"Oh, it would be great if there was straw. Straw is soft and warm, so weaving straw curtains is most suitable."

Datou also read about straw curtains in books, but unfortunately they don’t grow rice here yet.

When mentioning straw, Datou and Liu Qingshan couldn't help but think of Er Biaozi at the same time.

This kid has been out for almost two months. I don’t know how he is doing, and I don’t know when he will come back.

The two brothers were squatting in the courtyard and chatting when they saw an ox cart slowly wandering back from the west.

People in the courtyard said hello one after another: "Old Wei'er, what are you doing?"

The driver's name is Zhang Laowei'er. He is honest and doesn't like to talk much, but he is proficient in all farm work, he is also diligent, and he is a man who knows how to get by.

"Pull back the thatch grass that was harvested in the autumn. The second child is getting married next year and the family really can't live in it. I'm going to take over two houses."

Zhang Laowei'er said in his mouth, shouted to the old cow pulling the cart, and joined the group to roll a cigarette: "I've been suffocated this morning. The fields are full of withered grass and reeds, and I don't even dare to

smokes."

Guarding the woods and meadows, the villagers are very aware of fire prevention on weekdays. Especially in spring, autumn and winter, they all know to be extra careful.

Even children are no exception. If they dare to play with fire in the wild, if adults find out, their buttocks will definitely spread.

"Uncle Lao Er, what did you just say?"

Liu Qingshan seemed to grasp something vaguely, but he didn't think about it for a while, so he quickly asked.

"I just said I didn't smoke or anything." Zhang Laowei'er clicked his cigarette twice and said.

"No, it's the previous sentence."

"It's just grass and reeds on the meadow."

Weizi, yes, reed!

Liu Qingshan clapped his hands and said: "Reeds are light and warm, so let's use reeds to weave curtains!"

To the west of Jiapigou is an endless large reed marsh, with the reeds in it more than two meters high.

This thing can't help but burn on fire. Even if you light a fire, it can't even boil a ladle of water.

Occasionally, reed thatch is used, but compared with thatch, reed is easier to rot.

So it grew in the meadows every year and no one harvested it, so Liu Qingshan even forgot about it.

"Uncle Lao Er, thank you for reminding me. Come on, get on the bullock cart and I'll take a picture of you!"

Liu Qingshan was in such a good mood that he had to drag Zhang Laowei'er to take pictures of him.

"Then I go home and put on the Chinese tunic suit. That was done when the eldest son in the family got married."

As soon as Zhang Laowei'er heard that taking photos was such a grand ceremony, he ran home to change clothes.

As a result, Liu Qingshan grabbed him again: "No, let's just take photos in our true colors, so that the atmosphere of life can be strong."

Liu Qingshan and Datou pushed Zhang Laowei'er into the car and took a photo.

After taking the photo, I found a broken iron bucket in the car. I looked inside and saw, oh my god, there was half a bucket of toads in it.

This kind of toad has red spots on its belly. It is commonly known as the red-bellied toad and its scientific name is the hash toad.

Compared with the forest frogs in the mountains, they are smaller in size and have slightly lower nutritional content, which is mainly reflected in the toad oil in the belly of the female frog.

Husky toad also has toad oil, but less of it.

In Liu Qingshan's memory, decades later, not to mention forest frogs, even husky toads became very rare in their area.

In the final analysis, it is still the destruction of the habitat and the consequences of pesticide abuse.

Liu Qingshan put his hand into the bucket and pinched out one. It was quite big.

I looked at the paws again and saw small bumps on them, so I threw them into the bucket again. They were male and had no seeds in their stomachs.

There is no toad oil without seeds, because although toad oil has the word "oil" in it, it is not fat.

The main component is protein, which is used to supply the growth and development of offspring, so the nutrition is so high.

"At dawn, all the toads went into the water to survive the winter. I just found a pit, hugged me a few times, and got half a bucket. You can pick some females and take them back in Qingshan. Isn't your sister pregnant? It's just a good time to replenish her body.

"

Zhang Laowei'er directly took the bucket off the car and placed it in front of Liu Qingshan.

These days, people don’t like eating toads very much.

First, most people find it dirty.

Secondly, when eating toads, it is best to fry the male ones and stew the female ones in sauce, but the oil will not taste good if it is too small, and oil is the most precious seasoning.

"Okay, then I'll grab some."

Liu Qingshan was not polite and ran home to get an enamel basin and filled half of it.

