Chapter 4: Simple BBQ Old Bird Before Li Long took down the scoop net, he heard a fluttering sound and an old bird not far from the edge of the scoop net was startled and flew away. Pity. Li Long took a look at the direction the old bird flew away, then carefully took down the scoop net, then quickly reached in and caught the old bird. The old bird stretched out its beak to peck at Li Long. Li Long tightened his grip on the little guy's hand slightly, and then he felt something wet on his fingers. This guy had pooped. "Qiangqiang, here, hold on tight." Li Long handed the old sparrow over, "Don't let go, or there won't be any old sparrows to eat later." "Uncle, I understand." Li Qiang nodded solemnly, then carefully took the old bird over. Li Juan looked at Li Long with sparkling eyes. Li Long smiled, took the flashlight and continued to shine. It is difficult for old sparrows to survive overnight in winter, so there must be more than just two in the haystack. Sure enough, he soon found another old bird and successfully caught it.
Li Juan also had one in her hand. Li Long caught a total of four old sparrows in this pile of grass. Two of them ran away, and then there were no more. "Uncle, the He family has a pile of grass in the front yard!" Li Qiang, holding an old bird in each hand, sniffed and said proactively. "In the yard or outside?" "Inside the yard." "That won't do." Li Long shook his head. It was against the rules to enter someone's yard just for a few old birds, and at this late hour. "Then..." Li Juan thought for a moment and said, "The third house in the backyard, uncle, do you remember that there was a pile of grass on the side room of Gao's yard. The pile faced outwards and could be seen from outside the yard." "Okay, let's go and take a look." Li Long also felt that four old birds were a little too few and not enough to feed his two nephews and nieces. Outside the courtyard, near the wild land, it was not easy to wade through the several-centimeter-thick snow. Li Long walked in front, leaving footprints, while Li Juan and Li Qiang followed behind and walked forward. Even so, by the time they arrived at Gao's haystack, the three people's shoes were already filled with snow. But no one complained about being cold. Even Li Long was looking at the haystack, which was one-third bigger than his own, with some anticipation. A dog started barking in the yard, and then someone was vaguely heard shouting. Li Long turned on the flashlight and shone it into the haystack. In less than ten seconds, he found a target. But this time Li Long was smart. He did not use the scoop net to catch them immediately. Instead, he looked at the entire haystack, counted nine old birds, and then started to catch them one by one from the lower left corner. Successfully caught six. There was no way to keep these old birds in his hands, so Li Long would simply twist the necks of the old birds he caught and throw them on the snow. After he caught them all, he would take them all back. "Uncle, there is another haystack in the Qin family further away..." Li Juan said with lingering feeling. "No more catching. Your shoes are all wet now. Your mother will scold you when we get back. Let's go back!"
"Then... let's go back." The two younger ones were still a little unsatisfied. No matter how small an old bird is, it is still meat. The three of them returned to the yard. Liang Yuemei heard the noise and quickly came out. In the light of Li Long's flashlight, she saw that the two children's trouser legs were covered with snow, and she shouted: "Where have you been? Why is there so much snow? Are you cold? Go inside and change your shoes!" "No, I want to eat the old sparrow!" Li Qiang held up the old sparrow in his hand stubbornly, "I want to eat the meat!" "Okay, okay, okay," Li Long said with a smile, without waiting for his sister-in-law to speak, "You go change your shoes first. Even if you want to eat the old sparrow, you have to let me pluck its feathers and empty its stomach first." "Okay..." Li Qiang thought it made sense. He and Li Juan handed the old bird to Li Long and went into the house to change shoes. "Just spoil them..." Liang Yuemei complained to Li Long, "Go change your shoes quickly, they are wet!" "Yeah." Li Long responded with a smile and turned to go into the house. After changing into the cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles - which were made for him by his sister-in-law, Li Long put the cotton-rubber shoes on the fire wall to roast, and then began to process the old sparrow. With the experience of the previous life, it was easy for Lao Que to deal with it. He didn't even need to pluck the feathers, he just twisted the head off, pulled the skin on the neck downwards, and the skin and feathers fell off. It may sound cruel, but for children who have been without meat for years, what is cruel? Not having enough to eat and not having meat is cruel! After plucking the feathers of all ten old sparrows, he emptied their stomach contents and put them aside. Li Long used a broom to sweep the iron cover on the stove, and then placed the old sparrows on it one by one. Before going out, he suppressed the fire with coal foam. At this time, the iron lid was quite hot, but not yet red hot, just right for roasting. This stove is made of earth bricks, and the stove plate in the middle is made of four iron rods. The iron sheet on top is made of iron sheet from diesel barrels. At this stage, few families in the team can afford standard iron stoves. Although the heat conductivity of earth stoves is not very good, they are cheap and convenient. He put the old bird in place and just stood up when Li Juan and Li Qiang rushed in. Looking at the old sparrow placed on the stove cover, Li Qiang's saliva was about to flow. "Uncle, when can we eat?" He looked up and asked Li Long. "Wait a minute, I'll get the salt and chili noodles." Li Long said, "Be patient." "Okay." Unexpectedly, Li Qiang agreed. Li Long went to the west room and saw Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei talking, so he said: "Sister-in-law, let me get some salt and spicy noodles." "Okay, I'll get it for you." Knowing that this seasoning was for roasting old birds for her children, Liang Yuemei said with a smile: "Xiaolong, you are quite capable. This old bird has caught quite a few." "Hehe." Li Long smiled. In his previous life, he would never do this, but now it can save his nephews and nieces from suffering. What's the big deal? Taking two bowls of condiments and two enamel plates used to serve dishes at home, Li Long returned to the east room, closed the door, and told Li Juan and Li Qiang not to worry. He placed the bowls on the edge of the earthen stove, then pinched some chili powder and salt and sprinkled them evenly on the old sparrow. The spicy noodles were grown in our own vegetable garden, and the salt was bought, so nothing could be wasted. In those days, waste was really shameful, unlike later generations, when people would just sprinkle the seasonings randomly when barbecuing as if they were free. Sprinkle one side carefully, then turn over and sprinkle again.
Soon, the room was filled with the aroma of meat mixed with spicy flavor. Li Long felt a little regretful, it would have been better if there was cumin. This time, even Li Juan couldn't help swallowing her saliva, staring at the old sparrow on the stove lid without blinking. After turning it over three times, Li Long took two old sparrows and put them on the enamel plate and said to them: "It's cooked. Take it and give it to your parents. They have to eat it first!" Li Qiang was a little puzzled, but Li Juan was sensible. She took the plate carefully and seriously, opened the door with one hand and went to the west room with the plate in the other. Li Qiang was still a little confused, so Li Long asked him: "There's no meat at home. Will your parents not be able to eat it?" "Ah." “They’re the hardest working, aren’t they?” "Yes!" "Shouldn't they eat first?" "should!" Hearing this, Li Long nodded with satisfaction, picked up an old bird, waited for it to cool down a little, and handed it to Li Qiang. (End of this chapter)