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Chapter 14: Age and Appetite Come First
Chapter 14: Age and Appetite Come First
Bobei County, located in the southeastern part of Guangxi, is known for its diverse and complex terrain, featuring plains, valleys, basins, hills, and mountains that interweave with each other.
The Shuangwang area is particularly hilly.
There are many small hills here, most of which can be climbed to the top in a single breath. In later times, these hills were mostly covered with lychee trees, earning them the name "Lychee Hills."
One early morning, with nothing much to do, Deng Shirong grabbed a long stick and headed to the small hill opposite his house, hoping to find something delicious to bring back.
After climbing the hill, Deng Shirong noticed that the mulberries (Myrica rubra) were already ripe. He picked a few and tasted them, finding them as sweet and fragrant as he remembered.
However, picking mulberries wasn't his main goal. After a quick taste, Deng Shirong shifted his focus to the underbrush, carefully searching through the weeds.
Despite his efforts, after more than an hour of searching, he didn't find what he was looking for, and he couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.
Deng Shirong's goal was simple: to find wasp nests and various wild mushrooms.
Wasp nests, of course, are a delicacy. The larvae inside, when fried, are a perfect accompaniment to a drink. In later times, even frozen wasp larvae could fetch a hundred to two hundred yuan per pound, and fresh, live larvae could easily go for three to four hundred yuan per pound.
As for wild mushrooms, the most famous in the Shuangwang area are the rice bran mushroom, pine wood mushroom, and arrowhead mushroom. Whether used in soups or porridge, their flavor is incredibly fresh and savory, making them a rare and sought-after delicacy.
In later times, it was rare to find such fresh wild mushrooms. Deng Shirong himself hadn't tasted them in at least a decade. If someone were lucky enough to find such mushrooms, they could easily sell them for hundreds of yuan per pound, and there would be plenty of buyers.
After thoroughly searching the hill, Deng Shirong found neither wasp nests nor wild mushrooms. He had expected this, as the hill was too close to his home. If there were any wasp nests, they would have been taken long ago, leaving nothing for him.
As for the wild mushrooms, finding them was purely a matter of luck.
Take the arrowhead mushroom, for example. It grows in the morning and, if not picked by the afternoon, it becomes overripe. It must be dug up when it first emerges from the soil, looking like an arrowhead, and then cooked immediately. If left to grow and open like an umbrella, it starts to rot and lose its flavor.
Due to these strict conditions, finding such wild mushrooms is entirely a matter of chance.
Moreover, it hadn't rained in the past few days, which wasn't ideal for mushroom hunting.
Of course, Deng Shirong wasn't entirely empty-handed. He found a termite mound in a patch of weeds and made a mental note of its location.
As an experienced rural dweller, Deng Shirong knew the growth patterns of wild mushrooms. Arrowhead mushrooms often grow near termite mounds, usually after a rain.
So, he decided to remember this spot and check it the morning after the next rain to see if any arrowhead mushrooms had appeared.
Back home, he saw his eldest son, Deng Yuntao, making a slingshot at the door. Deng Shirong said, "Yuntao, after breakfast, why don't you take a walk around the hill and see if you can find any wasp nests?"
Deng Yuntao paused his work and asked, "Dad, why are we looking for wasp nests?"
Deng Shirong took out his pipe, fished some tobacco and matches from his pocket, and said, "If you find one, bring the nest back. The larvae inside, when fried, are a real treat."
Deng Yuntao asked in surprise, "Dad, you can fry bee larvae for drinking?"
It was no wonder he asked this; in his entire life, he had never heard of anyone frying bee larvae for a drink. Usually, they were either eaten raw or used to make bee larvae porridge. Frying them was something he had never heard of.
Deng Shirong, stuffing tobacco into his pipe, smiled and said, "Fried bee larvae are both fragrant and sweet, making them the perfect snack to accompany a drink."
Deng Yuntao was puzzled. "If fried bee larvae taste so good, why have I never heard of anyone frying them?"
Deng Shirong struck a match, lit the tobacco, and took a few puffs before answering, "There's nothing strange about that. These days, every household in the village is so short on oil that no one would waste it on frying bee larvae."
Deng Yuntao nodded, suddenly eager. "Alright, after breakfast, I'll go up the mountain and see if I can find a few bee nests."
Deng Shirong nodded. "Good. If you can't find any bee nests, try to catch a few fish from the river. We need to have something delicious today."
Deng Yuntao agreed, but his interest was solely in the fried bee larvae. He wasn't particularly excited about fish, which were abundant in the river and fields, but rarely caught and eaten in the village.
The reason was simple: fish had a strong, unpleasant smell and didn't taste good.
Most people in the village weren't skilled at cooking, and they were also reluctant to use much oil. As a result, the fish they prepared were often unpalatable, and most people would avoid them after trying them once.
Of course, if it were like the old days when people were starving, even the worst-tasting fish would be eagerly caught and eaten.
...
With the pressure of building a new house and buying a bicycle, Deng Shirong didn't allow himself to idle. After breakfast, he headed to his cousin Deng Yunjin's house.
Deng Yunjin, although a generation younger than Deng Shirong, was already 56 years old.
Deng Yunjin had three sons and two daughters. The first four had already married, leaving only the youngest daughter unmarried.
If Deng Changfu and his wife were the model couple in the village, then Deng Yunjin's youngest daughter, who had a high school education, was the best-married girl in the village.
"Uncle Jiu, have you eaten yet?" Deng Changquan, Deng Yunjin's second son, greeted as Deng Shirong approached.
Deng Shirong nodded. "Yes, have your parents eaten?"
"They have," Deng Changquan replied, then shouted into the house, "Dad, Mom, Uncle Jiu is here!" After that, he fetched a stool and a water pipe, saying, "Uncle Jiu, have a smoke first."
Deng Shirong sat down and waved. "I just had two pipes at home before coming over."
As they spoke, Deng Yunjin and his wife emerged from the house. After exchanging greetings and some small talk, they got down to business.
"Yunjin, how old is your youngest daughter this year?"
"She's 21."
Deng Shirong said, "At this age, it's time to find her a good match!"
Deng Yunjin picked up on the hint in his uncle's words and quickly asked, "Uncle Jiu, do you have a good prospect in mind?"
Deng Shirong nodded with a smile. "Yes, I have a good prospect I'd like to introduce to your youngest daughter."
(End of Chapter)
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