Chapter 59 Heavy Rain 3
In the past few days, Li Haoran and Ziyi looked outside from the cave entrance many times, and each time they became quieter than the last. Li Haoran sighed more and more, and Ziyi's face became colder and colder.
Uncle Hao's aunt Zhang Yuling could not imagine what the outside world was like, and still cooked sumptuous meals for every meal.
Yike knew it in his heart, and this was just the beginning, more difficult things were still to come.
The flood that broke out destroyed the crops in the fields and eliminated the food supply for the whole year, making the already difficult situation even worse. Countless people died of starvation and disease. The government tried its best to help solve the problem, but now the country's grain production is low and people are tightening their belts to make ends meet, so... so she hid in the forest.
"I wonder when the sky will clear up?" Yike muttered to Ziyi while lying in his arms at night.
"It will be soon. It can't be next week." Ziyi said.
"Poor thing! You are really exposed this time." Yi Ke thought to himself. Of course she didn't dare tell Ziyi, otherwise Ziyi would ask: "How did you know?"
A week later, the sky finally cleared up. The long-lost sun shone on the earth, people were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears, and many people cried like children.
Yike was also very excited as he could finally get out and get some fresh air. You'll get moldy if you stay in the cave. If those people who lost their homes knew Yi Ke's idea, they would definitely sneer at him, because they don't even have a shack to shelter from the wind and rain.
Once I got down to the bottom of the cliff, I saw the chicken coop and sheep pen that had been blown down by the wind and rain. I was thankful that the chickens and sheep had been moved into the hidden cave, otherwise the loss would have been huge.
Li Haoran and Ziyi went to the paddy fields to check on the rice seedlings, while Yike and Uncle Hao and Aunt Zhang Yuling went to take a look at Baicao Garden. The Baicao Garden was in a mess. The fence was nowhere to be seen. There were only a few sparse vegetable seedlings and herbs, and they were buried in the mud. I didn't know if they could be saved. While rescuing the patient, my aunt complained about the horrible weather.
There are dense trees and weeds in the forests, and the wind and rain are blocked by the trees. These green vegetables cannot escape the fate of being swept away by the wind and rain. What about the crops outside that face the wind, rain and floods? You know the result without even looking. At this time, my aunt also thought about the situation outside and kept cursing God for not leaving people a way to survive.
I just tidied up the Baicao Garden in a perfunctory manner. I really didn't know how to do it. I could only wait until the ground was a little drier. "Aunt, let's go to Chestnut Hill to see if any chestnut trees have been blown down? And whether any peppers, wild ginger, and sweet potato fields have been damaged?"
"I hope not, otherwise we will only be able to eat meat this year."
After hearing what Uncle Hao and Aunt Zhang Yuling said, Yike couldn't help laughing. If people outside heard it, they would definitely be beaten. People can hardly eat a bite of meat in a whole year, and you are still here complaining about eating meat, haha! Auntie is so funny!
When we arrived at Chestnut Hill, we saw the chestnut trees looking so vigorous and full of vigor, not looking like they had been ravaged by wind and rain at all. Forests are great, with so many trees helping to block the wind and rain, how can anything be harmed?
The peppers and wild ginger that grew in the sheltered valley were not destroyed. Instead, they drank up the rain and grew a lot taller.
The sweet potato field grows halfway up the hillside, and the rain has no effect on it. Its leaves are washed shiny by the rain, and the green color is lovely. Yike picked a bunch of leaves and went back to prepare fried sweet potato leaves with garlic.
Uncle Hao and his aunt were happy now, as they no longer had to worry about eating meat every day. Life in the cave was so hard when we were so poor that we had only meat left.
"I wonder how the seedlings in the paddy fields are doing?" The aunt began to worry about Li Haoran's situation again.
"I hope nothing happens to the orchard." The main worry is that there will be no fruit to eat.
The orchard is far away, otherwise I would have gone there with Uncle Hao and Auntie to take a look.
When it was getting dark, Li Haoran and Ziyi came back. From their faces one could tell that the situation was not good. It was only after they took a bath and sat down to eat that they realized how bad it was.
"That's a basin over there, with lower terrain. It should have been flooded. The fruit trees are fine, except that some fruits have fallen. But there are still some unripe fruits on the trees, which will be enough for you to eat when the time comes." Yike was concerned about the fruits, so Ziyi answered Yike's question first.
"What about the paddy fields? Are there still rice seedlings?" Uncle Hao and Auntie were more concerned about the rice seedlings.
"The paddy fields are all filled with mud and sand, and the drainage ditches we dug have also been filled with mud and sand. Most of the seedlings are buried in the mud and sand, and a small part has been washed away." Ziyi said.
"We worked so hard to cultivate the fields, but they were gone just because of a heavy rain." Uncle Hao and Aunt Zhang Yuling felt distressed.
"Our loss is nothing. The losses of the farmers outside are huge. We have mountains and trees, but they can't block the rain. There must be a flood outside. I wonder how many villages have been wiped out? I wonder if Beishan Village has been flooded? Brother Wang will have a hard time this year." Uncle Hao was worried about his friends outside.
