Li Zhong thought Qiao Xin didn't know how powerful the wild boars were, so he quickly explained, "Yes, we've moved here for a few years, but we haven't been able to grow anything, and we've been eaten by these things." Tigers and other wild beasts will only actively intrude into human activity areas when they are extremely hungry.
But wild boars are different. Once they find food in a place, they will come with their whole family every day and will not stop until the food is completely wiped out. We will not go to the North Mountain if we can avoid it."
"That's such a shame! I bought a yard there and will start clearing land nearby in the spring!"
Li Zhong was stunned: "What? Buy a yard? Isn't your house next to the stone bridge?"
Qiao Xin: "I have three sons, how can one yard be enough?"
Li Zhong:......
Qiao Xin looked at her grandchildren and said, "Poor little ones, you have lost weight recently. It's time to eat more. Do you want to eat some meat?"
Qiao Dalang and his brothers and sisters looked at each other and sighed together. They probably wouldn't be able to go out today as their grandmother's hunting addiction had come back again!
But they can eat meat. Just thinking about it makes their mouths water. They all nod at Qiao Xin: "Yes!"
Qiao Erniang had gained some weight under Qiao Xin's care during this period. She asked in a baby voice, "Grandma, can I have two bowls of meat soup?"
Look at you, you useless person! Qiao Xin pinched her cheeks to make them grow fleshy. People said: "Why not? When grandma is free, I will make more meat for you to eat!"
The little guy grinned, showing his small teeth, and nodded vigorously. Qiao Xin's heart was almost melted by his cuteness.
After asking her grandson, Qiao Xin turned around and asked Li Zhong with a smile: "Is your family short of meat?"
Li Zhong: ???
Qiao Sanlang couldn't bear to watch it, so he took the initiative to speak for Qiao Xin: "I'm asking you if you want to go hunting wild boars together?"
Li Zhong: Is it because the wind is too strong, or is there something wrong with his ears? Is it what he thinks? Aunt Qiao wants to take them hunting again?
He was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go call someone right away..."
The Qiao family watched as the children returned empty-handed and dejected after just a short while. They were shocked and Xu asked carefully, "What happened?"
Qiao Dalang was a little discouraged and answered honestly, "Mother, grandma can't take us out for the time being."
The people in the yard were puzzled and looked at Qiao Xin who came in later. She was fine when she went out just now, why did she change her mind so suddenly?
"There are wild boars on the north mountain. Children, don't go over there yet! Do what you need to do! Sharpen your knives and move the pork later."
Old Man Mo was startled: "Boss, you want to go to Beishan?"
"Well, I was originally planning to take them to the North Mountain to pick Chinese tallow seeds. I just heard from the village chief that there are a lot of wild boars there, in groups. I'm afraid the children might get hurt if they encounter them."
Qiao Yunqing asked, "Mom, are you going hunting first?"
"It always needs to be cleaned up, and the children also need to be replenished!" Qiao Xin said in an affirmative tone.
The three brothers of the Qiao family looked at each other and knew this would happen!
Since they want to stay here for a long time, these problems will have to be faced sooner or later. They don't intend to quit Qiao Xin, but they have to go with her this time no matter what.
Qiao Yunqing gave an even more plausible reason: "It is a skill for mother to learn to kill prey with a bow and arrow!"
Qiao Xin understood what he meant, and after a moment of silence, she acquiesced in their going along. The three brothers heaved a sigh of relief and hurried back to the house to prepare.
It was unknown what the old man Mo was thinking about. He hesitated for a while, then turned back to the house, took out a can of powder and handed it to Qiao Xin: "You can mix it in food. Just one bite will make the piglets faint."
Qiao Xin was not polite and took it directly, saying, "Okay, I'll take it first."
Seeing that Qiao Xin had forgotten about them all, Qiao Dalang couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, what about us?"
Qiao Xin called them over, led them to the stone bridge, pointed at a few Chinese tallow trees by the river and said, "Don't go up the mountain first, take all the seeds from these trees, and give them to Granny Shi and Grandpa Mo to deal with them together. I will take you there after the danger on the back mountain is cleared!"
Qiao Erlang was naturally active. He looked up at the tall Chinese tallow tree with an excited look on his face: "Can we climb the tree? Will my parents not beat me?"
Qiao Xin laughed, touched his soft head and said, "Grandma will be in charge of you today, you can climb as you like, but be careful."
Shi Yazi plucked up his courage and stepped forward and said, "Madam, let me climb the tree and they will follow below. I often climb trees to pick fruits, so I am quite skilled."
Qiao Xin looked at Shi Yazi and said, "You can call me Qiao Grandma with them. Any boy can go. The first lady, the second lady, and the third lady can just be at the bottom."
The children shouted “Ahhh!!!” and rushed over to hug Qiao Xin!
Grandma is so nice!
Zhang was about to get up to see what was going on, but Xu stopped her: "Grandma is here, why are you worried? Besides, we are all at the doorstep, with three or five children together, if anything happens, we can just shout and everyone will know. Let's get ready quickly."
Zhang thought about it and realized that it made sense. She simply let it go and sat down to collect firewood and boil water. There were many things to do today and everyone was destined to be busy.
With Qiao Xin's assurance, the children ran into the yard and soon came under the tree with baskets.
Two of the six boys chose a Tung oil tree and started from the bottom. Broken tree forks were thrown down one by one with a crackling sound. The Tung oil fruits on them were actually firmly grown on them, and not many were scattered.
Shi Yazi was just as he said, he was good at climbing trees, and he moved around the trees nimbly like a monkey. It was just that the weather was cold, and there was a lot of ice and snow on the tree trunks, making it much harder to climb than usual. But the children were all dressed warmly, and they didn't feel cold when they were moving around.
The young ladies collected all the Chinese tallow seeds from the broken branches into bamboo baskets, and then took them home to have Granny Shi and Old Man Mo put them in the pot to cook until soft. The children worked together just as fast as the adults, and they scurried around the trees, cutting branches from where there were more seeds. Soon, the three trees were almost bald for generations.
Granny Shi followed Old Man Mo in boiling the Chinese tallow tree seeds non-stop. When they were softened, they placed them on a sieve, scrubbed them, and screened them.
This repetitive process is boring and tedious.
When the back of the sieve is full of wax, scrape it off, then boil and filter it again, repeat over and over again, filter out impurities, and after most of the water is boiled off, you will get the candle liquid. Once the wick is prepared, you can make candles.
Old Man Mo already knew what Qiao Xin was going to do. He didn't expect that such a valuable thing could be made so easily by a country woman. If those powerful people who think they are superior to others knew about this, what would they think?
I don't know what Qiao Xin was thinking. She actually let them use this family secret recipe so carelessly. Should he sigh that the new employer is kind or thank her for trusting him so much?
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