1987 My Era

Chapter 683, Sucking

When I took the large yellow eel home and weighed it, it weighed 2 jin (1 catties).

It's definitely a behemoth.

Such eels are the most nutritious. When Li Heng killed it, he even used a vegetable bowl to collect the blood, not wanting to waste it.

It's made into a spicy stir-fried eel slice, with some pickled chili peppers, and in the end, not a single drop is left.

Sun Manning kept praising, "Mr. Li, if you were an ordinary person, whoever marries you would be so lucky with your cooking skills! It's so delicious, a hundred times better than my parents' cooking."

Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe both understood what the girl meant: if he were an ordinary person, he would definitely have a monogamous marriage and be happy.

But Li Heng thought to himself with a smug smile, "In my previous life, I was just an ordinary person, and I had three wives."

Ha, that was all a lie.

After breakfast, the group dressed up properly and then headed deep into the mountains to look for wild fruits and catch mountain crabs.

There were many women in the family this time, and they were worried that something might happen. They were also afraid that Li Heng, a man, wouldn't be able to take care of them all, so Mai Dong and Liu Ting, a married couple, also went into the mountains.

Seeing that her daughter and Li Heng were always together, Mai Dong simply decided to turn a blind eye and lead the way.

Sun Manning, being quite sensible, didn't act as a third wheel and happily followed Mai Dong towards the deep mountains and forests. She also chattered incessantly with Liu Ting, leaving the clear blue sky to the three adulterers.

"They're just three adulterers," Sun Manning thought fiercely to herself.

Mai Sui has always been in good health, and although it was a mountain climb, she didn't even pant for breath the whole way.

Zhou Shihe was different. She was okay in the first half of the journey and could barely keep up with the group, but her speed slowed down significantly in the second half.

Especially when they arrived at the mountain stream, they felt somewhat powerless and had to rest after climbing every section of the slope.

Before they knew it, the three of them had fallen behind the group.

I could hear Sun Manning's cheerful shouts coming from a hundred meters away. She said she had found a pheasant, caught seven or eight crabs, and then shouted even louder: "Li Heng, Mai Sui, Shi He, my aunt and I found a really big turtle, hahaha!"

Li Heng looked up towards the valley above, "How big is it?"

Sun Manning jumped onto a large rock, holding the turtle in her hands and showing it off to the three people below, "Uncle said it weighs at least 4 jin, haha, Li Heng, you're cooking tonight."

Li Heng made an OK sign.

Zhou Shihe shielded her eyes from the sunlight with her right hand, glanced at the turtle, and then asked gently, "It looks a bit like a soft-shelled turtle. Is a turtle a soft-shelled turtle?"

Mai Sui chimed in, "Tuanyu is just turtle, but we're used to calling it Tuanyu here."

After resting on a rock for a while, Mai Sui suddenly said to Li Heng, "Li Heng, you take care of Shi He, I'll go and take the net bag to Dad."

This net was originally intended for wild fruit, but now that we have turtles, we're using it to catch them right away.

Of course, this was just an excuse. After all, her parents always carried bamboo baskets or urea bags.

The reason was simple: seeing that Li Heng and Shi He had been in a cold war and had not communicated for a long time, the kind-hearted Mai Sui decided to create an opportunity for the two of them.

Before Li Heng and Shi He could reply, Mai Sui began climbing up the stream and soon disappeared behind a large rock.

Once everyone left, the resting place gradually became quiet. Li Heng and Zhou Shihe didn't speak for a while, only various birds fluttering around in the treetops, attracting their attention.

After sitting for a while, Li Heng finally broke the silence and asked, "Can you still walk? Do you want me to carry you up?"

Zhou Shihe didn't reply, but slowly stood up and continued walking towards the valley above.

The path was full of large rocks, and they had to grab onto vines and branches to get across. Fearing for her safety, Li Heng followed silently.

After climbing three rocks that were as high as a floor, Zhou Shihe's legs started to ache. Just as she was about to reach the top of the fourth rock, she slipped because the rocks were covered in moss and were wet by the stream. Her feet slid backward, and she fell backward as well.

Seeing this, Li Heng was startled and quickly dropped the long stick he used to clear the mountain, catching her from behind with lightning speed.

