Chapter 11 The Back Mountain There are treasures everywhere in the Back Mountain!
Going further into the mountains, Lin Shu also found traces of bracken and kudzu, and there were quite a lot of them, which surprised her.
When autumn comes, you can make a lot of delicious food with the roots of these two things.
Wait, there are taro?
The stems of this thing are very delicious when used to stew duck and fish after being processed. They are also very delicious when pickled and added to porridge. They can be picked next month!
Needless to say, there are many types of trees. Along the way, Lin Shu has seen pine trees, cedar trees, mulberry trees, tung trees, and locust trees...
As for wild fruit trees, there were even more varieties! Although she didn't see any jujube trees, she saw pyracantha fruit, wild lychees, wild kiwis, and even wax gourds!
The August melon is also called the August fried melon. In August, the fruit will naturally crack, revealing the flesh inside. You can then eat it directly with a spoon. It tastes so soft, sticky and sweet!
The pyracantha and wild lychee flowers bloom early and are now bearing fruit. The petals of the wax gourd are in full bloom, with purple clusters hanging on the branches like grapes, which looks very beautiful.
Lin Xiaopu had been following Lin Shu's gaze. Seeing that she was paying attention to the wild fruit trees, she asked, "Sister, are you looking for wild fruit trees?"
"Yes, my sister loves eating wild fruits the most."
"Sister actually likes these wild fruits?"
Lin Xiaopu was delighted at first, but then his face turned sour. "It's no use finding these. Every year when the wild fruits on the back mountain are about to ripen, the children in the village all scramble to pick them, especially in August. When they are ripe, they are very sweet and sticky. Wang Yingen from the village always encloses the land early and monopolizes these wild fruit trees, not allowing anyone else to touch them. It's never our turn."
"But don't worry, sister. We don't have to compete with them, because Brother Aye will bring back many wild fruits from the mountains, which are more delicious than these!" When she said this, the little girl wiped away her previous dejected look and raised her chin.
Lin Shu couldn't help laughing at his smug look. It seemed Zhou Ye was quite a capable brother.
"It's fun to pick them yourself. Then I'll go and talk to this Wang Yingen you mentioned." She is an adult, and no child can beat her.
Lin Xiaopu shook her head in resistance. Suddenly, she remembered something and slyly approached Lin Shu, whispering, "Sister, I know where there are wild fruits in the back hills. I'm the only one who knows that place. Come with me, sister!"
The little girl looked around and took Lin Shu to a place mysteriously.
It was a hidden small mound with several large rocks blocking the front of it, and behind it was a small bunch of thorny weeds.
Lin Shu took a closer look and saw that it was not a weed at all. It was clearly the golden cherry tree she had been talking about before! However, this golden cherry tree was not very tall and looked like a weed at first glance.
The golden berries have grown out and are still very small. Not only is the tree covered with thorns, but the small green obovate fruits are also covered with small prickles.
"We call this the Sugar Jar. It's not ripe yet, but when it's fully ripe, it'll be so sweet! There's a big patch of it on the other side of the mountain, too, but too many people know about it, so I can't pick it. This is the only place that's hidden."
Lin Shu was also very happy. "I've remembered this place. When the frost comes, we'll come back to pick some. I'll make some candy for you!"
Lin Xiaopu's eyes lit up when she heard this, "Sister, can this sugar jar still be used to make sugar?"
"Otherwise, why is it called a sugar jar? Not only can it be used to make sugar, but it can also be used to make wine." Lin Shu smiled mysteriously, "Wine made from golden cherries is a good thing, and it's most suitable for men to drink."
"Xiao Pu, let's go for a walk in the bamboo forest."
In addition to these wild fruit trees scattered here and there, there are also large areas of lush bamboo in the mountains. You can eat spring bamboo shoots in spring and winter bamboo shoots in winter.
I wonder if I can pick these bamboos at will. If I can, I can chop a few of them and make bamboo utensils. The big ones can be made into bamboo baskets, bamboo benches, or bamboo sofas. After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather will soon get warm, so I can make some bamboo mats. The small ones can be made into bamboo tubes for storage. There are so many things that can be made from bamboo.
Lin Shu asked out of envy.
Lin Xiaopu explained, "Sister, the more bamboo you cut, the more it will grow. That's why the villagers in the back mountain can cut as much bamboo as they want, even to build houses."
