Chapter 33

Xu He had wanted to go up the mountain ever since the start of spring, but he had been busy at home and never found the opportunity.

After lunch, he and Zhang Fangyuan skipped their noon rest and headed straight for the back mountain with their gear.

The mountain forest had shed its winter bleakness, trees lush and green, filled with the scent of spring. Xu He carried a basket on his back, holding a small sickle and shovel he had taken from Zhang Fangyuan's tool shed.

The first time he saw Zhang Fangyuan on the mountain, he noticed he had many handy tools. Today, going out with these, he finally got a proper look.

The storage room behind the central hall was filled with Zhang Fangyuan's treasures. One whole wall was hung with tools: for slaughtering livestock, farming tools for working the land, tools for hunting and chopping firewood on the mountain... sickles, bush knives, chopping knives—everything was there. The iron gleamed coldly. When he first entered, he was startled. Sharp things hanging everywhere, like seeing torture instruments in prison.

No wonder everyone was wary of Zhang Fangyuan; guarding a room full of such dangerous weapons every day—how could it not be intimidating?

Zhang Fangyuan even beamed with pride, saying a whole room of tools sold could be enough to build a new house.

Just halfway up the mountain, Xu He couldn't wait to get to work. The mountain wilds, after all, had fewer people coming and going than the village fields. Wild vegetables grew in patches. The sprouting tails of wild onions hidden in the grass had even turned a bit yellow without being discovered.

Wild onions didn't grow upright and straight like homegrown ones with their stalks straight and smooth. Wild onions were more than half as thin as small green onions, like strands of hair growing long and drooping on the ground.

He used the small shovel to dig up the wild onions together with the bulbs. After shaking off the dirt on the shovel, he placed them in the basket lined with banana leaves.

Along the way, there was also mugwort, growing low among the flowers, very tender. But Xu He didn't pick it. He usually liked to wait until the mugwort grew tall, flowered, and aged before coming to cut it. He could take it home and, taking advantage of the summer sun, dry it for a day to make mugwort sticks for burning at night, very good for repelling mosquitoes.

“How do you know all this?”

Zhang Fangyuan had a blade of grass angled in his mouth. He wasn't in a hurry, just sitting in the mountain hollow watching Xu He bent over digging here, scraping there.

“Mosquito-repellent incense sold in the city during summer costs ten wen a stick, and as soon as you light it can't even last two uses. It's more expensive than candles. Of course, you have to find ways to repel mosquitoes yourself.”

Zhang Fangyuan smiled. “Then when the mugwort gets old, I'll come with you to cut it again.”

“Mm. There are still many wild onions around. Don't just sit; help me dig quickly.”

“You've already dug half a basket. Why dig so many? One stir-fry is enough for the two of us.” Zhang Fangyuan said this but still got up to help.

“Wild onions can be eaten in many ways. Besides stir-frying, they can be used in dumplings, buns. You always eat in town. Haven't you noticed that in spring, at the breakfast stalls, buns claiming to use wild onion filling are more expensive than regular buns?”

Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but chuckle. This little ger really knows everything.

“Let's dig some more. Save them for a day. When you go to town to set up your stall, I'll take them to sell. With the money, I'll buy some flour, mix it at home to make dough, and make buns for you."

Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan became energized. He would be more than happy for the two of them to go to town together.

The two dug for wild vegetables on the mountainside for a shichen (two hours). Zhang Fangyuan focused on looking for wild onions. Xu He thought since they were going to sell them, he might as well collect other wild vegetables he saw. The tender and robust fiddlehead ferns grew very well. Picking for a while, stalk by stalk, filled nearly half the basket.

Perhaps because it was the busy farming season, the newly grown wild vegetables hadn't been picked by villagers yet. He was pleased.

By the time they went up the mountain, Xu He's small back basket was almost full. The basket was transferred from his back to Zhang Fangyuan's. Zhang Fangyuan, tall and large, seemed restricted with the small basket on his back, the straps tightly digging into his shoulders, looking somewhat amusing.

Xu He told him to give it back; it wasn't heavy, he could carry it himself. But the man refused, striding ahead with big steps, making Xu He unable to catch up.

The forest was much cooler than the hillside. Spring trees had sprouted new buds; by late third month, leaves had grown out well, providing good shade, blocking the sunlight significantly.

The two went deep into the mountains to set traps. Zhang Fangyuan carefully stopped Xu He. Recently, hunters had been coming up the mountain. They relied on the forest for a living, unlike them half-amateurs coming up to try their luck. Hunters often stayed in the mountains for ten to fifteen days at a time, with traps set everywhere in the deep mountains.

A slight lapse in steps could mean getting caught.

Zhang Fangyuan glanced around. Not sure if it was because he hadn't been up the mountain much in the past two years or what, but it seemed there were more traps in the forest than before, and they were set closer together. In the past, one hunter would hunt half a mountain; hunters made good money those years.

It seemed everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

“Seems it’s not easy to get a taste of something fresh.” Zhang Fangyuan sighed, still count on his wife's wild onion buns.

Xu He said, “We don't rely on this for a living, consider it leisure.” Wasn't it just like fishing by the river?

After setting the traps, the two left the deep mountains, afraid of disturbing any wild animals that might come to feed.

The early batch of spring bamboo shoots on the mountain ridge were already half as tall as bamboo, wearing dark brown outer coats, growing tall and straight. The part near the ground had shed its outer coat, revealing the oily green bamboo shoot body underneath. Zhang Fangyuan couldn't resist touching it; it was old, couldn't even pinch it.

