Chen Hong, with Black Tiger by her side, crossed two mountains and found the rocky cliff in the valley where the tea was picked last year. She discovered that the tea trees there were growing very well this year, with tender green and plump buds, which would definitely produce the best pre-Qingming tea.

Chen Hong glanced at the time and realized it was not yet eight o'clock.

She felt that since there were tea trees in this valley, it was impossible that there were only this one tea tree in the mountains and no other tea trees.

Having enough time today, Chen Hong decided to venture deeper into the mountains to see what other discoveries she might make.

In such a vast area of ​​deep mountains, it's impossible that there aren't any good things that humans need.

Leading Black Tiger, Chen Hong continued forward. The road into the deep mountains was very difficult to travel, and there was basically no road left.

She could only try to find places with sparse trees, squeezing through what she could, and cutting through the brambles where she couldn't, using a machete to carve out a path.

In spring, the mountains of Jiaodong are full of beautiful scenery. Red-calyxed magnolias and pink and white apricot blossoms adorn the valleys, while large swathes of phlox form purple flowerbeds of varying sizes.

As Chen Hong ventured deeper, she encountered secluded streams and ravines, where massive rocks formed over millions of years had appeared. Mountain brooks were covered with knotweed, and purple azaleas bloomed all over the mountains, creating a picturesque and breathtaking scene.

Shooting a blockbuster film here would feel like being in the highest heavens. Standing atop the mountain, gazing at the beautiful scenery, in this season of spring's return, the spring breeze is blowing, and the grass and trees are turning green again.

From a distance, it looks like waves rising from the sea, with green waves one after another, light green, emerald green, dark green, and blackish green, each layer of waves with distinct colors.

The mountains here aren't very high, and after several days of intermittent light rain, they are now shrouded in mist, like a fairyland.

The mountain springs, streams, and waterfalls are crystal clear, like transparent glass, without any impurities. Even the bubbles blown by the small fish at the bottom of the water are clearly visible.

In the fourth and fifth valleys, Chen Hong discovered many wild Chinese toon trees and many two- or three-meter-tall aralia trees, which are what Northeasterners call "thorn shoots" and in Shandong they are also called "bird-not-standing".

Because the tree is covered in sharp thorns, no one eats it, probably because they don't know it's delicious. However, in Northeast China, it's one of the most beloved mountain delicacies.

Chen Hong carefully noted down the terrain of the two valleys, planning to pick all the wild vegetables on her way back. These were gifts from the mountains, and she couldn't let them down.

When they reached the sixth hill, Chen Hong saw that Black Tiger was exhausted. She took out her phone and saw that it was already 12 o'clock.

After feeding Black Tiger some space water and two large steamed buns, and resting for 15 minutes, Chen Hong decided to continue forward.

When they rested in the valley between the sixth and seventh mountains, Chen Hong could already see in the distance that the valley was full of bamboo. This bamboo forest was so eye-catching; it's rare to see bamboo in the north, let alone such a large bamboo forest deep in the mountains.

Bamboo shoots, here I come! The man and the dog quickly climbed down the mountain and went into the bamboo forest. Chen Hong found several varieties of bamboo in the forest, including green bamboo, purple bamboo, cold-resistant bamboo, green bamboo and yellow bamboo, but not the moso bamboo that is common in the south.

This place is full of slender, tall bamboo varieties. As soon as Chen Hong entered the valley, she felt that the temperature was seven or eight degrees higher than in other places.

It's about 27 or 28 degrees Celsius here now, neither too hot nor too cold, just the most comfortable temperature for the human body.

Chen Hong was very surprised. The deeper they went into the mountains, the lower the temperature became. In the previous valley, the temperature was only in the teens.

This valley is only separated from the previous one by a mountain, yet the temperature difference is more than 10 degrees Celsius. There must be something different about it.

Chen Hong remained suspicious and searched the area. When she reached the bottom of the valley, she saw a babbling brook flowing through the bamboo forest.

Wildflowers bloomed on the grassy banks of the stream, and various wild vegetables grew fresh and tender along the banks.

Shepherd's purse, dandelion, sow thistle, lamb's quarters, seven-seven greens, purslane, and wild amaranth all grew plump and tender. Chen Hong squatted by the stream and washed her hands and face.

She seemed to understand why the temperature was so high here; the stream water was very hot, close to 30 degrees Celsius, and it must have come from a hot spring.

She scooped up some stream water and smelled it; there was a faint sulfurous odor. "A natural hot spring!" Chen Hong exclaimed excitedly.

Following the stream upstream, half an hour later, the source of the stream appeared before Chen Hong's eyes.

This is a high cliff face, with a cave entrance about two and a half meters high and one and a half meters wide at the bottom, hidden among lush weeds and bushes.

The entrance to the cave was blocked by a boulder taller than a person. Spring water gushed out from the sides and crevices of the boulder, indicating that there was a cave inside.

It's unclear whether this rock was blocked by human intervention or by nature. If it was blocked by human intervention, that would be interesting; there might be a big surprise.