Chapter 72: A Man’s Toughness

“What’s that?”

Lin Heng walked over and saw two qing tou mushrooms. Not bad, he thought as he picked them and continued gathering niu gan mushrooms (porcini).

As they moved forward, his basket was already half full of porcini mushrooms—there were just too many.

Unfortunately, dried porcini mushrooms don’t taste as good. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Heng caught sight of a golden figure.

“Oh my! Look at this huge patch of chanterelle mushrooms!”

He looked up to see a golden sea of mushrooms scattered throughout a patch of oak trees.

Just as he was about to share his joy with Xiulan, he remembered she had gone to the other side to look for mushrooms.

Looking down again, Lin Heng picked every single chanterelle mushroom, from the “grandparents” to the “grandchildren,” leaving nothing behind.

After collecting them all, he hurried toward his wife.

“Xiulan, what are you picking? I just gathered at least eleven or twelve catties of chanterelles!” Lin Heng said excitedly. Even during the chanterelle mushroom boom of this season, picking so many at once was pure luck.

“That’s amazing! I also found something good. Look!”

Xiulan smiled as she showed him a mushroom the size of a plate. The round cap had a diameter of 15 centimeters, slightly sunken in the middle, with large purplish-brown scales. The flesh was white.

“That’s zhang zi mushroom!”

Lin Heng hesitated for a moment before recognizing it. This mushroom was so rare that even buyers didn’t usually collect it.

But in truth, it was highly sought after—not only was it delicious, but it also helped lower cholesterol, making it popular among many.

“Yes, I just stumbled upon it. There were eight in total, weighing around five catties,” Xiulan said happily. These mushrooms could even be sold at traditional medicine shops, with prices rivaling matsutake.

“You’re luckier than me!” Lin Heng said enviously. This was definitely an SSR-level find.

“I also picked up two lingzhi mushrooms,” Xiulan added, pulling out two red lingzhi fungi.

“Alright, I’m convinced.”

Lin Heng was speechless. Even with Xiongba’s help, his luck today couldn’t compare to Xiulan’s.

After all, Xiongba hadn’t found anything exceptional today.

Morels seemed to have disappeared entirely—those only grew in late spring and were already out of season. The same was true for pine mushrooms, which appeared in spring and fall.

This season primarily featured chanterelles, porcini, lingzhi, and a few others. Perhaps Yunnan had more varieties, but the Qinling Mountains weren’t as diverse.

“Woof woof!”

Xiongba barked again.

Lin Heng walked over and saw two more qing tou mushrooms. He relied on Xiongba to find these mushrooms, as they rarely grew in large clusters.

But they were incredibly tasty and sold for a good price.

Unknowingly, the two had spent three to four hours in the forest.

Looking up at the sun, Lin Heng estimated it was around 3 or 4 p.m. They had set out at about 11 in the morning.

“Huh? Just when we’re about to leave, I found an egg mushroom,” Lin Heng said, spotting an orange-yellow mushroom nearby that he had missed earlier.

Egg mushrooms—scientifically named Amanita caesarea—were the only edible mushrooms in the Amanita genus. They were easy to identify: when the cap was closed, the mushroom looked like an egg, hence the name.

“There’s another one.”

Just after picking the first, Lin Heng spotted a second one. Sometimes, mushrooms seemed to have an invisibility cloak—he had just looked around earlier, but now new ones appeared.

“Let’s head back. We can pick as we go. Let’s take the Shuijingwan path instead of returning the same way,” Xiulan suggested after picking two chanterelles.

“Alright.”

Lin Heng nodded. Perhaps it was the location, but even the porcini mushrooms became sparse on their way back.

“Woof woof!”

Near the bottom of the hill, Xiongba barked again.

Lin Heng didn’t move, so Xiulan, who was closer, went over.

“Guess what kind of mushroom I found?” Xiulan returned with her hands behind her back, eyes gleaming playfully.

