Chapter 83 Dragon and Phoenix Soup and Starry Sky Drink
"Thank goodness you are nearby, otherwise I, an old man, would have died here." Tian Baishun grinned when he saw Lin Heng coming over.
"How can you still laugh at this time?" Lin Heng shook his head, tied the 'pot vine' he had just cut on the road to the tree, and threw it over.
He only brought a small section of rope, and left the rest at the shelter because he felt he would not need it.
"It's because you came that I can laugh, otherwise I would still be crying." Tian Baishun chuckled.
"Pass it under your armpits, wrap it around twice and tie it up, and I will pull you out." Lin Heng shook his head and said to Old Man Tian.
"Okay, be careful not to step on the wrong thing." Tian Baishun reminded, took the vine, tied it around his armpits twice, and then held the vine tightly.
“Push harder!!”
Lin Heng shouted and pulled hard, and Old Man Tian also tried his best, but both of them underestimated the power of the swamp.
Old man Tian failed to pull, and Lin Heng was pulled over instead.
"No, wait for me to think of a way." Lin Heng loosened the rope and shook his head.
Turning his head to look at a willow tree as thick as a bowl not far away, he took out the rope from the backpack and tied it to the vine, lengthened it, then wrapped it around the willow tree and pulled it tight.
This willow tree is equivalent to a fixed pulley, which can save half the effort.
"Try again, try harder." This time, Lin Heng moved his body from shoulders to armpits two more times.
"One, two, three, hard!"
With an angry shout, Lin Heng stepped on the tree with one foot and pulled the rope back. This time, Tian Baishun finally moved a little.
“Come again!!”
Lin Heng growled again, using all his strength to suck.
"ah!!"
Tian Baishun also pulled hard, and his body finally came out little by little.
"Huh, I'm finally fucking out." With most of his body above the swamp, Tian Baishun took a deep breath.
"Wait a minute, I'll bring this stupid dog out too, it's not buried deep."
Tian Baishun said this, reached out and grabbed the dog's front legs and pulled it out.
Fortunately, the dog was relatively light and the force was applied over a large area, so it was easily pulled out.
Holding the dog with one hand, he grabbed the shotgun with the other hand and said to Lin Heng, "Pull it."
Lin Heng pulled it back with force. As long as it was no longer in the swamp, it wouldn't take much effort to pull it back.
"How on earth did you fall in? Why didn't you fire a gun the first time?"
Lin Heng pulled him ashore and asked curiously.
“I saw a civet cat and I was careless when I chased it without paying attention to my steps.
After it fell in, the gun's cannon got wet and couldn't fire."
Tian Baishun said with lingering fear.
After saying that, he suddenly knelt down again and kowtowed three times to Lin Heng.
Lin Heng quickly pulled him back: "What are you doing?"
"If you hadn't come here today, I would have died here. I should kowtow to you.
When I return, I will bring gifts to thank you in person, and I will also ask the temple to erect a monument for you."
Tian Baishun said solemnly.
Lin Heng pulled him up and waved his hand: "Don't bother with these nonsense. If you saw me fall in, you would definitely save me."
"That's what I said, but I must repay you for saving my life, otherwise I will really become a beast."
Old Man Tian was very stubborn and refused to listen to Lin Heng.
Lin Heng waved his hand: "Let's talk about it later. Let's go back first. It's been dark for a while. My uncle and the others must be worried."
He turned around, picked up his things and walked out.
"Alas, old man, I was blinded by an eagle and my shoes were wet."
Old Man Tian shook his head, sighed, glanced at the spotted dog who had stood up, and followed Lin Heng with his gun.
The two men groped along the stream for more than forty minutes before returning to the shelter.
"What's wrong with you?"
Lin Heng's uncle and younger uncle-in-law had been looking for the two of them for a long time, and when they saw the flashlight, they hurried over.
"Old Man Tian, did you fall into the mud?" Uncle Lu Honghai shone the flashlight and saw Tian Baishun covered in smelly mud.
"Stop talking. I almost died in the mud. If it wasn't for Lin Heng, I wouldn't have come back. He heard a dog barking on his way back and saved me."
Tian Baishun shook his head, sat by the stream and began to take off his clothes.
"You old man, you are so careless. Fortunately, Lin Heng saved you. Otherwise, if you died, the villagers would say that we are the last of our family."
Uncle Li Baiquan smiled and said, "And why don't you build a monument for Lin Heng to repay him?"
"Do you even need to tell me that? I will definitely repay you when I get back. Stop taking pictures. I'm about to take off my pants."
