Chapter 189 188. This isn't mushroom picking, it's head picking (double update to make up for yesterday's)
There are mushrooms in every mountain.
Sanlihe Village is surrounded by mountains, with pine trees and bamboo forests, and there are many mushrooms. Every time after the rain and the leaves fall, it is a good time to pick mushrooms.
The mushrooms are a riot of colour, some vibrant and vibrant, others dull and inconspicuous. Some are as large as a face, others as small as a needle tip. Some live in groups, while others prefer to be solitary, sleeping on their own beneath fallen leaves.
Mushrooms are delicious but some are also highly poisonous.
Brightly colored mushrooms can be harmless and delicious, while gray fungi can be deadly assassins. It's difficult to tell them apart for those who aren't familiar with them.
When Lei Li and Zhou Yi went up the mountain, they saw several little girls carrying small baskets on their backs, using small wooden sticks to dig and poke for mushrooms. There were already some mushrooms in the baskets.
He took a look and saw that most of them were red mushrooms, rice soup mushrooms and a few porcini mushrooms.
This felt quite novel to him.
In the past, not many people from Sanlihe Village went up the mountain to pick mushrooms. It was almost only him, Mr. Miao, Dr. Niu, and a few elderly people.
The latter are rarely seen picking, and what they pick are basically mushrooms and black fungus.
Someone in Sanlihe Village died of mushroom poisoning after eating mushrooms. Before the body was sent to the county town, he met the Earth God. Therefore, people in the nearby villages rarely pick and eat mushrooms.
——Even the most common wood ear mushroom is not necessarily picked and eaten by villagers, because the wood ear mushrooms grown on certain trees may also produce harmful toxins.
Miao Fulang was married from a village farther away.
Identifying mushrooms is a skill his mother taught him and it is also his livelihood. He would not teach it to others for no reason, so he is the one who mostly goes up the mountain to pick mushrooms to sell in the village.
If the villagers want to eat wood ear mushrooms or other fungi, they will buy them from Miao Fulang.
certainly.
There are also people who are always cautious and cherish their lives, and refuse to eat a single bite of those colorful mushrooms. They only stir-fry the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms that are generally recognized as harmless.
However, Miao Fulang no longer needs to make a living from mushrooms, so there is nothing wrong in teaching the children in the village to identify mushrooms. It can also prevent children from eating mushrooms out of curiosity.
This is what teachers teach in a serious school, and they even get paid for their lessons.
Master.
Miao Fulang had never thought that he would become a teacher one day.
For the illiterate villagers, most of whom cannot read or write, this is a profession that is highly respected and even revered. Some people even feel nervous and at a loss when talking to educated people.
The same is true for Miao Fulang.
After he returned to the village, Zhang Daqiang worked in the family's fields. He did some housework every day, picked up Xiaobao from school, mended clothes, and embroidered new clothes.
However, Zhang Daqiang is busy and impatient, and he is not idle at home. He just sits down and says a few words before running to chop wood and fetch water. He can also go out to pick vegetables and pick up his children on the way.
all in all.
Miao Fulang was sometimes so relaxed that he was a bit bored. When Liu Xiaocao found out, she said without hesitation, "Don't you know how to identify mushrooms? You can go to the school and be a teacher."
"I?"
Miao Fulang was a little panicked when he heard this, and smiled a little stiffly, "How can I be a teacher..."
"Why not?"
Liu Xiaocao glared, disagreeing strongly. "Sanliuzi's mother can go to school to teach her children how to sew clothes, but you're the only one in the village who can identify mushrooms. If you can't do it, who can?"
"Doctor Niu doesn't know as much about mushrooms as you do. Doctor Niu has gone to school to teach children."
"But Dr. Niu is a doctor..."
"What's the matter?"
Liu Xiaocao said confidently, "Look at how successful your little treasure is. He can even teach his first-grade brothers and sisters to read. Why can't you, as a father, do the same?"
Liu Xiaocao always has a mysterious self-confidence that "others can do it, so why can't I?" and she blindly believes in others. Occasionally, Zhou Yi suspects that Lei Li's current arrogance and strength are partly due to Liu Xiaocao's blind praise.
He always feels that others succeed but he fails because he does not have the conditions and opportunities. If he had them, he would succeed too. Even if he has no conditions, he will force himself to take the opportunity.
