jdhmnovel Chapter 137 Selling Pheasants
Chapter 137 Selling Pheasants
At this time, everyone came out of the mountains one after another. Those who were struggling put down their things, ate a few bites of uncooked rice, and then went back into the mountains with their sacks.
Even the village head followed him into the mountains.
Zhou Guo looked at them and thought that they might have to stay here for another day. They just hoped that it would not rain.
After lunch, her mother left in a hurry with her brothers and sisters, and suddenly they were the only ones left.
The camp couldn't be left without people, and even though she wanted to go, she had to stay there.
She spread out all the mushrooms she had picked last night and in the morning. She was in a hurry when she picked them and didn't have time to clean off the mud and dead branches and leaves. She took advantage of this time to clean up the things on them. When they are dried, they will look better and taste better, and she won't have a mouthful of residue when she eats them.
Everyone in the family came to help, and it was dark when we finished picking up the mushrooms.
After a short break, I started to boil water to pluck the pheasants. I stewed both pheasants as one was not enough.
But she had never done this kind of thing before, so she plucked it carefully, not leaving out even the smallest hair. She really didn't want to eat meat and spit out hair at the same time like she did last time. It took her a long time to finish plucking one wing.
Zhou Dacang couldn't bear to watch and took the chicken from her hand, "Go, wash the pine mushrooms. If you keep picking them like this, we won't be able to eat until midnight."
Okay, but she was a little worried when she saw his bold and open posture, "...Uncle, you have to pluck the pheasant feathers cleanly, otherwise you will have a mouth full of feathers and vomit while eating, which is very uncomfortable."
"Okay, I've known how to kill chickens since I was a child. Don't worry about it. Go wash your mushrooms." Zhou Dacang didn't even raise his head, and swiftly cleaned the chicken feathers. He also kept the few beautiful feathers on the pheasant's tail.
Zhou Guo washed a large basket of mushrooms, then took a hoe and went to the mountainside. She found some wild onions there yesterday. Throwing a few wild onions into the soup would give it a unique flavor.
Clean the pheasant and keep all the internal organs, cut it into pieces, and put a small spoonful of lard in the pot.
When the oil is hot, throw the wild onions in and stir-fry. When it smells fragrant, throw in the chicken pieces. Turn up the heat and stir-fry until it changes color. Pour in a large pot of water and salt. Add the wild mushrooms in the water, pour in a basket of wild mushrooms, and cook for half an hour.
Zhou Guo supported his chin and watched his uncle cooking vigorously. The aroma from the wok kept coming out. He swallowed his saliva again and again. The aroma was so tempting.
The two younger ones also squatted beside her, staring at the food in the pot with the same eager eyes.
There was an old man squatting nearby, with his eyes closed and his neck stretched out, intoxicated. "It smells good, it smells good, it really smells good, how can it be so good!"
The other families in the camp stretched their necks to look over here. The younger children could not resist such temptation and they all gathered together, standing by the pot and watching eagerly.
The fragrance was so fragrant that even the adults couldn't help but walk over and stare at the pot. "Sanlang, what did you put in the pot? Why is it so fragrant? The smell is so tempting! How come we can't make the same flavor with the same pine mushrooms?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? They stewed it with chicken. How can pine mushroom soup compare to pine mushroom stewed with chicken?" said one person, looking eagerly at the pot. The smell was really tempting. It would be great if they could hunt prey. An idea suddenly came to his mind and he said, "Sanlang, do you have any pheasants left? If you do, can you give me one? I, I, I won't take it for nothing. I'll trade it for wild mushrooms. Take the money to buy it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was as if a window had opened.
Everyone was clamoring for pheasants.
"Yeah, Sanlang, you are so capable, can you go into the mountains again? We picked so many mushrooms, but we don't have any chicken to stew. The old and young in the family have been traveling for such a long time, and they haven't eaten or slept well. They have lost a lot of weight. We have to make something good to nourish them."
"I want it too, I want it too."
……
Zhou Dacang closed the pot lid, placed the spatula on it, clapped his hands calmly, and then said, "You all want them, how can I have the ability to hunt so many pheasants."
"Yes, yes. You are so capable that you can get something in two hours. We won't take it for nothing. We will buy it with money. The main reason is that the children at home are greedy and the old man is so old. He needs to eat something good to nourish them. Is that okay?"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's not free. You have to pay for it. The big one is thirty cents, and the small one is twenty cents."
"Okay." Zhou Dacang nodded decisively. Who wouldn't do it if there was money to be made? Twenty cents per piece was enough to buy half a pound of salt, which could feed the whole family for more than a month, and if they saved a little, they could feed the whole family for two months.
"Okay, okay, you have to remember, our family only wants one... well, we can actually get one more, or two, but one pheasant is a little small, and there are so many people in the family that it might not be enough to eat."
"What do you mean you want two? Can you leave some for us? Okura, I want one too. My kids at home are always craving meat. When they smelled the aroma of your chicken stewed with mushrooms yesterday, they cried out of greed."
Many people want it.
Everyone has some savings now and is not short of this little money, so they are all willing to spend it to improve the food at home.
There were more and more people, and Zhou Dacang was dazzled for a moment.
Seeing more and more people coming, Zhou Guo hurried forward to take notes, "Hey, Aunt Liu, do you want two? Okay, I got it, I'll remember it for you and pick two plump ones for you. Grandma Yun, you want one too, okay..."
Twelve were ordered out in one breath, which was the quantity for eight families.
The rest felt that there was no need to spend the money. When fleeing famine, they could eat wild mushrooms with some oil in them and be full, which was a great life. Why should they spend money to buy pheasant meat? They were afraid that they would have too much money and nowhere to spend it.
When the sun reached the edge of the mountain, the large army came out of the mountain.
The Zhou family also followed behind, coming back carrying sacks and baskets.
Several people put down the things in their hands and shoulders and scattered them on the ground.
Zhou Guo looked over and counted them one by one. There were four sacks of wild mushrooms and two baskets full of cleanly picked pine mushrooms. Did he go in to restock the supplies?
She looked elsewhere and saw that everyone had some space in their hands, and many of them were carrying sacks on their shoulders.
"Wow, it smells so good, uncle, what's stewing in the pot?" Zhou Gu asked while wiping the sweat off his face and touching his stomach. He had been hungry for a long time.
"What else could it be? Pheasant stewed with pine mushrooms. Didn't you eat it last night?" Zhou Dacang lifted the lid of the pot. "Everyone is back. It's time to eat."
Zhou Guo was busy carrying bowls and chopsticks and adding rice. If the meal wasn't served, her saliva would dry up, and she couldn't guarantee that she would not steal some food.
I don’t know if it’s because of the addition of wild onions, but today’s dish tastes different from yesterday’s and has a stronger flavor.
Everyone ate with gusto.
The aroma made the other children in the camp make a lot of noise, and they only calmed down after the adults persuaded them that they could eat pheasant meat the next day.