Chapter 7: Searching for someone in the mountains

This is how Old Jiang wandered around the village, occasionally talking to people about the mountain behind the village where he lived. His appearance was also irregular. Sometimes he would wander around the village every day for a month, and sometimes he would disappear for a month or two.

People believed that he lived in the mountains. He had been in the area for five years, and people had learned a little about him. They found that the old man did not lie, and if he did not want to talk about something, he would just laugh it off and not make up a story.

In addition, most people in the village think he is a poor old wanderer who has stayed here because the village is relatively prosperous and people are kind.

In fact, I have to say that this is a reason.

After finishing a cigarette, the sky was a little brighter. My father got up and simply rolled up his pant legs into his socks and continued on.

The road up the mountain was not easy to walk on, and there were many places where there was no road at all. My father walked slowly all the way, and before he knew it, it had been three or four hours, and he hadn’t even seen the old man Jiang.

But it was a rare sunny day in winter, and my father was in a good mood under the warm sunshine. He didn’t complain too much, and all he thought about was finding a clean place to eat his dry rations, looking again in the afternoon, and then going back before dinner.

“If we don’t find it, we’ll keep looking tomorrow. If we look for a few more days, we’ll find it. Maybe we’ll be lucky and run into it in the village.” My father took a sip of the mountain spring water and said to himself, “There’s not much noise in the mountains, so talking to yourself is a way to pass the time.

The mountain spring water was sweet and refreshing. After taking a big gulp, I was really refreshed and quenched. I thought this place was good, and eating steamed buns with mountain spring water was also exceptionally sweet. My father decided to eat dry food here.

But just as he sat down and the steamed buns were brought out, my father heard a strange mountain song, accompanied by a broken gong voice, which really affected his appetite.

But my father was delighted. He was so familiar with this tune that it could only be Old Jiang. When he wandered around the village, he sang this off-key folk song a lot, and his broken voice was heard by the villagers. It was hard to be unfamiliar with it.

“Old man Jiang, old man Jiang…” My father shouted at the top of his lungs. After all, the mountains spread out and the roads were winding, so my father could only hear the sound but not the person.

After shouting a few times, I could hear a strong voice coming from behind the mountain road next to my father: “Hey, which one is calling me?”

“Old man Jiang, this way, this way…” My father shouted happily, jumping up and down, as if he had seen a relative from the Eighth Route Army.

Following my father’s voice, the old man soon appeared from the mountain path behind him. God knows where he was wandering in the mountains, but he happened to meet my father.

He was still dirty and even a bit wretched. He was far from the image of a high-level person that people in the countryside had in mind. In their view, a high-level person should have a good appearance, such as a dignified appearance or a youthful appearance with white hair.

But none of the above had anything to do with old man Jiang.

But my father, who was already desperate, didn’t care about any of that. Even if Widow Zhou told him that a pig was a high-level person, he could see the high-level look at that moment.

“Old Master Jiang…” As soon as my father saw the figure of Old Master Jiang, he immediately ran over to him. Standing in front of Old Master Jiang, he couldn’t help but change his tone and call out, “Master Jiang…”

The old man didn’t seem surprised at all, and he didn’t ask my father what the matter was. He enjoyed my father’s respectful attitude, and when my father finished laughing and smiling, he raised one of his hands and said, “Give me a steamed bun. Is there pickled cabbage in it?”

When he raised his hand, my father was startled. What was this? A ‘rope’ almost hit his face. Upon closer inspection, the old man was holding a soft bamboo leaf in his hand.

Sichuan is full of bamboo, and the bamboo leaf green is a common poisonous snake, but it is not that it is common, and its toxicity is not strong, but it is extremely poisonous. There are many legends about the bamboo leaf green in the mountains.

This old man Jiang… My father couldn’t say anything else. He could even get a snake out of hibernation, and he specialized in poisonous snakes. He was really capable. Thinking about the old man Jiang’s usual disposition, my father didn’t doubt that the bamboo leaf green was something he ate.

Although he thought so, my father still respectfully handed him the steamed bun and explained, “The pickled vegetables have gone bad, so I didn’t put any in it. Master Jiang, please eat it as it is.”

The old man didn’t hesitate. He sat down on the ground with a ‘pop’ and threw the bamboo leaf snake, which was probably shaking off its bones, on the ground. He took the steamed bun and started to eat.

My father was surprised that he didn’t use the other hand, and started with the hand that had grabbed the snake, but he couldn’t help but laugh when he found that the old man had a pheasant in his other hand.

At that time, there were still many pheasants and rabbits in the mountains and forests, and even foxes and monkeys could be seen. But after the three years of starvation, they had disappeared. This old man Jiang was still able to get pheasants, and he was really capable.

