Chapter 24 Wild Boar Feast
It is said that Taishang Laojun once practiced elixir here. This mountain is named after it. Laojun is one of the three Qings in the four emperors in the sky. He is the first god in Taoism, so this mountain has more fairy spirit. Standing behind the uncle, the two looked up from the foot of the mountain, surrounded by clouds and fog. The steep slope of the cliff is full of various trees, and the paths up the mountain are full of rotten leaves and loose mud. If you are not careful, you will fall.
The cat was tied to a backpack with a tent by Zhou Xirui, but this weight is very easy for the cat. On such a slippery slope, it still flies happily all the way, and you can't see it for a while. After Zhou Xirui shouted for a moment, he quickly ran back and stretched out his claws to lie on Zhou Xirui's shoulder. Zhou Xirui quickly dodged away. This guy's feet were full of mud. The uncle didn't mind and gave the excited cat a big hug. He patted its huge head and told the cat not to run far away as if talking to the child. Atso was used to walking on mountain roads and had to leave the two behind for a long time. Soon the cat chased him up and followed him.
When they came out in the morning, the aunt stuffed bacon and melon vegetables in their backpacks and put some rice in the uncle's bag, lest they could go up the mountain to eat well. The uncle also carried a small pot on his back. If it hadn't been for the cats to help carry the tent, it would have been more difficult for them to climb up the mountain. The uncle said that it would take two days to go back and forth to the mountain, and he would rest on the mountain for one night. Because they want to hunt, the route they take is not for tourists going up the mountain. They are basically walking in the uninhabited areas of the deep mountains, so that they will stay on the mountain for a longer time.
Along the way, you can see some people in the mountains, and some slopes are full of half-height corn. Some people on the mountain planted arrow bamboo in front of and behind their houses. From time to time, you can see one or two old people weaving bamboo baskets outside the house. The uncle said that the arrow bamboo is not planted. It is suitable for the growth of arrow bamboo here. Some mountains are full of this kind of bamboo. Locals like to use this to make daily necessities, and some are also made into baskets for sale as handicrafts. Anyway, locals can't live without this bamboo. And arrow bamboo is also the panda's favorite food, and there are also giant pandas here. The uncle said that I heard from the older generation that in the past, locals saw pandas for food. Now of course, they are protected from animals, but now the number of pandas is decreasing.
As they spoke, they walked to the depths of the bamboo forest. The uncle pointed to the white mesh fungus under the bamboo and said that bamboo was delicious. Zhou Xirui went over and picked it off and smelled the smell of bamboo. Some people doubt that this thing can really be eaten? The uncle took out a plastic bag and put the bamboo in the bag. Along the way, he met the bamboo. The uncle was very patient and picked all of them. Although Zhou Xirui doubted whether this thing could be eaten, he was still very interested in helping the uncle find it. After waiting for a long time, the people didn't follow, so they turned back and slowed down to walk with them.
When they walked under a cliff, the cat suddenly looked at the cliff and cried. Acuo looked up and saw that it was a little snake. Seeing that the snake Zhou Xirui had an instinctive fear, he hurriedly called the cat and wanted to leave quickly. Unexpectedly, the snake was scared by the cat and wanted to climb away, but the cliff was too smooth, so the snake fell down.
At this time, an incredible scene happened. The fallen snake fell into four or five sections, and each section beat and approached the snake's head. Soon he became a snake again, and then he wanted to drill into the grass. When the uncle saw it, he rushed over and grabbed the snake's head. As soon as the snake struggled, the snake's body fell to the ground two more. The uncle put the snake into a woven bag, tied the mouth of the woven bag into a knot, and hung it on his back bag. The two asked the uncle curiously, what is this strange snake? The uncle said, "This snake is a rare precious medicinal material. After picking up one of them, the snake can't live. Using this snake to make medicinal wine can cure bone disease and other chronic diseases." The uncle laughed and said, "I'm so lucky today. I haven't been able to catch it for decades, but I saw my grandfather catch one when I was a child. But I don't know what this is. I only heard my grandfather call it a broken bone snake.
In the evening, they came between the Turtle Gorge and the Maqigou, where there was abundant water and suitable for camping. In a small flat land, Xi Rui and his uncle set up a tent last week. The mountain spring is cold and clear, pouring down in the valley, and the empty mountains are overflowing with thick echoes. Acuo roared at the waterfall. He liked this place very much.
