Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

Lin Heng was startled by Xiulan's voice. He turned his head and looked over there, and he was also shocked: "This yam vine is too big!"

Yam vine is the appearance of the dried yam flower, a large white bunch, which can be seen from a distance.

The yam vine they saw was hanging from the top of the tree, one or two meters long, and the number was a bit scary.

"This yam must be big enough, let's go and see it." Xiulan said and walked over first.

Soon they came to the tree and saw the dried yam vine, which was as thick as the index finger.

"It's definitely a super big yam." Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and smiled.

Lin Heng nodded and said, "Indeed, let's see if it's easy to dig next."

This place is a big slope, and it may be easier to dig if it grows along the slope.

"Try it, I think this is not ordinary." Xiulan said confidently.

Lin Heng nodded. It was natural to give such a big yam a try. However, he only brought a hoe today, so it was probably difficult to dig.

He dug down along the root of the yam and was soon shocked.

It stands to reason that the first few dozen centimeters of ordinary yams are very thin, but this yam was only dug 30 centimeters deep, and the thickness was as thick as a wrist.

"This must be a yam, maybe one weighs more than 20 kilograms." Lin Heng was shocked.

"Then let's dig it carefully, and it's best to dig it out intact." Xiulan said.

Generally, yams are only five or six kilograms each, and the big ones are more than ten kilograms. It's rare to find one of more than 20 kilograms in several years.

Lin Heng looked at his watch and hoped to dig it out before dark. There were less than four hours left.

He simply dug a trench along the direction of the yam's growth, and then started digging from the outside, digging away the soil bit by bit.

When he was tired of digging, Xiulan would wipe her sweat, and then she would dig for a while, and the two of them would take turns digging.

Soon, a two-meter deep pit was dug. The yam was as thick as a forearm and looked like a python.

They had no purpose, so they just wanted to dig it out completely. Fortunately, there were no stones where the yam grew, so it was not particularly difficult to dig.

"It has forked, and there are six branches."

After digging two and a half meters, Lin Heng looked at the yam and turned his head and said.

"The fork is not thin, do you want to continue digging?" Xiulan asked.

"Dig it, you must dig it all out." Lin Heng nodded. Now he wanted to dig out a complete yam and see it.

First expand to both sides, and then dig deeper. In a blink of an eye, it was dusk. A red color appeared on the ridge on one side, but the outline of the sun could not be seen because of the thick clouds.

Lin Heng and Xiulan had already dug a three-meter-three-deep ditch, but the thickest taproot still did not reach the bottom.

"I can only give up. I can't dig below." Lin Heng sat down and looked at Xiulan and said.

The two people's clothes were soaked with sweat, and now they were even more dishevelled, like two beggars.

"Forget it, forget it, this yam is too outrageous." Xiulan waved her hand. Now there was still a wrist thickness below, and she didn't know how long it would take to dig.

Immediately, the two began to dig the yam, digging out as much as possible.

Finally, a super-large yam with a length of three meters and six forks below was dug out.

"Although not all of it was dug out, this one must be twenty kilograms, right?"

Lin Heng grinned while holding the yam, and a sense of accomplishment came to him. It was a pity that he didn't have a mobile phone to take pictures as a souvenir.

Xiulan took it and lifted it, nodded and said, "Even if there is nothing, it won't be much different."

After that, she put the yam down, cut it into small pieces with a knife, and put it in a bag.

Then the two of them brushed off the dust on their bodies, carried their things and went home.

It was dark when they walked to the road, and Xiulan was a little scared and held Lin Heng's hand.

Back to Hongfeng Mountain, Lin's father and mother were shocked to see them like this.

"Did you dig into the dirt?" Lin's father was shocked.

"Why are the clothes so dirty?" Lin's mother was also surprised, and she held the three children to prevent them from hugging them, otherwise the clothes would be dirty and difficult to wash.

Lin Heng put down the backpack, took out the bag of yam and said: "Weigh it, we dug a yam."

"Is this one?" Lin's father opened the bag and was a little shocked.

"We dug a depth of three meters and three." Xiulan said with a smile.

Lin Heng added: "And we haven't finished digging yet, do you think this yam is big?"

"It's a bit big." Lin's father was shocked and went to get a beam scale to weigh it.

"19 pounds and two ounces, this yam is awesome!!"

After weighing it, Lin's father cheered.

"No wonder you came back so late, it's amazing!" Lin's mother was shocked.

