Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

Lin Heng lost it for a while, and Xiaoxia also picked up the small stones and threw them into the river.

As soon as she saw the water splashing, she burst into laughter.

The child is full of curiosity about the world. She is learning about water and stones by throwing stones.

Lin Heng pulled her to Xiulan's side, and then lay on the big bluestone next to Xiulan to bask in the sun.

It's still early, so I don't want to delay getting some sun.

Life does not have so many purposes. The beautiful and clean bluestone, the warm sun, and the gurgling water all make people want to lie down and bask in the sun.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng, who was basking in the sun with his eyes closed, and reached out to pick off a fine leaf residue on his head. Her hand stayed on his head for a while.

Xiaoxia played for more than ten minutes before she got tired and went to lie down on the bluestone to bask in the sun.

Xiulan also took the opportunity to lie down. The bluestone had been heated by the sun, and her body was warm on both sides of her body when she lay on it.

Close your eyes and hear the gentle river breeze, the crisp chirping of birds and the gurgling water.

After basking in the sun for a while, the river wind suddenly became stronger, which made the sun no longer warm. Lin Heng got up, stretched, and said with a smile: "Let's go."

After saying that, she extended her hand to Xiulan.

"good!"

Xiulan took his hand and sat up, then pulled Xiaoxia up too.

Later, Xiulan carried a bamboo basket and Lin Heng came to the bamboo forest together with a hoe.

As soon as you look in, there are bamboo forests on both sides of the ditch. The smallest ones are as thick as an adult's forearm, and most of them are as thick as an adult's arms and thighs.

There are not many people digging winter bamboo shoots here, and almost no one visits the Lin family's bamboo forest.

Digging winter bamboo shoots is different from breaking off spring bamboo shoots. The spring bamboo shoots have grown out and can be seen at a glance.

Winter bamboo shoots are all underground. If you don’t know a certain method, finding them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Lin Heng is naturally very experienced in this. When looking for bamboo shoots, he mainly looks at bamboo.

Generally, the kind that likes to produce bamboo shoots is the kind of green new bamboo that is just one or two years old. It is almost impossible for gray-green bamboo that is more than three years old to have bamboo shoots.

After determining the type of bamboo, you need to look at the bamboo leaves.

Bamboo leaves are dense, and bamboos with some burnt yellow leaves among the emerald green will most likely have bamboo shoots.

Because growing winter bamboo shoots requires nutrients, the bamboo leaves will be in short supply and some yellow leaves will appear.

Lin Heng took a look and quickly found a bamboo that met the requirements.

After making sure, he looked at the ground around the bamboo, but at the first glance he saw a small protruding earth bag.

I dug lightly with a hoe and immediately saw the tips of winter bamboo shoots emerging from the soil.

"Sure enough, there is one."

Lin Heng grinned, picked up the hoe and dug, and within a few minutes he dug out a brilliant bamboo shoot.

"really not bad."

Xiulan smiled and picked it up and put it into a bamboo basket. The winter bamboo shoots were brown in color and the shells were tightly wrapped without any gaps. They were a top quality product.

"There should be more." Lin Heng looked at the bamboo whip and dug down along the bamboo whip.

A bamboo tree will usually branch into two bamboo whips. If you find them along the bamboo whips, you will often get a good harvest, but this method will damage the bamboo a bit.

But Lin Heng doesn't care, because a lot of new bamboo grows every year.

"Then I'll look elsewhere." Xiulan was not idle either, pulling Xiaoxia to search everywhere.

While she was looking for bamboo shoots, Lin Heng dug up two more small bamboo shoots.

Then he looked for another bamboo that fit the target, and soon found two bamboo shoots on its bamboo whip.

"These two are quite big."

After digging them out, Lin Heng was a little happy. One of them weighed more than a kilogram, and the other one weighed half a kilogram more.

"Husband, there is one here too, and it's not too small."

Xiulan shouted to him and pointed to the place she said.

Lin Heng came over with bamboo shoots and a hoe and saw a big bulge on the ground.

"There is water here. Look at the many bamboo shoots."

Xiulan pointed to the flat land in front of her and said with a smile.

"They are quite big."

Lin Heng smiled and nodded. There was no stream in this ditch, but water still seeped in. The stone skin was always wet.

The area in the middle has plenty of water, and the bamboos are thicker than those on the slopes on both sides.

Lin Heng took a hoe and dug out a tree. Xiulan weighed it in her hand and smiled immediately: "This must be a pound and a half."

Lin Heng nodded: "Now that they are developed, I estimate that the remaining few trees can weigh about a kilogram."

Xiaoxia danced and praised: "Dad, dig it quickly!"

Lin Heng smiled and agreed: "Okay!"

With his wife and daughter by his side, he was very motivated and dug hard.

After a while, I dug out all the five remaining bamboo shoots in this area. Because there was enough water, they weighed about a pound.

"There are some here too."

Soon Xiulan and Xiaoxia found two more bamboo shoots. There were so many bamboo shoots in this humid winter that they didn't need any skills to find them.

