When it comes to "shan shui niu", not many people may know.
Because this cow is not the other cow also. It is not a buffalo ploughing the field, but an insect.
Shanshui cattle, Chinese scientific name: big tooth earth cow, also known as shanshui cattle. Belongs to: Arthropod Phylum, Phytophalmopoda, Insecta, Pteropoda, Coleoptera, Polyphalus suborder, Celestial Calf, Earthhon, Large-toothed Earthhon. Distribution area: Shandong region, Shanxi Jinnan region. The shan shui bull is not a "cow", but an insect! Shanshui cattle is a kind of Tianniu. Their appearance is only similar, but there is no such spot on the star-studded celestial cow. The shan shui ox has six calves, a pair of long antennae, a section by section, a pair of large teeth, biting people is incredible - it hurts!! It is black and red shiny, different from the dark gray and white dots of the Celestial Bull, and does not have the unpleasant smell of the Celestial Bull. Its two wings (outer wings) are not as horizontal as dragonflies, but the kind of wings that have a slight curvature, and its wings are also two pairs, one on the outside is hard and the inside is soft. Its neck has a very hard leathery protection.
Life habits of shanshui cattle: The adult life cycle of shanshui boar is very short, only a few hours. The first heavy rain around the summer solstice, after the rain of thunder and lightning, the heavy rain drilled out of the soil a little, the male mountain buffalo was busy looking for female landscape buffalo to mate, the male phyllox would die after mating, the female was busy laying eggs, and after laying eggs, she would also die quickly. The period is only four or five hours, or even shorter. When the sun comes out, you will have a hard time seeing them.
Eggs are laid in the soil underground, hatched into yellow larvae under suitable conditions, and have been living underground, living by eating grass roots that have grown for many years, such as yellow grass and white grass. Wait until the next year to repeat this process.
When I was a child, every summer solstice, there was a thunder and lightning shower. The rain hasn't stopped yet. We can't hold back. Call on friends, put on a poncho, put on an aluminum pot, and hurry up the mountain.
Why use an aluminum jug that? Because the mouth of the mountain water cow is two claws, the big pliers are particularly powerful, if it grabs your hand, it can bite the blood and die without letting go. It hurts very much. The general plastic bag does not bite it at all, and it cannot be closed. The thick cloth bag is afraid of suffocating it, and when it dies, it is not delicious, its six legs are hooked, and the cloth bag is not easy to pour out when it goes back. So the best container is an aluminum jug. Aluminum pots are lighter than iron pots and easy to hold.
When you get to the mountain, there are early arrivals. Groups of three or five were looking. Mountain cattle are generally in the grass, in the bushes. You need to look carefully, find a quick shot, carefully pinch its back to grab it, put it in an aluminum pot, and cover it to prevent it from escaping. The mountain water cattle locked in the aluminum pot will struggle and swim away. When I grabbed it for a long time, there was a scratching sound in the aluminum pot, and the sound of the second lala was very loud and pleasant.
Most of the people in the grass are female mountain cattle, that is, female, and the mother is the best before laying eggs, like a female crab with a belly seed. Male mountain calves love to fly in the sky and fly around in order to find female landscape water calves to mate. If you want to catch a bull, you have to chase it. Chase quickly, holding a branch in your hand when chasing. Catch up and sweep him down with a branch, better than bare hands.
If you want to catch more mountain cattle, you have to go to places that no one else has searched, you have to run farther and climb higher mountains. And voila! At this time, the mountains are full of friends, shouting, shouting, chasing, running, cheering and cheering.
I was almost exhausted. If the sky is clear and the sun comes out, the mountain bull will disappear immediately. It's hard to find again. Finding one by one is also dead and cannot be eaten. Some were half eaten by ants. The ant-covered landscape cattle look disgusting.
When you get home, pour the shan shui beef into the basin of water to wash, remove the head, remove the hard shell wings. At that time, it was reluctant to fry in oil. Generally fried. Add green onion, ginger slices, large ingredients, salt. Soon the aroma of fried mountain beef will fill the air. Scattered and scattered. Take one, put it in your mouth, and taste it carefully, a word fragrant, especially the female shan hydrangea. A belly of seeds. Chewing in the mouth creaks, creaks. Two words - especially fragrant. That kind of delicacy is rare in the world, and it is difficult to find in heaven. I still remember it vividly. Teeth and cheeks are raw.
Now, for some reason, there are very few mountain cattle.
The conditions are good, and on the rainy summer solstice, there are no children going up the mountain to find it.
And that kind of childhood fun is unforgettable and memorable for a lifetime.