As they ventured further into the mountains, Lin Shu also discovered traces of bracken fern and kudzu root. The quantities were actually quite significant, which made her pleasantly surprised.
Once autumn arrived, the roots of just these two plants alone could be used to create numerous delicacies.
Wait, was that actually taro stalk?
After being processed, the stems of this plant were incredibly fragrant when used to braise duck or fish; when pickled and served with porridge, they were also a masterpiece. They would be ready for harvest next month!
The variety of trees went without saying. Along the way, Lin Shu had already spotted pine, cypress, mulberry, tung, and mountain locust trees…
As for wild fruit trees, there were even more varieties! While she hadn’t seen any raisin trees yet, she had spotted firethorn berries, mountain litchi, wild kiwis, and even “August Melons”!
The “August Melon” was also called the “August Explosion” because, by August, the fruit would naturally crack open to reveal the pulp inside. When that time came, you could just scoop it out with a spoon; the taste was soft, waxy, and sweet!
The firethorn and mountain litchi bloomed early and were already hanging with fruit. The petals of the August Melon were currently in full bloom—purple clusters hanging from the branches like grapes, looking absolutely beautiful.
Lin Xiaopu had been following Lin Shu’s gaze. Seeing her pay attention to those wild fruit trees, she asked, “Big Sister, are you looking for wild fruit trees?”
“That’s right. Big Sister loves eating wild fruit the most.”
“You actually like these rural wild fruits too?”
Lin Xiaopu was first delighted, but then her little face fell. “It’s no use finding these. Every year when the wild fruits on the back mountain are about to ripen, the village children scramble to pick them. Especially these ‘August Explosions’—they are very sweet and soft when fully ripe. Wang Yingen from the village marks his territory early every time, occupying these few trees and not letting anyone else touch them. We never get a turn.”
“But don’t worry, Big Sister, we don’t need to fight them. Brother Ah Ye brings back many wild fruits from the deep mountains, and they taste even better than these!” By the end, the little girl had swept away her previous dejection, tilting her chin up proudly.
Her smug expression made Lin Shu unable to help but laugh. It seemed Zhou Ye was quite a competent older brother.
“There’s a special joy in picking them yourself. When the time comes, I’ll go and ‘reason’ with this Wang Yingen you mentioned.” She was an adult, after all; how could a child possibly beat her?
Lin Xiaopu shook her head in protest. Suddenly, she thought of something and leaned closer to Lin Shu like a little thief, whispering, “Big Sister, I know where there are more wild fruits on the back mountain. Only I know that place. Come with me!”
The little girl looked around cautiously and then mysteriously led Lin Shu to a certain spot.
It was a hidden small earthen slope, shielded by a few large rocks in front. Behind this slope was hidden a small cluster of thorny weeds.
Lin Shu looked closely. These weren’t weeds at all; it was exactly the Golden Cherry—Cherokee Rose—she had been mentioning earlier! It was just that this particular Cherokee Rose tree wasn’t very tall, so at first glance, it looked like a weed.
The fruit had already started growing. They were still very small, and not only was the tree covered in thorns, but even the green, egg-shaped fruits were covered in tiny prickles.
“We call these ‘Sugar Jars.’ They aren’t ripe yet, but they are so, so sweet when you pick them after they ripen! There are some on the other side of the mountain too, a whole patch of them, but too many people know about those, so I never get to pick them. Only this spot is quite hidden.”
Lin Shu was also very happy. “I’ve remembered this spot. When the frost hits, we’ll come and harvest them. Big Sister will boil sugar for you to eat!”
Lin Xiaopu’s eyes lit up. “Big Sister, these ‘Sugar Jars’ can actually be used to make sugar?”
“Why else would they be called Sugar Jars? Not only can they make sugar, but they can also be infused in wine.” Lin Shu gave a mysterious smile. “Wine infused with Cherokee Rose is good stuff, especially suitable for men to drink.”
“Xiaopu, come, let’s go wander through the bamboo forest.”
In addition to these scattered wild fruit trees, there were large patches of bamboo in the mountains. They were lush and green; you could eat spring bamboo shoots in the spring and winter bamboo shoots in the winter.
She wondered if these bamboo stalks could be cut freely. If they could, she would cut a few and turn them into bamboo ware. Larger ones could be made into baskets, stools, or even a bamboo sofa—after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather would get hot very quickly, so she could also make a few bamboo mats. Smaller ones could be turned into bamboo tubes for storage. There were simply too many things that could be made from bamboo.
Lin Shu was covetous and asked the question aloud.
