I discovered a world bug.

Chapter 60 Falling into a hole

Unlike Chacheng County, Lishui County is not an area where ethnic minorities reside in an administrative division.

However, this county town is also home to a large number of ethnic minority people—according to the county annals, their ancestors also migrated from the Linchuan and Chacheng areas.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, a fierce resistance battle took place in Chacheng. Before the battle officially broke out, the general in charge of the troops had already made up his mind to fight to the death and perish with the city. So he opened the city gates and forced the people to flee the city.

Some of these people headed south towards Linchuan city and settled in Luzhai County, while others continued eastward and eventually stopped in Lishui County.

Therefore, it can be said that Lishui and Chacheng are closely linked by blood.

This has resulted in the two counties being extremely similar in culture and customs.

It is common for customs to vary every ten miles and every hundred miles in northern Guangxi, but in the counties of Lishui and Chacheng, there are almost no differences in weddings, funerals, or daily life and diet.

People in the tea city love tea, even when they are away from water.

People in the tea city use clover to stew chicken, while people in Lishui also use clover mushrooms to stew chicken.

These two counties practically produce and consume most of the clump fungus in the surrounding areas of Linchuan City, driving up the price of clump fungus to exorbitant levels every year during the season.

A pound of top-quality fresh mushrooms can often be sold for exorbitant prices, sometimes reaching tens or even hundreds of yuan.

Such prices have become an important source of income for villagers in remote villages on the outskirts of county towns.

As May approaches, it's time to pick mushrooms again.

Early in the morning, Luo Hou carried a basket and a woven bag, planning to pick a few more kilograms of fruit before the rain stopped and before anyone else went up the mountain. He planned to sell them in the village and then have enough money to cover the pesticides and fertilizers needed for the fruit trees this year.

In the kitchen, the porridge my wife was cooking was bubbling away, steaming hot. My father stood in the doorway, holding a bowl, looking at the distant, mist-shrouded mountains, and clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he said:

"It looks like it's going to rain—go early and come back early."

"Know."

Luo Hou casually agreed, but didn't really take it seriously.

Rain? So what if it rains?

Things are different now. The roads leading up the mountain are all paved, so even if you do go into the mountains, you won't stray too far from the main road.

In addition, there are sheds for forest rangers to harvest pine resin and factories for mining companies along the way, so even if you encounter a heavy rainstorm, you can just go inside to take shelter.

I'd love for it to rain.

The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish; the heavier the rain, the fewer people will be picking mushrooms.

If you don't make some money now, when will you?

He casually took a raincoat from the wall and put it on, then got on his motorcycle and went up the mountain.

He was going to a mountain valley called "Wind Blowing Silk Ribbon," which was the place with the most pine trees and mushrooms in the entire mountain.

He was also very familiar with the road into the mountains—many of his ancestors were buried there, and he would go there every year to pay respects to his ancestors.

The sound of the motorcycle shattered the silence of the mountains, and the clouds seemed to be split open by the headlights.

It was getting dark; it was already past six o'clock, but it was still barely light.

If someone were to look down from above at this moment, they would probably find the motorcycle heading into the mountains somewhat eerie.

Thick fog, winding mountain roads, motorcycles with dim headlights, riders in raincoats...

However, Rahu himself did not have any strange feeling.

He just felt that the motorcycle was driving unusually slowly today.

It's probably because there's too much moisture, and the engine temperature isn't rising.

I'll have to take it to a repair shop to get it fixed when I get back...

Finally arriving at Fengchui Luodai, Rahu impatiently parked the car and followed the path beside the main road into the woods.

The rain gradually intensified, and the raindrops hitting the pine forest didn't make a "pitter-patter" sound, but rather a dense rustling sound.

It's like a kind of white noise—noisy, but with a special charm.

Luo Hou really enjoys hearing this sound—to be honest, this is one of the reasons why he loves going up the mountain to pick mushrooms, especially on rainy days.

Whenever I'm immersed in this environment, all the things happening down the mountain seem to have nothing to do with me anymore.

Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, children going to school... none of that matters.

You are just yourself, you don't need to worry about anything.

Once, while picking mushrooms with his wife, he became so engrossed in listening that he stopped in his tracks, and it was his wife who woke him up.

He told his wife about this "quirk" back then, expecting to be ridiculed, but his wife was very understanding.

"So what? There are some people in the village who like to drink gasoline..."

That's what that clueless woman said, which moved Rahu deeply.

Now that we've sold the mushrooms, why don't we skip buying pesticides for now and take her to the county town for a stroll and have some sashimi?

My wife always says she's never eaten it before, but actually she's never had it either. She doesn't know if she can make it at home...

Luo Hou's thoughts drifted away, but his hands continued to move.

On the ground, many plump mushrooms were buried in the thick pine needles. Wearing a headlamp, Luo Hou peeled back the pine needles one by one and took out the mushrooms.

Just as he predicted, the fewer people there were, the more they gained.

