Chapter 4 Pheasant.
Restraining her excitement, He Susu took the mended shirt to the yard and hung it on the bamboo pole again to dry. She couldn't imagine how disgusted her mother would be when she saw the patches on the clothes, so she went back to her room.
This time I checked "I can redeem" and a lot more things appeared on the screen.
2 points of hard work can be exchanged for one pound of pork, a four-pound pheasant, one pound of leek and meat dumplings, two boxes of canned yellow peaches...
The most suitable dish to share with the family is, of course, the heaviest pheasant. He Susu did not hesitate and exchanged for a four-pound pheasant, clearing out her hard-earned diligence points.
She stored the pheasant in the system's storage compartment, planning to take it out in the afternoon. She chose to exchange the pheasant because it was the easiest thing for her to find an excuse to take back home.
After a nap, the house was empty except He Susu. The adults all went to work, and the children followed them to collect grass for the pigs, or went to the back mountain to try their luck to pick up bird eggs to roast and eat.
She simply packed up and went out.
To get to the back mountain, you have to pass the rice fields in the village. From afar, you can see people working hard, the sun shining on their backs and sweat coming out. Occasionally, someone would look up and see He Susu, and greet her with a smile.
They were all people she had known since childhood in the village, and He Susu smiled and called them uncle and aunt. Her smile was sweet, like a spring breeze, which lifted the spirits of the people working in the fields and made them feel less uncomfortable.
He Susu didn't know, but when she saw her aunts discussing in a low voice, she felt both regretful and relieved.
"Susu is such a pretty girl. I have never seen a prettier girl than her in this area."
"It's a pity that beauty can't be used to make a living. A girl this old doesn't even go out to work. I heard that she doesn't work at home either. What's the point of graduating from high school? She still relies on her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law to support her."
"According to my observation, many young men in the brigade like Susu. It's a pity that marrying a wife is not like marrying a landlord. Who can bear to marry a wife who does not do any work? Chunfeng and others have stopped their sons, fearing that they would have anything to do with the girl."
These aunts shook their heads as they spoke.
There were indeed many young and energetic men in the fields, who were good at bending over to work in the fields, and were fascinated when they looked up and saw the beautiful figure passing by. But they also knew that He Susu was arrogant and usually didn't like them at all, and never even looked at them.
He Susu really didn't care about them. She was only thinking about going to the back mountain and finding a chance to take out the pheasant she had exchanged so that she could have some meat for her family.
When we reached the foot of the mountain, there were children from various families gathered here. Some were carrying bamboo baskets to cut grass for pigs, some were bending down to pick newly grown mushrooms after the rain, and some were young but brave, and were trying to set traps for hunting.
He Susu snorted inwardly. How could there be any prey at the foot of the mountain these days? It was plundered by the people in the brigade a few years ago. I guess the adults also told them that it was dangerous in the back mountain and they were not allowed to go there.
Naturally, she also saw her five nephews and nieces.
Guifang was carrying a bamboo basket and collecting grass for pigs with her younger brother and sister-in-law. She saw her aunt at a glance and came over in surprise: "Aunt, why are you here?"
It was really strange, as she had never seen her aunt working in the fields or at the foot of the mountain.
Guixi and Kerou were six years old, and they were also carrying bamboo baskets specially woven by their grandfather to cut grass for pigs, and earning one or two centimeters was good. Guimian and Kejie were four and three years old respectively, and they were just joining in the fun. They saw the little girls coming over curiously.
He Susu said casually, "I have nothing to do at home, so I came to the back mountain to take a walk. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch a rabbit to eat."
Guifang wanted to say that it was not easy to catch rabbits in the back mountain. They cut grass for pigs at the foot of the mountain every day. If there were any rabbits, they would have caught them long ago. But her sister-in-law was always domineering, so she could not say anything to refute.
He Susu looked at him and said, "Gui Xi, give me your bamboo basket. I can put it in if I find something good later."
Gui Xi was not happy: "But aunt, I got some pig grass inside."
He Susu: "Just put half a basket of pig grass into Kerou's bamboo basket. You two can take a rest now."
Guifang reached out and pushed Guixi's arm, signaling him to listen to his aunt. If the younger brother was stubborn and refused to give it to her, and if her aunt directly snatched it away, and then bumped into it, they would be scolded to death by their grandparents.
Gui Xi had no choice but to accept the offer and scooped the pig grass from his own bamboo basket into Ke Rou's bamboo basket, then handed it to his sister-in-law.
He Susu took it, said "I'm going up the mountain, you guys continue working", and walked up the mountain.
Guifang and the others looked at each other. Their parents said it was dangerous and they couldn't go up the mountain, but their aunt was an adult and should be fine.
He Susu walked up the mountain along the path made by the villagers, and met other children one after another. She had no choice but to continue walking forward.
The woods behind the mountain were shady, blocking the heat of the sun and making it quite cool. It had just rained a few days ago, so the soil under my feet was still a little moist. There were mushrooms growing from the roots of the trees, and it was obvious that no one had been here before.
Edible food is precious these days, He Susu walked over and squatted, picking all the mushrooms she saw and stuffing them into the bamboo basket. She looked around again and again, and after confirming that no one was around, she took out the pheasant from the storage compartment.
The pheasant provided by the shopping system was naturally the best. If He Susu hadn't caught it firmly, the pheasant would have flapped its powerful wings and escaped. She grabbed a sharp stone from the ground and smashed it on the pheasant's head.
The pheasant fainted and bled.
He Susu put the pheasant into a bamboo basket. She no longer had to worry about it flying away or making a sudden noise and attracting attention.