After about fifteen or six winter bamboo shoots, Lin Heng sat on the hoe handle to rest.

Xiulan took out a handkerchief and wiped Lin Heng's sweat. After wiping it for a few times, Xiaoxia shouted and snatched the handkerchief away: "I want to wipe dad's sweat too."

"Okay, okay." Lin Heng smiled and lowered his head, asking his daughter to wipe her sweat.

Xiaoxia's wiping technique was definitely not as good as Xiulan's, but Lin Heng couldn't interrupt her enthusiasm and endured it patiently.

After resting for a while, Lin Heng looked at the bamboo shoots in the basket, which weighed about ten kilograms.

But after peeling the bamboo shoots, it is estimated that there are only four or five pounds, which is far from enough for Lin Heng.

Then he continued to dig. There are many bamboo shoots on both sides of this relatively moist ravine. Lin Heng spent two hours digging more than 30 more.

All the bamboo shoots added up to 30 pounds.

But Lin Heng was not satisfied, and he started looking on the hillsides on both sides.

There is little water on the hillside, and the bamboo shoots are all in the ground, which is difficult to find.

Xiulan found that Lin Heng could always find it, and couldn't help asking curiously: "How did you find it? Is there any trick?"

"Of course."

Lin Heng smiled mysteriously. There are few people digging bamboo shoots here, and most people don't know this trick.

"Tell me quickly."

Xiulan looked at him and urged.

Lin Heng didn't keep her in suspense, and smiled and told her: "It's not difficult..."

After listening, Xiulan's face was full of enlightenment: "So that's how it is."

She couldn't wait to practice it, and soon found a bamboo shoot.

"How do you know?" Xiulan became more and more curious. Why did she feel that Lin Heng knew everything?

Lin Heng smiled slightly: "Your husband has a pair of eyes that are good at observing."

"You are so conceited. Forget it." Xiulan pouted and pulled her daughter to look for bamboo shoots nearby.

In a blink of an eye, it was already one o'clock. The three of them had been digging bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest for three or four hours.

"Let's go back. I'm a little hungry." Lin Heng stopped and said with a smile.

Today's harvest is good. The bamboo basket is not full, and there is also a snakeskin bag that is half full. Add up to 60 to 70 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots.

But they haven't been shelled yet.

"I'm hungry too!" Xiaoxia patted her belly and said crisply.

Xiulan pulled her and said: "Then I'll make delicious food for Xiaoxia when I get home."

"Okay!"

...

Lin Heng walked in front, facing the gentle breeze and listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter.

After carrying the bamboo shoots across the river, Lin Heng turned back to pull Xiaoxia and Xiulan.

There was no sun by the river now, and it was a bit cold when the wind blew. After crossing the river, the three of them walked quickly towards home.

Father Lin and the others were still roasting wine, and it would probably take two days to finish roasting.

Lin Heng brought some bamboo shoots and put them in the yard: "Dad, I'll give you some bamboo shoots to eat. We dug a lot."

Father Lin smiled and nodded: "Okay, let your mother fry some meat to try in the evening, and you can shovel some charcoal to roast it."

Lin Heng was not polite, and shoveled some wood to burn the charcoal and went home.

Xiulan also brought a few bamboo shoots to her sister-in-law Liu Juan, and kept the rest for herself.

Xiaoxia ate the kudzu root powder that Xiulan brewed for her, and her little face was full of happy expressions.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no daughter to make trouble, Xiulan and Lin Heng roasted the fire and peeled bamboo shoots together.

Bamboo shoots are not difficult. Use a knife to cut vertically, and you can easily remove the bamboo shoot shell with your hands.

Winter bamboo shoots have fewer shells than spring bamboo shoots, but only four or five taels of bamboo shoot meat can be peeled out of a pound of winter bamboo shoots, and the good ones can have six or seven taels.

The two chatted while peeling.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said, "The New Year is coming soon. Let's soak some soybeans to make dried tofu. There is no fermented tofu at home, so we can make some for next year."

"Okay, make more fermented tofu." Lin Heng nodded. Fermented tofu is one of his favorite foods.

Xiulan smiled and nodded, "Then I will soak thirty pounds of soybeans and make tofu tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

Lin Heng thought about it and said, "Okay, we can also make some mugwort tofu. I will go to get mugwort tomorrow morning."

The so-called mugwort tofu is made with the tender leaves of mugwort. In winter, all the grass withers, but some tender mugwort will grow near the mud.

They like to pick it, chop it up and put it into tofu to make mugwort tofu.

In fact, this is vegetable tofu, but it is not made with cabbage, but mugwort.

But the taste is really missed every time you eat it, and it is usually only made in winter.

Because the mugwort grown in winter does not have such a strong taste, it is still very tender.

Paired with garlic and chili, the taste makes Lin Heng drool just thinking about it.

Xiulan blinked and said, "Okay, let's go together tomorrow morning. I actually want to eat mugwort tofu too."

"Okay."

Lin Heng nodded. Because he was a little hungry, he sped up the speed of peeling bamboo shoots.

