Chapter 14: When You Get Older, Eating Comes First
In the geographical division of Guangxi, Bobai County belongs to the hilly area in southeast Guangxi. The landform types are complex and diverse, with plains, valleys, basins, hills, and mountains interlaced.
The Double Prosperity area is a hilly region.
There are many mountains here, but most of them are small hills that you can run to the top of in one breath. In later generations, these hills were planted with lychee trees by every household, so they are also called lychee mountains.
Early that morning, Deng Shirong, who had nothing to do, took a long stick and went to the hill opposite his home to see if he could find some good food to eat.
After going up the mountain, Deng Shirong saw that the myrtle trees had begun to ripen, so he picked a few and tasted them. The taste was still as sweet as he remembered.
However, picking myrtle fruits wasn't his goal this time. After tasting them, Deng Shirong shifted his attention to the weeds and slowly searched.
As a result, Deng Shirong spent more than an hour searching the entire hill but didn't find what he needed. He shook his head with regret.
Deng Shirong's goal was simple: to search for hornet's nests and various wild mushrooms.
There's no need to talk about the hornet's nest. The bee pupae inside, when fried and paired with wine, are a true delicacy. In later generations, even frozen bee pupae would sell for one or two hundred yuan per catty. Fresh, live bee pupae could easily fetch three or four hundred yuan per catty.
As for wild mushrooms, in the Double Prosperity area, the most famous are rice mushrooms, pine mushrooms, and arrowhead mushrooms. Whether used to make soup or porridge, their taste is extremely delicious. They are a rare delicacy.
In later generations, it's rare to eat such delicious wild mushrooms. As far as Deng Shirong could remember, he hadn't eaten them for at least ten years. If someone was lucky enough to find such wild mushrooms, many people would rush to buy them even if they were sold for several hundred yuan per catty.
After searching the hill carefully, Deng Shirong still couldn't find a hornet's nest or wild mushrooms. He was mentally prepared for this, mainly because the hill was too close to the village. If there had been a hornet's nest, it would have been taken long ago, and he wouldn't have had a chance to find it.
As for those wild mushrooms, finding them is entirely a matter of luck.
Take the arrowhead mushroom, for example. If it grows in the morning, it will be past its prime by the afternoon, let alone the next day.
You have to dig it out in the morning when it just emerges from the soil and looks like an arrowhead, then cook and eat it immediately. If you're late and wait until the mushroom grows and opens completely like an umbrella, it will start to rot and grow worms, and the taste won't be as good.
Because of these harsh conditions, eating this wild mushroom is entirely a matter of luck.
Plus, it hadn't rained in the past two days, so it wasn't a good time to dig for wild mushrooms.
Of course, Deng Shirong didn't come back empty-handed. At least he found a nest of termites in a bush, and he immediately memorized the location.
As an experienced rural person, Deng Shirong naturally understood some of the growth patterns of wild mushrooms. Where arrowhead mushrooms grow, there must be termite nests, and they often only grow after rain.
So, Deng Shirong remembered this place and planned to wait for it to rain, then come back the next morning to see if there were any arrowhead mushrooms to pick.
When he got home and saw his eldest son making a slingshot at the door, Deng Shirong said, "Yuntai, after breakfast, if you have nothing to do, go to the mountain and see if you can find a hornet's nest."
Deng Yuntai stopped what he was doing and asked, "Dad, why are you looking for a hornet's nest?"
Deng Shirong took his pipe and pulled out tobacco and matches from his pocket, saying, "If you find the hornet's nest, burn it and fry the bee pupae inside. They're perfect for drinking."
Deng Yuntai asked in surprise, "Dad, can bee pupae be fried and used to make alcohol?"
It was no wonder he asked this. He had never heard of anyone frying bee pupae and drinking wine with them since he was a child. Usually, bee pupae were either eaten raw or used to cook bee pupa porridge. This was the first time he had heard of frying them.
Deng Shirong stuffed tobacco into his pipe and said with a smile, "Fried bee pupae are fragrant and sweet, and they're a perfect side dish for drinking."
Deng Yuntai wondered, "Since fried bee pupae taste so good, why have I never heard of anyone frying bee pupae?"
Deng Shirong struck a match, lit the tobacco, and took a few puffs before answering, "What's so strange about this? Every household in the village is so short of oil right now. Who would be willing to use oil to fry bee pupae?"
Deng Yuntai suddenly understood and then said with some anticipation, "Okay, after breakfast, I'll go to the mountain to see if I can find a few hornet's nests."
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Well, if we can't find a hornet's nest, we'll try to catch some fish in the river. We have to have something delicious today."
Deng Yuntai responded. He was only interested in the fried bee pupae his father mentioned. He didn't have much expectation for fish. There were plenty of them in the rivers and fields, but few people in the village would catch them to eat.
The reason is simple: the fishy smell is too strong, and they don't taste good.
There aren't many rural people nowadays who are good at cooking. Besides, they are reluctant to use oil when cooking, so you can imagine what the fish tastes like. Basically, after eating it once, people will stay away from fish.
Of course, this is also because everyone can eat their fill now. If it were like in the old society when people were starving, they would rush to catch and eat fish no matter how unpalatable they were.
Because he had to build a new house and buy a bicycle, Deng Shirong was under great pressure and didn't allow himself to be idle. After breakfast, he walked toward the home of his other cousin, Deng Yunjin.
Although Deng Yunjin is Deng Shirong's nephew, he is already 56 years old this year.
Deng Yunjin has three sons and two daughters. The first four are already married, leaving only the youngest daughter, who has not yet found a husband.
If Deng Changfu and his wife were the model couple in the village in their previous life, then Deng Yunjin's youngest daughter, with her high school education, was the best-married girl in Thatchfield Village.
"Uncle Jiu, have you eaten?" As soon as Deng Shirong arrived at Deng Yunjin's house, Deng Yunjin's second son, Deng Changquan, greeted him.
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "I've eaten. Are your parents home?"
"Yes." Deng Changquan responded, then shouted loudly into the house, "Dad, Mom, Uncle Jiu is here!" After shouting, he took a stool and a water pipe and said, "Uncle Jiu, have a smoke first."
Deng Shirong sat down and waved his hand, saying, "I just smoked two pipes at home."
As they were talking, Deng Yunjin and his wife came out of the house, greeted each other, and chatted about this and that for a while before getting down to business.
"Yunjin, how old is your younger sister this year?"
"She's already twenty-one."
Deng Shirong said, "At this age, it's appropriate to talk about marriage!"
Deng Yunjin figured out something from Uncle Jiu's words and asked quickly, "Uncle Jiu, do you have a good match to introduce?"
Deng Shirong smiled and nodded, "There is indeed a good match I want to introduce to your little sister."
(End of Chapter)