My 1995 Small Farm

  Chapter 418 Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals

   There is no need to say anything else. Now that we know that this "treasure of vinegar" can be eaten, Wang Cunye's method of eating it is not difficult, and it can be done at will.

In front of Chen Ling and his group of out-of-town guests, the old and greasy old couple were unambiguous, soaked the "Vinegar Treasure" in water, washed it twice, put it on the chopping board like a lump of jelly, and cut it into pieces. Rhombus-shaped pieces.

  Put it back into the bowl, mix a plate of spicy peppers and pour it on.

  The ruddy chili, paired with it, looks pretty good.

   "Come, come, try it all, try it all, rich and noble, his father-in-law taught it, if it doesn't taste good, we can't blame us."

   Lao Ni was joking with his crooked mouth, and took out a handful of chopsticks to distribute to everyone.

  Zhao Yubao and the others are guests, let them taste first.

   "Hahaha, it's not strange, it's the first time we've seen this strange thing, what grows out of the vinegar vat itself, how can we not try it?"

   Zhao Yubao's words are true, and he is really curious.

   He unceremoniously took the lead in picking up the chopsticks and put a piece into his mouth.

His eyes lit up when he licked his tongue and tasted it carefully, "Oh, the taste of this thing is not bad. I smelled the pungent acetic acid smell just now, and thought it was too sour, but I didn't expect it to be quite good. food…

  Well, let me taste it again, hiss, Brother Cunye is right, it tastes better than jelly. "

  Others immediately became interested when they heard this, and couldn't wait to move their chopsticks to pick it up.

  Even the old and crooked couple is no exception.

   "Hey, it's really not bad, what do you think of being rich?"

  Zhao Dahai took two mouthfuls in succession, and seeing Chen Ling moving his chopsticks continuously, he laughed and asked Chen Ling how he felt.

Chen Ling nodded: "Well, it's sour, hot, and delicious. Compared with jelly, it's much softer and not as chewy as jelly. But it tastes very fresh and bright. This hot pepper is the finishing touch, suitable for Eat in summer, not bad, very good.”

  Zhao Dahai was stunned when he heard it: "Good guy, you are indeed a professional foodie. After talking about it, you are like some kind of food critic."

The young couple Shanmao and Dujuan also laughed: "Food critics can do it, you can be rich and noble, look at Jia Ruirui's appearance, and under your influence in the future, she must be a snack food, and when the time comes, Susu will be with the children all over the world Playing while eating, and writing a food review article by the way, isn’t it a matter of hand.”

   It turned out that the little guy was hiding behind Chen Ling, listening to Chen Ling with his ears up.

  Seeing everyone looking over in unison, the little thing suddenly started giggling shyly, dragged Yaya and staggered away.

   Only a few old people looked at each other with question marks on their faces: "...what are you talking about, what foodie?"

   Shanmao hurriedly explained: "Oh, the new words that Fugui said before, said that the sea is a big foodie, and when you see delicious food, it's like driving a train, eating like crazy..."

  The old people of the two families were taken aback for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

Zhao Yubao almost laughed off his glasses, pushed his glasses, and said, "So that's what I meant, let me just say, Fugui is talented and interesting, only interesting people can discover interesting things, and only interesting things can be written." Sex, such a person is suitable to be a writer."

   This old man looks like a man and a woman, and he doesn't have a beard on his face. He looks a bit like the old master Qian Shushu. After a few words of appreciation to Chen Ling, he glared at Zhao Dahai again.

   "Fugui said that you are a foodie to give you face, but to put it bluntly, you are a big eater, not at all like you and me."

  Maybe the writer is so casual, no matter in front of so many people, he blew his beard and stared at Zhao Dahai.

   It made Zhao Dahai's scalp tingle for a while, and he smiled wryly: "Here it comes again, I'm not that kind of material, or Dad, you should regard Fugui as your son, he has talent."

  Zhao Yubao was no longer angry when he heard the words, clapped his hands and said, "Hey, that's a good idea."

   Then he turned his gaze to Chen Ling.

  This time it was Chen Ling's turn to feel his scalp tingling.

   This scene almost made other people laugh their heads off.

Zhao Dahai's mother laughed and grabbed her wife: "Okay, come here, be happy when you are happy, don't act like an old child, think about it as soon as you come out, and let's have a good time, no Do you know what cats hate dogs and hate people?"

   "Fugui, take this vinegar treasure home with you, it's also a dish at night." Lao Niwai said at this time: "My vinegar jar has grown a lot."

   "Okay, take one and take one."

  Chen Ling was not polite to Lao Ni: "But I will pick it up when I go back later, we haven't finished visiting the reservoir yet."

They just saw a few falcons circling nearby, and there was a beautiful falcon with reddish feathers in the sun that swooped down and fell into the reeds. The bobcats were delighted to see it, so they wanted to take a look. after all.

