Li Ping sighed with particular emotion, saying that this was a little girl with a delicate and rich inner world.
Li Jiabao and his group had already started running around like crazy. This was Li Jiabao's third time visiting western Sichuan, and he was now very familiar with the place, so he naturally took on the role of tour guide.
"This is water celery! It's especially delicious when stir-fried with cured pork!"
Li Jiabao rolled up his trousers and waded in the stream. The cool water flowed between his legs, feeling particularly refreshing.
"Uncle, the bottom of this stream isn't mud!"
Zhang Huan pointed to the pebbles of varying sizes at the bottom of the stream and exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, this is how clear the stream is! Look, you can even see the little fish and shrimp in it!"
Li Ping bent down and scooped up a handful of water with both hands to show Zhang Huan and the others.
"Wow, two tiny, transparent shrimp!"
"Brother, let's pick some tender water celery to take back. Xiao Huan'er, Xiao Liu, and Da Xia haven't had water celery and cured pork buns yet!"
Li Ping especially wanted to share the delicious food with her younger sister and niece.
The idea was quickly accepted by everyone. Li Jiabao stroked his chin and said seriously, "Grandpa has a piece of cured pork belly that has been smoked for two years on the stove. We can eat it this time."
They each carried a small bundle of water celery back to Luo Hongkai's yard, the children chattering excitedly, and Luo Hongkai was overjoyed.
"Come, come, look at the little bamboo baskets Grandpa wove for you! Try them on, and we'll go mushroom picking this afternoon!"
Luo Hongkai put a lot of effort into the bamboo basket he wove this time. He not only split the bamboo strips into very fine pieces and polished them to a very smooth finish, but also wove patterns on them.
It's simply a work of art!
Li Yan, being particularly vain, carried her little bamboo basket and showed it off to her mother, maternal grandmother, aunt, Grandma Jiang, and Doctor Gu, both inside and outside the house. Then, with her hands on her hips, she said proudly, "I'm going to pick mushrooms soon. When I get back, I'll stir-fry some meat for you!"
So, in just a short while, Li Yan repeated this passage five times.
Zhang Huan kindly handed her aunt a glass of warm water, saying, "Drink some water to soothe your throat."
In the afternoon, Luo Hongkai first sprayed insect and snake repellent on the children, and then led the group himself, with Luo Yonggang bringing up the rear, as they went up the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Because there were many children this time, they went to pick mushrooms on a low hill not far from their home.
Soon, they arrived at Luo Hongkai's private mushroom patch. "There are mushroom rings here, you can pick them here! Be careful not to get bitten by snakes!"
Zhang Huan, Da Xia, and Li Yan were picking mushrooms for the first time in their lives. The three of them had serious little faces and began looking for mushrooms with great seriousness and focus.
Of course, each of the three of them had a dedicated teacher by their side. Zhang Huan was with Bai Yulong, Da Xia with Luo Yonggang, and Li Yan with Luo Hongkai. They were responsible for introducing the types of mushrooms, their names, and their tastes to the three of them.
Of course, the most important thing is to tell them what poisonous mushrooms are and that they shouldn't eat them.
Li Yan was the first to open her shop. Luo Hongkai found a cluster of green-headed mushrooms with pea-green caps and tender white stems, which looked extremely cute.
"Come on, first pat the cap to let the spores fall into the soil, then gently break it off from the base, and there you have it, a mushroom has been picked!"
Luo Hongkai patiently taught Li Yan, who eagerly repeated the steps she had just learned and successfully picked one.
She held the green-headed mushroom high and said sweetly, "This is for Grandpa!"
Luo Hongkai's heart melted as he watched the sweet, flattering little girl speak. He immediately took Li Yan's hand and led her to his secret hideout.
Parting a pine needle and withered leaf, a splash of red came into view. "This is a red mushroom. Come on, pick it like this..."
Luo Yonggang chuckled to himself and whispered to Zhao Sufang, "My dad didn't even tell me about this big red mushroom circle, but now he's letting Xiao Yanzi go and pick them."
Li Jiabao sighed dramatically, "Alas, even Grandpa can't resist Little Swallow's flattery!"
Hahaha~
Everyone burst into laughter.
Bai Yulong then spotted a large porcini mushroom with a bulging white, patterned stem and a brown cap. "Come on, we found one too!"
Seeing that Zhang Huan had also picked a large mushroom, Da Xia became anxious. She tugged at Luo Yonggang and said unhappily, "Uncle, we're in last place!"
Luo Yonggang pointed to a spot not far away, "Look, a broom-shaped mushroom!"
Sure enough, a few pink spots peeked out from among the fallen leaves in the distance. Xia excitedly brushed aside the leaves, and a coral fungus sprouted. She asked in confusion, "Why is this different from the others?"
Is it edible like this?
"There are all kinds of mushrooms, so feel free to pick them!"
Picking mushrooms is something that gets more and more exciting the longer you do it.
Everyone quickly got into the zone, forgetting all about talking, their eyes scanning the surroundings like searchlights, not wanting to miss a single mushroom.
Li Xiangdong collected a lot of milk fungus, porcini mushrooms, and dried mushrooms.
"Huh, why haven't I seen any termite mushrooms this year?"
Li Xiangdong couldn't help but drool at the thought of the aroma of chicken oil noodles.
He closed his eyes, sniffed twice, and carefully discerned the surrounding scents.
The damp smell of the air, the smell of fresh trees, the smell of decaying branches and leaves, and the fragrance of unknown flowers...
But after smelling it for a long time, I still couldn't detect the characteristic aroma of termite mushrooms.
This kind of thing is probably hard to come by; if it were so easy to find, it wouldn't be so valuable.
Although there were no termite mushrooms, we found plenty of golden chanterelles, as well as morels with net-like caps...
"Oh my, bamboo eggs here!"
Bamboo Eggs
Bai Yulong suddenly cheered with delight.
Everyone looked over and saw that he was holding something the size of a goose egg, which was brownish, blackish, and also looked white.
What are bamboo eggs?
Li Xiangdong took the bamboo egg from Bai Yulong's hand. The egg still had fresh soil on it, clearly indicating that it had just been dug out of the ground.
He held the bamboo egg to his nose and smelled it; it had a raw, fishy smell. He squeezed it in his hand; it was soft.
"Brother, let me see, are these eggs laid by bamboo?"
Li Jiabao took it and examined it carefully, as if it were a treasure.
Luo Hongkai smiled and explained, "These are bamboo fungus eggs. They'll grow into bamboo fungus when they grow up!"
"Is it safe to eat like this?"
"Yes! Slice the bamboo eggs, rinse them in clean water to remove the fishy smell, and then stir-fry them."
Sure enough, right where Bai Yulong was digging for bamboo eggs, they actually witnessed the process of bamboo fungus emerging from the ground!
Suddenly, the black bamboo egg cracked open, and a dark brown head began to emerge. Below it was a snow-white umbrella handle. When the handle grew to a height of more than ten centimeters, a beautiful gauze skirt suddenly emerged from the dark brown head!
"That's amazing!"
Bamboo eggs turn into bamboo fungus
Bamboo fungus
Chanterelle mushrooms
Morel mushrooms
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