Chapter 7

Friend

Since the weather was sunny, An Xin came to the small garden in the backyard to sunbathe.

It had been two days since she had snuck into her mother’s study and took a peek at the notebook on the desk. But when she came out and tried to recall what she had seen, she discovered that she could not remember anything. It was strange that she, who always had a good memory, could forget something, not to mention the things she just saw?

Really, her mom was weird, the house was weird, and what she encountered was also weird.

The wind on the mountain was always strong, blowing through the dense green pine forest. Listening to the rustling sound was like listening to the ocean’s waves. The land in the garden was bare, nothing but a few bushes and moss at the base of the wall. Out of boredom, she walked around the garden. She didn’t see a red shadow flashing past a window on the second floor due to the sun’s glare.

An Xin slowly turned to one side of the rusty black iron fence and looked out. The mountains were composed of various shades of green and occasionally a few small spots of gold. They were a type of tree with year-round golden leaves. One could also see small spots of brilliant crimson, which were a kind of shrub covered with small red fruits.

“Hua-la-la” she heard a sudden noise. She discovered a shrub nearby was shaking violently. A pair of snow-white hands stretched out from within the green shrubs, the branches and leaves were pushed aside, revealing a lovely pale face. Dark and beautiful eyebrows, big round eyes, a delicate nose and lips. Suddenly, she thought it was a little girl. But when the other person spoke to her with a smile, she discovered he was actually a boy.

“Did you move in recently? I haven’t seen you here before.” He said with a trace of curiosity in his eyes.

An Xin did not reply but said, “Who are you? I have not seen you before.”

The little boy was not angry, and he still had a smile on his face, “My name is Mu Sheng, and I have always been living here. And you?”

“My name is An Xin. I moved here recently.” She replied, “Have you always lived in this place? It’s so boring here.”

“Boring?” Mu Sheng blinked as if digesting the meaning of the word. Then he said, “This place is interesting. It’s not boring at all. If you always stay in the house, of course, it’s not fun.”

Ai Xin asked with a doubtful expression, “What’s fun out there? It’s just mountains and trees.”

“There are so many interesting places!” Mu Sheng came out of the shrubs and stood in front of An Xin, on the other side of the fence. He was wearing a white shirt, a grey-blue coat, and washed blue canvas shoes. He was a little taller than An Xin. He also reached for the fence and said, “It’s raining a lot these days, and the mushrooms on the mountain are growing crazily. I saw a mushroom yesterday. It was as big as a washbasin. It will be almost as big as me soon.”

An Xin nodded but did not believe him, “Really? Is there such a big mushroom?”

“Well, of course, I never lie. But that mushroom is poisonous and can’t be eaten. And it grows fast and withers fast. It takes half a day to grow from a big fist to a big washbasin, and it withers overnight.”

“Can’t be eaten…” She felt very sorry. If only she could eat them, for a mushroom of that size, then picking one would be enough to last several days.

Mu Sheng seemed to read her thoughts and said, “Although the big mushrooms can’t be eaten, there are still many edible mushrooms on the mountain. When you’re free, I’ll take you to pick them. I’m sure you can get a big basket full of them.”

“Really, that’s great!” An Xin cheered happily, “Is there anything else interesting?”

“There’s a lot more. For example, after crossing the opposite hill, you can see a small river. Walking along the river for a while, the water will flow off a cliff, forming a small waterfall. There is a cave behind the waterfall. It’s so deep that no one has ever reached the end.”

“Ah, isn’t that the water curtain cave of the monkey king(1)? I must go and have a look.” An Xin seemed very interested and wanted to see it now.

Water Curtain Cave of the monkey king: Basically there is a cave behind a waterfall and there are multiple such caves throughout china and there seems to be some relation with the Monkey King from the classic ‘Journey to the west’. If you want to read more click this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Huaguo)

“Then, I’ll take you. Other than that, we can also go down to the river to catch crabs. There are so many crabs in that river that we can almost find one by turning over a random stone.”

“Okay, you must take me there. It’s settled.” An Xin was very happy. Then she continued, “By the way, I’m 12 years old. What about you?”

“I’m 120 years old.” Mu Sheng replied.

“Oh, why are you joking around? I really want to know. Tell me the truth.”

“I’m really 120 years old, but I’m the youngest in our family. I’m a child, just like you.” He replied seriously.

“Tsk –” An Xin snorted. He didn’t lie, yet she didn’t believe him. She stopped talking about age and switched to another topic, “I really want to see that water curtain cave now. Will you take me now?”

After thinking about it for a while, Mu Sheng shook his head and said, “There is not enough time today. If you want to go, we must start early in the morning. So that when we can come back while the sun is still out. How long have you been here? Don’t you know? It gets dark very early in the mountains. If you really want to play today, I’ll take you to pick mushrooms!”

