Li Xiangdong suggested going to the mountain produce market for a while. Actually, Niu Santiao hesitated a bit. He originally wanted to sell the white lingzhi and then immediately go into the mountains with Lao Cui to trap wild boars.
But since the customer had just bought his things, Li Xiangdong felt a little embarrassed to refuse them immediately.
"Um, that..."
Cui Xinni rolled her eyes at him, "I just can't stand your dawdling attitude!"
She then said to Li Xiangdong, "Dongzi, I'll take you there in a bit! Your third brother is eager to go with my dad to the mountains to trap wild boars!"
Seeing his fiancée speak so clearly and crisply, Niu Santiao immediately grinned with pride and said, "Yes! We're getting married on National Day, and I'll earn even more money!"
When the topic of marriage came up, a faint blush appeared on Cui Xinni's face, and unusually, she did not refute Niu Santiao's words.
After finishing their meal, Li Jin, along with Lao Cui and Niu San Tiao, joined the others to go into the mountains to hunt wild boars. Cui Xin Ni took Li Xiang Dong and a few others to the mountain produce market to see what was new.
Before parting, Li Xiangdong said to Li Jin with some concern, "Dad, why don't you come with us to the mountain market for a while? It's dangerous if you encounter wild boars in the mountains. Wouldn't that be causing trouble for Uncle Cui?"
Before Li Jin could speak, Old Cui handed him a hunting rifle. "Dongzi, don't you know your father's nickname?"
His dad even has a nickname!
"What?"
"Sharpshooter!"
Oh!
Seeing that Li Xiangdong didn't believe him, Old Cui said anxiously, "Dongzi, don't disbelieve me. Your father never shoots anywhere else when he hunts. He only shoots the animal's eyes. The shot goes in the left eye and out the right, without leaving a single scratch on the fur!"
Li Jin waved his hand modestly and said, "That's all in the past, hehehe!"
Li Xiangdong was speechless at his father's seemingly humble but actually smug look. "Then you should be careful, after all, you haven't touched a gun in so many years!"
Although his father taught him marksmanship, he really didn't believe that his father's marksmanship was so amazing!
The group split into two groups.
The mountain produce market is neither too close nor too far from Zahatun; it takes two hours to walk along the mountain road. They arrived at a small open space around 7 a.m.
By this time, the open space was filled with all sorts of mountain products, and the villagers sat behind their stalls, some smoking, others chatting idly.
Although there are many people selling goods, there are not many people buying mountain products.
There were only a few scattered people browsing at the market.
"Hey, brother, sister Xinni, there are so many fruits here!"
As soon as Li Jiabao arrived, he was attracted by the wide variety of mountain products.
On the stall in front of him were several piles of red, green, yellow, and black wild berries, like small mountains.
"Little Ga'er, try as much as you like, and buy more if you like it!"
The owner of the wild fruit stall was an old man in his fifties. He was originally squatting in the corner, but when he saw that Li Jiabao was interested in the wild fruit, he immediately came over to help with business.
Cui Xinni walked over and first picked up a yellow fruit the size of a glass marble, explaining, "This is called a ground cherry. It has a slightly sweet taste. Try it!"
The ground cherry has a pale yellow three-lobed outer skin. Peel off the skin, and the fruit is smooth. Put it in your mouth and chew it. The outer skin is a bit tough, the inside is sandy, with some soft seeds, and it is very juicy. It does have a refreshing sweetness!
"These are called soft dates. When they feel soft to the touch, they're ripe and taste especially sweet."
Cui Xinni picked out a few soft, light green, date-shaped fruits and handed them to Li Xiangdong and the others.
Li Xiangdong took a bite and saw that the fruit had a white soft pit in the middle, surrounded by black seeds.
"This looks just like a kiwi!"
It's just that it's much smaller than a kiwi and tastes sweeter.
The remaining red berries included wild strawberries, red raspberries, black berries (wild grapes, black nightshade), and bunches of schisandra berries.
The four of them ate quite a bit, and the old man watched them with a hearty laugh, not stopping them. "Looks like these young men aren't from outside the Great Wall!"
Cui Xinni nodded, "From Zhao Province."
The old man's eyes widened. "It's near my hometown, Qi Province! Which part of Zhao Province are you from?"
Li Xiangdong said, "Dongfang City! It's next to Yibai City in Qi Province."
The old man slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh my, I'm from Linqi, Yibai City!"
He seemed to see his fellow villagers, and his eyes welled up with tears. He wiped away the tears with his rough hands. "I came from Northeast China decades ago, and I still dream about the millstone and the old jujube tree in front of my old home!"
Li Xiangdong comforted him, "Uncle, trains are convenient now, so come home and visit whenever you have time!"
"Hey, hey, let's go home and visit..."
The old man agreed verbally, but in his heart he was thinking, "Train tickets are so expensive, how am I going to get back?"
Besides, with my parents gone, there's no point in going back.
After eating so much fruit from others, Li Xiangdong and his friends decided to each buy a few kilograms.
The old man used a small shovel to pack fruit for them, saying repeatedly, "Take these and eat them! These were all picked from the mountain, no cost involved, free of charge!"
Faced with the old man's insistence on not taking the money, Li Xiangdong had no choice but to secretly slip the money into his straw hat.
He Chaochao carried a basket of wild fruit on her back, while the others used wild grape leaves to hold their favorite fruits as they walked and strolled.
"Hey, fresh golden grass, it's so hot! Want some?"
"These are genuine hazel mushrooms. Take them home, dry them, and they'll make a wonderful stew with chicken in the winter!"
"Little Ga'er, come here and take a look. I just picked some elm mushrooms from the mountain yesterday. They're amazing for making dumplings!"
"Don't miss out! A fresh female leopard, just pulled from the river, full of roe, braised in soy sauce, so delicious you won't spit it out even if you're slapped!"
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