After steaming the steamed buns, Li Long learned the lesson from the last time and left some of the buns open. He took a few more and took advantage of the strong sun outside to break them and dry them in the sun.
After making the steamed buns, Li Long was hungry. He took the new steamed buns and had a simple lunch with red tofu. Then he took the fritillaries to the spring and started washing them.
Thinking about the future generations, this thing will cost hundreds of dollars per kilogram, or even thousands of dollars for better quality ones. It’s really a big deal. But to be honest, he has never used it in this life, but he did use it in the last life. He used an old recipe that some people said. Pickle the Fritillaria with honey. After marinating for a month or two, people with chronic cough can eat it. Okay, okay soon.
Of course, people who actually read more books should know that this thing also needs to be dialectical, and not all diseases are effective. But as long as a few are cured, it will inevitably be widely spread. Especially after the mask incident, people's immunity has generally declined, and then more and more people are coughing. Various prescriptions are circulating in the market. Anyway, the price of Chinese medicinal materials has risen accordingly, and it is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish between good and bad.
Li Long wondered if he would also save some of this stuff in the future? After all, it would be illegal to wait until the 21st century to dig this in the mountains.
The total amount of caladiums brought over by Bolati and Sun Jiaqiang was about ten kilograms. Li Long washed all the caladiums, dried them, and placed them on a table outside the yard to dry. The sun was quite strong outside, and there were gusts of mountain wind. By the afternoon, the moisture on the skin of these caladiums had dried. Then he took the caladiums back to the small room and spread them out on the ground to dry.
It's okay to leave it outside in the sun, but Li Long doesn't know much about it. He just feels that sun-drying and shade-drying are different. He doesn't know whether it's true or not, so he might as well just dry it in the shade.
After putting away the caladiums, the sun had set in the west. There were still an hour or two before going down the mountain. He didn't dare to go far, so he simply picked them up in the nearby grass and waited for the sun to set. During the trip, I picked up two or three kilograms of straw mushrooms and some wild vegetables, which I just made for dinner when I came back.
The stove outside the yard is still a bit crude. After all, it is made of stones, which is too casual. Li Long thought that he wouldn't dare to go far tomorrow anyway, so he might as well get up early and get some mud to build up the stove, making it a more standard one, so as not to have to adjust the position of the stones from time to time.
The porridge was cooked on the stove in the house, and the wild vegetables were blanched in boiling water on the stove outside. Then I fried a mushroom and added it to the steamed buns for lunch. It was a very nutritious dinner.
After Li Long finished eating, he put away the pot and saw that the coal in the house was almost used. In two days we will have to burn firewood. He remembered the open-pit coal mine pointed out by Harry Muyushanjiang last year, and he was ready to wait for the sheep matter to be finished and then go pull a tractor of coal back. Anyway, there is not much control over the resources in the mountains now, so you can use them as you like. Even in the 21st century, forest rangers in the mountains are still doing this kind of thing. It is normal to drag down pine trees that two people cannot carry and use them as firewood.
It was getting dark and the wind began to howl. Li Long faintly heard howling like wolves outside, but he got used to it. Holding the gun, he opened the window paper and looked outside, but it was so dark outside that he couldn't see anything. In the past, the green eyes of the wolf could be seen, most likely because there was a little skylight at that time, so the green light of the wolf's eyes could be reflected. But now there is nothing, and I don't know if the moon is not out, or it is blocked by clouds.
Since he couldn't see it, Li Long stopped thinking about hunting the wolf, pressed the window paper, put the gun away and went to sleep.
Although there was a layer of mud on the outside of the wooden house, it was still a little ventilated and not as strong as a dry house, so he planned to add a layer of mud to the exterior wall of the house when he had time.
Many plans have to be implemented step by step, so Li Long now feels that he has a heavy task on his shoulders.
He tightened the quilt and fell asleep.
He got up very early the next day, but when the sky became brighter, he got up. I originally thought that if I woke up early, I could go to the area where wild boars live, but that was definitely not possible now. Even if there were wild boars there, they would have already escaped.
After setting up the stove and making a simple breakfast, Li Long began to knead the mud at the spring.
