A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 12 Mountain Goods

Perhaps we should first prepare to plant some "Corydalis," a medicinal herb unique to rural areas. But after careful consideration, that won't work. This herb takes a long time to mature, and it's tiring to search for it in the field by turning over the soil; it also requires a lot of patience.

Zhang Niu racked his brains but couldn't come up with anything, rejecting all his ideas. Finally, he sheepishly left the space. Before leaving, he sowed a batch of corn seeds.

With some free time, Zhang Niu decided to go into the mountains to look for any wild game. After all, it was peak season for wild game to be plentiful in the mountains. Many families in the village used to make their own wild boar traps. The village even organized a wild boar hunting team, but usually, wild boars wouldn't just walk right up to you to hunt; they'd only occasionally hunt rabbits, pheasants, and other small prey. Zhang Niu's family used to have some. However, after the county issued a notice requiring all villages to hand over their wild boar traps, the village's wild boar hunting team naturally disbanded.

Without any earthenware sack at home, Zhang Niu could only grab a wood-chopping knife and a burlap sack. Looking at the "King Kong" beside him, his courage grew considerably. He'd see who dared to cause trouble. He figured that aside from mountain kings and bears, Zhang Niu could probably roam freely in the mountains. After all, he had a formidable attacker.

Before leaving the ducklings, I let them out. The flock of ducklings, just out of the shed, rushed towards the pond. Those who ran too slowly were trampled by the ones behind them. Luckily, Zhang Niu didn't have many ducks. Otherwise, some ducklings might have been injured.

After finishing these tasks, they headed into the mountains. Zhang Niu lived at the foot of the mountain, so the journey was quick; a winding path led directly into the forest. The path was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

In the early autumn morning, the air was already slightly chilly, especially in the mountains. And this was only morning; by eight or nine o'clock, a wave of heat was already hitting.

King Kong led the way, in high spirits at being able to venture into the mountains again, constantly humming and snorting, even pushing against the roadside weeds with an air of eager anticipation. With King Kong ahead, there was no need to worry about any wild animals escaping.

The mornings in the mountains are exceptionally quiet. Breathing in the fresh, earthy air, every pore on my body feels incredibly refreshed. The rural environment is so much better than the big city. Although there's less entertainment, there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had. Unlike the towering skyscrapers of the big city, where everywhere is filled with reinforced concrete buildings, leaving only a few empty spaces for green belts.

Sparrows were startled out of the bushes every now and then, which made King Kong roar incessantly.

Along the way, they discovered many ripe wild plants: wild grapes, wild persimmons, hawthorn, and wild vine plowshares, which many villagers liked. Zhang Niu himself also quite liked them. Wild vine plowshares were the most abundant wild plant in the mountains, found everywhere. Their pale green vines were like symbols deeply etched onto the tree trunks. Without close inspection, the vines were difficult to discern.

Wild vine pears are small. A single vine can produce many, and they taste better than the authentic wild vine pears. They are also much cheaper. During the ripening season, each household can harvest several hundred kilograms, with some earning over a thousand. Freshly picked vine pears are pale green and hard, and quite astringent when bitten. They need to be taken back and placed in rice piles, covered with several old cotton quilts. This allows them to ripen for about a week. At that time, many vendors come to buy them, offering more than one yuan per kilogram. For villagers who farm at home, this is a significant source of extra income.

In the past few years, the Zhang family, father and son, would come up and pick the fruit themselves. Last year they picked a relatively large amount, around 1,200 jin (600 kg). They could pick about 90 jin (45 kg) a day, depending on where they picked it. They would pick even more if they went deep into the mountains.

There are also hazelnuts, also known as mountain chestnuts. The fruit is shaped like a chestnut, with a hard outer shell, and the kernel is plump, white, and round. It has a fragrant aroma, a high oil content, and tastes particularly delicious with a lingering aftertaste.

There's also a type of shrub called "zhazi" (渣子粉), which has small, round seeds. These are dried, ground into powder, and used in summer to make zhazi powder. In summer, you can boil water in a large pot and simmer it until it becomes a thick paste. Then, you can transfer it to a large basin, let it cool, and add water. The next day, you can cut it into small pieces, add a little vinegar and sugar, and it becomes a favorite summer treat for the village children. Almost every household makes it; it's quite effective at cooling off in the heat.

Zhang Niu came to the mountains mainly to pick some vines and take them back. He'd also venture deeper into the mountains to look for orchids, and if he found any, he'd dig up a few to display at home. In the mountains, if you have a good eye, you can find orchids worth thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions, though they require careful nurturing. A while ago, a city dweller spent three days in the mountains and dug up an orchid worth over 50,000 yuan, shocking the entire village. After that, villagers, regardless of their knowledge of orchids, started going up the mountain to take a look. After all, a fine horse is common, but a discerning eye is rare, and the same goes for orchids.

Zhang Niu didn't want to find any rare or exotic orchids; he just wanted to dig up a few ordinary ones.

Today, Little Dot came in handy. Wild vines were everywhere. In some places, they couldn't be picked by hand. Cutting them down and then picking them would be wasteful. Luckily, Little Dot was light and agile, so this was easy for it. It picked the vines one by one and threw them towards the sack. However, it didn't have the shooting accuracy of an NBA basketball shot. Most of them landed outside the sack, which Zhang Niu watched with a look of disdain.

Since they couldn't throw the sacks away, Zhang Niu had to pick them up one by one himself. As for Jingang, it was practically useless; asking it to pick vines or plows was unrealistic. Asking it to crawl through thorny holes was possible, but who would bother crawling through those for no reason?

The sun was high in the sky, its rays filtering through the leaves and creating dappled patterns of light.

With the little one's help, half a sack was quickly filled. However, the little one was so busy that he kept squeaking and protesting the unfair treatment.

After Zhang Niu knocked a few "chestnuts" for the little one, he quieted down. These "chestnuts" weren't that tasty. Artificial "chestnuts" tasted quite good.

He tossed the sack into his spatial storage and then headed deeper into the mountains. Zhang Niu remembered a ginseng plant he'd found by a stream deep in the mountains years ago. It had happened several years ago. As a child, he and a group of wild kids had wandered into the mountains, only to find themselves deeper and deeper into the wilderness. There, in a small valley by the stream, they discovered a secluded paradise.

The small valley was serene, shrouded in mist. Tall, wild grasses added a touch of mystery, reminiscent of scenes from an adventure movie.

First update. Thank you all for your support. I'll shamelessly continue to ask for recommendations and favorites.