Chapter 276 I Got Lost My Mother

After returning to the stilted house in the evening, Qin Suisui collected all the medicinal herbs and mushrooms that the children had given her. She had done some preliminary processing after bringing them back last night, and then dried them in the sun today. Now she packed them all into specially made cloth bags and put them into her luggage bag, which was actually her spatial dimension.

Hu Jue returned very late, having not eaten dinner. Fortunately, Aunt Zhang had left him some flatbread. Seeing his dejected look, Qin Suisui comforted him, "Brother Jue, don't be discouraged. We still have to go to Pucha Market, and we'll look for it there. Besides, we have Brother Liang Qi and the others to help us; we're sure we'll find it."

"Oh, by the way, remember to leave your daughter's information with Captain Li tomorrow. If they find out, they can call us."

Hu Jue forced a smile, and the three of them went back to their room to sleep.

The next morning, Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen slept until they naturally woke up. After washing up, they took their luggage to Captain Li's house. After breakfast, Captain Li would drive them in a donkey cart to the city to catch a bus.

Before they even entered, they saw that Captain Li's yard was full of people, all familiar faces—people Qin Suisui had helped treat. Upon seeing them, the crowd immediately rushed forward, carrying their belongings.

"Comrade Qin, these are wild mushrooms that my family dried ourselves..."

"This is ham we made ourselves..."

"These are fresh flower cakes I made this morning..."

"These are wild fruits we picked this morning..."

They shoved everything at once: dried mushrooms, ham, rice cakes, fried chicken mushrooms, wild honey… Qin Suisui was dazzled by the sheer variety. It seemed they were worried she wouldn't be able to carry it all on the road, so each person gave her only a small amount, and everything was relatively lightweight, except for the two large hams.

Qin Suisui couldn't refuse, so she could only accept it "with tears in her eyes".

Fortunately, Qin Suisui's duffel bag was big enough, and she didn't have much stuff herself, so the dried goods could be squeezed out. But the huge duffel bag was still bulging, and if she hadn't smuggled some of it into her space, it probably wouldn't have been able to fit everything.

Before leaving, Aunt Zhang gave Qin Suisui another duffel bag containing the fried chicken mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and mixed mushrooms that she had stayed up all night to press, as well as various Yunnan-style dried meats and pancakes that she had made herself, and some dipping sauces that she had prepared herself for eating mushrooms.

Even Jia Zhenzhen and Hu Jue each received a large bottle of mixed bacteria oil. Although it wasn't as much as Qin Suisui's, neither of them had any objections, knowing that they were benefiting from Qin Suisui's generosity.

Qin Suisui secretly smuggled the items into her spatial dimension, significantly reducing the weight, before the group could climb onto Captain Li's oxcart.

The children and team members stood reluctantly behind the donkey cart, waving goodbye to Qin Suisui and the others.

Tie Dan'er and the other children cried, "Sister Qin, remember to come back and play again!"

"Remember to write to us!"

The atmosphere of parting brought tears to Aunt Zhang's eyes. She held Qin Suisui's hand and said, "Girl, remember to call me when you get back. I'll send you some more mushrooms in a while."

She looked at Hu Jue again: "Comrade Hu, don't worry, we will keep an eye on your matter and call you as soon as we have any news!"

Hu Jue wished he could kneel down and thank him.

Qin Suisui smiled and winked at her: "Auntie, remember to keep an eye on that chipped bowl in the kitchen later."

Under the large bowl, the three of them each put down two yuan. Qin Suisui also put down two bottles of special pills. She had spent the last two days with Aunt Zhang and could tell that Aunt Zhang's left leg had been injured. The medicine she left behind could treat this problem. Of course, she also wrote down the method of consumption and precautions.

The donkey cart set off at eight o'clock in the morning, and after a long and hurried journey, it didn't arrive at Wenzhou City Bus Station until after noon.

Captain Li waited until they bought their bus tickets before driving his donkey cart back.

When it was time to eat, Qin Suisui and the others remembered their terrible experience on the bus a few days ago and decided to skip the meal. The villagers had given them plenty of snacks, so they could just have a bite if they got really hungry. But if they ate too much, they might not be able to hold it in and end up throwing up on the bus, which would be a real problem.

The distance between Wenzhou City and Pucha City is not actually far, but the mountains overlap between the two places, the roads are winding, and the highways are of relatively low grade, so the driving time is relatively long. The driver cannot give an exact time, as it depends on the road conditions, but it will take at least ten hours.

Upon hearing this time, all three men turned pale. To endure a bumpy, treacherous journey of over ten hours on winding, rugged mountain roads—what kind of hellish torture was this?!

But when I thought about the taste of the green tea that Qin Suisui gave me on the train, I felt that I could endure it. These days, tea is a precious commodity. For that whole tea mountain, I'll risk it!

Fortunately, Aunt Zhang was very thoughtful. Before they left, she brewed a pot of perilla, ginger, and mint water for each of them. In addition, the wild fruits such as sour plums that Tie Dan'er and his group of children had picked earlier could help them carry the load.

The vehicle bumped along the winding and rugged mountain road. Qin Suisui and the others chatted for a while before drifting off to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside. The winding mountains looked somewhat menacing in the darkness. Recalling the "illusion" of that night, Qin Suisui quickly drew the curtains and went back to sleep.

Around 10 p.m., the bus finally arrived at the station.

It was already quite late, and the tea garden they were going to was located in a township under the jurisdiction of Pucha City. Qin Suisui naturally felt embarrassed to have them pick them up so late.

They simply found a guesthouse near the train station, slept comfortably for a night, and the next morning, the group headed straight to a nearby state-run restaurant with their luggage.

They ate breakfast at Hongshan Brigade yesterday morning and have been starving ever since. They only managed to eat a few pastries and biscuits to tide them over, and now they all look like ravenous wolves.

As soon as they entered the state-run restaurant, the three of them headed straight for the order window. Qin Suisui ordered the local specialty spicy chicken noodles, along with a plate of Pu'er rice cakes and roasted rice cakes. Jia Zhenzhen, with her large appetite, ordered the same spicy chicken noodles as Qin Suisui, plus a plate of specialty rice noodles and another plate of Pu'er rice cakes. Hu Jue, on the other hand, ordered rice noodles and roasted rice cakes. Despite being a grown man, he ate the least of the three.

They arrived early, and their breakfast arrived quickly. The three of them wolfed it down, still wanting more. The local specialty breakfast in Pu'er City was just too delicious! Especially the Pu'er cakes, which had a unique flavor when paired with Pu'er tea.

After the three of them finished eating, they took the earliest bus to the Chatang Brigade in Chati County.

This time the distance was relatively short. It only took half an hour by bus from Pucha City to Chabei County. When they got off the bus at the bus station, a little girl of about ten years old suddenly came up to Qin Suisui and timidly tugged at her clothes: "Sister, I got separated from my mother. Can you stay with me for a while and wait for my mother to come?"