The words of their parents made the two happy. They took water to wash their faces. They had a simple dinner here and then took the children home.

After returning home, the two boiled water and took a bath, and took the children to bed to rest.

Although their bodies were sore from digging yam, they were in a good mood.

After the children fell asleep, they finished the things they hadn't finished during the day.

The next morning, after getting up and having breakfast, they took the children to their uncle's and third uncle's houses.

His eldest brother's family and mother were also with them, and his father chose to stay here.

It took a group of people nearly an hour to arrive in front of the uncle's and third uncle's house. The dog tied in front of the door barked twice, and then stuck out its tongue to welcome.

"You are finally here!" Lu Honghai walked out of the house and smiled.

"Yes, if you don't come, we will finish the meat." Third uncle Lu Honggang also laughed.

The eldest aunt came over and held Lin's mother and everyone and said, "Come in quickly, it's cold outside."

Even Lin Heng's grandmother walked to the door and wanted to come out to greet her. Lin Heng hurried over to hold her and said, "Grandma, you don't have to come out, it's cold outside!"

"Okay... okay, dear grandson, you finally came up. Your eldest uncle and third uncle have killed muntjacs and badgers, and are waiting for you to come up and eat." The old man's skinny hand like a branch held Lin Heng's hand and said with a smile.

She liked Lin Heng more than her own grandson. It was not only that Lin Heng often listened to her talk, but the main reason was that he knew that it was with Lin Heng's help that her eldest son got married.

"I know, I also brought you a pair of boots, grandma, so you can wear them warmly in winter." Lin Heng brought the boots that Xiulan was carrying to show her.

They came up to play, and there was no need to bring any gifts. This was just a little thought.

Lin Yue also took the things he bought and handed them to his grandmother, saying, "Grandma, I also bought you a cotton-padded jacket to keep you warm."

The two grandchildren both took gifts, which made the old lady very happy. She said that she didn't need to wear such good clothes when she was old, and she laughed happily.

After entering the house and sitting around the stove, everyone chatted enthusiastically. My aunt had already gone to the kitchen to prepare meals.

"Uncle, you have hunted a lot of prey recently!"

Lin Heng looked at the smoked meat on the stove and smiled. Not only are there wild boars and wild boars here, but there are also four killed golden roosters hanging on the wall.

"I changed my gun recently and got a double-barreled shotgun. It is more powerful than before." Lu Honghai said with a smile. He didn't like to use a homemade gun before, but the double-barreled shotgun was expensive and he couldn't bear to buy it. Now that he has made money, he bought one.

Lu Honggang also laughed and said, "I used it twice, and it's really useful. I shot down the wild hog with one shot."

"No wonder, I said you guys are so good this year." Lin Heng suddenly realized.

Lu Honghai laughed and said, "You've almost finished your work now, when are we going to hunt together?"

Lin Heng nodded, "Any time is fine, I'm going to Sanchagou, do you have a good place?"

"If it's a good place... the Yaoshu Yazi behind us is also okay, there are muntjacs calling there every day, I set a trap but haven't caught it yet." Lu Honggang thought for a while and looked up and said, after seeing Lin Heng set traps and catch a lot of prey last year, he came back and started to set traps, but the effect was not very good.

"Okay, let's try it another day. I think there are often people hunting in Sanchagou, so it's probably not very good." Lin Yue finished speaking and looked at Lin Heng again.

"I can do anything." Lin Heng spread his hands and smiled.

Lu Honghai said: "Then it's settled. You come up tomorrow and we'll go hunting in Yaoshu Yazi."

Lin Heng nodded and agreed without objection. Then he talked about the 20 kilograms of yam he dug with Xiulan yesterday, and showed off a lot.

After chatting for a while, Lin Heng went to the stove to sit down and chat with his grandmother. His grandmother habitually took out a rock candy and stuffed it into his mouth for him to eat.

Although he was already past the age of liking candy, he still smiled and put it in his mouth.

Because there were many people now, she gave it to each child, and then talked to Lin Heng about some family matters. Lin Heng listened silently and responded from time to time.

The children had already run out to get toys. His third uncle was surrounded by children and asked him to take wood to carve a sword. He couldn't get away for a while.

His third uncle really spoiled the children. He smiled and carve a handful for each person. Although it was not very delicate, the children were very happy. They took the wooden sword and chopped the dry wormwood.

