"If you don't help in the house, why did you ask me to come out?" Zhang Xiaoshan reluctantly followed Li Pingan outside. His future wife was still busy inside, and he had no intention of playing with Li Pingan.
"There are so many people inside, including the two of us. You have also seen the situation in the house. There is not much firewood left. Even after tearing down the tables, chairs, cabinets and beds, there is not enough to burn for all of us. Let's go and see if we can pick it up. Come back with some firewood and look for food."
As soon as Zhang Xiaoshan heard that it was serious business, he stopped saying anything and instead walked ahead of Li Ping'an.
It's just that there are no mountains, and it's hard to find even firewood. There are a lot of trees, but the ones that can survive the flood without being uprooted are all big trees. At this time of year, the branches are lush and leafy, and the branches are difficult to break down. It's raw, so it's not easy to make a fire.
There was even less food to find. They were not the first wave of refugees to come here. All the wild vegetables and weeds around the village had been harvested.
"Those people are eager to dig up the soil and even dig up the grass roots." Zhang Xiaoshan complained.
Li Ping'an said: "Grass roots are nothing. When people are so hungry, they will even eat leaves, bark and soil."
In his previous life, he had heard about the tragedy of fleeing famine from literature, literature, film and television works, and from his grandparents. But before, he was the one who listened to the stories, but now he is the one who actually experienced it all.
Life is really unpredictable.
Some memory fragments flashed through his mind, and he suddenly froze for a moment, "Let's go dig the earth dragon!"
"Digging dragon?" Zhang Xiaoshan was shocked, "Li Ping'an, you don't want to dig up the ground dragon to eat, do you?"
"Otherwise, fishing? Look where there are streams and rivers nearby." Li Ping'an curled his lips, "Earthworms are still meat no matter what, and they can be used to replenish the body. If you don't believe it, you can ask Dr. Zhu, how can earthworms be stir-fried?" After preparation, it is still just a medicinal material.”
After all, it is a high-protein substance, but the fishy smell is too strong. In his previous life, when he was a child, he had seen his friends eating fried earthworms, but he found it disgusting and never tried it. But at this time, no matter whether it is fishy or not, it is better than eating human flesh.
Although there is a lot of food on the cart, there are so many of them, and they are all fleeing together, so we can't ignore them.
And I still don’t know how long I will have to walk next. Escape from the wilderness is not like rushing. When you are usually on the road, you may walk sixty, seventy or even hundreds of miles in a day. But on the road to escape, you can only follow the flow of people. You can walk three or four miles in a day. Ten miles would be great.
The little rice I ate every day was almost nothing, and my stomach burned at night.
No one can guarantee that they are escaping in the front. If they get to the front, the grass roots, tree bark, and earthworms will all be eaten, and they will have no choice but to eat dirt after they have run out of food.
What little you can save now is worth it.
Zhang Xiaoshan looked up to the sky and sighed, taking a few deep breaths to force himself to accept it, but he stopped after taking a few steps, "It's only the two of us who can dig as much as we can. I'll go back and call for help, and we don't have anyone yet."
After saying that, without waiting for Li Ping'an to speak, he hurriedly ran towards the house.
Not long after, a dozen and a half-year-old children, both male and female, followed Zhang Xiaoshan out with a hoe in hand. When they came to Li Pingan, Li Dong happily asked what delicious food he had found.
As soon as Li Ping'an heard this, he knew that Zhang Xiaoshan had not told them the truth. He could only pour cold water on them: "dig the dragon to eat."
Everyone was stunned, the joy on their faces solidified in the blink of an eye, and then quickly disappeared.
They are all rural children, so they naturally know what earthworms are, but aren't these things used to feed chickens and fish? How can people still eat them?
Li Ping'an repeated what he had just said to Zhang Xiaoshan. Everyone immediately glared at Zhang Xiaoshan. This guy was so disrespectful that he actually lied to them and said he had found something delicious!
Zhang Xiaoshan hurriedly laughed apologetically before calming down the public's anger.
As the old saying goes, what comes comes comes.
A dozen half-year-old children were busy working in the field and dug out a lot of earthworms, the largest of which was as thick as a little finger.
Suddenly they heard a woman calling, and the children looked back. In the dim twilight, faint smoke was floating over the house. The mother who didn't know who it was was standing at the door, calling in their direction to go back to eat.
It was as if they were still in the village.
He didn't continue digging, but ran back happily.
"What delicious food did you dig up?" After returning to the house and preparing to fetch water from the well in the backyard to wash hands, an adult asked with a smile.
Zhang Xiaoshan handed over the clay pot he was holding with an unhappy face, "Look, Li Ping'an said that the dragon dug up the earth and ate it."
When everyone heard this, they didn't even bother to take a look. They had not yet fallen to the level of eating dragons.
Zhang Xiaoshan suddenly became happy and winked at Li Ping'an. Who would eat this if you see it?
But there were still people who wanted it. Dr. Zhu took a look into the jar and said, "If you don't want to eat it, just give it to me and I'll make it edible without being fishy."
Otherwise, Dr. Zhu is a talented person.
Li Ping'an smiled brightly and asked humbly: "Doctor Zhu, how do you plan to deal with the earth dragon?"
"You go wash your hands first, and we'll talk after you've eaten."
Although he said he was full, he actually meant he had finished eating. Although he said he had a good meal before, he was just joking. Li Ping'an could even think that the food might not be enough. How could adults like them who had experienced troubled times not think of it. They were more picky than Li Ping'an imagined.
Before Li Ping'an could get to Dr. Zhu, someone asked loudly: "Doctor Zhu, we also want to hear how to prepare Earth Dragon. Is it okay?"
Anything they don't know but others know is considered a craft. The so-called skills cannot be passed on to others. If they want to learn it, they must get Dr. Zhu's permission. Asking this question openly and openly seems to be aboveboard.
Now everyone is on the same path and share the joys and sorrows, and they are so sensible. Dr. Zhu is not a stingy person. He smiled and said as soon as he handed over his hand: "It's just some cooking techniques. Let's listen together if you want to hear."
After the meal, there was nothing to do, so everyone gathered around. When there were more people, Dr. Zhu would not explain it himself, but let his eldest son Zhu Dalang explain it. Dalang was younger and more energetic than him.
Dalang Shishi, first introduced to everyone that Dilong is one of the important medicinal materials. It has been recorded in medical books for a long time. After frying, it can be used to treat the symptoms of high fever, coma, epileptic convulsions, joint pain, and oliguria and edema. How to prepare Dilong. Dragon can be made by medicine, vinegar, boiling, wine, oil, salt and other methods.
He explained what he knew clearly and clearly in plain language without reservation, and even the illiterate people could hear it clearly and clearly, and they were fascinated.
At this time, Dr. Zhu poked Li Ping'an's arm. Li Ping'an looked doubtfully and saw Dr. Zhu winking at him. He understood and followed Dr. Zhu quietly.
It's not that he didn't notice them, but he didn't care either. Dr. Zhu could agree to go on the road with them to escape because Li Ping'an got to know him first. He had something to talk about or what Dr. Zhu wanted to teach Li Ping'an. He didn't talk to them. relation.
The most important thing at the moment is to listen to what Zhu Dalang said. It is a rare opportunity for them to hear this once in their life. If they can learn a little bit, they may be able to dig up earthworms, process them and sell them to medicine shops, which will also give their family an extra income. .
Li Ping'an followed Dr. Zhu out of the house full of questions. Before he could ask anything, something was stuffed into Dr. Zhu's hand.
It's cool, hard, and a little bit painful.
