Return to the small mountain village in 1986

The watermelon vines in the field have turned yellow, and the last batch of watermelons have been picked. Because the vines died, most of the remaining small watermelons are not ripe.

However, these small watermelons will not be wasted and can be chopped up and fed to the chickens.

Gao Mingcheng inspected his land, and Zhang Chengyuan followed him. Zhang Chengyuan pointed at the land and said, "Mingcheng, do you want to grow rapeseed or cabbage?"

Gao Mingcheng said: "Grow rapeseed."

Rapeseed flowers are a high-quality honey source, and rapeseed can also be pressed for oil, which is very useful.

As for cabbage, they are different from the Northeast. Although they can grow cabbage one after another and can eat it all winter, they definitely don't need to stock up on so many goods and pickle a large tank of sauerkraut.

The land in front of the house is planted with cabbage, red cabbage, cabbage, spinach and other vegetables, which is enough for the family.

"Brother, all these corners and corners can be used to grow rapeseed!" Gao Mingcheng said.

"Okay." Zhang Chengyuan agreed. He was responsible for growing most of these vegetables, and they were indeed very good.

After planning the vegetables to be planted in autumn, Gao Mingcheng went to see the cassia seeds planted this year. Cassia seeds are very easy to grow. They don’t need much fertilizer and can grow in wasteland and slopes. Therefore, Gao Mingcheng looked for cassia seeds at the foot of Xiaofu Mountain. Find some empty space, sprinkle a handful of seeds, and they will grow naturally.

Cassia seeds are also called false mung beans. They look somewhat similar to mung beans, with small yellow flowers and pods.At this time, the plants are covered with green pods, but the seeds inside are not yet mature. They will have to wait until October before the whole plant can be harvested and exposed to the sun for shelling.

After going to see his transplanted Polygonatum japonica, Gao Mingcheng concentrated on hunting rabbits. Rabbits are used to coming out to look for food in the morning and evening, and it is difficult to see them in broad daylight.

But it was okay. Black Tiger and Elf had a very keen sense of smell and were familiar with the rabbit holes in this area. They led Gao Mingcheng to find several rabbit holes.

It's a pity that the rabbit is hiding in the hole. Neither Gao Mingcheng nor the two dogs Black Tiger Elf can get into the hole.

"Black Tiger, you stay here, I'll go find some firewood!" Gao Mingcheng did not use brute force, but decided to use a strategy, using smoke to smoke out the rabbit from the hole. After the rabbit comes out, there will be no more firewood. Escaped.

Gao Mingcheng collected some dead branches and leaves around him and burned a fire directly at the entrance of the cave. If he wanted to have thick smoke, the fire should not be too strong. He had to add some dry branches to burn, and he had to use his hands to burn the thick smoke. Smoke fanned into the cave entrance.

Gao Mingcheng thought it was quite interesting to hunt in a different way. He lit the fire slowly and kept his eyes on the surrounding situation.

After a while, the rabbits in the hole were so smoked that they fled out one after another. The two dogs waiting next to them - no, it was three dogs!

This is the first time Gao Mingcheng has seen a big yellow dog hunting. It is like a little girl who doesn't have much ability but likes to join in the fun. When there is any disturbance, it will immediately bark loudly, but after the prey comes out, it will slow down a few beats. , did not pounce on him immediately.

But fortunately, Black Tiger and Elf are both ruthless dogs and don't talk much. They were lying there motionless, but when the rabbit escaped from the cave, the two dogs moved quickly to hunt it down.

A gray-haired hare was bitten on the neck by a black tiger!
Not to be outdone, the already young elf quickly bit the second rabbit.

Only then did the big yellow dog start chasing the rabbit.

Gao Mingcheng stared at the big yellow dog the whole time and did not take action. He saw the big yellow dog clumsily pursued it, and finally the hare escaped from the dog's mouth with good luck.

"Haha." Gao Mingcheng couldn't help laughing.

It seems that this big yellow dog must be domesticated, and for some unknown reason, it stayed here and refused to leave.

But dogs come to wealth, and the big yellow dog is a female dog, so Gao Mingcheng also welcomes it.

"Okay, let's change the hole." Gao Mingcheng stood up and stepped on the fire pile with his feet. He didn't change the place until he was sure that all the sparks were extinguished.