He immediately embraced her tightly.

His gaze swept over the stone, and he asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

At this moment, Zhou Shihe's forehead was covered in fine sweat, clearly she was too frightened. She was limp in his arms, and after a long while, she finally managed to say a sentence with a pale face: "Snake, there is a snake on the rock."

Li Heng was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and asked, "You were afraid of snakes, which is why you fell?"

Zhou Shihe gave a soft "hmm".

Li Heng looked around, helped her sit down on a small rock, and picked up the discarded hacking stick again. "I'll go take a look."

Zhou Shihe looked at him quietly.

Li Heng was also afraid of snakes, so he didn't dare to go up rashly. Instead, he went around to the side, and sure enough, there was a snake on the big rock.

The snake's head was white and triangular, its body was black, and it wasn't very big, weighing only about seven or eight ounces. He immediately recognized it as a white-headed viper, which is highly venomous.

Li Heng was terrified. He couldn't even imagine the consequences if Miss Zhou had been bitten. Without thinking, he picked up a stone and hurled it at her.

Startled, the snake slithered away.

Li Heng watched helplessly as it disappeared into a thicket on the left side of the stream before returning to Zhou Shihe's side. "The snake's gone. I'll go first, you follow me. I have more experience in the mountains than you do."

Zhou Shihe was still shaken. "Did Sui Sui go up from here just now?"

Li Heng shook his head. "No, she climbed up the hillside on the right by pulling herself up with vines."

Zhou Shihe gazed at him quietly.

Li Heng seemed to know what she was thinking and said frankly, "I originally wanted to remind you to take a few more steps to the right, but seeing your indifferent look and unwillingness to talk to me, I had no choice but to follow you like a shadow."

After saying that, the two fell silent and looked at each other.

This was the first time the two had spent time alone together in close proximity since the Dragon Boat Festival.

It was also the first time I looked the other person in the eye.

After a full minute of standoff, Zhou Shihe finally looked away without making a sound. She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked softly, "This snake is so strange. What kind of snake is it? Do you recognize it?"

Li Heng said, "White-headed viper."

Zhou Shihe looked at the large rock again, still shaken: "I think I read about this kind of snake in a book before. Is there no antidote?"

Li Heng shook his head: "I don't know if there's an antidote these days, but this place is too far from the road. If it's not dealt with in time, it will be a big problem. Besides, this kind of snake is not common in southern Hunan, but it is found in neighboring Guizhou and Jiangxi."

Zhou Shihe was slightly curious: "They're common in both the left and right provinces, so why aren't they common in Hunan alone?"

Li Heng shrugged: "I don't know, I read it in a book. Maybe it was a pirated copy."

The truth is, he found it on a mobile phone encyclopedia in his later years, but of course, that's not how it should be said.

After resting for a few more minutes and calming down, Zhou Shihe stood up and prepared to continue her journey.

This time, Li Heng dared not let her take the lead. He reached out his left hand, grabbed her right hand, and then strode forward without saying a word.

Zhou Shihe paused for a moment, her feet following passively. Her gaze lingered on his back for a while, but in the end, she said nothing, didn't struggle, looked down at the road, and followed him step by step.

To conserve her energy, Li Heng walked slowly, stopping occasionally to tap the bushes in front of him with a stick, hoping to scare away insects and snakes in advance.

After walking for a while, they came to a stream. Li Heng squatted down and said, "This place is muddy and slippery with moss. I'll carry you across."

Zhou Shihe remained standing still.

After waiting for a while, Li Heng, who hadn't seen anyone, suddenly turned around and, to her astonishment, bent down and carried her in a princess carry, holding her frail body in his arms. He then took a few steps and crossed the ravine.

Zhou Shihe tilted her head slightly in his arms, without saying a word.

After crossing the mountain stream, Li Heng said, "We'll reach the valley in a little while and then we can meet up with them. I'll save you some energy."

The implication was that he wanted to carry her over.

Zhou Shihe pouted her delicate little mouth, then lowered her eyelids.

Li Heng said, "Make a sound."

Zhou Shihe remained unmoved.

Li Heng said, "Then I'll take that as a yes."

