Chapter 363: More and more money, more delicacies to feed people
Xiulan packed up her things, walked over and touched Xiaoxia's little face and said, "What birthday gift does Xiaoxia want?"
Xiaoxia tilted her head and thought for a long time, and finally said distressedly: "I am Phuket~"
"Then I'll make you a cake tomorrow." Lin Heng said, touching her little head.
"Yes, I like eating cake!" Xiaoxia cheered, raising her little hands.
After packing up, Caiyun went to the old house to rest, and Lin Heng moved the unburned coal from the fireplace in the main room to the fireplace in the bedroom.
Add some more wood and coal, and the bedroom will be warm in a short time, and there will be no need to add more coal tonight.
Lin Heng told Xiaoxia a story and coaxed her to sleep, then came over to coax Xiulan's son after she finished feeding him, and then the two of them could go to bed to rest.
"I'm so tired from cooking, husband, please give me a leg massage."
Xiulan put her long white legs on Lin Heng's legs and stood in the kitchen for a long time while cooking.
"My pleasure." Lin Heng grabbed her long legs and massaged her from the ankles, while admiring her beautiful figure.
His massage technique was very good. Xiulan closed her eyes comfortably, her face flushed a little.
After feeling comfortable after being massaged, Xiulan turned over and sat on Lin Heng: "I'll massage you, too."
"I don't need it. I'm not that tired." Lin Heng reached out and grabbed her waist, pulled her into his arms and said with a smile.
"Okay then~" Xiulan blinked as she looked at his cheek so close to her.
Being held tightly like this, she also had a special sense of security, except that the base of her thighs felt as if they were burned by an iron rod.
Xiulan's hair was simply braided into a ponytail, with her bangs a little messy, covering her eyebrows, and her red lips were moist and smooth, making her look particularly attractive. But Lin Heng didn't do anything extra, and the feeling of holding her soft body in his arms was just great.
"It's time to go to bed." Xiulan turned off the light and leaned on his chest.
When I was almost asleep, I lay down on the bed next to me and fell into a peaceful dream.
I had to get up in the middle of the night to change the baby's diapers and feed him. However, neither of them slept well in the morning. I was woken up by crying at around six o'clock, and I had to change his diapers and feed him again.
However, Xiulan no longer has any burden in breastfeeding now. Not only does she have milk-producing foods to eat, but Lin Heng also frequently massages and sucks her, which has increased her milk production a lot.
After feeding the child, the two of them took a nap in bed for a while before getting up.
After opening the door, Xiulan was surprised and said, "I didn't notice it raining today. It's just after the Waking of Insects, and the first spring rain of this year has arrived."
"It's a good thing that it rained early in spring, so crops and pastures will grow." Lin Heng nodded.
However, despite the spring rain, the temperature on their mountain was still very low. The thermometer he hung outside showed that it was only six degrees Celsius.
When it rained, the two of them exercised in the main room. Lin Heng took some coal from the bedroom and put it into the main room, and then got some firewood and coal blocks. Soon the main room became warm.
We just had a simple breakfast today. After that, Xiulan and Caiyun were busy making a cake for Xiaoxia.
Xiulan had already learned Lin Heng's technique of using an electric rice cooker to make cakes. With her clever brain, she mastered it after just one try.
"I'm going out." Lin Heng said after he stood up after finishing his meal.
"Go ahead." Xiulan said without raising her head.
Lin Heng went out, called his eldest brother, and drove to the town.
“Brother Lin!”
Seeing Lin Heng coming, Wang Zhou greeted him with a smile.
"The delivery truck hasn't arrived yet, right?" Lin Heng asked. He felt that Wang Zhou had become much more energetic since he got married.
"No, I usually come here at noon." Wang Zhou said with a smile.
"Okay, when he comes over, ask him to wait here for a while." Lin Heng said.
After saying that, he checked the store's accounts again. Last year, the purchasing station and the convenience store made him 4,100 yuan, which was a little more than before.
This is after deducting the thousand dollars spent on purchasing goods in the store.
He made 5,000 yuan from selling bear paws, roe deer skins and other things, plus the 15,000 yuan he made from selling prawns, which made a total of 20,000 yuan. Then he spent 2,000 yuan during the time when Xiulan was giving birth.
Adding the current four thousand, his cash amount has reached twenty-two thousand, which is much more than before.
Lin Heng didn't take out the money for the time being, so it was fine to just keep it in the passbook.
We originally planned to go to Heihe, but it was raining heavily outside, so we gave up.
While waiting for the truck to arrive, Lin Heng felt a little bored, so he took Grandpa Gao's fishing rod and went fishing under the bridge in the town.
There was a small backwater under the bridge. He cast down his fishing rod and used wheat made by Grandpa Gao as bait.
He wanted to find earthworms, but he couldn't find any after digging for a long time. In the winter, these guys burrowed deep into the ground.
