his dragon [farming]

Chapter 5 Gimbal

Shen Baocheng came home only in the evening, and as soon as he entered the door, he dropped a bag from his shoulder and shouted at Qiuhe: "Get out the basin and wash the peaches."

Qiu He took the vegetable sink from the kitchen and put it under the faucet in the courtyard to catch the water. Shen Baocheng then poured out the peaches in the bag, pouring out a large pile like a hill.

Qiu He squatted beside him and watched, "Grandpa, where did you get the peaches? I haven't seen any fruit sellers in the town."

Shen Baocheng picked up a peach, wiped the floating hairs on it with his hands, took a bite and said, "Wild peaches picked from the mountains."

"Wow! So many wild peaches?" Qiuhe was pleasantly surprised. He snatched the peaches from grandpa's hand, threw them into the basin, and said, "Go and rest, and I'll wash them."

Shen Baocheng sat down on the bamboo chair next to him, watched Qiuhe soak the peaches in the water, then took out a plastic bag, filled the peaches with water and kept shaking them, and took them out after a while. Wash well.

Shen Baocheng couldn't help but said: "This is a good way for you. It's quick and clean!"

"Who told me to be smart!" Qiu He blustered, picked a peach from the washed peaches, and handed it to grandpa, and the two sat in the courtyard to eat the peach.

The peach has green skin, is not big in size, looks inconspicuous, but tastes sweet and crunchy.Qiu He gnawed on the peach and asked, "Are there many wild fruit trees in the mountains?"

Shen Baocheng nodded, talking more than yesterday, and said: "After a while, the wild grapes in the mountains are ripe, I will take you to pick them, and we will make wine when you come back. Do you want to drink?"

"Home-brewed wine? I know it. I saw my mother made it." Qiu He's eyes lit up.

"What kind of stuff is she brewing!" Shen Baocheng was very disdainful, looked at Qiu He, and smiled again: "After brewing the wine, it's time for the chestnuts to ripen."

Qiu He was so excited, "I like to eat chestnuts the most! Grandpa, when the chestnuts are ripe, you take me to pick them, and I will make fried chicken with chestnuts for you. I won't lie to you, I made them delicious!"

"Okay, there will be people going to the market in the town in two days, I'll go buy two chickens." Shen Baocheng nodded, and then ordered: "Put peaches in a pot and send some to Bai Chuan."

Qiu He's face darkened: "No! He doesn't have long hands himself? Take it off yourself!"

Shen Baocheng glanced at Qiu He's face, "Did you quarrel?"

Qiu He snorted, and said proudly: "I quarreled with him to lower my IQ and taste." He ate peaches angrily for a while, and then asked, "Grandpa, why did Lin Baichuan come to our town?"

"What?" Shen Baocheng looked up at him.

Qiu He curled her lips and said, "I went to town today, and Lady Hua said that Lin Baichuan was so pitiful. After he came alone, no one from his family came to see him. Is it true? Why?"

Shen Baocheng glanced at Qiu He, and said in a neutral tone: "Don't listen to people talking! Why did you inquire about the Lin family's affairs?"

Qiu He said indignantly: "Then he still pays you wages? Hua Niangniang said that you have only worked all these years and have not received much wages! Is it true?"

Shen Baocheng smiled disapprovingly, "Nonsense!" After a pause, he said, "You came in from the county town by car, did you see those sloping fields by the side of the road?"

Qiuhe nodded.

Liangshi Town is more than 70 kilometers away from the county seat, and the road is hilly.On the side of the mountain roads from the county seat to the town, there are massive construction projects everywhere, showing a momentum of fiery development.There are also trees planted on some hilltops, neatly lined up, and some landscape seedlings such as sweet-scented osmanthus and red-leaf heather are planted.Only the mountains behind Liangshi Town have all kinds of trees, vines and shrubs. They are so vast that no one can walk in.

Shen Baocheng: "It is said that people rely on mountains to eat mountains and water to drink water, but once those mountain fields in front of them are bought by others, they wish they would not even let the people around them go. Look at our town again. In the first year or so, the people in the town Go up the mountain to cut bamboo shoots in spring, pick mushrooms in summer, collect firewood in autumn, and hunt game in winter. How can I spare this mountain? Bai Chuan has never stopped me once. People in the town said that I was looking after the forest for the Lin family. Isn't the thousands of acres of mountain forests owned by the people of Liangshi Town?"

