
"Then Dad has made a fortune!" Xiulan said in surprise.
"Sure." Lin Heng wiped his face and sat down to warm himself by the fire.
"Dad, I'll give you some sweet potato soup!"
Xiaoxia handed the roasted sweet potatoes to Lin Heng. She was still coughing while speaking and her throat was not well again.
The so-called "tiaopao" means dried sweet potatoes. The dried sweet potatoes that have been steamed and dried three times in the sun are already very tough, and they taste even better after being roasted.
"Thank you, baby. I'll make you something delicious later." Lin Heng said, touching her head.
"What's delicious?" Xiaoxia asked curiously, tilting her head.
"Honey lily, it's delicious." Lin Heng said.
"Then I want to eat." Xiaoxia waved her little hands.
"Your rice is heating up in the rice cooker. Go eat it while I wash the black truffles for you." Xiulan looked at him and said.
"No need, I'll wash it in two seconds." Lin Heng shook his head, went to pour a basin of water, and quickly washed the black truffles and lilies.
The yam is temporarily placed in the kitchen. It can be stored for half a month without being damaged by water. I haven't hunted any pheasants in the past two days, so there is nothing to stew.
After washing the lilies, peel them into petals, remove the bad ones, add a little water to the remaining ones and then cover them with honey.
After he finished his meal, he roasted the fire for another two hours before he took out a small casserole and poured the covered lilies and the soup into the pot.
Stir slowly over low heat until the water evaporates and the lilies absorb the honey and turn into bright yellow dried fruit. This is successful.
At this time, the lily loses its bitter taste and becomes sweet.
Lin Heng first tasted one petal to make sure it was ok before feeding it to his wife and daughter who were watching nearby.
"So sweet~" Xiaoxia said with a smile.
"It's sweet but also a little bitter, very flavorful." Xiulan was also very satisfied after tasting it.
Lin Heng smiled and said, "Let's all eat more. This thing can moisten the lungs and relieve coughs, and it can also calm the mind."
The lilies his father dug weighed three or four pounds in total, and the lilies he made into honey weighed about two pounds. After cooking, there was almost no moisture, and if you couldn't finish eating them, you could put them in the freezer without them freezing.
After I finished eating Lily, it was almost dark. In the evening, I steamed three taro in the rice cooker, heated milk, and ate them with hawthorn jam in the bedroom.
Although it’s not much, it’s very nutritious.
The next morning was already the last day of 1984 in the Gregorian calendar, and the people we hired to help had already installed the Red Maple Mountain fence in the morning.
These fences are all made of sun-dried trees, with a thickness of about 15 centimeters. The bark is peeled off and the surface is brushed with tung oil. They can be used for four to five years without any problems.
Those who helped to chop wood also finished their work in the morning. They sawed the firewood and piled it in the back mountain, two trees on Hongfeng Mountain and two on the back mountain behind Lin Heng's house. The extra trees were given to his eldest brother.
At noon, Lin Heng paid the wages. As the last day was counted as one day, he only spent a total of four hundred yuan.
In the afternoon, Lin Heng took out the copper hot pot, washed it clean, took out the mutton from the freezer, cut it into thin slices with a spatula, and added some dried mushrooms that he had picked earlier. He then called his parents and the whole family to eat hot pot in the main room.
When the weather is cold, it is best to gather together to eat hot pot and chat while eating.
"Son, did you refuse your cousin's request to borrow money yesterday?" Mother Lin asked while eating mutton.
Lin Heng buried his head in eating meat and said vaguely: "Yes."
Mother Lin added, "She started talking about it in the village today, saying that you are stingy and don't recognize people now that you are rich. But the strange thing is that no one believes her. They think she is just trying to take advantage of you."
Father Lin laughed and said, "What's so strange about this? Unless someone doesn't want the opportunity to work anymore."
(End of this chapter)
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