Era-C48

Chapter 48: Grass Carp Fry Hatch

When the others heard this, they looked at his bag and basket.

All they saw were delicious beef liver mushrooms, green-headed mushrooms, and yellow-lai-tou mushrooms.

“Where did you go to pick these mushrooms? There are so many of them! These mushrooms are really beautiful, all of them are top-notch.”

Lin’s mother felt a little envious. The mushrooms Lin Heng picked were much better than hers.

Sister-in-law Liu Juan also noticed something odd. “How come you never return empty-handed? Do you have some special mushroom-picking method?”

“Now that you mention it, I also find it strange. How does Lin Heng always manage to pick mushrooms every time?”

Lin’s father, who was drinking water, also had a surprised look on his face as he looked at Lin Heng, waiting for an explanation.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng with curiosity, not knowing what his secret was either.

“These green-headed mushrooms aren’t that impressive. Look at this!” Lin Heng grinned, placed the basket on a chair, and revealed the matsutake mushrooms that were hidden by the yellow-lai-tou mushrooms.

“Matsutake!!”

“You found matsutake mushrooms!!”

“Where did you find them? Did you discover a new spot??”

A series of questions fully expressed the shock of the family.

They couldn’t blame them for being surprised. Matsutake mushrooms were rare, and people usually hid their discovery until they sold them on the street. No one knew the exact locations of matsutake spots.

In Lin Heng’s family, no one had discovered a hidden matsutake patch, and they only found a couple from well-known spots. But Lin Heng picking over ten at once clearly meant he had discovered his own patch.

“Matsutake, Lin Heng, you must have worshipped the mountain god, right? You’re so favored!” Even Carpenter Liang couldn’t help but stop his work and walk over to see the matsutake mushrooms.

“Tell us, how did you find them?” Lin’s mother asked impatiently, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Of course, I found a new spot,” Lin Heng grinned.

“Just as I thought. Did you keep it a secret? Did you tell anyone else?” Lin’s mother quickly asked, afraid Lin Heng had bragged about it.

“Of course not, I came back quietly,” Lin Heng replied, speechless. “Mom, don’t you trust me?”

“That’s fine. Just don’t tell anyone. Every time it rains, go quietly and check it out,” Lin’s mother nodded with a smile.

“Let’s keep half of these matsutake mushrooms for ourselves. I haven’t had them in a long time,” Lin Heng said.

Before he could finish, Lin’s mother interrupted, “Eat? Are you crazy? We’re selling these, they’re too expensive to waste!”

“No, I want to eat them!” Lin Heng shook his head. What’s wrong with tasting some good food?

“Unfilial son!” Lin’s mother gave him a look of exasperation.

“Give it to me,” Xiulan said, grabbing the mushrooms from his hands and taking them to the knife to clean.

“Remember to leave a few for us to eat,” Lin Heng said to his wife.

“Got it!” Xiulan responded, lowering her head to clean the mushrooms, removing leaves and dirt.

“Eat, eat, you have no idea how hard it is to make money,” Lin’s mother sighed, shaking her head helplessly.

Lin Heng pretended not to hear. He turned to look at the grass carp eggs.

Once he looked, he was startled: “It’s already hatched, that was fast.”

He had checked this morning, and only a few had hatched. But now, just half a day later, nearly all of them had emerged.

There were so many, likely 50,000 to 60,000 fry, and in the one-meter-diameter wooden tub, it was overcrowded.

“Dad, bring out the wooden barrel we use for brewing alcohol. I need to move the fish fry to a new place.”

Lin Heng turned to his father.

The brewing barrel was two meters in diameter and 1.8 meters high, big enough to temporarily house the fry.

“Wait a minute!”

Lin’s father said and went with Lin Yue to fetch the large wooden barrel.

They used sawdust to plug the bottom to prevent leaks.

Afterward, the three of them went to the new well Lin Heng had built to fill the barrel with water. It took more than ten trips to fill it up.

However, Lin Heng didn’t rush to put the fish fry in yet; he decided to wait until the next morning.

The water temperature wasn’t right yet, and the barrel was still leaking. They needed to soak it overnight so the wood would expand and stop leaking, while the water would stabilize.

“Dad, are we building the house tomorrow?” Lin Heng asked as he poured himself a glass of water.

“Of course, haven’t you seen Carpenter Liang has already prepared all the tools? I’ve also called up the helpers. Fifteen people in total. Your three uncles, uncle-in-law, third uncle, and ten villagers. They’re getting fifty cents a day,” Lin’s father explained.

Lin Heng glanced at the eight large wooden hammers by the wall. These were made from a wet oak tree, one meter long with a hole in the center to fit a wooden handle. Each one weighed about thirty to forty kilograms. They were used to compact the soil.

Next to them were two rectangular frames, each four meters long and thirty centimeters wide. When filled with yellow earth and compacted with the wooden hammers, they would form earth walls.

“Then let’s start with my side. I want to dig the fish pond first,” Lin Heng said, as his fish pond project was urgent.

“Tomorrow we’ll probably start with the foundation. We won’t get too far with the walls, so we’ll finish the foundations for both houses and dig your fish pond at the same time,” Lin’s father replied.

“Alright then,” Lin Heng nodded. He didn’t know much about building houses, so he trusted his father’s judgment.

Later that evening, Lin’s father borrowed a one-and-a-half-meter wooden barrel from Li Caifeng’s house and placed it at the farm.

He also added ten kilograms of glutinous rice flour, which would be mixed with yellow earth tomorrow to make it more adhesive.

“Dinner’s ready!”

For dinner, Lin’s mother made a stew with badger meat, matsutake mushrooms, red mushrooms, yellow-lai-tou mushrooms, potatoes, soybeans, dried green beans, pickled bamboo shoots, pickled radishes, and other dried vegetables.

The meal was served with steamed cornmeal and wheat flour dumplings.

“This meal tastes amazing, spicy and sour!” Lin Heng took a bite of the matsutake mushroom and was immediately stunned.

The soft matsutake had soaked up the soup, with a hint of spiciness and sourness, perfectly complemented by the mushroom’s fragrance.

Especially the matsutake’s world-famous texture—it was smooth and tender but with a crunch, unlike the chewy enoki mushrooms. It had a crisp texture, truly outstanding.

Even with just the dumplings, Lin Heng felt this was better than a pot of braised goose.

“Of course, you haven’t seen how much oil I used!” Lin’s mother proudly said. In her eyes, the more oil, the better.

There was no helping it; people who had lived through hard times in the 60s and 70s would think like this, as they were used to eating tree roots out of hunger.

“This is the first time I’ve had matsutake at your place. It’s not bad,” Carpenter Liang said, devouring his food.

When he first arrived, he complained about the food, but now, he probably didn’t want to leave.

“Wife, eat more meat!” Lin Heng gave his wife a piece of badger meat and took a piece for himself.

Tonight’s stew also had some pork ribs. The badger meat had a slight gamey taste, with a strong wild flavor unlike regular pork. It tasted quite strange, like eating pig intestines, but very unique—a new flavor.

The most praiseworthy part was the texture—it was very chewy, the result of constant movement and the varied diet from the forest, making it firmer than domesticated pork.

Of course, for Lin Heng, who had experienced an era of abundant food, the taste couldn’t compare to domestic pigs.

But for the whole family, this was the ultimate delicacy.

Usually, they chatted while eating, but tonight, all they could hear were the sounds of eating, with only occasional words exchanged.

(End of Chapter)