Spirit of the Mountain

Chapter 6 Is this considered taking care of a child...

Apu didn't go out for a whole day, and his original plan to clean up the weeds in the small vegetable garden was shelved.

His own dog has become smarter and has become a "bear child". Although he doesn't know whether this change is good or bad, he can't ignore it, so Apu decided to give up his original plan to tidy up the vegetable garden today and observe and educate the "bear child" at home. child".

After a day of observation, Apu discovered that Ah Le was not actually a "naughty child", but at most a curious "dog child".

Sometimes the curiosity is so great that it makes people angry, but the pure and somewhat naughty look in the dark eyes, which matches the curious desire for knowledge, makes people irritated. My hands are getting more and more itchy, and I really want to grab and rub them hard. .

Apu found that Ale could now understand some of his commands, including language and gestures.

"Fish" is the first word that A Le can match.

Apu remembered that he had said "fish" three times since last night, once when making fish soup, and the other two times when eating. Then his dog understood the word.

Now when the word "fish" is mentioned, Ah Le becomes particularly energetic. When he says "fish" and points to the kitchen or Ah Le's rice bowl, Ah Le starts to squint his eyes and drool.

When Apu said "fish" in the test and pointed outside, Ale rushed out happily and couldn't even call him back.

More than 20 minutes later, Apu once again harvested one of his "bad kids" + a big "wild fish" that was still slightly moving like last night. This one was much bigger than yesterday, about four in length. At five pounds, Ah Le is quite capable.

Looking at Ah Le, who was sitting in front of him crouching and wagging his tail, acting cute and sticking out his tongue, Apu sighed and helplessly stretched out his hand to rub the dog's head as a reward.

After sorting out his thoughts, Apu started a new test.

"rice bowl" was the second word tested.

When Apu said "rice basin" and pointed at the guy where Ale was eating, Ale looked at the small stainless steel basin where he was eating.

Then Apu tried to put the rice bowl in another room, and when he told A Le about the rice bowl and pointed in front of him, A Le went into the back room with a "swish" and took out his own bowl and put it in Ah Pu's mouth. In front of everyone.

After continuing to give head-touching kills as rewards, Apu decided to do some complicated tests.

After finding out the straw hat that Uncle Jiang lent him yesterday to protect him from the sun, and giving it to A Le to smell, A Pu pointed outside and said:

"Uncle Jiang."

Ah Le rushed out. Uncle Jiang also watched Ah Le grow up, and they were quite familiar with each other, so Ah Pu didn’t worry about Ah Le misunderstanding and bit Uncle Jiang, and Ah Le must have remembered Uncle Jiang’s name a long time ago. smell.

Sure enough, after a while, before Apu had finished packing the fish, A Le led Uncle Jiang in.

Before Apu could say hello, another figure appeared behind him. It turned out to be Uncle Jiang who was also coming with him.

"Apu's dog is ready to entertain guests. He's been well trained. I'll give it to you another day and teach it to go into the mountains and catch rabbits. It's not young anymore and should be able to flop around."

This is Uncle Jiang’s hearty voice that comes first and comes last

After putting down the things in his hands, pouring two cups of tea, inviting Uncle Jiang and Uncle Jiang to sit down together, and patting the head of his dog to encourage him, Apu chatted with the uncle.

After Apu gave the order, A Le ran directly to Uncle Jiang's house. Uncle Jiang happened to be at the uncle's house, and the two of them happened to be discussing something, and they even asked someone to drag him over.

After chatting for a while, Uncle Jiang explained some questions in Apu's mind: Why did he only mention Uncle Jiang, but Ale also dragged Uncle Jiang over?

It turned out that the hat belonged to Uncle Jiang, but Uncle Jiang had also used it recently, so it was stained with the smell of two people, and three people including Apu.

When Apu took out his hat and let A Le smell it, what A Le smelled were three smells, A Pu's, Uncle Jiang's and Uncle Jiang's. Maybe others had used it, but over time the smell was gone. .

So, after Apu pointed outside, Ale's understanding was to bring them all back. Coincidentally, the two of them happened to be discussing things together, so they brought them all back.

As he spoke, he learned that Apu was training A Le and told him about the results of the training. Uncle Jiang looked at A Le with hot eyes. He is such a good dog. I haven’t seen him in many years. He will definitely be a good dog if he practices hard and goes into the mountains. With a good hand, a city girl like Apu, who has no experience at all, can be trained to be like this. How can he not be like a god if he masters such an old skill?

Looking for an opportunity to take it over and practice it, hoping that the skills that have been lost for many years will not be wasted, Uncle Jiang calculated with confidence.

Uncle Jiang was also more satisfied with his vision. After all, he had chosen the dog for himself, even though it was a gift from a neighbor.

There was quite a fuss about Ah Le yesterday. Everyone in the village knew about it and even teased Apu for raising his own dog as a treasure. So it is not surprising that Apu now said that he is training Uncle Jiang and Uncle Jiang of Ah Le.

"This little guy is so smart now, and he's so strong. Look, he even tore my pants."