Thinking about this, my father looked at the old man with a smile on his face. At this time, this man who had no image in front of him and was eating buns was simply the embodiment of a fairy.

After eating a steamed bun, the old man clapped his hands, casually scratched his beard, and then drank some mountain spring water. After finishing the water, he burped, and my father quickly handed him another steamed bun.

The old man didn’t hesitate, grabbed the bun and started to eat. After he finished the bun, he patted his stomach, stood up and said, “It would be great if I had some pickles. The Sichuan pickles are crispy, sour and slightly spicy. They are delicious.”

“Then you go to my house and eat as much as you want!” My father was really worried about what to say. He mentioned kimchi to the old man and quickly said that he wanted to trick the old man into going to my house.

“Pickles? You want me to help you and then you just give me pickles? You wish!” The old man looked disdainful and grabbed a bamboo leaf green from the ground and stuffed it into my father’s hand along with the pheasant in his hand.

My father was overjoyed at hearing what the old man had to say. He was so dumbfounded that he could not react for a while, and so he just stupidly took what the old man had handed him.

“The taste of poisonous snakes is the most delicious. It is best to stew it with this pheasant. Remember to simmer it slowly and for a long time. In addition, if you have any delicious food at home, bring out all your specialties to entertain me. I also want to drink wine. I don’t want to drink bottled wine sold outside, I want to drink good homemade wine. I will come to your house tomorrow at noon to eat. I’m leaving!” After saying this, the old man turned and left.

My father, who was still stunned, was left there in a daze.

My father returned home in the afternoon.

As soon as my mother opened the door, my father rushed in, ignoring my mother’s surprised look. He threw the pheasant and the bamboo leaf snake on the ground, grabbed my mother’s arm and rushed into the house.

“I said, Old Chen, what were you doing? Going hunting in the mountains? Why don’t you do your real work?” My mother was furious when she saw the things my father had thrown in the yard, and she immediately started scolding him.

My father was anxious and unable to explain, so he simply pulled my mother into the house. After closing the door, my father said, “What kind of hunting do you think I’m doing? Do you think I have that kind of ability? Do you think I would leave our son’s affairs alone and then have the time to go hunting?

My father’s barrage of questions left my mother confused. Yes, my father is not such an unreliable person.

“First pour me a glass of water, I’ll tell you slowly. This time I really met a great person!”

An hour later.

First my father went out to buy some food.

Then my mother went to the yard and quickly disposed of the chicken and snake.

In those days, it was not uncommon for rural people to eat snakes. My mother was still very handy at handling poisonous snakes.

Two hours later, a bamboo leaf green and a pheasant were neatly prepared by my mother. The white snake meat and fresh chicken meat were put into two separate basins, covered with plastic bags, and then tied up.

Then, my mother put the two pots in a wooden tub, went to the well in the backyard, tied the tubs to the well rope, and then hung the tubs of meat down, stopping about 10 cm above the water.

Finally, my mother laboriously moved a large stone and covered the well, fitting it tightly without leaving any gaps.

The well was our family’s natural refrigerator. My parents always thought that the things stored in the well were the freshest. Tomorrow, the master of the house is coming to dinner, and my mother is not at all lazy.

After all this, my mother went to the bamboo forest on the back slope with a basket. Winter bamboo shoots are excellent now, and my mother was going to get some.

As soon as my mother finished picking the bamboo shoots, she saw my father coming back. She asked anxiously, “Did you get the meat back?”

In the countryside, people didn’t have meat coupons. After the pig was slaughtered, anything that wasn’t eaten was made into preserved meat. To eat fresh meat, you had to trade in grain. It was unacceptable to have no meat to serve guests.

But even so, it was not easy to get meat.

My father hurried back and forth to the town, and it was hard for him to run all the way in the middle of winter and sweat. He said happily, “I got it. It’s more than a catty of meat. It went well.”

“Alas, once the grain is exchanged for this little meat…” my mother was really distressed.

“Well, for the sake of my son, this little bit of grain is nothing. As long as people come to our house to eat a good meal, that’s enough.” My father was overjoyed. The old man’s request for help convinced my father that he had met a true master.

Not only that, but my father went to the river. In short, he was going to do his best for tomorrow.

In the evening, my father brought back two fresh river fish and then went out again.

“Old Chen, you haven’t even eaten yet. Where are you going?” My mother took the fish and threw it into the water tank. Seeing that my father was going out again, she couldn’t help but ask in a puzzled voice.

“I’m going to get some eels. You know I’m very good at stir-frying eels. I have to make sure that Master Jiang… Master Jiang is satisfied.” My father seemed to be in a very excited state.

“It’s winter, not summer. Where are you going to get eels?” My mother was at a loss for words.

“Who says you can’t get it in winter? It sleeps in the mud in winter, just hiding deep. Don’t worry, I can get it.” My father was full of confidence.