“What else could it be? Qing tou mushrooms,” Lin Heng shrugged.

Xiulan shook her head and pulled out two large red lingzhi mushrooms with a smile.

Lin Heng: “…Alright, I guess lingzhi mushrooms and I just aren’t meant to be today.”

Xiulan teased, “No worries, I’ll sell these and buy you some candy, little brother.”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you to spoil me,” Lin Heng laughed, feeling that Xiulan had a bit of a “big sister” vibe at that moment.

As they descended further, they only encountered a few scattered porcini mushrooms. Lin Heng got lucky, finding a cluster of five huang lai tou mushrooms.

“I think I found jian shou qing mushrooms,” Xiulan called out from a distance.

Lin Heng hurried over and, sure enough, saw three red onion boletus mushrooms.

“Wife, your luck is incredible today,” Lin Heng said admiringly.

“My luck is your luck,” Xiulan replied with a smile.

The two weren’t in a hurry, chatting and laughing as they strolled toward Shuijingwan, walking slowly and leisurely.

“What’s wrong?” Xiulan noticed something off about the way Lin Heng was walking.

“It’s nothing,” Lin Heng smiled, letting Xiulan walk ahead.

Behind her, he clutched his lower back as he continued walking. He hadn’t felt anything earlier, but now his back suddenly ached, leaving him feeling a bit weak.

He didn’t want Xiulan to notice—how embarrassing would that be? Especially after bragging this morning about being “seven times a night.”

“Pfft—”

As they walked, Xiulan suddenly let out a stifled laugh.

Lin Heng: “…”

Xiulan quickly waved her hand. “I sneezed! I wasn’t laughing at you.”

Lin Heng: “…”

“Alright, alright, it’s completely normal. Just take it easy next time.”

Xiulan held Lin Heng’s hand to comfort him.

Lin Heng: “…Do you believe me if I say it’s not back pain, honey?”

Xiulan nodded seriously, “Of course I believe you.”

But the smile on her face was hard to suppress.

Biting his teeth in frustration, Lin Heng said, “I’ll prove myself tonight!”

“Don’t! I wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Xiulan quickly replied.

She soon fell silent because the more she tried to explain, the more it seemed like she was mocking Lin Heng.

“Look at that, mountain lilies! Such beautiful flowers!”

Just as they reached a bend in the trail, Lin Heng spotted two pristine white lilies and quickly changed the subject.

He walked over, picked them, and their faint fragrance filled the air.

“Honey, these are for you.” Lin Heng handed the lilies to Xiulan as if nothing had happened.

Smiling, Xiulan took the flowers, sniffed them, and held them gently, as if also pretending that nothing embarrassing had occurred to protect her husband’s dignity.

“I’ll dig these lilies up and plant them at home,” Lin Heng suggested. Flowers like these would add a nice touch to their little courtyard.

Although it wasn’t the right season to dig up lilies—since they hadn’t fully grown yet—he knew they could still survive if planted carefully.

The lilies were growing on a loose-soiled slope, making it easy for Lin Heng to unearth them. Soon, a fist-sized lily bulb that looked like a crystal lotus emerged.

“It’s a shame all the honeysuckle here has been picked clean,” Xiulan commented from up ahead.

“Can’t be helped; people probably came yesterday and took it all,” Lin Heng said while scanning the surroundings.

“What are you looking for? Prey?” Xiulan asked, puzzled.

“No, I’m looking for honeysuckle.”

“Don’t bother. It’s hopeless,” Xiulan said, giving up on searching. The villagers had been too thorough this year.

“Wow, look at this! A big mountain cave,” Lin Heng said, stopping in front of a natural cavern that went about five meters deep.

As children, they often gathered here in the winter to start fires and warm up while herding cattle. The place held a lot of fond memories.

“Let’s go; there’s nothing special to see,” Xiulan urged.

Lin Heng nodded, taking Xiulan’s hand as they carefully navigated the slippery, water-covered rocks of Shuijingwan.

