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

Xu Xiulian stared wide-eyed at the two large baskets of wood ear mushrooms, her face filled with surprise.

Not just her.

The other people who gathered around also looked on with surprise.

"Good heavens, you guys stole the whole black fungus soup?"

"Aren't wood ear mushrooms only available during the spring and autumn?"

"You were really lucky to find a shady slope with half-dried fallen trees."

Exclamations of amazement rose and fell. Some knowledgeable people made their own guesses, but no one asked for the specific location. However, many people looked at the mountains hidden in the darkness with eager eyes.

"Go further afield," Zhang Wenshan casually reminded him. "There are snakes on the road."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions tightened, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, they dispersed.

Xu Xiulian pulled her son over and checked him over: "Did you really encounter a snake?"

Looking at the basket full of wood ear mushrooms, she was happy, but a wave of fear washed over her.

"No, you forgot the snake repellent medicine that I specially went to the pharmacy to buy, it cost 28 cents?" Zhang Fengxia replied.

"That's good. Don't go too far in the future." Xu Xiulian patted her chest, happily took out two handfuls of wood ear mushrooms from the basket, and brought them close to her eyes to examine them carefully.

They're huge, almost all top-quality; you can't find any like them around the village.

"Well, there aren't many left. I should be able to come back early tomorrow," Zhang Wenshan estimated the area of ​​the oak forest and gave his answer.

"Huh, there's more?"

Everyone's eyes, including Xu Xiulian's, immediately fixed on him, filled with suspicion.

Zhang Jianshe even slung the heavy basket on his back over his shoulder.

That's right, at least ten kilograms!

In previous years, the two of them would go up the mountain and work themselves to the bone to get this done, and they would have to burn incense in gratitude. Now, their daughter and son haven't even finished in one day, and they have to go again tomorrow.

Are there really such big differences between people?

"That place is remote, and it got rained on a couple of days ago, so the wood ear mushrooms are growing fast." Zhang Wenshan smiled.

Before setting off, he hadn't expected to be able to hug so many.

The older sister added vividly, "My younger brother went straight up the shady slope, saying that oak trees love that spot... I can't really imitate him, but it's just like picking them up directly, so easy."

Zhang Jianshe couldn't help but ask, "Who taught you that too?"

"Yes." Zhang Wenshan nodded. "My master told me a lot of things and asked me to write them down. Some of them I can only remember when I encounter them."

"What other family members does your master have? Where is his grave?"

"That's right, we have to go and see. The old man passed down such great skills, we have to show our appreciation."

Zhang Wenshan could only bite the bullet and say, "My master's hometown is in the Greater Khingan Mountains. His family took him back there."

"Why……"

When I got home, my third sister was preparing dinner with her little nephew.

Upon seeing his parents return, Zhao Qiang immediately jumped up to greet them, but stopped abruptly as he got closer, tilting his head to look.

"Mother, what is this?"

"I don't even recognize wood ear mushrooms," Zhang Fengxia said without turning her head as she helped her husband unload the basket.

Xu Xiulian said reproachfully, "He doesn't even remember the last time we ate wood ear mushrooms!"

Zhang Wenshan, who was walking at the back, scratched his head.

Well, it's the original owner's fault again.

"Is it delicious?" Zhao Qiang's eyes lit up when he heard that it was edible, and he licked his lips.

"It doesn't taste good! This is for exchanging money!" Zhang Fengxia said irritably.

"Oh." Zhao Qiang scratched his head, puzzled. "If it doesn't taste good, why would anyone pay for it?"

"..."

"If you know how to cook it, it will taste good," Zhang Wenshan replied with a smile.

"Tear up some stir-fried meat, crack in two eggs and fry them, throw them into soup to simmer, chop them up to make braised noodles, grab a cucumber, smash it and make a cold salad, sprinkle with sugar, vinegar, scallions, and salt, and finally drizzle with sesame oil..."

He got more and more excited as he talked, his mouth started to taste sour, and his mouth watered.

Looking at everyone else, their eyes widened in disbelief.

