Changan and Goudan slipped into the yard at this time and handed the pheasant to his uncle and aunt.
Wu was surprised. She picked up the still-living pheasant and looked at it again and again. She asked curiously, "Where did you get it from?"
"We caught it!" Goudan said proudly.
Changan also handed the headless pheasant that Huahua brought back to his aunt: "Hua, Huahua catch it."
"Oh, two of them." Wu was surprised and quickly took both of them to the kitchen to clean up.
Huh? This live pheasant seems to have eggs in its buttocks. How about raising it for a few days?
Wu hesitated for a long time and decided to raise this live hen first.
Even if it can't be raised, at least wait for it to lay eggs.
With this thought in mind, Wu found a broken straw basket, grabbed a handful of soft straw and put it in, then stuffed the live chicken in it and covered it with a bamboo basket.
After placing the live pheasant, Wu began to deal with the remaining one.
The pheasant was actually not big. After tearing off the skin, there were
only two pieces of meat on the breast. There was no meat on the chicken legs, and only the chicken liver and chicken heart in the chest cavity could be eaten.
However, the pheasant was caught by Huahua, so the most delicate liver and heart must be reserved for it.
Wu was thinking about it, and when she looked up, she saw two little kids squatting in front of her watching her peel the chicken.
"Changan, go get the shepherd's purse that your aunt dug, so we can make shepherd's purse dumplings today." There was not enough chicken, so they had to use wild vegetables.
Wu wanted to chop the chicken breast meat and make shepherd's purse and chicken dumplings for the children.
"Yes!" Changan stood up and went to the yard to get shepherd's purse.
The shepherd's purse and wild onion ferns that your aunt dug yesterday had been cleaned and hung on a bamboo plate.
The shepherd's purse was particularly tender after being soaked in water, and a basket of shepherd's purse swelled up a lot.
Changan stuffed the shepherd's purse into the rice washing basket, and Goudan came to help.
The two children were busy happily, and suddenly they saw Huahua bring something in.
"Hey? Where did Huahua catch a cuckoo bird?"
Goudan hurried over to take the bird, but Huahua avoided him and walked straight to Chang'an, putting down the bird in her mouth.
This unfortunate gray-feathered bird had just flown down from the tree, and before it had time to peck at the grass seeds on the ground, it was pounced on by the big cat and its neck was instantly bitten off.
Chang'an curiously picked up the gray bird's wings and took a look, then ran to hand it to his aunt: "Hua, Huahua, catch it."
Huahua also followed with light steps, and there seemed to be a touch of satisfaction on the cat's face.
"Oh, what's wrong with Huahua today? How can you be so capable?" Wu took the cuckoo bird and said, "I'll cut out the heart and liver for Huahua to eat later."
Huahua meowed and was very satisfied.
Wu also skinned the cuckoo bird, peeled off the breast meat and chopped it together with the pheasant meat.
As for the skeleton, it was kept for making soup.
There is not much fat in the skin of wild birds, and the feathers are extremely difficult to remove, so they can only be peeled with the skin.
After giving the bird's heart and liver to Huahua, Wu began to chop the meat.
Seeing Qian's wife coming over, Wu said, "Sixth sister-in-law, Goudan, Chang'an and Huahua went to catch two pheasants and brought them back. I'll chop some meat and shepherd's purse to make dumplings. You and Sixth Brother Qiao'er will come to eat today."
"Okay." Qian's wife didn't hesitate to go to the water tank to fetch water to wash her hands and help knead the dough.
Nowadays, the wheat flour eaten by the villagers is coarse flour without removing the bran. Although the bran has been ground very finely, it is still rough compared to refined white flour.
However, it is good to have something to eat during the lean period. Some families can't even afford coarse flour and can only eat porridge cooked with wild vegetables and bean flour to fill their stomachs.
Chang'an went to see his uncle again, and seeing that he had gone to bed, he went back to the yard to play apricot kernels with Goudan. Just when he was having fun, he suddenly heard his cousin's voice: [Dad is so useless, he can't even do a small thing. Now, not only did he alert the enemy, but he also got himself scratched. What a waste! ]
[Forget it, I'll do it myself in the future. Anyway, there's still a long time, and I can always find a time to deal with them! No rush.]
