He Siwei woke up after dawn the next day.
I was so tired this night. I might as well have been on my way while lying there getting bitten by mosquitoes.
But before rushing on, the two of them had to dig up wild yams. Unfortunately, they saw a large area covered with them.
He Siwei and Lao Shen Yi discussed digging up a few yams first, and then planting some straight stems. As for the wild yams here, they can come and dig them before the weather gets cold. Anyway, the wild yams here are also barren. Only their breeding farms will come.
There is not much else in the Great Northern Wilderness, but too much wild land.
Who would notice this.
The place is easy to remember, it's right next to a stream or at the foot of a mountain.
It took more than an hour for He Siwei to dig a mountain field that was half a man's height, but it was not thick, only half a hand wide. But it was only July, and the wild yam had only grown for three months from spring to now. It will only grow so big in the first half of the year. When they come back in autumn, there will be a lot of wild yams in this large area.
Break the yams into pieces and throw them into the prepared medicinal materials basket. This basket is lighter and is carried by Shen Hongwen. He Siwei is carrying the herbs to be planted back with the soil.
The two of them had to rush back before tonight, which would take at least six hours. However, walking in the wasteland was difficult and they had to pay attention to their safety, so they walked slower than the road. It would take He Siwei and the others eight hours at the fastest to return to the camp.
On the way back, there was a pool of water. He Siwei saw the snakehead fish and hit it with the pole. The fish was big and the pool was not big. He Siwei hit it with a pole. The snakehead fish moved twice and then let go. When it floated to the surface of the water, He Siwei immediately pulled it over with a pole, taking advantage of the opportunity when the black fish was knocked unconscious to fish it out.
After that, He Siwei tried the same method several times and caught three more fish, but he couldn't catch any more.
The first black fish was nearly one meter long. It was difficult for He Siwei to carry it. He estimated it to be twenty kilograms.
The other three are all 40 to 50 centimeters, which is about ten pounds.
Finally, a pole was passed through the gills of the fish, and she and Lao Shen carried it back.
After walking most of the way back, they met Cui Jianxiang and Jian Xiqing again. Shen Hongwen asked them to drive the cattle back to the camp and then asked them to pick up the fish.
Four big fish, if twelve people eat them together, it will take two meals.
He Siwei and the others put the baskets they were carrying on the backs of the cattle, and there was no burden on them. The four of them drove the cattle toward the camp, and returned to the camp before dark and sunset.
The yard of the camp has been paved with sand and gravel, and a lot of weeds around it have been removed. The windows and doors of the barracks are blocked with wooden boards, and everything is clean and tidy.
After Cui Jianxiang and Jian Xiqing looked at it, the cattle drove back to the cattle pen around the back of the barracks.
Zhou Yong heard the noise and came out of the barracks. After meeting Shen Hongwen and others, he said that Duan Chunrong and the others were herding cattle by the river and asked them to wash up first. He went back to the house and came out again with several wild animals in his hands. The fruit was stuffed into He Siwei's hand.
Seeing the fish brought back by Cui Jianxiang and the others, he said, "Duan Chunrong and the others found it. By the way, Pian Keng caught some fish when they were collecting gravel by the river these days."
Zhou Yong pointed to the north side of the house, "We dug a puddle there, and all the fish that can't eat are kept there."
Cui Jianxiang explained that He Siwei and Lao Shen had caught the fish for a long time. The fish had to be disposed of tonight, but because of Zhou Yong's words, everyone still came to the water hole on the north side of the barracks.
He Siwei's eyes fell on the river clams beside the puddle.
She felt that good things were coming one after another, so she asked, "Are there many river mussels? If there are many, you can dig out more during the cold weather and process the mussel meat and dry it in the sun. You can eat it in the sun in winter." "
Today's conditions are difficult, but few people eat river mussels, mainly because the meat is too hard to eat.
Zhou Yong thought He Siwei didn't understand, so he explained, "The mussel meat is too hard to eat, and it's very fishy."
These river mussels were brought back by Duan Chunrong and his friends who filled them with water in their clam shells.
He Siwei said, "Don't worry about this. The mussel meat will not be hard after breaking the fibers inside. It has a strong fishy smell and is easier to handle. Just remove the mud intestines and leave only the white meat inside."
Zhou Yong's eyes widened. The little girl was an educated youth who went to the countryside and was a city dweller. How could she know these things?
Of course He Siwei understood. After marrying Jiang Lifeng in her previous life, she followed Jiang's mother to get river mussels because she didn't have enough to eat. She also learned these methods from Jiang's mother.
This couldn't be said, so He Siwei explained that he had seen people in the family's home deal with it, and he simply resolved other people's doubts in one sentence.
Cui Jianxiang said, "This is a good thing. It seems that we won't have to go hungry in the future."
The food they eat in winter comes from the company in exchange for fish and game. Throughout the winter, in addition to feeding livestock, they also look for food. They dig holes in the river and eat fish jelly. If they have the opportunity to go to the company, they also eat. You have to secretly find someone to exchange in private. In this way, you will get a lot of fish every time in exchange for a little ration.
Now that there is a way to solve the problem of hunger, Cui Jianxiang and Jian Xiqing also have knowing smiles on their faces.
The days seem less numb.
It was getting dark, and a fire was lit in the camp yard. He Siwei went to deal with the fish, and Shen Hongwen led Zhou Yong and three others to gather grass in the south of the barracks. Some of the herbs dug out were three days old. If they were not planted, the chance of survival would be even smaller.
When Duan Chunrong and Zhang Hong came back from driving the cattle, they went over to help. Some went to the river to fetch water, and some dug holes. While He Siwei finished stewing the fish, he also planted the herbs, fearing that they would be killed by the sun tomorrow. The weeds were simply placed on top of the herbs. In this way, the direct sunlight was reduced during the day.
Gathering around the fire, everyone’s lunch box was filled with fish and a few pieces of wild yam. The fish was so big that He Siwei only stewed a twenty-pound fish and filled the pot.
For the other three fish, He Siwei gritted his teeth. After cleaning the fish, he grabbed a lot of large grains of salt and salted them.
The salt was only half filled in cans. He Siwei grabbed a big handful today and only one-third was left.
She also thought about it. At worst, when she stewed fish next time, she could just put a few pieces of pickled salted fish in. It would save money without adding salt.
In fact, it is not necessary to use salt when drying fish, but it was too late today, the kitchen knife was not fast, and there were so many fish in the puddle, so He Siwei thought he could try it first tomorrow.
During the meal, she mentioned that she wanted to dry the fish, and no one objected. Now someone is working to improve everyone's lives, which is a good thing.
If you don’t add salt to dried fish, you have to wash the fish, cut it into thin slices, dry it in the sun on the same day, dry it repeatedly for several days, and then store it.
In the next few days, Lao Shen took care of the herbs he planted and at the same time used the herbs he collected to prepare medicine and give it to Zhou Yong to drink. Zhou Yong's illness also improved.
Cui Jianxiang, Duan Chunrong and the others drove away with their cattle again.
