A small plot of land in a mountain village

White flowers twine around the vines, and you can easily grab a handful and stuff them into a plastic bag; among them are many tender green leaves.

This year, the honeysuckle is blooming really well, plump and full, and the fragrance is even purer than before. It seems that this year is a bumper harvest year. Just like other fruits, honeysuckle has bumper harvest years and less productive years.

Zhang Niu swiftly placed the white flowers into his bag, then glanced towards the fat man and saw him picking them one by one, which nearly made Zhang Niu fall into the bushes.

"Fatty, are you counting flowers or worried about bugs? Hurry up and pick the whole thing!" he yelled at the fat man.

The Buddhist lion's roar was quite effective; the fat man chuckled after hearing it. His hands immediately moved much faster, no longer counting flowers inefficiently as before.

Although the honeysuckle was in full bloom, with the help of a machete, we cleared it all the way, and the white honeysuckle petals fell into the plastic bags. Today's harvest was pretty good.

"Bird's nest—"

The fat man saw the bird's nest and shouted.

The fat guy is really making a fuss over nothing. There are bird nests in the mountains, that's perfectly normal. Why shout so loudly? It's not like he can't hear himself.

I walked out of the bushes and headed towards the fat man.

Squeezing into the bushes, I reached the fat man and said, "Why are you shouting like that? Haven't you ever seen a bird's nest before?"

The fat man chuckled, "Isn't this just luck? Picking honeysuckle and finding a bird's nest, what a strange thing."

It turned out that a bird's nest, about the size of a fist, had been woven from pine needles, weeds, and bird feathers among the honeysuckle vines in front.

Look at this bird's nest, it's clearly newly built.

There was a small hole above the vine in the bird's nest, which must be where the bird went in. I touched it casually, and it seems that the bird was out foraging for food and hadn't returned.

Standing upright at the small hole, I found six spotted bird eggs inside; the nest had only been built recently. The eggs were probably still in the yolk stage.

The fat man watched Zhang Niu's series of actions, wondering what he was doing, and finally asked, "What are you doing? Watching the bird's nest or...?"

Turning around, Zhang Niu said mysteriously, "Want to try some of these fresh bird eggs?"

Pointing at the bird eggs in the nest, he said in a nervous tone, "Can these bird eggs be eaten? Aren't there baby birds already inside?"

Zhang Niu laughed heartily, "Look at you, I grew up in a mountain village, do you think I don't know whether bird eggs are edible or not? This nest belongs to a mountain sparrow, and it hasn't been laying eggs for long, otherwise the bird would have definitely flown out when it was startled. But you only found the nest and didn't see the bird come out, which is good proof."

Listening to Zhang Niuyang's words, which made sense and were probably correct, he said, "Everyone says bird eggs taste good, so let's try them!" His mouth started watering as he talked about tasting them.

Zhang Niu wouldn't damage the bird's nest; he stretched out two fingers and picked out the baby birds one by one, placing them in his palm.

"Fatty, you take four, just leave two for me." He opened his palm to reveal the bird eggs.

"Then you're welcome." It sounds like a lot, but these bird eggs are too small; there aren't enough to eat.

"Ha, you're absolutely right, it's still egg yolk inside, it hasn't changed at all." He pushed aside a fat man, saw the situation clearly, and said with a grin.

Bird eggs are eaten raw, with a slightly fishy smell. After eating, they have a slightly sweet taste. At first, many people don't quite get used to it.

The fat man popped all four bird eggs into his mouth, smacked his lips, and said, "Delicious, but there aren't enough." Eggshells remained on the ground.

"Be content! The sparrows' nests in the mountains are all built in the bushes. If you're lucky, you might even find one," he said with a chuckle.

The fat man was overjoyed and started searching through the bushes.

The fat man, unsure whether what he had just said was right or not, watched the machete flying up and down.

I shook my head and decided to go back and continue picking honeysuckle, otherwise it would be noon again.

Zhang Niu went back and buried himself in picking honeysuckle. The plastic bag gradually swelled up. After searching through it for a while, the fat man found nothing and could only go back to continue picking honeysuckle.

A few bird eggs satisfied my craving, but it wasn't enough.

Large swaths of honeysuckle fell into plastic bags. Although there seemed to be a lot, the weight was actually very light, not heavy at all.

"Hey Niu, you're not at your manor, what are you doing in the mountains picking honeysuckle?" A rough voice came from behind.

Turning around, a figure emerged from the dense trees. Who else could it be but Shengming?

"Damn it, it's you? I thought it was someone else."

Shengming said dejectedly, "Didn't I have your aunt conscript men? She insisted on coming to pick honeysuckle. And what about you guys?"

Oh, I see. I thought you were free, that's why I came.

"If you want to pick honeysuckle to make tea, why don't you come in and pick some yourself, even if it's a little hard work?" he said to Shengming.

"Oh, I see. I thought you were going to be like me, getting caught in a legal battle." He said cheerfully.

Seeing that Shengming was completely naked, not at all like someone picking honeysuckle, Zhu asked curiously, "Why didn't you bring anything with you when you went to pick honeysuckle?"

He brandished the large machete in his hand. "I don't go through all that trouble for you guys. I just cut the trees down in large sections, tie them up, carry them to the intersection, let the traffic pick them up, and then slowly harvest them. You guys can bring bags since you're harvesting less, but my family has to harvest a lot. Otherwise, I really can't complete the task."

