Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

"What can I do?" Xiulan looked at Lin Heng.

"My suggestion is to cut off all the lean meat and make it into canned meat tomorrow, keep some of the fat meat for consumption, and boil the rest into lard."

Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said.

Canned meat is a method of cooking lean meat and soaking it in lard. When the lard solidifies, the lean meat is sealed inside, isolating air and bacteria, and can be stored for one or two years without any problems.

This is also a method that the ancients came up with to preserve pork.

"You think like me, lean meat can only be made into canned meat, but do you really have to boil so much fat meat into lard?" Xiulan looked at so much fat meat, and she felt that it should be boiled into lard. It's still a pity.

Unlike modern people who like to eat lean meat, most people in the 1980s, especially rural people, prefer fatty meat because it has more energy, is easy to preserve, and gives them strength to work.

Therefore, many people will find that they have difficulty swallowing fat, but their parents only have one mouthful. This is directly linked to the poverty of their childhood.

"I don't like to eat fat meat, so just keep a little for eating. I think it's better to turn it into lard and use it for cooking. I can also keep some of it to make soap and sell it in the town to make money."

Lin Heng looked at his wife and said that he had already thought about this when he came back with the wild boar.

Xiulan nodded and said: "You have decided, then do as you say. Let's hang the meat first and get up early tomorrow to refine the oil."

Then the two made a rack to dry the pork in the middle of the main room, keeping it ventilated to prevent it from spoiling.

After everything was done, the two simply washed up and went back to the house to rest.

Before going to bed, Lin Heng threw some vegetable leaves for the pig badger cub and some wild boar meat for the wild cat cub.

Lin Heng hadn't slept well in two days and was not in the mood to fuss. He just wanted to hold his wife and rest quietly.

Compared with passionate love, this kind of plain and quiet feeling of each other's heartbeat can make people feel freer.

The next morning, both of them got up after six o'clock. Xiulan wanted to get up early, but she was held like a child and refused to get up, so she had to rest with him for a while.

"I've had enough bed, it's time to get up." Xiulan took away Lin Heng's hand from her waist and said softly.

"Okay, get up." Lin Heng nodded, sat up and got dressed.

Beside the bed, Xiaoxia in the cot was also awake, looking at the two of them with a pair of big eyes, without speaking, with a smile on her face.

She seems to be imitating Lin Heng.

After getting dressed and washing her face, Xiulan went to take out the plum blossoms from the well. Under the protection of low-temperature cold water, the fish was still fresh and had not deteriorated.

"Steam one for Xiaoxia, and let's eat the other together. What kind of flavor do you want?" Xiulan asked, holding the fish.

"I brought it back to you, you make the decision." Lin Heng said while wiping his daughter's face.

"Then let's make spicy fish with chopped pepper." Xiulan thought for a while and said.

"Okay, you make breakfast, I'll take Xiaoxia to feed the chickens, and take the sheep to the door to graze."

Lin Heng nodded and said with a smile.

"The chickens you chose are really good. Two chickens in my eldest brother's house died the day before yesterday, but nothing happened to any of our chickens."

Xiulan praised Lin Heng.

"Of course. Under normal circumstances, nothing will go wrong."

Lin Heng grinned and took his daughter to feed the chickens.

This is now a "game" that she plays every day, and she will get angry if she is not allowed to feed the chickens.

After feeding grass carp fry first, then chickens and ducks, and taking the sheep to graze, Lin Heng and his daughter played games of identifying objects and talking in front of the door.

"This is dogtail grass, this is leek, this is oxtongue grass~"

Xiaoxia grabbed the grass leaves. She had memorized many of them.

"Awesome, you were right."

Lin Heng kissed his daughter and encouraged her.

"My real daddy! Daddy eats grass!"

Xiaoxia tilted her head and wanted to kiss her father's face. After the kiss, she stuffed a piece of dogtail grass into Lin Heng's mouth.

"Dad doesn't want to eat, so you eat." Lin Heng smiled and was about to stuff the grass into her mouth.

"If you don't want to eat, I'll eat sweets~"

Xiaoxia put her hands behind her back and shook her little head.

Lin Heng couldn't help but laugh and pinched her little face: "If you don't want to eat, just feed me, right? You are really my good baby."

While taking Xiaoxia to identify the grass on the roadside, Lin Heng shot some pigweed, mainly hemp leaves and goosegrass.

