Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

Lin Heng turned to look at his father, wondering what he was going to say.

"I will go to the mountains with you tomorrow, and your eldest brother and your uncle will not go." Father Lin said.

"Well, any of you can go with me." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Then what time should we set off tomorrow?"

"It's fine to set off at eight or nine tomorrow. If we go there, we won't be able to come back until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll have to go up the mountain and tidy up before it's almost dark. We'll get up early and come down early the day after tomorrow. We won't be able to come back until dark."

"I understand." Father Lin nodded.

After returning with the musk, everyone sat together and chatted for a while, basking in the noon sun.

During the chat, Lin's mother told Lin Heng something. She lent ten yuan to his fifth aunt in March this year, and said she would pay it back before August 15th, but she has not heard from him until now.

"Didn't you ask someone to send you a message asking for money?" Li Baiquan asked from the side.

Mother Lin spread her hands: "Why didn't you bring a letter? You didn't see a reply even though you brought a letter. I don't know what's going on."

"Then you can only think of it as a waste of time. Let's see when people will remember it." Lin Heng looked at his mother and sighed.

Borrowing money, especially borrowing a small amount, is the most troublesome. If you ask for it, people will think you are not generous enough, but if you don't, they will think it's not a big deal at all.

Often the situation when borrowing money is that everyone smiles when asking you to borrow money, but when you pay back the money, everyone is impatient and treats you as an enemy.

There are actually many people in the village who come to him to borrow money, but he only has two words...nothing. Unless it's someone with whom he has a deep friendship and there's something big going on at home, he won't lend it to him.

Father Lin shook his head: "Oh, some people will pay you back the money when the due date comes, and even come to your door to tell you the reason if you don't pay. Some people just treat it as nothing if you don't ask them, and this kind of The most uneducated people are."

Li Baiquan also echoed: "The most annoying thing is the kind of thing that you say well when you borrow money, but have no trace of it when you pay it back. That's the case with Liu Qichang of Murakami. It took me half a year to pay back three yuan."

Lin Heng didn't say much. After staying at Hongfeng Mountain for a while, he and Xiulan took their children home.

Lin Heng looked at Xiulan on the way and said, "When are you going to go to your parents' place for the Chinese New Year this year?"

Xiulan raised her head and thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, it's inconvenient to take three little ones with you. They'll catch cold easily because of the long journey."

"Let's go once. I haven't seen our mother for a long time. My parents and Caiyun can take care of the child then." Lin Heng said, knowing that Xiulan still missed her parents.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and smiled, and said softly: "Then let's go on New Year's Day. Let's go in the morning and come back in the afternoon."

Lin Heng understood her heart, and she also understood Lin Heng's accommodation to her.

Back at home, Lin Heng made some lime water to degrease the brushes. He made six bundles of brush bristles using weasel tail hairs on the mountain, and four bundles of brush bristles using wolf skins. If nothing else happened, Can make ten brushes.

He knew the ancient method of making brushes, and had already tried it twice, and felt that the effect was pretty good.

"Dad, look at the little bunny I drew." Xiaoxia showed her father her work with a piece of paper, which her mother recently taught her to draw.

"A very talented little painter, this head is very beautiful..."

Lin Heng held his daughter and had a conversation. He not only praised her perfunctorily, but also expressed his thoughts and suggestions on both good and bad things.

There is nothing to do at home, so he is happy to spend this time educating his children.

Xiulan was doing needlework next to her, and she watched with interest, because she taught painting.

After playing with Xiaoxia for a while, Lin Tao, Yang Qing and others came to play with her. A few people were pulling a wooden cart in the yard to play house. The big guy who looked like a husky was caught working and pulled the wooden cart for them. .

Lin Heng teased his son, sat next to Xiulan and watched her sewing, and then quietly felt the passage of time.

"The cows will give birth soon, so we will have fresh milk to drink soon." Xiulan suddenly said.

Lin Heng then remembered that the cows had been weaned for two months and it was time to give birth.

"I hope it won't be the next two days," Lin Heng said.

Xiulan smiled and said: "If this calf is also a cow, our family will have three female cows and one male cow."

"This cow will be phased out next year. It's enough for us to have milk to drink at home. I'm too lazy to sell milk powder," Lin Heng said.

Cows are like this. It is generally difficult for cows to live past the age of five.

"I'm tired, let's go for a walk." Xiulan put down her needle and thread and said. Pulling the soles of shoes is not an easy task, it is very labor-intensive.

