Return to the small mountain village in 1986

The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and people in Gaojia Village are preparing to make rice dumplings.

Some people choose to make zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival, but others make it a day or two in advance and give the finished zongzi to relatives, friends and neighbors to taste.

The Dragon Boat Festival is tomorrow, but Xuanyu chose to make zongzi today. The glutinous rice, red beans and mung beans have already been soaked, and the bacon has also been cut. After Gao Mingcheng and the others came back, Xuanyu came over and called Xuanyuemei and the two children away, saying that they wanted to make zongzi together.

Gao Mingcheng did not make rice dumplings. To be honest, Gao Mingcheng had never mastered the skill of making rice dumplings in his two lifetimes. Every rice dumpling he made was either ugly in appearance or leaked the rice.

Besides, he didn't really like eating rice dumplings, so he simply gave up on learning the skill.

Gao Mingcheng took out a fishing rod, a bucket, and a bottle of wine lees from the utility room. He was ready to go to the pond and be a quiet fisherman.

After lotus flowers were planted in the pond, it became difficult to use a large fish net to catch fish, so putting out fish baskets and fishing became Gao Mingcheng's recreational activities when he returned to the village.

Gao Mingcheng carried his fishing rod and walked towards the pond in Xiaofushan. From a distance, he saw a large patch of emerald green lotus leaves.

There are flower buds quietly hidden among the lotus leaves.

In a few days, when the sky clears, these lotus buds will bloom one after another. Then, you will be able to see the magnificent scene of the endless green lotus leaves connecting the sky and the extraordinary red lotus flowers reflecting the sun.

Around the pond, there are naturally growing trees and shrubs, as well as fruit trees specially planted by Gao Mingcheng.

Gao Mingcheng strode towards a camphor tree that was several decades old. Under the camphor tree, a small platform was specially built to facilitate his fishing.

There is a large bluestone placed directly by the water, people can just sit there, there is no need to bring a small stool.

Gao Mingcheng put down the bucket and fishing rod, dug some earthworms nearby, and then began to open the jar containing the lees. As soon as the jar was opened, the strong smell of wine hit his nose.

This is the lees from making sweet wine. Pouring the lees into the water can attract fish.

Sure enough, after the bait was thrown in, the fish in the water came one after another. The first group to arrive at the battlefield was a group of small fish. Some of these small fish were as big as a palm, and some were only as big as a finger. They were not Gao Mingcheng's target.

After waiting for a while, Gao Mingcheng finally saw the movement of a big fish in the water.

Attention, the target appears!
Gao Mingcheng was having a lot of fun fishing. Before he knew it, he had caught half a bucket of fish, all of which weighed more than one kilogram. Even if a small fish was caught, he would throw it back into the water.

"Dad, it's time for dinner!" Gao Mingcheng heard his eldest son's call from afar, so he turned his head and saw Gao Xu running towards him quickly!

At this time, Gao Mingcheng felt the fishing rod move, and he subconsciously raised the rod, and the fishing line emerged from the water. On the hook, a carp weighing more than one kilogram was swinging its tail, trying to struggle to escape.

Unfortunately, the fish has been hooked and it’s hard to get away!
"Wow! I caught a fish! Dad, you are so awesome!" Gao Xu's flattery made Gao Mingcheng a little flattered. He took the carp off the hook and threw it into the bucket.

"When you grow up, I will teach you how to fish!" Gao Mingcheng said with a smile.

But Gao Xu didn't buy it. He raised his chin proudly and said, "I already know how to fish! Brother Shitou will take me to the ditch to fish! We don't even need a fishing rod, just a line tied to the hook! We can also use dogtail grass to fish!"

Okay, look how proud you are. Gao Mingcheng can guarantee that the fish they caught are definitely hairtail fish!
Although hairtail is small, it tastes delicious when fried in oil!

Gao Mingcheng held a bucket in one hand and a fishing rod in the other and said, "Okay, let's go back and eat!"

But Gao Xu didn't leave. He tried to reach out and pick the lotus leaves in the pond.

Some lotus leaves grow on the edge and can be picked with just a stretch of your hand. However, there are fine thorns on the stems of the lotus leaves, so it takes some strength to break them.

Gao Mingcheng asked: "Why are you picking lotus leaves?"

Gao Xu replied: "Mom said she would bake some eggs for us later! She asked me to pick some lotus leaves to take back!"

"Okay, what can you do with your short little hands? Don't fall into the water! Let me pick them!" Gao Mingcheng put down the bucket, reached out his hand, and easily picked two lotus leaves.

Gao Xu was running happily in front, holding a lotus leaf in one hand.

Gao Mingcheng looked at his son's cheerful back, smiled, and followed him with big strides.

