Chapter 424: Testing the New Bow, Fish Balls and Wintersweet

It stands to reason that my parents should be here too, because they promised to have lunch together.

"My parents are cleaning up the old house and sweeping the dust." Caiyun replied.

Although there are few people living in the old house, it still needs to be cleaned and tidied up during the New Year, and couplets must be posted in the same way. When the time comes, guests can arrange to stay there.

Although the old house is a slate house, the inside has been tidied up and plastered. It is much better than ordinary mud houses.

Lin Heng nodded to express his understanding, finished the tea and went to carry the things into the house.

Then prepare the ingredients for hot pot. The copper stove hot pot is so tempting in this weather. I want to have a meal every two days.

After they finished cooking the hotpot and were about to call their parents, they happened to come over too, carrying a snakeskin bag.

"I bought sweet potato vermicelli. It weighs thirty-two pounds." Father Lin said as he leaned the bag on the bench.

Lin Heng came over and took out a bundle to take a look at the familiar light yellow, 100% handmade sweet potato vermicelli: "I will soak some now and let's eat hot pot."

Sweet potato vermicelli, no matter how you eat it, it tastes great, there is no doubt about it.

After soaking until soft, add it to a pot and cook it, then dip it in a dipping sauce mixed with sesame sauce and other seasonings. When you eat it, it will not only taste smooth but also taste great.

The only unattractive thing is that these are vermicelli, which are all the thickness of wire. It would be great if they could be made into sweet potato wide vermicelli. But this is not impossible. You can make a small amount of sweet potato noodles at home.

He also has some sweet potato starch stored at home, and he plans to make some at some time. The main reason is that the wide starch tastes better when eaten piece by piece.

After eating a hot pot meal until three o'clock in the afternoon, those who ate were greatly satisfied physically and mentally. Their bodies were warm and their stomachs were full, and the taste of the delicious food was still lingering in their minds.

"Dad, have you heard that there are wild boar or other disasters there recently? My new bow and arrow are back, and I'm going to try the water."

Lin Heng asked while making tea. His tea pet was very simple. It was a beautiful little stone that Xiaoxia picked up by the river.

"We haven't heard much here. Your eldest brother has also been fighting recently and hasn't hit anything at all."

Father Lin took the black tea and took a sip, then said, "But you can try it in Shimen Village. I heard that the wheat and rapeseed there have been harmed by wild animals."

"Okay, I understand." Lin Heng nodded and decided to go take a look later.

I don't want to hunt, but I want to give the compound bow a shot.

And he didn't want to hunt small prey, so he'd better get a bigger one.

After drinking the tea, he took out his bow and arrow and looked at it again. He went to the backyard to practice for a while before deciding to go out for a walk.

He went over and called his eldest brother to see if he wanted to come with him.

"Of course. There's nothing to do at home in the afternoon anyway. Let's go hunting and come to my house for hot pot in the evening."

Lin Yue said with a smile that he also recently bought a copper stove hot pot, and his wife Liu Juan also learned how to make hot pot base.

"We just had hot pot," Lin Heng said.

"It's okay, just have another meal." Lin Yue strongly invited.

In the end, Lin Heng could only agree to come over to eat at that time. After saying that, the two of them took their weapons and set off together.

On the way, Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng's bow and arrow, smiled and said, "I think your bow is more handsome than the previous one."

"I also think we need to find a better prey to consecrate it this time." Lin Heng said with a smile.

They asked Lin's father to drive the three-wheeler to the entrance of Shimen Village, then went in to inquire about it, followed a nearby path up the mountain, and started searching.

After searching around, I saw a lot of wild boar and muntjac excrement, but I didn't see any larger prey. Before I knew it, it was getting dark.

"Brother, there is a golden rooster over here."

Suddenly, Lin Yue called Lin Heng softly.

Lin Heng came over and took a look. There was a beautiful male golden rooster resting on a big persimmon tree not far away.

"Come on, I don't want to fight."

