Chapter 107: Is There a Silver Lining?

“What is this?” Lin Heng asked curiously. Seeing his older brother’s excited expression, he figured it had to be worth at least five yuan.

Lin Wei, holding a grouse, asked, “Dad, is this a wild boar or a muntjac?”

Lin Yue shook his head. “Not a prey animal. I found a beehive, and we can harvest a lot of honey.”

“Bees, huh? That’s not bad,” Lin Heng nodded. Wild honey is expensive, so it’s definitely something to be happy about.

“Little brother, help me out. Let’s harvest the honey. If we’re lucky, we could get six or seven pounds—this hive is really big.”

Lin Yue looked at Lin Heng, realizing that for him, a wild beehive was more exciting than gathering herbs for a week—it was more profitable.

“Alright.”

Lin Heng nodded, and the three set off. It wasn’t far, just about seven or eight hundred meters.

“Lin Wei, stay back. We’ll go deal with it,” Lin Yue said, giving a warning before walking over with Lin Heng.

Lin Heng carried a bundle of dry pine needles, while Lin Yue took some damp leaves to create smoke.

Initially, Lin Yue planned to kill the bees with smoke, as it was the safest way to avoid being stung. Many people who aren’t experienced with harvesting wild honey usually do this.

But Lin Heng thought it wasn’t necessary. He wanted to leave some bees for next year. After his previous experience with harvesting honey and working with his uncle-in-law, he had learned a few tricks.

“Little brother, look, the hive is in that stone crevice. It’s tricky, maybe we should just burn them.”

Lin Yue pointed to a pile of rocks in the distance.

“I’ll give it a try, if it doesn’t work, we’ll burn them.”

Lin Heng looked at the scene. It was raining today, and the smoke should reduce the risk of danger.

If it didn’t work, he would just have to leave them alone—after all, human life is more important.

They slowly approached the hive, setting fire to the dry pine needles, then covering them with the damp leaves. Thick smoke billowed out.

Using a piece of dry bark, Lin Heng waved it over the hive. Soon, a swarm of bees buzzed out.

Lin Heng covered his nose and mouth with his clothes, crouching under the smoke. After feeling the fire was just right, he began dismantling the rocks.

When the rocks were cleared, Lin Heng was stunned. The hive was underground. Once the rocks were moved, all he saw were two brood frames, but no honey frames.

Seeing the angry bees, he added more fire to intensify the smoke and quickly retreated.

“Are you okay? Did you get stung?” Lin Yue asked, concerned when he saw Lin Heng coming out.

“I’m fine, just got stung three times, it’s nothing,” Lin Heng shook his head.

Even with all the precautions, he had still been stung. After all, when you’re often near bees, getting stung is inevitable.

“I’ll help you squeeze out the venom,” Lin Yue said quickly, feeling guilty for not insisting on using smoke first.

“Alright,” Lin Heng extended his hand.

He had been stung on his palm and twice on his arm. They were swollen and painful, but bearable, definitely better than being stung by Hu Feng.

Lin Heng squeezed out the venom and returned to seal the hive with rocks and dirt, covering it with some leaves. He could come back next autumn or next year.

“How much did we get?” Lin Heng asked, returning to Lin Yue.

“With the hive, it’s about ten pounds. The honey itself should be around six or seven pounds,” Lin Yue replied, smiling with joy.

“That’s twenty yuan worth,” Lin Heng grinned.

“Wow, really? Let me try a piece,” Lin Wei’s eyes lit up when he saw the honey.

“Don’t eat too much,” Lin Yue warned as he handed Lin Wei a piece. Lin Wei devoured it along with the honeycomb.

“It’s so sweet! Too sweet!!” Lin Wei closed his eyes in bliss.

“We should each have a piece too,” Lin Yue said with a smile.

Lin Heng didn’t refuse, breaking off a piece and tasting it. The honey was sweet but not overwhelming, with a floral aroma.

Compared to the honey from the last hive, this one was more moist, with a distinct acacia fragrance.

“It looks like the bees collected a lot of acacia flowers. Acacia honey is even more valuable,” Lin Heng smiled.

