Chapter 137: In Search of Autumn’s Mountain Delicacies

Heavy rain poured down, drumming a dull rhythm on the ceramic tiles of the roof, pattering against the leaves, and splashing into the water with crisp slaps… Watching the rain and listening to it served no real purpose—it was mostly a way to space out and reflect.

Lin Heng recalled a poem and sighed with feeling:
“When young, I listened to the rain from a brothel tower,
Red candles dim behind gauze curtains…”

“That was a great recital—do another one!” Xiulan blinked at him playfully.

“I can’t think of any more.” Lin Heng laughed.

Autumn rain brought a chill. Xiulan cuddled up with Lin Heng and watched the rain for a while. Soon, Xiaoxia made a noise beside them, and the two got up.

“I’ll take Xiaoxia to cook. You put on a raincoat and go find something for the horse to eat,” Xiulan said to Lin Heng.

“Alright.” Lin Heng nodded, pulled on his rain boots, draped a straw rain cloak over his shoulders, and set out with a hat.

At the gate, Hongzao was dozing on the ground. She was fairly clean and hadn’t laid down in her own waste.

Lin Heng went back inside to fetch a shovel, cleaned up the area, then nudged Hongzao up and opened the main gate.

There weren’t any big trees in front of his house, so from there, he had a clear view of the Shiban River.

At this moment, the Shiban River had turned into a raging yellow dragon. The overnight storm had swelled its waters to the point it looked ready to overflow.

He first went to check on the old house, where Father Lin and Caiyun were busy cleaning the fish they had caught the previous night.

It was Thursday today, but with such heavy rain and the river flooded, there was no way she’d make it to school. To reach the town, one had to cross the Shiban River, and there was no bridge now.

Father Lin looked up at him and said, “If you’re going to cut grass for the horse, don’t bother—your brother already cut three big bundles of forage this morning. Just take one back and feed her.”

“Well, that’s great!” Lin Heng turned around and ran to the cattle pen to grab a bundle of forage.

He gave part of it to Hongzao and used the rest to feed the forest musk deer. The little guy had grown quite comfortable, lounging in its pen, enjoying the life of having meals delivered.

Once all the animals in the house were fed, Lin Heng grabbed his forged steel knife and rushed back to Father Lin’s place. His older brother had just returned, also wrapped in a raincoat.

He was carrying a small black puppy in his hands and grinned at Lin Heng: “Little bro, what do you think of this Five Black Dog? I’m planning to tie it out back to watch over the pigsty and chicken coop.”

Father Lin looked at the yelping little dog and said, “Check how many whiskers it has. There’s an old saying—‘One dragon, two tigers, three cats, four rats.’ If it’s got too many, it’s no good.”

The puppy looked about a month old, all chubby and soft, its bark still babyish.

A Five Black Dog refers to one that has black fur, head, tail, paws, and tongue.

The whiskers Father Lin mentioned are the long, stiff bristles under a dog’s chin. Country folk believe that the fewer it has, the smarter the dog—though there’s no real science behind it.

“Three whiskers. I ran into it on the road, and it just followed me. Asked around and they said it was a stray from the village, so I brought it back,” said Lin Yue as he flipped the pup over.

“Not bad.” Father Lin nodded.

After playing with the dog for a bit, Lin Yue took it home.

“Caiyun, I’ll do the killing, you take care of the guts.”

Lin Heng pulled out his forged steel knife and helped clean the fish. The blade was sharp—one light stroke and the belly was open.

“Got it, second brother!” Caiyun nodded.

With Lin Heng helping—especially with his fast knife—the fish were gutted in just over half an hour.

The biggest fish here wasn’t even three taels, so there was no need to descale or remove gills.

Lin Heng separated the fish into bowls: creek bass, yellow catfish, and dace.

There was the most creek bass, followed by dace, and the least yellow catfish.

He weighed them with a hanging scale: six jin of creek bass, four jin of dace, and two jin of yellow catfish.

“All that work last night wasn’t in vain.” Father Lin chuckled.

“Let’s weigh the eels too.” Lin Heng went to weigh the yellow eels.

“Twelve jin of eels—not bad at all.” Caiyun looked at the scale and smiled.

Lin Heng weighed the huge eel separately—it was actually only two and a half jin, not three.

Big brother’s softshell turtle weighed one jin and two taels, Father Lin’s was two jin and five taels, and Lin Heng’s mud turtle was just half a jin.