Lin Heng nodded, stood up and joined her, letting Xiong Ba watch from home.

After leaving the main room, it was cold in the backyard. Xiulan held Lin Heng's hand.

The backyard is as always, with strong pines and cypresses, green calamus, elegant orchids, and wintersweet in bud.

All year round, the small backyard offers extraordinary views.

After walking around the back hill and looking at the cows, Xiulan looked at him and said, "I will prepare the ingredients for hot pot in the past two days and make some meatballs. When you come back the day after tomorrow, we will have hot pot."

"good."

Lin Heng nodded in agreement and watched the wind blow her hair.

Xiulan started kneading the dough when she got home, and prepared to make steamed buns at night. Some of them will be eaten at night and some will be taken to the mountain for Lin Heng to eat tomorrow.

For dinner, Xiulan cooked venison pies. This kind of delicacy can be eaten in three large pieces without side dishes.

After it's done, eat it with a large bowl of stir-fried vegetables. It looks a bit strange, but it actually tastes pretty good.

Tonight they were alone, and their uncle Li Baiquan had already returned to Mujialiang, and the outsiders would come down the day after tomorrow.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, Lin Heng leaned against Xiulan and fell asleep quietly, without doing anything else.

The next morning, after breakfast, he took his father to Xiaozhuo Township.

Before leaving, he went to Huangtan Town and looked at his shop, where Caiyun and Lin's father would often come to see.

Lin Heng met Wang Zhou and asked him to go to the river to get some shells recently. After checking the account in the store, he left.

It was already two o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived in Xiaozhuo Township. After parking the car, the two of them walked towards the mountains.

This time they didn't carry anything, because there were basically no other good things in the two villages in the mountains, so he was too lazy to exchange anything.

"It's so far, haven't you arrived yet?"

At around four o'clock, Lin's father asked.

"It's almost there, just a few kilometers away." Lin Heng looked at the direction and said.

Father Lin nodded and said with emotion: "No wonder you can catch so many preys, this is too remote."

"Hunting is better in remote places." Lin Heng smiled. This is the same as fishing. In areas that have not been beaten by humans, various creatures are always stupid.

At around five o'clock, they arrived near the camp. Lin Heng shouted from a distance: "Uncle, third uncle, are you there?"

"Yes, you are finally here. If you don't come, we will run out of food." Lu Honggang shouted with a smile.

"Brother, third brother, you have worked hard and guarded for so long." Father Lin shouted with a smile.

Hearing Father Lin's voice, Lu Honghai made a surprised sound: "Hey, Xu An, you are here."

Soon the four of them met up and greeted each other by the fire.

After warming up, Lin Heng asked, "Uncle, third uncle, have you caught any prey in the past two days?"

Lu Honghai shook his head, "I only caught a white rice seed, and your traps didn't yield any results."

Lu Honggang said, "I give up. I dug about 30 to 40 kilograms of yam in the past two days. Let's take them back to eat."

"Is that so? Then I'll go collect all the traps, and we'll go home early tomorrow morning." Lin Heng said.

After saying that, he was ready to get up and do it. He had to hurry or it would be dark.

"I'll go around with you." Father Lin stood up and said.

"Okay." Lin Heng agreed.

The two walked in the woods, and Lin Heng took a slingshot. This time he didn't bring anything, not even a dog.

He looked at the traps one by one, and he dismantled them one by one. He collected all the clamps and ropes, and destroyed all the wooden traps such as bridges, to ensure that they would not hurt others later.

After a round of hunting, it was already dark. Lin Heng looked at the clamp in his hand and shook his head with emotion: "I thought there would be prey, but it seems that I thought too much."

This is just a slight regret. He has gained enough from this trip to the mountains, and he is satisfied.

"You have to be content." Lin's father patted his shoulder and said.

Lin Heng smiled and returned to the camp with his father.

In the camp, they stewed some ribs and yam at night, as well as the steamed buns that Lin Heng brought over. This is also a rare delicacy.

After eating, they packed up their things and went into the shelter to rest.

The next morning, they got up early and ate the meat and the last bit of rice from last night. The remaining steamed buns were saved for the way back.

"Let's go."

After eating, Lin Heng put out the fire and said as he picked up the things.

The shelter will not be dismantled. If someone who goes into the mountains sees it, it can continue to be used.

"Let's go."

The other three also nodded and carried their things out.

