Early in the morning, the mountain mist had not yet entirely dispersed. Jiang Jianguo carried a small hoe on one shoulder and held an old wicker basket in his hand, while his other arm securely cradled Jiang Tangtang. Lin Wanting followed closely by his side with a small basket slung over her arm, her face brimming with anticipation for the mountain trek.
“Tangtang, hold on tight to Daddy’s neck! We’re heading into the mountains today, and I’m going to let you see exactly what your old man is capable of!” Jiang Jianguo spoke with a brand of confidence completely different from his usual lazy self.
Normally, Jiang Jianguo would sneak up the mountain to catch a few wild chickens or rabbits to treat his family of three, so he was quite familiar with the mountain terrain.
“Hubby, slow down a bit and watch your step,” Lin Wanting softly reminded him. Her gaze scanned their surroundings from time to time, entirely focused on identifying wild edible greens. While she wasn’t quite as “expert” as her husband, she could recognize about seventy to eighty percent of the common wild vegetables.
“Don’t worry. I practically lived on this mountain when I was a kid, I know it inside out,” Jiang Jianguo chuckled. The direction he chose wasn’t random; he was heading toward a zone with denser vegetation and potential water sources. “This side gets plenty of shade and the soil is rich. There are lots of good things here.”
Leaning against her father’s broad shoulder, Jiang Tangtang turned her little head around curiously. She stared at the mountain forest as if opening a blind box, eagerly anticipating the surprises it might bring them.
“Look, this is Bupleurum,” Jiang Jianguo pointed to a cluster of plants with tiny yellow flowers. As he spoke, he used his hoe to dig up its roots, shaking off the dirt. “Old Mr. Qi mentioned that the roots of this stuff can be used in medicine. Once dried, it can fetch a few cents.” His movements were nimble as he tossed it into the basket.
After walking a few more paces, he stopped by a sloped piece of land and squatted down. “Hey, not bad luck! There are a few Siberian Solomon’s Seal roots here, and they look decently aged. This stuff is highly nourishing; we’ll keep it to stew some soup for you and Tangtang.” He dug carefully, doing his best not to damage the root systems.
Not too far away, Lin Wanting also discovered a patch of vibrant green shepherd’s purse and was currently bending over to harvest them.
Seeing her mom and dad gather a harvest so quickly, Jiang Tangtang became incredibly excited.
Right at that moment, Jiang Tangtang was drawn to a shrub laden with bright red little berries. The fruit looked incredibly vibrant. She began squirming to get down from her father’s arms. “Berry… red berry…”
Helpless against her charms, Jiang Jianguo smiled and set her down. “You little glutton, these are wild raspberries. They’re very sweet and perfectly edible.” He picked a few fully ripened ones, wiped them against his clothes, stuffed them into his daughter’s hand, and then handed some to Lin Wanting.
Jiang Tangtang happily munched on the sweet and sour wild fruit, her little mouth stained red with the juice. Satisfied, she squatted on the spot, her tiny hands unconsciously brushing away the pine needles and fallen leaves next to her. Suddenly, her fingers brushed against a few hard, cool objects. Curiously, she raked away the thick layer of pine needles.
A few grayish-brown mushrooms with plump caps were revealed. They looked rather plain, yet they emitted a uniquely rich, earthy fragrance.
“Daddy, mushrooms…” She tilted her head up, reporting her discovery in a sweet, childish voice.
Hearing her, Jiang Jianguo turned his head. His eyes fell upon the mushrooms, and he froze for a moment before his pupils dilated slightly. He strode over rapidly, squatted down to examine them closely, and even picked one up to give it a sniff.
“This… this looks like…” His voice trembled with an unbelievable wave of excitement. “Pine mushrooms? But the quality of these is just too perfect, the scent is so intense… Actually, I’m a bit unsure.” One thing he could be absolutely certain of, though, was that this stuff was a premium item and definitely worth a lot of money.