After fishing for half an hour, Lin Yue shook his head and said, "It looks hopeless, brother."
"I guess so." Lin Heng nodded. He had also tried the teasing fishing method, but it was completely useless.
If it hadn't been raining, he would have wanted to change places.
"Forget it, forget it, let's go back and warm ourselves by the fire, we can't bear it any longer."
After fishing for another ten minutes, Lin Heng shook his head and said, "The wind is so strong by the river that people are frozen like fools."
"Hey! There's a fish!"
However, when he lifted the rod, he suddenly felt a heavy weight and had no idea when he caught the fish.
"Why didn't I get on?" Lin Yue pulled up his pole and asked in confusion.
After a while, Lin Heng pulled up the fish, a large silver-white crucian carp weighing eight or nine taels.
Lin Heng burst out laughing. "Not bad. I can make a dish. I'm not empty-handed today."
"Do you want to continue?" Lin Yue looked at him and asked.
"No more fishing, no more fishing. I'll get some pig liver and set up traps to catch yellow croaker someday."
Lin Heng shook his head and said that yellow croaker, like catfish, has no bones and tender meat, making it suitable for Xiulan and Xiaoxia to eat.
Moreover, this thing has no resistance to liver and other things. If you use pig liver to set up a ground trap, it can burst the cage in one go.
But these days, generally no one is willing to use pig liver to catch fish.
"Let's go." Lin Yue didn't want to fish anymore, so they went back to the store, warmed themselves by the fire, and chatted with Grandpa Gao and Wang Zhou.
Not long after we warmed up, the sound of a truck engine was heard outside.
"Boss Li, long time no see." Lin Heng came out and greeted.
"It's been a long time since we last met. I wish you great prosperity." Li Guoqiang said with a smile.
The two chatted for a few words and then began to unload the goods, because Li Guoqiang had been told in advance that he was bringing a lot of goods this time.
After unloading here, we drove directly to Hongfeng Village and unloaded the goods at his eldest brother's house.
When the goods were being unloaded, many people in the village came to watch. They had known for a long time that Lin Yue's family was planning to open a convenience store, so they all came to watch.
Lin Yue also followed Lin Heng's instructions and spread the news of the grand opening sale, with daily necessities being one or two cents cheaper than in town.
The distance is short and there are discounts, so villagers come to buy on the spot. It is too far to go to the town, but there is a small store in the village. As long as the price is not too high, everyone is willing to come and spend money.
Lin Heng gave some brief instructions and then went home with the fish, a box of crayons, and a bunch of photo frames.
Inside the house, Xiulan had already made the cake and was kneading the dough to make longevity noodles for Xiaoxia. She saw Lin Heng coming back with a fish and was surprised, "You caught a fish today."
"I almost froze to death. I only caught this one fish in an hour. I'll have to use ground traps every day." Lin Heng shook his head.
"Then you should go to the fireplace and warm yourself up." Xiulan pointed at the fireplace and asked, "Is the store at Big Brother's house ready?"
"It's done, but they don't plan on having a grand opening ceremony. They'll just treat us to a meal tomorrow and that'll be it." Lin Heng nodded.
"Oh, that's good." Xiulan nodded.
After they finished lighting the fire, it was time for lunch. Xiulan cooked rice and stir-fried shredded potatoes and bacon.
After dinner, they were busy making dumplings in the afternoon. Today was not only Xiaoxia’s birthday, but also the Lantern Festival.
Lin's mother also came early to help.
It is not difficult to make glutinous rice balls. Just add glutinous rice flour and water to knead into dough, and then wrap it with red bean paste you make yourself.
It is not difficult to make red bean paste. Boil the soaked red beans in water, then crush them and put them into the pot. Add white sugar and vegetable oil and stir constantly until it becomes a paste.
After finishing, Xiulan fried other dishes and cooked some roe deer ribs with lotus root, chestnuts and yam.
Lin Heng didn't help with cooking in the afternoon, so he asked Caiyun to help him hang the family portrait on the wall of the living room.
I put some other paintings into photo frames and placed them in the bedroom or the study.
The photos had been developed a long time ago, but the photo frame was only received today. With a few photos, the room felt more like home. When he was working on it, his parents and Xiaoxia looked at the photos curiously. This was also a very novel thing for them.
“It’s time to eat!”
When the meal was ready, Xiulan called out.
“Here it comes!”
Lin Heng and Caiyun both stood up to help serve the dishes.
When the food was served, Xiulan brought a small bowl of longevity noodles to Xiaoxia and said with a smile, "This is longevity noodles made for the little birthday girl. Eat it quickly. After eating it, you will be healthy and free from troubles."
"Okay, thank you, Mom!"
Xiaoxia smiled happily, picked up the chopsticks and finished the small bowl of longevity noodles that Xiulan cooked for her in one go.
"Come here, this is grandpa's gift to the little birthday girl." Father Lin took out a set of small wooden shovels he had made. He made them for Xiaoxia to dig sand for fun.