Yike also thought of Hanjiagou Village, wondering whether the flood would submerge it. She didn't care about this issue. She only cared about whether the only sister who was kind to her could survive.
"Beishan Village is backed by a mountain. Even if a flood comes, people can escape to the mountain. People should be fine, but it's hard to say about the village," Ziyi analyzed.
"I wonder how Chen Shengli and Li Youcai are doing? The cave they live in is low and in a canyon. When the water rises, I'm afraid the water will flow back into the cave, which is very dangerous." Uncle Hao said.
"Yeah! We are so far away that we can't help even if we want to." Ziyi said regretfully.
"What are their character like? If they are good, ask them to move out. They can farm the fields outside and won't have to eat meat every day." Yi Ke said.
"Eating meat every day is wishful thinking! It's good enough not to be hungry, but you still want to eat meat every day." Li Haoran said with a smile.
"Aren't there the most animals in the mountains? Didn't you say that you eat meat every day? You're tired of it." Yi Ke asked doubtfully.
"Your aunt! She is a person who is full and does not know the hunger of a hungry person."
"Hey! Didn't we eat meat every day? Our mouths were covered with blisters from eating too much meat. You said it was because we ate too much meat and no vegetables." Uncle Hao and Auntie immediately retorted.
"We eat meat every day. We are two grown men, strong and healthy. We know kung fu, so hunting is no problem for us. Chen Shengli and Li Youcai have few strong laborers and a lot of people who can eat. They don't know how to hunt, so how can they have good prey every day? If there weren't so many wild vegetables and fruits in the mountains, they would have run out of the mountains out of hunger long ago." Uncle Hao patiently explained to his wife.
"You will still be hungry if you go out. It's better to stay in the mountains," said Yi Ke. But she knew that even the tree bark and grass roots had been eaten up outside.
"It's good that they can move in together. They are not cunning people. There is plenty of land over there in the orchard. We can reclaim it to grow some crops and vegetables, raise some chickens and ducks, a few pigs, and hunt. Life will get better and better." Uncle Hao said.
"Are we going to live in that paradise on earth?" Yi Ke asked. She felt a little reluctant to leave. After the reform and opening up, it could be a great place to go on vacation and cool off.
"It's good to live there! The terrain is high. It rained so heavily this time. Ziyi and I went to check it out. There was no water accumulation in the cave, and the water didn't rise. The terrain there is high, and the drainage is so good, so there is no problem living there." Uncle Hao was very happy that those people had the land to build houses.
"Then when should we tell them? We don't know if they will be willing to come out." Ziyi was a little worried. After all, there are few hunting animals outside.
"We'll go there in two days. First, dig out all the seedlings from the mud and sand. Save as many as we can. Yike and your aunt will prepare dry food at home. We'll leave after we finish the work. If we move here early, we can also plant sweet potatoes, corn and other crops."
This dinner took the longest and the most things were discussed.
The next day, when Ziyi and Uncle Hao came back from the paddy field, they were holding a big white goose in their hands. Yi Ke happily thought she was going to eat goose meat, but Ziyi told her that she couldn't eat it. Because this is a mother goose looking for her children, they cannot be separated.
"Uncle Hao and I were in the bushes looking for seedlings that had been washed away by the water. We heard the goose's cry and saw it wandering around. We knew it was looking for goslings, so Uncle Hao and I sneaked over to catch it and brought it back to raise in the water hole below. The goslings are being taken care of by their mother, so we don't have to take the trouble to take care of them."
"I thought it was edible." Yike curled his lips.
"If you want to eat them, let's go to the cave over there and catch them. Aren't there more than a dozen of them? But they are easier to catch at night. How about I catch one tonight?"
"No! Don't go! If you want to go, go next time. It's late today and you've worked all day. Go to bed early. I'm just saying." Yi Ke couldn't bear to see Zi Yi working so hard.
As a result, Ziyi caught a goose the next morning.
Uncle Hao and his aunt Zhang Yuling are really great cooks! Yike lit the fire and stood beside the stove watching his aunt stew the goose meat. Cut one green pepper and one red pepper into diamond-shaped pieces, cut the garlic into grains, cut the wild ginger into slices, add a piece of cinnamon, a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns, chop the goose into small pieces, boil the water, put the goose meat into the boiling water and blanch it, my aunt said this can remove the fishy smell. Pour the drained goose meat into a hot pan and stir-fry. After the water is gone, add other ingredients and stir-fry for a few times. Finally, pour in clean water to cover the goose meat. Add a cup of rice wine, bring to a boil over high heat first, then simmer over low heat until there is no water left. The whole cave was filled with fragrance, and I was so greedy that I kept asking, "Are you done?"
"Oh! My little greedy cat, this meat needs to be stewed until it is edible. It just smells good now. Go call Ziyi and the others to come back for breakfast. It will be almost ready by the time they come back." Uncle Hao and Aunt Zhang Yuling were amused by their greed.
"Okay!" He sniffed hard, muttered, "It smells good!" and left.
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