Chapter 389 Mountain Village

Xia Zhizhi curiously chatted with the two of them for a while.

I learned from the older girl that her family lived at the foot of the mountain. Her name was Huaer and she was thirteen years old. Her younger sister was Yezi and she was eight years old. She had another younger sister named Tengteng and she was just four years old. Her youngest brother was Guoguo and he was just two years old.

Live off the land, the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune here buys mushrooms, and the price for some rarer mushrooms is quite good. If you are lucky, you can earn a nice extra income every year during the mushroom season.

The little girl brought her sister up the mountain. They were lucky today and found valuable species. They were reluctant to leave and delayed their descent. In addition, it had rained and the mountain road was slippery at night, making it inconvenient to walk. It would be bad if they accidentally fell into a ditch.

So I came to this cave to take a rest.

When she first came in, she thought Xia Zhizhi was so beautiful. She had never seen anyone so beautiful before, so she thought she was a goddess.

Speaking of this, Xiaohua felt a little embarrassed. She glanced at Xia Zhizhi secretly again and her ears turned red.

The little girl is rather simple. It is true that children from poor families become head of the family early on, but they are only responsible for housework and have no experience or knowledge.

She only thought that Xia Zhizhi was pretty and dressed beautifully. She could not tell that Xia Zhizhi and Ah Ju's clothes were very different from those of the mountain folks who went up the mountain to pick mushrooms.

Xiaohua believed what Xia Zhizhi said about going up the mountain to pick mushrooms. After all, what else could one do in the mountain if not to pick mushrooms?

So I extended an invitation enthusiastically.

"I know which supply and marketing cooperative has the highest purchase price. Let's go to that supply and marketing cooperative to exchange mushrooms tomorrow!"

Xia Zhizhi didn't explain further and just smiled and nodded.

Xiao Yezi had already squinted her eyes and started to yawn. Xia Zhizhi asked Ah Ju to move the bonfire to the side and said to the two girls, "There is some dry grass over there. Go get some and spread it on top. You can sleep on it and you won't catch a cold."

Xiaohua happily brought a bunch of dry grass over and spread it on the place where the fire had just roasted, then covered herself with her dried coat. The child grew up, and Xiaohua hugged her sister and fell asleep soon.

Xia Zhizhi looked at the two sisters who fell asleep soon, and asked Ah Ju to get a blanket to cover them.

Normally she would go back to her space to sleep, but there were people here, so she asked Ah Ju to set up a tent in the cave, and then she went back to her space to wash up. After washing up, Ah Ju made a bed for her, and she slept in it happily.

Xia Zhizhi woke up early the next morning. After all, she was an adult. She usually stayed in bed all the time, but if there was something important, she could get up early if she wanted.

She put the tent and some other things into the space, washed up, and made a pot of mushroom soup for breakfast. As soon as the soup was cooked, the two little girls woke up one after another. Xia Zhizhi shared breakfast between them.

After eating and drinking, the group prepared to go down the mountain.

The two little girls each carried a backpack.

Xiaohua saw Xia Zhizhi walking empty-handed and empty-footed, and there seemed to be no mushrooms in the big bag that Ah Ju was carrying. She couldn't help but ask, "Where are the mushrooms you picked?"

It was dark when Xiaohua and her sister came in yesterday. They didn't bother to look around and really didn't notice how many mushrooms Xia Zhizhi had picked.

Xia Zhizhi naturally couldn't sell the mushrooms she had picked with great effort, so she just said, "I didn't pick many, I ate them yesterday."

Xiao Yezi was a little surprised: "Did you eat it all?"

Xia Zhizhi had no psychological burden, and calmly nodded to deceive the child: "Yes!"

Xiaohua had a face full of indescribable expressions. She hesitated for a long time, thinking about how she had eaten so many meals at other people's restaurants. She reluctantly shared her treasure trove of mushrooms: "There are more mushrooms in the area under the pine forest on the northwest slope. You can go there to have a look next time."

Xia Zhizhi probably wouldn't come here again, but she nodded anyway: "Okay, I'll go there and take a look next time."

A few people walked down the mountain, and halfway down the mountain, they met some villagers who were going up the mountain to collect firewood.

They all knew the small flowers and leaves, and greeted them with a smile.

The southern dialect was really difficult to pronounce and was not much different from a foreign language. Xia Zhizhi had to rely on guessing to barely make out what everyone was saying.

Xiaohua and Xiaoye's home is at the foot of the mountain. There are thirty or forty households in the whole village. Most of the houses are made of wood and are scattered everywhere. There are also some terraced fields scattered around.

There are relatively few arable lands in the mountains, and all the slightly flat lands have been reclaimed. There are no main roads, so everyone walks along the paths along the ridges of the fields. If you meet someone carrying water or leading cattle on the opposite side, you have to find a place to pass by, otherwise you won't be able to pass.

Xiaohua pointed to a house with smoke coming out of it and said to Xia Zhizhi, "That's my home!"

Xiaohua and Xiaoye did not go home last night, so they had to go home first to report their safety to their parents. They invited Xia Zhizhi to visit their home, but was rejected.

The two children returned home, while Xia Zhizhi and Aju walked towards the commune.

They thought this place was the foot of the mountain, and it should be flat below, but they didn't expect there were more mountains further down...

The commune was also rather simple, with only a small two-story brick building. The walls were painted with an old-fashioned texture, and there wasn't even a courtyard wall. Inside, the office and the supply and marketing cooperative were next to each other.

Xia Zhizhi went into the supply and marketing cooperative and took a look. She saw that most of the room was used to store the purchased mountain products.

There were only two rows of counters selling things, and the goods inside were sparse, consisting of daily necessities, needles and thread, matches, oil, salt, sugar, and the like.

Xia Zhizhi went to the cafeteria to take another look.

There weren't many types of breakfast, but there was mushroom noodles, so she ate a bowl without hesitation.

Only a little salt is added for seasoning, and the amount of oil is negligible. A handful of chopped green onions is sprinkled on top.

Restaurants in the north often have noodles, which are all handmade. In the south, few people make noodles by hand. When it comes to eating noodles, these days everyone defaults to eating dried noodles.

Rice noodles can be considered as the noodles of the south. Old rice is not tasty when cooked into rice, but it is very suitable for making rice noodles. Because there are no additives, it is not as chewy as the later rice noodles, but it still tastes good.

After finishing her second breakfast, Xia Zhizhi strolled around and took some photos. She also went to a nearby villager's house to exchange sugar for a piece of aged ham.

Two families saw her holding a camera and came up to ask her if she was a photographer and how much it cost per photo. They wanted to take a photo for their sons and grandsons as a souvenir.

There is no place to take photos in the village. If you want to take photos, you can only go to the city. Xia Zhizhi has asked around and it is about eighty miles from here to the county town on foot.

There was no way to take a car, so the only option was to walk. The mountain paths were winding, and even a wheelbarrow couldn't be pushed up in many places. All the loads had to be carried by manpower or animals.

It is not easy to go to the city. When seeing people with cameras, some people will actually spend some money to take a few photos.

Xia Zhizhi didn't plan to stay here for too long and coldly rejected their request to take a photo.