She was afraid that she might run into some shameless person who would peek into the bamboo basket to see what was inside when she went down the mountain, so she picked some pig grass and covered the pheasant with it. She then found another batch of button mushrooms and placed them on the top of the bamboo basket to cover it up.
It took only an hour to go back and forth. He Susu did not stay on the mountain, but walked back along the same way she came.
In the past, she would never come to the back mountain. Not only did her parents tell her that there were dangerous wild animals on the back mountain, and the snakes hiding in the grass would bite people, but she also disliked the muddy road that would dirty her shoes, and the weeds that would stick to her pants would look ugly.
When we reached the foot of the mountain, Guifang and her children were still cutting grass for the pigs. The few bamboo baskets they had were filled to the brim.
He Susu walked over and asked casually, "You haven't finished your work yet?"
Guifang carried the largest bamboo basket and said, "Aunt, we have completed today's mission. We can go home after handing in the pig grass."
He Susu nodded: "Okay, then I'll go back first."
Gui Xi watched her aunt carrying her bamboo basket back home, and asked curiously, "Did your aunt really go to the mountain to pick things?"
Guifang was tall and could barely see what was in the bamboo basket: "My aunt picked some button mushrooms, and it looked like there was a bamboo basket full of them." Button mushrooms taste good when cooked into soup, and she was also surprised that her aunt really went to the mountains to pick food.
Several children went to the brigade warehouse to hand in pig feed and went home together.
Guifang was told by the adults to go to the kitchen, wash the sweet potatoes and steam them. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she ran out in a hurry and looked at her aunt excitedly: "Aunt, there is a chicken in the kitchen!"
He Susu nodded: "I went to the mountain to pick mushrooms, and a chicken happened to jump out. I threw a stone at it and knocked it unconscious."
Guifang exclaimed: "Aunt, you are amazing!"
When Guixi and the other children heard that there was a chicken in the kitchen, they all ran to the kitchen to see it and came out jumping up and down: "Great, we have chicken to eat tonight!"
They also knew that the news of having meat to eat must not be spread to others, so they even cheered in a low voice.
They looked at my aunt with bright eyes and admiration. There were so many people in the back mountain every day, but my aunt went there and caught a chicken. She was amazing!
When the He family came back from work in the evening, they saw the children in the house were all excited and puzzled.
Guifang went over to her mother who was in charge of cooking tonight and said, "My aunt went to the back mountain to catch a chicken this afternoon."
"There are chickens?" Zhao Miling was surprised and happy.
After hearing this, He's mother and father also looked at their daughter.
He Susu raised her slender neck and nodded: "I was thinking of taking a walk in the back hills, and this chicken bumped into me by itself. I threw a stone at it and it fainted."
He's mother immediately praised: "Su Su is really amazing!"
Father He nodded: "Not bad."
The eldest and second brothers also had to sigh at the luck of the younger sister. When they had time, they went to the back mountain cat all day and didn't see a chicken, not even a nest of eggs, but the younger sister encountered one the first time she went.
The whole family was happy to have this new chicken.
A chicken can produce a lot of meat, enough to provide one or two meat meals for the family.
He's mother was not tired anymore. She went to the kitchen and looked at the pheasant with its feet tied up. She was surprised: "This one looks fat enough. It must be three or four pounds."
She asked her eldest daughter-in-law to kill the chicken: "Fry half of the chicken tonight, and put the rest in the well to freeze for tomorrow's meal. After cleaning the chicken bones, use them to make soup."
Mother He kept muttering, "Susu is really good. She went to the back mountain and brought back a chicken to add meat to the family. Who else can do this?"
Zhao Miling killed the chicken with a knife, cut its neck to let out the blood, and then plucked the chicken. Qian Chunhe helped.
Thinking that they would have chicken to eat later, they did not feel annoyed by the nagging of the mother-in-law. If it were not for the sister-in-law, they really would not have been able to eat this meal of chicken.
We raise two chickens at home, waiting for them to lay eggs. Unless they have given birth or are in confinement after childbirth, they usually don't get to drink a sip of chicken soup.
The kitchen was busy, and He's mother went to the small vegetable garden in the yard to pick some garlic sprouts to stir-fry the chicken. She was afraid that the smell of meat would spread and attract the envy of the neighbors, so she closed the kitchen windows and doors before frying the chicken.
At dinner, there was a plate full of fried chicken with garlic sprouts and a big pot of chicken soup. The five children were so happy that it was almost like New Year’s Day.
He's mother took the lead and put a chicken drumstick in her daughter's bowl: "Susu, you brought this chicken back. You have made the greatest contribution. This chicken drumstick is for you to eat."
The meat on the chicken legs is the firmest and tenderest, and is indeed delicious. He Susu smiled and agreed.
Everyone started eating, their chopsticks were stretched all over the plate of chicken, and no one spoke. In the end, the whole plate of chicken was eaten, and everyone's mouth was covered with greasy spots. Then they had a bowl of chicken soup, which was particularly satisfying.
Brother He sighed: "It would be nice if we could eat chicken every day."
He Erge nodded: "After eating this chicken, I won't feel tired at work anymore."
Father He burped silently.
The five children looked at their aunt, hoping that she would run to the back mountain when she had time, perhaps bringing back another pheasant.
At night, He's mother asked her daughter for some clean clothes, and was relieved to see that she didn't say she wanted to wash them herself. Fortunately, Su Su just wanted to wash clothes because she was in a good mood, otherwise she would have a headache.
If a good piece of clothing has a hole in it after washing, it won’t look good even if you mend it.
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