Chapter 24: Medicinal Use of Wild Boar Stomach (Part 2)

  "Hello, is that Sister? This is Ah Man."

  Song Wen dialed the phone number of Ah Xi Clinic, and the one who answered was Ah Fen. He wanted to ask Song Mingde about it, and the fact that wild boar stomach can cure stomach disease was spread from him.

  "Is Uncle here? I have something to look for him."

  "You wait for a moment, I'll call him to answer the phone."

  After finishing speaking, Song Wen heard Ah Fen calling out: "Dad, come out and answer the phone, it's Ah Wen, saying he has something to look for you."

  After a while, I heard Song Mingde's voice coming over.

  "Hello"

  "Uncle, it's me, Ah Wen. I have a friend whose father has stomach problems, and I heard that wild boar stomach can cure it. Happen to have one here, what do you think we should do with it?"

  "Where did you get the wild boar belly?" Song Mingde asked from over there.

  "Caught in a trap yesterday."

  "You rascal, you caught a wild boar and didn't even send some meat for me to taste. I'm the one who sent you a bottle of snake wine, what a scoundrel."

  "I just caught it this morning, and I've just killed it. Later, I'll send a leg over to you. You'll be drooling with oil at the corners of your mouth."

  "This is the way it should be! Don't be like that Song Hu, always coming over here for no reason, thinking of asking me for things, and never showing any respect. Song Mingde muttered a few sentences, seeming to feel a bit better, before saying: "I've prepared the medicinal herbs for stewing the wild boar belly, you can come over and take them, I told you but you don't know."

  "Okay, I'll go get it later."

  After finishing speaking, Song Wen hung up the phone.

  Song Mingde, who was on the other end of the line, heard the dial tone and cursed, "Damn little rabbit!" He usually hung up on others, but today he was the one being hung up on.

  "Dad, what are you talking about? I seemed to hear you mention wild boar belly just now." Ah Fen asked curiously from the side.

  "Awen caught a wild boar, and his friend's father happened to have stomach problems, so he wanted to use the boar's belly as medicine. He didn't know how to prepare it, so he came to ask me. This guy is also a stingy person who always comes to our place to take things away, when he was young, he often took things from here without permission. Later, he'll bring over one leg of wild boar meat and you'll have to cut it in half to return to him. It's been a while since we've had wild boar meat. I don't understand why Ah Fen has to join the army, wouldn't it be better for him to study medicine? That way, people would bring wild boar meat to our doorstep without us having to spend money on it, how great would that be?" Song Mingde said with confusion.

  Afen pretended not to hear and thought that this was what her scoundrel father would think of, that studying medicine was just a way to get free wild boar meat.

  "Song Mingde?" Song Hu asked beside him after Song Wen put down his phone.

  "Who else could it be?" Song Wen said irritably.

  Speaking of this uncle, there's a whole bunch of funny stories.

  In the past, when he had nothing better to do, he would often take a broken knife to scare kids, saying he wanted to cut their eggs, scaring them so much that they would run away from him. He also liked to pinch little children's buttocks. What a shameless old man! That day at the clinic, I thought he had changed, but it turned out he was still the same as before.

  "Is the wine at your place also bought by him?"

  Song Hu raised his eyebrows and glanced at a bottle of wine on the edge of the statue in the main hall.

  That was what Song Wenzhao brought back from the clinic that day, given to him by Song Mingde. He had left it there ever since, never expecting Song Hu to recognize it.

  "That was given by him."

  "No way, that old man is stingy to death. I wanted to take some back home to taste and he wouldn't even give me any, how could he possibly give you some?" Song Hu said with a disbelieving expression.

  "It depends on one's character." Song Wen said calmly.

  Song Hu glanced at him disdainfully, what kind of character does he have?

  "Is it really that good?"

  Song Hu asked curiously, he had long known the reputation of Song Mingde's snake wine, but had never drunk it before, and now seeing it made his heart itch.

  "What, you need this too?" Song Wen glanced at him with a meaningful look.

  "How is it possible? We didn't have any issues with seven times in one night, how could we possibly need that? It's just to try a different flavor."

  "Take half of it back then."

  "This is more like it."

  Song Hu's eyebrows opened and he said with a smile.

  Huang Wénfèng saw the two of them over there chattering away for half a day, and didn't know what they were saying, but couldn't stop asking: "Ah Wen, did you ask about the medicinal herbs for braising wild boar belly?"

  Song Wen listened and hastily replied, "I asked, Uncle said he'll prepare the medicine for us, we can just go over to pick it up. When you head back later, you can stop by on the way, no need to make a special trip."