Because there was no mold to expand the adobe, Li Long had to rely on the original stones, reinforce them with mud and fill the gaps, which was easier.
A lot of mud was needed, and mud alone was not enough. Li Long went to the hay pile and under the firewood pile, got some grass scraps and sawdust, mixed them with the mud, and then put the mud into the stove. Here on the platform, first place the stones, then fill them with mud, and smooth the outside.
Li Long is not very qualified as a mason, but this thing is just like playing with mud. The main thing is to be casual. It doesn't require such a high level, it just needs to be generally orderly.
I shoveled mud over with a spade, smeared it on the stove, and then started to trim it with my hands. Although there were mud spots on both hands, arms, and clothes, the two stoves gradually became three-dimensional and standardized. After it took shape, Li Long was quite happy.
The original stove made of four or five stones has now become a regular earth stove with a square outside and a round inside, and a smoke outlet. Li Long is satisfied no matter how he looks at it. Putting the pot on it, I saw that there were still cracks in some places and smoke was coming out, so I took some mud and put it on, and it made a tight seal.
Take off the pot and let the stove dry for a while. After the water on the surface evaporates, he puts some chopped firewood in it, fills it with hay and branches, and starts to light the fire. This way the stove will dry faster.
Li Long spent the whole morning on the two stoves. After finishing them, it was almost lunch time and there was no movement from Harimu and the others, so Li Long started to make lunch.
After eating pasta for two days, Li Long planned to stew rice and stir-fry vegetables at noon. Of course, according to the old method, you can also dig out the rice cakes and scoop out the rice soup. Ever since I got a rice cooker, I have never had rice soup again.
Think about it.
Li Long was humming "Under the Northern Sky" while washing rice and preparing to stew it. The fragrance of the rice at this time was not comparable to that of rice in supermarkets in later generations. When washing, Li Long was not willing to wash more. After a few times, I have already checked that there is no gravel or sand, so I can just go through it again, right?
Pour the rice into the pot on the stove and prepare to stir-fry.
I still have the leftover mushrooms from yesterday, and then I can fry some wild celery with the meat. There are clumps of wild celery growing next to the spring. Although they are not very tall, they are already edible.
This thing consumes a lot of oil. Many people don't do it at this time because it doesn't taste good because of the lack of oil. This is not a big deal to Li Long. There is a lot of oil in the wooden house, and there is meat, which is delicious when fried together.
The water in the rice pot in the house was boiling, so Li Long took an iron spoon in one hand and a basin in the other to scoop out the rice porridge. The rice porridge should not be skimmed too dry, otherwise it would smear the bottom and leave no residue. Add too much, otherwise it will turn into sticky rice. This measurement needs to be grasped.
Li Long skimmed the rice porridge almost, put the basin aside, and then started to slowly smooth out the rice in the pot with an iron spoon, watching the bubbles coming out of the rice, and then the rice gradually became fragrant. It spread out, knowing that this time it should be stable.
The fire is not very strong, so it is just right. The fire is relatively even and the rice can be cooked well.
Then he quickly went to the table outside to cut wild celery and meat, and put a pot on the stove outside. There was a fire inside, so heat the pot and add oil.
One of the great advantages of using split wood and coal is that you don’t have to light a fire while cooking. Cooking in rural areas of northern Xinjiang requires burning firewood. At this time, women usually add firewood to the stove while cooking. They focus on being quick and distracted. Otherwise, there will be either not enough fire or too much firewood. If it is too much or burned out, it is easy to cause a fire accident.
It is not uncommon for stoves to be burned. Usually something like this can make the whole village laugh for half a year.
And the initiator will also be called a stupid wife. Of course, in many cases, in order to avoid such a thing from happening, someone would light a fire in front of the stove, and two people would work together. Sometimes, the person who lit the fire would also be doing the job of stirring up the noodles and making them out, so they were all busy anyway.
Later, with the advent of gas stoves, people were liberated.
As for the wood and coal Li Long used here, he didn’t have so many worries.
The vegetables were stir-fried very quickly, and a plate of vegetables was brought out. After Li Long poured a spoonful of water into the pot, he took the time to look at the rice, and then tilted the pot slightly. The purpose of this is to make the rice on the bottom of the pot burn more evenly.
