Chapter 78 Bang Bang Bang!
I don’t know how long I sat in the rocking chair. Happy times are always so short.
"You take your daughter to play first, I'll go prepare the food for lunch."
After playing for a while, Xiulan got up from the chair.
"Okay, I'll help you in a moment."
Lin Heng nodded.
I played with my daughter for a while and stopped when the sun became dazzling.
"Bang, bang, shake!"
Xiaoxia didn't want to get down, so she grabbed Lin Heng's hand and shook it like a spoiled child.
"Hahaha, then play for a while longer." Lin Heng couldn't bear to refuse his precious daughter.
After playing for a while, he took Xiaoxia to feed the fish and finally persuaded her to stop sitting in the rocking chair for the time being.
I grabbed a handful of wheat bran and put it in. Fish swam towards me in groups, making the little girl giggle.
"Bang, bang, shake!"
After feeding the fish, Xiaoxia was thinking about sitting in the rocking chair again.
Lin Heng was helpless. He tried to pull her away but she just stood there stubbornly.
If you let go of her hand, she will run to the Yaoyi by herself again.
"Come on, let me find another place to rock you."
Lin Heng coaxed his daughter and picked her up.
When he arrived at the main room, he took out the basket from that day and used a rope to pass through the pillow to make a makeshift cradle.
When Xiaoxia was put inside, she started laughing again, and made excited sounds of "oh oh" when it was shaken.
Children's happiness is so simple.
With a creak, the gate of the yard was pushed open, and then a cute head poked out from the edge of the screen: "Second brother, do you welcome me?"
Lin Heng smiled and glanced at Caiyun: "If I say you are not welcome, will you leave?"
"I originally wanted to help my second brother take care of the baby, but I didn't expect you to be so unkind. I'll just leave now."
Xiaoxia pretended to be angry and retracted her head.
It seemed that after she found that she could continue studying, she became much more cheerful.
Lin Heng ignored her and continued to help Xiulan pick vegetables, preparing to entertain guests at noon.
Soon, Caiyun came in from behind the screen again, looked at Xiulan and said, "Sister-in-law, although my second brother is unkind, you should still welcome me. I will help you."
"Of course, I definitely welcome you and will help you beat him." Xiulan smiled and patted Lin Heng.
Caiyun smiled even more brightly: "Sister-in-law is still the best. She loves her sister much more than her brother does."
She came over and teased Xiaoxia first, then touched her little face and said, "Call me auntie."
"Coo-coo, shake!"
Caiyun had taught her this word many times, and Xiaoxia had memorized it.
"Okay, let's shake it." Caiyun smiled and pushed the basket and shook it.
"Brother, have they finished drinking?" Lin Heng asked while picking vegetables.
"Not yet. They are playing finger-guessing games. It may take a while. I came out after eating." Caiyun shook her head.
Lin Heng nodded, not surprised. Drinking and bragging were among the few entertainment activities in the countryside.
The vegetables they picked were mainly early-ripening tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans, as well as some ferns picked by Lin's mother in the morning and a few bamboo shoots from their own bamboo forest.
By the time they finished all this, the wine next door hadn't been finished yet.
Xiulan scooped some corn and went to the back hill to feed the chickens, while Lin Heng led the sheep to the grassy area at the back and tied them up.
After finishing, they were busy making the beds, while Caiyun took Xiaoxia to play in the backyard.
Although I moved my things in the morning, I didn't put them away.
Lin Heng took out the straw for making the bed and set up a rack in the backyard to dry it in the sun.
In this era, there are no Simmons mattresses in most places, let alone in rural areas.
The old-fashioned wooden beds here are filled with straw underneath, with a piece of cloth on top, a quilt on top, and a bed sheet on top.
As long as you take out the straw and dry it in the sun from time to time, the whole bed will be very soft.
"Please help lift this desk and move it in front of the window sill." Xiulan said.
"Okay." Lin Heng came over to help. His wife had the final say on how to arrange the furniture at home.
The desk was placed in front of the window, and Xiulan placed the dressing table next to the desk. Their bed was horizontally facing the window, with the bow against the east wall, and the wardrobe was inside the bed, facing the window.
"Hubby, all our family's money is in this small box, and now there is a total of 103 yuan in cash.
Seventy yuan of it is what I saved in the past few years, and thirty yuan is what you gave me when you sold the turtle and the eel.
I didn't carry the key to this box with me, but hid it at the foot of the desk."