  After finishing, he again instructed Huang Xiaojun: "When stewing the wild boar stomach, be sure not to wash it, just rinse it with water. Also, don't tear off the thin membrane inside the wild boar stomach. That membrane is the first protective layer formed by the wild boar's harsh environment of eating bamboo shoots, grass, and mushrooms, swallowing bird eggs, poisonous snakes, and scorpions, eating mud when hungry, and drinking mountain springs when thirsty. This layer of membrane has the most medicinal value, just like how some people eat placenta to nourish their body, they want the membrane wrapped outside the fetus. Tearing off this membrane would be a waste, and the efficacy would also be greatly reduced. Also, don't wash away the mucus on that membrane, as it contains a large amount of mucoprotein. Washing away this mucus is like eating eggs without eating the egg whites - stupid. Although after stewing, there's a strong fishy smell, good medicine tastes bitter, and the smell benefits the stomach. If after stewing, there's not even a hint of fishy smell, then the wild boar stomach might as well be eaten in vain."

  Huang Xiaojun listened seriously to Song Wen's words and secretly remembered them in her heart.

  After finishing the meal, Song Wen immediately picked up the bowls and chopsticks. Huang Wenhong and Huang Xiaojun looked over from the side and hurried over to help. Only Song Hu was carelessly holding his daughter, squatting there playing with the little dog, having a bit of a "forgotten pain" feeling.

  After finishing packing, several people were chatting and drinking tea in the courtyard. Just as they were having a great time, Huang Xiaojun's phone rang.

  "Hello..."

  ......

  "Got it, we'll go later."

  "What's wrong? Anything happened?" Huang Wenfeng asked from beside her.

  "It was my uncle, he said the old town government's yard is going to be sold and asked me if I want the trees inside."

  "The old town hall, it seems like some osmanthus trees were planted inside."

  Song Wen said after hearing it. They used to study in town before, so they were very familiar with that place.

  Song Hu flipped his eyes, inside there were not only osmanthus flowers, but also longan and mango. Every time the mango and longan ripened, they would go to visit. At that time, their eldest uncle was still serving as an official there, and the gatekeeper was also from their village, so no one would say anything.

  "Can I go with you?"

  Song Wen felt that his home was too empty, and he had long wanted to buy some flowers and plants back to plant, but he was too lazy to make a special trip. At this time, after hearing the news, he had an idea in his heart, knowing that the old town government planted all osmanthus, which smelled extremely fragrant when they bloomed, if it weren't for the fact that it was the town government, he would have thought of stealing one back to plant at home before.

  "Of course we can, otherwise let's go now, or it will be too late when we come back." Huang Xiaojun said.

  The old town government is half an hour's drive from the village. If something happens on that side, it will really be late when you come back.

  Song Wen thought for a moment, nodded, and then asked Song Hu and Huang Wenfeng, "What about you two?"

  "Go home, what's the point of eating your fill if you don't go home?"

  "Daddy, I want a puppy."

  Qiqi played with the little dog for a while and fell in love with this fluffy silly little guy, when she heard that it was time to go home, she begged her dad.

  "Kiki is obedient, little dog is too small, tomorrow daddy will buy you a big teddy bear to play."

  Song Hu hastily said that he didn't dare let his daughter play with pets now, if she wasn't happy playing, one bite would be the end of it.

  Qiqi heard that there were big bears bigger than puppies playing, and immediately became obedient, hugging Huang Wenfeng and leaning on her body.

  "Ah Hu, isn't your dad fond of eating pig head skin? I've cut a pig head and a leg of pork in the kitchen, you can take them back with you."

  "Your old man doesn't like eating it too?"

  "Is there still one at home? Can you finish eating it?"

  "Alright, I'll take it away then."

  After finishing speaking, Song Hu went to the kitchen to take out the cut pig head skin and a large leg of pork, and then found a bag to pack them up, so as not to drip blood on the car.

  Song Wen also went in and took out the wild boar belly that Huang Xiaojun's father needed, packed it up, cut a leg of wild boar meat and put it in, then cut another leg out and prepared to take it to the clinic for Song Mingde. That old man was not easy to fool around with.

  After finishing up, they distributed the bamboo rats caught in the morning to Song Hu and Huang Xiaojuan, having just used two, leaving six, exactly three per person.

  "After taking it back, peel off the skin, head, feet, and internal organs, add some pork, shrimp meat, and mugwort to stew together. The soup is guaranteed to be unforgettable after drinking once."

  Song Wen was putting bamboo rats into a bag while saying to Song Hu and Huang Xiaojun.

  "You're not going to have none, leave two." Song Hu said.

  "I'll leave nothing, I plan to catch all the bamboo rats on the mountain with one net, and then there will be plenty. These guys, these years don't know how many of our family's bamboos and shoots they've harmed, now it's our turn to harm them."

  After everything was ready, Song Wen ran to the back and said something to his father, then got on Xiao Jun's car with Song Hu and others, heading down the mountain.