"I made a small sachet for Xiaoxia, wishing her peace and happiness in growing up." Mother Lin took out a pink round embroidered sachet and gave it to Xiaoxia to wear. There was also a peace charm inside, which she had obtained at the temple.
Caiyun gave her a painting she had drawn, which showed a big golden cat, and it was also colored.
Lin Heng gave her a new box of crayons, and Xiulan made her a little white rabbit doll.
Although birthday rituals such as blowing out candles and making wishes have become popular in major cities in China, Lin Heng thought about it and decided not to try this novel pose.
"Wow, I love my birthday, thank you grandpa, grandma, aunt, and mom and dad!"
Xiaoxia danced with joy and kissed everyone on the face. She was so happy celebrating her birthday.
"Okay, let's eat too!"
After celebrating Xiaoxia’s birthday, everyone also celebrated the Lantern Festival and had a great time eating and drinking.
The delicacies include braised bear bones, boiled roe deer ribs, fried shrimps, braised crucian carp, as well as cold coriander and spinach, and some braised meats for the Chinese New Year.
Although we have eaten a lot of delicious food during the Chinese New Year, everyone can feel sincere satisfaction and happiness every time we eat it.
We have only lived a good life for a year or two and are not tired of delicious food yet.
With the final bowl of sweet wine dumplings, the Lantern Festival party came to an end.
During this period, they often ate roe deer and bear meat. Both the parents and Lin Heng Xiulan could clearly feel that they were in better health and had more strength than before.
Especially Lin's father and mother, they originally had sallow complexions and looked like they were in their fifties although they were in their early forties.
In the past two years, Lin Heng has been providing me with delicacies from mountains and rivers, and recently, precious bear meat and roe deer meat. I have suddenly become more than ten years younger.
My skin has become whiter, and all the minor ailments in my body have disappeared. I feel like I have endless energy to work.
These wild delicacies from the mountains are very good for health. Seeing his family getting healthier and healthier, Lin Heng feels a great sense of accomplishment.
He decided to go for a run in the mountains again soon to see if he could gain anything else.
After dinner, Lin's father and mother returned to Hongfeng Mountain. It was necessary to live there, as the cattle, sheep and musk deer were all extremely valuable properties.
Lin Heng and Xiulan cleaned up the dishes, while Xiaoxia was still looking at her toys, talking to Xiongba Jinbao beside her. Compared to red envelopes, she liked these small gifts more.
Xiongba was busy digging holes in his work, while Jinbao narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiaoxia showing off with an expressionless face.
The next morning, after breakfast, the eldest brother next door set off firecrackers simply to celebrate, without holding a banquet.
Lin Heng had nothing to do in the morning, so he took Xiongba and a bow and arrow to check out the rapeseed and wheat fields near the village.
There is no food in the mountains during this period, so herbivores such as wild boars and deer will come down the mountain to steal rapeseed and wheat, and you might be able to catch them.
I just ran around for three hours this morning and didn't catch anything.
He had lunch at his eldest brother's house at noon. After lunch, Lin Heng drove the car onto the road and connected the family's wooden cart to the back.
There were three large 50-liter water tanks on the wooden cart.
"Let's go, let's go."
Put on your rain boots, Lin Heng shouted.
"You two sit in the front, and I'll sit in the back." Father Lin said while sitting on the wooden cart in the back.
"good!"
After agreeing, Lin Heng started the car and drove towards Heihe after his elder brother got in.
Although I didn't bring Xiongba, I did bring a bow and a hunting rifle.
Their purpose was to catch black carp in the upper reaches of the Heihe River, and they brought oxygen cylinders with them, intending to catch them alive.
The timing for fishing was not good last summer. The hot weather not only made transportation difficult, but the fish also hid in deep, cooler waters, so we didn't catch many big ones.
But now it is different. This is the time when the mullets return to spawn, and they will all swim back to the end of the river.
As long as you find a suitable place, it will be much easier to catch.
At night, fish are clumsy in their movements, which is a good time to catch them.
Although the weather was still cold, they still decided to give it a try tonight.
After driving for more than 40 minutes, we arrived at Heihe, and then went up along the dirt road along the river.
After walking for two hours, I finally reached the end at 5:30 in the afternoon and found a suitable location.
"This is a good place. There should be hope. Let's go down and take a look."
Lin Heng said while looking at the river in the distance.
The flow of the Heihe River has become much smaller here, and the place they chose is an area with wide currents, where the water is shallow and it is easier to catch fish.
We got off the car and walked to the riverbed. The water depth at the edge of this area was more than ten centimeters, and the water depth in the middle area was about half a meter.
At this moment, they hardly saw any plum fish, but as they went further down, they could occasionally see a few plum fish in the river, which made them feel hopeful.
"It's here. There are people too far below, many of them fishing. I guess there aren't many people in this section." Father Lin nodded.
(End of this chapter)
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