Return to the small mountain village in 1986

The water was quite cool, so Gao Yue simply asked a few boys to come into the water and swim together, but two boys refused because they didn't know how to swim.

Lin Ye knew how to swim. When Gao Yue called him, he was about to take off his clothes and get into the water. However, before he could get into the water, he was stopped by Zhao Jinghe.

Zhao Jinghe is studying medicine. She said very strictly: "You can't swim in the water! The sun is strong now, the water is cold, and the body is hot and cold, so it is easy to catch a cold and get sick!"

"Gao Yue, come up quickly! Even if people in the village bathe in the pond, it will be in the evening, not in broad daylight."

After Zhao Jinghe said this, Gao Yue lost interest in continuing to swim. In fact, he also knew that in summer, he was not allowed to swim in the water around noon, as he would easily suffer from heatstroke.

The water in the pond was not deep, and it was even shallower on the edge. Gao Yue took a fresh duck egg and stepped on the water twice. He felt that he could step on the bottom, so he walked all the way to the shore.

Although the clothes were wet, the weather was hot and it wouldn't take long before they were almost dry.

Gao Yue asked everyone if they wanted to pick eggs, but found that everyone was not very enthusiastic, so he asked if they wanted to pick some bayberries.

"You can take shelter under the bayberry tree and feel more comfortable. In this weather, eating some sweet and sour bayberries will also be good for your appetite!" Under Gao Yue's description, everyone swallowed their saliva.

Looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst is probably what happened.

"Let's go! Pick bayberries!"

Everyone's enthusiasm suddenly increased, but some people asked what to do with the peaches and pears they picked earlier.

Gao Yue said, "Just put it under this shed. I'll drive Mingcheng's car over and load it up and go!"

A road has been built from Gao Mingcheng's home to the shed, just to make it easier to drive the car in directly for loading.

Each of them picked twenty or thirty kilograms of fruit, at least two to three hundred kilograms in total. It would be a bit embarrassing for them to carry them all back with their hands.

So they left the fruits they picked before in the shed and brought a smaller bamboo basket over.

Gao Yue knew the way and led the way.

Bayberry likes to grow in shady places, so when walking along the way, you can occasionally take shelter in the shade, which makes people feel much cooler.

The mountain road was difficult to walk, so the group walked for seven or eight minutes before reaching the bayberry forest. The first thing that caught their sight was the largest bayberry tree.

This bayberry tree has been carefully managed and grows very well. Some branches have been artificially shaped, so the tree shape is not high. You can pick the fruits with your hands. Even if you can't pick some, you can climb the tree or step on it with simple hands and feet. Just put it on the shelf and pick it up.

At this time, there are many bayberries hanging on the tree, some are red, and some have turned deep red. This is the variety of Dongkui bayberry, so each bayberry is not small.

Gao Yue picked a dark red bayberry, put it directly into his mouth and ate it. The sweet and sour taste exploded in his mouth, making him salivate.

The bayberry is now mature and tastes quite good.

Gao Yue picked another ripe bayberry and said to Lin Ye and the others: "If you want to pick this color, that bright red one, don't pick it yet. The taste is still sour."

On a tree, bayberries also mature in stages and require manual selection. When the trees have large fruits, one tree can be picked in batches for half a month.

"Okay, we understand." Lin Ye and others nodded, indicating that they understood.

So everyone dispersed and started picking bayberries.

The bayberry trees here are not big, but the distance between each tree is not short, so after everyone dispersed, it was quite busy.

The reason why Gao Mingcheng left so much distance was for the future.

Bayberry trees are fruit trees with a long lifespan and a long fruiting period. After being planted for 20 or 30 years, bayberry trees can still bear a lot of fruit every year.

So you need to leave some distance in advance.

When they were picking bayberries, Gao Mingcheng had already picked eight watermelons and about twenty cantaloupes. He took out a big basin, poured the well water he just brought out into it, and then put the two watermelons and a dozen cantaloupes into it. They were all thrown into the well water to soak.

In the past, the ancients did not have refrigerators. In the summer, they liked to hang watermelons in the wells to cool down. However, the wells in Gaojia Village were all open and did not have windlass installed. When lifting water, they relied entirely on manpower and pulled small ropes tied to the wells. The bucket is thrown into the well, filled with water, and then brought back up.

Therefore, the watermelon cannot be soaked in the well, but can only be soaked in well water in a basin.

After soaking the watermelon and cantaloupe, he went to Xiaofushan again.

Gao Yue and the others are no longer in the shed at this time, but the fruits they picked are still here. On one of the baskets, there is a duck egg as big as a child's fist.

Gao Mingcheng didn't rush to find them. Instead, he took the fruits he left here home and stored them in a cool main room.

