Chapter 69: Spruce Trees

With that, Xiaoguo and her son burst out laughing.

Qin Anming’s voice came from the front.

“What are you talking about that’s so funny?”

When Zhuang Zhuang saw him, he immediately hugged the puppy in his arms and told him about what happened.

Qin Anming took the rope that was attached to the donkeys and listened attentively. When Zhuang Zhuang came to the part where he was trying to keep his uncle in suspense, Qin Anming pretended not to know and kept asking him questions.

As soon as Zhuang Zhuang entered the courtyard, he carried the puppy and introduced all the animals to the two puppies.

On his way home, Zhuang Zhuang had already named the two puppies.

The yellow one in Zhuang Zhuang’s arms was called Ben Ben because it ran fast.

The white one in Xiaoguo’s arms was called Fei Fei because it was fat.

When he was done with the introductions, Xiaoguo fetched some water and urged him to wash his hands and have his dinner.

The next day, Xiaoguo got on the donkey cart and went up the mountains with Qin Anming.

The wood they needed for building the shed had to be thicker, straighter, and longer. Xiaoguo and Qin Anming discussed it, and it seems that only spruce trees satisfy those criteria.

Coincidentally, Xiaoguo had seen a clump of spruce trees when she went up the mountains previously.

Just as they were about to leave, Zhuang Zhuang ran out of the house. He wanted to follow them. Xiaoguo agreed, and the three of them set off after locking the door.

Along the way, Zhuang Zhuang asked Xiaoguo curiously about the spruce tree. This was Xiaoguo’s expertise, so she had lots to share with Zhuang Zhuang and told him everything she knew.

Spruce trees prefer cool and moist climates. They thrive on fertile, well-drained and slightly acidic sandy soil. It is a slow growing tree and is a shallow-rooted species.

Qin Anming was stunned when he heard all this coming from Xiaoguo. He wondered how his sister knew so much.

Xiaoguo’s explanation to him was that she had read a book about tree species.

Qin Anming nodded with admiration. Books were indeed wonderful. There was everything inside. He had to learn how to read properly and become like his sister!

The three of them headed towards the direction of the spruce trees. As they ventured deeper and deeper into the forest, Qin Anming began to feel a little uneasy.

“Xiaoguo, could there be any danger in here? I should have come myself.”

Qin Anming really regretted bringing Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang along. If he came alone, he wouldn’t be afraid even if there was danger. However, nothing must happen to Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang.

“It’s okay, brother.”

Sensing his uneasiness, Xiaoguo comforted him. “Zhuang Zhuang and I have been up here several times. There’s no danger at all.”

“What?!”

Qin Anming exploded when he heard that. Xiaoguo had actually come by herself and brought Zhuang Zhuang along.

Seeing that the two of them did not sense any danger, he felt an intense fear in his heart. He began to scold Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo listened to the incessant nagging behind her. She was really embarrassed. Who would have thought that Qin Anming was so good at nagging? He’s been going at it for so long. She wondered if he was thirsty.

Xiaoguo couldn’t refute him. After all, in her eyes, Qin Anming was not only her elder brother, but also a father to her. These days, other than cooking, Xiaoguo doesn’t have to do anything else at home. Qin Anming didn’t allow her to do any other chores. He seemed to have taken on the role of a father.

Xiaoguo continued listening to the nagging. She didn’t feel annoyed at all. All she could feel was warmth in her heart—after all, nagging was also an expression of love.

However, for the sake of Qin Anming’s voice, Xiaoguo interrupted him.

“Look! Spruce trees!”

Qin Anming cleared his throat and looked in the direction Xiaoguo was pointing.

The straight and thick spruce stood upright in the forest. It had an eternal quiet temperament. Under the contrast of the odd-shaped branches around it, it looked even more green and magnificent.

Zhuang Zhuang uttered instantly. “Wow.”

“Mother, look at how straight they are!”

Zhuang Zhuang circled the spruce tree in surprise. Xiaoguo came down from the cart with the ax and walked to the tree. She touched it with her hand and could not bear to cut it down.

The tree trunk was truly thick and sturdy. It might not be easy to cut it down.

