Rebirth 78: Hunting for Treasure in the Mountains, Spoiling My Wife and Daughter to the Heavens

After dealing with the leopard.

If this meat stays in the pot, we definitely won't be able to eat it for lunch.

Pure red meat, and all of it is stringy muscle, which looks like it won't fall apart easily when cooked.

We had a simple meal.

Lu Jiahuan didn't take a nap at noon for some reason; I wonder if the farce in the morning was too exciting.

This will make Lu Jiahuan stick only to Lu Weiguo.

But I don't want to delay the hunting trip.

Lu Weiguo thought for a moment, then lifted the little girl above his head and placed her on his shoulder.

The lynx Wangcai, standing to the side, pricked up its ears and glanced at them.

You should know that this used to be its location.

It knew those shoulders were all muscle knots, and sitting on them wouldn't be comfortable at all.

She jumped directly in front of Lu Weiguo, blocking his way, and twisted her back.

"Wangcai, what do you mean?"

"Jia Huan, would you like to ride on Wang Cai's back?"

Kids love this kind of exciting behavior.

Children around two years old, in particular, don't like staying in the room or sitting in a car.

On the contrary, I prefer activities like cycling that allow me to directly connect with nature.

Lu Jiahuan has been riding Wangcai since he was a child, and now that he's grown up, he can hold on to it even more securely.

Sitting on Wangcai's back, it even happily hummed a lullaby.

With a child in tow, we definitely can't go up the mountain.

but.

But don't forget that there's another delicacy from Northeast China.

That's the toad that became incredibly valuable in later generations, comparable to soft gold!

Comparable to soft gold is the toad oil from the female toad.

Especially in autumn, when the female toads haven't yet conceived, their plump bellies are full of oil.

That one bite was absolutely satisfying.

There are only two seasons for catching frogs.

One is springtime, when toads come down from the mountain, having hibernated and gone hungry all winter.

There was no waste in my stomach. My body was still a bit stiff from coming down the mountain. If I find the right place...

Using that mesh basket, you can get over a hundred pounds in two or three days.

Another time is autumn, when toads prepare to go up the mountain, which is also when they eat the most and are the fattest.

You can't jump very high.

They can't run fast, and it had just rained, so all the toads came out of the pond and hopped into the mountains.

They were absolutely accurate every time they caught someone.

We arrived at the riverbank at the foot of the mountain.

really.

It lies between the river and the mountains.

From within that grass hut, the croaking of many toads rose and fell.

But don't be fooled by the sound.

The frogs that come up the mountain in autumn don't croak.

The ones making noise were actually the toads, as the people in Northeast China call them.

"Go ahead, go have fun. Wangcai, keep an eye on things, make sure there aren't any snakes or anything."

Without Wangcai, Lu Weiguo really wouldn't dare take his child to play in the grass.

He wasn't afraid of large animals, but he was afraid of snakes, insects, rats, and ants biting Lu Jiahuan.

But if you have wealth, you won't be afraid.

This is a natural enemy; even the most venomous snake cannot escape Wangcai's claws.

"Daddy! Look, it's a horse!"

Lu Jiahuan had just run over when he caught a big toad.

Lu Weiguo was stunned the moment he saw it.

This toad is big, but it's just a toad.

Lu Weiguo didn't expose her, and just watched as she threw the toad into the bucket.

The scientific name for toad is Bufo bufo, also known as toad gada or big toad belly.

But it is also called the Chinese toad, which is the prototype of the Chinese golden toad.

Later generations mostly judge people or things by their appearance.

There is a strong prejudice against toads, but people in this era completely regard toads as a life-saving herb.

It's said that the mucus secreted by toads is poisonous, but in reality, if you don't harm them, they are very docile and won't secrete mucus.

Moreover, toads are dozens of times more effective at catching insects than frogs and croakers.

Of course, later generations considered the mucus from toads to be the remedy for rheumatism, joint diseases, and even, according to legend, cancer.

If you're really starving, soak the skinned toad meat in water for two or three days, then cook it. It tastes even better than a toad.

Lu Jiahuan has always liked big things since he was a child.

For the entire afternoon, the bucket full of water contained only toads and female leopards, which were also toads.

Strangely enough, the female toads are almost the size of a child's fist, as fat as little sows.

The male toad, also called the male dog, is as skinny as a mantis, and there's hardly any meat on it.

When Shu Ruizhi returned home carrying the bucket of water, she was terrified.

With tears in his eyes, he pulled out the toad and, suppressing his disgust, cleaned the mother leopard.

A big bucket of female leopards, half of which will be eaten tonight, with potatoes and dried chili peppers on top.

It tastes so good that even the gods wouldn't trade it for this.

After peeling the other half, Lu Weiguo planned to dry the toad oil and mail it to Li Xiulian to make tea.

Whenever Lu Weiguo goes hunting, his family is always in a flurry of activity.

Half of the leopard meat was stewed, and the other half was smoked, while the bones were all soaked in alcohol and preserved.

The same goes for toad oil. If you cover it with a layer of gauze outdoors, it will bring good fortune to your home and keep mice away from stealing it.

There will be leopard meat to eat tonight.

Lu Dewang called over the village chief and several of his close friends.

There's not much difference between leopard meat and tiger meat.

They stewed for an entire afternoon, and the meat was still tough and dry, but everyone knew it was good for male virility, so they all ate it with gusto.

Lu Dewang and his fellow old men were getting on in years, and after eating a piece, they felt warm all over.

When I go out to pee, I can pee farther than before.

The older generation is physically weak, their whole body is weak, so they need to be nourished.

Those who cannot tolerate tonics are mostly young people. Their internal needs are met with external heat, which is why the more tonics they take, the worse their health becomes.

After taking a couple of bites, Lu Baojia's eyes changed; he looked at his wife like a male dog in heat.

He couldn't wait to drag his wife back to the room.

Doing things that are inappropriate for children.

Only Lu Weiguo didn't seem to feel anything while eating; his wife, Zhao Yangyang, and Yuan Mengjie had all left.

He has feelings, but nowhere to vent them.

However, he stayed in the old house to sleep that night.

That's when they realized something was wrong.

Leopard meat is quite nutritious; I just can't sleep, and my hair is sticking up in all directions.

In the end, they could only go to the courtyard to cool off.

I lay on a deck chair and looked at the stars.

But that night, whenever someone came to eat meat, the house was never quiet.

The next morning, the guys who went out for a stroll were all listless. After exchanging glances, they tacitly boasted about their former fighting prowess.

Just as Lu Weiguo was lamenting that God was unfair and that he was not even as good as these old men.

Zhao Jia Huan's voice appeared inexplicably outside the door.

"Weiguo! I've finally found you! I'm here to do some research, a follow-up visit to a farmers' market. Come out and help me!"

Lu Weiguo's eyes widened instantly when he saw Zhao Jiahuan dressed in a black suit and black work clothes.

Her slightly curled hair swayed in the wind.

The sweat on his forehead glittered in the morning sun.

The smear of lip paint, red and light, was so subtle that any more would be too much, and any less would be barely noticeable.

Especially her body, which still carried a hint of pregnancy, was full and healthy; every step she took felt like walking on the very tip of her heart.