Xu He put down the basket, planning to dig up some spring bamboo shoots that had just emerged from the soil to take home. First, to have more variety when setting up the stall with Zhang Fangyuan. Second, he wanted to pickle some bamboo shoots for daily meals. They could also be boiled, dried in the sun, and eaten anytime. Of course, they could also be sold.

Though spring bamboo shoots aren't as good as the winter shoots, they were easier to find. Storing more could help during poor harvests; these wild vegetables could stave off hunger.

Seeing Zhang Fangyuan acting like a mischievous child, Xu He said helplessly, “Don't touch the new bamboo shoots; they won't grow taller if touched.”

Zhang Fangyuan amusedly withdrew his hand and jumped in front of Xu He. “Then I've touched you; wouldn't that mean you won't grow taller either?”

The tips of Xu He's ears reddened. He turned away to dig bamboo shoots. “I've already grown to my full height.”

Zhang Fangyuan took the opportunity to lean close to his hand. “So that means I can hold your hand whenever I want?”

“Stop fooling around.”

Xu He scolded with his mouth but didn't make any move to push Zhang Fangyuan away.

Together, they dug over a dozen bamboo shoots. Spring bamboo shoots were quite large. They peeled half on the spot, each one like a big fat head, much larger than the winter shoots. Xu He had to use both hands to carry them into the basket. The remaining few with good appearance would be taken to the town.

Xu He wandered around the mountain a bit more. Sunlight in the deep mountains wasn't as good as on the slopes, so naturally wild vegetables didn't grow everywhere. But he still discovered some thorny bud, the sprouts still tender. Not being tall himself, he dispatched Zhang Fangyuan. But thorny buds didn't grow in patches together; one here, another there. Wanting to pick many at once wasn't very practical.

“Look, there's a tung tree over there!”

Xu He's eyes lit up, spotting a thick tree trunk lying horizontally in a pile of fern grass. Perhaps it had rained in the woods yesterday; the tung tree bark was still damp and not dry, meaning it had good moisture. The trunk had sprouted some wood ear mushrooms of various sizes.

From afar, the wood ear mushrooms looked very dark. Up close, they showed a bit of red. Small ones were only thumb-sized, while the big ones were already like ears.

The wood ear mushrooms on this tree had probably absorbed a lot of water; they were very thick and felt soft when pinched, like squeezing an earlobe. Xu He carefully picked the large ones, wrapping them in big leaves to place in the basket. After picking all the mushrooms, he felt somewhat reluctant, unsure if he'd find them again next time.

Zhang Fangyuan said, “Just carry the whole thing home directly. Put it in the yard; when they grow, pick them. Isn't that more convenient than coming up the mountain?”

“Right!” Xu He took the sickle to chop away the fern grass. But Zhang Fangyuan, using brute force, hugged the tree trunk and directly dragged the tung tree out.

Chopping off the branches, Zhang Fangyuan carried the half-person-high trunk over to their basket.

“Zhang Fangyuan?”

Just as the two were about to head back, they saw a man in the distance wearing a felt hat, carrying a quiver, wrapped up like a wild man, walking over. It took Xu He a moment to recognize him as the village hunter, Wang Jiu.

Hunters often stayed in the mountains, so dressing heavily was normal. Moreover, without a wife accompanying them to manage, men really let themselves go—growing long beards, not contacting people for long periods, having bad tempers. Meeting them in the mountains could be quite frightening.

This Wang Jiu was about Zhang Fangyuan's age; they had climbed trees and worked fields together as teens. Now, both were married men.

“Haven't seen you in a long time. Came up the mountain half a month ago, and heard you were getting married. Didn't expect it to be so soon.”

Zhang Fangyuan said, “Your parents came for the banquet. I asked about you. Heard you were up the mountain. So, how's the harvest been this spring?”

“Better than winter, but more people are doing this now; not as good as the last couple of years.”

“I noticed just now the traps are set much closer too.”

The two chatted casually for a while. Xu He didn't disturb, running off to look for more wild vegetables.

Wang Jiu continued, “Heard you're now working in the town's meat market?”

Zhang Fangyuan nodded.

Village men spoke directly. Wang Jiu said, “Do you buy mountain goods?”

Zhang Fangyuan's brows furrowed. He hadn't sold mountain goods before. “Didn't you used to take them into town to sell yourself?”

Wang Jiu said, “Wastes time.” And it wasn't like setting up a stall to sell; if not sold today, continue tomorrow. You couldn't sell mountain goods like that.

These mountain goods were more expensive than pork to begin with; those who could afford them were mostly city folk. They weren’t as easy to sell as pork; if you lowered the price a bit when sales were poor, people would quickly snatch them up.

But for mountain goods, if you encountered a restaurant purchasing, it could be quick; selling out at once. But you couldn't always meet them.

Previously, he had an arrangement with a restaurant to deliver goods whenever available. Now they suddenly didn't want them anymore. Variables were high; there was no helping it.

The latter part Wang Jiu didn't say outright.

Zhang Fangyuan neither agreed nor refused directly, only saying, “Frankly speaking, I'm just a middleman. If you want your goods sold at my place, the price definitely won't be as high as selling in town yourself.”

“That’s natural.” But the money would be steadier. Wasn't it the same principle as villagers selling pigs to him?

Zhang Fangyuan thought for a moment. “We’re old aquaintances. I'm going to look for livestock to buy tomorrow, probably setting up my stall the day after. You can bring the goods tomorrow; I'll take them to the town to sell and see.”

Wang Jiu smiled. “Deal!”

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