Seeing that he was really audacious enough to hold her tightly and keep walking forward, Zhou Shihe suddenly said, "If you keep carrying me like this, things will be difficult for you and Sui Sui."

Li Heng stopped and pondered for a moment before asking, "Did your uncle and aunt discover something about me and Mai Sui?"

Zhou Shihe said expressionlessly, "Do I need to find out? You go around ruining women wherever you go. Do you really think people build such a big business for nothing?"

Li Heng sensed something was wrong and looked down at her.

Zhou Shihe turned her head away, avoiding his gaze, and said, "Put me down."

Li Heng held her tightly, refusing to let go.

Zhou Shihe remained silent, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.

After a while, Li Heng leaned close to her ear and said softly, "Shihe, you are so beautiful."

Those five simple words were indeed effective.

Feeling the warmth on her ear, Zhou Shihe knew that if she didn't speak, he would definitely have the guts to kiss her earlobe.

Having no other choice, she could only say, "Last night, Uncle Mai brought up two bowls of hangover soup, but then took them away untouched."

Li Heng paused for two seconds, then pressed, "When did this happen?"

Zhou Shihe said, "When Manning was singing drunkenly, Suisui was in your room at the time."

Li Heng asked, "How did you find out?"

Zhou Shihe said, "After wiping Manning's mouth, I was about to go out of the bedroom to wash the towel when I saw Uncle Mai carrying two bowls of hangover soup down the stairs."

Li Heng tentatively asked, "Has he noticed you?"

Zhou Shihe said, "I stopped at the door without disturbing him."

Li Heng breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, the person in his arms hadn't seen him kissing Mai Sui.

but.

But Uncle Mai's heart was pounding in his chest; he dared not harbor any illusions. He probably saw it most likely. No wonder.

No wonder, this morning by the reservoir, Uncle Mai kept looking at himself and felt something was off. So that's what happened.

Back then, Uncle Mai wouldn't have wanted to kill himself and sink him in the reservoir, would he?

Thinking of this, Li Heng swallowed hard, feeling that this trip to Shaodong was full of surprises.

Of course, even if Miss Zhou didn't witness what happened between her and Mai Sui, with her keen mind, she could probably guess pretty accurately.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhou Shihe struggled, trying to get out of his arms.

Unfortunately, his strength was too great, and she had been traveling for half a day and was already exhausted, so any struggle was futile.

After struggling for a while, Zhou Shihe gave up and spoke softly again, "I'll walk by myself."

Sensing her resolute attitude, Li Heng let go of her this time, but still held her right hand with his left, pulling her along.

Zhou Shihe paused for a few seconds, then followed along.

After climbing a gentle slope, when they were almost at the large valley ahead, Li Heng quietly let go of her hand and said, "There's a cattle-grazing and firewood-cutting path that runs across the mountains up here. The view is better, and it's safer."

Zhou Shihe followed his gaze and looked around, her mood gradually becoming pleasant. "The view from here is really far, and the scenery is beautiful."

Li Heng pointed to the right front, "That place is Shaodong County."

Zhou Shihe gazed at the county town for a while, then suddenly asked, "I heard from Sui Sui that the terrain in your hometown is higher?"

“Yes, it needs to be several hundred meters high,” Li Heng replied.

He then realized something and turned to look at her.

Zhou Shihe avoided his gaze and continued to look into the distance.

Li Heng tried to extend an invitation: "How about we go visit my hometown?"

Zhou Shihe listened without saying a word, withdrew her gaze, and turned to walk quietly towards the valley. At this moment, the cheers from Sun Manning were getting closer and closer.

The two walked one after the other along the winding mountain road for more than 200 meters before finally reuniting with the others.

Li Heng asked from a distance, "Manning, what's making you so happy, shouting like that?"

Sun Manning waved vigorously at the two of them, "We saw a wild rabbit crawl into this hole and dig it out."

When Li Heng heard about digging for wild rabbits, he wasn't very interested, thinking it would be difficult to find them. But Mai Dong didn't think so, and kept swinging her hoe with great enthusiasm.

Mai Sui and her daughter Liu Ting were turning over stones in the mountain stream, one after another. They had already caught more than 20 mountain crabs and some loaches.

