After fleeing the famine, my older sister and I married the brother next door.

"This rain is really heavy! It's pouring down, and the ditches are full." Chen Xiaohe leaned on the windowsill, looking at the rain pouring down from the eaves. His tone was filled with the satisfaction of a farmer looking forward to rain, and also with a hint of eagerness to get things moving after the rain.

Summer thunderstorms come and go quickly. Before long, the clouds disperse, the sun shines again, the washed sky is a clear blue, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of damp earth and vegetation. The scorching heat has also been dispelled considerably.

Su Xiaoqing pushed open the door to the side room, took a deep breath of the post-rain coolness, and turned to her sister, who was sewing shoe soles at the entrance of the main room, saying, "Sister, the rain has stopped! Tomorrow, let's call Mother and go up the mountain to take a look. With such a heavy rain, mushrooms must be sprouting everywhere in the forest! We can pick some, stir-fry some fresh mushrooms tonight, and dry the rest. Adding a handful to stews in winter would be wonderful!"

Su Xiaoyin stopped sewing, looked up at the damp yard, and was also tempted: "Great! Mushrooms are the best for soup. If we're lucky, we can find some wood ear mushrooms, that would be even better. They're delicious when dried, soaked, or used in cold dishes or stir-fries."

Hearing this, Chen Dashan, who was repairing a hoe handle nearby, chuckled and interjected, "Wood ear mushrooms are a rare find, much rarer than regular mushrooms. But there will definitely be plenty of mushrooms after the rain, so if you have good eyesight, pick as many as you can."

Chen Xiaohe hopped over from the window, excitedly saying, "I've woven a few new long-necked fish baskets out of thin bamboo strips. They have small mouths and big bellies. The river rises after the rain, and the fish and shrimp are more active. I'll go to the riverbank later and try my luck, see if I can catch a few small fish and shrimp to add to our dinner!" He then turned to his father, "Dad, shouldn't you take those traps you made before to the mountains to check? Animals like to come out after the rain, maybe we can catch some pheasants or rabbits."

Mr. Chen was sitting on the doorstep, sharpening an old sickle in the light. Hearing this, he nodded: "Yes, the rain has stopped. The mountain path is slippery, so be careful going up the mountain. I'll go check on the traps this afternoon. It would be good to get more meat, of course. Our family has more oil and fat now than in previous years, but we still don't have many opportunities to eat meat."

The plan was agreed upon, and everyone made their preparations. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing packed their baskets, put on straw hats (to protect themselves from rain on the trees), and found a sturdy stick to clear the way through the grass. Chen's mother also came out from the inner room, having changed into a more practical set of old clothes, and carrying a larger bamboo basket on her arm.

"Mom, are you ready? Let's go!" Su Xiaoqing called out.

"Alright, let's go." Chen's mother looked up at the sky. "This rain has been thorough. In the places on the mountain with thick layers of decaying leaves, mushrooms will definitely grow in clusters. Let's pick a lot, dry them carefully, and store them for winter. Dried mushrooms are better suited for stewing meat or making soup than fresh ones; they're a rare delicacy."

The three of them went out and walked up the mountain along the path that had been washed exceptionally clean by the rain. As they walked, Su Xiaoqing dreamed, "Mom, I was thinking, if we make a lot of dried mushrooms in the winter, could we pick out some of the better ones and take them to the restaurants in the county town? Isn't Manager Wang a buyer of mountain products? If he'd take them, wouldn't that be another source of income for us? Even if we can't sell them, we can still eat them ourselves without losing out."

Chen's mother thought it made sense: "That's a good idea. Anyway, it doesn't cost any money, it just takes some effort to go up the mountain and dry them. There are fewer vegetables in winter, and dried mushrooms might actually fetch a good price in city restaurants. Okay, then we'll pay more attention this year, dry the good ones separately, and store them carefully."

They entered the forest amidst laughter and conversation. The forest after the rain was indeed different; the leaves were a bright, vibrant green, and the ground was damp. Each step into the soft, humus-rich soil created a small crater. The air was filled with the moist scent of grass and trees, along with a unique aroma of budding fungi.

"Mom! Xiaoqing! Come and look over here!" Su Xiaoyin, with her sharp eyes, spotted a cluster of plump, round-capped, yellowish-brown mushrooms among the thick moss and fallen leaves at the base of an old oak tree. They looked fresh and tender.

