Return to the small mountain village in 1986

Chapter 137 Catching the Eel

During the Qingming Festival, there are many rains.

Since the sweet potato seedlings were planted, it has been raining from time to time, because Qingming is coming soon!

For the people in the village, Qingming is not just about going to the graves of their ancestors, but also a lot of farm work to do.

In the mountains, it's time to pick bracken, bamboo shoots, honeysuckle, tea leaves, etc.

Many beauties wore bamboo hats, old clothes, and bamboo baskets, and went into the mountains to pick these things with a few good sisters in the village. Bracken and bamboo shoots are all wild vegetables, which can be dried or dried after treatment. Save and eat slowly.

After the honeysuckle is dried, it is a good medicine for clearing away heat and detoxifying. When the time comes, you can either keep it at home for future use, or sell it to a pharmaceutical factory for money.

As for the tea leaves, after picking them off, they fry them and keep them for home use.

For the people in the village, they would not spend the money if they could afford it without spending money. The tea they roasted by themselves might not be as fragrant as the ones they bought, but so what?If you can relieve the heat when drinking tea in summer, that's fine!
Picking is the work of the women. On the mountainside, you can see the women's crowds.

But leveling the rice fields is a man's job.

The seedlings are almost grown, and it's time to plant rice seedlings. The fields have been plowed long ago, and now they are full of water.

However, the surface of the plowed field may not be flat, which will affect the transplanting, so special tools are needed to level the field before transplanting.

Gao Mingcheng only had one mu of land, which was easy. After he finished his own field, he went to help Grandma Xi's house.

Grandma Xi's family has insufficient labor force and has three acres of land. Gao Mingcheng will help a little when farming every year.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Grandma Xi straightened up and said to Gao Mingcheng, "I'm going back to cook. You and Duomi come to my house for lunch."

It is a custom to invite others to have a meal at home when others help.

Gao Mingcheng did not refuse, and generously agreed.

After Grandma Xi left, he and Gao Zhuang continued to level the rice field. During this process, he found traces of small fish, loaches, and eels in the field. If he looked carefully, he could find some snails.

This was brought along with the current after the water rose.

"Gao Zhuang, are you catching a rice field eel?" Gao Mingcheng was a little moved when he saw a fat rice field eel burrowing into the mud.

"Catch it!" Gao Zhuang is also a playful person, the two hit it off immediately, took off their old shirts, knotted the cuffs, and made a simple cloth bag to hold the trophies they caught.

In fact, you can also take off your trousers, it will look better than clothes, but, you are a 20-year-old boy, taking off your trousers is not very elegant!

After making the bags to hold things, the two of them started to get busy.

It is said to catch eels, but if you encounter loaches, you will naturally have to catch them.The two grew up in the fields since they were young, and they have already developed their skills. Gao Zhuang is not as good as Gao Mingcheng in catching fish, but he is good at catching loaches and eels.

The main reason is that catching fish has to be carried out in the reservoir. You need to touch the bottom of the water slowly with both hands, and when you touch the fish, you must quickly catch the fish.

But some fish are not easy to provoke, such as yellowtail fish, which have thorns and poisonous, which makes some people feel timid. With timidity, their hands will not be fast and unsteady, making it difficult to catch fish.

But catching ricefield eels is different. There are skills in catching ricefield eels. You first observe the mud in the field and find places with holes and air bubbles. There are probably ricefield eels or loaches in it. To catch this hole, the hand must be very accurate, then the custodian can catch it.

Whether it is rice field eel or loach, they are very slippery and can easily escape from your hands, so you must grasp them with great strength, and then throw them into your sleeve pocket as soon as possible, so as to prevent them from escaping.

While the two were busy catching eels, there were also people catching them in the field next to them. They were basically children who were half-grown.

At this time, Gao Mingwan came along the field ridge. He was covered in mud, and all the clothes in his hands were also covered with mud. Obviously, he was also catching eels just now.

Gao Mingwan stood on the ridge of the field, looking at his second brother.

"Second brother, how many have you caught?"

"Some." When Gao Mingcheng caught them, he didn't count them in detail. Now he straightened up and took a rest to see how many he caught.

I don't know if I don't look at it, but I smile when I look at it!

Unknowingly, he has already caught quite a few!
After weighing it, it should be enough for two plates.

He looked at Gao Mingwan and asked, "How many did you catch?"

Gao Mingwan also smiled and said, "It's enough for a plate. I plan to catch it in the afternoon. After transplanting the seedlings, it will be difficult to catch them."

"Actually, it's easier to catch it when it's harvested!" Gao Mingcheng said.

When the early rice is harvested, there are quite a lot of eels and loaches in the field and they are very fat.At that time, it was definitely a feast for the children in the village. Their greatest pleasure was catching loaches in the fields.

The two brothers said a few more words, and Gao Mingwan went back first.

Gao Mingcheng looked at the sky, because he was going to work in the field, he didn't wear a watch, he estimated that it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon, so he called Gao Zhuang to go home.

Gao Zhuang was also smiling all over his face, apparently he had caught quite a few.

"I'll put the things back first, wash my face, and then go to eat." Gao Mingcheng said to Gao Zhuang.

Gao Zhuang agreed, and the two went home separately.

The eel and loach caught here cannot be eaten immediately, but must be kept in clean water for a few days, and can only be eaten after the silt in the stomach is vomited.

Otherwise, there will be an earthy smell.

Gao Mingcheng poured the rice field eels and loaches that he carried in his sleeves into a large water basin. This water basin was originally used for bathing, but when it was time to catch fish, there were fish in it, and now there are fish in it. Eels and loaches too.

Gao Mingcheng thought about it, and he had to ask the carpenter to make another bathtub. Anyway, there were still some Chinese fir trees piled up in the mountain that had been cut and dried in the shade, which could be used at any time.

Because there was too much soil stuck, Gao Mingcheng washed all the rice field eels and loaches first, and then poured them into clean water to raise them.

Since the well was drilled at home, it is very convenient to use water.

Next, he carried another bucket of water, stood not far away, and washed his face, hands and feet.The well water hit his body directly, and it was a little cold, but Gao Mingcheng could bear it.

He changed into a set of clean clothes before heading to Grandma Xi's house.

On the way, I happened to meet many beauty who came back from picking. The bamboo baskets that many beauty brought in the morning had been piled up high, most of which were honeysuckle, tea leaves, and some bracken.

As for the bamboo shoots, many of them did not collect them, because last time Gao Mingcheng went to the mountains to get a lot of bamboo shoots back, and those bamboo shoots were enough for them to eat for a long time after processing.

(End of this chapter)