Qiu He curled her lips, "That won't make you do it for nothing! You're not the only one who goes into the mountains to pick fungi!"

Shen Baocheng picked out a few larger and better-looking peaches, put them in a bag, and said, "Why did I do it for nothing? There are more than ten acres of land in the mountain valley, which originally belonged to Baichuan, but now I plant them for nothing. You don’t have to worry about eating and drinking. Besides, it’s not that people don’t give you money, but they don’t pay it on a monthly basis. Who doesn’t have a time when money is tight? Being a man is not only about money, but also about conscience.”

After finishing speaking, he got up and went to the next door to deliver the peaches himself.

Qiu He made a grimace at his grandfather's back.I thought to myself, Lin Baichuan is weird, and grandpa is also a weird person. These two weirdos are a match made in heaven, no wonder they can get along without incident for so many years.

Seeing that the pile of peaches that grandpa brought back could not be eaten up, Qiu He used his brains to make peach salad, peach jam, and peach juice popsicles. After eating for several days, he finally digested none of them without wasting any of them.

When Qiuhe was making jam, Shen Baocheng murmured behind his back: "Waste my sugar!"

As a result, after spreading the boiled jam on the steamed buns and eating it for a while, Shen Baocheng was convinced, and said sincerely: "Qiuhe is really capable!"

Qiu He took the opportunity to preach: "Grandpa, technology changes life! Let's install broadband on the home computer. Then I will check on the computer, and I can cook any dish for you!"

His grandfather really caught the trick, nodded and said: "That's the case. I think Bai Chuan also sat in front of the computer, and he knew everything. I will ask Bai Chuan another day to see if I can get a wire from his house." Come here, the two families will work together."

Qiu He was very unconvinced, and said, "Is he the only one who installed broadband in the whole town? Ask someone else!"

"Isn't this near?" Shen Baocheng was very indifferent to the conflict between the two children.

One morning, after the father and son had breakfast, Shen Baocheng was ready to go up the mountain again.Qiu He was so busy growing grass at home that he hurriedly made a request, saying that he also wanted to visit Yuntai.

"How far is our house from Yuntai? I'll find out the way, and next time I need to find you, I can find the place."

"It's not far, it can be there in an hour." Shen Baocheng looked Qiuhe from head to toe several times, and finally ordered: "Go into the house and change into long-sleeved clothes!"

When Qiuhe finished changing his clothes, Shen Baocheng had already cut him a stick that was neither too long nor too short, and the place where he shook hands was worn smooth, and wrapped a piece of cloth around it, which was just right for him to lean on.

Shen Baocheng recited the order, Qiu He leaned on a stick, and the father and son walked up the mountain along the road in front of the house.

As they walked, the wide road between two people gradually turned into a narrow path, and the bushes on both sides became more and more dense, and the vines climbed into the middle of the road.Shen Baocheng was in front, blocking the branches extending into the middle of the road from time to time, reminding Qiuhe: "Be careful of slapping your face."

Qiu He was still in high spirits, looking left and right as he walked.The trees beside the road are getting taller and taller, gradually reaching the sky, covering the top of the head with only a ray of skylight.There is no one to be seen in the empty mountain and valley, only the chirping of birds accompanied me all the way.

An hour later, there was no sign of Yuntai, and Qiu He was completely wilted, panting heavily, with his whole body hanging on the crutches, silently following behind Shen Baocheng.

The road gets steeper as you go.The woods are layered on top of each other, impenetrable to the wind, the mountain wind blows, and the sound of forest waves comes, which is like the sound of waves of the sea.

Shen Baocheng didn't even have a breath all the way, Qiu He was already panting like a bellows.He followed behind profusely with sweat, his face was flushed with heat, he stopped and asked, "Grandpa, didn't you say you'll be there in an hour?"

Shen Baocheng said: "It will take a day if you walk like this!"

Qiu He asked desperately, "How far is it?"

Shen Baocheng replied without raising his head: "Hurry up, there are only a few steps left."

After answering "There are not many steps to go" countless times, the father and son arrived at a valley, the road was full of big rocks, and the forest was not so dense. There is a mountain."

Qiuhe really wanted to throw herself down in the grass, so she couldn't sleep forever!