"Then why doesn't anyone cut bamboo to build houses?" Lin Shu asked.
"Because it's too laborious, and it doesn't keep you warm in winter. Grandpa Gao is the only bamboo craftsman in Tianshui Village. Anyone who wants a bamboo backpack, winnowing basket, or basket would ask Grandpa Gao to make it for them, paying him grain or copper coins. For every bamboo backpack, he'd have to pay him forty copper coins. All the backpacks used by the villagers were made by Grandpa Gao."
Lin Shu didn't think forty copper coins were too much, because she also knew how to weave bamboo tools. A backpack was a labor-intensive process. A simple one would take five or six hours to make, while a more complicated one might take two or three days. Moreover, if one was not careful, one could get a few cuts on one's hands.
"Sister, what do you want to do with the bamboo?" Lin Xiaopu asked curiously.
"That's too much. Let's take the axe we use to chop wood from home and chop two of them first!"
Lin Xiaopu said seriously, "Even if we cut it down, we can't move it. We have to ask Brother Aye to carry it back."
"These... are just two bamboos, they should be fine... huh?"
Lin Shu thought about how she had lost her infinite supernatural power, and also about the more than ten years she had been spoiled in the Marquis' Mansion, and she fell silent for a moment.
I used to do everything by myself, but now I have to ask others to help me move even bamboo.
However, Lin Shu did not bother about such trivial matters. In her previous life, as a violent and delicate flower, she would pretend to be weak when she needed to. Not to mention that she is a real delicate flower now, so she would not try to be strong.
"Sister, bamboo may look light, but it's actually very heavy. Besides, the axe at home was brought by my brother Aye when he fled the famine. It's his thing. If you want to borrow the axe, you have to ask my brother Aye."
Lin Shu asked casually, "What else did he take with him when he fled the famine?"
Lin Xiaopu thought for a moment and said, "There was a big hammer, an iron pot, and various knives. They looked a bit like the knives in Grandpa Gao's house, but Brother Aye gave all those things away and only kept the axe."
Lin Shu: "...With so many tool knives, he must have been a carpenter or blacksmith before he fled the famine, right?"
Lin Xiaopu shook his head. "I don't know. Brother Aye doesn't like to talk about fleeing famine, so I haven't asked him."
Lin Shu asked a few questions and then stopped, her mind completely on the mountains.
The root system of the bamboo under my feet is very developed, I wonder if there will be -
"Bamboo fungus!" Lin Shu suddenly exclaimed, very surprised.
She was thinking that there might be bamboo fungi in the bamboo forest since its roots were well developed, but unexpectedly she saw a bamboo fungus!
This bamboo fungus was hidden among the weeds in the forest and had already wilted. If it weren't for Lin Shu's sharp eyes, she wouldn't have been able to find it.
Bamboo fungus is very picky about the picking time. It starts growing vigorously before dawn and stops growing at noon. In the afternoon, the spores on the cap mature and begin to dissolve, so it is best to pick it early in the morning.
It must have rained in Tianshui Village the night before, because this thing only grows after rain. After a day, it will almost dissolve. You can eat it after picking it, but it will definitely not be as delicious as fresh ones.
"Sister, are these bamboo mushrooms edible?" Lin Xiaopu asked in surprise. "The elders in the village say that the more beautiful the mountain mushrooms are, the less edible they are. These bamboo mushrooms look really good when they first emerge, but everyone says they're poisonous, so no one dares to pick them and eat them."
There are a lot of mushrooms in Tianshui Village, especially in June and July in the summer, when they sprout in large patches. The villagers can't eat them all, so they pick the ones that are absolutely non-toxic. No one would touch these beautiful mushrooms if they can.
Lin Shu suddenly had a look of heartache, as if she had wasted something. "Do you know what a delicacy you've missed? This bamboo fungus has an amazing texture, so crispy and tender. If you use it to make soup, especially chicken soup, the taste... wow, it's incredibly delicious. Just smelling it makes your mouth water!"
Otherwise, how come the bamboo fungus is known as the "Queen of Mushrooms"?
Moreover, bamboo fungus not only tastes good, it can also be used as medicine. It has the effect of replenishing qi and nourishing yin, concentrating the mind and strengthening the body. It is very nourishing and is just right for Xiaopu to nourish his body!
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