The same goes for his friends.
——Never mind, just do it first. Whether it succeeds or not is another matter. If you fail, just pretend he didn’t say anything.
Miao Fulang was still a little hesitant. He had never been a teacher or taught anyone, and he was worried that he would mislead the students.
But Liu Xiaocao said:
"——Just think about it, Xiaobao would be so happy to see his father become a school teacher!"
Miao Fulang became the boss.
After Lei Li knew about this, he agreed with Liu Xiaocao's statement and seriously encouraged Miao Fulang, although the last two sentences seemed a bit unserious.
"Once my little ginger has stolen all your knowledge, he will be able to work like a slave for his father picking mushrooms. Picking mushrooms for his father every day will be a wonderful life~"
I don’t know whether it’s the beauty of the young Jiang or the beauty of this “exploitative landlord” father.
At that time, Miao Fulang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
He was meticulous in his work and even more careful in his teaching. After teaching the children to recognize some common edible and poisonous mushrooms, more people came to pick mushrooms in the mountains after the rain.
These girls were obviously students who had taken Miao Fulang's class. Lei Li had never seen them come up to pick mushrooms before.
"A-Miao also taught me how to identify mushrooms."
When Lei Li saw these young and tender faces, he couldn't help but recall some things from the past.
"At that time, A-Miao and that jerk Niu Dali hadn't divorced yet, and he was always bullying her when she was with the kids. Sometimes I would help him out when I saw him."
"It was just a small thing like giving me a bunch of greens and beans and helping to look after the children. But A-Miao felt that there was nothing she could give me in return, so she taught me to recognize mushrooms—"
As he spoke, he snorted softly, with a hint of resentment and regret, "Sometimes when I get angry, I beat Niu Dali to vent his anger and warn him."
"But I was still an unmarried boy at that time. If I kept beating up a married man from another family, there would be some unpleasant rumors in the village, and it would also be bad for A Miao, Xiao Bao, and my parents' reputation."
"I have to control myself. I can't keep hitting Niu Dali, and I can't hit him too hard. Otherwise, he will be so angry that he won't dare to bother me, but will pick on A Miao instead."
But obviously.
Lei Li's expression and tone seemed to say, "Tsk, I was too young back then. If I had known, I'd have beaten Niu Dali harder. Beat him to death and he'd behave himself."
Zhou Yi hugged him comfortingly and kissed the corner of his lips. His husband liked this kind of intimate gesture.
really.
Lei Li's expression softened and became happy.
Zhou Yi said, "It's over now. We need to move on. Niu Dali has tasted the bitter fruit, but Miao Fulang and Xiaobao's lives are getting better day by day."
"really."
Lei Li nodded refreshed.
After divorcing Miao Fulang, Niu Dali received a huge sum of twenty taels of silver. At that time, his family was penniless and relied entirely on Miao Fulang for support. Twenty taels of silver was indeed a windfall, so he looked down upon the petty gambling and fighting of a few cents he had made before.
He started gambling with small amounts of money and made a small fortune, which made him arrogant and he fell in love with alcohol and women.
Long-term gambling will not last long.
Niu Dali lost everything he had and still owed debts. Before he could return to the village to steal Xiaobao and sell it, he was beaten to death on the street by debt collectors. Repaying debts is a matter of course, and the county government would not care even if someone was beaten to death.
Just a gambler.
Death is not a pity.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi walked up the mountain while talking. When they got closer, they heard some noise and the little girls noticed them. They saw that they were also carrying a backpack.
A little girl with two pigtails was a little curious and said with a youthful liveliness, "Uncle, are you here to pick mushrooms too?"
"yes."
Lei Li also imitated her and said cheerfully, smiling, "Why don't you go to school and pick mushrooms here?"
"It rained a few days ago and Master Cao caught a cold. He hasn't recovered yet and can't teach us today. So we're giving him a day off and he can only go to school tomorrow."
"We finished our chores around the house and went out to pick mushrooms. There are so many mushrooms after the rain!"
The little girl spoke honestly, with a look of worry on her face about her teacher's illness, but she was more happy to be able to have a holiday and play, and her words were filled with excitement.
Master Cao was the teacher of the school's students. He was from the same village as Master Cao in the county town. There were many families with the surname Cao in that village, and it is still called Caojia Village.
