frightfiction Chapter 278 Gathering White Lingzhi from the Mountain
Chapter 278 Gathering White Lingzhi from the Mountain
Lu Zhiqiang finally realized what was happening. He stared at Old Zhao for a long time, feeling that he looked familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly, he remembered his father mentioning his second uncle's 62 points at school, and he slapped his forehead, exclaiming, "Teacher Zhao?"
Who can forget Uncle's 62 points? No more, no less, it was all so mysterious. Every time Uncle came back from an exam, he would have 62 points and he would keep showing off. This time, he finally met the real deal.
Old Zhao snorted and said resentfully, "It's good that you remember. My student must be your predecessor. He rolled his eyes and was about to graduate when he still dared to hit his teacher. It's true that even a weasel grows up to be a master. I don't even want to talk about children."
Lu Zhiqiang could only manage an awkward laugh as he chatted with Lao Zhao about old times.
Li Ju'an offered a cigarette to Old Zhao, a mountain dweller, and lit it with a lighter. Song Desheng looked at the harvest in Old Zhao's basket with envy and said, "So many hazel mushrooms! We can make a pot of soup with them later."
It rained a few days ago, and after the spring rain, bamboo shoots sprouted, along with various mushrooms such as hazel mushrooms, monkey head mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and astragalus mushrooms—all harvested from the mountains. The entire shed was filled with the aroma of mushrooms.
Old Zhao, the mountain traveler, perked up as he talked about it, chuckling as he pulled a cloth bag from his basket, opened it, and exclaimed, "These are much better than ordinary mushrooms!"
Several people peered closer and their eyes lit up. It was a golden mushroom.
Around the old mining area, a type of fungus called hairy mushroom grows on the ore bodies after gold mining. The villagers call it "golden mushroom," and it's very delicious. Two years ago, Aunt Zhang went into the mountains with her nephew to collect mushrooms around the old mining area to see if they could get lucky. They actually found some golden mushrooms, which made Aunt Zhang very happy.
These golden mushrooms have an extremely delicious flavor. After being dried, they are stewed with free-range chicken, making it a delicacy that can only be enjoyed during the Lunar New Year.
Li Ju'an had set a trap nearby a while ago. He rubbed his hands together and went out to set the trap. Old Zhao, the mountain dweller, had a strange expression and kept his head down, not looking at him. Lu Zhiqiang was all too familiar with that look. Back then, that five-guarantee household member in the village who stole traps and wire ropes had the same guilty look, too ashamed to look people in the eye.
Lu Zhiqiang's fiery temper flared up instantly. He picked up some firewood, slammed his fist on the ground, and shouted, "Stealing our traps? Damn it! What kind of people are they? No wonder we've been having such a bad time setting traps lately."
He spoke very rudely, which angered Old Zhao, who shouted, "How dare you talk like that, kid? What do you mean you set a trap? Which eye of yours saw it?"
Lu Zhiqiang smelled the aroma and ran to the back of the shed. Sure enough, he saw a big pot of chicken soup. He was so angry that his face turned red and his eyes widened. He said, "They haven't even stolen it yet. The steel cable is already lying here."
A large pot of rich pheasant soup was stewed by Sha Banjin. Sha Banjin's tender and smooth chicken, paired with local golden mushrooms and hazel mushrooms, had an irresistible aroma. Originally, Lao Zhao wanted to hide it, but when Lu Zhiqiang lifted the lid of the pot, the delicious aroma of the chicken soup kept wafting into people's noses, impossible to ignore.
Several people stared at Old Zhao, and Li Ju'an even opened the steel cable and placed it in front of him. Only then did Old Zhao lose his temper and say in a muffled voice, "Anyway, I just picked it up. What do you say we do with it? It's already been stewed."
If he can stew one, there are likely several more that haven't been discovered yet. Hunters often encounter this situation when they go into the mountains to set traps, only to find their prey gone a few days later when they check the traps. Sometimes the prey is dragged away by carnivores, such as lynxes or leopards, and sometimes it is spotted and picked up by local villagers who are out hunting or running around in the mountains.