The meal was quickly prepared. More than ten dishes were prepared. The pork leg was boiled, and a lot of meat was fried. A large round table was prepared and a group of people sat around and ate happily.

The wild boar meat they hunted was not big, and it was okay to feed it, but it was not as delicious as the badger meat. However, the pig intestines fried with sour radish were very delicious.

In addition to these, the golden chicken was stewed and fried. The stewed ones were for children and the elderly, and the fried ones were for adults.

The meal took an hour. Lin Heng and his eldest brother were a little tipsy. It was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

Everyone roasted the fire for a while and got up to go home. When they went back, they took some wild boar meat, badger meat and tofu. His uncle's family had only made tofu once.

When they got home, it was almost four o'clock. They lit the fire in the fireplace and drank tea. Xiulan washed the hawthorns she picked up yesterday. This time she didn't plan to do anything. She just simply washed them and put them there for the children to eat.

After cleaning the hawthorn, Xiulan sat down in front of the fireplace, and while warming herself by the fire, she looked at Lin Heng and said, "I'm going to soak 20 kilograms of soybeans and make them into five-spice dried bean curd."

"Wait for me to come back and soak them. I can help you then." Lin Heng poured her a cup of honey black tea and handed it to her.

Five-spice dried bean curd is an authentic snack to go with wine. Few people don't like it. They make some at the end of every year.

Xiulan shook her head and said, "It's okay. When you have time, we'll make some more. I'll soak the tofu and ask my parents to help hunt it. You can eat it when you come back from hunting."

"That's fine. You sit and I'll soak it." Lin Heng put down the tea, took the scale and went upstairs, scooped out 20 kilograms of soybeans from the big cabinet.

Take it down and pour it into the wooden basin to soak.

After soaking the soybeans, Lin Heng sorted out his hunting tools. He would not bring a hunting rifle tomorrow, so he would take his compound bow. This thing would be more fun to play with.

If he really needed a hunting rifle, his eldest brother and uncle both had them, so he could just take them and use them.

For dinner, Xiulan made sesame buns specially. She ate some at night and gave the rest to Lin Heng to take hunting. The next morning, Lin Heng got up early, made breakfast, and took his equipment, Xiongba, and called his eldest brother to go to his eldest and third uncle's house.

The two of them walked fast and went up in half an hour. The eldest and third uncles were already ready. The three of them walked towards Yaoshu Yazi without staying too long.

Lu Hong said as he walked by the sea: "We can explore casually this time. Don't worry about where to stay. Your third uncle and I have built a wooden house over there."

"Wooden houses are good. Not only are they warm, but they can also protect against wild animals." Lin Yue nodded.

Lin Heng said: "Uncle, if you want hunting dogs, you can find a time to catch them. This year's litter is almost two months old."

"That's fine. I'll go down when I have time." Lu Honghai nodded.

They chatted and walked slowly towards the deep mountains. When they reached the deep place, they separated from each other and began to search alone in a fan shape.

Xiongba hadn't come out to hunt for a long time. He ran around very fast. Lin Heng could only hold him with a rope. This crazy running consumed too much energy. When he really met prey, he couldn't run.

There were many traces of various animals in the forest, but it was difficult to track them. Unknowingly, they had come to Yaoshu Yazi. There were several large medicinal trees with a diameter of 50 cm in this place, so it was called Yaoshu Yazi.

The cabin was built nearby. It was a square house simply surrounded by acorn trees, covering an area of ​​about 20 square meters. The top was covered with tarpaulin, and the gaps between the surrounding wood were blocked with mud.

Although it looked ugly, it was very warm and comfortable to live in. Putting down the rice and other food they brought, they dispersed to hunt. Not long after walking, Lin Heng heard the call of the yellow muntjac.

But this guy was too smart. It seemed to have discovered them and kept moving away. Lin Heng had no choice but to search for other things. What made him feel incredible was that he only shot two squirrels when it was dark.

The first day passed like this. When he returned to the camp, Lin Heng found that they had no gains and felt balanced.

The first day failed. On the second day, everyone got up early and started searching. Lin Heng didn't know what others had gained, but he heard two gunshots at noon.

In the afternoon, Xiongba finally made a discovery. When Lin Heng followed the traces and judged that he had found the cave after walking for a while.

"It's really this thing. It seems that I'm lucky this time!"

Lin Heng smiled as he looked at some subtle traces. (End of this chapter)