Hemp leaves are the leaves of plants used to make linen and linen cloth, while goosegrass is a harmful weed that can be found everywhere. It is said that people would eat it in times of food shortage, and now it is used to feed pigs.

After picking some pigweed, Lin Heng took his daughter to look for thornberries. After all, he agreed yesterday and couldn't break his promise today.

"It's delicious!" Xiaoxia ate the thornberries, her happy dimples showing.

She ate it, while Lin Heng picked it in a small bag and kept it for her to eat back.

After playing for more than half an hour, the father and daughter went home.

He put the picked thornberries on the table for Xiaoxia to eat slowly. Lin Heng threw the pigweed to the pig badger cub.

Badgers are omnivores, eating grass as well as lizards, frogs and other animals.

Fearing that it would run away, Lin Heng kept it tied up in the front yard. He simply made a two-square-meter pigpen with wooden boards and put it in to raise it.

Of course it is impossible to untie the rope, this is the last insurance.

After finishing it, Lin Heng returned to the main room, where Xiaoxia was squatting on the ground looking curiously at the cat cub in the bamboo cage.

The pork that was thrown away last night was gone, and it had obviously been eaten by it.

"Roar!"

When it sees Lin Heng, it will still open its mouth wide and let out a threatening roar.

"Afraid!"

The wild cat's threat failed to scare Lin Heng, but it frightened Xiaoxia so much that she ran behind Lin Heng.

"Don't get close, it will bite your hand." Lin Heng picked up Xiaoxia and reminded her.

"Scared!" Xiaoxia shook her head and shrank her hands into her arms.

"It's time to eat, the meal is ready."

Xiulan prepared the meal, two fish, one with chopped peppers and one steamed, and the rice was mixed with soup. The water was boiling and it would be ready soon.

"Wife, you eat, I'll feed Xiaoxia." Lin Heng sat down with Xiaoxia and fed her the steamed fish.

This steamed fish was salted, and some onions, ginger and garlic were used when steaming, but the taste was not bad at all.

"Is it delicious?"

Lin Heng looked at his daughter.

"Delicious, I want more!"

Xiaoxia nodded vigorously, her big eyes shining.

Lin Heng mainly fed her, and occasionally ate a piece himself. Looking at the smiling faces of his wife and daughter, he couldn't help but smile foolishly.

Xiaoxia ate all the one-pound fish, and she couldn't even eat the main course and soup.

"Don't leave it to me, I grilled several fish on the mountain."

Lin Heng put the remaining half of the fish into Xiulan's bowl, and poured the chopped pepper into the bowl to eat.

"I can't do anything about you." Xiulan had no choice but to finish the remaining half of the fish.

"You are not fat, eat more, you are not even 100 pounds, you are not fat even if you are 130 pounds with your height."

Lin Heng smiled and said that he was not very promising, but he was very happy to see Xiulan eating and to be around her.

"You are only 120 pounds, you should eat more too." Xiulan said while eating.

Miraculously, it was a sunny day today. The night before yesterday, it was cloudy, and Lin Heng thought it would rain, but it turned sunny again.

After eating, Xiulan began to refine lard, cut the lean meat into fist-sized pieces, and cut the fat into two or three centimeters thick slices.

First rinse it with water to remove blood foam and impurities, then add water to the pot, pour the pork fat and fat into it and simmer it over medium heat.

"Too much, my hands hurt from cutting, one pot can't hold it all, I have to make another pot."

Xiulan was in pain and happy, looking at a large pot of meat, she couldn't suppress her smile.

"Let's make white flour buns or dumplings with the oil residue."

Lin Heng said with a smile.

"Okay, if you want to eat it, then make it. Anyway, the wheat harvest is good, and if it's not enough, you can buy some secretly. Now our family doesn't lack this little flour."

Xiulan nodded vigorously, and suddenly felt a little touched.

The family doesn't have to worry about food now, what an incredible thing.

"I'll eat!"

Xiaoxia didn't know what her parents said, and probably only understood the word "eat", and she shouted that she wanted to eat.

Lin Heng sorted out his recent gains to see how much money he had.

In terms of fur, there was one badger skin, one suede skin, three rabbit skins, and five squirrel skins.

According to the current market minimum price, the price of badger skin is 30 yuan, suede skin is 100 yuan, rabbit skin is 5 yuan, and squirrel skin is 3 yuan.

The total is 160 yuan, which is equivalent to the annual income of a normal rural family.

The price of fur is good, mainly because it is exported to earn foreign exchange.