Ordinary honey is pale yellow, while acacia honey is translucent and dewy. This honey was a pale yellow, semi-transparent, with a strong acacia fragrance.

“Exactly! That’s why I said we’ve made a good haul,” Lin Yue chuckled.

Wild honey from Mount Taibai is well-known, and acacia honey is particularly prized.

Carrying the honey, the three of them happily returned to camp.

“Let’s stew the grouse. It’s too small to roast, and there’s also some yam and taro,” Lin Heng said as he started a fire. Though honey-roasted grouse is a delicacy, this one was too small, weighing only around 500-600 grams.

“Stewing sounds good,” Lin Yue agreed, also preferring to stew the grouse. It was a bit chilly with the rain, and stewing would provide some nourishment.

“But let’s have some noodles first. Big brother, you go catch some creek bass,” Lin Heng smiled, suggesting they eat something light while they waited for the stew to cook.

The fire heated up, and Lin Heng added oil to the pan. He fried the ten creek bass until golden brown on both sides, then added cold water. After boiling, they had a creamy fish soup. He added some noodles and wild vegetables, then seasoned with salt before serving.

With garlic and chili brought from home, the meal was full of flavor, even without vinegar.

The noodle soup was fragrant, the fish tender, and the garlic-chili added a spicy kick. The three of them finished the noodles, then drank the soup together.

“You think we could make a fish soup and stew the grouse together for a special flavor?” Lin Heng asked curiously.

“Why not try? It definitely won’t taste bad. I’ll go catch some fish,” Lin Yue said, his eyes lighting up.

Lin Heng handled the grouse and other ingredients, while Lin Wei looked for firewood.

Time seemed to return to their childhood, when they would play “cooking games” as village kids. It was like playing house, but with a focus on making food. They would build a fire, use a pot to cook all kinds of things—herbs, random plants—and though they couldn’t eat it, everyone was happy.

Back then, they couldn’t steal oil, salt, or sauces from home, or they’d get punished. The most they could do was boil a crab or roast a couple of creek bass.

Now, they were grown, with access to oil, salt, sauces, and even gourmet ingredients, deep in the mountains. The surroundings were beautiful, the air fresh, and though their wives and children weren’t with them, the joy of their childhood seemed to return.

Men remain boys at heart. Things they couldn’t do as kids, they’d go out of their way to do as adults. This kind of camping, wilderness survival, was something city life could never offer. It was like a genetic imprint—Lin Heng had been to big cities, seen their splendor, but still loved activities like fishing and camping in the wild.

Crack!

The grouse’s innards were cooked, and the group dug in.

After cleaning the pot, Lin Heng added some oil and fried the fish until golden brown, then added hot water. Once the soup turned white, he added the grouse, along with yam, taro, dangshen, Buddha’s hand, and tianma. The focus was on nourishment and health.

While it might not be worth much to sell, they could at least enjoy a hearty meal to sustain them.

By noon, the rain intensified to a moderate downpour, so the three of them stayed at camp.

Worried about the water level rising and missing their chance to fish, they moved all the fish from their traps into a small water pool on the riverbed.

“It’s over. The rain’s getting heavier,” Lin Yue said helplessly, looking at the sky.

“I hope it’s not continuous rain,” Lin Heng said, his worry evident. It had been days without sighting any game.

The rain didn’t stop all afternoon.

The chicken soup had been simmering for over three hours, and the aroma was now overwhelming.

“Forget it, let’s just drink the soup!” Lin Heng shook his head and went to add salt.

Adding salt and tasting the soup, it was sweet and savory, with a rich chicken flavor, and a lingering taste of creek bass.

“It’s amazing,” Lin Heng sighed in admiration. The flavor was incredible.

He added a bit more salt, then took the grouse out. It was completely tender, falling apart with a light touch. After some effort, he finally took it out.

“This is really delicious, much better than the meat soup my mom makes,” Lin Wei exclaimed.

“Of course,” Lin Heng chuckled.

In this era, when adults make soup, they wouldn’t even scoop out the oily foam on the surface, no matter how dirty it looks.

