Chapter Nineteenth: Digging Wild Vegetables and Catching Mountain Crabs

  He dug several big holes in a row, and even if Song Wen had been transformed by the spring water that was slapped on him with a fan, and his body had been supplemented with medicine, he was still tired to the point of having an aching waist and back. Moreover, the bitter fruit of helping someone make brown sugar yesterday had not yet dissipated, and now he was even more exhausted, his waist almost breaking.

  After exercising a bit, feeling a little better, he put the hoe and machete, saw into the Ruyi fan, and continued to walk into the bamboo forest.

  It's almost three o'clock now. Looking at how early it is before sunset, he plans to take advantage of this time to go pick some wild vegetables and plant them back.

  There are many varieties of wild vegetables in the mountains, such as yī diǎn hóng, jì cài, chē qián cǎo, yě ài, mǎ chǐ jiān, yú xīng cǎo, qīng míng cài, shuǐ qín cài, etc. However, many wild grasses are actually medicinal herbs and have a terrible taste. For example, yě ài has a strong wormwood flavor; mǎ chǐ jiān is sour and astringent; yú xīng cǎo has a strong fishy smell that's almost deadly to eat. Of course, there are also some that taste good, but you can't generalize based on a few examples.

  Not far from the bamboo forest, there is a small mountain valley, and in the valley, there are many wild vegetables that can be eaten or used as medicine.

  The mountain wind blows gently, rustling the bamboo leaves and making a soft "sasa" sound. Birds jump on the bamboo branches, chirping from time to time.

  Song Wen enjoyed the tranquility and serenity among the bamboo forest, smelling the fragrance emitted from the bamboo leaves, walking towards the mountain valley.

  The valley is between two mountains, with little wind and sunshine, so the grass and trees inside are greener than those on the outside slopes. Inside, there is a small spring, although the water is small, it flows continuously throughout the four seasons.

  Song Wen arrived at the mountain pass, and as soon as he entered his line of sight, the trees and grass were lush and green, a refreshing greenness came into view.

  In the mountain valley, there are rarely tall trees, and at most only some small shrubs about two meters high. On the humid ground, wild vegetables grow in clusters, as well as some large ferns, which are over a meter high. When spring arrives, they will sprout tender buds as thick as fingers, which can be picked and briefly scalded with boiling water to stir-fry meat slices, making an extremely delicious dish.

  The ground where the spring water emerges is a small ditch washed out by the spring water, which is covered with green moss and aquatic plants. Some mountain crabs play in it, and when they see people coming, some of them hurry to crawl away, while others open their pincers and make a threatening gesture.

  Few people come to this mountain pass, and the wild crabs grow plump and delicious. Song Wen's eyes turned green with envy; he hadn't eaten them for a long time.

  There are many types of crabs, including sea crabs in the ocean, lake crabs in lakes, river crabs in rivers, and mountain crabs in mountains. The soil and water in different regions nurture different types of crabs, each with its own unique flavor.

  Like sea crabs, they have a salty and humid flavor of seawater, and the meat is thicker; freshwater crabs from rivers, lakes, and the like have a fresh water flavor, and the meat is thinner. The taste is different due to the difference in water quality. Mountain forest crabs are naturally raised and have a natural sweetness with a mountain forest flavor, I believe people who have eaten them can tell them apart.

  Saw a big mountain crab with yellow and black stripes crawling around, Song Wen hurried over to catch it. These mountain crabs, perhaps never disturbed by humans before, were all about three inches in size and not very agile. After catching them, Song Wen conveniently pulled out a flexible grass root to tie them together and threw them into the fan.

  Caught for a while, and didn't know how many were caught. Seeing that there were only a few big ones left by the water ditch, I stopped catching and turned to pick wild vegetables.

  It's not the best season for picking wild vegetables now. The usual time for picking wild vegetables is before and after the spring rain, when they are tender and taste the best.

  However, there are a couple of wild vegetables that are not on the list, such as mountain mustard greens and red amaranth. These two wild vegetables are available all year round, but they taste best in spring and autumn, and are now in season.

  Song Wen didn't pick wild vegetables to eat, but to plant them back home. That's why he didn't care if they were in season or not and just picked them up from the ground. Mainly he picked mountain mustard greens, a little red and rabbit dish greens, and Plantago asiatica. Among these, a little red and Plantago asiatica are medicinal herbs that can't be eaten too much, but it's okay to occasionally taste them. As for mountain mustard greens and rabbit dish greens, he had never heard of them being any kind of medicinal herb, probably they belong to the vegetable category.

  As he picked and picked, he unexpectedly discovered that there were still Qingming dishes on this side.

  Qingming vegetable, also known as mouse ear grass or field mugwort, is usually dug up before and after Qingming Festival. After summer and autumn, it becomes old and rotten. Especially when the weather gets cold in autumn, it disappears without a trace. Unexpectedly, there is still a large clump here, but it looks like they are all very old and can't be eaten. I don't know if they can be dug up and replanted either.

  Suddenly, he thought that since it was so warm inside the Ruyi fan, it should be suitable for planting, so he dug up those Qingming dishes and planted them in the Ruyi fan.

  In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that shepherd's purse has a sweet and flat flavor, returning to the lung meridian; It has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, benefiting dampness and turbidity, transforming phlegm and relieving cough. "Ben Cao Gang Mu" says that shepherd's purse "regulates the middle and benefits qi, stops diarrhea and removes phlegm, suppresses seasonal gas, and relieves hot coughs", "treats cold coughs and phlegm, eliminates lung cold, and greatly uplifts lung qi". Modern pharmacological studies have also found that shepherd's purse has the effects of dilating local blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, treating digestive ulcers, relieving coughs, and relieving pain, making it a rare wild vegetable with both edible and medicinal uses.