"Hehe, I don't even want to see your little bird." Li Baiquan laughed and turned off the flashlight.
But everyone stayed. The old man had just come out of the mud, and everyone was worried that something might happen to him.
He washed his body and clothes, and then washed his gun, pouring out the gunpowder and other things, which were all wet and useless.
"Uncle, please help me peel this squirrel." Lin Heng threw the squirrel to his uncle.
While Tian Baishun was taking a shower, he set up two traps nearby and used some snake intestines as bait.
"Let's go, let's eat something good to warm ourselves up. I almost couldn't have this dragon and phoenix soup."
Tian Baishun came ashore wearing only a pair of grey shorts and complained.
"It's because you, old man, don't do good deeds and insist on eating snakes. Now you're getting your retribution." Li Baiquan joked with Tian Baishun all the way, making the old man want to hit him twice.
This is totally normal. This old man usually has a sharp tongue. Now that he has been caught, Li Baiquan will definitely repay him.
Back in the shelter, Old Man Li hung his clothes on a tree trunk to dry, and sat by the fire in just his shorts to warm himself.
The golden rooster and black-banded snake in the pot had been stewed before they went hunting. Uncle Lin Heng ordered more water twice when he came back. The aroma of the meat was already overflowing, making people's appetites grow.
"Damn it, let's cook the Prince ginseng as well, to nourish our body." Tian Baishun threw the Prince ginseng he had dug to Li Baiquan and asked him to wash it.
"Hehe, that's great. I just added some wild taro in it."
Li Baiquan smiled and walked towards the stream with the Prince ginseng.
"I have some astragalus and mushrooms here. Uncle, please wash them together."
Lin Heng took out a small piece of astragalus and some chanterelles he had picked.
"Hey, this pot of soup will add ten years to your life." Li Baiquan said jokingly, took the things out, washed them, and threw them into the pot.
"Just stew it for a while and it will be ready to eat. I brought some chili peppers." Lin Heng's uncle Lu Honghai took out a bottle of chili peppers with oil and two steamed buns.
"I have fermented tofu with chili peppers." Lin Heng also took out his own fermented tofu.
He took the cup and scooped some soup and tasted it.
“Delicious!”
Fresh and fragrant, the aroma of meat fills the lips and teeth.
"Come, drink!"
Tian Baishun took out a wine bag made of red squirrel skin and handed it to Lin Heng.
Lin Heng finished the soup, poured a little wine into it, and handed it to his uncle-in-law and uncle.
"Come on, drink!!"
Seeing that everyone had wine, Old Man Tian poured himself some and raised it to clink glasses with the four others.
Bang!
The white porcelain jars made a crisp sound as they collided with each other, and the four of them drank facing the moon on this empty white stone beach.
In the sky, the crescent moon hangs high, the Milky Way hangs upside down, on the ground, the mountain stream gurgles, and the mountain breeze caresses gently. There is quite an atmosphere for drinking in such an environment.
"Lin Heng, my benefactor, I, the old man, would like to offer you a toast alone."
Tian Baishun picked up the cup again and said.
"Drink!" Lin Heng said only one word, clinked glasses with him and took a sip.
After taking two sips of wine, Uncle Lin Heng took the pot down, turned the lid upside down, and took out the golden rooster first.
"Just tear it with your hands." Li Baiquan said, and first tore a chicken leg for Lin Heng.
Lin Heng took it and took a bite first. It was incredibly delicious even without dipping it in chili. The chicken leg was completely stewed and he tore off most of it in one bite.
"Delicious!" My uncle tore off a piece, dipped it in some chili, and praised it.
"Old man, let me have one too." Tian Baishun pulled another chicken leg.
But the gradually colder mountain wind at night made him shiver a little.
"Here, put on my coat." Lu Honghai took off his coat and handed it to Old Man Tian.
"Thank you." Tian Baishun quickly took it and put it on, and immediately felt much better.
In this way, the four people ate meat and chatted.
After finishing the chicken, the snake meat was taken out. The snake meat was even softer and more rotten. The flesh and bones could be separated with a slight tear. It tasted very delicious when dipped in chili.
Whether it is golden chicken or snake meat, they both taste better than poached chicken. All ingredients are pure natural and pollution-free, and many Chinese medicinal materials and mushrooms are added, which makes them nourishing, nutritious and delicious.
After finishing the meat, Lin Heng was the first to scoop up a cup of soup and drink it. He felt that it was the best delicacy in the world when eaten with steamed buns.
After eating and drinking, the four of them had full stomachs.