My little nephew Zhao Qiang drooled onto his clothes, but he managed to hold back his drool and didn't make a fuss.

"Sister, pick two cucumbers!" Without saying a word, Zhang Wenshan grabbed a large handful of wood ear mushrooms and rushed into the outer room. "Father and Mother, rinse all the wood ear mushrooms."

He has never been one to mistreat himself.

Busy with work and running around, isn't it all just to make life a little better for myself?

If you're craving something, just eat it!

Of course, I need to get my mother busy first, otherwise I'm afraid she won't eat well.

"This wasteful stuff, dried, could sell for three or four yuan a pound..." Zhang Jianshe was about to stop him, but when he caught sight of the two baskets of wood ear mushrooms that looked like small mountains, the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat.

Resigned to his fate, he squatted down and began to work.

Xu Xiulian also sighed, "Our child is so capable; we all benefit from it."

"We still need to keep an eye on him. Who knows what will happen next? He's too loose-fisted and doesn't know how to calculate things."

Zhao Hongwei babbled beside him, and Zhao Qiang immediately translated: "Dad said that my uncle gets to hug good things every day."

"That's true!" Xu Xiulian nodded in agreement. "My youngest son is so lucky."

"Luck can't always be on your side. I need to find someone who can keep him tied down, but unfortunately, it's not a good time to arrange a marriage right now..."

"Why is it so hard to make arrangements? Fourth Brother's skills..."

The elderly couple bickered intermittently, their faces beaming with smiles.

Suddenly, the aroma of oil wafted over.

Xu Xiulian jumped up and rushed into the house with a cry of alarm: "You son of a bitch, my lard!"

The whole family ate until their bellies were round after dinner.

Zhang Wenshan not only mixed the wood ear mushrooms, but also took out the wild eggs from before and stir-fried them.

We've already done it, what can we do if we don't eat it?

After the meal, everyone pitched in to take the cleaned wood ear mushrooms to the storage room to dry.

Zhang Wenshan had already set up two shelves, laid out clean old straw mats, and spread out the wood ear mushrooms one by one.

"Fourth brother, what's the story behind this?" Xu Xiulian asked疑惑地, "Won't it be completely dry by tomorrow morning in the yard?"

"It looks good and is clean after drying like this," Zhang Wenshan explained. "By the way, Mother, do you have any jars or containers at home that can be sealed?"

"Yes, what for?"

"It's resistant to snakes, insects, rodents, and ants, and it won't get damp. The dried wood ear mushrooms won't break either, so they'll be of good quality and fetch a high price when they're purchased."

After a busy day, Zhang Wenshan finished cleaning the wood ear mushrooms and went straight to sleep.

I didn't get up early the next morning either.

But Li Dong and his two companions got up in the dark and rushed to the ditch where the cages were set up as soon as it was getting light.

They were determined to steal their business.

I deliberately put the cages down at night and collected them early in the morning.

"Damn it, this is inhuman work!" Zhou Ergou yawned repeatedly, his eyelids drooping.

Wang Kai, cracking sunflower seeds, urged, "Hurry up! Old Zhang's family will be here soon!"

"Then why don't you lend a hand?"

"I don't know where you got off!"

Li Dong pointed to his leg and shrugged, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Damn it! I'll take a cut of the money!" Zhou Ergou cursed as he walked to the shore, grabbed the rope, and pulled hard.

Before long, five or six fish traps swayed and floated to the surface of the water.

Some were rectangular, some were cylindrical, many willow branches were broken apart, and some were even torn open.

"Where did you get this junk from?" Li Dong asked, his eyes wide. "Didn't I tell you to make it up yourselves?"

"It's a bit tight, but as long as it works, that's fine."

"I really am..." Li Dong rolled his eyes and said irritably, "But you can't just tie them together, you have to separate them, right?"

"Why didn't you do it earlier?" Zhou Ergou retorted, glaring at him. "I don't know how to do it."

"Alright, alright, let's see how much stock we have," Wang Kai said, trying to smooth things over.

The two men got excited when they heard this and went closer to look into the cage.

The next second, all three of them were dumbfounded!

"Why is there so little?"