After frying the meat, they couldn’t bear to clean the pot, so they would add some sauerkraut and stir-fry it to soak up the oil before considering it ready.

This led to the soup always having a fishy taste, and if it was made with salted pork ribs, the flavor would be even stronger.

There was nothing to be done; this frugality was a spirit born from difficult times, deeply ingrained and hard to change.

“Chicken meat with a little garlic and chili is also quite tasty, you guys can try it,” Lin Heng added, smiling. The tender meat dipped in garlic and chili was also a delicious treat.

“Stewed is better, you get to eat the meat and drink the soup to warm up, and little brother, your stewing skills are really good,” Lin Yue praised. Even in summer in the mountains, as soon as it rained lightly, the temperature would drop rapidly.

The three were dressed lightly and naturally felt a bit cold.

“Yes, we’ll finish the dry food, and the remaining soup can be used for noodles tonight,” Lin Heng nodded.

After drinking some soup and eating the chicken, yam, and mountain herbs, the three were full. It was the right time to go hunting to digest, but the annoying rain prevented them from going out.

Light rain was fine, but moderate rain soaked right through their thin protective coverings.

Luckily, the shelter they built was solid, with a layer of plastic film and pine needles on top, so they didn’t have to worry about getting wet.

“Forget it, let’s chop down a paulownia tree and make a couple of bowls,” Lin Heng said, looking at a 30 cm diameter paulownia tree nearby, and then covered it with plastic film to chop it down.

Paulownia trees are not only light but also soft. Within five minutes, Lin Heng felled a tree that thick, cut two sections with a small hand saw, and carried them back to the shelter.

The hand saw had been brought by his father, who had left it behind when they left.

“I’ll saw it for you,” Lin Yue came over and took the saw.

“About 30 cm long is fine,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

After sawing it down and peeling off the bark, Lin Heng began sketching with charcoal and then used his knife to carve shapes.

It took half an hour, and after finishing the outer shape, he looked at the result—crooked and uneven. After hollowing it out, he stared at the ugly result in silence for a long time.

Let’s call it a bowl, but it was too crooked—some places were too thick, others too thin.

Shaking his head, he began work on the second bowl. It seemed so easy when he saw people do it in videos last time, but it wasn’t the same when he tried it himself.

Already irritated by the bee stings, he failed at making a bowl and didn’t feel like doing anything more. He lay down on the hammock, closed his eyes, and listened to the rain and the stream, trying to empty his mind and adjust to the depression caused by the loneliness.

Lin Yue and his son played Go on the ground. They didn’t have a proper board or pieces, so they drew one on the ground and used white and black pebbles as the pieces.

At dinner that night, the chicken soup was used to cook noodles. After eating, the three of them chopped branches and added them to the shelter’s entrance to block the cold wind.

Even so, it was still a bit cold at night. Lin Wei slept with his father, while Lin Heng called over his big dog, Xiong Ba, to sleep with him, and it immediately became much warmer.

The next morning, they didn’t even need to go outside to know that the moderate rain hadn’t stopped. It had been raining all night.

They removed the branches from the entrance, and everything outside was soaked in rainwater. The creek had risen by a meter and a half. What had once been a clear, calm stream now looked like a yellow, raging dragon.

“How come the heavens are being so unkind?” Lin Yue shook his head helplessly. It was so hard to get to the mountains, and now it was pouring rain.

“Let’s cook,” Lin Heng shook his head. He had made rice in the morning, but since they had no vegetables, they ate it with fermented tofu.

The water level had risen so much that the creek’s rockfish, which had been near the banks, had all been washed away.

“I regret not bringing an extra set of clothes; otherwise, we could have gone out and had a look,” Lin Yue said, shaking his head.

If it had been sunny, it wouldn’t matter. They could just wash and hang their clothes out to dry in an hour. But in the rain, it was much more troublesome.

Lin Heng shook his head and continued working on his wooden bowls. The pain and itch from the bee stings had subsided, so he decided to carry on.

He sawed two thinner sections of the paulownia tree and started carving again.

After a full day of practice, he made five bowls. The last two were quite well-made, with even thickness. After sanding them, they would be ready to use.