  In the southern provinces, before and after Qingming Festival, old people will pick the tender shoots of Qingming vegetables, cook them with rice flour to make rice balls, which are fragrant and delicious. Qingming vegetables can also be stir-fried, washed clean, scalded in hot water, then stir-fried in oil, or used as a filling for steamed eggs or buns, the taste is not bad, with a natural flavor.

  He picked some wild vegetables, and Song Wen also dug up some large ferns. He called them big ferns, and there was another smaller kind that everyone often saw, which were just ordinary ferns. He planned to dig them up and plant them by the lake, and cultivate a whole patch of big ferns by the lake.

  The big ferns have tender shoots that are half a meter long and as thick as fingers, just a few of them can make a dish, and the taste is not bad. Dig them up to plant, so next time you want to eat, you don't have to run to the mountain to pick them.

  After picking wild vegetables, the sky gradually darkened, and Song Wen hurried down the mountain.

  After dark, the bamboo forest was eerily gloomy, and some unknown birds were chirping in a low, muffled tone, making one's hair stand on end. Although he was brave, it is said that a gentleman does not stand under a precarious wall, so it was better to be cautious.

  Back home, Song Yuanshui had already cooked rice, but hadn't stir-fried vegetables yet.

  His father's culinary skills, Song Wen was aware of, were limited to stir-frying bok choy. He didn't know who he had learned from, but the taste was okay. However, people couldn't eat bok choy every day, so his father was very self-aware and would cook rice every day, waiting for Song Wen to come back and stir-fry vegetables.

  Song Wen put down the things on his back in a corner and went to the kitchen to stir-fry dishes.

  On his way back, he took out the hoe and other things to carry with him, so as not to be discovered by his father. It's better not to let others know that you have a space like Ruyi Fan, even if it's your own family.

  The day before yesterday, there was still a large pile of meat left over from the tu sha, so Song Wen cut some and mixed it with potato starch, frying it until golden brown, and then cooked it in a sauce made with garlic scapes, celery, and chili oil. Then he took some mountain crabs, washed them clean, put them in a pot, added water, wine, salt, monosodium glutamate, garlic, chili peppers, and ginger, and boiled everything together. After the liquid had evaporated, he added some sesame oil and simmered it for a bit before serving. This dish is called "Rural Small Wine-Braised Mountain Crab". After cooking, not only does it have the aroma of garlic and chilies, but also a hint of sesame oil and wine, making it very appetizing.

  In the evening, they had porridge with these two dishes, which was enough for the father and son to eat.

  While eating, Song Yuanshui saw his son bringing out a mountain crab from the kitchen, his eyes wide with surprise, and asked: "Where did you catch it?"

  "Behind the bamboo forest, that mountain valley."

  That mountain valley Song Yuanshui also knew, but usually didn't pay attention to it. He didn't expect that inside there would be such a big mountain crab, and he couldn't help but secretly marvel at it.

  No wonder he was surprised, ordinary mountain crabs are about two fingers wide, how can there be three-finger-wide ones like the one Song Wen caught today.

  "Oh."

  Song Yuanshui responded with a sound, and then buried his head to eat. Song Yuanshui was a straightforward and honest farmer, who had no demands for money or desires of the mouth, only hoping to have three meals a day, enough money to use, and his family safe and sound.

  After dinner, Song Yuanshui brought a few small wines and drank them with mountain crabs, feeling proud and satisfied.

  With these two dishes, Song Wen couldn't help but eat two more bowls, and his stomach was stuffed. He had to walk around to digest a bit.

  Arriving at the backyard, seeing the cowshed with lights on, I walked over there.

  His father said that the water buffalo would give birth in two days, so he had to hang a lantern there, lest it be dark when the calf was born and couldn't see. So he specially went to buy an electric wire and hung a lantern in the cowshed. After taking a look in the cowshed, seeing that the water buffalo was fine, he left. Walking to the corner of the wall, he saw the little hedgehog still curled up in the hole and not moving, so he pulled it out with one hand and put it into his fan, if it weren't for seeing that this little guy was still small and afraid it would freeze to death, he wouldn't bother.

  Back in the house, she also put the little dog that was lying on the bed into the Ruyi fan. This little guy is getting bigger and bigger, it used to be only as big as a palm, now it's almost as long as two palms, and its appetite is getting bigger and bigger, every time it needs to drink nearly a kilogram of milk, Song Wen is almost being drained by it.

  After taking a bath, I went online and was about to sleep when I suddenly heard my dad calling from outside. I opened the window to take a look and found that the water buffalo had given birth, so I quickly put on my coat and ran downstairs.

  "What's wrong?"

  The water buffalo calf has come out halfway, and its father is beside it helping the water buffalo to add oil. The water buffalo sees Song Wen coming over and calls out weakly.

  Song Wen squatted down and stroked its head, comforting it. The water buffalo stuck out its tongue and licked its lips, its eyes shining like water, but it was unclear whether it was in pain or happiness.

  A woman's life is most painful in three things: First, menstrual pain; Second, the bitterness of marriage; Third, the suffering, hardship, pain and heartache of giving birth to children.

  This water buffalo is also a woman, although it's unknown whether she has the same kind of ** or physical pain, but at this moment, she is undoubtedly going through the hardships and sufferings that a mother would experience.

  "It's okay, you go prepare some hot water and we'll give it a wash later."

  Song Yuanshui stared intently at the calf that was about to come out, and instructed Song Wen without turning his head.

  Song Wen listened and hurriedly ran to boil water.