Chapter 168 167: Good things don't work, bad things do

Yang Chunyan said: "We saw that the drugstore was still charging two or three yuan per pound ten days ago. Doctor Xiao Wang said that there is a shortage of magnolia bark this year, so the price will not drop so quickly."

"Oh, oh, what should we do? I'll help you!"

"Pick the flower buds first. If they bloom for another day tomorrow, we will lose a lot of money again." Zhou Huaian said as he took out a sack and tied it around his waist. He inserted the bamboo pole into the sack and climbed up the tree.

Zhou Yiding also picked up one and climbed up a Magnolia officinalis tree.

Yang Chunyan looked at Zhou Huaian who was even more active than her, and suddenly remembered the time when she coaxed him to pick Magnolia officinalis flowers at the beginning, and she couldn't help but smile.

Looking at the Magnolia officinalis flowers on the tree, she felt that there were more blooming flowers than buds. She was somewhat glad that the weather in the mountains was cooler than that in the back mountains, otherwise the flowering period would have been over long ago.

Yang Chunyan looked for a while, picked up the machete and bamboo sticks stuck on the side of the backpack, and went forward to cut the Magnolia officinalis bark.

The trunks of the Magnolia officinalis trees here are not as thick as those in the back mountain, but they are also big trees that have grown for many years.

Before Yang Chunyan had finished harvesting one tree, Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding had already picked the flower buds of three Magnolia officinalis trees.

The two men hung the sack from the tree and climbed up another tree. Soon, Magnolia officinalis flower buds were thrown down from the tree. Dahei and Dahuang thought the two were playing with them, so every time a flower fell, they ran up and barked at the people on the tree.

"Go and lie down, and stop making noise." Zhou Yiding shouted at them, and the two dogs obediently ran to the basket containing the black goat and lay down.

After Yang Chunyan harvested the bark of two Magnolia officinalis trees, she felt that the forest was getting darker. She looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. "Huai'an, it's getting dark. We should go back."

Zhou Yiding also said to Zhou Huaian from the tree: "It's past five o'clock. We have to go back quickly. When it gets dark, the wild boars will come down from the mountain."

Zhou Huaian said with a smile: "We have guns, so we are not afraid of anything. We can just get a few of them when we come!"

"Of course I'm not afraid of two or three wild boars, but can you handle a large group of them?"

"That's true! Go down the mountain, go down the mountain."

Zhou Huaian threw the bamboo pole under the tree and slid down the tree. "Yan'er, did you pick up the flower buds?"

“A little more!”

The three of them picked up the flower buds and put them into sacks. The two sacks were full.

Zhou Huaian looked at the three backpacks and said, "Yan'er, copy the things down, otherwise it will be hard to carry." Then he said, "Oh my god, every time we go down the mountain, we carry more than the cows. I'm going to buy a mule when I go back to carry things up the mountain together."

Zhou Yiding laughed when he heard this, "Oh, Haer! Who is going up the mountain to work, leading a mule with him?"

"There's nothing I can do. I'm just too lucky. I didn't even bother looking for it and I got two more sacks!" Zhou Huaian shrugged proudly.

"It's my Dahei's luck!"

"Haha, Dahei is the hero!"

Yang Chunyan poured out the herbs from the three backpacks and put them together. She also put the Magnolia officinalis flowers and Magnolia officinalis bark from the sacks into two backpacks respectively. Finally, there was a sack of kidney ferns, which Zhou Huaian took and tied to the black goat.

After packing up, Zhou Yiding carried a basket of herbs on his back with two pheasants tied to the basket, two black goats tied horizontally on top, a bag of honeycombs in his hand, and a wooden stick in one hand as he climbed up the mountain.

Yang Chunyan was leaning on a medicine hoe, carrying a basket full of Magnolia officinalis flowers and barks, a hare, two hunting rifles and tools.

Zhou Huaian was carrying a full basket of Magnolia officinalis flowers, a black goat and a sack of kidney ferns. He was holding half a bag of honey combs in one hand and leaning on a medicine hoe in the other, following behind Yang Chunyan.

