NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2 Going up the mountain
"Auntie, you get some rest first. I'll take Xiaodouzi to the mountains to pick some wild vegetables and fungi. I'll be back soon."
"Be careful when going up the mountain and come back soon!" Chen's illness has not recovered and his limbs are weak. It is difficult for his second daughter to be busy with farm work recently.
Mao Xi put the basket on his back and took his younger brother Xiaodouzi to the vegetable field first.
The family has a total of fifteen acres of land, ten acres of paddy fields, and five acres of vegetable fields.
It was September, the second season of rice was about to be sown, and the family was still waiting for oxen to plow the fields and turn over the soil.
"The lost buffalo must be found as soon as possible!"
Mao Xi took Xiaodouzi and watered the crops on the dry land.
We only planted some mustard greens and a small bunch of onions, ginger, and garlic at home. They were not growing well and most of them were still wild.
After packing up the farm tools, Mao Xi took Xiaodouzi to the back mountain.
After my father and brother were forced to join the army, the family lost labor. The rice harvest this spring was not good, and the rice jar at home was empty.
Usually, after Mao Xi completes farm work with Chen, he goes to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and eats them. If he doesn't finish eating, he takes some to the town to sell in exchange for some copper coins to buy rice and noodles.
Mao Xi followed the mountain road of memory and took Xiaodouzi to the depths of the back mountain.
During this season, wild vegetables were growing vigorously in the mountains, and Mao Xi quickly filled a basket with wild vegetables.
"Ding~" A holographic projection appeared in front of Mao Xi's eyes again. It was an online mall similar to that of a certain pin.
*** Mall L0 ***
The only items available for trade inside were wild vegetables and rice. Mao Xi clicked on the wild vegetables, and the mall displayed:
＜100 servings of wild vegetables are full＞
*** Mall L0 ＜Upgrading＞ ***
Mao Xi got 20 copper coins, and the wild vegetables on his back were all empty, and the wild vegetables in Xiaodouzi's basket were half empty.
This mall can be upgraded, which is really useful!
Mao Xi touched Xiaodouzi's basket and entered a virtual space. The remaining half of the basket of wild vegetables was also stored in it.
Could it be that I have come to a different world where everyone has their own shopping mall and space?
"Xiaodouzi, did you see the mall just now?" Ma Xi blurted out, tentatively asking his younger brother Xiaodouzi.
"Sister, what are you talking about, I don't understand? Hey, where are the wild vegetables in your basket?" Xiaodouzi blinked, confused.
"Sister, I got dizzy because I hit my head. You're just talking nonsense!" It seems that only I can see this virtual mall.
Mao Xi collected the 20 coins and picked some wild vegetables along the way and put them into his brother's and his own baskets.
The two of them explored together in the mountains.
The grass was moist and the air was mixed with the smell of earth. Based on experience, Mao Xi judged that it would rain in the early morning, which was a good time for mushroom growth.
The grass beside the old tree is covered with milk mushrooms. When you twist them gently, milk-like juice flows out gurglingly.
Mao Xi was overjoyed. She picked a large piece with a complete umbrella cover and packed half a basket on her back in an instant.
After the collection was completed, Mao Xi closed his eyes and opened them again. The projected mall system showed that it was still being upgraded.
"It's better not to put it in the space first, so as not to make my brother suspicious."
Xiaodouzi followed Mao Xi's example, grabbing some fallen leaves and covering the remaining small mushrooms.
Mao Xi climbed up the sunny slope with Xiaodouzi.
The breeze blows, and the fruity fragrance is faint. It is the sweet smell of myrtle in my memory.
The top of the hill is covered with purple wild fruits: myrtle.
The little bean couldn't hold back. He picked it one by one and put it in his mouth. After eating, he spit out a white core, like rice.
Mao Xi took out the cloth bag prepared in advance and picked it carefully.
Xiaodouzi ate two handfuls and began to work. The bag was quickly filled to the brim.
Putting the milk mushrooms in the basket into his brother's basket, Mao Xi carried a bag full of myrtles down another slope.
