Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

"Then run a few more times and pick as many as you can." Lin Heng put the child down and said.

"Then start, don't stay under the tree." Lin's father said without much rest.

Lin Heng first took a rope, tied the mouth of the bag, and then tied one end to his waist and climbed up the tree. The persimmon tree was very fragile, and he only dared to stand on branches thicker than his arms.

After standing up, he tied the bag to the tree and reached out to pick the persimmons nearby. Because they are all used to make persimmon cakes, a small section of the fruit stalk must be left so that it is easy to hang.

In order to pick them quickly, they all broke off branches one by one, put them in bags and took them under the tree to prune them with pruning shears.

Lin Heng picked them on the tree, while Lin's father and Xiulan clamped them under the tree with bamboo poles, and Lin's mother watched the three children to prevent them from running around.

However, the three little guys didn't listen at all, running around with a smile, grabbing a grass and breaking a branch.

Xiulan had to go over with a small stick to teach them a lesson before they could calm down for a while.

After a while, Lin Heng's snakeskin bag was full, and he put it under the tree with a rope, and asked Xiulan to help him pick more.

The speed of picking fruits was still very fast. It took only two or three hours to put a large pile of golden persimmons under the tree. Xiaoxia Luming and others each ate two or three persimmons.

"It seems that it is impossible to pick all today." Lin Heng shook his head while looking at the tree. They picked at least five or six hundred kilograms of persimmons, but the tree didn't look much less, and it was estimated that there were still thousands of kilograms of persimmons to be picked.

Father Lin looked at the watch and said, "Take these back first, and pick the rest tomorrow. It's getting late."

Everyone nodded and started to pack persimmons. Lin Heng and his father carried the most. Not only were the baskets full, but there was also a snakeskin bag placed horizontally on them, which added up to 120 to 130 kilograms.

Mother Lin and Xiulan only had to carry 40 to 50 kilograms, because they had to pull the children on the road.

Taking the children up the mountain together was partly to take them for a run and play, and partly because it was unsafe to stay at home. Not only was it unsafe for me, but it was also not good for the children.

It was not tiring to go down the mountain. If you walked slowly, it would only take half an hour to get home. When they got home, they put the persimmons down and asked Xiulan and Lin's mother to prepare the meal. Lin Heng and his father went up the mountain for two more trips.

They brought all the persimmons home and weighed them on the scale. They picked 632 kilograms of persimmons in one afternoon, which was not bad.

They used a sidecar to transport 300 kilograms to Hongfeng Mountain and asked their parents to make persimmon cakes tomorrow. Hongfeng Mountain was windy, better than the village, and persimmons were not easy to mold.

For dinner, they simply made some noodles and went to bed early. It was tiring to pick persimmons on the tree.

The next morning, they got up early, made breakfast, and started making persimmon cakes. Lin Heng soaked the dragon beard grass in water and rolled it into a 1.5-meter-long grass rope.

Xiulan first selected the persimmons, discarded the bad ones, and ate the rotten ones when they were soft, or used them to make persimmon vinegar later.

After the persimmons were selected, it was also very simple to make persimmon cakes. Just peel off all the skins, and then hang them on the straw ropes, not touching each other.

Then hang them in the sun to dry. After five or six days, when the surface is dry, slowly pinch them into cakes with your hands.

Generally, it takes half a month to a month to dry. It should be noted that it should not be exposed to rain, otherwise it will be particularly easy to mold.

The dried persimmon cakes and persimmon skins are packed in bags and covered for half a month. Snow-white icing will precipitate on the persimmon cakes, which look very tempting with white and red, and can be kept for several years without going bad.

But in general, they are often eaten up before the spring of the second year.

Although it is very simple to make, Lin Heng and Xiulan are still busy for a day. They simply eat fried rice at noon and continue to peel persimmon skins in the afternoon.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon when they finally finished peeling all the persimmons. The process was not tiring. The two chatted while peeling, and the children played around and occasionally came to help.

"How many did you make in total? Did you count?" Lin Heng asked, looking at the large wooden basin full of peeled persimmons.

Xiulan shook her head: "No, but there should be about 500."

Lin Heng smiled and said: "Then count them when you hang them. I'll go boil water first."

"Okay." Xiulan nodded, washed her hands and went into the house with Lin Heng to boil water. The two rested for a while and drank a pot of tea, and then went out to hang persimmons.

Hang the persimmons one by one on the straw rope, count while hanging, and finally determine that there are 521 persimmons.