Uncle Jiang pulled at the torn slit of his trousers, looked at Apu jokingly and said.

"Uncle, don't be angry. I'll make up for you after you change. I just started to teach Ah Le things. This naughty guy is always neither gentle nor heavy."

While Apu was covering up for A Le, he was not showing off to help sew clothes as an apology. Apu was still very confident in his needlework.

"Haha, no need, no need. Just remember to leave some for me when you go into the mountains to catch game. I'm just about to change these pants. The weather is getting hot. I'll cut them off and change them into shorts to keep cool."

Uncle Jiang continued to tease Apu and her dog. As he had the habit of having a drink after a meal, he still felt that snacks and drinks were more promising. Perhaps he was optimistic about A Le and thought she would definitely be a good hunting dog. He placed bets in advance to exchange points. Long-term snack bar.

"You don't have to tell me, uncle, I'll make this place my home from now on. You've been busy since I came here. I have a lot to worry about and a lot of things to do. If I don't dislike eating here every day, Call this place your home, there are so many people and it’s so lively.”

Uncle Jiang and Uncle Jiang's help have always been remembered in Apu's heart. He was also busy at ordinary times, and there were more and more chores in the village. As a half-foreigner, Apu couldn't get involved in these things.

My uncle and uncle have some at home, and if I don’t have them, they may still have them at my uncle’s house, so I just happened to catch a big fish while A Le was trying to train and see if I can invite my uncle home to eat. It was just a casual meal, but I didn’t expect Ah Le to perform exceptionally well. There must be a combination of Ah Le’s cleverness and a coincidence of God’s will.

"Uncle, please don't leave today. I've prepared some bacon, mushrooms and other things here, as well as the fish caught by A Le. Let's have a meal together."

Apu smiled and persuaded Uncle Jiang and his uncle to have a meal at home.

We had prepared bacon early, dried mushrooms picked from the mountains, dried day lilies collected in the backyard, local eggs, local grain wine bought in the village, plus this particularly delicious "wild fish", Apu Make a thank you feast with confidence.

"That's a good relationship. I'm going to trouble the girl today."

Without too much pretense or shirk, Uncle Jiang accepted it directly.

"Haha, the little guy can actually catch fish. This is rare among dogs. I saw it just now. The fish is not small. It seems that only the elders have the opportunity to eat it. This is the former high official and prefect. It’s something we only have the opportunity to eat, so if you come across it today, you must try it.”

The well-informed Uncle Jiang was in a good mood today. While praising Ah Le, he also pointed out the specialness and origin of the "wild fish" that Ah Pu was collecting in front of him.

"It's really a golden beard? You can't read it wrong? It's a good thing. It has been extinct for a long time, right?"

After Uncle Jiang came in, he didn't pay much attention to the fish that Apu was packing in his hands. When it was pointed out that it was the legendary Jin Xibai, he expressed some doubts. He moved closer to the basin containing the fish and looked at it with some doubts.

"It's unmistakable. It has big eyes and long beards. Its white scales are golden. When the scales are removed, the flesh will leak out. It's unmistakable. I'm going to have a good meal today. Just enjoy it secretly."

Uncle Jiang was confident in his vision. He smacked his lips and said:

"I ate it once when I was a kid."

Uncle Jiang, who was squatting by the basin and carefully observing the half-finished fish, stopped talking. Everything was the same as what Uncle Jiang had described, especially the white fish blood that flowed out after being scaled and cut open. This was the most powerful proof.

Uncle Jiang grinned, went back, picked up the teacup, and sat with Uncle Jiang.

Uncle Jiang decided on the "fish". After all, he is still an uncle. You have to believe in him, especially if he lives a long time and knows how to eat.

Hearing this, Apu hesitated a little, and stopped the fish he was packing. Why is this fish so particular? Is there a special way to cook it? Will the fish that was cooked casually last night be wasted?

Uncle Jiang, who had seen (lao) (jian) and (ju) widely (hua), saw Apu's worries, winked at Apu indifferently and said:

"This fish is versatile. It doesn't matter how you cook it. It tastes good no matter how you cook it. There is no need to test your skills, so you can make it with ease."

Haha, I don’t know if this is to cheer up Apu, or to make fun of Apu’s cooking skills.

For the first time, Apu saw the old naughty side of Uncle Jiang, and answered with a smile:

"Uncle, don't worry. Since we have a good foundation, you and uncle can wait to taste the delicious food."

"Yeah, go and do your business, don't worry about us."

The uncle and uncle sat together holding teacups and chatting. From time to time, they looked at Apu, who was busy processing ingredients, and at the khaki farm dog that they both liked.

A Le was lying on the ground with his front legs crossed. His yellow head was placed on his legs and he was swinging from side to side from time to time. His dark eyes looked at the uncle for a while and then at the busy Apu. Maybe the uncle had been sitting and chatting without moving. , so A Le looked at A Pu more than others.

Apu, on the other hand, is happily busy for himself, for the people who care about him, and for the elves who accompany him.