Lin Xiaopu explained, “Big Sister, the more bamboo you cut, the more it grows. So the villagers cut the bamboo on our back mountain whenever they want. They even cut it to build houses.”
“Then why does no one cut bamboo to build houses?” Lin Shu asked.
“Because it’s too much work, and it doesn’t stay warm in the winter. In our Tianshui Village, only Grandpa Gao is a bamboo weaver. Anyone in the village who wants a bamboo back-basket, a winnowing pan, or a small basket goes to Grandpa Gao. You have to give him grain or copper coins. A single back-basket costs forty copper coins; all the baskets used by people in our village were made by Grandpa Gao.”
Lin Shu didn’t think forty copper coins was much. She also knew how to weave bamboo items, and a back-basket took quite a bit of effort—even a simple one took five or six hours, while more complex ones could take two or three days. Plus, if you weren’t careful, you could end up with bloody nicks on your hands.
“Big Sister, what do you want to cut bamboo for?” Lin Xiaopu asked curiously.
“Oh, so many things. We’ll bring the wood-chopping axe from home next time and cut two of them first!”
Lin Xiaopu said seriously, “Even if we cut them, we won’t be able to move them. We’d have to ask Brother Ah Ye to carry them back.”
“This… they’re just two stalks of bamboo, it should be possible… right?”
Lin Shu thought of how she had lost her monstrous strength and then considered the dozen years she had been pampered in the Marquisate. She fell silent for a moment.
In the past, she had carried everything herself. She hadn’t expected that now, even moving a piece of bamboo would require asking for help.
However, Lin Shu didn’t dwell on such small matters. In her previous life as a “violent delicate flower,” she knew how to act weak when necessary. Now that she was a true delicate flower, she wasn’t going to overextend herself.
“Big Sister, bamboo looks light, but it’s actually very heavy. Also, the axe at home was brought by Brother Ah Ye when he escaped the famine; it’s his property. We have to ask Brother Ah Ye to borrow it.”
Lin Shu asked casually, “What else did he bring when he escaped the famine?”
Lin Xiaopu thought for a bit and said, “There was a big iron hammer, an iron pot, and various knives. They looked a bit like the knives in Grandpa Gao’s house. But Brother Ah Ye gave those things to others; he only kept an axe for himself.”
Lin Shu: “…With so many tools and knives, could he have been a carpenter or a blacksmith before the famine?”
Lin Xiaopu shook her head. “I don’t know. Brother Ah Ye doesn’t like to talk about the famine days, so I haven’t asked him.”
Lin Shu asked a few more questions and then stopped, her mind entirely focused on the mountains.
The root systems of the bamboo beneath her feet were very well-developed. She wondered if there would be—
“Bamboo Sun!” Lin Shu suddenly cried out in surprise, overjoyed.
She had just been thinking that with such well-developed roots in this bamboo forest, there might be Bamboo Sun (bamboo pith/fungus), and she hadn’t expected to actually see one!
This Bamboo Sun was hidden among the weeds in the forest and had already withered. If Lin Shu hadn’t had such sharp eyes, she wouldn’t have noticed it.
Bamboo Sun is very picky about its harvesting time. It grows rapidly before dawn and stops growing by noon. By the afternoon, the spores on the mushroom cap mature and begin to dissolve, so it is best to pick it early in the morning.
It must have rained in Tianshui Village the night before last, because these things only grow after rain. A day had passed, and it had mostly dissolved. It could still be eaten if picked, but it certainly wouldn’t be as delicious as a freshly emerged one.
“Big Sister, can this bamboo fungus be eaten?” Lin Xiaopu asked in wonder. “The village elders say that the prettier a mushroom is in the mountains, the more it shouldn’t be eaten. This bamboo fungus looks very pretty when it first pops out, but everyone says it’s poisonous, so no one dares to pick it.”
There were many mushrooms in Tianshui Village, especially during the summer months of June and July when they popped up in large patches. The villagers couldn’t even finish eating them all, so they only picked the ones they knew for certain were not poisonous. They avoided pretty mushrooms like this as much as possible.
Lin Shu immediately wore an expression of pained regret at such a waste. “Do you know what kind of delicacy you’ve been missing? This Bamboo Sun has an incredible texture—it’s crisp, tender, and refreshing. If used for soup, especially chicken soup, the flavor… tsing, it’s supremely delicious. Just the smell of it is enough to make one’s mouth water!”
There was a reason why the Bamboo Sun was known as the “Queen of Mushrooms.”
Furthermore, not only did Bamboo Sun taste great, but it could also be used as medicine. It had the effects of nourishing Qi and Yin, calming the mind, and strengthening the body. It was perfect for nourishing Xiaopu’s health!