After two trips back and forth, he brought all the fruits home, and he went to the chicken coop to pick up eggs.

It was only in the morning that Chen Dasong had already picked them up once, so it was not many. He only picked up a dozen eggs. When passing by the grass beside the pond, he actually picked up two duck eggs.

Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs and their shells are cyan, so there is a pigment called duck egg blue. Since ducks often eat small fish and shrimps, their eggshells are harder than egg shells.

Speaking of which, if chickens don't get enough calcium, they will lay soft-shell eggs. So if you want your chickens to grow well and lay more eggs, you still have to feed them appropriately and have gravel for the chickens to peck at.

Don't worry about the gravel. A mountain as big as Xiaofu Mountain is enough for them to peck at it for hundreds of years.

Gao Mingcheng picked up the eggs and duck eggs, and also picked a batch of seasonal vegetables. When Gao Yue and the others came back, they could prepare to cook lunch.

Just as I was thinking this, I saw Gao Zhuang riding a bicycle from a distance.

"Brother Mingcheng!" Gao Zhuang greeted him cheerfully from afar.

Gao Mingcheng looked up and saw him, picked up the basket full of vegetables and walked towards Gao Zhuang.

Although Gao Zhuang was riding a bicycle, he was holding the handle with one hand and carrying a small wooden bucket with the other hand.

When Gao Mingcheng walked over, Gao Zhuang also stopped the car under a camphor tree.

He handed the wooden bucket in his hand to Gao Mingcheng and said with a smile: "Brother Mingcheng, I saw you brought friends over, so I specially brought you some vegetables to eat. These five eels are the ones I brought in the field a few days ago. I caught them here and have been raising them for a few days. They have spit out all the sand. Look, brother Mingcheng - each eel is so big, one weighs at least a pound! I also picked up some snails, but there are not enough snails for you. food."

Although everyone was in the village, it was still quite a distance from the old village to Niuweiling. In addition, the weather was hot and it was tiring to walk all the way. Therefore, when Grandma Xi called Gao Zhuang to deliver eels to Gao Mingcheng, Gao Zhuang simply Come on a bike.

He was riding a bicycle and wearing a straw hat. He didn't feel hot all the way, but he felt as cool as a young man. Gao Mingcheng took the wooden barrel containing the eel and looked down. He was very happy. This kind of large eel is very nutritious.

People here believe that eels are very nourishing to the body. Generally speaking, smaller eels are used to stir-fry chili peppers, while larger eels are stewed with meat, so that they can be eaten with soup and meat. More nourishing to the body.

Gao Mingcheng thanked him first, and then said: "I called some of Gao Yue's friends to come over to pick fruits today. They should be picking bayberries at the moment."

The two brothers walked side by side towards the house, and then Gao Mingcheng greeted Gao Zhuang to sit on the recliner.

The deck chairs were placed under the eaves, and the sun hadn't hit them yet, so I sat down on them, feeling cool and cold. Gao Zhuang liked it very much. As soon as he lay down, he felt his whole body relaxed.

"This recliner is so good, I will buy a few more in the future!" Gao Zhuang said with a smile.

Gao Mingcheng said: "Okay, it's good to sit occasionally, but you can't sit for a long time, it's easy to hurt your back. By the way, kindergarten starts in September, but in August, you have to prepare in advance and cover the entire kindergarten We need to do a general cleaning and arrange the bits and pieces, and we have to enroll students in advance, so I will come to the village to pick you up in August."

"Gao Zhuang, you go back and tell Grandma Xi that you need to prepare in advance! There is also Xiuman. Xiuman trained last year, but it has been so long. It is estimated that there will be emergency training for a few days."

Gao Zhuang nodded. They had already prepared for going to the county.

Gao Zhuang said: "August is okay. It's just past the double rush. There won't be so much work in the fields by then. We will take away the vegetables we can take away."

Around mid-July, it is the time for double grabbing. At that time, people in the village will be very busy. People have to go to the fields to cut, thresh, and dry the rice. They also have to plow the fields and transplant rice seedlings.

When mentioning this, Gao Mingcheng said: "My tractors and plowing tools are all here. When the time comes, you can discuss it with Uncle Chen and the others, and everyone can take turns using it."

"Okay." Gao Zhuang smiled and nodded, looking forward to this.

Last year, he learned how to drive a tractor to plow the fields. However, Gao Mingcheng did not go back to the village often at that time. Tractors were generally used in the county, so many times he had to rely on the old method of borrowing oxen to plow the fields.

If tractors can be used to plow fields this year, it will be much easier for people.

Gao Mingcheng hadn't chatted with Gao Zhuang for a while, so the two brothers chatted for a while. It wasn't until they heard Gao Yue and the others coming back that Gao Zhuang stood up and prepared to say goodbye and leave.