"Go to the reservoir and there is a boat here... Oh, go to the reeds to look for eagles. Recently, there are a lot of eagles. If there are too many birds, you will recruit eagles. Then I will get a few pairs of water shoes and put them on. You city people His legs and feet are tender, so he can't do without water shoes."

   "Come on, don't be shy, you'll have to let Fugui go back to get it."

  Lao Niwai’s house is guarding the entrance of the village. Some time ago, I have seen many outsiders go to the reservoir to play, and they are very considerate.

  In addition to the water shoes of the old couple, they also took out the water shoes of the Chen Jiang couple and asked Zhao Dahai and the old Shan Mao to put them on.

   "Hey, why did Fugui come out with such a big wooden basin?"

   While the two elderly people were changing their shoes, Chen Ling also found a large wooden basin from Lao Niwai's house.

At this time, I picked a few fish baskets from the south wall of the old greasy house, shook them at everyone, and said with a smile: "Of course it's for fun, don't you just want to go into the reed marsh to find eagles? Reed marshes to catch fish and shrimps It's fun to catch old turtles."

  There are many birds in the current season, and there are many hawks and falcons, but there are many hawks and falcons, and not everyone can catch them.

  Even if it is a falcon hunting in the reed marshes, due to environmental factors, it is difficult to take off in time, and it cannot be easily caught.

  When Zhao Dahai heard this, "Oh, then I have to find a pair of water shoes."

   "Fuck you, you have rough skin and thick flesh, just take off your shoes and go directly into the water." Bobcat kicked him and cursed with a smile.

  Zhao Dahai hurriedly called Qu and said, "I'm afraid of getting my feet pierced."

   "What's the matter with your feet? We don't even have any stones in the water here..."

  Chen Ling patted him on the shoulder: "Brother Da Da, you went home after work and rested for a while, why are you still becoming coquettish, like a big girl."

  Before the reservoir, even when there were no old turtles, no one dumped debris here. Usually, women wash clothes here, and adults and children bathe and play in the water on hot days, so there is nothing to bind their feet.

   Prepared water shoes for Zhao Yubao and the others, because they were old and lived in the city for a long time, their legs and feet were tender, and they didn't often play in the water, so they were allowed to wear water shoes.

  Zhao Dahai and Shanmao, who often travel to the north and south to work in the field, are young and strong, so they don't need water shoes.

  …

A group of people joked with each other, walked down the dam slowly, and walked to the shore. Chen Ling distributed the big wooden basin and fish basket to everyone, and then untied a small boat, and asked the old man to take Ruirui and Yaya with him. The little doll is in the boat.

  He took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, led the boat in front, and walked into the reeds.

  Zhao Dahai's two families supported each other and stepped into the water behind them, wading through the muddy water, moving forward slowly, looking left and right, looking surprised at everything they saw.

   Didn’t go far, not only startled a large group of birds hiding in the reeds, but calmed down the croaking frogs one after another, and several old people found a rather strange thing behind.

  Old man Zhong shouted: "Fugui, look at the karma, what's going on, why are there so many crabs climbing up the reed pole?"

   "Huh? Really, crabs come out of the water, is it going to rain?" Wang Cunye glanced around, it is not uncommon for crabs to come out of the water and climb up reeds and trees.

   This phenomenon occurs every time there is heavy rain.

   "Hey, it's okay, maybe it's going to rain heavily tonight, it's not unusual."

  Wang Cunye glanced at the sky, waved his hand, and said indifferently.

   As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Dahai shouted from behind: "We found a bird's nest that fell down here. The chicks that had just hatched fell out, and they recruited a bunch of crabs to eat."

  Xiang Wenxia couldn't bear it: "Oh, the crabs are eating the birds, and these little guys are still alive."

   "What the hell? Crabs eat birds? Will this thing eat birds?"

  The discovery of the couple attracted everyone to look at it. Even Chen Ling picked up his son and Yaya from the boat and walked across the water.

At the bottom of the reeds, there is a bird's nest woven with dry grass leaves, which is obliquely stuck in the middle of the dense reed poles. The newly hatched chicks in it all fell out and fell on the roots of the reeds. On the aquatic plants, piles of crabs were attracted, just like swarms of ants, swarming to eat those chicks.

   Under the nibble of the crabs, the chicks uttered weak and helpless calls, which made several women feel unbearable.

  The men’s faces were the same, but they had never seen crabs eating birds before, and they felt fresh, so they kept looking around.

   "These guys are really not picky eaters, they eat even small birds."

   "Well, small fish, shrimps and earthworms are eaten. These hairless birds are just tender, and they fall out of the nest and that is food. They don't care what it is, just stuff it in their mouths."

   While talking, Chen Ling keenly noticed that there was a dead chick hanging in the middle of the reed pole, with its head drooping weakly and obvious scars on its body.

   Moreover, Chen Ling recognized at a glance that the scar was not left by a crab, but a fierce bird such as a falcon.