In more than half an hour, the two of them peeled the bamboo shoots. Lin Heng took the scale from the cabinet and weighed it.

After looking at the scale, Lin Heng grinned: "Not bad, there are still 21 pounds and 6 taels of pure bamboo shoots."

If it weren't for his parents and eldest brother, there should be nearly 30 pounds of bamboo shoots.

Xiulan looked at him and said, "Then let's keep five pounds and soak the rest into sour bamboo shoots?"

"Just ten pounds, winter bamboo shoots are delicious, and when the bamboo shoots are soaked, they can be broken into spring bamboo shoots." Lin Heng thought for a while and said.

Xiulan nodded and took the bamboo shoots to the kitchen to cook.

Winter bamboo shoots have no bitter taste and can be eaten directly without blanching.

Xiulan made a bamboo shoot fried with meat and a vegetable and egg drop soup.

Soon the two of them served the food on the table.

The meat was bacon, the beautiful bacon belly was deep red, and it complemented the bamboo shoots and pickled radish slices.

It tasted not only meaty, but also sweet from the bamboo shoots and sour from the pickled radish slices. It was rich in taste and went very well with rice.

"Delicious."

Lin Heng ate the meal in big mouthfuls, drank another bowl of soup, and burped comfortably.

He ate quickly, and after he finished, he was responsible for feeding Xiaoxia.

They have started to teach Xiaoxia how to use chopsticks and spoons. There is no need to feed her all the time. Just watch her eat.

After dinner, Lin Heng washed the dishes and soaked soybeans, while Xiulan was making pickled bamboo shoots.

After taking out the soybeans, Lin Heng asked, "Thirty kilograms seems a bit too little. How about soaking fifty kilograms?"

Xiulan took a look and said, "Okay, but it may take a long time to grind tomorrow."

"That's okay." Lin Heng waved his hand and didn't care.

Because it was the ox that pulled the mill, not him.

After finishing, she took Xiaoxia to her parents' place to wash the sheets.

Lin Heng washed the stone mill in the yard.

"You are going to make tofu, and your sister-in-law is also preparing to make tofu for these days." Lin Yue asked with a smile.

Lin Heng smiled and said, "That's perfect. I'll wash the stone mill and we can all use it."

His family didn't have a small stone mill. This stone mill was very large, with a total weight of nearly a thousand kilograms, and a single grinding wheel of two hundred kilograms.

If you want to pull it, you need two grown men, or you can use an ox.

After Lin Heng cleaned the millstone, Xiulan hadn't finished washing the sheets yet. He said something and took Xiaoxia to the village to look for mugwort.

This thing is everywhere in the countryside. Lin Heng took a bamboo basket and picked mugwort while digging shepherd's purse.

Even with Xiaoxia's help, Lin Heng only spent an hour to get half a basket of mugwort and half a basket of shepherd's purse.

Shepherd's purse is one of the few delicious wild vegetables, and it tastes very good when it is simply mixed with cold dishes.

After Xiulan washed the clothes, she cooked for him when she got home in the evening.

The next morning, the two stayed in bed for a while and got up at nine o'clock.

After exercising and having breakfast, it was half past ten, and then the two came to their parents' yard with soaked soybeans.

Seeing Lin Heng coming over, Lin Yue smiled and asked: "Brother, are you going to push it by yourself?"

Lin Heng shook his head: "Of course I will use a cow. Why waste human energy when there is a cow."

After that, he went out to lead the cow.

The cow was fed with straw today. Lin Heng came over and saw it, and was a little helpless.

Because the cow was too dirty, the cow dung in the cowshed had not been removed, and it was all over its body.

If it shook its body while working, it would be impossible to get tofu.

"It's okay, I'll wash it for you!"

Lin Heng went back to get the laundry and brush, and called his eldest brother to go to the river together.

In half an hour, his big yellow cow was completely new.

"Moo!!"

It seemed that he was comfortable after washing, and the guy raised his head and called out, unusually loud.

"Go home and pull the mill for me, and I'll give you bean dregs to eat later." Lin Heng patted its head and led it back with a smile.

Although it was already noon, sharpening the knife did not delay the work of chopping wood.

But what Lin Heng didn't expect was that Lin's mother and Xiulan had already started grinding.

This made him speechless: "Didn't we say to wait until the ox comes before we start?"

Mother Lin said indifferently: "It's the same for people. When the ox comes, we have already ground ten kilograms."

Lin Heng looked at his mother helplessly: "The ox is doing the work, but you insist on doing it yourself. What can I say?"

His mother's concept is not good. She wants to do everything herself.

Not to mention that she is tired, Xiulan is also sweating profusely. Obviously, she doesn't need to be so tired.

He put the ox on and let his mother rest on the side.

He drove the ox, and Xiulan added soybeans and water.

After having the ox, it was a very easy job. They used to grind ten kilograms in half an hour by human labor, and it only took half an hour to use the ox to save 40 kilograms.

Lin Heng couldn't understand why his mother always liked to do such tiring work. Why not take a rest?