Zhou Shihe watched for a while as they dug for wild rabbits, but after a long time, they still couldn't reach the bottom of the burrow. In the end, she followed Li Heng and Mai Sui and started turning over stones.

However, the girl wasn't strong enough to flip over the large rocks, and there were hardly any crabs under the small rocks. In the end, she didn't catch a single crab and instead exhausted herself.

Seeing this, Mai Sui smiled charmingly and said, "Shi He, I have one here, you can catch it."

Zhou Shihe waded through the clear stream and hurried over, then followed suit, opening her right hand and bending down to catch the crab.

just.

The next second, her face contorted into a pretzel, and she cried out softly in pain.

Li Heng peered over and saw that her finger was pinched by a crab's claw. He hurriedly said, "Let go and put the crab back in the water, and it will let go of you."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shihe did as instructed and put the crab she had picked up back into the water.

It worked! The crab loosened its claws and strode away with an air of indifference to hide under another large rock.

Li Heng ignored the crabs, reached out and grabbed Miss Zhou's hand, examining it carefully.

After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's alright, it's alright. It's just that the mark is very deep and the skin wasn't broken. Otherwise, your precious finger would have been seriously damaged."

As he spoke, he habitually put her finger in his mouth, just like when he was a child, and sucked on the spot where it was pinched.

Mai Sui was taken aback. She glanced at her mother in front of her, then looked back at her father and Sun Manning behind her. She took two steps with her right foot and used her body to block the two of them from their intimate actions.

Zhou Shihe was equally terrified, but her face remained calm as she looked at him with composure.

Li Heng was slow to realize his actions, but he didn't hesitate. He still pretended to be calm and sucked on Xiao Hui for a while before letting go and smoothing the pinched area with water.

He asked, "How are you feeling now? Is it still in pain?"

Zhou Shihe withdrew her finger, brushed the stray hairs behind her ear, and said gently, "I feel better, thank you."

At this moment, Mai Sui felt a little annoyed: "Shi He's hands are precious; I should have brought her a pair of hemp gloves."

Zhou Shihe smiled slightly and comforted him, saying, "It's okay, participation is the most important thing. Today's mountain climbing experience was quite good."

After saying that, she suddenly felt something was off. What did she mean by "the mountain climbing experience was great"? Did she mean being carried in his arms like a princess?

Seeing the man staring intently at her, Zhou Shihe's expression softened slightly. She turned her head away, pretending to observe Manning and the others' movements, leaving only the back of her head visible to the man.

Having taken in their subtle actions, Mai Sui smiled gently, then subtly kicked Li Heng with her right foot: "You turn over the stones, I'll catch the crabs."

"Okay, sure." Li Heng readily agreed and got to work with all his might.

The three of them then teamed up to catch crabs, chatting and laughing as they walked along the stream into deeper waters.

Mai Dong, who had been keeping an eye on her three daughters out of the corner of her eye, lit a cigarette and tentatively asked Sun Manning, "Li Heng and the Zhou family's daughter are musical partners, they should have a good relationship, why do they seem to be at odds?"

Sun Manning said, "Where are we not on good terms? We just came up from down here together."

Mai Dong put the cigarette in his mouth and continued digging with his hoe: "The two of them didn't speak to each other yesterday. Am I being too sensitive?"

Sun Manning pouted, "Uncle, don't try to trick me. I'm not easily fooled. I'm a graduate of a prestigious university. Let's get straight to the point. Uncle, are you trying to ask if Li Heng and Shi He are dating and currently having a falling out?"

Upon hearing this, Mai Dong was embarrassed and said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "You silly girl, I was just asking casually, why are you making such a fuss?"

"cut."

Sun Manning scoffed and laughed, "Haha, I don't believe it. Uncle has been secretly keeping an eye on Li Heng and the other two. I've noticed it all. Uncle's ultimate goal is to find out what kind of relationship Li Heng has with our Sui Sui, right?"

Mai Dong was frightened, shook her head with a weak smile, and dared not test him again.
Miracles happen with great effort. Half an hour later, Mai Dong actually dug up a gray wild rabbit, weighing about 3.5 jin (1.75 kg). Sun Manning held the rabbit by its ears, her excited shouts almost lifting the entire valley.