"When I collect enough money, I will buy a pork belly and cook "myrtle stewed pork belly" to replenish my mother's health. "
You can go back the same way on the right side of the road ahead, and there is a dense forest on the left that is rarely visited.
Mao Xi wanted to try his luck, maybe he could pick some rare wild mushrooms.
There is no road in the dense forest. Mao Xi is in front, chopping weeds with a sickle, crossing a small stream. There is a black and yellow native dog squatting on the small soil slope in front, wagging its tail.
Mao Xi was vigilant and protected Xiaodouzi behind him.
The native dog was quite smart and turned around to lead the way. When he saw that the two of them were not following, he stopped and turned around to look, and shook his head to indicate that he should follow.
Holding the sickle tightly, Ma Xi mustered up the courage to follow the native dog, keeping a distance of three meters in between.
The local dogs were taking a walk, stopping and walking, as if they thought they were walking too slowly.
Xiaodouzi followed behind, shouting to the native dog in a sweet voice: "Dahuang, Dahuang, can I call you Dahuang? Where are you taking us?"
After crossing another stream and climbing over two soil slopes, Dahuang brought Mianxi to a bamboo forest.
"Uh huh~uh huh~" The native dog stopped, pressed his mouth against the grass beside the bamboo, and murmured in a low voice.
The millet tidal wave pushed aside the fallen leaves on the grass, and the bamboo fungus flourished into pieces. The white mesh umbrella skirt surrounded the brown umbrella cover, like a fairy's dress.
In my memory, the dried bamboo fungus is the best in stews, and it is expensive. A kilogram of dry food costs several hundred yuan, and fresh food is even harder to find.
The bamboo fungus had only been growing for a few hours, so Ma Xi put down the basket on her back and picked it quickly before it withered.
Perhaps because she was too surprised to find a rare wild mushroom, Mao Xi lowered her guard and never thought that there was a poisonous snake hidden in the bamboo forest.
It emerged from the grass and was about to attack Mao Xi when a flying knife flew through the air and pinned the poisonous snake to the tree trunk nearby.
Mao Xi was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she collapsed on the ground. The native dog yelled at the source of the flying knife.
"Water..." came a weak voice.
Pushing aside the grass, Mao Xi saw a man dressed in black, with red blood on his left shoulder, pale lips, and extremely weak.
He took off the bamboo tube containing water from his waist and handed it to the man.
The man took the bamboo tube and drank greedily to quench his thirst.
"Drink slowly...Thank you for saving me!"
Without saying a word, the man dragged his weak body to the side of the poisonous snake, pulled out the throwing knife, wiped it clean and put it back into the sheath on his waist.
"Take me down the mountain..." Before he could finish his words, he collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious.
Mao Xi put her hands under the man's nose and wrist, "There is also a pulse. It should be due to blood loss overnight and hypoglycemia."
She put her fingers on the man's penis and pressed it a few times, and the man woke up.
Mao Xi untied the myrtle in the bag, grabbed a handful and put it in the man's hand, then grabbed another handful and gave it to Xiaodouzi.
"You eat this first to feel relieved, and I'll take you down the mountain. Xiaodouzi, give your water to big brother too."
Xiaodouzi was amazed by her sister's behavior. He didn't know that she could also heal people. She obediently followed Mao Xi's instructions and gave the man water and wild fruits.
"You still don't know your name?" Shui Xi asked, imitating the tone of the ancients.
The man took a moment to rest, and after his breathing calmed down, he raised his eyebrows slightly: "My name is Mu... Muyuan - Muyuan from 'Guanshan Ranch, Horse Racing in the Wilderness'."
"Brother Mu, thank you very much. My name is Liu Shuxi. You can just call me Ah Shu."
"There are many snakes and insects here. How can you, a woman, come here alone?"
"Thanks to rhubarb, 'If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch the tiger's cubs'!" Ah Shu picked up a basket full of bamboo fungus and smiled.
The local dog Dahuang and his younger brother Xiaodouzi were playing together.
"It turns out to be a farmer's fungus picking girl. I'll go to her house to stay for a few days before making any plans."
Mu Zhiyuan figured that Shu Xi had no dangerous intentions, so he gave a false name and followed her down the mountain.