My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 83 Mountain Fun
After this incident, Chen Erzhu has become completely well-behaved.

Chen Ling stayed home for two days. After more than half a month had passed, he should have gone to the county town to sell vegetables.

However, once a person's livelihood is secure, they lose the motivation to improve themselves.

Thinking that I could earn nearly two thousand yuan each time I sold vegetables, enough to eat for half a year, I wasn't in such a hurry to go anymore.

As a result, Chen Ling became even lazier.

Even when Wang Susu urged him to sell the dried medicinal herbs, he only said to wait a few more days until Zhao Dahai's friend came to see the eels.

Wang Susu thought what he said made a lot of sense. After all, if someone could offer a higher price, she would be willing to sell this hot potato. Otherwise, keeping it at home would easily attract thieves.

However, after waiting for two or three days, the person still didn't show up.

Chen Ling was tired of staying at home, so he decided to take his two dogs, carry a bamboo basket, and head into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs.

As they left the village, they encountered Liu Ni'er and a group of children playing wildly on the country path. When they heard Chen Ling say that he was going into the mountains, they all became excited and shouted that they wanted to go with him.

It's almost the end of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, and the wheat has already formed ears.

Many villagers were either irrigating the wheat fields or spraying pesticides with their sprayers.

Liu Nier and the others also came with their elders.

When the elders saw the little children surrounding Chen Ling, they all smiled and told him to take them with him so that these mischievous kids wouldn't cause trouble in the fields.

Chen Ling had nothing more to say at this point, so he had no choice but to let them go with him.

However, this time we didn't go into the mountains from our own fields because it was too far, so we took a shortcut from the west.

The sun was shining brightly today, and a gentle breeze was blowing. Chen Ling led a group of children along a gentle mountain path, enjoying the birdsong and the fragrance of flowers. His slightly restless heart gradually calmed down.

The mountain path here is narrow; sometimes two people can walk side by side, and sometimes only one person can pass. Every now and then, one or two lizards will dart out from under your feet. Occasionally, larks, partridges, or other unidentified wild birds will take flight from the bushes.

During this season, the mountains are quite lively, with all kinds of trees growing incredibly lushly, thick wild vines blocking out the sun, and plenty of wild animals and fruits.

The children, including Liu Ni'er, followed behind Chen Ling and never stayed still. They were either picking mulberries or harassing the sheep, and their tongues turned purple and green from all the eating.

They even fed the two dogs, Heiwa and Xiaojin, until their faces were covered in food.

There are many wild fruits in the mountains, and quite a few of them are edible, such as wild chestnuts, wild grapes, wild pears, wild mulberries, goat's milk, and wild cherries. However, at this time of year, only a very small number of wild fruits, such as mulberries and goat's milk, are ripe.

"Grandma Yang" is a dialect term.

It should actually be called goat milk fruit, and its scientific name is "Elaeagnus pungens".

This fruit is red and purplish-red, sweet and sour, and very juicy. It can be made into juice, canned goods, and candied fruit, and it can also promote blood circulation and reduce swelling.

This stuff is very common in Wuyun Mountain, and the kids especially love to eat it. They come here specifically for it as soon as they enter the mountain.

There are many delicious wild fruits in the mountains, but there are also many more that are inedible and poisonous.

Besides wild fruits, you shouldn't touch the mushrooms in the mountains indiscriminately.

For example, the pile of white and gray mushrooms in front of Chen Ling is a common type of poisonous mushroom.

While it won't kill you by poisoning, it will cause hallucinations.

I've heard it can dance, sing, laugh wildly, and even cause auditory hallucinations, but it has a really good name: 'Dog Urine Moss'.

The name itself is off-putting, so naturally I wouldn't dare to eat there.

This type of mushroom is not only found in the mountains, but also commonly seen in villages; it can be found next to outhouses and on piles of dried manure.

The village elders all say that this thing grows after a dog urinates, so even little children know that it can't be eaten. They usually kick it away in disgust when they see it, thinking it's dirty because it grows from dog urine.

However, these mischievous monkeys were currently roaming around the mountains and forests in a lively manner, their attention not on this at all, but rather on the various birds and beasts of the mountains and forests.