In the last part of the road, Shen Baocheng dragged and dragged, and finally got Qiuhe up.Qiuhe looked like an old-fashioned steam locomotive that had arrived at the station, puffing and steaming, slowly and heavily walked to the top of the mountain, and slumped on a piece of bluestone.

He dropped the stick and lay on his back, only to hear the blood in his veins hitting his temple like a heavy hammer.Really exhausted!

After being paralyzed on the rock for an unknown amount of time, Shen Baocheng handed over a bottle of water, and Qiu He opened his eyes, and got up leaning forward and backward.

He found that he was on a platform the size of a football field on the top of the mountain.There are large stones exposed on the platform, there are no big trees, only tall and low shrubs.The surrounding area of ​​the platform stretches for hundreds of miles, with green hills of all sizes under your feet.Overhead, is an unobstructed blue sky.The purest, thickest, and most pleasing blue that he has seen in his life are all gathered here.

Qiuhe looked fascinated at the undulating mountain love under her feet.

He suddenly knew why this place was called Yuntai, and why Liangshi Town was so foggy.

The wind comes from the south, and the clouds go north.The high and low clouds, like a large group of pure white galloping horses, walked to the mountainside vigorously, and when they arrived at Liangshi Town, the lower clouds were blocked by the mountains, and they became a fog.

The white mist reluctantly brushed over the green mountains, over the bright river, over the seemingly small village farmhouses, and finally melted into a certain valley, like a piece of slowly melting snow.

Qiu He was staring down the mountain in a daze when he heard his grandfather calling him.

On the south side of the platform, there was a small two-story stone tower. Grandpa stood at the door, watched Qiu He come running, and handed him a cucumber that had been washed.

Qiuhe limped into the tower while eating melons, looked around and asked, "Grandpa, is this your watchtower?"

There is only room for a table and a chair in the circular tower, and there is a small stove, and the chimney goes straight to the upper floor.There was a wooden ladder next to it, and Qiuhe climbed upstairs with the ladder.

The upstairs is even simpler, with only a small wooden bed covered with dust.Sitting on the bed, looking out from a few windows on the exterior wall, you can see far away.

Qiuhe opened the window and looked down from the tower.In addition to the green hills under his feet, this time he also saw that there was a cliff next to the stone pagoda, and a large stone platform rushed forward from the middle of the mountain. A small pool of water miraculously appeared in the middle of the stone, like a mirror, reflecting the There are green hills and flowing clouds everywhere.

Just as Qiu He was fascinated, he heard rustling sounds behind him. It turned out that grandpa had also come up the wooden ladder.He wiped the dust off the bed with a handful of grass, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Qiu He walked over, sat down next to him, and asked, "Grandpa, what are you mainly doing on the mountain?"

Shen Baocheng ate the melon and said, "The main thing is to prevent mountain fires. The weather is dry in autumn and winter, and a fire in the forest is a big deal."

Qiu He: "Are there still people in the town going up the mountain to steal trees and poach?"

Shen Baocheng shook his head, "We don't care about the people in the town. We go into the mountains to cut firewood and hunt, and we do it with discretion. The mother beast with cubs can't be killed, and the cubs can't be killed, otherwise, the mountain god will blame it." He suddenly sighed, " The main thing to guard against is people from outside. These people set up power grids in the mountains to electrify wild boars, dig up old trees to sell for money, and don’t have a conscience for money, and they don’t fear being punished by God!”

Qiu He stared blankly at the stretch of green hills under his feet, and asked in a daze: "Is there really a mountain god?"

"Why not?" Shen Baocheng said: "You watched on TV, how did those mountain torrents and mudslides come from? They all angered the mountain gods and suffered retribution!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and went downstairs, and told Qiuhe: "It's windy on the mountain, wait until the sweat dries up."

Qiuhe lay on the window sill, eating cucumbers with the breeze blowing, feeling very comfortable.When he lowered his head, he saw Shen Baocheng carrying a small bucket, heading towards Shitan along the rugged mountain road.

"Grandpa!" he yelled down and waved his hand.

Shen Baocheng looked up at him, turned around and a rock disappeared.After a while, he appeared by the pool, fetched a bucket of water and walked back.

Although the scenery on the Yuntai is beautiful, there is no water or electricity, and it is really inconvenient. Thinking that Shen Baocheng will stay on this mountain top that lacks water and electricity for the whole winter, Qiuhe feels both sad and admired.

No matter what, Lin Baichuan shouldn't be in arrears with his grandfather's salary!Qiuhe thought angrily.