The weather is cold this month, and the toads are lazy and less willing to move, so there is no need to worry about jumping out.

As for the matter of cutting reeds, there is no rush for the moment. It is best to wait until the swamps in the meadow are frozen and can no longer contain people before doing this work.

It happens to be the beginning of winter, the temperature is not that low yet, there is no need for thatch curtains in the greenhouse, and time is still running out.

Liu Qingshan happily took the toad home, washed it twice, sprinkled some salt on it and treated it well. It was boring at noon.

As for disemboweling and cleaning the internal organs, there is really no need for that.

Because by this time, the toad has stopped eating, so its stomach is very clean. In the words of the local people, this is called "big grain".

Not only the toads, but also the fish caught in winter and early spring do not need to be disemboweled.

When processed and steamed, hash toads will always have a slight earthy smell, so the best way is to stew them in sauce.

Liu Qingshan poured half a spoonful of soybean oil into the pot, scooped out another half spoonful of meat oil, grabbed two red peppers and threw them in, then added a spoonful of soybean paste to fry the flavor of the sauce, then added the toads, added water and low heat.

Just simmer.

When school was over at noon, the fourth child came into the room and said, "Brother, what delicious food did you cook?"

"Go and call your grandparents over to have dinner with you."

Liu Qingshan pulled her braid, and the little girl ran away happily. When she came back, in addition to her grandparents, there was of course Yang Hongying.

There is no need for Liu Qingshan to ask for this, Xiao Laosi and Shan Xing are very kind to Teacher Yang.

Liu Qingshan also fried potato slices and a large chili pepper, and the whole family crowded around the big Kang table to eat.

"Is this a frog?"

Yang Hongying looked at the dark toad on the plate and stretched out her legs, and she really didn't dare to put down her chopsticks.

"It's not a frog, it's a toad."

Liu Qingshan hadn't started eating yet, so he rummaged through the plate with chopsticks and put one in his eldest sister's bowl. His mother, grandparents, including Yang Hongying, all put one in their bowls.

He didn't pick them randomly, he picked them all from females, with black seeds in their bellies, and the black seeds were coated with toad oil.

"That's not the same thing!"

In Yang Hongying's concept, frog and toad mean the same thing.

After Liu Qingshan picked up another one for Lao Si and Lao Wu, he said cheerfully: "Of course it's different. This is a hash frog. In the past, it was a special tribute to the palace."

Liu Jinfeng was also advising from the side: "Teacher Yang, you can eat it. These toads are very nutritious. The ones Qingshan picked for us are all female."

In order to enhance his persuasion, he picked up the hash frog in the bowl, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, and chewed it.

Yang Hongying still didn't dare to eat like this, so she carefully tore off a toad leg and put it in her mouth.

Well, it tastes pretty good, the sauce is rich and the meat is delicate.

However, after I opened the belly with chopsticks, I still found it difficult to swallow when I saw the dark toad seeds inside and the milky white toad oil wrapped around them.

"Girl, feel free to eat. If you want to eat hash frogs, you have to eat this."

Grandma whispered a few words beside her, and then Yang Hongying closed her eyes and put it into her mouth.

After taking a few bites, she suddenly opened her eyes, and her eyes became much brighter: "Hey, it really tastes better the more you chew it!"

Once she got used to it, Yang Hongying let go and ate more than a dozen in one meal, but most of them were males, because most of the females were picked up by Liu Qingshan and given to her eldest sister and mother.

Of course, a layman like Yang Hongying couldn't tell the difference between male and female, so he glared at Liu Qingshan for the last time.

Liu Qingshan chuckled: "Teacher Yang, my sister is pregnant and needs nutrition, so eat more and take supplements. Don't have any objections."

Hearing what he said, Yang Xueqing also stuck out her tongue, feeling a little embarrassed. As she ate, she forgot about it.

Then I heard Liu Qingshan continue to say slowly: "Unless you are like my sister, hehe..."

Yang Hongying immediately became furious, stretched out her hand suddenly, and shouted: "Sanfeng'er, I think your ears are itchy, right?"

Liu Qingshan hurriedly leaned back to get out of the way, muttering to himself: There are two or three of them who know this trick, and it will be hard to live in this life.

…

Of course, Liu Qingshan had to live his little life as usual, and he lived happily. The next day, he went into the mountains with everyone.

This month is already late autumn, which is also the most beautiful season in the mountains of the year. The forests are dyed, the mountains are red, and the scene is magnificent and vast.
To be continued...