kingnovel Chapter 441 Another Mushroom Picking Day
Chapter 441 Another Mushroom Picking Day
Some families in the village made a fortune selling wild vegetables in the spring. They would travel day and night carrying their goods to the county town. As a result, the streets were full of wild vegetables. Everyone sold them very cheaply. The best quality ones were five cents per pound, and the worst ones were two cents per pound. Later, as the sales increased, some even sold them for three cents per pound.
But no matter how few mosquitoes there are, it's still meat. Anyway, there's nothing to do at this time, so every penny earned counts. Everyone is not afraid of the hard work and takes all the mushrooms found in the mountains to the county town. The best ones can earn more than a hundred cents a day, which is much better than working for a landlord.
But pine mushrooms are seasonal after all, and the season lasts for half a month at most. After half a month, they gradually disappear from the mountains.
Gradually, people stopped going into the mountains. They couldn’t find a pound of fish in a whole day, and their shoes were worn out. It was really not worth it.
The family that worked the most efficiently in the village earned more than one string of silver in the past half month.
He talked proudly about it every day in the village, saying that he didn't know that these things that were everywhere in the mountains and plains in previous years could actually be sold in the county town. Although they were not as expensive as sheep mushrooms, after selling them for so many days, the family worked hard from morning till night and made a lot of money, which was much better than working for the landlord.
Even if you earn less, you can still earn two or three hundred coins, which is considered an extra income. Although it is a little small, it is still income. Moreover, even if you work for a landlord, you can earn thirty coins a day and it will take ten days to work, which is not a small amount.
The Zhou family dried four more sacks of dried mushrooms in one go. Together with the four sacks left over from last year, they now had eight sacks of dried pine mushrooms at home.
Zhou Guo looked at these wild mushrooms and thought that he must take them to the market to sell some when there is no vegetable in winter. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have to be eaten year after year? If they were dried wild mushrooms for three years, would they still be edible?
Zhou Su saw the villagers carrying baskets of pine mushrooms to the county town to sell. He was so itchy that he asked Zhou Guo eagerly, "Sister, can we also take the pine mushrooms we found to the county town to sell?"
Zhou Guo touched his head and said with a smile, "Look, so many people are selling them. Pine mushrooms can't be sold at a high price. We can only sell a bunch of them at most. It's better to save them for ourselves in the winter. We have to buy vegetables when there's no vegetables. We can save some money."
Zhou Su lowered his head in disappointment.
Zhou Guo said, "It's okay. When the pine mushrooms come out in the mountains in a while, I'll take you into the mountains to pick them. I tell you, pine mushrooms are more expensive than goat mushrooms. If we pick a lot, we'll take them to the city to sell. You can give 80% of what you pick to mom, and you can keep the rest for yourself, okay?"
Zhou Su's eyes lit up and he said, "No, I will give it all to mom when the time comes. It's useless for me to keep the money. I still have New Year's money."
The little guy didn’t use any of his New Year’s money. Last year, all the food he bought for the New Year was given by his brothers, and he treated the little money in his hand very preciously.
Zhou Guo smiled. He didn't know if there were many pine mushrooms this year. If they grew as much as last year, he should be able to earn more by taking them to the provincial capital, right?
The old man would go to the mountains every day when the time came. Even if he couldn't pick any mushrooms, the shadowless fish in the mountains were at their plumpest at this time. He could catch one or two and roast them. They were sweet and chewy, without any earthy smell. It was a rare delicacy!
Zhou Guo stood in the water with her trouser legs rolled up, her eyes constantly scanning around. She had been standing in the pond for half an hour, but hadn't caught a single fish. This year's fish seemed to be even more elusive, and were much harder to catch than last year.
Another quarter of an hour passed before he finally saw a vague shadow diagonally in front of him. His limbs were faster than his brain and he rushed forward like an arrow. He just managed to grab the tail of the shadowless fish and pinched his fingers hard into the fish's body to prevent it from escaping.
She lifted the fish up hard, wow, it was longer than her arm.
Zhou Su clapped his hands and cheered.
The old man was so overjoyed that he waved at her, not even wanting the fishing rod, "Come on, come on, throw it up, and let's go back quickly."
Zhou Guo wiped the water off his face as he looked at the fish. In order to catch it, he threw his whole body into the water. His whole body was wet and dripping with water.
She didn't care, as the fish would dry up in a short while in this weather, but this fish was really rare. It was the second fish she caught this year, and it was so big that it was enough for the whole family to eat.
This fish must be eaten while it is fresh. If it dies for a while longer, the freshness will be lost. In order to let the whole family eat this fish, Zhou Guo brought a wooden barrel with him when he went up the mountain. However, the barrel was a bit small. In order to make room for the fish, he took out the other grass carp and crucian carp in the barrel, tied them together with straw ropes, and changed the bucket of water.
Zhou Guo put the shadowless fish in it. There were too many fish and the bucket was too small. Once it entered, its whole body curled up.
The old man and Zhou Su saw the finger-like holes on its tail and couldn't help but grin, "How long can it live?"
Zhou Guo closed the lid, picked up the bucket and turned to walk down the mountain. "I don't know. Let's go quickly while we are still alive. Master, please carry Xiao Su on your back."
The old man picked up Zhou Su, who was still confused, and put him on his back, then ran down the mountain with a string of fish.
On the narrow mountain path, two figures, one tall and one short, were running quickly one after the other, and they moved forward a long distance while rising and falling.
It was the first time for Zhou Suli to be carried like this. He was not afraid at all. It was very novel and exciting.
The three of them returned home as the sun set.
The whole family came out.
"How's it going? Have the pine mushrooms come out? Have you found one?"
Zhou Guo shook his head, "No, I walked through several mountains and didn't see a single one."
Then he said, "Hurry, light a fire, the fish is going to die!"
"What fish?" Everyone was confused. They saw the fish in the old man's hand. Wasn't the fish dead?
The old man put Zhou Su down and went to get firewood. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: this fish will not taste good if it dies, and it will not be fresh if it dies!
Zhou Guo opened the lid and saw that the Shadowless Fish began to turn sideways. She took a look at it halfway and it was still quite energetic inside, but now it seemed to be on its last breath.
Everyone leaned over and saw the shadowless fish in the bucket. It was so big that they were overjoyed and shouted in unison: "Quick, quick, make a fire, bring some firewood, bring some firewood..."
Everyone dispersed and started to work in the yard.
Shadowless fish!
We have only eaten two this year. It was when we went up the mountain to pick pine mushrooms. The old man and Zhou Guo caught them from the pond. The two were only the size of a forearm, and each of them finished them in just a few bites. This one was so big that it really surprised everyone.
The originally quiet yard suddenly became lively.
Zhou Guo took the fish to process it. By the time she finished, the fire was lit and the old man was already sitting by the fire waiting.
Zhou Guo handed the fish to him, and she also processed the rest of the fish, rubbed it with salt, and put it in the well, intending to eat it tomorrow.
When dinner is ready, the fish is also grilled. This kind of fish does not need any seasoning except salt. Adding too much seasoning will cover up its own flavor and it will not taste good.