He was having so much fun picking mushrooms today that he didn't even notice that the sky around him was gradually getting dark.

It's not just a simple darkness, but a deep, rich black.

In the darkness, the pine forest, which had been filled with the sounds of birdsong and insects, fell into an eerie silence, with only the patter of raindrops continuing to fall...

The basket on my back is heavy, and my back is very tired.

Rahu finally straightened up.

He was startled when he looked away from the ground.

Holy crap... why is it so damn dark?

Luo Hou looked around. Although he had walked quite far, he could still vaguely see the path he had trodden when he came.

Then there's nothing to fear.

Anyway, this place isn't far from the main road, and there's still cell phone signal, so what's there to be afraid of?

Luo Hou lowered his head again, and his hands and feet became even more nimble.

Collect more samples, collect more samples.

If I could bring back two or three hundred pounds of this in a day, I'd be rich...

The dry branches on the ground cracked under his feet, and just as a snapping sound rang out...

"Rahu!"

Someone called out his name.

Luo Hou suddenly looked up.

Looking back, he saw a woman holding a wood-chopping knife, standing not far behind him.

"Oh, Fourth Aunt, you're here too?"

Luo Hou greeted him warmly.

"You're here—you're early! How long have you been up to?"

"Not much, not much, only thirty or forty pounds."

Luo Hou shrugged and showed his spoils to the woman he called Fourth Aunt.

Fourth Aunt stood on tiptoe.

She glanced at the basket on her back, clicked her tongue, and shook her head, saying:

"You've been working on this for an hour or so, and you've only done this much? You're so slow..."

"Is this slow?"

Luo Hou couldn't help but roll his eyes—he knew this fourth aunt; she was competitive and always wanted to be one step ahead of others.

Even the best things become "not so good" in her mouth.

He hadn't intended to pay any attention, but at that moment, his fourth aunt continued to speak.

"Not slow at all? I've already filled two burlap sacks."

"Come with me, there's a place over there, I can't handle it all by myself."

"I'll take you there. You pick it up, and while you're at it, help me carry the burlap sack to the road. I can't handle it by myself."

Luo Hou was tempted.

"Okay!"

He turned around and walked towards his fourth aunt.

The other person turned around almost simultaneously and walked ahead of him.

With each step, Luo Hou stumbled and trudged, panting heavily.

"How much further? Where is it?"

"Almost there, we'll be there after this area..."

Auntie's voice seemed to come from a great distance, even though she was only a few steps ahead of me.

She was just a few steps ahead of me, but it seemed like no matter what I did, I couldn't catch up with her...

The forest grew denser and darker.

The light from the headlamp shone on Aunt Si in front of us, casting indistinct shadows.

Rahu began to sense that something was wrong.

But... what exactly is wrong?

He had a vague feeling that he had forgotten something very important.

No matter how hard I try, I can't remember what I forgot.

"Fourth Aunt...you go ahead for a few steps..."

Rahu stopped in his tracks.

"I'll catch my breath, then I'll go catch up with you—it's just ahead, right?"

"It's just ahead. I'll wait for you at the post."

Fourth Aunt turned around and smiled, a smile with an indescribable meaning.

Luo Hou felt uneasy, so he leaned against a pine tree. There was a large, clean-looking rock on the ground, so he sat down.

Light a cigarette; white smoke rises, and bright red sparks flicker.

Fourth Aunt had already reached the hilltop and stopped there.

The fog was thick, but Rahu could still see it clearly from here.

I've finished my cigarette, time to go...

Luo Hou stood up and shook the basket on his back.

He lifted his foot.

next second.

"Hey!"

A sharp shout.

Someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Go! Go now!!"

Luo Hou looked to his side and saw an old man he didn't recognize at all.

"What are you doing? I was picking mushrooms, not stealing your pine resin!"

"Fuck your mother!"

The old man's eyes widened in anger.

"Look what you're following!"

Rahu was puzzled.

"Why would I follow my fourth aunt?!"

"Fourth Aunt?! Have you forgotten how your fourth aunt died?!"

In an instant, it was as if a layer of fog in my mind had been cleared away.

Rahu trembled all over.

He suddenly remembered.

He remembered how his fourth aunt had died.

He remembered that year, his fourth aunt and her father-in-law went up the mountain to pick tea. They were arguing in the wind, and she used a wood-chopping knife to kill her father-in-law piece by piece.

Then, she used that chipped, rusty knife to slit her own throat...

Looking back at the hillside, Aunt Si had already squatted down.

She swung the machete down.

"Knock!"

The dull knife struck something...

"ah!!!!"

Rahu was utterly astonished.

He frantically followed the old man, scrambling and stumbling as he ran back the way he came.

He had long since abandoned his basket; he ran incredibly fast, falling down only to get back up again.

But the figure behind him seemed to be biting him tightly, getting closer and closer.

"Knock!"

Aunt Si's voice was getting closer and closer.