There are two ways to make persimmon cakes. One is to hang them directly under the eaves and leave them alone, so that many will eventually mold. The other is to dry them during the day and take them back to the house at night, which is the best effect.

But Lin Heng and his friends didn't need to do that. They had a pavilion in the backyard. He took a rope and hung three horizontal bars under the pavilion, and then hung the persimmon cakes on it.

Then he surrounded it with gauze to prevent birds from eating it.

But before hanging it up, it needs to be scalded with boiling water to kill the fungus before hanging it up.

It was dusk when they finished, and the road was not clear. The last trace of red afterglow remained on the top of the mountain in the west.

"Finally, it's done." Lin Heng hugged Xiulan's shoulders and squeezed them with emotion.

Xiulan looked at the persimmon cakes, then looked at him, and smiled, "We made a lot this year. Let's not make persimmon cakes with the rest. Let's make persimmon vinegar. It's simpler."

If it were in previous years, we would definitely make it if we could, because persimmon cakes can be sold for money. Now it doesn't matter, just make some for our own consumption.

"It's better to make persimmon vinegar." Lin Heng nodded.

To make persimmon vinegar, use a clay pot to scald it with boiling water, and then scald the persimmons to sterilize them. After drying, throw them into the pot, and then cover them with film paper to seal and ferment for six months. In April and May next year, filter out the original juice of persimmon vinegar and process it again before eating.

"What are we going to eat tonight?" Xiulan asked as she walked into the house.

"Let's just cook some noodles. There are still some sauerkraut left from the previous stir-fry. It's simple." Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said.

Xiulan nodded: "Then I'll use the electric stove directly. Everything is ready."

They returned to the main room. The three children were on the sofa. Xiaoxia was lying on the sofa playing with little frogs, and Luming and Duheng were crawling around. It can be seen that they were finally tired after playing all day.

Lin Heng went to make a pot of dendrobium tea, and drank two cups with Xiulan. After resting for a while, he went to cook.

While Xiulan was cooking, he put away the children's toys, and then lay on the sofa to amuse the children. The day ended like this.

Most of the time in the countryside, doing one thing is a day.

After eating and washing, Lin Heng told the children stories to coax them to sleep, and then he made honey milk tea with the milk that he had not finished drinking and shared it with Xiulan.

Lying on the bed and reading a book for a while, until the milk tea was finished, the two lay down to rest.

The weather was getting colder and colder, and the two had to lean against each other to keep warm. After a few days, they could burn the fireplace to keep warm.

After lying down, the two leaned against each other's shoulders, lying on their backs to empty their hearts and minds and gradually fell asleep. When they fell into darkness, they could feel the body temperature of another person, and their hearts would be at peace.

When they woke up again, it was dawn. The two looked at each other, and Xiulan got into Lin Heng's arms and stayed in bed for a while. The birds chirped crisply and pleasantly in the quiet morning.

The two changed into a set of clothes and walked out one after the other. The white and golden chrysanthemums were in full bloom in the yard. There was some white frost on the leaves of pine, cypress, sugar orange and other plants. Birds chirped on the courtyard wall.

Obviously they were attracted by these persimmons, but there was a net and they couldn't fly in.

The two finished their morning exercise in the original position. Lin Heng practiced with the compound bow for another 20 minutes before going to Hongfeng Mountain to get milk.

When they came here, they saw the persimmons hanging under the eaves of the warehouse from a distance. It was obvious that his parents were also busy all day yesterday.

"Son, are you going to continue picking persimmons today, or selling apples?" Seeing Lin Heng coming, Lin's father asked with a smile.

Lin Heng said: "Sell apples, pick persimmons in two days, if you don't make wine, make persimmon vinegar."

"Okay, make persimmon vinegar, I'll make some jujube wine this year, without persimmons." Lin Heng said with a smile.

Lin Heng nodded, took the bucket and went to milk the cows with his father. After milking, he put the milk into two bottles, one for his family and one for his eldest brother's family.

When he got home, the children were all up. Xiulan boiled eggs and was frying potato pancakes. He poured out the milk and heated it, then looked at Xiulan and asked, "After dinner, I'm going to sell apples. Do you want to come with me?"

"What about the children?" Xiulan turned her head and asked.

Lin Heng said, "Take Xiaoxia with you, and let mom take care of the two sons."

"That's fine." Xiulan nodded. She hadn't gone out to play for a long time and wanted to go for a walk.