Zhang Niu knew that many people would tie them up and take them back to harvest slowly, which was a good method.

"Are you going to harvest a lot this year?" Shengming asked, unable to resist.

"Yes, many relatives asked my family to pick more. You know, many of my relatives live in the city, and honeysuckle is expensive there, so they asked my family to help out."

Only then did Zhang Niu realize that they were relatives.

"Shengming, who are you chatting with? Hurry up and get to work." A woman's voice came from the dense trees.

No need to guess, this must be Shengming's wife.

"Oh, I know. How do I get in a little further in? This place has been taken." He turned around and shouted loudly.

"I'll head back now, my wife's urging me to go." With that, he disappeared into the dense woods.

"I didn't expect that so many people in your village pick honeysuckle. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't come," the fat man said after Shengming left.

"Honeysuckle is a good product. It can be sold, brewed directly, or given as a gift. It's more authentic than what's sold in the market, making it an excellent gift for relatives."

Zhang Niu's words were absolutely true. Honeysuckle may seem ordinary, but it's considered a very good thing in the mountain village.

Looking at the bulging plastic bag, it seemed like they had picked almost everything in this area; there was enough, enough to drink.

"The fat guy's gone, how about we go look around somewhere else?"

"Okay!"

Call back the big wolves that were darting in and out of the bushes.

In the mountains, the big wolf was very excited, especially Little Black, who followed behind Zhang Niu wagging its tail and occasionally rubbing against Zhang Niu's trouser leg.

We walked past many dense thickets of trees. Occasionally, we saw several village women picking honeysuckle; the sun was high in the sky, and it was still quite early.

I went to several places, but they had already been taken by others, and I was too late.

"I can't go on anymore, I need to rest, otherwise I won't be able to walk anymore." He leaned against a tree to rest.

Sweat was beading on his forehead, let alone the fat guy's "Alright, let's rest!"

Although the temperature was low, sunlight still dappled through the trees, creating many spots of light.

"Is there anywhere good to go around here? It seems so boring to just keep picking honeysuckle here all the time," the fat man who was resting said.

Picking honeysuckle is incredibly boring, which is understandable.

A good place? What good places are there in these mountains? Zhang Niu couldn't think of any for a moment. A good place? Hmm, that valley is quite nice. I haven't been there in a long time.

"There is a place to go, but it's probably a bit far, about a 20-minute walk. The place is quite nice though."

"I'll only go if it's worth the price. If I make a wasted trip, my legs will be exhausted today." He said with a sour face.

If you're afraid of getting tired, just say so. This interface is terrible. "The place is nice. If it's really a garbage place as you say, I'll make you drink plum wine when we get back. After a small bowl, your leaden legs will be useless."

The fat man perked up at this, "Okay, I want that 'Mist-Dissolving Plum Wine,' I won't drink the ordinary kind!"

There's wine to drink, but you still have to haggle over the price? What kind of justice is that? Zhang Niu usually only drinks occasionally, but this makes Fatty keep thinking about the aroma and taste of the wine.

"Alright. As you wish." I reckon this is the only wine that will work for this guy.

With the Mist-Dissolving Plum Wine at their disposal, the fat man was clearly energized, as if he had taken some kind of stimulant, and followed closely behind Zhang Niu.

In early summer, the road was easier to walk on than in winter, and many paths could still be vaguely discerned, allowing Zhang Niu to walk faster and more steadily.

Ahead lay a jumble of strange rocks. The rocks were piled up haphazardly, most of them hidden by small bamboo shoots that had been pulled out.

Seeing the sparse bamboo shoots in front of him, Zhang Niu turned around, intending to take a longer route. He could safely cross this area in winter, but now that it was early summer, the old way wouldn't work.

Seeing that Zhang Niu was planning to take a detour instead of walking, the fat man was a little puzzled and quickly asked, "Isn't the road ahead fine? Why are you taking a detour?" His face was full of confusion.

Zhang Niu casually said, "It's not that I don't want to go, but this road is too dangerous. I'm not sure I can handle it, so I'd better take a longer route."

The fat man was even more confused. What danger could a road have? He said, "What danger could there be on this good road? Tell me."

The fat man wasn't from the mountain village, so he naturally didn't know some of the rules of the mountains, such as never crossing paths over small bamboo groves. This refers to paths over piles of rocks and covered with lush green bamboo, where, nine times out of ten, pale green venomous snakes lurk.

Venomous snakes love to stay in places like this, where the green bamboo blends in and makes them very difficult to spot. You might only realize the problem after you get bitten.

Most villagers rarely walk on these strangely shaped rocky paths. They'd rather take a longer route than risk getting hurt, a piece of advice the village elders often tell the children. The more they hear and see, the more naturally they'll internalize this knowledge.

After listening to Zhang Niu's words, the fat man nodded repeatedly; this was terrifying.

After Zhang Niu finished speaking, the fat man noticed that the weeds on the path were still lush and green, seemingly untouched by human feet. It seemed that what Zhang Niu said was indeed true.

Although the two took a longer route, they walked with peace of mind. The fat man, however, broke out in a cold sweat when he thought of the pile of strange rocks. (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the official version!)