"Oh, hazel mushrooms! They're quite big!" Chen's mother quickly walked over, squatted down, carefully snapped them off at the base, and put them in the basket. "These newly sprouted ones are the tenderest. Quick, look around nearby; these things like to grow in clusters."

The three women, mother and daughter-in-law, immediately dispersed, yet remained within each other's sight, heads bowed, carefully searching under tree roots, in the grass, and beside fallen logs. Sure enough, as if opening the door to a treasure trove, various mushrooms appeared one after another: clumps of grayish-white straw mushrooms crowded in the grass; bright orange-red "red mushrooms" with white spots on their caps grew conspicuously under the pine trees; and there were also plump, fleshy "boletus" mushrooms, soft to the touch. They carefully selected those they recognized and were certain were edible, moving gently to avoid damaging the mycelium.

To their even greater surprise, they discovered a patch of thick, glossy black wood ear mushrooms on a piece of semi-rotten linden wood. The mushrooms had been washed clean by the rain and looked like soft, black ears.

"Wood ear mushrooms! There really are wood ear mushrooms!" Su Xiaoqing cheered in a low voice, carefully picking them and placing them separately on a layer of clean broad leaves in the basket. "This is a real bargain!"

Their baskets and bamboo hampers gradually became heavy. Besides mushrooms and wood ear fungus, they didn't forget their main task on the way down the mountain; they cut a lot of fresh pig feed along the way and stuffed it into the gaps in their baskets.

"Our pig is eating more and more these days." Su Xiaoyin wiped the sweat from her forehead and laughed. "Now, whenever anyone has time to go up the mountain, they have to bring it some 'snacks'. No matter how much you feed it, it finishes the whole plate, not a single bit left."

Mother Chen laughed, "Being able to eat is a blessing; it means it's healthy and will gain weight. Haven't you seen how much Dashan and Xiaohe take care of it? With the weather getting hot, they're worried the pig will get too hot, so they give it a cool bath every day at midday when it's hottest. They've even laid stone slabs in the pigpen and added dry straw; it's cleaner than some people's houses. This pig lives more comfortably than a person; how could it not gain weight?"

Back home, the three of them, without even resting, quickly unloaded their harvest. A clean old reed mat and bamboo sieve had already been laid out at the entrance to the main room. They carefully sorted the mushrooms, spreading out the whole, plump ones to dry, and picking out the bruised, damaged, or less attractive ones, placing them in a small basin to be stir-fried that evening. The small handful of precious wood ear mushrooms was especially carefully spread by Su Xiaoyin on a fine-mesh bamboo sieve and placed under the eaves where ventilation was best.

In the afternoon, as the sun began to set and the heat subsided slightly, the three women—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son—drank some water and ate some dry rations. Seeing that it was still early and the mushrooms looked incredibly tempting, they decided to take another stroll up the mountain.

This time, they ventured deeper into the woods, specifically to the denser, less frequented shady spots. Sure enough, they found quite a bit more. Besides mushrooms, Su Xiaoqing also discovered several clumps of thriving mint near a damp hollow, their vibrant green leaves emitting a cool, refreshing fragrance.

"Mom, here's some mint! I'll pick some leaves to take home, dry them, and brew them into tea in the summer. It's the best way to cool down in the heat." Su Xiaoqing said, starting to pick the mint.

Chen's mother looked at the roots of the mint and said, "Don't just pick the leaves. Be careful and dig up the whole mint plant by the roots. We'll take it back and plant it in a shady, damp corner of the yard. If it survives, we'll have fresh mint to use. We can pick it and make tea anytime; it tastes better than dried leaves."

As instructed, Su Xiaoqing carefully dug out a mint plant with soil still attached. The three of them returned laden with more mountain delicacies and pig feed in their baskets, and now they had an extra vibrant mint plant in their hands.

As the sun sets, wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys. In the Chen family courtyard, reed mats are spread with various mountain delicacies, the air filled with the unique fragrance of mushrooms and the cool scent of mint. By the river, Chen Xiaohe has set his fish traps, Chen's father checks his animal snares on the mountain, the fat pigs in the sty grunt as they await their dinner, and the newly planted mint sways gently in the evening breeze. This summer day after the rain, filled with the fruits of hard work and a bountiful harvest, feels exceptionally fulfilling and peaceful, as if even the air itself is imbued with a sense of certainty and anticipation for a bright future.