“So…” An Xin was disappointed, but what Mu Sheng said was reasonable. She was not a disobedient child, hence she agreed and said, “Well then, let’s go to pick some mushrooms.”

“Okay then, do you have any bamboo baskets or something? Take it along with you to collect some mushrooms.”

“I’ll look for it. Can’t a normal bag work?”

“It’s fine, but it’s better with the basket type. Otherwise, some mushrooms will be crushed.”

She ran into the room and found a small bamboo basket in the kitchen. She picked up the basket and went out of the room and asked Mu Sheng, “Is this okay?”

Mu Sheng nodded, “Of course, this is better than the basket(2). You don’t have to hold it in your hand.” He asked for the basket and carried it on his back, shouting happily, “Let’s go!”

2. I am guessing the basket she picked up can be worn on the shoulders like a school bag and the basked Mu Sheng was talking about had to be held all the time.

The path to the mountains was winding, and some shade-covered roads were covered with dark green moss, which made it easy to slip and difficult to trek. An Xin walked carefully. Fortunately, Mu Sheng, who was walking in front of her, would give her a hand from time to time. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back and always looked around whether there were mushrooms nearby. Yet, he was still walking steadily.

Two people were walking through the winding mountain path. And soon, they found the first mushroom. The mushroom was growing under a pine tree. It looked glossy and was tender yellow in colour. It was shaped like a small cauliflower. Mu Sheng said that this kind of mushroom is called *Chanterelle(3). It tastes delicious and is a rare variety.

3. [油菌:Yóu jūn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanterelle ]

The mushrooms on the mountain were abundant and big as Mu Sheng had said. After a while, the basket was filled with many of them. One of the most abundant ones was a kind of grey mushroom, which looked a bit like Oyster mushroom(4). Mu Sheng said it was called fleecy milk-cap(5), and its taste was ordinary. It was best to soak it for a period of time before eating, otherwise, it would taste a bit astringent. Then there were some round thick light red mushrooms, called bloody brittlegill(6), which tasted better than fleecy milk-cap. The least quantity was the Chanterelle mushrooms, only a few were found.

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_ostreatus

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_vellereus

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_sanguinaria: I don’t know why the author says it’s edible, because according to Wikipedia, it’s not. But what do I know? But guys, don’t eat any random wild mushroom.

Mu Sheng led An Xin around the mountains and picked a basket full of mushrooms. On the way back, An Xin also saw the giant poisonous mushroom. It was as big as a washbasin, and it was growing almost at a speed visible to the naked eye. It looked very beautiful, as pure as snow jade(a type of jade), reflecting the sunlight. She felt some regrets thinking that it would wither away after a night.

The sun was about to set, and the basket was too full to hold any more. Mu Sheng sent An Xin back to the front gate, put down the basket, and made an arrangement to take her to catch crabs another day, then left for home. An Xin watched until his back disappeared at the end of the mountain road, and her heartfelt very happy.

On the dinner table were fried mushrooms, boiled mushrooms, cold mushrooms, almost all mushrooms were brought out. An Xin was eating happily. Her mother looked at her jubilant expression and asked, “So many mushrooms? Were you picking them alone?”

She swallowed the food in her mouth, shook her head and said, “No, a friend took me to pick it.”

“How long have you been here and you’ve already made friends?” Mother asked, “What’s their name? Is it a boy or a girl?”

“It’s a boy named Mu Sheng.” She replied.

“Mu Sheng?” Her mother nodded, “He’s a good boy. You can bring him home to play. I’m not home all day, so you must be lonely.”

Mother rarely said some caring words, so An Xin happily accepted them.

The next day, she chatted with her father online for a while and told him about her life here: new friends, beautiful mountains and big mushrooms. Her father also told her about the local conditions over there and the customs of that country. The hot weather, the vast and desolate land.

She turned off the computer and started reading a book. She had brought this book with her. It was named “Anne of Green Gables”(7). As she was reading, she heard a faint knock on the door downstairs. Is it Mu Sheng? She put down her book and ran downstairs. When she opened the door, there was no one there. What’s going on? Am I hearing things? Did I hear it wrong?

7. Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children’s novel since the mid-twentieth century. Wikipedia

An Xin went outside and looked around, only the mountain wind was desolately blowing. She didn’t see even half a person. She went back into the house, closed the door and just as she was about to turn upstairs, she saw a red figure in the hallway. She was surprised. Thinking that she was seeing things, she rubbed her eyes, and then looked again closely. The red shadow had disappeared. She ran up the stairs, looked left and right, and then went into some rooms. There was no one. Well, it seems that I’m really seeing things.

The last room she entered was her mother’s study. Standing in the room, her eyes were unconsciously attracted by the dark red notebook on the desk. She went and sat down, turned on the lamp on the table and opened the notebook in front of her.