In the middle of December of the lunar year, it is the Great Cold Festival, if it is in the north, it must be "the wax tree silver mountain dazzling light, the wind roaring alone and the three rivers." The old farmer still likes the high snow and the smell of wheat fruit in the coming year. ”

It's just that in the Lingnan area, it's a different story.

Although it is cold and bleak at the moment, it is dry and cold, and there is a proverb in the Lingnan area, if the cold is rainy, it will be rainy in February and March.

However, this year's cold did not rain, but it was very dry, the cold wind blew the small field road, the withered grass danced, the heaven and earth cracked, and the edge of the ridge revealed a black hole.

Many half-grown children, and even adults, are busy in the fields, not to renovate the land in advance for the next year's planting, but to catch an animal.

Because of the wind brought by the Great Cold Festival, the dead grass was blown clean, and the entrance to the vole's nest was exposed.

When it came to the Great Cold, people in the Lingnan area began to catch voles.

They lit dried cow dung and stuffed it into one end of the hole of the vole, and the smoke smoked the vole out of the other hole, which was already "guarded by the rabbit".

Voles are not like house mice, voles eat wild grasses and wild things, very clean, big enough and fat, and there are a lot of "treasured" nuts and other things in the vole nest.

Digging out the vole's nest is definitely a "not cheap" income.

The larger voles were like rabbits, skinned, gutted, cleaned, browned over the fire, torn into slices, and dipped in new soy sauce, which was a wonderful delicacy.

There are even some places, after peeling the skin, put the rat's head in the oil pan and fry it, which is crispy and crispy, and it tastes crunchy and delicious.

Chen Mu has never eaten rat meat, but he has seen others catch voles, and even once, his brother took him out to catch voles, and almost set fire to the mountains and forests next to him.

The prisoner cart creaked forward, flanked by the musket team led by Bertrand, and for this escort, they also poured out, and the police force of the patrol room were all thrown in, all of them were arrested from the west, that is, François's people, and most of them came.

Chen Mu also knows that they have dealt with Chen Mu so many times, and they have never won once, for Chen Mu, they want to eat a trench and grow wise, where do they dare to despise half a point?

Regarding Tan Donghua's proposal to take the path, Bertrand and the others did not object, but happily agreed, because they also felt that it was safer.

Obviously, they have also paid attention to the crowd gathered at the gate of the county government these days, and if they go to the street, they are afraid that the escort team will not be able to leave the county seat at all.

Chen Mupan sat in the prisoner car, looking at the people catching voles in the fields, looking at the wisps of smoke rising into the sky, and smelling the unique choking smell of burning cow dung in the air, as if the cages around him had disappeared.

Some people are setting up a fire in a dry field, and they are roasting voles, while others are carrying fat voles and calling out to their companions like "treasures".

These ghosts seem to have seen such a scene for the first time, although they feel disgusting to eat mice, but looking at the golden rat meat on the fire, smelling the aroma in the air, it is inevitable that some drooling.

In addition, people also pick up clods of soil in the field, set up an earthen kiln, after the earthen kiln is burned red, take out the remaining firewood, throw food such as sweet potato powder and arrowroot into it, smash the earthen kiln, cover it, form a "small mountain bag", and it will not take long to pick up the food, and it will be delicious again.

China is a nation that pays great attention to "eating", rich and noble have rich ways to eat, poor people also have poor ways to eat, even if they are poor enough to eat grass roots and bark, they have to think of boiling them to make these lowly ingredients more delicious and easier to eat.

This seems to be the talent of the Chinese nation, which is incomprehensible to others, and these ghosts are eye-opening.

Chen Mu saw it in his eyes, and the tension in his heart was also relieved a lot.

Although Bertrand had a friendship with him, it was irretrievable this time, and it was not a problem that this friendship could solve.

If Du Xingwu and others really came to rob the prison, it would be impossible for Chen Mu not to leave in order to take care of Bertrand's friendship, and it would be impossible for Bertrand to let Chen Mu go because of this friendship.

What's more, this escort was dominated by foreigners, but the Guangzhou general Qingchang was leading a team of pro-soldiers, followed closely, and it was regarded as an "escort" to his home.

The combined strength of the two sides was also extremely impressive, and it soon attracted those who caught voles.

The prisoner car continued to move forward, and Bertrand and other foreigners were also amazed.

There is a large family in front of them, who caught more than a dozen large voles, and put them in a bamboo cage, and the fat voles nest together, squeezing each other, constantly gnawing on the strips, and making people's scalps numb.

However, at this moment, another group of people from the next field came over and soon quarreled.

This vole is burrowing in the field, and the hole is also extending in all directions, perhaps the two families smoked the same vole, and after the vole ran out, they didn't know who to assign it to.

This is the case in the countryside, whoever has more sons speaks loudly and is strong.

