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As the sun set in the west, a slender figure walked along a small path in the mountains. There were two marks on his face, probably caused by scratches from the thorns on the mountainside. 。The bleached linen, washed white, bore all the marks of patching. The cuffs still had frayed threads hanging from them. 。Shoes can already come out of the big toe now. 。 Nian Erdogzi, whose real name was Wang Hong, was from Wangjiacun. There wasn't a single literate person in the entire village. This name was chosen by spending ten copper coins to hire a fortune-telling Taoist priest from the town. 。Adults think that a vulgar name is easier to raise. They usually call him 'Second Dog'. 。There are also a whole bunch of dog names, pig names, and cow names in the village. 。The dog has six, Wang Hong can only rank second, so it's Erdogzi. 。Erdog thinks his nickname is pretty good, better than those names like "bullshit lump" and "roundworm," much nicer. 。Wang Hong is twelve years old this year. He lost his mother at the age of five, and last spring his father went into the mountains and never came back. The villagers say he was attacked by a pack of wolves. 。Only Wang Hong and his eight-year-old younger brother, Wang Yi ( nicknamed Siduzi), were left to depend on each other. 。When his father was alive, he rented ten mu of land from Wang, the government official, and they managed to get by. 。After his father's death, Wang Yuanwai saw that his two younger brothers were too young and feared they wouldn't farm the land well enough to pay rent. 。He took back the land, after all there are plenty of people in this area who would be willing to help his family farm it. 。As for going into the mountains to hunt, no one was willing to take him along as a burden. He wouldn't be able to keep up with the game and might even get attacked by wild animals in the mountains. 。Having no other choice, Wang Hong could only venture to the relatively safer outskirts of Cangyun Mountain to gather some herbs. He would then sell them to the apothecary in town for a few copper coins. 。My younger brother roams the fields and mountains all day, looking for wild vegetables, gathering firewood, and taking care of washing dishes and cooking. 。Ergouzi walked and calculated his earnings for the day. He had bad luck today. After wandering on the mountain all day, he only collected a tael of silver vine flower, half a tael of summer grass, and some wild flowers, 荊芥草 (a kind of medicinal herb),追風藤 (another kind of medicinal herb) etc. Altogether, they could sell for at most two copper coins. 。Also found three bird eggs the size of fingers and picked a handful of wild fruit. 。Although the area outside the mountain is safer, with no large wild beasts roaming around. 。But things of value, are also long since few and far between after being ransacked again and again. 。At the foot of the mountain, Wangjia Village was now rising with wisps of smoke, and a few children were still playing at the village entrance. 。Wangjiacun has only dozens of households, all tenant farmers of Wang Yuanwai's family in the town. They make a living by renting farmland and also go hunting and gathering herbs in the mountains during their free time to supplement their income. 。Even during good times, it was a struggle to make ends meet. 。As for the times being hard, selling children was also common. 。From afar, I saw a boy of seven or eight years old squatting at the door, carefully selecting wild vegetables. 。She carefully selected each plant, shaking off the soil and delicately removing each leaf, discarding any that had been damaged by insects. 。Wang Hong walked lightly behind him, not yet realizing 。"Ah!" Wang Hong suddenly shouted, scaring Wang Yi so badly that he plopped down on the ground. 。Upon seeing that it was Wang Hong, he was so angry that he smeared all the mud on his hands onto him. 。Wang Hong was chased and jumped around, until his younger brother had vented his anger. 。Wang Hong took out a small package wrapped in leaves from his basket, the edges carefully bound together with grass. 。"Little brother, what's this?" Wang Yi's eyes lit up, and he snatched it away, saying, "This is your compensation for scaring me." 。“The younger brother carefully opened it. Inside was a mulberry, made up of tiny beads the size of millet, about the size of a thumb, and completely black. ” 。Slightly sweet with a touch of sour, it's my favorite thing to eat. 。Wow, so many tree buds, I dug up a lot of wild vegetables today too! 。"The little guy smiled so hard his eyes narrowed to slits, and he tossed a few..." 。"Mmm... delicious!" He grabbed another handful and shoved it into Wang Hong's mouth. 。I found several strawberry plants in the mountains, and there are still many on the trees. I'll go back in two days to pick more and eat them. I'm going to cook now. 