In terms of mushrooms, the total amount of Ganoderma lucidum collected is almost three kilograms. Although there are a little here and there, the accumulation is still considerable.

The biggest harvest was in Baishigou, and it was the greatest credit to have so many Xiongba.

Even if the lowest price is 40 yuan per kilogram, Ganoderma lucidum alone can be sold for 120 yuan.

The rest, there are more than ten kilograms of chanterelles, more than eight kilograms of blue-headed mushrooms, and more than one kilogram of deer mushrooms, which can be sold for more than 20 yuan in total.

There are a lot of boletus mushrooms, and they are also 30 or 40 kilograms after drying, but people don’t buy them, so they can only eat them themselves.

In terms of herbs, the most valuable is Dendrobium officinale.

Two big suns have dried them, two catties and two ounces, and the lowest price can be more than 80 yuan, and if it is good, it can be sold for more than 100 yuan.

In addition to dendrobium, the herbs picked by Xiulan are also more than four catties after drying, which can be sold for 12 yuan.

In addition, there are some herbs such as dog tongue grass and mugwort, which are not very valuable and can only be sold for four or five yuan.

Adding up all the things, according to the town’s minimum purchase price, it can be sold for more than 430 yuan.

If he goes to the city, Lin Heng estimates that it is not a problem to sell it for 600 yuan.

This does not include his 30-year-old turtle, which is worth at least 30 yuan.

With so much money, he is definitely a rich man, not to mention in the countryside, even in the city, he is a wealthy family. The normal family savings in the city is more than 100 yuan.

In this era, farmers cannot go to the city to work, and their main source of income is to sell herbs, mushrooms and other mountain products.

Like dendrobium and ginseng, it is too rare and has nothing to do with ordinary people. Matsutake and Ganoderma are also very rare. Most people cannot pick them unless they encounter a nest or a dog like Xiongba.

The only valuable things that ordinary people can pick are honeysuckle and morels.

The rest are accumulated by quantity.

At the end of the year, the better ones can earn 150 to 160 yuan, and the worse ones may earn 70 to 80 yuan.

The average annual income is 120 to 130 yuan.

Because herbs and mushrooms are seasonal, although the harvest seems good in summer, there is almost no income in other seasons.

Hunting has a high technical threshold and you have to spend money to buy hunting rifles, which is not related to most people.

With an annual income of more than 100 yuan, you have to buy salt, some daily necessities, see a doctor, etc., and basically have no money to sell meat.

Lin Heng can have 600 to 700 yuan in cash, which is naturally envied by the villagers.

If we buy all rice, it costs 15 cents per catty, which can be sold for 4,600 catties, and even sugar can buy more than 800 catties.

His family is now considered a wealthy family.

"It's still not enough."

Lin Heng shook his head. For him, this was still a bit too little.

Especially if he wants to acquire Sanghuang, the more capital the better, but this is still too little.

After drying the things, Lin Heng decided to go to the city recently and convert all these into money first.

If I stay at home and get bitten by a mouse or something, I really won’t have anywhere to cry.

After getting the things done, Lin Heng arranged the two bamboo fishing rods he had made before.

"Yes, I'll teach the fish a lesson in the next two days." Lin Heng nodded manly.

The small fishing rod previously made of bamboo has been modified to be straight and round, with strong waist strength. There will be absolutely no problem in fishing for grouper in the stream.

"You might as well catch it. It's easy to miss it when fishing." Xiulan looked at him and said.

Lin Heng shook his head: "Last time it was just a tool that didn't work, it had nothing to do with me. It will definitely be no problem next time. I will take you fishing with me then."

He is full of confidence for his next fishing trip.

"I don't want to play." Xiulan felt that fishing had no future.

"It seems I have to show off my skills. Next time you come with me and watch me fish."

While straightening the purple bamboo, Lin Heng said that he must let Xiulan know his fishing skills.

He wants to make these three-meter-long purple bamboo poles into beautiful crucian carp rods so that he can go fishing for crucian carp and carp in the Huangtan River.

The oil is refining in the pot, you just need to check it from time to time and add some firewood.

Xiulan took care of her daughter while chatting with Lin Heng. Her days were peaceful and warm.

On the other side, Tian Baishun got up in the morning and went to the Li family who weaved cotton in Murakami to buy a piece of cloth.

When he got home, he put the cloth, pig's head, and a small suede skin on three wooden plates.

Then he went out to find two juniors to help carry things.