Lin Heng shook his head and said, not wanting to hand over the first consecration of a bow and arrow to a little golden rooster.

Lin Yue nodded, loaded a birdshot, aimed a shot, and the golden rooster fell down with a loud bang.

"Let's go down the mountain along the ditch. There is no need to continue hunting at night." Lin Heng looked at his elder brother and said.

Lin Yue nodded and smiled: "I thought so too, it's too cold and I can't stand it."

Walking down both sides of the ditch, I didn't find even a small prey. The two just shook their heads and walked towards Hongfeng Mountain.

I got home to warm myself up and had a hot pot meal at my eldest brother’s house. He was still a little irritable after not catching his prey, so he huddled in Xiulan's soft embrace at night to find comfort.

A woman who loves you is the best emotional adjuster. Here at Xiulan, Lin Heng can let go of his guard and disguise. Under her gentle comfort, all the unhappiness will disappear.

"It smells so good." Lin Heng sighed, hugging his wife and falling asleep.

The next morning, the two got up and opened the back door. Xiulan suddenly cheered: "Ah, the wintersweet is blooming, it smells so good!"

"As expected of wintersweet, it's beautiful and fragrant," Lin Heng took a deep breath, walked closer to Xiulan with emotion, then broke off one and inserted it into Xiulan's high ponytail and said with a smile, "My wife is more beautiful. "

The principle he believes in is "if there are flowers that can be folded, they must be folded."

Just like chasing Xiulan, if you like her, chase her, no matter what your conditions are, your life is only once, and all you have to do is have the courage to try.

"Such a sweet mouth."

Xiulan's eyebrows were curved when Lin Heng said it, and her words were sweet.

The two of them looked at the plum blossoms, then at the swimming fish, and completed the unbeatable task of exercising every morning. Now they feel uncomfortable if they don't exercise every morning, as if something is missing.

As for Xiaoxia, sometimes she gets up and does it, and sometimes she doesn't want to get up. Children don't need to ask for so much, as long as they are happy.

The two went to get the milk and made breakfast, and then called their three precious children to eat together, enjoying the warm daily life.

After eating, Lin Heng started to make his own sweet potato wide noodles. The making method is the same as making vermicelli.

Boil water, pour some of the sweet potato starch into it, and stir until it becomes a gel-like liquid. Then add more starch and stir evenly so that there are no lumps at all.

The normal next step is to put the mixed sweet potato starch colloid into a colander to form vermicelli. To make wide noodles, put it into an iron basin and steam it in a pot.

After steaming, it looks like jelly. At this time, just cut it into wide strips with a knife and place it on a dustpan to dry.

When the sun came out at noon, Lin Heng looked at the cut sweet potato noodles on the dustpan and sighed: "It's more fun to make things at home with my wife."

"Then don't go to the mountains for now. We don't lack much meat now, so there's no need to be cold." Xiulan looked at him and said softly. She naturally felt sorry for her man and didn't want him to go out to get cold. Sometimes You may get injured if you are not careful.

"I'm not going. Even if I go, I'll have to wait until after the New Year." Lin Heng agreed with a smile.

Yesterday's trial made him understand that it was difficult to catch prey near the village, so it was better to stay at home with his wife and children on the hot bed. Whether he drank tea, read a book or did other things together, it was very enjoyable.

The sun was nice today. After making sweet potato vermicelli, they took their children to the Red Maple Mountain to bask in the sun and walk around.

Lin Heng held his son in his arms and taught them how to walk. They can already start learning to walk at the age of one, and they also want to learn.

"Haha...wow...dad..."

Lin Luming giggled and kicked his little feet randomly on the ground, having a great time.

Lin Heng held him and played for a while, then switched with Xiulan and hugged his youngest son Du Heng. He would not treat one favorably and treated the children equally with a bowl of water.

"These two little guys can really take two steps. It seems that they can learn to walk at the age of one and a half." Mother Lin said beside them.

"Yes, the words are becoming more and more true." Father Lin also said with a smile. The growth of his two grandsons is still very endearing.

