Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Back Mountain

As Lin Shu ventured deeper into the mountains, she also found patches of fiddlehead ferns and kudzu vine roots, and there were surprisingly many of them, which delighted her.

By autumn, just the roots of these two plants alone could be used to make many delicious dishes.

Wait, were those taro leaf stems?

The stems of this plant, once processed, are excellent for braising duck or fish, and when pickled, they make a perfect accompaniment to congee. They can be harvested next month!

The variety of trees went without saying—along the way, Lin Shu had already seen pine trees, cedar trees, mulberry trees, tung trees, and locust trees...

As for wild fruit trees, there were even more varieties! Although she didn’t see any Japanese raisin tree fruit, she did see firethorn berries, wild lychees, wild kiwis, and even August melons!

August melons, also known as "August bursts," naturally split open in August, revealing the pulp inside. You can simply scoop it out with a spoon—the taste is wonderfully soft, sticky, and sweet!

Firethorn berries and wild lychees bloom early and have already borne fruit. The petals of the August melons are in full bloom, hanging in purple clusters from the branches like grapes, looking absolutely beautiful.

Lin Xiaopu had been following Lin Shu’s gaze, and noticing her interest in the wild fruit trees, she asked, "Sister, are you looking for wild fruit trees?"

"Yes, I love eating wild fruits the most."

"Sister, you like these countryside wild fruits too?"

Lin Xiaopu was first delighted, but then her face fell. "But finding them is useless. Every year, when the wild fruits on the back mountain are about to ripen, the village children fight over them. Especially these August bursts—once they’re fully ripe, they’re incredibly sweet and sticky. That Wang Yingen from the village always marks the territory early, claiming these wild fruit trees and not letting anyone else touch them. There’s no way we’d get any."

"But don’t worry, Sister. We don’t need to fight with them because Brother Ye will bring back lots of wild fruits from the deep mountains—they’re even tastier than these!" As she spoke, the little girl’s earlier gloom vanished, and she lifted her chin proudly.

Her smug expression made Lin Shu chuckle. It seemed Zhou Ye was quite a responsible older brother.

"Picking them yourself is part of the fun. I’ll go have a word with that Wang Yingen you mentioned." After all, she was an adult—how could a child outsmart her?

Lin Xiaopu shook her head in resistance. Suddenly, she remembered something and leaned in mischievously, whispering, "Sister, I know another place on the back mountain where there are wild fruits. Only I know about it. Come with me!"

The little girl looked around mysteriously and led Lin Shu to a hidden spot.

It was a concealed small slope, blocked by a few large rocks in front. Behind the slope, hidden among some thorny weeds, was a small cluster of plants.

Lin Shu looked closely—these weren’t weeds at all, but the Rosa laevigata (Cherokee rose) bushes she had been thinking about earlier! However, this particular bush was quite short and, at first glance, resembled weeds.

The Rosa laevigata fruits had already started growing but were still small. Not only were the bushes covered in thorns, but the small green obovate fruits were also covered in tiny prickly hairs.

"We call these ‘sugar jars.’ They’re not ripe yet, but once they’re fully ripe, they’re super sweet when picked and eaten! There are more on the other side of the mountain, a whole patch of them, but too many people know about that spot, so I never get to pick any. Only this place is hidden."

Lin Shu was also delighted. "I’ll remember this spot. Once the frost comes, we’ll come here to pick them, and I’ll make you some candy!"

Lin Xiaopu’s eyes lit up. "Sister, can these sugar jars really be used to make syrup?"

"Why do you think they’re called sugar jars? Not only can they be used to make syrup, but they can also be used to make wine." Lin Shu smiled mysteriously. "Rosa laevigata wine is really good, especially for men."

"Xiao Pu, let’s go check out the bamboo forest."

Aside from these scattered wild fruit trees, the mountains were also covered in vast stretches of bamboo, lush and green. In spring, you could eat spring bamboo shoots, and in winter, you could eat winter bamboo shoots.

Lin Shu wondered if these bamboos could be freely harvested. If so, she could cut a few to make bamboo utensils—larger ones for bamboo baskets, stools, or sofas. After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather would quickly get hotter, so they could also make bamboo mats. Smaller ones could be used for storage tubes. There were so many things bamboo could be used for.

Feeling eager, Lin Shu asked about it.

Lin Xiaopu explained, "Sister, the more bamboo you cut, the more it grows. So, the villagers can cut bamboo from the back mountain as they please—they can even use it to build houses."