“Wanting, come look at this, quick!” He lowered his voice, unable to conceal his thrill.
Lin Wanting walked over as well and took a careful look. She didn’t recognize them either, but seeing how ecstatic her husband was, she said softly, “They don’t look poisonous, but since we don’t know for sure, how about…”
“Dig them up! We absolutely must dig them up!” Jiang Jianguo made an executive decision on the spot. “Even if we don’t recognize the exact type, with this quality and fragrance, it’s definitely no ordinary produce! Be careful, don’t damage them.” Instead of using the hoe, he used his bare hands to carefully brush away the surrounding soil, successfully extracting five plump matsutake mushrooms completely intact. He wrapped them gently with the soft tree bark he carried and placed them with utmost care at the very bottom of the wicker basket.
“My daughter really is incredible! Just a random scratch on the ground and she uncovers such fantastic things!” Jiang Jianguo was in an excellent mood, and he gave Jiang Tangtang’s hair a vigorous ruffle.
Jiang Tangtang blinked her big eyes, her face sporting a proud little expression that practically said, ‘Yup, I really am that amazing.’
In truth, the very instant her hand had touched the matsutake mushrooms, the system in her mind had already flashed a prompt: [High-value target detected: Wild Matsutake (Quality: Premium). Recycling price: 1,200 Gold Coins.]
This unexpected pleasant surprise gave Jiang Jianguo an immense boost of encouragement. He put even more effort into his search, and sure enough, he managed to find a few more high-quality Siberian Solomon’s Seal roots along with some common medicinal herbs.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the family of three found a flat rock to rest on, munching on the coarse grain flatbreads they had brought along. Once Jiang Tangtang was full, she started getting restless again, picking up small pebbles and tossing them into the nearby bushes.
Suddenly, a sharp, frantic flap-flap-flap and a startled squawk erupted from the thicket!
“Wild chicken!” Jiang Jianguo’s reflexes were lightning-fast. He sprang up like a coiled spring, and without a second thought, he hurled the machete in his hand straight toward the source of the noise! Today, they seemed to be exceptionally blessed by lady luck. A dull thud echoed, followed by an even more violent thrashing sound.
Jiang Jianguo bolted into the bushes with a single stride. A moment later, he emerged holding a wild chicken that was still faintly twitching wild chicken as he walked out, his face completely covered in a smug, triumphant grin. “Haha! We’re having meat tonight!”
Lin Wanting also stood up in pleasant surprise.
Jiang Tangtang clapped her tiny hands happily to celebrate her father’s harvest. Filled with curiosity, she trotted over to the edge of the bushes where the wild chicken had been caught, wanting to take a look at the spot. To her utter surprise, deep within the grass, she discovered a crude bird’s nest with six brown-speckled eggs lying inside.
“Eggs! More eggs!” she cried out in delight once again.
This time, even Lin Wanting couldn’t help but beam with joy. “Hubby, look! It really seems our Tangtang is a magnet for good fortune. Blessings are just piling up one after another! Usually, when we come up the mountain, how could we ever stumble upon this many good things?”
Jiang Jianguo looked at his daughter, his eyes overflowing with pride and adoration. “Didn’t I say so? Bringing my daughter up the mountain was absolutely the right call! She is our family’s little lucky star, our little lucky charm!”
Having secured a wild chicken and six wild bird eggs, this trip up the mountain was a massive harvest. Jiang Jianguo glanced up at the sky with deep satisfaction. “That’s about enough, we should head back. We need to plan carefully what to do with all these things.”
Before they had even begun their descent, Jiang Jianguo was already mapping things out: “We’ll keep the wild chicken and eggs for ourselves to eat slowly, just to nourish you and Tangtang. As for these medicinal herbs and those fragrant mushrooms, I’ll sneak over to Old Mr. Qi in a few days to have him take a look and see what we can trade them for. Even if we can’t exchange them for cash, trading them for some brown sugar or soap would be great.”
His voice was entirely filled with bright anticipation for the future.