Chapter 409 - 401: Searching for Mountain Goods

With so many people, the work went by quickly. Everyone sat in the courtyard, where they had brought out an electric lamp. The light wasn’t bright, but the sight of everyone talking, chatting, and working under its glow was heartwarming.

In the mountains, even in October, you could hear the croaking of frogs and the chirping of cicadas.

It was these very sounds that made the mountain village, cloaked in night, feel so alive.

Once the small mountain of persimmons was peeled and hung one by one in a cool, shady place, Yun Jiao and the others didn’t go back inside. Instead, they each grabbed a persimmon and sat down in the courtyard to eat.

Grandma Shen suddenly remembered they hadn’t finished the mooncakes she’d bought for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Want some mooncakes? You all brought so many that we still haven’t finished them."

"What kind of fillings are there?"

"Mixed nut, jujube paste, and red bean paste. Those are the only three kinds. What filling do you want?"

"I want the mixed nut one," Yun Xiaowu said.

Yun Linhai said he wanted the mixed nut one, too.

"I want the red bean paste one," said Yun Jiao.

Everyone had their own preferences, so Grandma Shen simply got a clean winnowing basket, lined it with newspaper, placed ten or so mooncakes on it, and brought it out to the courtyard.

Everyone grabbed the mooncake they liked and began to eat.

After they finished eating, it was getting late.

There were many people today, but the Shen family’s house had limited rooms, not enough to accommodate everyone.

But that was hardly a problem for them.

Yun Jiao and her brothers just made beds on the floor.

And they were very enthusiastic about it.

They laid down a layer of dry straw for padding, then a cooling mat, followed by a thin blanket.

As soon as the floor beds were ready, Yun Xiaowu and the others were already rolling around on them gleefully.

Shen Xiuyuan joined in on the fun, too.

After some roughhousing, they huddled together, whispering and occasionally letting out bursts of laughter.

When kids get together, they just get more and more energetic. It wasn’t until an adult from the next room came to make them go to sleep that they finally lay down obediently.

But as soon as the adult left, someone started talking again.

"Are we still going to pick persimmons tomorrow?" Shen Xiuyuan asked.

"Why? Got something more fun in mind?" said Yun Xiaowu.

"You bet! There are lots of things. There are some late-ripening August melons, the chestnuts and walnuts in the mountains are ready to be knocked down, and there are kiwis..."

There were quite a lot of fruits ripe for the picking in the mountains this season.

"Then let’s go look for them tomorrow," Yun Xiaowu said excitedly.

"Jiaojiao is coming too."

Yun Jiao was already drowsy and half-asleep. She didn’t quite hear what her brothers were talking about, just mumbling a couple of "uh-huhs" in response.

The next morning, Grandma Shen cooked eggs for everyone.

Sweet-soup eggs.

Yun Jiao held her small bowl, finished the three eggs inside, and drank up every last drop of the sweet soup.

The adults had to go work in the fields again.

Yun Jiao, Yun Xiaowu, and the others slung their baskets on their backs and ran toward the persimmon grove again.

This time, however, they only made one trip before they were ready to head deep into the mountain forest.

"What are you going into the mountains for?" Yun Chenbei asked.

"To find other things to eat! There are tons of edible things in the mountains."

Yun Chenbei hesitated for a few seconds. After a quick word with Shen Kuan, they decided to follow the children.

Otherwise, they would have been too worried to rest easy.

With Yun Jiao present, the children boldly ventured deeper into the mountains.

In some places, the path disappeared entirely, and they had to use a machete to clear the way.

Yun Jiao, meanwhile, kept a lookout for any dangers in their surroundings.

Things like venomous snakes and wild boars.

But if a wild boar were to actually appear, it would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—gone for good.

And with Yun Jiao there, wouldn’t that just be serving up an extra dish?

Yun Jiao’s five senses were sharp. She could detect any snake coiled in the dry grass as long as it wasn’t too far away.

Fearing the venomous snakes might bite someone, Yun Jiao would usually just grab them and toss them far away.

As long as it wasn’t exceptionally unlucky, a snake typically wouldn’t die from being thrown onto a tree or the leaf-strewn ground.

Of course, there were always a few particularly unlucky ones.

For instance, just now, Yun Jiao had grabbed a venomous snake and tossed it. As it soared high into the air, a dark shadow flashed by.

Before the unlucky snake could even hit the ground, it was snatched by an eagle.

To the eagle, it must have been like: ’Is lunch delivering itself?!’

"Is that an eagle?"

Everyone looked up at the sky. The eagle didn’t fly off too quickly after grabbing the snake, so they all got a clear look.

Yun Jiao nodded. "Yeah, it’s an eagle."

"That snake is so unlucky," everyone chimed in.

After that little interlude, they walked a bit further and came across several chestnut trees.

The outermost layer of a chestnut is a spiny husk, like a sea urchin’s, and the spines are quite sharp.

The husks of ripe chestnuts crack open.

Some of the chestnuts that had fallen to the ground were already free of their spiny husks; those could simply be picked up.

Most, however, were still encased in their spiky shells.

For those, you had to step on the husk with the sole of your shoe, then carefully pull out the chestnut inside.