The voice became softer and softer, and gradually disappeared.
Chang'an scratched his ears, trying to hear something else, but it was gone.
"Haha! Chang'an, you didn't hit it again! It's my turn now!" Goudan knelt on the ground and played apricot kernels with great interest. As the apricot kernels flew out, he quickly climbed forward.
His hands and body were soon stained with mud, and his pants were even more ugly. Even though his mother patched them up with several layers of patches, the knees were still worn out.
Chang'an frowned.
She didn't understand what her cousin said, but she knew the general meaning. She just wanted to continue to harm her uncle and aunt or herself.
Chang'an clenched her little fists angrily, and she must tell her uncle!
She got up and ran into the house.
He climbed onto the kang on a stool and pushed Song Sanshun, who had just fallen asleep, awake in a few seconds.
"Uncle, uncle, my cousin is bad! I'm going to punish you!" Chang'an puffed up his little face and said seriously. Although she didn't understand what "cook" meant, she just wanted to harm someone.
Song Sanshun reached out and touched his niece's head, "Uncle knows."
Not only did Song Jizu want to harm him, but his stepmother probably wanted him dead.
As long as he and his brother died, this family would completely belong to Song Jizu.
Although the old house here was dilapidated, there were trees planted in front of and behind the house, as well as a small vegetable garden and a water storage ditch, all of which were managed by himself and his wife bit by bit.
If this place was sold, it would at least sell for a few copper coins. Add to that the two acres of dry land on the mountainside, it would sell for at least a dozen coins, right?
Seeing that his uncle understood, Chang'an climbed down the kang again, ran out, and continued to play apricot kernels with Goudan.
The shepherd's purse and chicken dumplings were finally out of the pot, and the fragrance filled the entire kitchen.
In fact, there was no meat in the dumplings, only a few bits of meat, but it was still much better than the ones without meat.
Chang'an ate seven dumplings in one go, and his stomach couldn't hold any more. He felt that the dumplings had blocked his throat.
Wu smiled and said, "Why eat seven? Come on, take another bite, count it as eight."
The number seven is unlucky. When eating or buying things, it's either four, six, or eight, which are auspicious in pairs. Seven is definitely not the number used by the dead.
Little Chang'an burped and had to take a small bite of the dumplings that his aunt picked up.
Sister Qian also smiled and said, "Today's dumplings are really delicious. Xiuying, your cooking skills are so delicate. Why don't you set up a stall to sell snacks at the market? Your business will definitely be booming."
Wu shook her head and said, "Selling snacks is not cost-effective."
There is no food at home, so how can there be surplus food to make snacks? If you meet a ruffian who eats without paying, you will have no place to complain.
Moreover, the rural market is the most chaotic. It is not like a big town like Tieniu Town, where there are people holding sticks to maintain law and order in the streets. There is no such thing in the countryside. Not to mention eating a free meal, even if all the chickens and ducks in the house are stolen, no one will come to solve the case.
Moreover, there are many poor people in the countryside, and many people eat without paying. There are also groups of young hooligans. If one of them is not satisfied, he may smash your food stall.
"It's still safer to make beads." The wood-sucking fruit can't be eaten or drunk, and it's not worth money. Those who come to buy it are all kind people who believe in gods and Buddhas, and they don't have any bad intentions.
Sister Qian: "That's right. If you sell food, you must have a man with you."
Moreover, the busy season is coming soon, and the farm work in the fields is still expected to be done by men. How can they have the time to accompany their wives to set up stalls in the market.
Song Laoliu drank the dumpling soup in the bowl, put down the bowl and said, "Let's string some beads honestly. If we can't sell them, we won't lose money. We will make money if we sell them."
Song Sanshun also nodded, "Indeed." He didn't want his wife to show up in public, but in this situation at home, it's always good to have an income.
Anyway, the temple fair in Tieniu Town is only held every fifteen days, and he can definitely spare some time to accompany his wife to sell beads.
Just after finishing the evening meal, the clan leader came back with a group of people. (End of this chapter)