When he returned to his home, he put his things down first, then took out two fish from the bucket and prepared to take them to Manyu's house.

Today's lunch was naturally eaten at Yu's house. When Gao Mingcheng and Gao Xu went there, the last dish was still in the pot!

However, Gao Jun and several dogs in the yard immediately came towards Gao Mingcheng.

"Dad!" Gao Jun stretched out his arms and ran towards Gao Mingcheng, wanting his father to hug him.

Gao Mingcheng usually takes care of the children more often, so the children are quite attached to him.

Gao Mingcheng picked up Gao Jun with one hand and walked towards the kitchen of the Yu family.

After all these years, the Yu family finally built a new house, a two-story blue brick and tile house with a row of utility rooms behind it, where chickens, pigs and toilets were all arranged.

In the kitchen, the light was a little dim. Xuanmei waved a spatula and put a dish of fried pork with peppers into a plate.

With a sizzling sound, a bucket of water was poured into the big iron pot that was smoking.

Manyu was making a fire, so he stood up and said to them, "You guys go eat first, I'll wash the pot and cook the rice dumplings!"

The rice dumplings are wrapped tightly in bamboo leaves and need a long time to be cooked, so if you cook them now, you can eat them in the afternoon.

"Okay, second sister, hurry up!" Xuanyuemei carried the plate out of the kitchen and walked towards the main room.

Gao Mingcheng put the fish in a basin with water and went to the main room with the child in his arms.

In the main room, there were several dishes on the eight-immortals table, and Zhang Chengyuan was moving a bench over.

"Brother!" Gao Mingcheng greeted.

"Hey, you guys sit down, I'll go to the kitchen to get the rice cooker!" Zhang Chengyuan laughed and went to the kitchen to get the rice cooker.

Xuanyuemei was not idle either. She went to get the dishes and chopsticks, and also arranged for Gao Mingcheng to take his two sons and nephews and nieces to wash their hands.

At Gao Mingcheng's call, the four little kids went to wash their hands.

Little Stone is the oldest. He is in the first grade this year and will be in the second grade in the second half of the year. Although he is naughty, he does have a talent for studying. In his previous life, he was admitted to a university in the capital and lived in the capital. This life is not bad either. He received a scholarship set up by Gao Mingcheng at school. After all the preparations were done, everyone came to the table to eat, and many jades came late.

After everyone arrived, Gao Mingcheng filled everyone's cups. The adults drank rice wine and the children drank beverages.

"Come on, let's all have a toast and wish our lives to get better and better!" Gao Mingcheng stood up and motioned for everyone to toast.

Everyone stood up and raised their hands to toast!
After lunch, Gao Mingcheng chatted with Zhang Chengyuan about the fields and Xiaofushan, and then asked Xuanyuemei whether she wanted to go to the old village.

A lot of beauty to say.

"Okay, you and the kids wait here, I'll drive over!" Gao Mingcheng said, and strode towards his home. The reason he chose to drive was because he was not going there empty-handed, but to deliver a Dragon Boat Festival gift.

We drove all the way to the old village and it started to rain again.

Fortunately, there were umbrellas in the car. Xuanyuemei and Gao Jun held one umbrella, Gao Xu held one umbrella alone, and Gao Mingcheng was too lazy to hold an umbrella, so he ran all the way to his parents' house with both hands full of things.

Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua were both at home. There was a TV in the main room, and the two children from the eldest brother's family were sitting on stools watching cartoons.

A few years have passed, but Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua have not looked old. They still look energetic. The abundance of life has made them less fussy.

Gao Mingcheng presented the gift, and Luo Xiaohua accepted it with a smile. He then told Gao Mingcheng that the family would make rice dumplings the next day, and asked Gao Mingcheng to come over for dinner and take some rice dumplings.

Gao Mingcheng said: "I won't come over for dinner. I'm going to Uncle Shouwang's house for lunch tomorrow."

Gao Yuanjian was not surprised to hear this, as the news that Gao Shouwang and his wife would leave Gaojia Village after the Dragon Boat Festival had already spread.

However, Gao Yuanjian was concerned about something else.

As some people in the village died, some married out, some got married, some had children, some went out to work, and so on, it seemed that the fields in the village should be redistributed.

He and his eldest son Gao Mingpeng had thought about this matter. Gao Mingpeng also said that some people had suggested redistributing the land, and the village committee and the brigade were also considering whether to redistribute the land.

Eleven years have passed since the land was distributed to each household in 1983.

In the past eleven years, the village has changed a lot and people's living standards are improving. So far, 80% of the households in the village have built new houses, more than half of them have built two-story houses, and some have chosen to build only one story, focusing on having a house that is big enough for living.

Another 20% of people are considered poor households in the village and they still need several years to save up enough money to build houses.

