Chapter 60: Thornyberry and Beggar's Chicken [Fourth Update]
At 4:30 in the afternoon, the setting sun dyed the clouds golden and refracted from the west of Baishigou, warm but not hot, bright but not dazzling.
The wide river valley of Baishigou is lined with green trees on both sides, as if it is a paradise on earth. A small mountain stream jumps happily in the canyon, and the clear and melodious water flow and the whistling breeze are like a moving melody.
There are scattered white rocks and a small amount of soft sand along the stream.
Lin Heng and Xiulan sat with their backs to the stream. The green whiskers in their hands were crackling in the fire. The feathers melted quickly in the flames, emitting a burnt smell like burning nails.
The remaining debris curled up against the skin and flesh, making the roasted bird, which should have been beautiful, become dark and dull.
“Ouch~~”
Xiulan was doubting whether it was really edible after being roasted like this. Xiongba was swaying back and forth at the edge of the fire, with his mouth open and his tail wagging, his drool almost all over the floor.
"Okay, these three are ready!"
Lin Heng handed two of them to Xiulan, took one himself, and used a hatchet to scrape off the charred feather debris stuck to his fur.
Suddenly, the golden fur was revealed. Then the belly was cut open, and the cooked internal organs were gently picked out and thrown to Xiongba. A roasted bird with the aroma of meat was ready to be eaten.
Lin Heng tore off half of it first, took out the salt and pepper he had packed at home, mixed them together, dipped a little, and took a bite, immediately revealing a satisfied smile.
The meat of the bird is so delicate and soft that even the bones can be chewed and eaten, just like a baby pigeon, but with a stronger chewiness than a baby pigeon.
“It’s really delicious, try it!”
Lin Heng tore off a piece, dipped it in a little chili powder and fed it to Xiulan.
Xiulan opened her red lips, took it, chewed it twice and couldn't help blinking: "I didn't expect it to be so good."
"Here, the remaining half is for you, and I'll deal with the remaining two." Lin Heng gave the remaining half to Xiulan.
When Lin Heng took out the second green-bearded turtle's innards and threw them to Xiongba, he found that it had not even eaten the first innards, but was staring at the chili powder.
"Silly dog, you can't eat that!" Lin Heng was helpless. It wasn't good that the dog was too smart and wanted to try everything.
“Woof woof!”
Xiong Ba was not convinced. Why can you eat it but I can't? "Xiu Lan, sprinkle some chili powder on it." Lin Heng glanced at the silly dog and said.
Xiulan sprinkled some chili powder on it, and Xiongba ate it in one bite.
A-choo! As soon as it put the food in its mouth, it sneezed and ran to the stream to drink the water.
"You're not going to eat now?"
Lin Heng shook his head helplessly, gave the processed bird meat to Xiulan, rinsed the internal organs in the stream, and threw them to Xiongba.
This time it ate obediently, but the look it gave Lin Heng and Xiulan became strange, as if to say, "You humans are eating real flowers."
"Open your mouth!"
Xiulan handed a piece of meat to Lin Heng's mouth.
Lin Heng smiled and opened his mouth to eat. He grilled the meat while Xiulan took the grilled meat and they ate slowly, taking a bite each.
When I was thirsty, I would fold a tung leaf into a spoon and scoop up the cool stream water to drink, and have a bite of steamed corn bread from time to time. My life was very comfortable.
Green-bearded Diaozi and his companion ate four of them, and gave the remaining six to Xiongba.
"Turtledove, let's be beggar chickens."
Lin Heng roasted off the turtledove's feathers, took out the internal organs, cleaned them, rubbed salt on them, picked some mountain pepper and put it into the stomach, then wrapped it with leaves and then with yellow mud, and threw it into the fire to burn.
"I found some early thornberries. Let's put them in there too."
Before Lin Heng's second turtledove was covered in mud, Xiulan brought back a handful of barberry and handed it to Lin Heng like a treasure.
"nice one."
Lin Heng's eyes lit up. This was one of his favorite wild fruits in the mountains. It tasted great and usually ripened around the Dragon Boat Festival. There were still more than twenty days before the Dragon Boat Festival, so it was normal to find it.
He quickly pried open the dove's belly, took out the mountain pepper inside, and motioned to Xiulan to throw the blackberries in.
Xiulan kept three to feed Lin Heng, and threw the rest into the turtledove's stomach, which was then wrapped up by Lin Heng and made into beggar's chicken.
"I also saw some goat's milk, but unfortunately it was still green." Xiulan said with regret.
She just finished eating green radish and started wandering around.
"It's okay, there should be more blackberries nearby. Let's go find some more." Lin Heng said with a smile. Blackberries like to grow by the riverside, so there must be some nearby.
"good!"
Xiulan nodded and went to look for blackberries with Lin Heng.
“Ouch~”
Xiongba was a little full after eating the green beard fish, so he lay on a rock to bask in the sun. When he saw the two people leave, he just raised his head and shouted symbolically, then lowered his head and continued to sleep.
When it feels hot, it goes to take a bath in the water, and then comes back to continue basking in the sun. Its main purpose is to relax.
“Sure enough, there are still many.”
Xiulan smiled happily and was extremely happy looking at the several cranberry trees in front of her.
"We picked the thornberries, put them by the creek, and ate them while we soaked our feet."
Lin Heng suggested.
Xiulan blinked and nodded: "Okay."
While picking cranberries, Lin Heng happened to see a camellia tree next to him with bright white flowers in bloom, and he couldn't help but reach out and pick a few.
"Xiu Lan!" Lin Heng called.
"what?"
As soon as Xiulan turned her head, Lin Heng handed her the snow-white camellia.
"For you." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Xiulan was stunned for a moment, then turned her head away: "Plug it in for me."
"Okay." Lin Heng smiled and put the words into his wife's head.
He remembered the first time he saw Xiulan in Lushui County. She was selling dried tofu, and then she was tricked into buying him a bouquet of camellia flowers.
"nice!"
With a flower in her hair, Xiulan looks more elegant.
Xiulan blinked, said nothing, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
The two picked more than half a pound of cranberries and came to the stream.
Lin Heng found a small pool with soft and fine sand at the bottom, and found two stone slabs and placed them on the shore as benches.
The two took off their shoes and soaked their feet in the water. The water was not deep, only about fifteen centimeters, and stepping on the soft sand felt like massaging the feet.
Xiulan's pair of beautiful legs swayed slightly in the water, her skin was delicate and white, and she ate cranberries like a little girl, eating one for herself and feeding one to Lin Heng.
In fact, this is true. Although Xiulan is one year older than Lin Heng, she is only 21 years old this year. In later generations, people of this age would still be in college, but in this era, she has to bear the burden of life so early.
During this rare leisure time, she showed her childish side, playing with her feet in the water with a smile on her face from time to time.
"I'm going to see if the beggar's chicken is ready."
There was still a handful of blackberries left. Lin Heng noticed that the last fire he had set up had gone out, so he walked over to check if they were ripe.
(End of this chapter)
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