HCB Chapter 268 Outdoor Fun
Chapter 268 Outdoor Fun
Han Zhibai has already decided what to eat in the evening: grilled fish or grilled chicken.
While hunting pigs in the afternoon, they saw pheasants and hunted three of them.
There were fish in the pond, and he put out the fish cage when he went out in the afternoon.
Several hours had passed since he put the fish cage in place, and now he walked over to collect it.
There were more than 30 kilograms of things in the fish cage. The big fish were picked out, and the small fish, stone snails and river shrimps were released, including some medium-sized crayfish.
Crayfish are not found just anywhere; they are very picky about their growing environment.
Han Zhibai had caught crayfish here before. He and Xia Qingyue both liked to eat lobsters. In addition, the environment nearby was good and there were wild boars, so he suggested going out here this time.
Over there, Xia Qingyue lay comfortably on a straw mat amid the chirping of cicadas. When she raised her eyes, she could see the starry night sky above her head and a moon emitting a cool glow.
The sun was shining brightly during the day and the heat was unbearable, so she put the straw mat in the shade under a tree. At night, when it was windy and not so hot, she moved the mat to a place where there were no trees blocking the view and lay on it to look at the night sky.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that the moon she saw at this moment was very bright, and the nearby grass and winding paths were illuminated clearly.
This scene inexplicably overlapped with some scenes in my memory.
When I was a child in my previous life, I lived in the countryside. At that time, electrical appliances were not yet popular. People were busy working during the day and would go out for a walk after dinner at night. I would chat with the villagers I met on the way. There were no street lights in the village, and one could see the surroundings clearly only by moonlight.
Later, when she grew up and moved to a big city, she never saw such a scene again. Even at night, when she looked up at the night sky, she could not see a single star.
After a while, she smelled the aroma of meat and sat up, sniffing. The black and white dogs sleeping in the tent also smelled it and ran out to look for food.
Seeing that they were all coming over, Han Zhibai picked up the grilled fish and handed it to her, "It's a little hot."
Four fish were grilled, three plain and one sprinkled with seasoning powder. She took the plain grilled fish off the wooden stick, and waved a palm-leaf fan to fan the steaming fish.
Fan it to the right temperature and let Xiaobai and Heihei eat.
She didn't eat the grilled fish, but waited for Han Zhibai to join her.
There were three pheasants and two fish roasting on the fire, sizzling with oil.
She saw something in the fire and asked in confusion, "What is that?"
"There are black crayfish in the pond. I find banana leaves to wrap them, cover them with a layer of mud, and roast them in the fire. My father taught me how to eat them. You can also wrap chicken or fish in the same way."
"So that's how it is." She was surprised when she heard it was a cricket.
A quarter of an hour later, the roast chicken, roast fish and crayfish were all ready. She turned around and set up the small round table she brought on the straw mat so that they could sit on the mat and eat dinner while watching the night view.
The table was set up, and Han Zhibai came over with the roasted chicken, fish and crayfish in bowls and plates and placed them on the small round table.
The food was steaming hot and smelled delicious.
The black and white dog, who had eaten the grilled fish, was obviously not full. He ran over, wagging his tail and staring at the grilled chicken intently.
Xiaobai had a good appetite and gave them two roasted chickens.
The two of them ate a chicken, two fish, crickets, and some yellow-skinned wild fruits picked during the day.
The moon was bright and the breeze was gentle. They sat cross-legged and enjoyed their dinner happily.
The grilled fish and grilled chicken are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, very crispy and spicy.
The cooked crayfish are red in color like shrimps and need to be peeled before eating. This is not a problem for Xia Qingyue. She picked up one and could peel out a complete shrimp tail in just a few strokes. She took a bite and found that it tasted sweet and fresh without any seasoning, and the meat was firm and chewy.
Han Zhibai is not very good at peeling and peels slowly.
She slowed down and taught him how to peel it.
After eating, they cleaned up together, boiled water for washing, and scrubbed their bodies. It was hot and they would feel uncomfortable if they didn't scrub themselves.
After that, the two kids returned to the tent and fell asleep again.
It was still early, so they lay on the straw mat outside the tent, using their hands as pillows, and admired the night view.
The years are quiet.
Lying there, with the pleasant sound of running water in her ears, it was like a natural lullaby, relaxing her body and mind, and making her very sleepy. When she was about to fall asleep, she muttered, "Let's go back to the tent and sleep."
She thought it was not suitable for sleeping because there was no shelter on all sides and she felt unsafe.
"Go to sleep, let's go back to sleep." Han Zhibai raised his body slightly, approached her, and gently kissed her between the eyebrows. He stood up, bent down, picked her up in his arms, and walked into the tent.
The opening of the tent was not closed, leaving it open for ventilation and wind to blow in.
That night, they all slept very peacefully and comfortably.
Early the next morning, Xia Qingyue woke up. Han Zhibai had prepared breakfast for her. She simply ate some red bean porridge and mixed dried cucumbers.
After we finished eating, the sun came out. Golden light and shadows flashed everywhere in the mountains and forests, like a dream, and the tireless cicadas chirped non-stop.
It was still relatively cool in the morning, and the air was fresh. Xia Qingyue took a stroll under the shady trees and finally wandered to where the wild boars were tied. They had been hungry all night and looked a little lethargic.
After washing the pots and dishes, Han Zhibai came over and took her hand, saying that he would take her to find fruit. Before leaving, he also took Xiao Hei away.
Xiaobai was still sleeping and Heihei did not follow them.
They were so busy hunting wild boars yesterday afternoon that they didn't have time to look around.
They walked down along the stream. There were lush green plants beside the stream. She saw some familiar figures among them. She grabbed his arm in surprise and stopped.
"Hey, that's water celery, and watercress, both are edible, but they're all old!"
"Then we'll come over and pick them next spring."
She nodded, and looked around as she walked to see if she could find any mountain products.
Unexpectedly, they found a Chinese prickly ash tree. The fruits had not yet turned red and burst open, but they should be ripe in more than a month.
After more than half an hour, they came to a big tree with many small yellow-brown fruits.
"This is longan, which has tender flesh, rich juice and sweet taste, a bit like lychee. If women eat it, it can replenish blood and nourish qi."
She looked up at the tree and muttered to herself, isn't this a longan?
Among all fruits, except durian, she likes longan. She is very happy to see the tree full of fruits.
"You are smart. You thought of bringing Xiao Hei along."
With Xiao Hei, they can pick more longans to take back.
The tree was tall and lush, and they climbed up one after the other.
He climbed to a higher place. The higher he climbed, the more sunlight there was and the sweeter the fruit was. She, who was afraid of heights, picked the fruit a little lower down.
We only picked one third of the fruits on the tree, which weighed several hundred kilograms. It would be difficult to carry too much back.
Near noon, when they returned to the waterfall, Xia Qingyue suddenly decided to go to the stream to catch crabs and asked him to teach her how to swim in the shallow water.
The banks of the stream are shaded by trees, and the temperature is just right, neither too cold nor too hot.
"Okay, you touch the crab first, I'll come over later." Han Zhibai led Xiao Hei back to the camp, took out the longan, and got some water and grass for it to eat.
The two little ones woke up and pestered him for food. The breakfast he left for them was porridge and boiled fish.
After they finished eating, they went to the stream together to meet Xia Qingyue.
On a hot summer day, the whole family happily played in the stream, touching crabs, catching fish, swimming in the water, and having a relaxing and comfortable time.