Just as they were about to leave the bend, Lin Heng spotted honeysuckle vines growing on a stone surface to the left. His eyes lit up as he approached.

“Why are you going there? It’s already been picked clean,” Xiulan asked, confused.

“I’m pulling it up to replant at home,” Lin Heng said as he grabbed the vine and gave it a hard tug. With a tearing sound, the root system came up easily.

Honeysuckle growing on stone surfaces was the easiest to uproot because the roots couldn’t penetrate the rock.

“Done!” Lin Heng grinned, holding up the honeysuckle roots proudly.

The main vine was as thick as a thumb. Once replanted, it could be shaped into a decorative structure—making a beautiful honeysuckle bonsai.

Honeysuckle stayed green year-round, provided lovely foliage, fragrant flowers, and its blossoms could even be brewed into tea to clear heat and cool the body. It was an ideal plant to grow at home.

“That’s actually a great idea,” Xiulan agreed, feeling warm inside as she watched Lin Heng collect plants to beautify their home.

On the way back, she dug up two orchids to add to their growing collection.

When they finally got home, they first planted the honeysuckle and orchids.

At first, it hadn’t seemed like much, but as their courtyard gradually transformed, an unexpected sense of beauty emerged. Xiulan’s eyes lit up at the result.

“It’s a pity we can’t lay down a lawn,” Lin Heng sighed, still not entirely satisfied.

A grass lawn would have been perfect—covering all areas except for the walking paths—but purchasing grass was expensive, and wild grass from the mountains tended to grow unevenly and messily.

“Let’s go see how much honeysuckle and mushrooms Dad and the others collected. They should be back soon.”

Dusting off his hands, Lin Heng put the hoe aside and left with Xiulan to visit the old house.

“Are Dad and the others not back yet?” Lin Heng asked when he saw only Caiyun at home.

“Nope, they’re still out,” Caiyun replied.

“Doggy!”

Xiaoxia, wobbling on her feet, ran toward Xiongba, trying to grab his ears.

“Awroo~”

Xiongba, who’d had a blast in the mountains, didn’t dodge and let Xiaoxia pet his head.

“Man, Dad and the others sure know how to cover ground,” Lin Heng sighed, setting his basket down.

“Xiulan, is that all the honeysuckle you picked?” Caiyun asked curiously.

“Well, what do you think? It was all taken already,” Xiulan replied helplessly. This year they had underestimated the competition, but there would likely be another harvest in a few days.

They set the honeysuckle aside and began processing their mushrooms. Lin Heng cleaned off the soil and dead leaves while Xiulan sliced them up.

The delicious boletus mushrooms were all cut into slices to dry for personal consumption rather than sale.

Other mushrooms, like the green russula and zhangzi mushrooms, were dried whole to maintain their appearance, which was necessary for selling.

Altogether, the boletus mushrooms they’d collected weighed about fifty to sixty pounds. Once dried, they would amount to just ten pounds since mushrooms had such high water content.

While Xiulan sliced the boletus mushrooms and set them out to dry, they heard Lin Heng’s parents returning.

“You’re back so early?” Lin Heng asked in surprise.

Seeing their massive haul, he was shocked. “Where did you find all this?”

Both honeysuckle and mushrooms filled their baskets, along with a significant amount of bamboo shoots.

“We went up to Sanye Valley when we saw that there wasn’t much in Shiba Dang Valley,” Lin Heng’s father said with a grin.

“Wow, you two really know how to cover ground,” Lin Heng replied, giving a thumbs-up.

“Of course. We’re not old yet,” Lin Heng’s mother teased, clearly pleased with their larger harvest.

Everyone started processing the harvest together, chatting and laughing as they worked.

That night, dinner consisted of stir-fried mushrooms and pork—featuring chicken oil mushrooms and boletus. Cooked with pork lard, the dish was tender, flavorful, and fragrant.