  He often takes the second bald man out for hunting training, and he will not admit this kind of injury.

   "Let me just say, if it's not windy or rainy, the bird's nest won't fall down for no reason. It must have recruited the eagle. It must be that the eagle accidentally kicked it over and recruited so many crabs."

   "Ah, the eagle kicked over the bird's nest? So, did the red-feathered hawk we saw before do it?"

   "I don't know. There are not too many birds nesting and hatching in the reed marshes this season. Look at the sky, and there are eagles coming down from time to time. Who can tell which one it is."

   "Oh, that's true."

  Here, Chen Ling and Shan Mao were talking.

  A few old people over there shouted again: "My mother, look quickly, these crabs have crawled into other bird's nests again."

   "Good guy, this guy is a domineering guy, this is a taste of sweetness, knowing that these little birds can eat? Are crabs so smart?"

   "No, there are still crayfish climbing up here. They are shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Fugui, you think this crayfish also goes to the bird's nest to eat birds?"

   "I don't know, I haven't seen it either, let's take a look."

  Everyone was amazed.

   But this kind of wonder is limited to the surrounding circle.

  In this range, as long as crabs and crayfish gather, carefully follow the reed poles and look up, you can definitely find bird nests.

   There are bird nests for all kinds of birds, but walking in the water, except for Chen Ling who is tall and burly, no one else can see what's going on in the bird nests with their feet on their feet.

  The men mainly look at the novelty, and the two old men kept taking pictures with their cameras, ready to take them back to show off to their old friends.

   He also said happily: "Shrimp soldiers and crabs will "climb trees" to eat birds. I'm afraid no one has seen this spectacle, right?"

The women can't do it anymore, they regard these crabs and crayfish as bullies attacking the weak. Crackling into the water.

Finally, Chen Ling couldn't help but interjected and said, "Auntie, sister-in-law, there's no need to worry about this. In fact, most of the time, birds eat crabs. It's too rare for crabs to eat birds. Even if you let them go, they can eat them again." A few, not to mention crayfish, I haven’t seen any birds yet.”

  They gave up reluctantly.

  Zhao Dahai's mother put her palms together and recited Amitabha a few times with her face full of unbearable pain.

   It made Chen Ling's face hurt when he saw it.

  Do you dare to think that saving the birds is doing good deeds? The crab should thank you very much.

   The two old men, Lao Zhao and Lao Zhong, didn't care about these women's affairs, they kept following Chen Ling and the others as they clattered and pulled the reeds, looking around, which surprised many hiding birds.

   There are also frogs, old turtles, etc. that "plop" and "plop" into the water.

  The two old men were taken aback, and couldn't help laughing and shouting, a burst of joy.

However, he was very happy and sad. Relying on his small stature, after adapting to the environment, old man Zhong cheerfully wandered around in the reeds, showing off to Zhao Yubao from time to time. The bird pecked his arm with a gash, and the blood flowed out quickly.

   "I'm dumbfounded, let you burn the buns, let you groan, the rich and the rich have said that you can't walk around here, there are snakes and poisonous insects, you just don't listen, you will be pecked by birds now."

  Zhao Yubao was so depressed just now, naturally he would not miss this opportunity to taunt his old friend, and laughed mercilessly.

  Old man Zhong ignored him, just covered his arms and yelled: "His grandma's, the snake and insect didn't touch it, and the bird bullied it, hiss...it hurts to peck."

   "Fugui, what kind of bird was that just now? Is such a big man like a falcon?"

   "No, it's just a big water camel, also called reed chicken, which makes a nest in the reeds..."

Chen Ling looked at several bird nests in the bird nest, and shook his head: "This thing is quite fierce, with a sharp and hard mouth, and when it is disturbed by people approaching during the hatching, it will directly peck people's eyes. Fortunately, old Uncle Zhong You went behind it."

   This bird is called Big Stern, commonly known as reed chicken, cattail chicken, and big water camel. It is a relatively large wading bird, about the size of a duck, chubby, and has a fierce temperament.

  Many little babies in the village have been pecked by them, which hurt much more than big geese.

  Of course, it’s easy to catch them. You just need to come in the dark at night. Once it’s dark, these birds are no different from being blind. As long as you dare to go into the water, come here with a flashlight and catch one.

   "I've never heard of it. You have a lot of weird things here, such as this bird and a camel... Fortunately, it didn't peck my eyes."

  Old man Zhong covered his arms with a look of rejoicing.

"Good guy, just now I was talking about snakes and insects. Here is a big water snake, thick and long. It swished back, and it was bubbling and bubbling, which startled me." Zhao Yubao beside him didn't care to mock him, At this time, a new discovery was made.

  Chen Ling leaned over and took a look, "Oh, this is not a snake, this is a rice field eel hole, it looks like this rice field eel is not small, not bad, I caught it out, and it will be another dish at night."

  (end of this chapter)