Overall, their first nighttime fishing trip of the season had turned out well.

“How are we dividing this up?” Caiyun asked curiously.

“Fish and eels, split however. The softshell turtles go to whoever caught them.” Lin Heng shrugged.

He paused, then continued, “I’ll just take a bit of yellow catfish and creek bass—the rest you guys split. Let’s keep the eels alive for now and cook them when we want.”

Saying that, he grabbed a basin and scooped in some yellow catfish and creek bass. It was already enough, but Father Lin still added more.

“Stop adding more, Dad. If you do, I’ll just have to drag you over for a meal again.” Lin Heng laughed as he scooped some back out.

“We’ve already had breakfast. Even if you drag me, I’m not going.” Father Lin gave him a glare.

“Caiyun, you coming? We’re having fish soup.” Lin Heng asked.

“Of course!” Caiyun didn’t hesitate and grabbed an umbrella to go with him.

“Second brother, so this is the horse you bought? She’s beautiful.” Caiyun entered the courtyard and patted Hongzao, tossing her more grass.

“Yep. Close the gate behind you.”

Lin Heng nodded and carried the fish into the house, asking Xiulan, “Honey, is the rice done?”

“The rice is already in the pot—just about ready to drain.” Xiulan was tending the fire and looked up as she spoke.

“Then drain it and make fish soup with the yellow catfish.” Lin Heng handed her the fish.

“Alright, you go pick some cilantro, I’ll handle the rest.” Xiulan nodded.

Lin Heng went out and pulled a big bunch of cilantro from the yard. That was the great thing about living in the countryside—veggies could be harvested generously.

They had several square meters planted with cilantro. No matter how much they ate, they couldn’t finish it and usually ended up feeding the pigs with the rest.

Inside, Xiaoxia was playing on a bamboo mat with her stuffed animals and toy cars, while Jinbao watched her, occasionally pouncing after a toy.

After checking out the horse, Caiyun had come inside and was now being clung to by Xiaoxia. Lin Heng cleaned and washed the cilantro, leaving the roots on since he thought they made it tastier.

Xiulan scooped the rice out, then added oil to the pot and stir-fried the yellow catfish with ginger. Once the aroma came out, she added boiling water and made a creamy white soup. A quick blanch with cilantro, then some salt and pepper, and the fish soup was ready.

“Time to eat!” Xiulan called out with a smile. It was already close to nine o’clock—she’d been hungry for a while.

“Coming!” Lin Heng helped carry out the dishes.

Breakfast was quite a spread—besides the fish soup, there were pickled bamboo shoots, hot and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried sour cowpeas with pork, and cold shredded cucumber salad.

“So much food!” Caiyun’s eyes lit up. Her second brother’s household really ate well.

“Mom can’t bear to eat it, so there’s nothing I can do,” Lin Heng shrugged. It wasn’t something that could be changed overnight.

“Then you should eat more,” Xiulan said with a smile, looking at Caiyun.

Huangci fish, like catfish, had no bones except for the spine—nothing but meat. Lin Heng picked one out for Xiaoxia, who could slowly eat it on her own.

“Yummy!”

Xiaoxia’s cheeks puffed out. She loved catfish and huangci, and also had a fondness for plum blossom fish (Qinling barbel salmon).

All the dishes on the table went perfectly with rice. Lin Heng ate two big bowls and a bowl of fish soup. There were whole sprigs of cilantro in the soup, and the flavor was quite good.

The only downside was that the cilantro was a bit tough to chew through—you had to eat it whole.

They ate slowly, mainly because there wasn’t much to do even after eating, so they took their time and enjoyed the moment.

The rain hadn’t let up. After the meal, it was still pouring when Lin Heng went to feed Xiongba. Xiongba’s doghouse had flooded, so he simply abandoned it and came to eat under the eaves instead.

Xiulan cleaned up the dishes and brought out her needlework to sew shoe soles. Caiyun picked up a book and started telling stories to Xiaoxia.

Lin Heng was thinking about building a fireplace for the house. Winters here were bitterly cold—temperatures dropped to minus ten degrees Celsius, and there was no heating. People relied entirely on fire to keep warm.

They did have a kitchen with a firepit, located just west of the master bedroom, but it didn’t heat the bedroom itself. Lin Heng thought about building a fireplace directly in the bedroom.

But it was just an idea for now—he hadn’t started on it.