After moving the things, Xiulan showed a tin box that was ten centimeters long and five centimeters wide. It was filled with valuables, including money and a pair of silver bracelets that her mother gave her as a dowry.
After the show, she locked the box, placed it in a drawer inside the closet, covered it with something, and wrapped the only key in plastic wrap and placed it under the desk.
Before, she was reluctant to tell Lin Heng where he hid the money and the key, because he was too unreliable. If he took the money, if something happened at home, there would be no emergency money at all.
But now, she believes in Lin Heng unconditionally.
"There's no need to tell me. Just save the money I give you." Lin Heng shook his head.
"I must tell you, this is our common property." Xiulan blinked. What she hoped was that the two of them could run the family together instead of managing everything by herself.
"Lin Heng, let's go to the river to shake the fish and catch crabs."
At this time, my uncle's voice came from the front yard.
"I guess he's finished the wine." Lin Heng said and hurried out.
Seeing his uncle and his third father walking in one after the other, he smiled and said, "Sure, are you sure you don't want to take a break before going?"
He didn't care, but he was a little worried that they were drunk and it would be dangerous to go into the river.
"No problem, each person only drinks one pound of wine, it's okay at all." My uncle-in-law waved his hand and said nonchalantly.
"Are my uncle and others going too?" Lin Heng asked again.
"They can't go. They have already fallen asleep at your brother's house and are all drunk." Lin Hengsan's father said with a smile.
"Okay, let me get some tools." Lin Heng turned around and picked up a newly bought bucket of glue. He said something to his wife, then left with his third father and uncle.
Both of them have their big hammers ready, so they can just set off.
"The two of us will catch fish while you catch crabs." When we arrived at the Shiban River, my uncle Li Baiquan said this and then he was the first to go into the river, with his pants and shoes all soaked in the water.
"Let me try him first!"
Bang! Bang!
With a low shout, Lin Heng's uncle swung the hammer and smashed it down hard. First there was a splash of water, then there was a muffled sound, and a stone the size of a washbasin in the water suddenly broke into pieces.
Immediately afterwards, five or six fish turned pale and were directly killed by the shock.
"The effect is pretty good. I'll try it too!" Lin Hengsan's father smiled, found a stone and swung it down.
Pah pah pah!!
"It's great to kill a yellow croaker with the shock!" Sandie picked up a yellow croaker that was more than ten centimeters long from the water and threw it to Lin Heng.
"It's really a good stuff. You guys shake the fish and I'll pick them up." Lin Heng said with a smile.
It’s so much fun playing in the water in the summer. With muffled sounds, Lin Heng happily picked them up from behind.
"I fished for you guys with good intentions that day, but you didn't know how to appreciate it. Now you realize your mistake, right?" Lin Heng looked at the fish in the basin, smiled, shook his head, and let out a sigh.
While picking up fish, he was also catching river crabs. By turning over the small stones in the river, he could see small crabs with black shells. The small ones were only the size of sparrows, and the big ones were as big as fists.
The big ones are usually old crabs, with yellow shells and claws, and are not as delicious as the smaller ones.
When catching crabs, you either do it fast or slow. If you do it in a moderate way, you are more likely to get caught.
If you have quick hands, you can grab the claws and throw it into the bucket before it opens while it is still running away. If you are slow, you will have to grab it from behind, which is not very efficient and is suitable for beginners.
An old hand like Lin Heng naturally relies on his hand speed to make a living. Although he sometimes makes mistakes and gets caught, nine out of ten times he does.
He turned the stone over with one hand and grabbed the crab with the other hand before it could react.
The fish and crabs in the Shiban River have been destroyed time and again by people living on both sides of the river. Fortunately, pesticides are very expensive in this era and no one uses pesticides, so they are available every year.
Around 2000, many small rivers were cleaned up by electricians and fish poisoners, and it took several years for them to recover.
"Is that enough?"
After an hour, my uncle Li Baiquan looked into the bucket.
“That’s enough.”
Lin Heng said that the fish and crabs together filled up nearly half a bucket, about three or four pounds.
"I won't do it anymore." My uncle nodded.
Before they knew it, the three men had been playing in the river for another two hours. The fun of hunting was addictive, just like fishing.
Having said that, he wanted to shake another stone. After shaking this stone, he felt that this fish actually dared to swim in front of him. It was so disrespectful that he had to shake it to death as a lesson.
Anyway, I just can't stop.
"Okay, that's almost it. The buckets are full. It's about ten pounds in total."
There were not only fish and crabs in the bucket, but also a lot of snails picked up by Lin Heng. These were also good things and tasted delicious.