The cat was also tired of running and lay on a big stone to rest, with a light of joy in his eyes. Atso went over and touched the cat's head. He stayed in the forest and understood the cat very well and knew that it liked this place. In fact, for animals, their paradise is this primitive forest!
After helping to set up the tent, the uncle did not rest. The mountain people were used to hard work. He let the two children rest, but he climbed up the hillside next to him to look for firewood. Zhou Xirui sat on the stone, got out of his boots and made a few big bubbles on the soles of his feet. It seems that it was the reason why he didn't exercise for a long time. Zhou Xirui felt that his physical strength was too poor and he couldn't walk far. He found a box from his backpack, took out a toothpick to puncture the bubble, squeezed out the water inside, took out a new wound spray, and sprayed it carefully before putting on his socks and boots.
The uncle has picked up some dry branches, quickly built three large stones into a temporary stove, put some rice in the small pot and washed them in the stream, poured the rice into the cut bamboo tube, stuffed them with wild plantain leaves, and finally put the bamboo tube on the stove and added branches to set it on fire. Looking this way, the cat stretched out, licked his mouth, lay on the stone and squinted his eyes and took a nap.
Zhou Xirui also took out a plastic chopping board, touched the machete, took out the bacon prepared by the aunt, and cleaned it in the stream. It was thinly cut into thin slices on the vegetable plate, and a few cucumbers were also cut into thin slices. Then take out some small bottles of oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar from the backpack and put them on the side of the stove.
The uncle took out a few bamboo shoots he had found and cleaned them in the stream and tore them into pieces. Put it on a wild banana leaf for later use. He groped in the plastic bag containing melon and vegetables for a while, took out some garlic, peeled it and put it on the bamboo side for later use.
The three chatted for half an hour and estimated that the bamboo tube rice was ready. The uncle wrapped the end of the bamboo tube with wild plantain leaves and took it out. Because it was too hot, he quickly threw it on the stone next to hang it. The uncle boiled some oil with the fat meat of the bacon and stir-fried the bamboo shoots, put in water and garlic cloves to boil and put them in a bowl. Turn around and let Acuo put it on the paved wild banana leaves over there. Then he stir-fried the bacon and cucumber, then cut a bamboo tube and took out the rice, pulled more than half of the cucumber fried bacon in the rice, and put it in front of the cat. The cat was also hungry and ate it. The uncle saw the delicious food and touched its head with relief. The uncle has regarded the cat as his baby. He loves it very much, and even Zhou Xirui is a little jealous.
After watching the cat finished eating, the uncle opened the bamboo tube and the two sat on the floor of the wild plantain shop for dinner. This meal made all three people hungry, and the bamboo tube rice with the fragrance of bamboo is really tempting. After the bamboo is made into soup, it is also very smooth and delicious. This meal was really satisfying. When night fell, lying in the tent, the three listened to the calls of birds or monkeys from time to time in the quiet mountains, and soon fell asleep in a daze.
The next day, they finally climbed to the highest point of Laojun Mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain and looking at the sea of clouds halfway up the mountain, they had a sense of detachment. Zhou Xirui feels that it is not strange that Laojun wants to practice here. This is really a good place for people to calm down and forget their troubles!
It's much easier to go down the mountain than to go up the mountain. The uncle took another shortcut down the mountain and returned halfway up the mountain in less than three hours. Near a low bush, the uncle and Acuo suddenly slowed down. They found that wild boar footprints were everywhere. The uncle was nervous and excited. He was afraid of meeting an adult boar. It was easy for such a big guy to grow to 400 to 500 pounds, and his sharp tusks would kill him. Last time he was hunting alone, he met the big wild boar with red eyes and rushed towards him fiercely. If it hadn't been for a big tree next to it and climbed fast, I'd be afraid that the bones would be rotten in this mountain now.
I'm excited that if you encounter a half-sized or wild boar with cubs, you don't have to kill the New Year pig this year. The bacon made of wild boar is much better than the meat of domestic pigs. The cat also smelled the wild boar, quickly alerted, and suddenly rushed into the depths of the trees. The uncle quickly followed. Zhou Xirui and Acuo also quickly took out their machetes and followed.
