"Mother, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later. Don't wait for me for lunch." Pei Yao stood on the threshold of the courtyard, one foot on it, bending over and rolling up her trouser leg.
In the morning, the grass is tall and the dew is heavy on the country roads, and it's easy to get your pants wet while walking. Pei Yao doesn't like that feeling of her pants sticking to her legs and feeling damp.
Upon hearing this, Pei Yichen and Pei Xuan immediately ran out of their room.
"Sister, Xuan'er wants to go too."
"Cousin, let me help you carry your things."
When Pei Yichen came out, he instinctively picked up the largest basket from the ground, carried it on his back, and followed.
Pei Yao glanced at the two of them. Since she didn't plan to go deep into the mountains anyway, she could take Pei Yichen with her. Although the boy was young, he was quite strong. But Xiao Xuan'er was still too young. Pei Yao was afraid that she wouldn't be able to walk far and would make a fuss about being carried or held.
Moreover, the little girl was too young, and Pei Yao was worried that the mountain path was difficult to walk on and that she might fall again.
So Pei Yao squatted down, took Xiao Xuan'er's hand, and patiently explained to her that not only was the mountain road difficult to walk, but there were also many caterpillars and other insects, and the most terrifying thing was that she might encounter snakes.
Tell her to stay home obediently, and I'll pick some delicious wild fruits for her later.
When Xiao Xuan heard that there were insects and snakes, she immediately shrank back in fear and stopped fussing about going with them.
"Then I won't go. I'm terrified of bugs. I'd rather go play with Brother Cong. Sister and cousin, please be careful when you go up the mountain."
"Good girl." Pei Yao rubbed the little girl's head, and the little girl looked up, blinking her big eyes at her, very obedient.
Yunniang also came out from the inner room: "Yao'er, where are you going?"
Pei Yao: "Let's go up the mountain and see if there are any wild vegetables or fruits."
Yunniang, still a little worried, advised, "Then don't go too far. Just wander around the nearby mountains."
Pei Yao nodded, and then set off with Pei Yichen.
The siblings still plan to go to the mountain behind Fanlazi Slope, which is opposite their home.
Pei Yao had observed the hill over the past few days and found that it faced the sun directly. Fruit trees should all prefer sunlight, so there was a high probability that there were fruit trees on this kind of hill.
At least when she was a child, the fruit she picked was always bigger in sunny spots than in shaded spots.
However, these were just Pei Yao's guesses, and she wasn't sure what the actual situation was, so she could only go up the mountain to take a look first.
The mountain path was difficult to walk on after the rain. The two walked up the hillside, which was almost entirely covered with chili trees with no other fruit trees, so they went around the hillside and walked up the mountain behind it.
Pei Yao used a machete to cut two thick sticks in the woods at the foot of the mountain, one for herself and one for Pei Yichen.
As you walk, tap the grass in front of you and on both sides with a stick. This will not only scare away any snakes, but also serve as a hiking stick.
Most of the fruit on the outskirts of the forest had already been picked, so Pei Yao and her companion continued upwards.
When Pei Yao was a child, her favorite thing to do was to go up the mountain to pick all kinds of wild fruits. Every year in July and August, the fruits on the mountain are at their most abundant.
Going up the mountain at this time of year always yields a rewarding experience.
However, this was Pei Yao's first time going up the mountain to look for wild fruits, so she didn't know what kind of fruits were growing there.
I figured I'd just pick whatever I recognized later.
Soon, Pei Yao saw several wild... trees below a mountain bend. She wasn't sure if they were banana trees or plantain trees because they were a bit far away and she couldn't see them clearly.
But when she looked down, she saw a string of wild charcoal hanging on the tree.
That bunch of wild chards doesn't look ripe yet; from here, the whole bunch is a vibrant green.
However, Pei Yao was not discouraged. These green wild bananas would ripen in a few days if she took them back and placed them in a cool, ventilated place.
Pei Yao used to love eating soft and sweet fruits like bananas, so she ordered a box of bananas online. However, when she received the package and opened it, she found that they were all green and hard, making them inedible.
Pei Yao was so angry that she went directly to question the merchant. Fortunately, the merchant didn't argue with her and patiently explained that the bananas were sent in a green color to prevent them from spoiling during transportation. The green bananas would naturally turn yellow after a few days once they arrived at home.
Pei Yao's eyes lit up as she looked at the bunch of bananas below the mountain bay.
Pointing excitedly to the string of wild bananas, she said to Pei Yichen, "Cousin, look at those wild bananas. I wonder if they taste like bananas."
Pei Yichen looked in the direction Pei Yao pointed. He had never seen a wild charcoal before and didn't know what it was, but judging from his cousin's reaction, it must be something good.
Pei Yao walked down the path on the slope next to the mountain bend. It was clear that people had walked this path before, but because of the recent frequent rains, no one went up the mountain, and the weeds around the path grew wildly.
Pei Yao had to use a stick to sweep away some of the grass before she could take a step.
This kind of long grass is very sharp. When it cuts you, you only feel an itch at first, but then it stings and is very uncomfortable.
The two siblings walked slowly and laboriously along the path for a while before reaching the wild charcoal tree. Pei Yao looked up at the fruit on the tree.
The whole bunch was almost entirely green, with only a few ripe ones at the bottom, their golden yellow color making Pei Yao's heart itch; she couldn't wait to take a bite.
"Cousin, these fruits are so tall, you can't reach them, can you?"
Pei Yichen looked up at the banana tree in front of him, and his lips twitched slightly.
The trunk of this wild charcoal tree was tall and thick. He touched it, and the trunk was long and slippery. How could he possibly climb it?
Pei Yao naturally knew that climbing the wild scorched tree to pick the fruit was highly unlikely.
The only way to cut the tree down is from the bottom.
When Pei Yao was a child, there were wild banana trees in her village, but due to the climate, even if bananas grew there, they were small, never grew big or turned yellow, and tasted very bitter and numbing.
So the banana trees and the bananas that grew there would be cut down by the villagers, chopped up, and used to feed pigs, while the tender banana hearts in the middle of the banana trees would be used to stir-fry vegetables.
However, in that era of abundant resources, it was rare to see people eating banana hearts. They were mostly used to feed pigs, or were eaten by some food vloggers during live streams.
It's still quite rare to eat it on ordinary days.
The banana tree is an annual herbaceous plant that can grow very tall after a rain, and it also grows longer the more it is cut down.
Therefore, Pei Yao pulled out a wood-chopping knife from the rope at her waist without any remorse.
She raised her knife and swung it at the wild scorched tree. Unlike other tree trunks, the trunk of the wild scorched tree was not solid, but made up of small, mesh-like structures. So, after a few slashes, the trunk was almost completely cut off. Pei Yao told Pei Yichen to stay away.
After he retreated to a safe place, Pei Yao used her foot to break the remaining part in the opposite direction.
After the wild charcoal tree fell, Pei Yao, holding a knife, walked towards the string of wild charcoal with Pei Yichen.
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