"The teacher needs to get better soon, as he still needs to teach you and correct your homework."
Lei Li pretended to be sincere and honest to tease them.
Seeing that the little girls all had sad faces because they remembered that the teacher had not forgotten to assign homework even though he was sick, he raised the corners of his lips, like a cunning cat with a successful prank.
He then asked, "What kind of mushrooms did you pick?"
“We picked a lot!”
Another little girl with a yellow hairband said, tilting her backpack to let Lei Li see, "There are red mushrooms, pink rice soup mushrooms, and a few big porcini mushrooms."
“We still remember to clap!”
The boy in the blue skirt spoke cheerfully and a little proudly. His voice had the crispness of a boy of thirteen or fourteen, which was obviously different from that of a girl.
His hair was tied up in a bun and pinned with a tasseled silver hairpin. He looked pretty and handsome. Lei Li thought he was a little girl at first glance.
"Master Miao taught us that if we come across a porcini mushroom, we should remember to pat it, and if we pick other mushrooms, we should cover them with soil, so that more mushrooms will grow next time!"
The girl with the braids added, "We didn't pick any mushrooms we didn't recognize. Picking the wrong mushrooms could kill you. We were very careful."
Lei Li smiled and praised them all, making the teenagers unable to hold back their laughter.
Several teenagers introduced themselves.
The girl with the twin braids happened to be from Sanliuzi's family. She was called Shisanniang, a name based on the order of birth in the village. The girl was only eleven years old this year. Sanliuzi was also the third child of his father, so he happened to be the sixth child, the sixth son of Li San's family.
The little girl with a yellow hair tie is called A Xiu.
The boy in the blue skirt is Yu Ge'er, the oldest of the three at fourteen years old, and the richest in his family. He has been pampered since childhood, so his skin is naturally fair and delicate. Once he dresses up, he is so beautiful that it is hard to tell whether he is a man or a woman.
His pregnancy mole is not on his face or neck, so it’s not surprising that Lei Li made a mistake.
——Lei Li himself was always mistaken for a man. Without his knowledge, the daughter of the prefectural governor of Xiling City had developed a slight affection for him.
The boys from wealthy families in the county and provincial capitals are also like this. They are more inclined to the upbringing of girls, so most of them are delicate and reserved, and like to wear skirts, hairpins and put on makeup.
Lei Li has a savage and tough personality.
But he quite likes boys like Yu Ge'er, who are fresh and bright, just like flowers. Just one look at them is pleasing to the eye and can prolong one's life.
I wish he had a handsome and delicate boy like this.
Lei Li thought aimlessly.
Suddenly it felt a little funny.
Zhou Yi was a little confused and cast a doubtful look, then he heard Lei Li whispering in his ear with a low laugh,
"I was thinking, when my mother gave birth to me, she probably thought I would grow up to be a boy like Yu Ge'er or Liu Xiaocao, but she didn't expect to give birth to a fierce bandit."
Bandit.
I learned this word from Zhou Yi when he was reading a travelogue to Lei Li. The author encountered a group of bandits, a group of vicious criminals who robbed, kidnapped and extorted.
But Zhou Yi took one look at Lei Li and thought to himself that his Lei Li was indeed a fierce bandit.
——Social gangster.
The teenagers got along very well with the social gangster Lei Li and soon made an appointment to pick mushrooms together.
Lei Li was picking mushrooms in front, and Zhou Yi was diligently serving as his warehouse in the back. All the mushrooms he picked were put into his backpack and he had to carry them, as well as some wild fruits.
I picked them and brought them back to cheer up the little ginger.
Zhou Yi looked at Lei Li who was happily picking mushrooms with a group of children. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the lush branches and leaves and fell on Lei Li's face, shining brightly like dancing gold, like moonlight leaping into his eyes.
He thought that Lei Li looked androgynous, and beautiful in a completely positive sense.
He suddenly thought of a nursery rhyme that his aunt's little cousin often sang:
"The little girl picking mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo basket on her back, walks barefoot through the woods and hills early in the morning..."
Although Lei Li was not barefoot.
Not a little girl either.
But when Zhou Yi thought of this nursery rhyme, he found himself amused and chuckled softly, attracting Lei Li's curious and slightly suspicious gaze.
"What are you doing here?"
"nothing."