"Okay, let's go back." My uncle-in-law grinned, and he was satisfied.
When they got home, Lin Heng and the other two's clothes had dried and their Liberation shoes were almost dry.
His three uncles were also sober and were chatting in the yard.
Seeing the three people coming back with buckets, his second uncle was the first to praise: "You three have made great contributions. You got so many things."
"Hey, the fish in the river have been very excited these past two days." My uncle-in-law started bragging immediately.
"Let's have some food to go with our drinks later." Lin Heng said with a smile, went into the house, got a wooden basin, and poured the catch into it.
"Get a knife, we'll help you." my uncle shouted.
"Okay." Lin Heng brought two small knives and asked them to handle the crabs and fish.
He picked out the snails and put them into another basin, then scooped up some coarse sand with lots of pebbles and poured it into the basin and shook it vigorously.
This is much faster than brushing, and is the same principle as sandblasting.
After shaking for a few minutes, all the moss on the snail shells disappeared, leaving it clean.
"Lin Heng, your method is clever." His second uncle praised, saying that they used to wash it little by little with a brush and never thought it could be done this way.
"Hey, that just suddenly occurred to me."
Lin Heng smiled, took out the snails and cleaned them, then went into the house to get pliers.
"Just now, Carpenter Liang asked someone to deliver a bamboo basket to our family and eldest brother's family."
Lin Heng entered the room, and Xiulan pointed to the bamboo basket on the cabinet in the main room.
This is made of three millimeter thin bamboo threads, which takes a lot of effort and can basically last for more than ten years. It takes a day to weave one, and it costs two or three yuan each if you sell it.
"This guy is really thoughtful. I thought he was just being polite." Lin Heng was a little surprised, but it was not a big deal. He could just ask him for the next carpentry job.
When he got to the yard, Lin Heng used pliers to handle the snails. He pinched off the pointed end, and the internal organs were pulled out, making it easier for the meat to come out when eaten.
Under the sun, Lin Heng quickly processed the snails, soaked them in salt water and left them there, waiting for his wife to cook them.
"Here, the fish and crabs have been prepared." The uncle-in-law smiled and brought in the fish and crabs and handed them to Lin Heng.
"We have something delicious today." Lin Heng took the fish with a smile. This is a perfect dish to go with wine.
Both grouper and crab can be fried directly, or they can be coated in flour and eggs and fried. The crab shells are crispy after frying, so you can eat them all.
"Then I'll start cooking." Xiulan had also prepared the dishes.
"You do it. I'll go call my brother and mom." Lin Heng nodded, turned around and went out to call people.
Not long after walking out of the door, Lin Heng saw Li Caifeng coming towards him. Just as he was about to say hello, she handed him two bundles of spinach in her hand and spoke first: "Lin Heng, congratulations on your move. My family has grown a lot of spinach, so I pulled some for you."
"Ah, no, no, thank you. I have some at home." Lin Heng waved his hand quickly. He felt that the sun was rising from the west. Li Caifeng actually sent vegetables to his house.
"Oh, it's not a good thing. There's plenty of it in the fields. Just take it." Li Caifeng forced it into Lin Heng's hand.
Just as Lin Heng was about to speak, she added, "Why, you don't look down on me, do you?"
"No, no."
"Then you keep it. I'm going up the hill to look after the cows first."
"Come in and sit for a while."
"No, no, let's do it later. We live close by." Li Caifeng waved her hand and left.
Lin Heng looked at the spinach in his hand in a daze, so he had to turn around and put the spinach down.
Xiulan watched Lin Heng bring back two bundles of spinach and asked curiously, "Where did you get the spinach? I remember we don't grow spinach at home."
"Li Caifeng gave it to me. Don't you think it's weird? No, come here, you dead piston." Lin Heng looked at his hands, not knowing what to say.
"Needless to say, it must be because of you." Xiulan seemed to understand very well.
"Me?" Lin Heng was puzzled.
"Of course, these days when my mom and I walk on the street, people greet us much more enthusiastically."
Xiulan glanced at him and continued, "The reason is too obvious. It's because you beat up Wang Cuilian that the villagers think you are a capable and educated person. They respect and fear you."
Lin Heng was stunned, then laughed: "Well, I didn't even notice that."
There seem to be more people saying hello recently.
If you think about it carefully, it seems to be the same no matter where you are. If you are weak and kind, everyone will shit on you. If you are tough and domineering, you will be respected and feared by others.
Turning around, he went back to the old house to find Lin's mother.
