The Tenth Year of the End of the World"

41-44

And I don’t know what kind of tree I picked the fruit from, and gave it to Jiang Sheep to play with.
　　A few days later, I remembered the trap on the mountain and asked Qingshan to go to the mountain to take a look. As a result, Qingshan brought back a lot of things when he came back from the mountains.
　　A large bayberry branch with heavy bayberries hanging on the branches, a large handful of wild day lilies, a bag of green beans pulled from somewhere, two wild ducks and one trapped in the tree. Little owl inside the net.
　　The yellow flowers and bayberry attracted Jiang Yang’s attention. He stretched out his head from my arms, but soon turned his attention to the little owl still trapped in the net.
　　The little owl has gray-white feathers, and its two round eyes are purring. It probably struggled all the way and lost several feathers in the net. Now it was dumped. Hanging in the net, he made two cooing noises. This owl was too small and probably couldn't fly yet. I don't know how it got into the net by mistake and got entangled.
　　Jiang Yang felt a little energetic, stood up, got out of my arms, and squatted in front of the little owl. The little owl looked at him and flapped its wings again.
　　I saw that Jiang Sheep was rarely energetic, and I felt a little relieved. I discussed with Qingshan that instead of killing this little owl, I would first put it in a cage to raise it and let it accompany Jiang. Sheep playing.
　　Qingshan nodded directly and handed the net to me. He seemed to like the owl very much. I think the two of them liked this little owl. It was probably because the little owl’s eyes had a yellow ring. , very similar to their eye color. I carried the owl to find the cage. Jiang Yang and Qingshan followed me, watching me find the cage, staring at my hands and holding their breath. I quickly grabbed the little owl's wings, helped the little owl slip into the cage, and then closed the cage door neatly.

　　As soon as he entered the cage, the little owl cooed a few times, stepped on the bottom board of the bamboo cage, and flapped its wings. It wandered all the way inside the net, and now its fur was all messy. It stood in the corner of the cage with its wings and head curled up, looking dumb and stupid.
　　I pulled the hanging ring on the cage and lifted the owl to the stone pier at the door. Jiang Yang and Qingshan lay next to the cage and stared at the little owl. These two, one with yellow eyes and the other with green eyes, looked straight at me, scaring the little owl so much that it huddled in the corner of the cage for a long time without daring to move.
　　The two owls just looked at each other for a long time. Jiang Yang stopped pestering me, and it was rare for me to get away to deal with the things Qingshan brought back.
　　The bayberry on that branch looked very red and big, but I knew it was very sad because there was only one bayberry tree from the mountain road here to where the trap was set. I was there last year. I have seen this bayberry tree on the mountain and tasted it.
　　I picked one and put it in my mouth. After taking a bite, it took me a long time to finish the rest. Sure enough, it was still so sour, and my sour mouth felt bitter. With my back turned to the two people who were focused on watching the birds, I couldn't help but grit my teeth and grin.
　　I didn’t move the remaining bayberries, and carried the large handful of day lilies, a bag of green beans, and two dying wild ducks to the kitchen.
　　The wild duck’s wings were twisted and its claws were broken. It was obvious that it was not caught in a trap but by Aoyama Xin. There are still some uneaten muntjacs caught by Qingshan before. They are pickled with salt and then smoked on the fireworks pile. They can be stored for a long time. Since Qingshan was encouraged and praised by me last time, he can always bring something back every time he goes out. The most common ones are pheasants and wild ducks, because they are the most nearby, so it is very convenient for him to catch them without having to go too far.
　　I boiled a large pot of hot water, prepared to pluck the wild ducks, and then sat down to peel green beans. I don’t know where the green beans came from. I didn’t find it when I went to the mountain before. However, the mountain is so big. I usually just follow a fixed path and I haven’t been to many other places. The green mountains may have gone there but I didn’t go in. past place.
　　I had just peeled two green beans when Qingshan came in carrying the owl cage. He carried it carefully. Ginger Sheep was still holding the bottom of the cage, as if he was afraid that the cage would fall.
　　The two people worked together to move the cage next to me, and then gathered around me to continue watching the owls.
　　The water in the pot boiled. I put the small basket full of green beans aside and got up to pluck the wild duck. After being scalded with water, those hard wing feathers are easier to remove.
　　First, drain out the duck’s blood and put it into a small basin. Then put the duck into hot water and scald it and pluck its feathers. The duck kidneys, duck hearts, and duck livers were also put aside. There was still a small yellow ball in the wild duck's belly, which was the unformed duck egg.
　　Now is not a good time to pick duck eggs. In two months, if you go to the river and the pond and pick the reeds, you will see a lot of green-skinned preserved eggs. There are not only wild duck eggs, but also eggs of various wild birds, and you can also pick up quail eggs.