Zhou Yi shook his head and met Lei Li's still suspicious eyes. He whispered with a smile, "I just thought of a nursery rhyme. It's a bit similar to what you're feeling now."
"What nursery rhyme?"
"The little girl picking mushrooms."
"Um?"
Lei Li raised an eyebrow and retaliated with a hint of sarcasm, "How does the little girl picking mushrooms sing?"
“…”
Zhou Yi couldn't laugh anymore.
His ears gradually grew hot, his eyes wandered slightly, and he whispered, "Go home... I'll sing for you when I get home. I'm a little off-key."
He would feel a little embarrassed if a few children heard him singing the nursery rhyme out of tune.
"That's a deal."
Lei Li smiled mischievously, deliberately touched his slightly hot ear, and teased, "If you sing well, the task of teaching Xiao Sheng Jiang to sing will be handed over to you, Xiao Sheng Jiang's father."
“…”
Can a person who is out of tune teach a person who is out of tune?
Zhou Yi thought about the scene silently, found it a little funny, and nodded.
"Just don't be afraid that the little ginger will sing badly."
"You taught me anyway."
Lei Li snorted. He was not afraid. How bad could it be?
Lei Li has sharp eyes.
Looking in all directions, the small mushrooms hidden under the pine needles and behind the tree roots, the small mushrooms hiding under the flowers in the grass, and the ones growing on the earth walls and blending in with the soil, all escaped his eyes.
There is almost a fungus every three steps and a mushroom every five steps.
Rice soup, chicken skin mushrooms, black beef liver, small red mushrooms, and even a flower snake caught with bare hands, fascinated the teenagers like little fans.
"Listen carefully to Master Miao's lessons."
Lei Li, with the air of a seasoned man, patiently and kindly persuaded people with a touch of pride.
"Once you've collected more mushrooms and gained experience, you'll be as skilled as me. Maybe... you can even teach younger kids how to identify mushrooms."
"Uh-huh!"
"We will listen carefully to Master Miao's words!"
"I want to be a little master too!"
Several teenagers chattered around Lei Li. When they learned that he had caught snakes and live centipedes, they exclaimed "Wow" in shock and admiration. They were all afraid of snakes and centipedes and didn't dare to catch them.
"I've been bitten by a centipede before, and it hurts!"
Yuger stretched out the tiger's mouth of his right hand that had been bitten by the centipede, wrinkled his nose, and said indignantly and pitifully,
"I don't know how it got on my bed. I was sleeping at night when my hand suddenly hurt. My parents came over and found a centipede on the bed!"
"What a huge one, longer than my palm!"
"Wow……"
Shisan Niang and A Xiu were both frightened and shocked. They were relieved only when they knew that Yu Ge'er later saw a doctor and applied medicine, and gradually recovered.
"ah!"
Shisanniang suddenly remembered something and covered her mouth with her hands in surprise. "Come to think of it, when I was drying myself in the woodshed before, a snake somehow crawled in. I looked down and saw it!"
"Later, my brother told me it was a black silver ring and it was very poisonous. Luckily, it didn't bite me. It was really scary!"
Shisan Niang was still frightened.
The others were also scared after hearing this. These days, if you are bitten by the black silver ring, it is almost the same as seeing the Emperor of the Earth.
"Our village is close to the mountains."
Lei Li said, "Especially in the hot summer, many snakes, rats, insects and ants will crawl into the house. Sprinkling some insect repellent powder in front and behind the house can help prevent them."
"I've been bitten by a centipede before. I crushed a slug and rubbed it on the bite, and it healed quickly."
"ah……"
Several young men showed expressions of surprise and a hint of disgust.
Yu Ge'er frowned and said sullenly, "Slugs are so disgusting... I'd better endure the pain for a while longer and go to the doctor to take two more doses of medicine."
Slug...
After the rain, it always crawls up and down the courtyard wall, leaving a winding, crystal-clear waterway...
Zhou Yi thought of the dignified appearance of this mollusk and felt a bit of agreement and a bit of amusement at the sad faces of the children. He defended the slug and said,
"Although the slug looks a bit ugly, it has many uses."
"Does it have other uses?"
Shisan Niang asked curiously, and Lei Li and the other two teenagers also looked at him curiously.
Lei Li knew that crushed slugs could cure centipede bites. It was Zhu Da Hu who told him this, but he didn't know the other uses of slugs.