We spent most of the day in the mountains. Besides getting soft-shelled turtles, mountain crabs, and wild rabbits, we also dug up more than ten kilograms of kudzu root and encountered a large amount of rose hips and wild walnuts.

The bright red raspberries are so delicious they make your teeth ache.

Li Heng picked six or seven ripe rose hips and placed them on the ground. He rolled them a few times with the sole of his shoe to remove the thorns. Then he picked one up and bit it in half with his teeth. After that, he picked out the seeds with his fingers and put it in his mouth to chew. It was so sweet.

Seeing Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe sitting on the side watching him eat, he handed them a few pieces, saying, "It's really delicious. When I was a kid, I used to eat it like this when I was herding cattle. You guys should try it."

Mai Sui didn't mind, picked up two halves and put them in her mouth, eating slowly. Before leaving, she said, "Hmm, it still tastes the same as when I was a kid."

Li Heng asked Zhou Shihe, "Comrade Shihe, it's not as fun as it is if we don't try this when we go up the mountain. Want a few?"

Zhou Shihe smiled lightly, without saying a word of refusal, but without making any other move.

Li Heng asked, "Do you think it's dirty because I stepped on it and bit it with my teeth?"

Zhou Shihe looked at him with her pure and bright eyes, as if that were exactly what he meant.

After a two-second eye contact, Li Heng picked a few more rose hips and placed them at her feet: "Then go and break the shell yourself."

Zhou Shihe remained still, sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, watching Li Heng and Mai Sui eat.

After chewing more than ten pieces, Mai Sui suddenly whispered a few words in Zhou Shihe's ear, and the latter's face slowly turned red.

Finally, Mai Sui picked up two halves and offered them to Zhou Shihe's mouth.

Zhou Shihe's red lips twitched, she glanced at Li Heng, then at the wheat ears, and finally opened her mouth and ate two pieces.

After a while, Wheat asked, "How is it?"

Zhou Shihe nodded slightly: "It tastes better than sugarcane."

Mai Sui explained, "I heard that this can relieve phlegm and cough, and is very beneficial for sore throat and laryngitis. It can be used as medicine."

Sun Manning came over carrying a bag of urea, plopped down, and asked the two women strangely, "You dare to eat things he stepped on?"

Li Heng rolled his eyes at her: "I've been eating this since I was a child, my ancestors have always eaten it this way. You're just a city girl, you're making a fuss over nothing."

Upon hearing this, Sun Manning nodded in agreement: "That's true. They're your women anyway, and they'll be eating your saliva all the time in the future. What's a little bit of this?"

After saying that, Sun Manning casually stretched out her hand: "Come on, give your old lady a few to chew on too."

Li Heng picked a few rose hips and threw them in front of her, saying, "Help yourself."

Sun Manning's eyes widened, clearly annoyed: "We're all out having fun together, why are you treating us differently? Shihe's chest isn't even as big as mine."

Li Heng: "..."

Wheat Ear: "....."

Zhou Shihe remained silent, as if she hadn't heard those audacious words. She was very down-to-earth, learning to stomp on the shell with her feet, crack it open, remove the seeds, and start eating.

Around 4 p.m., the group returned safely to the Mai family home.

While Mai Dong and her husband went to kill wild rabbits and turtles, Sun Manning publicly berated Li Heng in the yard in front of Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe: "Damn it! I'm never going out with you again. When there's something good, you only care about the beautiful girls and don't care about me, the nobody. I'm exhausted and furious."

Li Heng lay back on the bamboo chair, stretched lazily, and said comfortably, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. I don't know you well anyway. You'll get married eventually, so let your husband train you."

Sun Manning put her hands on her hips and said, "Who said I'm getting married? I'm not getting married. I'm going to stick around Mai Sui and Shi He and be a third wheel every day so you can't have them."

Li Heng looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, crossed his legs, and ignored this idiot.

Mai Sui couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Sun Manning along, saying, "Shihe, let's go take pictures in the orange grove while it's cloudy."

Zhou Shihe agreed.

Sun Manning turned to Li Heng and said, "Hey! Someone, so-and-so! Orange Grove, remember Orange Grove? Are you going?"

Hearing these pointed words, Zhou Shihe glanced at Li Heng, then at Mai Sui, and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)