Qin Anming took the ax and walked around the trees. When he had seen enough, he said to Xiaoguo, “This area is filled with spruce trees. All of them look very healthy!”

Xiaoguo’s eyes flickered for a moment, but in the end, she made up her mind. “Cut it down!”

Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang to stay further away from the tree. When she was certain that he was out of the range of any falling trees, Xiaoguo then swung her ax with Qin Anming. Taking turns to chop with their axes, one tree quickly fell to the ground.

The two of them continued to cut down the trees. They had thought about it before coming here. In order to build the shed, they would need about eight spruce trunks for the frame. For the rooftop, they just need a few thinner tree trunks. That would be about all they need.

Cutting down trees was a strenuous task. The two of them spent the whole morning cutting the trees and taking breaks in between. By noon, they were able to load all the felled trees onto the donkey cart.

Each time Xiaoguo chopped down a tree, she would trim away the excess leaves and branches. The length of one spruce was as good as having two logs, so they ended up only cutting four.

As the trees were loaded onto the donkey cart, the three of them had no choice but to walk down the mountains. Fortunately, the pathway leading towards their home was not difficult to walk on. After descending the mountain safely, they led the donkey cart straight home.

After unloading the trees, Xiaoguo patted the donkey. It worked really hard. She gave the donkey a bunch of fresh grass as a reward.

As they still had to do manual labor in the afternoon, Xiaoguo decided to make some lunch.

She went to the space and took out the pig intestines she had bought earlier.

Qin Anming went to the kitchen and saw that Xiaoguo was washing a basin of unknown items. The water was murky white and the contents looked disgusting.

Qin Anming wanted to ask what it was, but as soon as he got close, he was assaulted by a stench.

Pinching his nose, he jumped far away. “Xiaoguo, what are you washing?! It stinks!”

Xiaoguo was immune to the smell. Seeing his reaction, she laughed.

“These are pig’s intestines. They smell bad but the taste is delicious.”

Xiaoguo almost drooled thinking about it. Seeing that Qin Anming still had a look of resistance and disbelief on his face, Xiaoguo didn’t say anything else. She would make the dish in a while.

“Let’s cook the rice first.”

Xiaoguo got Qin Anming to steam the rice and she moved the intestines outside to wash.

She washed it several times with salt and flour. When the smell was completely gone, she washed it one last time with clean water.

The pig intestines were put into the pot and boiled until they were partially cooked. Afterwards, they were scooped out and cut into triangular pieces. Xiaoguo then went on to prepare the other ingredients.

There were still three green peppers that she had bought previously. She took them out and cut them into triangular pieces for later use.

Xiaoguo was going to stir-fry some vegetables and make a bowl of loofah soup to help cut the greasiness of their meal.

Seeing that the rice was almost ready, and the ingredients were also ready, she started cooking.

She poured oil into the pot and stir-fried the green peppers in the hot oil. Then, she put in the pig intestines, added some seasoning, and stir-fried everything.

Zhuang Zhuang was serving the dishes today. He tried to smell the intestines. It didn’t smell bad at all. It was really fragrant and not smelly like his uncle had described.

Zhuang Zhuang happily brought the dishes into the house. The remaining vegetables were easy to stir-fry. They were done quickly in hot lard, and the remaining loofah soup was cooked with two scattered eggs and a little salt.

The rice was cooked by now. Qin Anming brought the rice back to the house. Xiaoguo followed behind with the loofah egg soup.

Qin Anming looked at the large intestines on the plate hesitantly. Although they smelled good, they came from the rear end of the pig. It felt odd to put them in his mouth.

Just as Qin Anming was hesitating, Xiaoguo laughed and placed the pig intestines into Zhuang Zhuang’s bowl. Zhuang Zhuang ate it together with some rice.

This stopped the words that were about to come out of Qin Anming’s throat.

Seeing that Zhuang Zhuang was eating happily, he gave up struggling in the end. Qin Anming picked up a piece of the pig intestines and ate it with a crumpled face.

When he took the first mouthful, his eyes lit up. He ended up finishing most of the pig intestines on the plate.