Wang Guihua's round face was full of smiles. "Yes, Qin Huai told me yesterday that his daughter-in-law was going to pick mushrooms in the mountains. I happened to be free today, so I took her to see it."
Upon hearing this, a villager living nearby said, "It hasn't rained much these past few days, so there probably aren't many mushrooms left. If you want to go, hurry up, or they'll all be picked clean."
"Alright, let's go then."
Wang Guihua immediately took Qiao Qiqi's arm and quickly walked forward.
The three of them left home rather late. Looking ahead, they saw several groups of people carrying baskets and bags heading up the mountain.
Just as Qiao Qiqi was wondering if the mushrooms had really been picked clean, she heard Qin Huai's voice beside her, "The place we need to go is behind the mountain. It's far away and the road is difficult to travel, so very few people go there."
"That's good." With Qin Huai's reassurance, Qiao Qiqi immediately felt relieved.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the foot of the mountain and began to climb up.
Qiao Qiqi's steps were light at first, but she soon couldn't keep up. She had only climbed halfway up the mountain when her breathing became heavy.
Upon hearing this, Wang Guihua immediately asked, "Do you want to rest for a while?"
Qiao Qiqi shook her head, "I'm fine, let's keep climbing."
She's already resting at the very beginning; how is she going to climb the rest of the way?
Although Qiao Qiqi's body is set in the 1970s, she is pampered by Lin Chunying and Qiao Weiguo, making her a delicate young lady with really poor physical strength. Qiao Qiqi discovered this during her last trip to the black market.
"You're panting because you don't know how to breathe. Try this: inhale slowly and exhale gently. Don't walk too fast, and definitely don't run. Just climb up at a normal walking pace. See if that helps," Qin Huai suggested after observing Qiao Qiqi's movements.
Seeing that he was neither red-faced nor out of breath, Qiao Qiqi figured he must be very experienced since he often came to the mountain, so she immediately did as he taught her.
She quickly noticed the effects.
My breathing is much more stable now, and I'm not as tired as before.
"It's really healed, Qin Huai, you're amazing!" Qiao Qiqi couldn't help but praise.
Qin Huai's face flushed slightly. "It's because you don't go up the mountain often, so you don't understand."
"You know more than I do, you're really amazing," Qiao Qiqi continued to praise.
Qin Huai looked at Wang Guihua with a mocking gaze.
Feeling extremely embarrassed by their stares, she quickly walked forward, saying, "I'll go scout ahead and see if they've picked any yet."
Qiao Qiqi originally wanted to go too, but seeing that he was shy, she didn't continue.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the mountain.
Mushrooms are scarce at this time of year. I encountered many villagers picking mushrooms along the way, but each villager only had two or three mushrooms in their basket, not many.
Qin Huai led the way, with Wang Guihua and Qiao Qiqi following behind, and the three of them walked towards the top of the mountain.
After reaching near the summit, Qin Huai began leading the two around to the other side of the mountain.
The three of them soon arrived at a large stone wall.
Looking up, countless branches hang down from the stone wall, lush and green, creating a magnificent sight.
Before Qiao Qiqi could even see what it was, Wang Guihua had already stepped forward, plucked a lot of green, wild-fruit-like things, and stuffed them into Qiao Qiqi's palm.
"This is a round jujube, a kind of wild fruit. Take it home and let it soften before eating; it tastes good."
Upon hearing that soft ones were edible, Qiao Qiqi immediately picked the softest one and took a bite.
So astringent!
It's both sour and astringent!
It doesn't taste good at all!
Her face scrunched up from the sourness.
When Wang Guihua saw this, she immediately laughed and said, "It's not soft enough yet. It will definitely taste sour. Take it back and let it sit for a while until it's really soft before you can eat it."
"Oh, oh, oh." Qiao Qiqi looked at the fruit in her hand that looked like a kiwi. The inside of the fruit was exactly the same as a kiwi, but the outside was smooth and green.
Like a kiwi, it has a tuft of small hairs on top.
Qin Huai and Wang Guihua each picked a bag of jujubes for Qiao Qiqi, and the three of them continued walking forward.
Soon they arrived at a grove of trees.
Wang Guihua crouched down and went inside for a quick look. She soon came out with two yellow mushrooms that looked like broom heads. She said to Qiao Qiqi, "These are called broom mushrooms. They grow in pine forests, but because it hasn't rained, there aren't many of them in this area."
This was the first time Qiao Qiqi had seen this kind of mushroom, and she had to admit, the name was quite fitting.
She reached out and took it, examining it carefully to confirm its appearance.
“Let’s go through this pine forest; there are red pine mushrooms in the grove ahead. Let’s go this way,” Qin Huai said directly.
Wang Guihua was fine with it, and so was Qiao Qiqi.
The three of them immediately bent down and disappeared into the pine forest.
Soon, Qiao Qiqi saw the broom mushroom.
However, as Wang Guihua said, there were indeed not many mushrooms here. After digging for more than ten minutes, she only picked five mushrooms, three large and two small.
Wang Guihua had more than her, with 11 pieces, while Qin Huai had 8 pieces.
The three continued walking forward, and to Qin Huai's surprise, they discovered that someone else had arrived.
When the three of them arrived, they saw two people picking mushrooms.
Wang Guihua immediately decided, "We'll split up the picking. Qiqi, you go with Qin Huai first to get acquainted with the mushrooms, and then you can pick them on your own."
Qiao Qiqi had no objections and immediately followed Qin Huai.
Soon, she learned about four types of mushrooms: sticky mushroom, red pine mushroom, hazel mushroom, and small yellow mushroom.
After walking for a while longer without encountering any other varieties of mushrooms, Qin Huai said to Qiao Qiqi, "There are probably only these four types in this area."
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