Dahuang and Dahei went up one after the other, stopping from time to time to wait for the three people. By the time they got down the mountain and reached the forest farm, it was already past seven o'clock and it was completely dark.

Zhou Yiding said, "Youngest brother, how about you guys stay here for one night and go down the mountain tomorrow morning?"

Zhou Huaian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It will be too late to go down the mountain tomorrow morning. I want to take these wild goods down while Huang is shopping and hosting a reception at their guesthouse tomorrow. Maybe I can sell them for a good price."

"Yes!" Zhou Yiding looked at the baskets in the yard and the herbs hanging on the steps. "How can you and your sister-in-law carry so many things? I'll take you down the mountain after dinner."

Zhou Huaian smiled and said, "Of course it would be best if you could send us down the mountain. I'll ask your sister-in-law which ones can be left to dry in the sun, and those that can't be left will be taken down the mountain."

Yang Chunyan came out of the kitchen and said, "The only things that can be dried are fern leaves and ganoderma lucidum. Magnolia officinalis flower, polygonatum sibiricum, paridis, and olive should all be taken down and sent to the medicine shop for processing."

Zhou Yiding said, "Youngest brother, how about this? We can take one black goat down with us, put the other two in the cave, and carry the herbs in sacks down the mountain."

“Yes!”

Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding carried two black goats and walked towards the cave behind the house. "Dingding cat, we will split the money from selling wild animals and honey. As for the money from selling Magnolia officinalis and herbs..."

"Youngest brother!" Zhou Yiding interrupted him, "We brothers have nothing to say. We will split the money from selling wild animals and honey equally, and the money from selling Magnolia officinalis will be divided among the four of you brothers. I will not interfere."

"You've been busy with us all day..."

"Hey~ It's meaningless when you say that!"

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you."

The two men put the black goat and honeycomb away and returned to the yard to collect the herbs.

Yang Chunyan kneaded the mixed noodles and made sauerkraut noodle soup. After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they prepared to set off.

Zhou Yiding locked the door and put on a headlamp. Zhou Huaian and Yang Chunyan each took a flashlight, and the three of them and their dog walked back down the mountain in the dark.

The flashlight shone in the woods, and from time to time, frightened small animals would "whoosh" past overhead, and there would be eerie, desolate and creepy cries like those made by ghosts.

Dahei and Dahuang looked at each other calmly and continued walking forward.

Zhou Yiding picked up the flashlight and shone it in the direction of the screaming. "Fuck, it makes my hair stand on end."

Zhou Huaian glanced at Yang Chunyan in front of him and said with a smile: "What's there to be afraid of? It's not like you haven't seen night owls before."

Zhou Yiding: "This sound is too bad. Even though I know I'm a night owl, I still feel uncomfortable all over."

Zhou Huaian looked at the dark forest ahead and said, "I'm not worried about anything else. I'm just worried that we're carrying such heavy things and it would be troublesome if we encounter wild boars coming down the mountain to look for food."

Yang Chunyan glared at him, "Huaian, you too, it's already this late, and you're still not paying attention when you're talking in the mountains."

"Pooh, pooh, pooh!" Zhou Huaian pouted a few times in embarrassment, "Bad things don't work, but good things do."

Zhou Yiding comforted him: "Don't be afraid, we have enough bullets, just shoot it when it comes!"

At ten o'clock, the three of them came down another ridge, panting, and found a flat place beside the mountain path to sit down and rest.

Zhou Huaian handed the kettle to Zhou Yiding, "Brother, you've suffered a lot with us today. Tomorrow I'll go to Ning'an and bring back some pork belly. I'll ask your sister-in-law to make braised pork for you."

"Yes!" Zhou Yiding took the kettle and took a few sips. "I'll go to your house early tomorrow morning and take my sister-in-law and the others up the mountain to get Magnolia officinalis."

Before Zhou Yiding finished his words, Dahei and Dahuang, who were lying beside him, suddenly stood up and rushed into the woods barking.

(End of this chapter)