Paired with cornmeal steamed buns, it was a hearty and satisfying meal.

“Tomorrow we’ll likely find more mushrooms. Drying them for the winter is always good,” Lin Heng’s father said between bites.

“We should also gather more bamboo shoots. The rain brought them all out, and we can dry them for later,” Lin Heng’s mother added.

This was their usual routine every year—drying mushrooms and bamboo shoots to ensure they had food during the winter months.

“Sounds good. There’s not much farm work to do right now anyway. We can fertilize the cornfields in a few days,” Lin Heng agreed.

Lin Yue nodded in agreement.

Lin Heng kept his head down, quietly eating without saying a word.

After dinner, Lin Heng took a cold shower and then picked up his daughter to put her to sleep.

“Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye!”

Holding Xiaoxia and rocking her for a while, Lin Heng realized that instead of falling asleep, she became even more energetic, laughing happily.

“So you don’t want to sleep, huh? Fine, no more rocking.”

Lin Heng plopped her onto the bed and pretended to be a big bad wolf to scare her.

“Giggle~”

Instead of being scared, the little girl laughed even harder.

After playing for a good while, she finally fell asleep.

“Is she asleep?” Xiulan asked, surprised, as she entered the room after taking a bath.

“Yeah, it took a long time to get her down,” Lin Heng replied helplessly.

“Caiyun said she napped a lot during the day. You getting her to sleep at all is impressive,” Xiulan praised him, amazed at her husband’s ability to handle the baby.

As she spoke, she took off her outer coat and climbed into bed to rest.

Just as she got comfortable, Lin Heng snuggled over—he needed to prove himself.

“Don’t, it’s bad for your health,” Xiulan said, concerned for her husband.

“Who says that? I’m perfectly fine,” Lin Heng replied, patting his chest.

Xiulan softened her tone, “Come on, brother, let’s not… I’m just really tired.”

Hearing her call him “brother” melted Lin Heng’s resolve. But biting his teeth, he still pulled his wife into his arms, determined to be a strong man.

—

The next morning, Lin Heng woke up, rolled over, and felt an emptiness and chill in his lower back, along with an overall weakness in his body.

“Xiulan, I’m not going to pick bamboo shoots today. You and Caiyun go; I’ll stay home with the baby,” Lin Heng said, turning to look at Xiulan.

“Don’t misunderstand, I just feel bad for Caiyun being home alone. She should get out and enjoy herself,” he added quickly, afraid she’d get the wrong idea.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng with a smile she couldn’t hide and nodded firmly, “I know, you’re a good brother.”

“Hmph, what are you laughing at? It’s your fault for being too beautiful,” Lin Heng snorted.

“I’m not laughing, really,” Xiulan said, blinking innocently.

Lin Heng waved his hand, unwilling to talk anymore. He wondered why his body felt so weak—wasn’t it just four or five consecutive days? How could he end up like this?

Silently, Xiulan got dressed, and after getting up, she brought Lin Heng a cup of herbal tea.

Without saying anything, Lin Heng drank it all in one gulp and dozed off again.

—

“Daddy.”

When Lin Heng woke up again, he felt a bit out of breath.

Opening his eyes, he saw his loving daughter Xiaoxia crawling on his chest, throwing a dry diaper at his head.

“You really are Daddy’s little sweetheart,” Lin Heng said as he picked her up, relieved she hadn’t peed on his head.

After getting up and taking his daughter to the bathroom, Lin Heng went to the kitchen to find food. Xiulan had kept his meal warm in the pot.

He took a bite, then fed his daughter a bite. By the time the father-daughter pair finished their meal, it was already 9:30.

The sky was cloudless, a vivid blue. The golden sun hung high, and yesterday’s coolness had vanished, replaced by scorching heat.

Lin Heng glanced at the mushrooms drying in the courtyard, locked the door, and carried his daughter to the new house.

—

(End of Chapter)