Of course, you have to move it a few more times, and you have to move it faster, otherwise it will also burn the foundation.
After cleaning the pot and frying another wild mushroom meat, Li Long stopped staying outside and watched the rice on the stove slowly adjusting it. In fact, as long as you have enough time, adjust it from time to time, and the fire at the bottom of the pot is not too strong, the rice stew will usually not fail.
But there are not many people who can persist in watching and adjusting from beginning to end.
In less than ten minutes, Li Long opened the lid of the pot and saw that the rice in the pot was crystal clear and fragrant. He knew that the rice was ready.
He found two torn gloves to hold the pot down, then covered the stove lid, clapped his hands, filled himself a bowl of rice, and set it aside. I wasn't in a hurry to eat it, so I used a spatula to shovel it down, and then I saw the crispy rice underneath was browned, which was very tempting.
Yes, there are snacks.
I was eating lunch alone on the case outside. Although the sun was quite bright, Li Long was in a good mood. He held the bowl and ate while watching. The sky was high and the clouds were light. There were mountains in front and blue sky above. Occasionally, there were eagles circling in the sky. Something flashed past in the forest in the distance. Then Li Long saw a lynx-like creature. But it's much bigger than a lynx The animal jumped out of the forest. In front of it was a panicked wild goat. The wild goat spread its four thin legs and ran very fast. However, the big animal behind it was faster, with its body stretched out and moving. The ultimate beauty.
When this big guy was a few meters behind the wild goat, he suddenly pounced. It felt like flying and flew out seven or eight meters. He immediately knocked down the wild goat that jumped up in the air and bit it. The wild goat only struggled twice and then stopped moving. Its whole body hung down and was dragged by the big guy towards the forest.
The big guy glanced at Li Long when he entered the forest, and Li Long almost dropped the chopsticks in his hand.
Although the distance was more than 100 meters and nearly 200 meters away, he felt that he had definitely guessed correctly, that guy should be a tiger!
Although the body shape is not as exaggerated as the Siberian tiger, it is much larger than the gray wolf and snow leopard I have seen before. The body length plus tail must be at least two and a half meters, and it is tall enough. It looks like that. Not an ordinary animal!
But didn’t it mean that the XJ tiger became extinct at the beginning of this century?
Of course, XJ also said that there were herdsmen there in Tacheng a few years ago, but I don’t know whether it is true or not.
Now Li Long knows that this thing really exists!
He thought for a while, if it were him, he might not be able to escape from that pounce, even if he had a five or six semi-automatic rifle in his hand!
After all, it’s hard to say how much of a threat a 56 semi-automatic rifle can be to this thing, and in that extreme environment, I don’t know how accurate my shot is.
When ordinary people face a mad dog, they may panic and lose their lives, let alone this is the king of beasts!
Li Long felt that he was right, but he just couldn't figure out why this guy came to the outskirts of Tianshan Mountain?
There are very few bears, let alone tigers, on the outskirts of this mountain. After all, humans are also natural enemies for them. An empty-handed human is no threat to them, but humans are divided into groups, and the forestry team and animal husbandry team have guns in their hands, so they will naturally not show mercy when encountering these big guys.
Seeing such a scene, Li Long felt that the rest of his meal was boring. After finishing his meal in a hurry and cleaning up briefly, Li Long took out his 56 semi-automatic rifle, spread out the gun cloth and wiped it. I have been neglecting this old brother a bit recently, and it seems that I am still a little lax.
Li Long carefully cleaned the gun, oiled it, filled it with bullets, and took a look into the forest, and then he felt at ease.
With this in hand, as long as you don't seek death, you should be safe.
Halimu and the others did not come over in the afternoon, so Li Long continued to look for some wild vegetables and mushrooms nearby with his gun on his back. He thought that even if he made more and finished it, he could still dry some dried vegetables. However, this feeling of not being able to stay away is not very good. Li Long feels quite annoyed that he cannot go to several destinations he wants to go to.