Under the sun, Lin Heng helped them walk around the yard. Xiaoxia sat next to them in a small wooden cart, curiously watching her younger brother toddle.

After playing for a while, he put the two little guys back in the stroller. Lin Heng went to help his father take out the big wooden barrel from the warehouse, sealed the gaps with sawdust, and poured water to soak it.

They will kill the pigs the day after tomorrow, and all these must be prepared in advance.

"Dad, let's go catch two more fish. We will catch a few and store them in the mountain stream. I will catch two more and bring them back to make fish balls."

After finishing the barrel, Lin Heng looked at his father and said.

"Okay, I haven't fished for a long time." Father Lin nodded and happily took the fishing rod and went fishing.

Lin Heng watched and accompanied his father without fishing. The bait he used today was still native silkworms. Maybe because the weather was colder, the effect was a little worse than before. It took a few minutes to catch a fish.

After fishing for a while, Father Lin said: "The fish are not very strong in winter. You can make fish balls. I can make them by myself."

"Okay, then I'll go."

Lin Heng nodded and walked back to ask Xiulan to take a bucket to catch fish in the mountain stream.

"This fish looks like it has lost weight." Xiulan said, looking at the fish in the pool.

"It's delicious when it's thin." Lin Heng took out all the fish with a big fishing net. These fish are almost stocked, so he should catch them first and move them to another place. This pool will also be stocked with newly caught fish later.

After a lot of effort, he picked out all the fish. Four of the nine fish were kept in a small pool below. Lin Heng knocked the remaining five fish unconscious with a stick, and he and Xiulan killed them one by one by the river. .

One grass carp killed was about five or six pounds. After killing it, Lin Heng looked at Xiulan: "Are five carp enough?"

Xiulan thought for a while and said, "Actually, you can make more. It won't go bad if you have a freezer. The fish balls can be eaten by three children."

"Then kill three more."

Lin Heng walked over, grabbed three two sticks, and beat him to death, and he was quickly wiped out.

Taking the fish, the two of them quickly ran back to warm themselves by the fire. They made the fish balls here in Hongfeng Mountain. One was because there were so many people and the other was because there were people to help take care of the children, so Xiulan could also take a rest.

"You got eight fish, it's hard enough to catch them." Mother Lin looked at the eight big grass carp and shook her head and said,

Caiyun also said: "Yes, my hands will be broken, but I will go back to help you second brother."

"It takes a long time, just take your time." Lin Heng was not worried. His father would definitely come over to help soon.

It doesn't matter if you can't finish it. In this weather, the fish won't go bad if you leave it for a day or two.

Cut the fish meat into pieces, remove the big fish bones, and cut the remaining fish meat into strips, then place it on the chopping board and beat it with a rolling pin.

During the whipping process, the fish bones and fascia are continuously removed, and finally you will get pure white fish velvet. At this step, the fish meat is considered ready.

The rest was left to Xiulan. She scooped up the fish meat and put it in a basin, added some onion and ginger water and stirred it evenly, and then it could be made into fish balls.

A grass carp, minus the head and bones, has about four pounds of pure fish meat. It is much easier to make than beef balls, and Lin Heng made them very quickly.

Father Lin caught nine big grass carps and put them in the pool under the waterfall. He came back and helped Lin Heng make fish balls. The two of them worked very fast and finished everything at one o'clock.

Xiulan and her friends had also cooked the fish balls one after another. More than 30 pounds of fish balls were cooked in a large basin, enough to eat for several months.

For lunch, Xiulan made a soup with fish bones and made a winter melon fish ball. Xiaoxia ate a small bowl by herself, and the two sons also ate a lot.

"Is it delicious?" Lin's mother asked with a smile.

"It's delicious." Xiaoxia nodded like pounding garlic.

Caiyun also said: "This fish meat is indeed more delicious after being raised in mountain spring water."

She had eaten fish that were not raised in mountain spring water before, and there was indeed a big difference in taste. The fish balls now have no fishy smell at all.