Lin Heng lay down contentedly, resting his head on his hands and staring at the starry sky in a daze.
My uncle-in-law Li Baiquan was eating the remaining taro, and my uncle Lu Honghai went straight back to the shelter to take a nap.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, who fired that shot this afternoon?" Lin Heng just remembered this matter at this time, raised his head and asked.
"I shot it, it was a white rice cat (civet cat), but it was on top of a tree, I didn't hit it, it ran away."
Li Baiquan said helplessly.
"In fact, the tree is not very tall, only about ten meters, but it is hidden in the branches, and the ball bearings are blocked by the branches."
Li Baiquan added another sentence.
"That's a shame. A piece of white rice husk can be sold for twenty or thirty yuan."
Lin Heng sighed.
"Yeah, what a pity." Li Baiquan shook his head regretfully.
Then everyone suddenly fell silent again.
Lin Heng was looking at the starry sky and thinking about his wife and daughter. He didn't know what other people were thinking.
"Alas, it seems that I am almost really old. I will have to go hiking less often in the future."
Suddenly Tian Baishun sighed and said.
He leaned against a rock, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest and greasy and stuck to his scalp.
His square face was full of wrinkles, his nose was a little sunken, and his eyes looked cloudy and dim, with only a glimmer of light visible from time to time.
"I am fifty-eight this year, old man. I will be sixty soon. I will stop after two more years."
Tian Baishun sighed and said while looking at the starry sky.
"You must have saved a lot of money from hunting. Why don't you find a wife to live with and cook for you?"
Li Baiquan responded.
"This asshole wants to control me? Impossible, I, an old man, will die alone!!"
Tian Baishun snorted coldly.
He looked at the sky in silence for a while and then spoke again: "I remember going to Shanghai when I was young. The women there were so beautiful and dressed so coquettishly.
At that time, I was thinking that I would definitely be able to make a name for myself, become a big boss, and have beautiful women around me.
As a result, he worked as a laborer at the dock for several years, went to the theater only once every few months, and occasionally helped poor women.
Even if I haven't made it, I've at least seen the world. You want me to marry Murakami's ugly woman? That's impossible."
"Then why did you run back to the village to hunt? Don't you want to continue living in Shanghai?" Li Baiquan felt that the old man was bragging.
"Alas, it's boring to be out there all the time, I just want to be with the mountains and spend some leisure time.
Hey, you know what, I am very free without a wife and children. I can feed my whole family if I am full. "
Old Man Tian chuckled.
Lin Heng glanced at him and said, "I'm afraid you got cheated in business and lost all your money.
Then I returned to the village and found that the woman I loved before had also married someone else. "
Old Man Tian: “…”
Li Baiquan: "Hahahaha, that's what I said."
Old Man Tian's face darkened: "How did you know that? You should not expose someone's shortcomings, don't you know? If you hadn't saved my life, I would have shot you."
Lin Heng shook his head and went back to the shelter to rest. He found a piece of film and spread it on the grass he had cut during the day and soon fell asleep.
"Old man Tian, I heard that you often harm the women in the village. Is it true?" Li Baiquan was still awake and started chatting.
"Bullshit, what do you mean by scourge? Those women volunteered, and I didn't do it with a married woman. I don't want to be beaten to death."
"Hey, look, I don't believe it!"
…
…
I don't know how long they talked. In the end, Li Baiquan fell asleep. Only Old Man Tian was left leaning on a rock, looking at the sky and roasting the fire that was almost going out. He seemed to be feeling sad about the passing of time.
Lin Heng fell asleep quickly after lying down. It was a little cold in the mountains at night. He woke up from the cold once and had to get some grass to cover himself to warm himself up.
The next morning, just after five o'clock in the morning, Lin Heng got up.
"Where is my uncle?" Lin Heng got up and found that his uncle Lu Honghai was no longer in the shelter.
"He got up before dawn." Tian Baishun huddled in the haystack, hugging the spotted dog, and said with a dry nose.
"Come on, Lin Heng, let's go search the mountain together. Morning is also a good time for hunting."
Li Baiquan got up and said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll go see if I got anything out of that Yama hanging I made last night."
Lin Heng put on his shoes and walked out.
"Old Man Tian, aren't you going to get up?" Lin Heng turned around and asked.
"No, take a rest. Yesterday almost cost me my life."
Old Man Tian shook his head and looked at Lin Heng again: "How did you know that I was cheated in business last night?"
Lin Heng glanced at him and spread his hands, "You can come back to the village if you are not desperate?"
He could guess the ending just by hearing the beginning.
