Chapter 377 The Necessity of Outbreeding
As if to give the farmers who had worked hard all spring a break, a light rain fell quietly, and the entire mountain village was enveloped in a misty drizzle.
The fields are full of green seedlings and chubby corn seedlings. The main crops they plant here in spring are rice and corn, followed by sweet potatoes and potatoes, and then crops such as soybeans and peanuts.
Viewed from the sky, the valley where Hongfeng Mountain is located is full of beautiful terraced fields, and the crops grown in them are neat and lush.
This is all dug out by farmers with hoe after hoe. It is these hard-working farmers who have provided the most basic and important food security for the development of the country in this era.
On the Red Maple Mountain side, in the breeding base surrounded by beautiful roses, the growing ryegrass and alfalfa swayed in the wind. After more than a month of growth, they were already very lush.
Further up, the round-leaf astragalus seedlings are also growing very well, with neat emergence and lush growth.
Several dogs were tied in different locations, guarding everything on Hongfeng Mountain.
In the hatching room above the shrimp pond, Lin Heng and his father were checking the hatching status of the green shrimps. The hatching work of the green shrimps has also been going on. Now the shrimp larvae are starting to be born one after another, and one by one they are transparent. The shrimps swim quickly in the water.
Father Lin looked at the shrimp seedlings and commented: "This seems to be no different from last year. I think you spent nearly a hundred yuan in vain."
The female shrimp here come from his own shrimp pond and were raised last year, while the male shrimp were purchased by Lin Heng from Huangtan Town and come from the Huangtan River in the town.
Lin Heng originally said this was to prevent inbreeding and select broodstock from different regions so that the offspring would have stronger disease resistance and other aspects.
While observing the shrimp seedlings, Lin Heng responded: "You can't tell it just by looking at the appearance. What changes is the genes. It's the same as the children of ancient incestuous creatures who were prone to deformities."< br>
There is also a lot of knowledge involved in breeding and breeding. Many details determine success or failure. You cannot save this money.
"Are we going to treat cattle and sheep like this too?" Father Lin asked again.
Lin Heng nodded: "Yes, the same goes for other animals. When this batch of black goats are born this year, I will buy a few more breeding males next year for breeding."
There are constantly new foreign genes. Injection can ensure the health of sheep and cattle.
Father Lin said doubtfully: "Then I think there are a few people in the village who raise dozens of sheep. If they don't do it like this, there seems to be no problem."
Lin Heng patted his father's He smiled over his shoulder and said, "Dad, you have to understand that it doesn't matter if it looks fine. There will be no problem with the watch. Once something goes wrong in the breeding industry, the losses will be huge. There is no point in regretting it at that time. Just do what I say and you will be sure to be right.”
He understood that his father was still thinking like a farmer. , always want to save money unconsciously.
But these are all based on experience. Just like cattle and sheep breeding, inbreeding often seems to have no problem, but once you encounter a disease, you will find that the resistance of both parties is completely different.
Many experiments have also verified that the offspring of this closely related gene are far inferior to the offspring of distantly related genes.
"I'll do whatever you tell me to do. I don't understand anyway." Although Father Lin still didn't understand, he was willing to do what Lin Heng said.
"So I am very worried about the reproduction of forest musk deer. It will all be inbreeding later." Lin Heng shook his head helplessly.
But there is nothing he can do. The number of forest musk deer on the mountain is getting smaller and smaller. Last year, they were not encountered, let alone captured alive.
We can only see if we can introduce some forest musk deer from other places later. He is not the only one engaged in forest musk deer breeding.
After watching the shrimp fry, Father Lin came to the plum blossom fry pond, looked at the thermometer and said: "I'm afraid these plum blossom fry need to be returned to the mountain. The water temperature here is already 18 degrees."< br>
The plum blossom fry here are divided into four areas for breeding according to their sizes. The largest is five centimeters long, while the smallest is only two centimeters in size. The total number is about 15,000.
Carnivorous fish have the habit of cannibalism, so they need to be cultured separately.
Lin Heng feeds these fry very well, with high-protein feed, but their growth rate is not fast and cannot be compared with that of bass and mandarin fish.
It has been almost two months since they hatched. They are fed every day in the breeding environment, and the largest one is only as long as a finger. At this rate, it would be good if they can grow to two kilograms in a year in the breeding environment.
Lin Heng nodded and said: "Let's set up a few cages in the mountain top reservoir to raise them in the past two days. We will definitely not be able to raise them here."
When the weather gets hot, the temperature in the hatching pool rises Very quickly, it is no longer suitable to keep this kind of cold water fish.