Just as they reached a stream, they heard Liu Nier shout, "Pheasant!" Then a group of children and two dogs rushed out together. Fearing they might encounter danger, Chen Ling hurriedly followed behind.

"Uncle Fugui, come and see! What a beautiful pheasant!"

Liu Nier pointed to a large tree not far away across the stream and showed it to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling looked over and saw a pheasant with bright and beautiful feathers.

Although it's described as a pheasant, it's a size smaller and has a long tail. It also has a long, thin, golden feather on its head, forming a beautiful crest, making it look quite unique.

Moreover, the feathers on the wings and body have more than three colors: the neck has yellow and black horizontal stripes, the back is dark green, the abdomen is red, and the wings are brown and dark yellow.

From a distance, this thing looks like a large, brightly colored parrot.

"This isn't a pheasant. I've seen pheasants before, but they don't look like this. This is a woodpecker!"

"Uncle Fugui, am I right?"

Komori asked, raising his head.

Ever since his parents found out that he also called Chen Ling "Uncle Fugui," he was severely reprimanded and has obediently changed his address ever since.

"It's definitely not a pheasant, but it's not a woodpecker either."

"This thing is called the red-bellied pheasant, also known as the golden pheasant or the colorful pheasant."

Chen Ling glanced again at the red-bellied pheasant hiding in the tree branch, watching them warily, and explained.

At first glance, he didn't recognize it. After looking at it carefully for a while, he remembered what it was.

Speaking of the red-bellied pheasant, in his previous life, his aunt's husband caught one. He didn't know what it was, so he took it to the market to sell it as a wild chicken, and almost went to jail as a result.

So he still has a pretty deep impression of it.

"Uncle Fugui, look, there are eggs over there."

Just as Chen Ling finished explaining, someone shouted again, and the children swarmed over.

Upon closer inspection, I saw nearly twenty eggs in a pit in the bushes under the tree. The green eggshells had a slight grayish tinge and were larger than wild eggs. The pit was quite deep, and there were also many goat milk fruit pits around it.

This is clearly the nest of the golden pheasant, but this brightly colored one is a rooster, while the hen has not been seen.

When the rooster saw humans approaching its nest, it began to crow impatiently from the tree.

But the little ones were completely focused on the eggs and didn't pay any attention to anything else.

"Uncle Fugui, there are so many eggs! Let's roast them and eat them."

Komori swallowed hard and reached out to grab it.

Chen Ling hurriedly stopped him: "These eggs don't taste good. Liu Ni'er sent some to my house before, and they were very fishy."

"I'll grill some fish for you later. The stream fish are at their fattest; they taste even better than eggs, don't they?"

Upon hearing about grilled fish, the children's eyes lit up, and they immediately prepared to take off their shoes to catch the fish.

Mountain kids are wild; they'll roast and eat anything they catch on the spot.

Birds, bird eggs, or snakes like the Chinese giant snake are all vulnerable to their venom.

However, they shouldn't be allowed to waste the eggs of the red-bellied pheasant, which is why Chen Ling spoke up to stop them.

Fortunately, they are young and their attention is easily diverted. They have already started jumping into the stream to catch fish.

This mountain stream is very clear and teeming with small fish and shrimp, the most common being minnows and catfish.

Mountain catfish, in particular, often hide under rocks, making them easy to catch.

The children in the mountains knew all about these tricks and caught quite a few in no time.

Although they are not very big, only about a hand's length long, they have a lot of meat and are exceptionally delicious after grilling.

Even Chen Ling, who was raised in the cave and had a discerning palate, found it quite delicious, let alone Liu Ni'er and the others, who slurped their food and endured the scalding heat to stuff it into their mouths.

After finishing the fish, the children were finally satisfied and skipped and hopped along behind Chen Ling as they continued walking forward.

The two dogs, Heiwa and Xiaojin, splashed and played in the stream, occasionally dipping their heads into the water to catch a couple of small fish.

They hadn't gone far when the two dogs suddenly started barking loudly. They seemed to have sensed something and rushed upstream against the current.

(End of this chapter)