Fishing and Hunting 82, Starting with Three Sisters Who Overprotect Their Brothers

"Don't just stand there, get started!"

Zhang Wenshan deftly pulled out the bamboo knife he had sharpened the night before.

"Yes, yes, yes." The older sister came to her senses, hurriedly put down her basket, slung it over her arm, reached for the wood ear mushrooms, tore them off, and threw them into the basket.

It's incredibly fast.

"Stop!" Zhang Wenshan was shocked to see this and hurriedly handed over the bamboo knife. "Use this."

He bent down to demonstrate, the bamboo knife pressed against the dead wood, and with a light twist of his wrist, he neatly severed the root of the wood ear mushroom, leaving the fallen mushroom intact.

"Why bother with all this effort?" Zhang Fengxia frowned. "It's too slow!"

"Cutting the wood ear mushrooms preserves their appearance and allows them to sprout again in a few days."

Zhang Wenshan picked up a cluster of thick, dark, shiny wood ear mushrooms and placed them steadily into his basket.

"I see." Zhang Fengxia's eyes suddenly lit up. "Before, when everyone was picking wood ear mushrooms, there weren't many for the second harvest because the roots broke off?"

Zhang Wenshan nodded and instructed, "Don't take the young ones, or the old ones."

"The old ones can still be eaten after some cleaning, it's such a waste." Zhang Fengxia took the bamboo knife and weighed it in her hand, still feeling sorry for it.

"Older people won't accept these, and we'll have to sort them when we get back. We have a lot to do right now," Zhang Wenshan explained, shaking his head.

Life is nothing more than food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

The produce from the land at home is basically enough to feed us, but if there's a slight shortage, we can just grab whatever we can get.

In comparison, the remaining three things are the key.

There was no extra fabric at home. When it was hot, we could go shirtless to get by, but when it was cold, we needed cotton clothes, quilts, and shoes, and all of them cost money.

Not to mention water shoes, raincoats, gloves, and other supplies for going up mountains and down rivers.

There are also mud-brick houses that can barely keep out the wind and rain, and are far from comfortable. Rebuilding them would be a huge undertaking.

Walking to town every day is not only tiring but also inconvenient. If I had a bicycle, I could carry at least several times more goods...

all in all.

Make money, make money, and make more money!

"The time spent sorting can be used to weave cages, which actually earns more money," Zhang Fengxia muttered to herself, tilting her head, a look of confusion still lingering between her brows.

"Do as I say, and I guarantee it will be correct." Zhang Wenshan didn't say anything more and got right to work.

The eldest sister represents this era.

For many years, collective production has had no source of revenue, so we can only try to cut costs and keep everything and not waste a single thing.

The idea is not wrong.

However, with the full opening up of the economy, simply saving money is no longer enough to keep up with the changes.

"Cut it again so I can see!" Zhang Fengxia gripped the bamboo knife and leaned closer.

The money I've been making these past few days has proven that the skills I learned are definitely up to par.

"It's not difficult at all. Just stay close to the root and use a clever technique..."

As Zhang Wenshan cut the mushrooms, he explained the techniques. At first, the older woman was clumsy; she either used too much force, tearing the mushrooms, or too little force, failing to cut them off.

"Actually..." He wanted to offer some comfort upon seeing this.

The older sister didn't respond, but pursed her lips and continued to try cutting with the knife, one cut after another.

Before long, his hands became more nimble, and right after lunch, his knife-cutting speed even surpassed his own.

Zhang Wenshan shook his head, his eyes filled with both admiration and a sense of melancholy.

With that kind of learning ability, if he had had the opportunity to learn a trade a few years ago, he might be a master craftsman by now.

The sun was setting in the west.

Zhang Wenshan straightened his aching back, grimacing as he rubbed it with his hands. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his cheeks and neck, and his body was soaked through, itching terribly.

I dare not take off my clothes to let the wind blow on me.

"You might get prickly heat if you're not careful."