Seeing Shen Baocheng climbing up with the bucket, he hurried down the stairs and ran to pick up Shen Baocheng.The two carried a bucket of water together and returned to the tower.

"Do you have to go down and lift it every time you use water?" With just a few steps, Qiuhe was out of breath.

"I walk every day, I'm used to it. I'm not tired." As soon as Shen Baocheng entered the room, he started to set up the stove and prepared to make lunch.

There was ready-made rice and oil in the pagoda. Shen Baocheng brought garlic sprouts from home. After steaming the rice, he cut a piece of old bacon hanging on the wall and fried the bacon and garlic sprouts.

I don't know if he was tired or starved, but Qiuhe felt that the lunch meal was extraordinarily delicious. He ate two bowls of rice in one go, which made his stomach round. Once he finished eating, he spread himself out like dried vegetables. to a rock outside.

Grandpa sat on another stone not far away, and the two chatted without saying a word.

The boy in the sun has long hands and long legs, under the smooth forehead, there are very delicate eyebrows and eyes, and the curved ones are always smiling, which is a very pleasing appearance.

Shen Baocheng looked at it and thought to himself, it was exactly the same as his mother when she was a child.

The wind on the mountain is very strong and wet, which makes people feel refreshed.Qiu He was about to fall asleep, when suddenly he heard the sound of a pig humming not far away.

I saw a pig leisurely walking out of the bushes far away.The pig was tall and slender, with pointed ears. It hummed twice, and a group of little piglets ran out from the bushes.

"Where did the pigs come from on the top of this mountain?" Qiu He was dumbfounded.

Shen Baocheng whispered, "This is a wild boar that just gave birth. Don't make a sound."

Qiuhe immediately realized the danger and dared not even breathe out.After the father and son watched the litter of wild boars go away, Qiu He said to his grandfather angrily: "It was obviously dangerous just now! Why didn't you hide in the tower immediately?"

Shen Baocheng took off his shoes and kicked the mud disapprovingly, "Beasts don't bite unless you want to kill them."

Qiuhe thought, can I still explain to it?

Shen Baocheng thought for a while, and then said: "The wild boars are not afraid, you just stand quietly by the side and wait for them to pass by. What is terrible is the bear, especially the grizzly bear with only the right ear left in the mountains, who always bites it every year. Injured a few people.——So don’t run into the mountains if you’re fine!”

Qiu He nodded again and again, thinking, I must be crazy, and I am running into the mountains!Half of my life was lost on the trip up the mountain.

After resting for a while, Qiuhe wanted to see the stone pool, so grandpa led him down.Walking to the edge of the pool, Qiuhe discovered that there is a cave here. It turned out that the stone spring did not appear out of thin air. There was a large hidden cave next to the mountain. The stone pit merged into a pool.

The water in the pool is very clear, and inside there is a fish about a foot long, which is almost transparent, coming and going suddenly, like swimming in the air with nowhere to support.There is a gap beside the pool, and the water flows out from here, forming a small stream, creeping down the mountain.

Grandpa told Qiuhe that people in the town called the spring Shiquan and the stream Tianxi.

The name is quite nice.Looking at the quiet pool of water, Qiu He couldn't help but took off his shoes, soaked his feet in the water, and immediately shivered.The water is too cold.

From the direction where he was sitting, he could see the cave. The water flowed out of it. The cave was deep and secluded, as if it had no end.

Qiu He looked around and asked, "Have you ever been in that hole?"

Shen Baocheng glared at him, and said sternly: "You can't drill into this kind of hole casually! Once you go in, the hole is connected to the hole, and the hole is inside the hole. The belly of the whole mountain is empty, and there is nowhere to look for it!"

Qiu He was surprised: "Are there caves below? Have the people in the town ever gone down to explore?"

Shen Baocheng thought about it and said: "I heard that some people ran in when they were hiding from bandits before, and they never came out again."

Qiu He stuck out her tongue and stopped making a sound.

The mountain light suddenly fell to the west, and the two packed up their things and walked back. Shen Baocheng said solemnly: "Don't come here alone. The grizzly bear I mentioned first has only the one with the right ear. Somebody saw it right here."

Qiuhe agreed, and while climbing up the mountain, she turned her head to look at the stone pool, and felt that the water in the pool exuded a coolness, with a mysterious beauty.