“It’s been a heavy task recently, and I have to disinfect the shrimp ponds.” Father Lin said with emotion with a smile.
"You can just find helpers when the time comes. There is no need to work alone." Lin Heng nodded and said that he was often caught up in work.
After seeing the situation of the fish and shrimp, the two of them started making cages. They mainly used very fine gauze and bamboo sheets, with foam strips on the top acting as buoyancy devices, which generally lasted a year.
It was already 12 noon when it was done. Lin Heng walked out of the incubation room and took a look at the drizzle outside, and took a deep breath.
"I'm going back, parents. I won't be coming over this afternoon." Lin Heng looked at his parents and said.
"Go ahead." Father Lin handed him the umbrella.
Walking down, you can hear the loud rushing sound of the mountain stream next to you. This is not caused by rising water, but the water in the shrimp pond they are releasing.
Wait until the water has been drained and disinfected before draining and raising the water. The silver carp and bighead carp that were mixed in the shrimp pond had already been caught and put in another pond.
Shuikou also used a large net to catch some washed-out creek groupers and green shrimps. Lin Heng walked over and took a look and found that there were already four or five kilograms of fish and shrimps, most of which were green shrimps. , there are only a few streams of rock grouper.
Shouting loudly, he asked his father to bring two bags over, divide the shrimps into two halves, give one to his parents, and he would take one back.
When he got home, he opened the door and was greeted by his daughter and Xiongba. Xiaoxia looked at Lin Heng holding so many green shrimps and said happily: "Dad, did you catch this? You really It’s so annoying.”
“He’s caught, come and hold it high”
Lin Heng held her up high and walked back along the corridor.
"Woo! Woo!"
Lifted up by Lin Heng, Xiaoxia cheered, always giggling, as if anything could make her happy.
Lin Heng walked into the room and looked at Xiulan who was still cooking and shouted with a smile: "Honey, do you want to fry another fresh shrimp? They are all fresh shrimps with eggs, which are the most delicious."
"Okay, bring it to me and I'll take care of it." Xiulan nodded and said.
"Let me do it, you cook first."
Lin Heng said to sit down and handle the shrimps. He didn't like to slowly devein the shrimps while eating, so he chose to handle them now.
The main thing is to take out the shrimp threads. The fresh shrimps can be taken out by squeezing and gently pulling them from the back of the neck. The green shrimps he cultivated are very large and are not difficult to handle. .
Xiulan fried the pumpkin tips in the pot and came over to help Lin Heng to handle them together. After finishing, she fried two kilograms of fresh shrimps at once.
Blue prawns are inherently fragrant, and when fried with eggs, the aroma of shrimp roe becomes even more intense. A plate of green prawns with garlic sauce, a plate of stir-fried pumpkin tip meat, and a piece of egg yolk soup is what we have for lunch. It’s time to eat.
Needless to say, the taste of shrimp is delicious. It tastes delicious no matter how you stir-fry it. With a little bit of skill, you can have a delicious meal.
Like her parents, Xiaoxia now eats her food without removing the shell. Her teeth are now in better shape now that they are full of teeth.
After eating the green shrimp, he gave Xiaoxia the oil containing a large amount of shrimp seeds to mix with rice. Lin Heng and the two of them didn’t need to feed that bowl of rice, and it was finished in a short time.
While they were eating, the two sons in the stroller next to them were also humming, twisting their arms and legs, as if they wanted to get up to eat.
"They are four months old and can eat complementary food. Do you want to get some for them to try?" Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and asked.
In the past four months, the two little guys have been relatively healthy. They have only gotten sick twice, both with minor colds. Apart from getting vaccinated, they have never been to the hospital.
Xiulan nodded and agreed: "I'll cook some rice flour to make a paste for you to try."
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.
Xiulan stood up after finishing her meal and said, "You can handle the remaining yellow flower soup." "No problem." Lin Heng smiled, picked up the basin, and drank the rest.
After drinking, he put away the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen, and Xiulan used the electric stove to make complementary food for her two sons.
The electric stove in this era was a ceramic base with a coil of spring-like heating resistor installed on it. The principle was the same as the later electric oven for heating.
This thing is not expensive, but it consumes a lot of electricity. Now the electricity bill is 20 cents per unit, and he doesn’t use much at home.
Xiulan boils the water, adds the powder mixed with rice flour and lotus root starch, and cooks it until it becomes a paste. After cooking, don’t put anything in it, just set it aside to cool.
Putting sugar and other things in the early stage will affect the formation of children's taste.
Lin Heng took his two sons out and put them on the sofa. He watched them twist and turn over and crawl for a long time, only a few centimeters.
“Come on, feed it and give it a try!”