"Old man Tian, ​​what are you doing?"

Wang Cheng, who came to help, asked in surprise.

"That's right, it makes me wonder if it's worth the money."

Another person named Tian Jin also looked curious.

"Of course I'm going to thank Lin Heng for the gift. He saved my life twice this time on the mountain. I can't help but express my gratitude."

Tian Baishun explained, and then said: "You two, just help me carry the things. Don't talk nonsense about the rest. I'll give you a dime when I come back."

With that said, he carried the pig's head and walked in front, while the other two followed behind carrying cloth and suede leather.

"Tian Baishun, what are you doing?"

Old Man Tian's movement immediately attracted people in the village, and many people asked.

"Go repay Lin Heng's life-saving grace." Tian Baishun said seriously.

"Life-saving grace?" someone was curious.

"I fell into a quagmire while hunting. Lin Heng found out and rescued me."

He explained that through constant publicity along the way, word spread about Lin Heng saving his life.

And his performance of knowing how to repay kindness suddenly made many people like him. They thought he was a pretty good person and knew how to repay kindness.

"Boom!"

Lin Hengzheng was talking to Xiulan when there was a knock on the door outside the yard.

"I gonna go see."

Lin Heng put down the purple bamboo and walked past.

"Who?"

Lin Heng asked as he opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, he was stunned. There were about ten people standing outside, and there were some people watching from a distance.

"Tian Baishun, what are you doing?" Lin Heng asked looking at Tian Baishun in front of him.

"Old man, I'm here to repay your life-saving grace." Tian Baishun said with a smile.

Lin Heng: "..."

"Take it back quickly. The pork you left last night is enough to repay you."

Lin Heng waved his hand and was about to close the door.

Tian Baishun collapsed in one step, looked at Lin Heng and said, "If you don't accept it, do you want me to kneel down to you in public to repay you?"

As he was about to kneel down, Lin Heng stopped him and said speechlessly: "That pork is really enough, there is no need for this, I did it casually not for your reward."

"If you don't let me in, I will kneel down and thank you." Tian Baishun shook his head.

Lin Heng really wanted to turn around and close the door and ignore him, but with so many people watching, if he really did this, he might not be able to survive in the village in the future.

"Okay, okay, if you want to spend money, you can spend it." Lin Heng spread his hands and opened the door.

Tian Baishun led the two people behind him into the house and put the things on the large cabinet in the main room.

"Don't be surprised by this, it's nothing compared to my life, old man."

Tian Baishun said with a smile.

Lin Heng didn't know what to say, so he shook his head and said, "I really didn't save you just for your repayment. I can't accept this thing no matter what."

…

In the most tiring way of speaking, he expressed that his original intention to save people was not to repay his kindness with money.

Instead, he simply did what he could, and did not want Tian Baishun to die in front of him.

There is no way not to accept this kind of gift, but you must be polite, otherwise others will say that you are greedy for repayment. This is called worldliness.

In the end, Tian Baishun stayed for lunch while the other villagers left.

The news about Lin Heng rescuing people and Tian Baishun repaying the favor spread all of a sudden.

Lin Heng's reputation has become better, and everyone's impression of Tian Baishun has also changed.

After having lunch at Lin Heng's house, Tian Baishun went back empty-handed, so it was naturally impossible to take the things back.

His attitude has also changed when he meets people. In the past, he was vicious and would slander anyone and look down on them.

Now he has become amiable and approachable, which has greatly improved his image in the village.

I don’t know if he did it on purpose, or if he experienced life and death, understood life, and changed completely.

But at least in the eyes of the villagers, they all think that he has changed after experiencing life and death.

“What should I do with these things?”

Tian Baishun left, and Xiulan pointed to the things on the cabinet and asked.

“Just take them and use them.”

Lin Heng spread his hands and said that it would be impossible to take them back after giving them away.

But to be honest, his impression of Tian Baishun has indeed changed. After all, no one dislikes people who are grateful.

As for whether he did it on purpose, Lin Heng didn’t know, because they had no intersection in the previous life.

But I remember that the old man lived a long time and died in his seventies.

Among the three things on the cabinet, the suede is the most valuable. Although it is not big, it can be sold for thirty or forty.

Add the other two things and yesterday's pork, and the total value is one hundred yuan.

"Okay." Xiulan nodded.

She felt that there was nothing wrong with accepting it. In the countryside, people would go to the door to express their gratitude for saving their lives.