Chapter 59: Canyon Picnic

“What is it?”

Lin Heng asked as he walked over.

“Wild shiitake mushrooms, a huge patch!”

When Xiulan saw Lin Heng approaching, she pointed behind her.

Behind her, on the piles of fallen wood, there were large clusters of orange-yellow shiitake mushrooms growing everywhere.

The shiitake mushrooms in the mountains, also called “xiangxun” (香蕈), are of two types.

One resembles the cultivated variety: dull, thick, with caps that break into small chunks and are grayish-white, looking very substantial.

The other type has pale yellow or white caps with white flesh, looking thinner, and is also called shiitake mushrooms.

The first type is rare in the mountains, while the second is much more common.

Regardless of the type, when they’re found, it’s usually in large patches.

What Xiulan found was a huge patch, with mushrooms ranging from 5-6 cm in diameter to 1-2 cm.

“These are great.”

Lin Heng quickly helped her collect the mushrooms, making sure to gather them all, with both grandfather and grandson working together.

“And there are wood ear mushrooms!”

After a while, Lin Heng found some wood ear mushrooms growing on a rotten tree stump.

This was a double harvest of wood ear and shiitake mushrooms.

After more than ten minutes of work, the two of them had gathered all the wild mushrooms, but they weren’t as excited as before.

After all, they had just found over a pound of red ganoderma mushrooms.

“How much did you collect? I’ve got over 3 pounds,” Xiulan said, shaking her bag and looking at Lin Heng.

“I have a bit more than you. With the wood ear mushrooms and shiitake, I estimate I have about 4 to 5 pounds,” Lin Heng said, smiling. Estimating weight is easy for rural folks.

“This trip was worth it. We didn’t find any game, but the harvest is already substantial.”

Xiulan poured her mushrooms into Lin Heng’s bag and said contentedly.

“Can’t help it, it’s hard to hunt in the summer.”

Lin Heng shook his head and said, “It’s 4:30 now. Let’s stop exploring for now. I’ll see if I can catch any green-billed pheasants for dinner.”

“Okay! I’ll wait by the creek.”

Xiulan handed Lin Heng the basket. Both of them were quite hungry by now, but they had been so distracted by their harvests that they hadn’t noticed their hunger until now.

Lin Heng strapped his bow and arrow to his back, holding his slingshot in his hand as he quietly searched.

Xiong Ba, knowing he was about to hunt, became quiet and started looking for signs of prey.

They hadn’t seen any game earlier in the mountains, but in this canyon, it was different. With water and a good environment, it was bound to have game.

At least, Lin Heng could hear plenty of bird calls.

After walking a few hundred meters, Lin Heng finally spotted the first suitable target—a green-billed pheasant resting on a dead tree.

At a distance of 5 or 6 meters, he raised his slingshot and shot a ceramic pellet.

There was a “thud,” and the pheasant fell to the ground. After kicking its legs a couple of times, it died.

“Woof woof~”

Xiong Ba ran over quickly, grabbed the bird, and brought it to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng patted its head as a reward, then tossed the pheasant into the bag at his waist.

Green-billed pheasants were not only foolish but also abundant. Before long, Lin Heng had shot ten.

“Let’s head back.”

Seeing he had enough, Lin Heng turned around with Xiong Ba.

“Chirp chirp!!”

Just then, two blue-gray doves flew from the mountain and landed on a Chinese toon tree about thirty meters in front of them, chirping.

“Is this a challenge? Come down lower if you dare.”

Lin Heng muttered to himself and ignored them as he turned to walk back.

One reason was that the tree was too high, and if the shot missed, it would be difficult to retrieve the arrow. The other reason was that birds that saw you were always very cautious and hard to hit.

“Chirp chirp!!”

But these two doves seemed to be taunting him. Not long after, they flew over to a catalpa tree behind Lin Heng, about thirty meters away, and rested there.

“Fine, fine, you want to die, right?”

Lin Heng chuckled angrily, thinking to himself that the birds around here were all so stupid.

He put away the slingshot and took out his bow and arrow, preparing to take advantage of the opportunity for a double shot.

The two doves were close enough to be a good target.

“Chirp!!”

Just as Lin Heng pulled out an arrow, the doves suddenly took off and flew higher into the sky.

“As expected, they’re cautious!” Lin Heng shook his head, not surprised.

However, the next moment, he almost dropped his jaw in shock: “What the hell, are they committing suicide?”

After flying in a circle together, the two doves actually landed on a white stone less than fifteen meters directly in front of Lin Heng.

“Are such stupid birds really still edible?”

Lin Heng thought, but his hands were already raising the bow.

The two poor birds still didn’t know the hunter had revealed his claws and were busy preening their feathers.

With a sharp hiss, a black arrow shot through the air, flashing with cold light, and they had no chance to take off again.

With a “thunk,” the two doves were pierced by the arrow and stuck into the ground behind them.

Their legs twitched a few times before their eyes darkened completely.

“Woof woof~”

Xiong Ba ran over with the arrow in its mouth. Lin Heng took the doves down and realized why these two were so bold.

“They must have just left the nest. No wonder they’re so reckless!”

Lin Heng didn’t feel sorry at all. Instead, he drooled: “Roast pigeon is really delicious.”

Carrying the two doves, Lin Heng jogged back to the creek.

Xiulan was sorting the mushrooms they had collected, as they had inevitably picked up dirt, mud, and some spoiled ones that needed to be discarded.

“Did you catch two doves?”

When Xiulan saw the doves Lin Heng was holding, her eyes widened.

“Yes, I was lucky to find some young doves. They’re small, but the meat is tender.”

Lin Heng grinned.

“By the way, I also got ten green-billed pheasants. We can eat a few, and the rest can go to Xiong Ba.”

Whenever Lin Heng brought prey to Xiulan, he did it proudly, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

“Hubby, you’re amazing!” Xiulan smiled. This year, she was going to visit her parents to show them that she didn’t marry the wrong man.

Hearing this praise, Lin Heng smiled and leaned in closer. “Give me a kiss as a reward.”

Since no one was around, Xiulan rolled her eyes and said, “You’re acting like a child, aren’t you embarrassed?”

Although she said she was embarrassed, she still gave him a kiss.

“Heh heh.” Lin Heng smiled foolishly. Life was so beautiful.

Xiong Ba: “Woof woof!!”

It seemed like it was scolding them.

“I’ll start the fire.” Lin Heng set the doves down and went to find firewood nearby.

There was plenty of it in the mountains, and he quickly gathered a large pile. Before long, they had a fire going by the creek.

Xiulan took out the steamed buns and set them on a stone to roast.

Seeing Lin Heng putting the doves, feathers and all, directly on the fire without removing the entrails, she quickly stopped him. “What are you doing? Can we still eat them like this?”

“Of course, and they taste really good.” Lin Heng smiled.

“Forget it, I’ll roast a green-billed pheasant first. You’ll know once you try it.”

Afraid that his wife wouldn’t accept it, Lin Heng put the doves aside.

Though this way of roasting seemed crude, it actually worked well. Lin Heng had learned that after trying it once himself.

(End of Chapter)