Chapter 60

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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"Set the trap deep, and all the little wild boars couldn't escape, they all fell in." A few years ago, growing corn in the mountains didn't attract many wild boars, but in recent years, it has become more common. Few people live in the mountains now; the young and able-bodied have all moved to the city.

Only the elderly remain in the mountains, and there are fewer children. Who would have the heart to go hunting in the mountains these days? With the increase in wild boars and other wildlife, traps are often set to prevent them from causing trouble.

"This kid has good luck." When everyone heard that Li Dong had caught wild boars using the mountain people's traps, they thought this kind of luck was rare.

"I've been running around the mountains collecting mountain goods recently, and that's how I came across it."

Li Dong thought to himself, "That's true, with good luck, I caught wild boars in 1978, and people don't really value the boar stomachs much."

"The boar stomachs are a bit small, but I got two for Dad. If I have time, I might go into the mountains again and find more."

"Smaller is better; if they're too big, they're hard to eat." Aunt Wang had some experience.

"Exactly."

"Fengqin, your son-in-law is really something."

"Indeed, I heard that a wild boar stomach can cost over a thousand yuan."

"That's true, and it's not even guaranteed to be a real wild boar stomach."

Zhang Fengqin felt flattered by the praise from her old sisters, her face beaming with joy. Her son-in-law was really something, but her daughter was the problem, always busy. What was she busy with? A woman's family is the most important. She should talk to her and get Li Dong back home soon.

"Xiaodong must be tired from the journey, go home and rest." Zhang Fengqin said with a smile. "We'll end it here today."

"No problem, Mom. I'm in good shape; I've been running around the mountains collecting mountain goods every day, which has kept me fit."

"Are there many mountain goods in the mountains? I heard from Jiajia that her colleague said the mushrooms, black fungus, and dried wild fruits she bought last time were very tasty, and she wants to buy more." Zhang Fengqin was concerned about her son-in-law's farm business. Jiajia had said the farm was nice, but there weren't many people.

This wouldn't do. A large investment had been made, and if it all went to waste, it would be a blow to her son-in-law's pride.

"Collecting them isn't difficult; each household has a little, but wild things are scarce. One household might have a pound or two, and some might have just a few ounces, which is too scattered. Dried wild fruits are easier to collect, but I had to visit over ten villages and at least fifty households to collect sixty to seventy pounds of mushrooms and black fungus."

Li Dong remembered he had brought some dried wild fruits and some fresh ones. "Aunt, try these. They're mountain fruits, small but tasty."

"Oh, this kid, why are you being so polite with us?"

"Indeed, these fruits look good."

But upon hearing about the wild fruits from the mountains, everyone eagerly accepted them.

Actually, they were just some dates, small persimmons, and fresh fruits that Li Dong had picked himself that day. He brought them back to enjoy fresh, and there weren't many, but he brought them all this time. His daughter and sister-in-law would definitely love them.

Though small, they were really tasty. Li Dong had tasted them and wouldn't have brought them if they weren't good.

"These dates are really sweet."

"Indeed, they look small, but they taste great."

"Boy, do you have more of these dates? I'll buy some." Aunt Wang had eaten a few and found them delicious, just like the ones she ate as a child.

"Sure, sure, we'll all buy some." Hearing Aunt Wang, the other aunts also chimed in.

They gathered around, looking into Li Dong's snake skin bag, which was full of mushrooms, black fungus, and dried wild fruits, and they all smiled.

"Aunt, I'm really sorry, but I didn't bring much this time." Li Dong looked helplessly at Zhang Fengqin. He had brought them for his daughter, and there wasn't much to sell.

"This kid, there's plenty here. Your parents can finish it all."

"Indeed."

"These are for Jiajia's colleagues."

Li Dong's words only made the aunts more enthusiastic. They opened the snake skin bag and saw various mountain goods, a full bag of them.

"This kid, you can bring more next time, it's not far."

"Indeed."

After a few words, Li Dong smiled bitterly, not knowing what to do. If they had said something earlier, he would have brought more.

"I'll talk to Jiajia. If your aunts really want to buy, you can sell some to them."

Zhang Fengqin, seeing her son-in-law surrounded, thought that if the mountain goods were good, the aunts would buy more in the future. It would be a good business opportunity, and she would talk to Jiajia later.

"Alright."

Hearing Zhang Fengqin, Li Dong gritted his teeth and decided to sell first. He would bring more to Gao Jia later. He took out the dried mushrooms, black fungus, and dried fruits from the snake skin bag. The bags were sturdy and stood straight on the ground.

He rolled up the small bag openings so everyone could see more clearly. The aunts squatted down, pinching the mushrooms, black fungus, and tasting the dried fruits.

"Look, this black fungus, it's smaller than what we usually buy at the supermarket, just like what we picked when we were young." These aunts were all a bit older and knew a lot about mountain goods.

"Indeed, the color is lighter, and it doesn't break easily. Cultivated ones break with a few pinches." Wild black fungus doesn't break easily, is lighter in color, and has a slightly white back.

