The forest was dense, the morning mist was thick, and the roar of wild beasts could be heard in the distance, adding a bit of mystery to Woniu Mountain. Although it was scary, the forest was also generous. Various fungi thrived among the rotten leaves at the bottom of the trees, and there were also patches of wild fruits and unknown flowers and plants.
After walking in the forest for about an incense stick of time, Zhu Shouyi gradually slowed down his pace, carefully checked the ground around him, and then signaled Zhu Pingan and the other man to stand there and not move. Then, Zhu Shouyi put down the basket behind him, gently placed it in the grass, and then took out some ropes from it.
"These footprints are those of a hare. Hares don't like to take detours and will always go straight to the end, jumping and hopping. So when setting the trap, we need to place it higher and don't damage the surrounding flowers and plants. We need to keep it as it is. Rabbits are very timid and won't dare to move if the flowers and plants change..." Zhu Shouyi explained to his two sons how to set a trap for a hare while setting it. "Rabbits jump and hop quickly, so they won't notice the trap we set. Once they run into the trap, they won't be able to get out."
Zhu Pingan noticed that the traps his father set were very simple. They were made of readily available materials, such as sticks, branches, and ropes. The ropes were used to make two traps. The first trap was used to catch hares. When the rabbits got into the trap, they would be strangled tightly. The second trap was a protective trap that could block the first trap, leaving a minimum size to protect the rabbit's life. This chain trap is indispensable. The first trap catches the rabbit, and the second trap ensures that the rabbit is alive.
After setting three traps, Zhu's father led his two sons to take a different route, saying that if they were lucky, they would be able to see the fat rabbits when they came back down the mountain.
Gradually, the three of them had their share of catches: two pheasants, which were caught by Zhu's father after he found a pheasant coop and set a trap outside it; five big carps weighing two or three pounds, which were caught in a mountain stream. The stream was very shallow and had been blocked with stones, so there were many fish in it, and they caught the heavy ones, otherwise they could have caught more than ten; they also picked about ten pounds of wild mushrooms and fungus, and Zhu Ping'an also contributed about one pound.
When passing by a bamboo forest, Zhu Ping'an thought of the bamboo shoots mentioned in A Bite of China, and shouted that he wanted to eat bamboo shoots. After hearing this, Zhu's father's eyes lit up, and he readily put down the bamboo basket and took out a pointed hoe from it.
Zhu's father was an expert at digging bamboo shoots. He could tell where the bamboo shoots were and how big they were just by looking at the color of the leaves. He dug about eight or nine bamboo shoots in a short while. They were all short and thick, about 20 centimeters long, and they were all tender and just right for eating. There was also bacon at home, and the taste of green bamboo shoots and bacon was the best.
We had lunch on the mountain at noon. We picked some wild fruits and caught three larger fish in the mountain stream. We roasted them over a fire. We also had some dry food we brought from home. In particular, my dad even found a gourd, which he cut open, cleaned, and used stream water to make a fish soup. The milky white fish soup rolled in the gourd. The purest and most natural aroma of the fish soup was simply irresistible. My dad's basket was like Doraemon's pocket, and it even had salt in it.
With his mouth drooling and his stomach full, Zhu Ping'an felt that this was the most filling and best meal he had had since coming to the Ming Dynasty. It was a hundred times better than what he had eaten at home.
After dinner, we took a short rest and then started looking for good things in the mountains again.
The small animals in the mountains were very alert, perhaps because they were frightened by the hunters. They all seemed to have become spirits, and disappeared without a trace at the slightest movement. At this time, Zhu Pingan missed the silly roe deer in the movie "Where Are We Going, Dad?" from the distant past. If only there was one here, he would surely be able to catch it easily.
Unfortunately, this is the Anhui and Hubei area, and there are no silly roe deer. Although there are no silly roe deer, Zhu Pingan still found something good: a large area of white and golden flowers blooming under the trees over there.
It turned out to be honeysuckle. Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up and he ran over immediately.
"Zhi'er, don't run around." Zhu's father hurriedly followed.
Zhu Pingan ran to the honeysuckle and carefully checked it. The flowers all looked like sticks, thick on the top and thin on the bottom, slightly curved, and the surface of the flower was yellow-white or green-white with a layer of fluff on it. Zhu Pingan looked at it for a while and found that it was indeed the honeysuckle described in the Compendium of Materia Medica. According to the records he had read before, honeysuckle can be said to be the easiest Chinese medicine to prepare. After simple sun drying and shade drying, you can get a Chinese medicine that medical students can use. The Compendium of Materia Medica records: bitter, cold in nature, good at clearing the upper part of the body and the toxic evil on the skin surface. The price of those that can be included in the Compendium of Materia Medica will not be too cheap.
Picking these honeysuckle flowers, taking them home to dry and selling them to pharmacies could be a good way to make money.
Zhu Pingan made a mark nearby. If he could sell it this time, he could come here to pick it directly in the future. There are many honeysuckle flowers here, and Zhu Pingan picked the best ones, only picking the flower buds. Because this way of picking can get the best honeysuckle flowers, which are the most valuable.
When Zhu's father came over worriedly, Zhu Ping'an was picking flowers with his butt sticking out. He looked so happy.
Picking flowers
The corners of Zhu's father's eyes twitched a little. Could it be that his youngest son was a playboy who hung out with women? !
"Why are you picking flowers? Come on, Daddy will take you to pick some fruits!" Zhu's father felt that he had an obligation to correct his son's bad habits.
Zhu Ping'an looked up at his father, shook his head, and continued picking.
"The fruit is very sweet and delicious." Father Zhu continued to work hard.
"This can be sold for money." Zhu Ping'an muttered while picking flowers.
Zhu's father curled his lips. What money can you get from selling these wild flowers? There are wild flowers and weeds everywhere in the mountains, but I haven't seen anyone selling them for money! He patiently said to his son, "People in the city buy good flowers like peonies and roses, not these flowers. These flowers can be fed to pigs, and pigs won't eat them!"
Pigs won’t eat it even if you feed it
You see, this is why the villagers are so poor!
Whether it can be sold or not is not up to you to judge with a pig!
"Brother, let me help you." Zhu Pingchuan felt sorry for his brother, so he put down the basket and helped pick flowers.
His idea was simple: whatever his younger brother wanted, the older brother would get it for him.
"Then you can only pick this kind of flower." Zhu Ping'an took out a standard high-quality honeysuckle and showed it to Zhu Pingchuan.
"Yeah." The simple and honest elder brother nodded and helped pick honeysuckle.