Arriving at Liba Village at noon, Lu Honghai stopped and said, "Lin Heng, wait for us here. Your third uncle and I will bring some cured pork to my cousin's family."

He came here because he was favored by others. Although he had received gifts, he should also say hello when he left.

Lin Heng and his father stopped and waited for a while, and then saw Lu Guancheng's family chasing his eldest uncle and third uncle out, insisting on taking everyone back to eat.

This is basically the case here. It is impossible to let guests leave with an empty stomach. As farmers, everyone understands the feeling of being hungry. It doesn't matter whether there is food or not. The sincerity of the hospitality must be brought out.

"Really not!" Lu Honghai smiled and shook his head.

After a long time of pulling, all the words were made clear and some white lies were added before everyone was able to leave.

But even so, some persimmon cakes and dried sweet potatoes were stuffed into their mouths, indicating that they should eat on the way.

"You can't drink this wine. Once you drink it, it will be dark today." Lu Honghai said with a smile on the way out.

"That's for sure. It's dark after drinking a meal." Lin's father nodded and said.

"We have to speed up now, otherwise we will get home in the middle of the night." Lin Heng looked at his watch and said.

Father Lin also looked at his pocket watch and quickened his pace. Although he said it was a waste of money, he actually liked it.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived at Xiaozhuo Township. After packing up their things, the four people and the dog went back home quickly.

However, the load was too heavy this time, and they barely made it back. When they got home, it was already 9:30 or 10 o'clock in the evening.

"You are finally back."

On the road, as soon as they stopped, the gate of the yard inside the road opened, and the eldest brother's family, Xiulan Caiyun and mother all came out.

Obviously, they knew that Lin Heng and others would come back today, and they were all waiting.

"Come in, the meal is ready, and we can talk about other things after eating." Lin's mother came over and said.

Xiulan also smiled and said: "The hot pot is ready, just waiting for you to come back to eat."

"So many animal skins, so many!" Liu Juan said in shock as she looked at the animal skins placed on the car.

"Go back to the house first." Lin Heng also nodded and handed things to everyone.

When the things were almost moved, he drove the car into the yard, packed up the things, and then everyone washed their hands and prepared to eat. The copper pot in the house was already cooking very fragrantly.

"Are Xiaoxia and the others asleep?" Lin Heng asked after washing his face and looking at Xiulan.

"I just fell asleep. Xiaoxia said she was waiting for you and fell asleep after waiting." Xiulan said with a smile.

Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, "Should I wake her up and have something to eat?"

Xiulan shook her head: "No, let's eat. Children can easily get upset if they eat at night."

Lin Heng nodded in agreement and sat on the table with everyone. Except for his uncle, all the other hunting people were here tonight.

"Come, let's eat."

After Lin Heng sat down, he didn't care about anything else. He boiled some venison and then raised his rice wine cup to signal everyone to drink.

There is no need to divide the spoils tonight. We can do it slowly when we sober up tomorrow.

The hot hot pot makes people quickly forget about the cold winter, and the variety of hungry ingredients makes people immersed in the enjoyment of delicious food.

When Lin Heng eats hot pot, he mainly eats meat. If he doesn't eat it himself, he will give Xiulan and others a pair of chopsticks from time to time.

With his stomach a little full, Lu Honghai said with a smile: "The hunting this year was very successful. Do you want to go again next year?"

"I also think I can try it again. This time I made a lot of money." Lu Honggang looked at Lin Heng and said.

They all looked at Lin Heng. Whether they wanted to go or not mainly depended on him. If he didn't go, it would be difficult for them to act.

"Let's talk about this later. I may not have time to continue running." Lin Heng said with a smile. Hunting in the mountains is a matter of luck. He likes hunting and taking risks very much.

But he understood better that in this era, he couldn't just think about hunting. If he wanted to make a lot of money, he had to be in the city of Shakugan.

"Okay, let's see next year." Lu Honghai nodded. Everyone was a little confused and felt that Lin Heng was not as excited as they thought.

"But even if I can't go then, I can still send you there." Lin Heng added.

"We understand, let's talk about it then." Lin Yue said with a smile. He knew that Lin Heng had a lot of things to be busy with.

"Come on, let's continue eating meat." Father Lin said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.

It was already early in the morning after dinner. After cleaning up, he arranged for his uncle and uncle to rest in an old house. Lin Heng and Xiulan also went to bed. He was very sleepy. He would have to count the final gains when he got up tomorrow. .