"Mom, where is my dad?" Lin Heng asked his mother who was chopping grass for pigs.
"Your father and your brother went to the field to weed and apply fertilizer to the corn. They will probably be back soon." Lin's mother looked up and said.
"Then I'll wait for my dad, and you can ask my sister-in-law to come over and help cook for Xiulan." Lin Heng said.
"I got it. I'll chop some pig grass and go." Lin's mother said, pointing at the mulberry leaves in the basket.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded and went outside the cowshed to wait for his father.
In that era, chemical fertilizers were not yet popular, and rural areas used farmyard manure. Pig manure or cow manure was used to fertilize corn, and wood ash was used to fertilize sweet potatoes.
This is also one of the reasons why the Lin family’s 30 acres of land can only provide food and clothing for their 11 members every year. The yield is too low.
"Lin Heng, why are you standing here?" Yang Zhaotao walked past him and spoke with a smile.
"Wait for my dad, he went to apply fertilizer." Lin Heng said casually. He felt that Yang Zhaotao's tone had become much more friendly.
After chatting for a few minutes, I even gave him a cigarette.
Lin Heng took the cigarette and asked with a smile: "By the way, do you have Coriolus versicolor at home?"
Yang Zhaotao didn't know why Lin Heng asked this, so he nodded and said, "Yes, I was lucky enough to pick up more than a pound a few days ago. I plan to save more and sell it later."
Lin Heng smiled and said, "Well, you can sell it to me. The Liu family in town charges 80 cents per pound, so I will also accept this price."
"Why are you buying this? Are you going to sell it in the city?" Yang Zhaotao didn't understand. You were selling it at the same price as in town, so you wouldn't make any money unless you sold it in the city.
It is not worthwhile to collect a little and then run into the city.
"You don't have to worry about this. Just promote it to me. I'll take as many as you can. You can bring them all to me to sell. I'll pay you in cash, no delays." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Okay, I got it. I'll promote your product to people I meet later." Yang Zhaotao nodded. He didn't know what was wrong with Lin Heng to do such a thankless job.
He couldn't understand the way rich people did things.
Not long after Yang Zhaotao left, Lin's father and eldest brother Lin Yue came back carrying dung baskets.
"Dad, brother, stop working on it and go over to eat. The meal is already being prepared." Lin Heng said.
"It's okay, we'll pick two more times before going again." Father Lin shook his head and said.
"Yes, it will take a while to eat, don't be in a hurry." Lin Yue also said.
"Well, I'll call you later." Lin Heng was helpless.
Half an hour later, the meal was ready and there was a table full of dishes. Lin's father and eldest brother Lin Yue were also called over.
At the dinner table, Lin Heng first raised his glass and thanked everyone solemnly. These relatives had helped a lot in building the house, and they came to give gifts today. They were really enthusiastic.
As everyone drank a glass of wine, the banquet immediately became lively.
"This crab is so delicious and crispy." said my uncle.
"This snail is more fragrant, spicy and fresh, it's so delicious when you take a bite." His second uncle likes snails better.
Lin Heng also likes the snails. Although there is little meat on them, they taste really good. They are perfect when eaten with wine.
"Uncle, I'll toast you." After eating for a while, Lin Heng raised his glass again and said.
After serving them together, Lin Heng still had to pass a level. Today was at his house and he had to entertain him well. Fortunately, the alcohol content of the wine was not high.
"Come." His uncle ate a crab and picked up the cup with a smile.
After one round, Lin Heng felt dizzy. Lin's father took over the job of entertaining him and continued drinking. Seeing that he could not take it anymore, no one forced him to drink.
Lin Heng sat down and ate crabs and snails, watching everyone chatting and talking, occasionally taking a sip of drink for show of his appreciation.
The drinking session lasted from 5pm to 7:30pm before it was over.
Except for his eldest uncle who had no family and stayed behind to go hunting in the mountains with Lin Heng, everyone else went home.
Lin's mother took Lin Heng's uncle and his father to the old house to rest. The eldest sister-in-law also helped the eldest brother away. Caiyun stayed to take care of Xiaoxia and cleaned the table with Xiulan.
"I'll go get the straw for making the bed, otherwise it'll get damp." Lin Heng said as he stood up.
"You are drunk, I'll get it done later." Xiulan said.
"I'm not drunk. I'm walking in a straight line for you to see. I just started drinking a little." Lin Heng said with a smile. He was very confident in his alcohol tolerance and would never drink himself unconscious.
Success or failure is all in vain, but the green mountains remain.
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(End of this chapter)
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