He sighed, glanced at the darkening sky, and called out in the other direction, "Sister, stop."

After calling out several times, Zhang Fengxia finally turned around: "Little brother, take a rest if you're tired."

After saying that, he had to get back to work.

Helpless, Zhang Wenshan could only quickly step forward and grab her, saying, "We need to hurry back, or something bad might happen."

Wild animals were still present in the forests of Northeast China in 1982.

Their location is quite remote, and anything could happen in the dark. There are no cell phones or rescue teams available.

"Come early tomorrow." Zhang Fengxia's eyes shone as she looked at the vast, unexplored oak forest, still eager for more.

"It's no use coming earlier; there's only so much we can carry back." Zhang Wenshan kicked the baskets stuffed with food at his feet.

The older sister scratched her head and said, "Didn't we tear off the burlap sack last time?"

"We don't need those wood ear mushrooms." Zhang Wenshan picked up the basket and placed it on a dead tree. "Not to mention they might get damaged, if they rot, they'll be ruined."

"It's a pity it's busy with farming now, otherwise my parents could come too." Zhang Fengxia squatted down, put her hands through the basket bags on her back, and carried them steadily on her back. Then she helped her younger brother carry another basket on his back.

"Things from the mountains won't run away; take it slow and steady."

Zhang Wenshan grinned, his voice trembling.

Having not done heavy work for many years, the original owner of this body had delicate skin and tender flesh. Now, carrying more than ten kilograms of things, her shoulders ached from the pressure, making it even more difficult to walk.

"Why don't you walk slower, I'll run back to pick you up."

"Please don't."

Zhang Wenshan waved his hand in refusal, gritted his teeth and moved forward, constantly reassuring himself.

It would be great if we could set up a fishing and hunting team. Then we could have people do the work and we could just take charge.

The mountain road was already difficult to walk on, and the siblings had to protect the wood ear mushrooms from the bumps. It wasn't until dusk that they could barely see the shadow of Chishong Village.

……

"Hey Jianshe, what are you guys doing standing here like this?"

As people returned home one after another, they couldn't help but be curious to see Zhang Jianshe's family waiting at the end of the road.

"Nothing much, Dafeng and Shanzi went up the mountain," Zhang Jianshe replied expressionlessly, a pipe dangling from his lips.

"He left when he was supposed to, and hasn't come back yet, so it can't be..." Seeing the Zhang family's faces darken, the villager who asked the question quickly spat twice, "Look at my loose tongue, I'm sure everything's fine!"

"Where did they go?"

"Which mountain did you go into?"

"How about we call for people to go look for it?"

Some passersby asked a question and then walked away, some stopped to look around, and some walked away and then came back. Before long, a small group of people gathered at the entrance of the village.

"Don't worry, it's not completely dark yet. Maybe they were delayed by finding something good."

"What could possibly happen near the mountains this month..." someone muttered, only to be immediately silenced by several sharp glares.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. We've all seen the skills Shanzi learned from his master; he can even raise toads."

"Exactly, didn't you say before that Shanzi was preparing food and cutting off a piece of meat to give to you as a token of his respect?"

"Look, isn't that it?"

Someone shouted, and Xu Xiulian tiptoed to look. Two figures slowly approached in the twilight.

"Boss, fourth brother!"

She couldn't hold back any longer and shouted until her voice cracked. Zhang Jianshe and Zhao Hongwei remained silent and quickly went to meet her.

"Oh, Mother!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhang Wenshan felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

When I came to my senses, my father was already in front of me, his brows furrowed and his eyes blazing, looking very angry.

Zhang Wenshan sighed, too exhausted to change the subject. He was about to bow his head and accept the scolding when his shoulder suddenly felt light.

Looking again, the basket was already in the old man's hands.

At this moment, Xu Xiulian also ran over, her curses already escalating before she even arrived: "You two damned bastards... where did you get wood ear mushrooms this time of year?"