Li Dong didn't expect the aunts to be experts in identifying black fungus and mushrooms. Zhang Fengqin smiled, knowing her old sisters weren't easy to fool. If she hadn't tasted the mushrooms and black fungus that Li Dong had brought back through Gao Jia, she wouldn't have recommended them.

"These wild fruits are good too. My grandson loves dried fruits, but the ones from the supermarket are of unknown quality. I'll buy more of these." Aunt Liu tasted the dried persimmons, wild grapes, hawthorns, and soft dates, all of which were delicious.

Everything was good, clean, and tasty, healthier than what the supermarket sells. Aunt Liu planned to buy more for her grandson and bring them over on the weekend.

The black fungus, mushrooms, and dried fruits were divided among the aunts in a short time. Li Dong didn't mention the price, as wild black fungus and mushrooms cost at least a hundred yuan. He sold about twenty pounds of mountain goods for about two thousand yuan.

These aunts were all retired officials, from the municipal government, district government, or at least retired teachers. They didn't care about the money, and they pulled out a few hundred yuan each.

It was really profitable. Li Dong had to say, 1978 was a good year. He had collected so much for just a few cents a pound, twenty cents for the good ones.

"Oh, what's this?" Aunt Wang found a few unopened bags of black fungus.

"Aunt, these aren't for sale."

Li Dong quickly stopped her. He had brought two wild Polygonatum (yellow essence) roots, both over ten years old, which were rare even in 1978 and couldn't be sold.

"Xiaodong, what's in these bags?"

"Two Polygonatum roots."

Seeing Zhang Fengqin's question, Li Dong took out the Polygonatum roots from the bag. "Over ten years old, wild Polygonatum. I got lost while collecting mountain goods and stumbled upon these treasures."

"Perfect for Dad, who loves to drink. Soaking these in alcohol is good for his health."

"This kid has good luck."

Ten-year-old wild Polygonatum was a rare find, and the aunts all looked enviously at Zhang Fengqin, wishing they had a son-in-law like hers.

"Is this wild boar meat?"

"Such a big piece, it must weigh a few pounds?"

"At least five or six pounds."

Besides the wild boar meat, there was also a plucked wild chicken and a wild rabbit. It was his daughter's birthday, so he brought good food.

"What's this?"

"Yellow eels."

A few large yellow eels caught the aunts' attention. The snake skin bag, though unassuming, was full of good things.

"Wild yellow eels, they're really big."

"Indeed, it was hard to get them, so I brought them over."

Li Dong smiled. "There's also a wild chicken and a wild rabbit. I hunted the chicken myself."

"You hunted it yourself?"

"This kid has real skills."

Zhang Fengqin smiled. "Why didn't you keep them? Guests at the farm would love wild chicken."

"Let the family try them. The farm doesn't lack for these."

Wild yellow eels, wild chicken, wild rabbit, and a large piece of wild boar meat—there were many good things. The aunts looked at each other, and the wild boar meat was plentiful.

Zhang Fengqin, hearing the aunts, nodded helplessly. "Alright, I'll cut some when I get home."

Li Dong was finally released from the enthusiastic aunts, promising to bring more next time.

"Mom, is Dad at home?" Li Dong carried the snake skin bag and followed Zhang Fengqin home.

"He's at home, boasting to his old friends."

Zhang Fengqin smiled. "You brought two bottles of wine last time, and Dad has been hugging them for days."

"Ha, I brought two more bottles this time." Li Dong smiled, bringing 1975 Gujing wine, which was better than Fenjiu Daqu, one of the eight famous wines.

"Why are you bringing more?"

"Mom, don't worry about the old wine. Dad won't drink it."

Li Dong knew that Gao Guoliang had a bad stomach and shouldn't drink much.

"Old wine, this kid, this stuff isn't cheap, right?"

Zhang Fengqin wasn't ignorant; her husband liked to collect old wine, which could cost hundreds or thousands of yuan.

"It's fine, a friend gave it to me, so I didn't spend any money."

Li Dong was used to fibbing.

They followed Zhang Fengqin upstairs to the door, opened it, and indeed, Gao Guoliang was boasting to his old friends and neighbors about the Fenjiu Daqu he had, feeling a bit embarrassed when he saw Li Dong come in.

"How is this wine? My son-in-law went through a lot to get it for me. Ha, 1978 Fenjiu Daqu, Old Liu, Old Zhang, how does it compare to your two bottles of Mingguang?"

"I think it's a bit lacking. If you say the two bottles of Gujing are better, we'll admit it, but this Fenjiu Daqu is just a local wine, how can it compare?"

"It's not lacking at all. This is the last batch. What do you know?"

Old Zhang and Old Liu pouted. Fenjiu might not be as famous as Mingguang, but they were still very envious of the two bottles of Fenjiu Daqu.

Now that the son-in-law was here, how could he keep boasting? This old woman, why didn't she say it earlier? Look at how awkward this is.

"Dad."

"Xiaodong is here."

"By the way, Dad, I brought you two bottles of wine." Li Dong thought the old man was quite amusing and decided to buy a few bottles of Maotai and Wuliangye later.