Gao Mingcheng asked him to stay here to eat, but Gao Zhuang refused.

He didn't know Gao Yue very well, let alone Gao Yue's friends.

He felt uncomfortable staying here to eat, so he might as well go home, so he declined on the pretext that Xiao Yuanyuan was still waiting for him to go home for lunch.

"Mingcheng, did you get the fruit back? I'm planning on driving to bring it back later." Gao Yue smiled and spoke as soon as he entered the courtyard. When he saw Gao Zhuang, he immediately said hello to Gao Zhuang.

Gao Zhuang also greeted him and said, "I'm here to deliver eels to you. I have something to do at home, so I won't stay. I'll leave first."

"Hey, don't leave in a hurry. Bring some fruit back to eat." Gao Mingcheng called to Gao Zhuang. He poured the eels in the small wooden bucket into his own bucket, and then filled the small wooden bucket with peaches, pears and cantaloupe. , and then handed it to Gao Zhuang.

"I'll get you a smaller watermelon, so you can put it in the basket of the car." Gao Mingcheng went into the house and chose a smaller watermelon, about seven or eight pounds, but the rind was already a little yellow and the melon lines were scattered. , obviously already cooked.

There is a wire mesh basket installed in front of the bicycle, which can just fit a small watermelon into it.

Gao Zhuang felt a little embarrassed when he saw that Gao Mingcheng had prepared so many things for him.

At this time, Gao Yue said hurriedly: "There are also bayberries, we just picked them!" So he grabbed a few bayberries and put them on the top of the bucket. Well, in this way, the whole bucket was full.

"This is too much, how can we finish it!" Gao Zhuang was dumbfounded, thinking that there was no need for so much.

It was a hot day, and the fruits were not put away. In addition, his family had a small population, so he really couldn't eat so much.

He wanted to take out some, but Gao Mingcheng refused. Instead, he said, "If you really can't finish it, give some to my grandma to eat."

Gao Zhuang understood. He nodded and agreed happily: "Okay!"

So he rode the bike all the way to the old village just like when he came, holding the heavy barrel in one hand and holding the handle of the bicycle with the other.

When he got home, he first kept the fruit he needed to eat, and gave the extra to Grandma Gao, making it clear that it was from Gao Mingcheng.

Grandma Gao was already a little confused, and her thinking was not as clear as before. Gao Zhuang needed to say it loudly several times before she could react.

But Gao Zhuang didn't mind it and kept saying it over and over again until Grandma Gao figured out that these fruits were sent by her second grandson Gao Mingcheng, and Gao Zhuang went back with satisfaction.

When giving something away, the recipient must know who is sending it as a favor, Gao Zhuang thought.

On the Niuweiling side, after Gao Zhuang left, Gao Mingcheng also invited Gao Yue and the others to sit in the house.

There are no fans in the village, but after opening the front and rear doors of the main house, there will be running wind, which can keep people cool.

Gao Mingcheng fished out a big watermelon from the well water and said, "Are you thirsty? Cut a watermelon to quench your thirst first!"

The watermelons he held in his hand were all old varieties, very large, weighing more than ten kilograms, and had thick skin and red capsules.

As the knife went down, the watermelon juice dripped down the edge of the knife, and the fragrance of watermelon spread instantly.

Gao Yue and the others ate bayberries when they were picking bayberries, but now that they saw the watermelon with green skin and red sac, they suddenly felt the urge to eat it.

The knife Gao Mingcheng used to cut watermelons was exactly the same knife he used to cut honey spleens. The blade was very long, and it was very easy and convenient to cut large watermelons.

With a few sharp cuts, a large watermelon was divided into more than a dozen small watermelons.

There is some sand in the middle of the watermelon sac. This old variety of watermelon tastes sweet, sandy and delicious.

Gao Mingcheng invited Gao Yue and the others to eat watermelon, but he was also very greedy. He picked up a piece of watermelon and ate it. After eating, he threw the watermelon into a bucket and said to the others: "Watermelon rind" Don’t throw it away, throw it all in this bucket and feed it to the chickens later.”

Watermelon rind has many uses. It can be made into pickles, fed to chickens and pigs, and can also be made into watermelon frost!

The process of making homemade watermelon frost is not very complicated. The main ingredients are watermelon and Glauber's salt.

Put a layer of watermelon and a layer of Glauber's salt into an unglazed earthenware jar. After sealing, hang it in a cool and ventilated place. After a few days, white powdery crystals will precipitate on the outer wall of the earthenware jar. This thing is The traditional Chinese medicine watermelon frost is a good medicine for treating oral ulcers. (End of chapter)