The tent was set up and hay was laid inside. Everyone put the bedding in and spread it. Then several people scrambled to collect firewood and started a fire in front of the tent.
The journey was long, and the group of people brought only simple things when they came out. They didn’t even bring cooking tools or hanging pots. They had already made up their mind to buy all the things they needed when they arrived at the farm. The main purpose of setting up a fire was to drive away mosquitoes and midges.
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At this time, small bites are rampant, especially in places with leeward facing the sun and close to water. You can directly see groups of small bites flying together densely. If you don't set up a fire and smoke it, it will be a disaster.
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Even if it’s just a car ride, it’s enough for a day, but you have to eat!
Lu Lu, Liang Kangbo and Zhao Yongke were all good hunters, so it was not difficult for the three of them. Jiang Zewei and Chen Xiuqing were left watching Zhui Feng and Yuan Bao at the campsite. The three of them took advantage of the fact that it was still dark, and each divided himself into one.
, went to the woods. I was going to pack some wild animals to make do with when I came back.
This is a land on the edge of Weihe Town where people often move around. Apart from some small animals, there is no danger.
Zhui Feng and other horses were a little languid, standing on the grass carelessly, flicking their tails or shaking their heads from time to time to drive away the approaching insects, not even bothering to eat grass.
Yuan Bao and the other dogs were smart enough to lie down by the fire in front of the tent so they would suffer less.
When it was getting dark, the three of them returned one after another.
Lu Lu brought back two jumping cats, Zhao Yongke shot a pheasant, and Liang Kangbo brought back two mallards.
Chen Xiuqing hurriedly took over to pluck the hair and skin. The three hunters were not idle and stepped forward to help. They quickly processed all the prey, inserted sticks and roasted it on the already burned fire.
The entrails of wild animals and the like were sent to be fed to the dogs. Yuan Bao and the others just sniffed them without any intention of speaking. It seemed that they had to take it slow.
While a few people were sitting by the fire chatting, Jiang Zewei took off the things wrapped in a linen bag tied to the wooden saddle of the donkey.
Returning to the fire, the linen bag was opened, and inside were three soba sticks. They were all well maintained. They were all patinated due to being held for many years. They seemed to have been smeared with sesame oil, and they were all rosy.
He first handed one of them to Lu Lu: "These are the three treasure sticks that I still have. This one is the one I used before. It is made of iron plow wood."
Then, he handed the other two to Lu Lu: "These two are from my two old brothers. They are both made of Qingkaizi... I give them to you."
Iron plow wood, also called iron wood, is an extremely hard wood. The fact that it can sink into water is enough to show how hard and dense its texture is.
In the Northeast, Qingkaizi is more common than Tielimu. The bark is shiny and grey-green, with a bamboo-like charm. The leaves are quite large and turn golden yellow when they fall. They are very popular everywhere in the mountains.
Pleasing to the eyes.
The treasure stick can be said to be the most important tool for mountain warriors. It is five feet and two inches long, thick at the top and thin at the bottom.
This size is very particular, five feet two inches, or 173 centimeters, which means to take a ginseng.
The top ends of the three treasure sticks are tied with red cloth strips, with holes drilled in the middle and copper coins threaded through them.
The treasure-seeking stick made of iron plow wood has six copper coins hanging on it, while the other two sticks have four coins hanging on it.
Lu Lu knew the meaning of taking Liuliu Dashun and Four Seasons to make a fortune.
Copper coins are also very particular. We use copper coins from the Qianlong and Kangxi years. Avoid using Daoguang and Guangxu coins because they all have the word "guang" in them.
Of course, these copper coins actually have a greater function, which is to make a sound similar to the collision of swords when picking grass and leaves when looking for ginseng, alerting the snakes, insects, rats, and ants hiding among the grass leaves.
The role of the treasure stick is not only to find reference materials, assist in mountaineering and self-defense, but also has a very important role. It makes a sound when knocking on trees. This is a tool for mountaineers to transmit information, and it can also send out a distress signal when encountering situations.
tools.
When knocking on trees, it can make a dull and penetrating sound, which can be heard far away. In the deep mountains and old forests, the effect is much better than shouting at the top of one's throat.