After reading The Exploitation of the Works of Nature for a bit, Lin Heng flipped through Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There really wasn’t much else to do on a rainy day like this.

By the afternoon, the rain finally let up a bit, going from heavy to light showers. Lin Heng went out to gather some grass for Hongzao and also mixed up a bowl of thin corn gruel to feed it.

The rest of the time passed in idly watching the rain, taking care of his daughter, and chatting with Xiulan.

It wasn’t until evening that the rain finally came to a full stop.

“It’s already September 21st. There should be matsutake and coral mushrooms out now. We’ll go look for them tomorrow,” Lin Heng said, gazing outside.

“I know a spot that always has coral mushrooms around this time every year. I’ll take you there tomorrow—let’s bring Xiongba along too,” Xiulan nodded.

“Alright.” Lin Heng agreed.

The next morning, the rain had indeed stopped. The sky was a clear blue with no clouds in sight, and the golden morning sun shone brilliantly.

At the crack of dawn, Lin Heng’s mother came knocking: “I’m taking the cows out to graze. Want me to take the horse too?”

“Where are you taking the cows, Mom?” Lin Heng asked curiously.

“Just out front, in and around the fields,” his mother replied.

Lin Heng laughed and said, “Then could you take Xiaoxia too? Xiulan and I want to head up the mountain to look for mushrooms.”

“I knew it—nothing good ever comes from you,” his mother rolled her eyes. “Fine, I can take her, but I’m worried she’ll throw a fit and not let me.”

“That’s nothing a couple packs of shrimp crackers won’t fix,” Lin Heng grinned.

His mother nodded, “Alright, just hurry up.”

Lin Heng went back inside to tell Xiulan, and the two of them got Xiaoxia up. They handed her two packs of shrimp crackers and passed her over to her grandma.

Lin Heng helped herd the cows, horse, and sheep out into the fields.

“Daddy!” Xiaoxia tried to chase after Lin Heng as he left.

“I’ll be back soon. You eat your snack first,” he coaxed.

Seeing the shrimp crackers, her favorite, Xiaoxia hesitated for a second, then nodded.

Back at home, Xiulan had breakfast ready. After eating, the two of them carried baskets on their backs and headed up the mountain with Xiongba.

They walked along the slope behind the house for a while before Xiulan said, “It’s this patch of woods. Every year around September or October, I find a lot of coral mushrooms here.”

“I already see one,” Lin Heng said, taking a few steps toward the front-left. There, he found an orange-yellow coral mushroom, about the size of a palm—easily over half a jin once picked.

This one had just started growing. Fully matured coral mushrooms really did look like coral, forming large clusters with uneven heights, and a single one could weigh more than a jin—but those weren’t as tasty.

The best ones were fist-sized, with only the main stalk and barely any branching.

“I see a few too!” Xiulan exclaimed happily as she bent down to pick them.

Their bright orange-yellow color made them easy to spot in the woods. Except for the tiny ones still buried under leaves, most were out in the open. At this point, even Xiongba was slower than them—his short height made it hard to see through the underbrush.

Still, if you couldn’t find a patch, you might wander all day without seeing a single one. These mushrooms grew in clusters.

After gathering for a while, they dumped everything into one basket. Seeing it half full of coral mushrooms, Lin Heng grinned with joy. “We’ve picked over twenty jin already.”

Coral mushrooms didn’t sell for much, but fresh ones were delicious stir-fried.

“Do you know any other spots for coral mushrooms?” Lin Heng asked Xiulan.

“Nope,” Xiulan shook her head

Since it had just rained, all the milk caps looked particularly beautiful—some were orange-yellow, others orange-red. But their market price wasn’t high, since they only tasted good when fresh.

They spent half an hour circling the pine forest on this side of the hill. There was no sign of matsutake or black truffle, and even the milk caps added up to less than a pound.

“Let’s head to a taller forest.”

Lin Heng wasn’t discouraged. He took his wife’s hand and, with Xiongba leading the way, they pressed onward. The older the pine forest, the better the chances.

Without the child, their pace was swift. After crossing a ridge, they arrived at another stretch of pine forest, where the trees were noticeably larger—each one thick enough for a person to barely wrap their arms around.

“You’ve got to be kidding. Not even one milk cap?”

Halfway in, Lin Heng was shocked. This forest was like it had been poisoned—not a single mushroom in sight.