It's time to light a fire and smoke again, and wait for the rabbit in the hole.

When the rabbits were exhausted by the smoke, they ran out of other holes one after another. As soon as they ran out, they went their separate ways. This time, Gao Mingcheng didn't just watch and did nothing. He held a few knives in his hand and swished. He quickly shot the knife in his hand towards the rabbit.He hadn't played with a knife for a while, and it didn't feel good at first, but he soon regained his familiar feel. Even if there was no rabbit, he couldn't help but feel itchy, and started to attack the birds flying in the sky.

Even after failing several times in a row, he did not lose heart and continued to look for his target.

The most common bird in the mountains is the sparrow.

The sparrow family has experienced great storms. In the 50s, it was classified as a fourth pest and has been exterminated since then. The number of sparrows has dropped sharply across the country.

However, after the 60s, it was removed from the four pests and became a national second-class protected animal in 2000.

It is now 89. Pesticides have not yet begun to spread, and people have not continued to exterminate sparrows. Therefore, the number of sparrows in the mountains is countless.

Sometimes, those sparrows would go to the chicken coops to steal food. Whenever the rice was ripe, sparrows would appear in groups in the rice fields, devouring the food that the villagers had worked hard to grow.

For villagers who rely on the ground for food, sparrows are still one of the four pests!
Gao Mingcheng got into a fight with the sparrows and tracked several sparrows in succession. After missing the knife several times, he finally succeeded!
A small knife pierced the sparrow's abdomen. The injured sparrow fell down and landed on the ground. Another small knife directly hit the sparrow's head. This accuracy made Gao Mingcheng extremely happy.

Like a child who got a new toy, he happily chased the sparrows in the mountains and even forgot about hunting rabbits.

When he returned with the trophies that he was still satisfied with, he had a dozen sparrows and two turtledoves in his hands.

The turtle dove was the last one to get. He felt very good at that time, and every turtle dove hit the head, which made him quite happy.

"Hey, I'll give you extra food today, eat sparrows!" Gao Mingcheng rubbed the black tiger's head and said with a smile. Looking at the rabbits piled on the ground, although there are not many, there are only seven, um, but they are enough to eat. That’s it!
The sun was shining brightly at noon. He took the loot and led the three dogs back to the yard of his home in great style.

The sparrows had little meat, and Gao Mingcheng was too lazy to eat them himself, so he plucked the sparrows' feathers and gave them to the three dogs to eat.

When plucking the feathers of chickens and ducks, you need to scald them with hot water. But for birds, you don't need to scald them. Just grab a handful of feathers and pull them out at will, and the feathers will fall off.

Of course, you can also scald it with hot water to remove it cleaner.

While plucking the feathers, Gao Mingcheng threw the prepared sparrows to the three dogs. At this moment, Chen Duofu came in with a bowl filled with steaming food.

"Mingcheng, I brought you a meal. My mother specially cooked a lot of delicious dishes today. Oh, and there is also half a catty of arrowroot starch. This is what my mother made last year. She asked me to bring it to you. Thank you. You take us two brothers out to learn more." Chen Duofu handed both the sea bowl and kudzu powder to Gao Mingcheng.

The arrowroot powder is packed in a bag. The color of the homemade arrowroot powder is not pure white, but a little gray-brown. If it is not washed clean enough, the color of the impurities will be darker.

Gao Mingcheng looked at the kudzu powder handed over by Chen Duofu and remembered that there were kudzu vines all over the mountains and plains, but he hadn't made kudzu powder in several years.

He was not polite and accepted the thank you gift directly.

But he casually gave a hare to Chen Duofu.

But this time Chen Duofu didn't want his rabbit. He waved his hand hastily and said, "No, I can't have it."

He was stupid and couldn't say anything more, so he simply walked away quickly.

Gao Mingcheng looked at his back as if he was running for his life. He was speechless and then burst into laughter.

Chen Duofu refused to take it, and he didn't force it. Smelling the aroma of the food, he was indeed hungry, so he picked up his chopsticks and started eating in large chunks.

In order to thank him, Aunt Liu did cook a lot of good dishes. Although there was no big fish or meat, she put enough oil and salt in it and the taste was pretty good. (End of chapter)