"yes."
Zhou Yi nodded and said, "Slugs have the effect of clearing away heat and dispelling wind, as well as reducing swelling, detoxifying, and removing phlegm and promoting menstruation. They are usually used to treat epilepsy, pharyngeal swelling, and carbuncle. They are also effective for wheezing, erysipelas, and amenorrhea."
He also explained the meaning of epilepsy, carbuncle, and erysipelas. The former is a disease caused by shock; carbuncle is an acute suppurative infection of multiple adjacent hair follicles and their associated sebaceous glands or sweat glands, and the infecting bacteria is Staphylococcus aureus.
—— Germs, these invisible tiny organisms, are an abstract concept that is difficult for Lei Li and others to understand, so Zhou Yi just gave a brief explanation.
Zhou Yi himself remembered this fungus because of its distinctive name. Moreover, this coccus is very typical and is a regular guest in middle school biology classes.
"The carbuncle you're talking about is a carbuncle, right?"
After listening to Zhou Yi's description, Lei Li thought for a moment and said, "The carbuncle on the neck, which Doctor Niu also calls 'mouth sore,' can be treated with cranesbill."
A few people discussed the appearance of cranesbill and then returned to talking about erysipelas, a common acute non-suppurative inflammatory skin disease.
It was the first time for the teenagers to hear about so many diseases. They were surprised and a little scared.
Especially for carbuncles and erysipelas, young people like to playful. When they heard that they were on the skin, they felt a little uneasy and subconsciously looked at their arms.
fortunately.
Except for the mosquito bites and accidental scratches, everything is fine.
"Then I won't hate slugs anymore..."
Yu Ge'er said a little awkwardly.
He hated the slug's soft, sticky, and ugly appearance, but when he thought about how useful it was, he knew he could catch it and save people if they needed it.
It turns out that slugs are so useful. He will never secretly kill them with salt water again.
"Slugs are common in the summer and can be harmful if they are too numerous. They lick the skin of plant stems and leaves."
Zhou Yi added, "If slugs eat vegetables or flowers grown at home, you can sprinkle some ginger powder around the plants to repel the slugs."
Yu Ge'er and the others nodded repeatedly.
—
Happy times are always short.
They picked mushrooms while talking, and before they knew it, it was noon. The teenagers said goodbye to Lei and the other two and went home.
Little Jiang had been taken home by Lei Dashan. When he saw his two fathers picking a lot of mushrooms, he was so shocked and excited that his eyes widened.
"Daddy, Daddy is so awesome!"
"I'm going to ask Brother Xiaobao, Uncle Miao, and Uncle Zhang to come home to eat mushrooms!"
The little guy cheered in a baby voice, and his temperament was just like Lei Lifeng's impetuousness. As soon as he put down his little schoolbag, he ran away, wanting to go to his brother Xiaobao's house.
Zhou Yi couldn't help but laugh.
He thought of a children's song that was very suitable for little ginger: "Mushroom, mushroom, hiding in the corner of the market, mushroom, mushroom, let me take you home..."
But he thought of his tone-deaf singing skills and fell silent.
It’s better not to teach bad things to children.
But obviously, Xiao Shengjiang's father was very vindictive, but he did not forget that Zhou Yi said he was like a little girl picking mushrooms. While his parents were not in the kitchen, he asked Zhou Yi to sing for him.
"Let me hear how my husband is tone-deaf~"
"...You are not allowed to laugh."
"Of course, of course."
Lei Li was smiling and calm, and he didn't look like he couldn't laugh at all. He would definitely laugh out loud, and he would use it to tease him when they did that thing at night.
“…”
Zhou Yi blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "A little girl picking mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo basket..."
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Lei Li laughed so hard that he fell backwards.
He thought Zhou Yi was being modest when he said he was out of tune, but he didn't expect that not a single note was in tune.
He laughed so hard that he gasped for breath, leaning on Zhou Yi's shoulder with his eyes bent. "Although I haven't heard the original tune of this song, it's definitely not sung like you. How can there be such a strong and powerful girl? She's not picking mushrooms, she's picking heads..."
“…”
Zhou Yi was silent for a moment, with a hint of grievance in his deep voice.
"You asked me to sing it."
"Yeah, but hahahahahahaha..."
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