"Then why doesn’t anyone use bamboo to build houses?" Lin Shu asked.

"Because it’s too much work, and it’s not warm in winter. In our Sweetwater Village, only Grandpa Gao is a bamboo craftsman. Anyone in the village who wants bamboo back baskets, winnowing baskets, or bamboo baskets goes to Grandpa Gao and pays him with grain or copper coins. Just making one bamboo back basket costs forty copper coins! All the back baskets in our village are made by Grandpa Gao."

Lin Shu didn’t think forty copper coins was too much, because she also knew how to weave bamboo tools. Making a back basket was quite labor-intensive—even a simple one took five or six hours, while more complex ones could take two or three days. And if you weren’t careful, you could end up with cuts all over your hands.

"Sister, what do you want to cut bamboo for?" Lin Xiaopu asked curiously.

"So many things! Next time, we’ll bring the axe we use for chopping firewood and cut a couple of bamboo poles to take back!"

Lin Xiaopu said seriously, "Even if we cut them, we won’t be able to carry them. We’ll need to ask Brother Ye to carry them back."

"Well... just two bamboos... I should be able to manage... right?"

Lin Shu thought about how she had lost her immense strength and remembered her pampered years in the marquis’s residence. She fell silent for a moment.

In the past, she handled everything herself. Who would have thought that now she’d need help just to carry some bamboo?

But Lin Shu didn’t dwell on such small matters. In her previous life, as a "violent delicate flower," she knew when to play weak. Now that she was truly delicate, she wasn’t going to push herself.

"Sister, bamboo might look light, but it’s actually very heavy. And the axe at home was brought by Brother Ye when he was fleeing famine—it’s his. If we want to borrow the axe, we’ll have to ask him."

Lin Shu casually asked, "What else did he bring when he was fleeing famine?"

Lin Xiaopu thought for a moment and said, "There was a large hammer, an iron pot, and various knives—similar to the ones Grandpa Gao has. But Brother Ye gave most of those things to others and only kept the axe for himself."

Lin Shu: "...With so many tools, could he have been a carpenter or a blacksmith before fleeing famine?"

Lin Xiaopu shook her head. "I don’t know. Brother Ye doesn’t like talking about the famine, so I’ve never asked him."

Lin Shu asked a few more questions but didn’t press further, her attention fully captured by the mountains.

The bamboo roots underfoot were very well-developed. She wondered if there might be—

"Bamboo fungus!" Lin Shu suddenly exclaimed, overjoyed.

She had just been thinking that the well-developed roots in the bamboo forest might yield bamboo fungus, and sure enough, she spotted one!

The bamboo fungus was hidden among the weeds in the forest, already wilted. If Lin Shu hadn’t been sharp-eyed, she would have missed it.

Bamboo fungus is very particular about harvesting time—it grows vigorously before dawn but stops by noon. By the afternoon, when the spores on the cap mature, it begins to dissolve. So, it’s best to harvest it early in the morning.

It must have rained in Sweetwater Village the night before, because bamboo fungus only grows after rain. A day later, most of it had already dissolved. It could still be harvested and eaten, but it certainly wouldn’t be as fresh and delicious as when it first emerges.

"Sister, can this bamboo fungus be eaten?" Lin Xiaopu asked in surprise. "The elders in the village say that the prettier the mushrooms in the mountains, the more poisonous they are. This bamboo fungus looks really beautiful when it first emerges, but everyone says it’s toxic, so no one dares to pick and eat it."

Sweetwater Village has an abundance of mushrooms, especially in the summer months of June and July, when they sprout up in large patches. The villagers can’t even eat them all, so they only pick the ones that are definitely non-toxic. When it comes to these pretty mushrooms, everyone avoids them if they can.

Lin Shu immediately wore an expression of pained regret, as if witnessing a great waste. "Do you know what kind of delicacy you’ve been missing? Bamboo fungus has an exceptional texture—crisp, tender, and refreshing. If used in soup, especially chicken soup, the flavor... ah, it’s incredibly delicious! Just the aroma alone can make your mouth water!"

No wonder bamboo fungus is known as the "Queen of Mushrooms"!

Not only does bamboo fungus taste great, but it also has medicinal properties. It can nourish qi, replenish yin, calm the mind, and strengthen the body. It’s very nourishing and would be perfect for helping Xiao Pu regain her health!

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