Eating rice and having a full meal of delicious fish balls, Lin Heng nodded with some satisfaction.

After playing here for half an afternoon, they returned home. There was no rush to put the fish balls in the freezer. After controlling the water, put them in the cooking basket, and wait until the next morning when they are frozen hard, break them one by one and put them in the freezer.

In a blink of an eye, it was the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month. This day was the birthday of the twin sons Lin Duheng and Lin Luming. According to the lunar calendar, they just turned one year old, and according to the solar calendar, they will be a few days later.

At noon that day, Lin Heng called his parents and eldest brother's family to come over for dinner. He didn't mean to hold a big birthday ceremony.

"Start the week-old ceremony." Caiyun shouted after the meal was ready.

"Come on, let's start." Father Lin said, taking the tarpaulin and bed sheet and spreading them on the ground, and everyone put the prepared items for the first week on the ground.

These items are pens, books, silver coins, seals, rulers, and flutes.

The first week is mainly a small family activity, and what items to put depends entirely on the family's ideas.

"I brought my son over." Xiulan said after seeing the items were placed.

"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.

Xiulan put the child on the bed sheet, and Lin Luming looked at the adults around him curiously, and then looked at the items in front of him.

He giggled for a while, and he crawled over and grabbed a book in one hand and a seal in the other.

"Grab the book first, our Lin family will have a scholar in the future." Father Lin grinned.

"Maybe he can become an official. Look, he also grabbed a seal. My grandson has a bright future." Mother Lin also laughed.

"Okay, let's take a look at Du Heng."

After chatting, Lin Heng brought Du Heng over again and prepared a new set of items for the first week.

"Ababa!"

Lin Duheng didn't look at the items after being put down, but looked at Lin Heng, and wanted to hug him.

"Grab an object, choose a good son you like." Lin Heng pointed to the object in front and said.

Lin Duheng bit his hand and was stunned for a while, then grabbed the silver coin and the pen.

"Almost at the same time, Duheng will become a businessman or a calligrapher in the future."

"Then he must be both a businessman and a calligrapher."

"You're right, both of my grandsons have a bright future."

Everyone discussed the results of the grabbing of the week for a long time. Lin Heng smiled and teased his son, and didn't say much.

After waiting for a while, he said, "Let's eat."

"Okay, eat."

Everyone nodded, brought the dishes and prepared to eat. Before eating, they fed the two little guys delicious shrimp and fish balls longevity noodles, which were carefully prepared by Xiulan for them.

"Okay, let's eat." After feeding the children, Lin Heng couldn't wait to say that he was really hungry.

…

In the blink of an eye, it was the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, which was a good day. Every household was slaughtering pigs. Lin Heng’s relatives came early in the morning.

Slaughtering pigs is also a kind of gathering. His uncle, his third father’s family all came, his uncle’s family came with three people, and some people from the village gathered more than 20 people.

Although Lin Heng could kill pigs by himself, he still called a butcher because he was very lazy.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, Lin Heng and Xiulan brought their children to Hongfeng Mountain to help. After greeting relatives and friends, he was about to start working when his third father said: "Lin Heng, you write well with a brush. Can you write a few couplets for us during the New Year?"

"I want some too. No matter what, you have to write a few for my aunt." Lin Heng's aunt also said beside her.

"Give us a few pairs too. I have seen your couplets last year. They are written in a grand and beautiful way."

Not only relatives asked, but also some villagers who helped asked with a smile.

"Okay, five couplets for your family should be enough, right?" Lin Heng agreed with a smile. He was happy to write Spring Festival couplets for everyone, which was also a kind of trust.

"That's enough, absolutely enough." Everyone nodded and chatted happily.

After chatting for a while, Lin's mother came over and reminded: "The water is boiling, you can kill the pig."

"Come on, let's go."

"Let's go catch the pig!"

A group of people stood up and started working, talking and laughing. The New Year is the happiest time of the year for farmers, and killing the New Year pig is the second happiest time after the New Year.