Suddenly, I heard the roar of the cat in front of me getting louder and louder, and the branches were ringing. Good guy! A big wild boar as big as a baby buffalo was driven out of the forest by a cat, and the uncle quickly fired two shots at it. The wild boar's skin was rough and thick. After being shot, he didn't fall down. He actually turned around and rushed to his uncle. Zhou Xirui knew that something was going to happen when he saw the frightening fangs of the wild boar. He rushed to the uncle with a machete. At the same time, A Cuo also threw out the bamboo stick. The cat saw the wild boar rushing towards his owner. The protector rushed to the wild boar like lightning, jumped up and bit the wild boar's throat like a whirlwind. A Cuo's bamboo stick was also in an instant. Inserting the wild boar's eyes, the wild boar's eyes bled and fell to the ground. The cat deftly flashed the wild boar's fangs and bit its throat until the wild boar swallowed and refused to let go.
The cat bravely bit off the throat of the wild boar. The uncle walked over in shock to check whether the pig had swallowed. After making sure that it was dead, he happily squatted down and patted the cat's head and said, "This dog is awesome!"
The uncle narrowed his eyes and said, "Good boy, this pig must be at least 400 catties. I'm afraid it's difficult for us to get it down the mountain!" Zhou Xirui walked around the wild boar and came up with a way. He took down the pulley on the tent, and then asked his uncle to help make a few thick branches and tied them into a simple stretcher with a rope. Fix the pulley at the four corners of the stretcher. Because it was a downhill, a rope was tied behind the stretcher, and then the wild boar was tied to the stretcher. Three people pulled behind to prevent the stretcher from sliding too fast.
In this way, the difficulty coefficient of going downhill is much greater, and some three people have to carry wild boars. Zhou Xirui has never done such a hard thing, probably because of the pride of hitting the prey! It all relied on a spiritual strength to survive to the bottom of the mountain.
Everyone dragged the pig to the middle of the yard exhausted, so tired that they sat on the ground and no longer wanted to move. When the aunt saw them beating such a big wild boar, she was surprised and happy. She asked urgently if they were injured? The uncle promised her that she was not hurt, thanks to the dog biting it in the throat. The aunt went over and touched the cat's head, then went in and brought out the tea for everyone to drink and rest.
At this time, people in the village came around the yard to see the big wild boar. Everyone talked about that no one had beaten such a big wild boar for many years. I heard that the dog was bitten to death, and everyone gathered around the cat to praise the dog for its size and good hunting. The cat ignored them and lay there squinting his eyes to rest. A bold child even touches its head, but it ignores it. Instead, the uncle warned the children not to touch it and threatened that it would bite. This scared the parents of these children and shouted away.
Several uncles have begun to boil water to help clean up the wild boar. The uncle invited the whole village to have a wild boar banquet in the evening. A cook in the village who made red and white weddings also came to help cook, and the aunt was there happily helping him. Zhou Xirui took a break and came over to see others beat the wild boar.
This wild boar has thick skin and little fat, because if you exercise well in the wild, it is stronger than domestic pork kept in captivity. The whole meat looks like beef, and it is all lean meat. Zhou Xirui saw a man remove the pig's lungs and wash them with water several times, and finally filled them with water and hung them under the eaves.
I asked curiously why this is done? Seeing that he was so curious, the man laughed and said, "This is to wash the blood in the pig's lungs for a while until it is snow-white. Finally, stew it with pig brain and fat intestines. No matter how much a doll in your city has ever eaten such delicious food." Zhou Xirui doesn't think so. Why doesn't it taste like pork?
Before dinner, the aunt stewed the pig's legs for the cat to reward its bravery. The cat lay at the door and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. When the lamp was in hand, tables and chairs were placed in the uncle's yard, and the men, women and children in the village were full. There were nine bowls made of wild pork on the table. Zhou Xirui and Aso began to swallow early after smelling the fragrance. This time, they consumed a lot of physical strength and were already hungry. They sat at the table and ate happily.
Unexpectedly, what impressed them most about this wild boar banquet was the pig's lungs stewed in the soup. They were snow-white and melted as soon as brain flowers, but they did not have the fishy smell of brain flowers. They were fragrant and soft. It was really delicious in the world. It seemed that the best ingredients were definitely not abalone and sea cucumbers.