These two families have many sons, which can be described as evenly matched, and the verbal battle soon turned into pushing each other, and one of them kicked on the bamboo cage, and more than a dozen voles suddenly escaped and scurried around!

The ghost guys are also looking interesting, I didn't expect the "disaster water" to pour into themselves, and I saw the large group of fat voles rushing over, these ghost guys who are not even afraid of fighting are avoiding them one by one!

They all have the experience of crossing the sea, and it is said that when they are adrift at sea, when supplies are low, the rats on the ship will be caught and eaten, and it is said that they should not be afraid.

But they were not pirates, they were not rogues, they were the royal musketeers of the French Empire, and even if the ships ran out of food, they would kill people and cut meat for them to eat, they would never eat rats.

Especially in places like Paris, where sewage is rampant and filthy rats are the source of the disease, and it has become one of the most hated and feared creatures.

Although they are voles, these ghost guys don't know the details, and at this time, they are shouting one by one, and they almost didn't put their guns at the "vole army"!

Chen Mu saw that the two families rushed over to catch voles, and immediately twisted a skewer from between his fingers, wanting to open the shackles on his hands and feet.

However, when the two families approached, Chen Mu withdrew his hand again, because he didn't know these people.

In his opinion, Du Xingwu and others want to rob the road and rob people, this section of the road is not the best, but the activity of catching voles is an excellent cover, if the fields are full of their own people, by catching voles, they can get close to the escort team.

In addition, catching voles requires smoke, and smoke also plays a role in cover, although the field is very empty, if you escape, it is easy to be shot in the back by foreigners, but with smoke, this problem is solved.

It's a pity that these are not his own people, and Chen Mu is somewhat disappointed.

The foreigners were also alert at this time, and one by one they raised their muskets and drank the two families.

Although it is a farmer, it is not unheard of a musket, not to mention, even if he has not seen a musket, he must have seen a ghost.

Coupled with Chen Mu being trapped in the prisoner car, with such a long and strong team, how could they not see the danger?

As soon as the foreigners scolded them like this, everyone gave up on the vole, shrank back to the side of the road, lowered their heads, and some even knelt down, not daring to move at all.

The chain reaction quickly dispersed, and the people in the field stopped, opened their mouths wide, and looked at the team, their eyes finally focused on the prisoner car, and focused on Chen Mu's body.

They are farmers in the suburbs, whether they deny Chen Mu, it's hard to say, but from common sense, it is impossible for the vast majority of them to recognize Chen Mu.

The procession gradually regained its calm, and the group of people seemed to be reduced to sculptures, and they just stood in the field, watching the procession leave with terror.

The foreigners were very proud, these people fit their impression of the Qing people, insensitive, humble and weak, not like the freak in the prison car.

After this field, you enter the mountain path, a low dirt slope planted with windbreaks and masson pines, and between the evergreen leaves, revealing white or dilapidated tombs.

It didn't take long for Chen Mu to see where his ancestral grave was.

The Chen family is a big family, and they occupy a cemetery on the mountain, planting pines and cypresses around it, and building a wall, so that the tombs of Chen Qiyou and his wife cannot be seen from the outside.

Moreover, after Hebo was released, the tombs of Chen Qiyou and Chen Ying were relocated.

Tan Donghua seemed to have talked to Bertrand about this, the prisoner car slowed down when it arrived here, although Chen Mu had some expectations in his heart, expecting his brothers to come and rescue him, but in the end, he put down all his distractions, knelt solemnly in the prisoner car, and kowtowed in the direction of the cemetery.

Foreigners rarely worship the deceased, and even if they do, they will not use such a grand situation, in the Qing Kingdom, they can see full of ritual actions everywhere, and their hearts are both curious and full of respect.

The small episodes that happened in the field, Chen Mu's demeanor at this time, all this made them feel at ease, even though the forest paths around the cemetery were very deep and full of dense forests on both sides, their mood was not as tense as they imagined.

On the contrary, he was infected by Chen Mu, and there was a faint sadness in the air.

The cold wind blew the masson pine, the needles hissed, no one disturbed Chen Mu's worship, it seemed extraordinarily quiet, even a little gloomy, as if this forest was full of ghosts who did not want to leave.

Bertrand, the captain of the team, experienced and intuitive, seemed to feel uneasy at this time, and ordered the crowd.

"Speed up!"

He looked at Chen Mu apologetically, as if he was embarrassed for interrupting Chen Mu's ceremony and not giving Chen Mu enough time.

Chen Mu had already kowtowed, and no longer sat cross-legged, but nodded at Bertrand, and after Bertrand's eyes moved away from him, he twisted out the small skewer from between his fingers, and unknowingly opened the shackles on his hands and feet!

And at the foot of the hill, the sculptural group of people in the field leaned over and seemed to have pulled something long and short out of the vole's hole.

Then, they slowly gathered together and walked up the hillside!