At the beginning of noon, Liu Wuxiu and Zhou Dayong each came back with a large load of shrubs.

Xiao Qiongzhi was very surprised.

Yesterday, she bought 200 catties of glutinous rice, 100 catties of potatoes, and 120 catties of sweet potatoes.

They and Chu Yunniang, it doesn't take much time to wash these things, and grinding glutinous rice is still quite time-consuming.

Just now, she was busy talking to Chu Yunniang, and she didn't think much about it.

Now, when I see them, I remember that something is wrong.

A total of 420 catties of glutinous rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can only be filled in three large pots.

At that time, Chu Yunniang was just cooking a pot of glutinous rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Obviously, there are still two-thirds of glutinous rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, which have not been processed well and are too late to serve in the pot.

So, where did Liu Wuxiu and Zhou Dayong get the time to chop wood?

She stepped forward and asked curiously, "Second uncle, Aunt Liu, why did you go up the mountain to chop wood?" ”

Liu Wuxiu hurriedly put down his burden, stretched out his sleeves to wipe the sweat on his face, and said with a smile: "After I washed the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the morning, I carried some glutinous rice, and I planned to go to the patriarch's house to borrow his stone mill to grind glutinous rice flour, lest your second uncle grind glutinous rice flour alone, which is too hard." ”

"I was only halfway there, and I met someone who came back with a big load of Poria cocos."

"I thought in my heart, according to this calculation, we will lose hundreds of catties of Poria cocos if we make city brick cakes at home for most of the day, which is not cost-effective, so I will go home and call your second uncle to go up the mountain to dig Poria cocos together."

"I see. Then these shrubs you picked have Poria hidden in them! Xiao Qiongzhi said, picking up the outer layer of shrubs and looking inside.

After all, she had just seen Zheng Bang use shrubs to hide Huai Mountain, and she already had experience.

It's just that, to her surprise, the two loads of shrubs that Liu Wuxiu and Zhou Dayong picked up were actually hidden in Huaishan.

Moreover, Zhou Dayong's burden, the hidden Huai Mountain, does not seem to be less than Zheng Bang's.

This means that there must be nearly 400 catties.

And Liu Wuxiu's burden, the hidden Huai Mountain, although it is less than half of Zhou Dayong's burden, but the visual inspection will not be less than 100 catties.

That's another big deal.

She was very happy, pointed to the four bundles of shrubs, and asked Liu Wuxiu with a smile: "Aunt Liu, didn't you just say that you went up the mountain to dig Poria cocos, why did you and my second uncle dig back Huaishan?" ”

Liu Wuxiu seemed to be waiting for her to ask this, and immediately replied with a fluttering eyebrow: "On the way up the mountain, I saw someone digging Huaishan and Poria cocos, leaned over to take a look, and found that after Huaishan was broken, the white pulp that flowed out was much thicker than that of Poria cocos. ”

"I guess Huaishan, it should be cooked, and it tastes more fragrant than Poria cocos, so I discussed it with your second uncle, dig Huaishan first, and then dig Poria cocos when there is no Huaishan on the mountain."

I didn't expect that I could do this to identify Huaishan and Poria cocos, which one is more delicious.

Xiao Qiongzhi was a little surprised, glanced at Liu Wuxiu approvingly, and said with a smile: "Huaishan is indeed better than Poria cocos, very fragrant, Aunt Liu, you chose the right one." ”

"Great, your second uncle and I found a place with a lot of Huai Shan this time, dug a lot, and haven't finished digging yet, let the dogs and stones guard there, wait for us to spread these Huai Shan to the end of the house, take a bundle of Huai Shan that she picked back, and go under the eaves.

At this time, Zhou Dayong had already moved the ladder and put it on the eaves, ready to bask in Huai Mountain.

Xiao Qiongzhi Lian told them: "Second uncle, Aunt Liu, Huaishan is not easy to rot, if such a whole root is spread out and dried, it is difficult to dry, and it can be stored directly in a ventilated and dry place like a granary at home, and it can be stored in February and March next year." ”

"Of course, if you want to put it for a longer time, you can also wash it, the piece is thin, and it can be dried in a basket for only three or five days, and it can be dried in a lime jar for half a year or a year."

"Great! Then don't dry it first, move it to the granary, and leave more time to dig, so that other people's families don't dig Huaishan and dig more than ours. Liu Wuxiu said, picked up the bundle of bushes she picked back, and walked to the main house.

Zhou Dayong did the same.