After dinner, they took the children to Hongfeng Mountain. Lin Heng and his father first loaded the car, spread a layer of straw on the bottom, and then loaded half of the car with apples in snakeskin bags. The back half of the car was poured out and spread on the straw, and the surroundings were also blocked with straw, and then covered with tarpaulin, and then they could set out to sell apples.

After loading the car, Lin Heng asked Xiulan and Xiaoxia to get in first. He put the loudspeaker recording the sound of selling apples for apples in exchange and put it in the back of the car before setting off.

The road was full of late autumn colors on both sides. The military green Dongfeng 140 moved slowly towards each village, and stopped to wait for a while at each village.

The first village Lin Heng came to was Baima Village. He stopped in the gathering area in the center of the village for less than ten minutes, and many people came. There were old men and women with grandchildren, women with children, and some bachelors came to join in the fun.

"How do you sell these apples?" someone asked.

"It's the same as what the loudspeaker said, 30 cents per pound, one dollar for four pounds, or you can exchange it with something." Lin Heng said with a smile that the price he sold was very cheap.

It's okay to make some money. He still takes his wife and children out to have a look, and the cheaper the price, the faster it can be sold.

When everyone heard the price, they immediately thought it was a good deal. Someone asked, "Can we exchange it for grain?"

"Grain can be used, Chinese medicinal materials can be used, and anything else you think is valuable is fine." Lin Heng nodded and said that he would accept anyone who came. While he was talking, he took out an apple and cut it in half to share with the onlookers.

Everyone who heard Lin Heng's words turned back, but some people took out money to buy it on the spot. Lin Heng asked them to choose by themselves, and after weighing it, he gave the money to Xiulan.

"Hey, isn't this Boss Lin? Come to my house and sit down!"

Lin Heng was selling things when a burst of exclamations suddenly came from the front.

Lin Heng looked and saw that it was Carpenter Liang who came with his granddaughter.

"Uncle Liang, I'm selling apples. Forget about it today. I'll talk about it next time when I have a chance." Lin Heng handed over a cigarette and said with a smile.

"You can go over and have a drink." Liang Gui said politely, then looked at the brand new Dongfeng truck and said, "I heard that you bought a big truck. Now it seems to be true. The development in recent years has been so good."

He was actually very shocked and envious. It has only been a few years, and this young man has become a big boss. This truck looks so majestic and domineering.

"I bought it with gritted teeth. This is also a must-have method for doing business." Lin Heng was a little modest, and then said, "Uncle Liang, you can pick any apples you want. It doesn't cost money."

"That won't work." Liang Gui shook his head.

Lin Heng directly filled a big bag for him and handed it to him without taking a dime. Carpenter Liang felt Lin Heng's respect and was moved. He gave money to people who didn't want it, so he went home and took a beautiful newly woven bamboo basket to Xiulan.

People gave it to Lin Heng once and then took it. Xiaoxia liked this small bamboo basket very much and walked around with it.

The villagers bought apples with envious expressions. Lin Heng was kind and often gave one or two more. Sometimes he would give four or five more to the poor old ladies. This greatly won the favor of the villagers, who felt that he deserved to be rich.

When no one came, Lin Heng sorted out his things and got on the car. Most of the apples he exchanged were some food, followed by some Chinese medicinal materials, and there was nothing valuable.

However, Xiulan and Xiaoxia had a lot of fun. Xiaoxia would give apples to children who couldn't afford them, and Xiulan would give a few more to the old lady. Doing good deeds would also make her happy in her heart, which was a spiritual enjoyment.

"Which village are we going to next?" Xiulan asked with a smile in the car.

"Let's go to Xiaoxigou. After running there, we will go to other places." Lin Heng thought for a while and said that he planned to run through the villages in Huangtan Town that could be accessed by traffic first, and then go to other towns.

"Okay." Xiulan nodded, fastened her seat belt and hugged Xiaoxia. Xiaoxia wanted to stick half of her body out of the car window, but was stopped and could only stick her head out a little bit.

On the dirt road in the countryside, the car was like a cradle, shaking back and forth. Xiulan and Xiaoxia had to open the window and stick their heads out from time to time, otherwise they would feel carsick.

However, the scenery outside the window was very beautiful. Some sections of the road were covered with cotinus coggygria. Walking in was a sea of ​​orange and red, as if it was a fairyland.

Unknowingly, they had already run through three villages. There were not many apples left in the car, so they stopped in a village in Xiaoxigou to sell them.

They were about to leave, and another old man came and shouted at them: "Can golden nanmu be exchanged for apples?"

Lin Heng was stunned: "Golden nanmu, how big is it?" (End of this chapter)