Screaming can easily make people hoarse and weak, and can easily attract animals.
Without hesitation, Lu Lu inserted the iron plow wood treasure stick next to him, and gave the other two sticks to Liang Kangbo and Zhao Yongke.
They both knew some of the rules of the mountain rangers. The treasure sticks would not fall down if they entered the mountain, so they both stuck the treasure sticks on the ground next to them.
Chen Xiuqing's eyes wandered back and forth on the treasure stick next to the three of them, full of envy.
Lu Lu naturally saw that he wanted it very much, and immediately smiled: "Qingzi, there are only three. Wait until tomorrow, and I will make one for you myself. As for the copper coins on it, I will tie it up for you when I get back."
The Soba stick can be made easily, but the key is the material. There are many trees on the mountain, so it is not difficult to make.
When Chen Xiuqing heard that Lu Lu promised to make one for herself, she smiled and nodded: "Okay!"
Lu Lu smiled at him, turned to look at Jiang Zewei beside him, and said, "Thank you!" He knew what the old man meant.
Many Fangshan people only use one treasure stick throughout their lives to pass it on to their descendants. It also represents a kind of spiritual inheritance, which is of great significance to Fangshan people.
As one generation grows old and the next generation grows up, it is a wonderful sustenance.
Roasting the meat took a lot of time. Both Chen Xiuqing and Lu Lu were accustomed to bringing a lot of common seasonings besides salt in their hunting bags. Simple game can also produce a good taste.
When the game was roasted and browned, several people shared the food.
We were all very tired, so we went to bed early.
The next day, Lu Lu took some money to Chen Xiuqing and asked him to go to Weihe Town to buy some things needed to go into the mountains.
Liang Kangbo and Zhao Yongke both knew about Jiang Zewei's experience in teaching Lu Lu how to lift a mallet. They understood and did not stay here. They also followed Chen Xiuqing to visit Weihe Town.
Only Lu Lu and Jiang Zewei were left in the camp. One patiently told about his experience, while the other hungrily absorbed the knowledge like a sponge absorbing water.
When Lu Lu was collecting mountain goods, he had a lot of contact with mountain herders. He already knew a lot about mountain herders. In addition, later generations also learned about the growth environment of wild ginseng from a scientific perspective. Now when he heard Jiang Zewei talk about it, with a little advice,
Many things that I didn't understand before suddenly became clear.
Jiang Zewei was surprised by this amazing "learning" ability, but he was also happy about it at the same time.
Chen Xiuqing and the other three returned near noon, bringing a lot of pancakes and green onions. This surprised Lu Lu, so he just ate these things at noon. Chen Xiuqing even walked around the forest, looking for
I brought back some mushrooms and cooked delicious mushroom soup in the newly bought hanging pot. The five of us ate it deliciously.
With Lu Lu's special instructions, when the three of them went to the town, they bought some corn and corn flour to feed Yuan Bao, them and the horses.
After a night's rest, the horses and donkeys both recovered and began to eat on the grass. The donkeys began to make their signature asthmatic brays arrogantly.
Yuanbao and the other six dogs also slowed down.
Chen Xiuqing cooked corn noodles, and when Lu Lu fed them to them, they were all chubby and started chasing each other on the grass.
Seeing the fuss, Lu Lu smiled slightly: "You can go into the mountains tomorrow."
Jiang Zewei also looked at the sky and nodded.
Who knew that the weather would become very dull in the afternoon, which was a sign that it was going to rain. Several people were in a bad mood. They had no idea how long the rain would last. Moreover, from the perspective of the mountain watcher,
This is not a good sign either.
We can only wait for the weather to improve.
Seeing that it hadn't rained yet, Liang Kangbo, Zhao Yongke and Chen Xiuqing made an appointment to go for a stroll in the nearby mountains to prepare some game for dinner, while also leaving space for Lu Lu and Jiang Zewei.
Lu Lu also took the time to go to the nearby mountains and found a red cypress tree. While listening to Jiang Zewei talking about carrying the mallet, he made a sobao stick with his knife.