。Wang Hong grabbed a meter of [some ingredient, please provide context], put it in the pot with plenty of water, and boiled it. While it was simmering, he slowly stirred it with a wooden spoon. 。I was standing nearby helping with the fire, occasionally tossing in some berries and sometimes stirring the embers. 。It took half an hour to simmer until the water and rice in the pot were completely blended together, looking like a very thick white porridge. 。Then add shredded greens and crack three bird eggs into it. Gently stir them with chopsticks, revealing green leaves floating in the congee along with a few egg flowers. Season with a pinch of salt. 。A pot of fragrant vegetable egg drop soup is ready. 。Two large bowls were filled, and the two brothers sat on a large stone at the door, drinking heartily. 。Night had fallen, and while his younger brother slept soundly beside him, Wang Hong found himself unable to close his eyes. 。Since his father passed away last year, he has been going to the mountains every day to collect herbs and sell them to the apothecary in town, barely scraping by to support himself and his younger brother. 。Often, after one meal there is no next. 。Last winter's events are still fresh in my memory. The heavy snow blanketed the mountains for two months, covering the land in a vast expanse of white, and making it impossible to find any food. 。The two brothers dug up snow to find grass for sustenance, often waking in the middle of the night. Luckily, they caught a wild rabbit halfway through and managed to survive the last ten days or so by eating it with the grass. 。This winter is coming soon, at home little brother usually dried over twenty bunches of wild vegetables. These have to be eaten until next spring when there are new wild vegetables to dig up, and there are still many missing. 。This year, by scrimping and saving, I managed to put together twenty or so coins, which is only enough to buy two jin of rice. 。It seems like I'm heading into the mountains tomorrow. 。Actually, this Cangyun Mountain has some precious medicinal herbs. Last year, Old Wang the Seventh picked a ginseng that was ten years old inside and sold it for four ounces of silver. 。To know, one tael of silver is equal to one guan, which equals one thousand wen. 。Two ounces of silver would be enough for the two brothers to live on for a year. 。There are many wild animals in the mountains. 。Hunters usually have to gather five or six people before venturing into the mountains, and even then, casualties still occur from time to time. 。It's better to take a gamble in the mountains than to wait for death at home. 。The next morning, Ergouzi tidied up, took a steamed bun and a hunting knife, and stepped into the mountain. 。After more than ten miles, the sky was deep indigo. Here, ancient trees grew tall and straight, with several people barely able to embrace their trunks. 。The ground was even more overgrown with thorns, cutting into their clothes and leaving several scratches on them. 。Wang Hong held a long pole, pushing aside the thorns blocking his way, and carefully scanned his surroundings. 。Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared on her face. Following her gaze, she saw a small clump of emerald green plants not far to her left. 。It is like a pen holder, with white flowers hanging from it. The leaves grow opposite each other and are shaped like bamboo leaves. 。"Ha! Ha! Ha! So many yellow..." 。"Speaking, he took out a small hoe and carefully began to dig. " 。After a while, a total of thirteen yellow herbs were harvested, one of which was eight years old, two were six years old, and the rest were between three and five years old. 。There are still some young plants left unpicked, let them be for later generations. 。This is also a rule among herb gatherers that is unspoken. 。When harvesting ginseng, people often scatter some ginseng seeds around the harvested area. Some will leave small plants in the ground, and those with vines may leave behind vine cuttings. 。If we were to use the method of cutting off all descendants, those precious medicinal herbs would have long since been extinct. 。After that, I found several less valuable herbs. Then I came across a wild walnut tree and picked about twenty or thirty walnuts. 。Hazelnuts won't spoil and can be kept until winter to eat. 。Wang Hong discovered another wild sweet potato vine and was diligently digging it up, humming to himself. 。Ginger can be eaten raw, with a sweet and refreshing taste. It can quench thirst and relieve pain. Tear off a small piece and chew it happily. 。Lotus root can also be boiled and eaten, the taste is a bit like cooked taro, very nutritious. 。can also be sold as medicine <<< >>>。> |
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