However, the entrance to the granary under the tunnel of the main house is small, and their four bundles of shrubs are too big to enter at all, so they can only be disbanded in the main house, and ten or dozens of roots are picked up from the Huai Mountain inside and put in the granary.

Zheng Bang was sitting at the table in the main room, holding a dagger and sharpening bamboo arrows with bamboo chips.

Seeing that they were very busy, he took the initiative to go over to help, and by the way, he brought the Danhuai Mountain he picked back, and put it in the granary together.

After finishing their work, Liu Wuxiu and Zhou Dayong didn't care about eating lunch, so they grabbed some potatoes and sweet potatoes that were boiling in the pot directly from the kitchen, carried them in their arms, carried the flat shoulder, and walked out of the yard and went up the mountain.

Xiao Qiongzhi was infected and couldn't care about eating lunch.

She asked Chu Yunniang to grab more than a dozen potatoes and sweet potatoes for her, found a big handkerchief made of a headscarf and wrapped it, carried it in her hand, and found a small back basket and a small hoe from the corner of the kitchen, carried them on her back, and went to the main house to find Zheng Bang.

Zheng Bang had already returned to the table at this time, and continued to hold the dagger and sharpen the arrows from bamboo chips.

Xiao Qiongzhi came to the table, pointed to the small back basket behind him, and the small hoe in his hand, and said to Zheng Bang: "Uncle, let's go dig Huai Mountain too!" ”

"Don't worry, I'll take you up the mountain to hunt wild boars later!" Zheng Bang said.

"Okay!" Xiao Qiongzhi's eyes lit up and she was overjoyed.

Zheng Bang couldn't have suddenly thought of taking himself to hunt wild boars for no reason.

It must have been when I was in the mountains today that I noticed the movement of a wild boar.

If you can get a wild boar back, it will be much more cost-effective than digging back a few hundred catties of Huai Mountain.

In the past few months, people in various villages have been worried about food, and no one raises pigs, only in the granges of the rich in the township.

However, their pork is sold very expensive.

Yesterday, when Xiao Qiongzhi went to buy potatoes and sweet potatoes, he passed by a shop selling pork and casually asked the price.

As a result, she was taken aback: one or two and a half pounds of silver!

This is a full fifteen catties of glutinous rice, the current market value.

Not only did she not buy it at that time, but she also secretly made up her mind: before the price of pork was greatly reduced, she still insisted on eating a vegetarian diet.

Now, she only hopes that the pork can be sold more expensive, and when Zheng Bang hits the wild boar, she can use the wild boar and sell more silver!

A quarter of an hour later, Zheng Bang sharpened all the arrows.

He took Xiao Qiongzhi and helped him peel a few potatoes and sweet potatoes while he was sharpening arrows, ate them in three or two bites, went to the house where he lived with Zhou Dayong, took the bow and quiver, packed up the arrows on the table, tightened the saber on his waist, carried Xiao Qiongzhi on his back, and went up the mountain to hunt wild boars.

Xiao Qiongzhi has learned kung fu from Zheng Bang for more than a month, mainly boxing, shooting crossbow arrows and practicing swords.

She also made preparations, wearing the crossbow that Zheng Bang had made for her last time on her arm, and carrying in her arms the sheathed wooden dagger that Zheng Bang had made for her last month.

On the way, many children who were busy picking mountain chestnuts and yam eggs, and many adults who were busy digging Huai Mountain and Poria cocos, saw them and greeted them warmly.

Among them, an old man who looked to be about sixty years old, saw Zheng Bang carrying a bow in his hand and a bag of arrows on his shoulder, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Big hero, are you going to take the little master to hunt?" ”

"Yes." Zheng Bang replied gently.

"In these small hills nearby, there are only small prey such as rabbits and pheasants, and it will be better in the deep mountains, with wild boars, wild sheep and other big prey."

"However, there is a group of wolves and a very fierce tiger in the mountains, they have eaten a lot of people in the past few years, and in the last ten years, except for the little master's father, who is wise and dares to quietly go in to pick wild fruits, no one else dares to go in at all." The old man was very enthusiastic to remind.

Xiao Qiongzhi was taken aback.

She once heard dogs, stones, and big girls all talk about that there are a group of wolves and a very fierce tiger in the mountains, but she doesn't know that wild boars are also found in the mountains, so she quickly turned her head sideways and asked Zheng Bang: "Uncle, are the wild boars you want to fight in the nearby mountains or in the deep mountains?" ”