However, since the corners under the snares are mostly hidden, the number of animals that can be picked up is not large, so hunters are used to it and don't mind. As long as it's not a big catch like a large pelt, they'll just pick up pheasants, leapcats, and the like.
Li Ju'an glanced at Old Zhao, not intending to let him off so easily. He offered him a cigarette and said, "Uncle Zhao, this chicken soup is delicious, and we're all exhausted. The steel cable wasn't cheap."
Old Zhao, the mountain dweller, had already stood up, angrily trying to kick them out. Hearing that he still wanted to pursue the matter, they quickly sent them away. Li Ju'an pointed to the steel cable and said, "Do you know how much this thing costs? Just this section, 1 meter, is 5 yuan."
He held up a five, and Song Desheng next to him nodded and said, "The forest farm charged 25 yuan for 5 meters. This steel cable is really hard to buy; you can't just buy it if you have money."
Old Zhao, the mountain dweller, turned a little green upon hearing this. This kid was going to take him to the police station, and he absolutely couldn't go. He used to be a teacher and knew the importance of knowing when to stop. He took out half of the fresh golden mushrooms, hazel mushrooms, monkey head mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, astragalus, and tender spring bamboo shoots he had picked, stuffed some into the hands of the group, and said, "Sit down and eat together."
Li Ju'an had collected a bagful of mountain produce; that was enough, and pursuing it further would seem petty. The group gathered around a large pot of fragrant pheasant soup, devouring the chicken and hazel mushrooms, quickly emptying the broth. They also brought sticky rice cakes, steamed buns, and cornbread—the dry rations they'd brought—which they heated up over the fire and ate with gusto, thoroughly enjoying the delicious meal.
Song Desheng patted his stomach contentedly and let out a hearty burp: "This mountain chicken soup is amazing, it's so delicious I could swallow my tongue."
Old Zhao then pointed out several nearby hills to the group. He pointed out in detail which hills had wild grapes and pine trees.
Li Ju'an handed over a pot of deer blood wine, which Old Zhao gulped down in a few big mouthfuls. He became dizzy from the alcohol and started talking non-stop, gushing out all sorts of good things.
"On that mountain with the dragon's spine, the wild Ganoderma lucidum is very beautiful in autumn. The people in our area call it white Ganoderma lucidum. You have to find rotten birch trees. But it's rare. You can run up the whole mountain and look for ten thousand birch trees. If you can find one or two trees with this rare thing, you're lucky if your ancestors burned incense for you."
Song Desheng was in a hurry to climb over several hills to reach the fifth ridge of Longjibei near Wangxingtun. Li Ju'an quickly grabbed him and shouted, "What's the rush? Lingzhi can only be harvested in August or September."
Song Desheng grew anxious and said, "The Ganoderma lucidum will be fully grown in forty or fifty days, and there are good ones in the spring too. If there weren't already Ganoderma lucidum, would Uncle Zhao have said that?"
Lingzhi mushrooms grow in both spring and autumn, with the main growth concentrated in August. In autumn, mushrooms, wild grapes, water grapes, pine cones, and other plants on the mountain ripen. Autumn harvests are more plentiful. But spring harvests are equally bountiful. If everyone were to roam the mountains searching for lingzhi in autumn, Song Desheng believed that if he were slow, he would definitely lose out to the group of women who chatted and went into the mountains every day.
Song Desheng excitedly shouted, "Li Ju'an, what are you waiting for? If you can pick the white Ganoderma lucidum, you can make a fortune by selling it at the market."
Lingzhi is expensive. If you can find wild lingzhi, especially white lingzhi, it's considered a spiritual lingzhi by merchants from the south. The price depends on its quality, and some can fetch up to 100 yuan.
Merchants from the south often say that only one or two out of ten thousand birch trees have this thing, which shows how precious white Ganoderma lucidum is.