“Then we’ll just have to switch forests again,” Xiulan said with a shrug. She had already expected that matsutake wouldn’t be easy to find.

Lin Heng nodded. “We have no choice. I’m not going home today without finding some.”

Though there weren’t many underbrush or tangled paths in the pine forest, the fallen pine needles were slippery, causing both of them to slip and stumble repeatedly.

After exiting the forest and reaching the border between the pine and oak forests, Xiongba suddenly turned and barked loudly: “Woof! Woof!!”

“Got something?!”

Excited, Lin Heng ran toward the sound, not even caring when he fell twice. He got back up and kept going.

When he reached the spot where Xiongba was squatting, he pushed aside the fallen leaves—and couldn’t help but grin. Turning to Xiulan, he called out, “It’s matsutake! Come help me dig!”

“Alright!” Xiulan nodded enthusiastically. She had never dug up a matsutake herself before.

Lin Heng cleared all the leaves and exposed the mushrooms. Then, when Xiulan arrived, he left the digging to her.

“There are so many! Seven just in this patch!” Xiulan said excitedly as she walked over.

Lin Heng smiled. “Hurry up and dig them. I’ve already found three more. There might be even more around here.”

Xiulan nodded, and with a small trowel, she loosened the soft earth and pulled out a matsutake. These hadn’t yet opened their caps—they were in perfect condition.

“They smell amazing!” Xiulan beamed as she sniffed one.

While Xiulan happily dug up the mushrooms, Lin Heng stayed nearby, stroking Xiongba and watching her enjoy the thrill of foraging.

“Eighteen in total—should be about a pound. What a great spot!” Xiulan said with a smile as she looked at the separate bag of matsutake.

“I’ll mark the place so we can come straight here next time,” Lin Heng said with a grin. He restored the ground to its original state and carved an X on a nearby pine tree, making it easier to find again.

Then the two of them, along with Xiongba, continued along the forest edge. Before long, Xiulan shouted, “I found more!”

Lin Heng ran over and searched the surrounding area. Together, they dug up eight more matsutake.

“We’re having great luck today.” Lin Heng inhaled the faint fragrance of the mushrooms.

“Let’s keep looking!” Xiulan said excitedly.

After finishing that area, they ventured into a new pine forest. Without realizing it, they had already crossed two mountains.

This third forest was huge, stretching over two ridges. Lin Heng thought maybe they’d find some black truffle here.

“There are tons of milk caps in this forest!”

Not long after entering, they saw numerous orange-yellow milk caps scattered among the pine needles—absolutely stunning.

They weren’t about to pass those up. Bending down, they began gathering.

The forest air was crisp and still, but they had no time to admire the scenery—their eyes were fixed on the ground.

“So many!”

Lin Heng looked at his bag. They’d only walked a few hundred meters and had already collected fifteen to twenty pounds.

That’s how it was with mushroom hunting—when you found a nest, there were so many you almost wished for fewer. Right now, Lin Heng and Xiulan were a little overwhelmed.

“Woof woof~~”

Lin Heng was still gathering mushrooms when he heard Xiongba barking in the distance. He glanced up and saw Xiulan already heading over, so he stayed put and continued picking milk caps.

“It’s more matsutake!” Xiulan called out.

“Then you pick them. I won’t go over,” Lin Heng replied. These days, he was more eager to find black truffle and wasn’t quite as thrilled about matsutake anymore.

Of course, he said that, but if he saw one, he’d never let it go.

After gathering a few more pounds of milk caps, Lin Heng noticed they had suddenly disappeared. Just like that—they were gone.

He checked the time. It was already 2 p.m., but since they’d been focused on foraging, neither of them had felt hungry.

They had packed some dry food in their baskets and planned to keep gathering mushrooms until the afternoon before heading home.

Looking up at the soft rays of sunlight filtering through the trees, Lin Heng decided to search a little longer before meeting up with Xiulan for lunch.

“Hm? There’s ganoderma here too?”

He hadn’t found any matsutake, but Lin Heng spotted a red lingzhi mushroom.

They hadn’t come across any all day, having spent the whole time in pine forests where lingzhi wasn’t expected—so this was a pleasant surprise.

It was a sizable one, about the size of half a palm, crimson and elegant.

“Wait… this place isn’t just hiding ganoderma!”

As he stepped closer, Lin Heng immediately noticed something unusual—there was something off about the ground.

(End of Chapter)