Chapter 9

The forest was dense, the morning mist pervasive, and the distant mountains echoed with the roars of wild beasts, making the entire forest seem deep and awe-inspiring. Yet, the forest was also generous, with various fungi thriving among the decaying leaves at the base of trees, and wild fruits and unknown flowers growing in patches.

After walking in the forest for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Zhu Shouyi gradually slowed his pace, carefully examining the ground around him, and then signaled for Zhu Ping'an and the other to stand still. He then put down the basket on his back, gently placing it in a nearby patch of grass, and took out some ropes.

"These footprints are from a wild rabbit. Wild rabbits like to run straight and can jump to a certain height, so when setting a trap, you need to place it higher. Don’t destroy the surrounding environment; restore it to its original state, or the wild rabbit won’t fall into the trap..." As Zhu Shouyi set the trap, he explained to his two sons how to set a trap for wild rabbits. "A wild rabbit running at high speed won’t notice this 'trap.' Once it rushes into the trap, the rabbit won’t have a chance to escape."

Zhu Ping'an noticed that the traps his father set were simple, using readily available materials like sticks, branches, and ropes. The rope was made into two loops. One loop was for catching the wild rabbit; once the rabbit entered the loop, it would struggle, tightening the loop even more. How could the rabbit not be strangled to death? The secret was in the second loop, the small "loop" at the end. This "loop" would form a new small circle, which would save the rabbit’s life, preventing it from being strangled.

After setting three traps, Zhu Shouyi led his two sons to take a different path, hoping to return and find fat rabbits on their way down.

Gradually, the three of them began to have some harvest: two wild pheasants, which Zhu Shouyi caught by setting a trap outside a pheasant nest; five large carp, each weighing about two to three pounds, caught in a mountain stream by blocking a section of the shallow water with stones; and about ten pounds of wild mushrooms and black fungus.

As they passed a bamboo grove, Zhu Ping'an thought of the bamboo shoots mentioned in "A Bite of China" and loudly demanded to eat bamboo shoots. Zhu Shouyi's eyes lit up, and he put down the bamboo basket, taking out a pointed hoe.

Finding bamboo shoots in a bamboo grove is a skill, requiring the ability to "find gold through the soil." Bamboo shoots grow from bamboo plants with dark green leaves and yellow spots. Digging at the cracked soil around these plants will yield bamboo shoots. Zhu Shouyi was an expert at this, distinguishing between "male" and "female" bamboo. If the first section of a mature bamboo shoot branches into two symmetrical parts, it is a female bamboo, and there will be bamboo shoots around it. If the first section has a single branch, it is a male bamboo, and there will be no shoots. After finding a female bamboo, observe the direction in which the top of the bamboo droops; the place where the dew drops fall is where the bamboo shoots grow. Additionally, each bamboo plant has a main rhizome, which runs parallel to the plane formed by the first section's symmetrical branches, and the shoots always grow in the direction of the rhizome's extension.

They dug up about eight or nine bamboo shoots, all short and thick, each about twenty centimeters long, tender and ready to eat.

At noon, they ate in the mountains, picking some wild fruits and catching three slightly larger fish in the mountain stream to cook over a fire. They also had the dry rations they brought from home, and Zhu Shouyi even found a gourd, which he cut open and used to make fish soup with stream water. Zhu Shouyi's basket seemed like Doraemon's pocket, containing even salt.

With their mouths dripping with oil and their bellies full, Zhu Ping'an felt this was the best and most satisfying meal he had eaten since coming to the Ming Dynasty, far better than anything he had at home.

After eating, they rested for a while and then continued to search for good things in the mountains.

The small animals in the mountains were very alert, possibly scared by hunters, and each one seemed to be a master of evasion, disappearing without a trace at the slightest disturbance. At this moment, Zhu Ping'an missed the silly deer from the TV show "Where Are We Going, Dad?" If there were one here, it would be easy to catch.

Unfortunately, this was the Anhui-Hubei region, and there were no silly deer. Despite this, Zhu Ping'an discovered something good, a large patch of white and golden flowers under a tree.

It turned out to be honeysuckle, and Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up as he eagerly ran over.

"Zi'er, don’t run around." Zhu Shouyi quickly followed.

Zhu Ping'an ran to the honeysuckle and carefully confirmed that the flowers were indeed the ones described in "Compendium of Materia Medica": they were cylindrical, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, with a yellowish-white or greenish-white surface covered in short, soft hairs. Occasionally, there were leaf-like bracts, which matched the description of honeysuckle. Honeysuckle is one of the easiest Chinese herbs to process, requiring only sun-drying or air-drying. According to "Compendium of Materia Medica," honeysuckle is bitter and cold, good for clearing heat and detoxifying the upper body and skin.

Picking these honeysuckle flowers, drying them, and selling them to the pharmacy could be a good source of income.

Zhu Ping'an marked the spot, and if this could earn money, he could come back to pick them in the future.

There were many honeysuckle flowers, and Zhu Ping'an picked the best ones, only the flower buds. The best honeysuckle flower buds are cylindrical, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, with a greenish-white surface, and the open flowers, broken buds, and yellow strips should not exceed 5%.

When Zhu Shouyi caught up, Zhu Ping'an was bent over, picking the flowers with great enthusiasm, looking very happy.

Picking flowers?

Zhu Shouyi's eyes twitched. Could his youngest son be a playboy who mixes with women?

"What are you picking flowers for? Come, let’s go pick some fruit to eat!" Zhu Shouyi felt it was his duty to correct his son's bad habits.

Zhu Ping'an looked up at his father, shook his head, and continued picking.

"The fruit is very sweet and delicious." Zhu Shouyi continued to try.

"These can be sold for money." Zhu Ping'an mumbled as he picked the flowers.

Zhu Shouyi pursed his lips. How could wildflowers be sold for money? Wildflowers and grasses are everywhere in the mountains, and no one sells them! He patiently explained to his son, "City people buy flowers like peonies and roses, not these. These flowers are not even eaten by pigs!"

Not even eaten by pigs?

See, this is why the villagers are so poor!

Whether something can be sold for money isn’t determined by pigs!

"Brother, I’ll help you." Zhu Pingchuan, feeling for his brother, put down his basket and helped pick the flowers.

He thought simply that if his brother wanted something, he should help him get it.

"You can only pick this kind of flower." Zhu Ping'an showed Zhu Pingchuan a standard top-quality honeysuckle flower.

"Okay." The simple and honest older brother nodded and helped pick the honeysuckle.