Who knows! As soon as I returned to the mountains to farm, I encountered a natural disaster.

By the time Zhao Yeqing woke up, it was already broad daylight, Mu Xi was no longer around, and waves of aroma wafted from the kitchen downstairs.

Seeing her come in, Mu Xi brought breakfast in front of her, and waited until Zhao Yeqing finished eating before mentioning it to her:

"We have gone down a long way. If we come back tonight, it will take too long for us to travel back and forth. Today you will stay at home and look after the house. I will go by myself and stay in the woods for two days."

The house really couldn't be empty for several days, but Zhao Yeqing didn't worry about Mu Xi going alone.

"I'll go with my three dogs. There will be no problem. Don't worry."

Zhao Yeqing could only tell Mu Xi to be careful, "Then you go first and wait until you come back in a few days before I go."

Since she had decided to go find a gas station, she couldn't give up on her own at this time. She was definitely worried, so she could only put enough food, ammunition and medicine in Mu Xi's backpack before sending him out. .

After Mu Xi left, Zhao Yeqing felt a little empty while standing in the yard.

Mu Xi took Xiao Hei, Xiao Huang and Xiao Hua away, saying that the dogs were young and strong and suitable for adventure. Zhao Yeqing knew that he was worried about being alone at home, so he left the safest one, Da Huang. she.

Dahuang went out early in the morning with her cattle and sheep, and now she was alone at home. After tidying up the yard for a while, she took out a stick next to the two porcelain vats for brewing soy sauce.

The wooden stick was polished and rounded, like a rolling pin, and it was much longer than an ordinary rolling pin.

Zhao Yeqing opened the lid of a porcelain vat, revealing the fermented and blackened soybeans inside.

Most of the dark beans are soft and rotten, and some of the shapes of the beans can still be vaguely seen, and most of them have become mashed beans.

She poked the wooden stick into the jar and stirred it gently. The blackened beans on the surface were stirred into the bean paste, while the beans on the bottom were still dark brown. After stirring evenly, she put the lid back on and let them continue to dry in the sun.

It needs to be stirred every day so that it can ferment evenly.

While she was cleaning the yard and stirring the beans, the ducks at home had already stood at the door of the yard, calling at the top of their lungs.

This meant asking Zhao Yeqing to open the door for them, and it was time to go out and play in the water again.

Zhao Yeqing opened the courtyard door, and ten ducks waddled out of the door in a line, and jumped into the water one after another.

She was at home now, and the duck closed the courtyard door after going out to avoid any sudden accidents.

Go to the backyard and pick up duck eggs in the newly built duck coop next to the chicken coop.

Seasonally speaking, it is the beginning of spring, and spring and autumn are the peak egg-laying periods for ducks every year.

I found seven duck eggs this week, plus today's eight, which are just right for making some preserved eggs.

The taste of duck eggs is no better than that of eggs. Only salted duck eggs and preserved eggs are the most delicious.

But after all, the number of female ducks at home is small, and they have only laid a total of fifteen eggs so far.

Wild ducks are no better than domestic ducks. Domestic ducks can lay one egg a day. If fed well, they can lay two eggs a day, and they can lay more than a hundred duck eggs a year.

Wild ducks lay eggs twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn, with about ten eggs each time.

She picked up seven last time and eight today. It is estimated that two female ducks have laid eggs and one has not yet moved.

Zhao Yeqing didn't plan to wait any longer. The duck eggs used to make preserved eggs had better be fresh and should not be older than a week at most. He could only make a dozen of them into preserved eggs first, and then the eggs in the nest would be kept for hatching.

Making preserved eggs is not difficult. As long as you have the ingredients and follow the proportions, you will rarely fail unless it is caused by the pickling environment.

There are enough basic materials at home, except for soda ash.

It's not that there is no soda ash. When collecting supplies at the foot of the mountain, I found two small bags, but the quantity was small and they should be used by the villagers to make steamed buns.

It was a waste of precious resources to make preserved eggs, so Zhao Yeqing went out from the backyard and rode Xiaohong to the intersection of the path down the mountain in two minutes.

After walking down for more than ten meters, I saw a camphor tree. I cut two branches with leaves and took them home.

When she returned to the door, Xiaohong was unwilling to go in. No matter how hard she pulled, she just stood still.

Zhao Yeqing discussed with it, "I originally planned to take you out to eat grass and walk in the afternoon. Can you go back with me now? I'm the only one at home and it's not safe for you to be outside."

No matter how hard she tried, she didn't succeed, so she gave up and let it graze on its own at the door.

The backyard door was open, and I planned to bring Xiao Hong in in half an hour.

The chopped elm branches are thrown into the bottom floor of the self-built oven and burned into ashes. The camphor tree has a delicate fragrance and becomes a natural alkaline substance after burning.

This alone is not enough, you must also add plant ash and quicklime.

The principle of making preserved eggs is to react potassium hydroxide with duck eggs, causing the protein to denature.

Zhao Yeqing took out the quicklime and poured a small amount of water on it, stirred it into lime water, and then added plant ash to form a dark gray mud.

Plant ash is potassium carbonate, and it reacts with calcium hydroxide formed by quicklime added with water to form potassium hydroxide.

Zhao Yeqing wiped the washed duck eggs dry, put on gloves to prevent the skin from being irritated by strong alkali, thickly wrapped the dark gray mud on the duck eggs, and rolled it on the rice husk again, which was more than half done.

Next, all he had to do was wait for the egg white inside to solidify. Zhao Yeqing followed the same method and wrapped the egg version of the preserved egg in mud and stuck it on the rice husk.

I took an earthenware blanket and placed the eggs one by one inside, sealed the altar and placed it in a cool, dry place indoors.

After a few days, it needs to be opened to let air out and then sealed.

I squatted by the well, fetched water, rinsed my muddy gloves and hung them on the pole, then walked to the back door to take Xiaohong back.

Looking out from the backyard door, the view has been blocked by the fast-growing bamboos. Originally they were just a few small ones, but since the weather got cooler, the growth rate has doubled.

It seems that it grows much more toward the south. The location of the yard is far east for bamboo. The two of them were worried about whether the bamboo they planted would grow into the yard in the future. Unexpectedly, they didn't want to come to them at all. .

After leaving the backyard door, I saw bamboos growing in a row on the left side. Xiaohong must have eaten enough and was hiding from the sun under the bamboos.

She didn't even walk over, so she whistled at the door. After Xiao Hong came over, she locked the courtyard door and got on her horse, heading straight for the northwest woods where Mu Xi was.

Seeing the car parked outside the forest, Zhao Yeqing dismounted and touched Xiao Hong's head, indicating to him that she was grazing nearby.

Walking to the side of the car, looking at the quiet forest in front of me with only the chirping of insects and birds, I sat down on the front hood with the body propped up, took out the walkie-talkie and pressed the call button.