Being from a rural background, Lin Heng had some woodworking skills, and after a few more tries, he had success.

With experience, the next day Lin Heng started working on larger wooden bowls, and by the third day, he began making smaller wooden basins.

Later, he wasn’t satisfied with simple wooden bowls and even started carving patterns on them—strange designs.

The continuous rain lasted for four days, but during this time, Lin Heng mastered the craft of making wooden bowls from the paulownia tree. Not counting the defective ones, he had made five wooden bowls, three small round basins, one small rectangular basin, and one small square basin.

Once dried and sanded, they could be used. Paulownia trees wouldn’t crack, so he didn’t need to worry about that.

Thirteen days had passed since the three of them arrived, and it was now July 29th on the Gregorian calendar, and June 12th on the lunar calendar.

That evening, the rain stopped.

“Ah, the rain has finally stopped. We can go out tomorrow morning to have a look,” Lin Yue said, looking outside as they ate dinner.

“Tomorrow morning, let the sun dry things out, let the water recede, and give the prey some time to get into the traps. We’ll go out in the afternoon,” Lin Heng analyzed, looking at the murky creek. He had had some time to think about his strategy while waiting out the rain and realized that his previous approach was flawed.

“Definitely. Otherwise, everything would be mushy, and we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere,” Lin Yue nodded.

But no rain was a good thing. Their supplies of rice and flour were running low, and they could only hold out for one or two more days.

As long as it didn’t rain, it would be fine. Whether they went back to get more supplies or foraged, there would be no problem. The Qinling Mountains in summer wouldn’t starve them.

The next morning, on the 30th, the sun, which had been absent for nearly a week, finally came out. The golden sunlight scattered down, gradually warming up before becoming scorching hot.

The cicadas, which had been silent for so long, began their deafening calls. It was strange, but after not hearing them for so long, they actually sounded somewhat pleasant.

“Let’s pick some mushrooms nearby this morning. There are plenty of shiitake mushrooms around here. We can make some stir-fried mushrooms and then check the traps at noon,” Lin Heng suggested.

“Exactly. We’ve only been eating rice without vegetables, and we’re all going crazy,” Lin Yue nodded. The two of them grabbed baskets and went to pick mushrooms nearby.

The continuous rain had its advantages. After a good rain, mushrooms would often burst out in abundance. In the deep mountains, it was just the three of them, so they could gather freely without worrying about competition.

“Just as we stepped out, we found three red reishi mushrooms. Looks like today will be a good harvest,” Lin Heng laughed.

“Woof woof!!”

Xiong Ba barked and went for a walk. It seemed that the continuous rain had driven it mad too.

“Just look for the reishi mushrooms for me, we don’t need the other mushrooms,” Lin Heng said, showing Xiong Ba a reishi mushroom and letting it sniff it.

After more than half an hour, Lin Heng had gathered more than ten kilograms of mushrooms, most of which were shiitake mushrooms. This area produced plenty of them, followed by blue-headed mushrooms and a lot of tea tree mushrooms.

At the end of July, it was the season for tea tree mushrooms to explode. As Lin Heng walked through the forest, every rotten tree stump had clusters of tea tree mushrooms growing on it, especially in oak forests.

Lin Heng estimated that he and his brother could gather several hundred tea tree mushrooms from this rainy season alone.

“Woof woof!!”

Suddenly, Xiong Ba barked excitedly from a distance.

Lin Heng looked up and suddenly remembered—it was in the direction where he had set the fishing hooks. Could it be that something had been caught?

He rushed over, and when he saw what had happened, his back teeth couldn’t help but show: “Finally, we’ve caught you!!”

A large wild chicken lay on the ground, its beak bleeding and body twitching. It seemed like it had only just been caught.

“Ah, you finally fell for it,” Lin Heng said, running over to pick up the wild chicken.

It wasn’t big—just a two-kilogram female wild chicken—but it meant they’d have meat for today.

“Let’s go check the other fishing hooks; there might be more,” Lin Heng said, rubbing Xiong Ba’s head, his mood lifted as the depression seemed to lift.

(End of this chapter)