Because Gao Mingcheng would purchase white-feathered chickens, two families in the village started raising white-feathered chickens, and another family chose to raise laying hens. Laying hens are also fed feed and are mostly kept in cages, which can reduce the activity of the laying hens.

In March this year, some people started raising pigeons on a small scale.

They sealed the doors and windows on the second floor of their house with nets, and then raised pigeons inside. After the pigeons grew up, they sold them for a good price.

It is said that one pigeon is better than nine chickens. Nowadays, when city dwellers want to supplement nutrition for the elderly and children, stewing pigeons is their first choice.

Gao Mingcheng chatted with his parents and also talked with Grandma Gao. Speaking of Grandma Gao, he had to say that last winter, Grandma Gao had one foot in the gate of hell.

At that time, Grandma Gao suddenly fell ill and was about to die. Gao Yuanjian was so anxious that he quickly borrowed Gao Shouwang's phone to call Gao Mingcheng, asking Gao Mingcheng and others to come back quickly to see Grandma for the last time.

Upon hearing the news, Gao Shufang and her colleagues stopped doing business and hurried back to Gaojia Village in Gao Mingcheng's car.

Except for Gao Mingwan who was still driving a car out of town, the rest of the grandchildren went to see Grandma Gao for the last time.

Gao Mingcheng also came back with a pill of Angong Niuhuang Pill. This medicine can be used for emergency treatment, has a fast effect, and can also alleviate sequelae.

It turned out that the medicine was really magical. After Grandma Gao took it, her breathing became calmer, as if an invisible hand had pulled Grandma Gao back from the brink of death.

Seeing that the medicine was effective, Gao Mingcheng sent Grandma Gao to the People's Hospital. After some treatment, Grandma Gao recovered.

Afterwards, Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua asked Gao Mingcheng what the medicine was and why it was so effective.

Gao Mingcheng saw the expectation in their eyes, so he promised to give them two Angong Niuhuang Pills in case of emergency.

When he accidentally obtained bezoar that year, he bought some Angong Niuhuang Pills. Later, when he went to the capital, he also bought some in the capital in case of emergency.

As rhino horns can no longer be used as medicine, the prices of Angong Niuhuang Pills containing rhino horn ingredients will rise sharply.

After chatting with Grandma Gao for a while, Gao Mingcheng took his wife and children back home when the rain stopped.

"Ming Cheng, I will make rice dumplings tomorrow morning. Remember to come and get them after lunch!" Luo Xiaohua chased out the door and said loudly.

"Okay!" Gao Mingcheng responded without turning his head.

He doesn’t make rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival because there is no need to do so!
Xuanyu will give them some rice dumplings later, Gao Shouwang will also give him rice dumplings tomorrow, and Chen Dasong's family will probably also give him rice dumplings. When he returns to the county, there will be rice dumplings waiting for him at his grandmother's place!

The methods and tastes of the rice dumplings here are similar, with glutinous rice, red beans, mung beans and a piece of bacon!
Some people do not put red beans and mung beans, but only put glutinous rice and bacon. Some people even add a little bit of alkaline water, which makes the flavor more unique.

When they drove home, they passed Xuanyu's home. Xuanyu was standing on the hillside, waving at them and shouting, "Come and eat zongzi!"

"Dad, I want to go to my aunt's house to eat rice dumplings!" Gao Xu said immediately. As soon as the car stopped, he reached out to open the door. Gao Jun followed closely behind him. The two brothers got out of the car and walked towards Xuanyu's house in a flash.

Xiao Shitou and his sister were sitting on a small stool eating rice dumplings. The freshly cooked rice dumplings were steaming hot and gave off a fresh fragrance.

Gao Mingcheng didn't like eating zongzi very much, but he ate one too. Who knew that just after he finished eating the zongzi, Xuanyu took out a few roasted eggs.

The roasted eggs are wrapped in lotus leaves. When the fire in the stove burns out and only the residual heat of the charcoal remains, the eggs are buried in the charcoal and roasted using the residual heat of the charcoal.

People here believe that baked eggs are more nutritious than boiled eggs.

Gao Mingcheng didn't understand at first, how can an egg become more nutritious when it is cooked differently? But roasted eggs are indeed very fragrant!
Gao Mingcheng peeled eggs for the children and watched them eat and talk as they lived each day without worries.

Childhood is like this. As long as you have food, drink and playmates, you are satisfied.

After eating the rice dumplings and eggs, the children went out to play together again. They planned to go to the ridge to find Zhang Chengyuan, who was cutting grass. It was drizzling from time to time today, so it was not convenient to lead the goats out, so they were locked in the sheepfold. Therefore, they had to cut grass every morning and evening to feed them. (End of this chapter)