"Hehe, you're right. I, an old man, was deceived by a damn woman." Old man Tian sighed and even laughed.
Without chatting with him, Lin Heng walked out with his uncle and went to take a look at the Yama hanging he had made.
The first one was intact from a distance and there was no movement, but the snake's internal organs were gone.
"It should be stuck!" Li Baiquan walked over and tried the trap, and it was indeed stuck.
"Let's go watch the second one. I got three down in total." Lin Heng said as he put the rope away.
"There is something in the second one, it seems to be a weasel." Li Baiquan saw the weasel hanging in the air from a distance.
"Damn, now the rope stinks." Lin Heng was speechless. This thing stinks too much. He has no interest in it at all.
I walked over to take a look and found that the Yanwang Diao lived up to its name. The weasel was hanged to death with a noose around its head.
"Forget it, I'll collect it when I come back." Lin Heng shook his head, too lazy to collect it.
I went to check out the third one, but there was still nothing. The snake's internal organs were still there, so it seemed that no animals had visited.
"Uncle, follow me. I found a good thing yesterday. Let's go take a look." Lin Heng turned his head and looked at Li Baiquan.
"What good stuff?" Li Baiquan asked hurriedly.
"I'll tell you if I find it. If I can't find it, forget it." Lin Heng smiled and shook his head.
"Still keeping us in suspense. It could be a muntjac, a badger, or a wild boar. Could it be a golden monkey or a takin?"
Li Baiquan looked at Lin Heng and guessed.
Seeing that Lin Heng didn't say anything, Li Baiquan guessed again: "It's none of these. Could it be a clouded leopard or a black bear? Giant pandas can't be killed. They have been protected for more than 1970 years."
"Uncle, don't guess. You'll know what it is when you encounter it." Lin Heng smiled and shook his head.
"Okay, let's go then."
Li Baiquan and Lin Heng distanced themselves from each other and moved forward at the same pace.
Lin Heng no longer felt weak today, and even felt quite energetic. It seemed to be due to the Dragon and Phoenix Soup he drank last night, which was really nourishing enough.
The two searched all the way and soon arrived at the location where Lin Heng found the musk deer yesterday, but still found nothing.
"What did you discover yesterday?" Li Baiquan asked again.
"It's a female musk deer. I was wondering if there are any male ones nearby. I'd be rich if I could kill one," said Lin Heng.
“It’s actually this thing.”
Li Baiquan was shocked and shook his head: "I guess there is no hope. This thing is very magical. I have encountered one before.
It ran away before I even got close to it. I searched for it many times afterwards but couldn't find it. This thing won't stay in one place for long."
Lin Heng didn't quite agree with this and shook his head, saying, "Let's look for it again."
"Then let's spread out a little more." Li Baiquan said, and walked towards another ridge.
Lin Heng continued to move forward. He felt that he would gain more rewards on the ridge near Sanchagou.
"Ganoderma lucidum again. I want musk deer."
After walking a few hundred meters, he saw two red Ganoderma lucidum. Lin Heng shook his head and picked them.
It seemed that the musk deer sensed his malice yesterday and didn't even notice a hair this morning.
Lin Heng did not give up and continued to move forward. In a blink of an eye, he walked four or five kilometers and arrived at the upper reaches of Sanchagou.
The mountains in this place are steep, with exposed gray-white stone everywhere. In the distance, a stream flows down from the mountain, filled with mist. The golden sunlight shines through, forming several beautiful rainbows.
"That's a badger!!"
Lin Heng suddenly discovered something. Under the bushes on the south side of the waterfall, a wild boar was digging for food with its butt facing outwards, and it didn't notice him at all.
"How do we get down here?"
Lin Heng was very anxious. The farthest distance in the world is when you are on the mountain and your prey is at the foot of the mountain.
The mountain was nearly eighty or ninety degrees steep and there were no trees growing on it. For a moment he couldn't find the way down.
After searching for a long time, I couldn't find a way and watched the badger disappear into the bushes.
"The second one!" Lin Heng was furious. How could this be? He was allowed to see it but not given a chance to attack.
The musk deer is fine, after all, he was discovered first. But he really felt that he had a chance with the badger, but he just couldn't find the way down.
It’s such a high mountain, you can’t just jump off it.
"Um?"
Lin Heng's eyes suddenly moved. He didn't find the way down the mountain, but he saw a piece of good stuff growing on the cliff.
"Am I only compatible with plants recently?" Lin Heng didn't know what to say.
Although the prey you want cannot be caught, the medicinal herbs that you don’t specifically look for always appear in your sight.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