The wood materials suitable for making Suobao sticks, in addition to iron plow wood, Qingkaizi, cypress, ash and oak are all very good. Not all wood is suitable for making Suobao sticks, the most important thing is
The texture is required to be hard.
The yew pine has a hard texture and is not easy to break. It is very smooth. The yew pine that Lu Lu chose was dried and slightly trimmed. It is also quite beautiful.
The three of them were driven back by heavy rain at noon.
What made Lu Lu's mouth twitch was that, in addition to Zhao Yongke carrying two jumping cats, Liang Kangbo and Chen Xiuqing came back each holding a bundle of edamame.
"What's going on with you guys? How did you get back some edamame when you went hiking in the mountains?"
Lu Lu frowned slightly: "Pull it out secretly?"
If it's stolen, it's not a good habit.
"No, we traded wild animals with fellow villagers. When we went out for a walk, we passed by a field and saw that the edamame growing in the field was quite beautiful, so we exchanged some wild ducks we shot with fellow villagers in the field. The fellow villagers were kind.
, I gave him a wild duck and he immediately plucked so many of them for us."
Liang Kangbo explained with a smile: "You can cook salted edamame at night."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sky had already turned dark, with thunder and lightning, and huge raindrops immediately fell, forcing several people to rush into the tent to hide.
Lu Lu handed the newly made treasure stick to Chen Xiuqing. The guy took it and looked through it with admiration. Finally, he looked at Jiang Zewei: "Master, how is this treasure stick?"
Jiang Zewei smiled and said: "It's pretty good, no worse than those two green regular scripts!"
As soon as he heard this, Chen Xiuqing became even more curious about the stick. He kept stroking the stick with his hands. His strange movements made the corners of Lu Lu's mouth twitch. "Qingzi, put it down quickly, this treasure stick is there."
The red and rosy patties on it can’t be made in a day or two, so you have to take your time... I’ve got so many edamame beans, why don’t you pick them quickly.”
"oh!"
Chen Xiuqing scratched his head and solemnly put the Soba Stick upright with the other three sticks.
Several people picked the edamame, cleared a small area in the tent, collected the charcoal left by burning outside, and relighted it. They set up a hanging pot, put the simply cleaned edamame into the pot, and added some salt to boil.
There is no special processing, just cooking it will give it a very fragrant and delicious taste. This is the most amazing thing about edamame in Lu Lu's opinion.
So, the rest of the time was spent chatting and watching the rain that never stopped outside.
And these pods and bean poles have become something that horses and donkeys fight over.
However, it has been raining for a long time. Lying in the tent at night, listening to the sound of raindrops pounding against the tent, everyone began to feel anxious.
Fortunately, the next morning, several mountain winds blew through, and it finally cleared up again.
Obviously, we still have to wait for the rain in the mountains to dry up, so the few people can only continue to stay.
After this period of rest, the people's spirits have been strengthened, and the spirits of the horses and hunting dogs have also been strengthened. At dawn, they can finally enter the mountains.
Next, Jiang Zewei led the way.
While several people were busy packing their things, Jiang Zewei was looking at the mountains around him, searching for memories in his mind.
It had been many years since he arrived, and even he looked at the surrounding mountains with a strange feeling. He had to take back the animal skin book that he had given to Lu Lu. After comparing it for a while, he rode a donkey into the mountain.
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The mountains here are not as gentle as the Xiaoxing'an Mountains. The further you go into the mountains, the steeper they become and the trees become more lush, gradually blocking out the clouds and the sun.
Lu Lu didn't know the names of these places. He only heard Jiang Zewei say something about Dayangmugouzi and Ximaduozi when he was resting occasionally. After passing Heishitang, walking further in, there were mountains with few people.
Several people took off the firearms they were carrying, opened the safety, and carried them.
The group of people followed Jiang Zewei silently through the old trees. After lunch in the afternoon, not long after setting off, suddenly, there was a crashing sound above the forest, and a piece of rotten wood fell from a height and hit them in front of them.
The closest person, Jiang Zewei, was only a meter away.
"Hang yourself..." Jiang Zewei muttered with a very ugly look on his face.