Xiulan felt that the temperature of the complementary food was almost the same, so she brought it over and said.
“Two little cuties have eaten!”
Lin Heng picked up his two sons, one in each arm.
"I also watch my brother eating!"
Xiaoxia threw away her shoes and climbed onto the sofa, lying on Lin Heng's shoulder and watching.
Xiulan blew on the food, tasted it herself, and then tried to feed it to Lin Luming first.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!!” Lin Luming turned his head and babbled, not wanting to eat.
"Then give Du Heng a try." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Xiulan nodded and tried feeding her youngest son again. Lin Duheng took a lick, blinked, ate it, and let out a silly smile.
“Eat, eat, eat, little brother!” Xiaoxia was the first to cheer, even happier than Lin Heng and Xiulan.
The two younger brothers seemed to have become accustomed to the eldest sister's actions. In comparison, they just waved and had no reaction.
“After eating, let’s have some more!”
Xiulan blew and fed some more to Du Heng.
The little guy seemed to like the taste very much and took several bites in a row.
“Wow wow wow!!”
It seemed that Lu Ming was envious when he saw his younger brother eating, and burst into tears.
"Come on, come on, eat some."
Xiulan fed Lu Ming some more, and this time he ate it without vomiting.
The two of them ate a little complementary food and stopped eating. Xiulan didn't feed her more and ate the rest by herself.
Complementary feeding should be given step by step. Children will not eat it if they don’t want it.
Watching the two children grow up little by little, they both felt a sense of accomplishment.
After eating, let them play on the sofa for a while and then put them back in the stroller.
"If that doesn't work, let's get a crib in the main room. It's a big place so they can play by themselves." Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and suggested.
"I can get one." Xiulan nodded and agreed.
"Then I will ask Carpenter Liang to make one in two days." Lin Heng nodded. His father has been very busy recently and has no time to do it.
After resting for a while, Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said, "Didn't you say that you have to harvest honey recently? Today is quite appropriate."
"It is indeed quite appropriate."
Lin Heng nodded, went to get the road, set up the ladder and went up to cut honey.
Although he was very experienced himself, he still wore a bee-proof gauze hat.
When you open the sealed box, you will find densely packed bees inside. The two boxes of bees in the backyard are now a strong swarm, and the honey production is also very impressive.
The only pity is that this year a nest came out, but he didn't receive it, and he doesn't know where it went.
With a dagger, he slowly cut off the honey. When you are no longer afraid, the bees will not attack you.
“This spring honey harvest is also a bumper harvest. I’m afraid the weight of the honey is more than ten kilograms, right?”
Xiulan looked at the pot of honey and said happily. She really likes to eat honey. With bees at home, she can eat more lavishly.
"Absolutely. The honey is very good this spring." Lin Heng smiled and nodded.
After returning to the house, the two squeezed out the honey, filtered it through gauze, and weighed it. They found seven kilograms of pure honey, which was a very good yield.
The residue left after the honey is filtered is not wasted. Put it in a pot and filter it twice with gauze, then pour in cold water, and the natural beeswax will condense on the water surface.
After repeating it twice, you can get natural beeswax that is very pure and edible.
"It used to be eight kilograms, and we have a total of fifteen kilograms of honey."
Xiulan said happily, this is the amount after eating nearly five or six kilograms last year.
“There are still two or three kilograms of harvest from Hongfeng Mountain, which is enough to eat.” Lin Heng said with a smile.
There are two barrels on the side of Hongfeng Mountain to be precise. When the bees were sorted, a beehive was placed there in advance, and the bees lived directly in it.
It’s just that the newly separated box probably doesn’t contain much honey.
"Then make some honey milk tea tomorrow morning." Xiulan said with a wink.
“We can make it now. I’ll burn charcoal and make honey-glazed grilled spots for us to eat at night.”
Lin Heng said with a smile, he shot two turtle doves a few days ago and they are still there. I haven't eaten it in the refrigerator, so I happened to bake it this time.
"That's okay." Xiulan agreed with a smile.
The two made a small charcoal fire, first boiled a pot of honey and strawberry milk tea, and then roasted two turtle doves. The roasted turtle doves smelled even more fragrant than honey-glazed squabs.
The meal in the evening consisted of two honey doves, milk tea, five baked potatoes, and a plate of freshly picked strawberries.
Dinner like this will make those who eat it happy to dream.
The rain was still falling the next day. It was moderate rain but it didn’t show any intention of stopping. It rained for three days in a row.
It rained all of a sudden on June 5th. The rain finally stopped that morning. After breakfast, Xiulan was preparing to go up the mountain to collect fungi, but Mother Lin brought some bad news. .
(End of this chapter)