When it got dark, Li Long had a hasty dinner, closed the door, and lay on the bed, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
He thought about it and realized that it was the tiger-like guy who had given him too much impact. After all, even when a gray wolf pounces on an ibex, it will take a lot of effort to kill it. But the ibex we saw today is not small and has horns. Its attack power is not weak in life and death, but It lasted less than three seconds in the tiger's mouth, and it felt as if the tiger had killed it with just one bite.
It’s so shocking.
The impact on Li Long was too strong, so you were a little bit embarrassed, right?
I don’t know what time it turned before Li Long fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, the sun seemed to be brighter.
His head was a little dizzy, but he couldn't sleep, so Li Long simply got up and prepared to go out and drink some water. After putting on his clothes, he just walked to the door, but then he turned around, took the gun, opened and locked the door. He looked outside and found that there was no movement outside, and then he felt relieved.
After putting water in the back of the house, Li Long thought about getting a better toilet, otherwise it would be very inconvenient if Gu Xiaoxia came over later.
Going back to the roof to boil water on the stove, Li Long stir-fried some wild onions from yesterday's leftover rice and ate it. Because of the tiger incident yesterday, he didn't even taste the crispy rice. This stuff is just like freshly made naan. It tastes good when it's hot right out of the pan. Although it still tastes good when it's cold, it's not as delicious.
Before the meal was finished, there was movement outside. Li Long went out with the bowl and saw Harimu and Yushanjiang driving a group of sheep.
Li Long hurriedly put down his bowl and greeted him.
After greeting each other, Li Long glanced at the flock and said:
“There are too many, and my tractor bucket can’t fit them in.”
“It’s okay, we will help bundle them. One bundle, your tractor is fast anyway," Yushanjiang said with a smile, "Buick's sheep. I need to change some rice noodles and some daily necessities."
"No problem, I have a lot here," Li Long pointed to the cabin and said, "Since you are here, help me. Let’s load the sheep into the car.”
He definitely can’t do it alone.
Of course, Harimu and Yushanjiang were fine. After a while, Buick also came over.
The young man Buick is still a little shy, but he has no problem catching the sheep.
Eighteen sheep were loaded into a cart, which surprised Li Long. After all, he and Chen Xingbang worked very hard that day to load only fifteen sheep. Fifteen yuan a sheep, these sheep are two hundred and seventy yuan. For the rice and noodles Buick wanted, he could only carry four bags of 100 kilograms per person and one horse. He packed a large bag with the remaining daily necessities and still had a lot of money left.
Li Long simply handed the money to Buick. He is different from Harimu and Yushanjiang. After all, there is a certain distance between them, so it is better to settle the accounts.
Buick didn’t refuse and took the money with a smile.
"Don't leave the sheep tied up for too long. You should leave now." Yushanjiang reminded, "Half a day is fine, but after a long time, the legs of the sheep will be useless."
"Okay. But you also Be careful, yesterday I saw an animal that looked like a tiger A wild goat was eaten. That guy is too fierce. Be careful when you go back and when you move around. Just take your gun with you."
"Okay, okay. "They chose to believe Li Long's words and nodded in agreement.
Li Long put on his coat. Although it was getting hot now, the tractor drove very fast. It was morning again, the temperature was low and the wind was cold. Without a coat, it was easy to get sick.
After locking the door of the wooden house and shaking the tractor, Li Long and Harimu said hello and drove out of the mountain.
The churning sound of the tractor was mixed with the "bleeping" sound of the sheep. When crossing the Qingshui River, it attracted the attention of many people. Li Long did not slow down all the way and wanted to rush to Shicheng as quickly as possible to get these sheep. Leave it to Chen Xingbang.
More and more people are traveling to and from Shicheng from Ma County. From time to time, you can see one, some walking or riding bicycles. Occasionally, you can also see buses and shuttle buses going back and forth between the two places, or going to other places. Far away.
When Li Long's tractor arrived at Shicheng Old Street, the sun had already risen. There was a heavy flow of people here, so Li Long could only drive slowly, and then went to Chen Xingbang's yard.
But before he reached the yard, he saw Chen Xingbang's stall, where several old men and ladies were buying meat.
Business seems to be good. (End of chapter)