Chapter 124
Summer mornings came early. Lu Gu, with a bundle on his back and a bamboo basket in hand, followed Shen Xuanqing up the mountain. The terrain was rugged, with constant ups and downs. To pull the cart up, they had to take a longer, more manageable route.
They had walked this path many times before, and even Guaizi recognized it, running ahead of them.
The faint light of dawn shimmered, and the coolness of the night hadn't yet faded. Birds chirped in the early morning forest, and the dense green leaves overhead intertwined.
The cart wheels creaked as they moved. Lu Gu heard someone coughing softly nearby, followed by the sound of chopping wood. Da Hui barked once in that direction.
Shen Xuanqing had already spotted the woodcutter in the woods and greeted him warmly, “Uncle Dayong, you’re up early.”
Wu Dayong saw them too and smiled. “Yes, just chopping some firewood to take back. Are you heading up the mountain?”
Lu Gu recognized him, he was the son of Grandma Wu from the village.
“That’s right. We’re taking advantage of the cool weather to get moving,” Shen Xuanqing replied, then added, “Well, Uncle Dayong, we’ll be on our way.”
“Alright, take care,” Wu Dayong nodded, glancing at Lu Gu as they walked away. His expression turned somber, and he sighed softly before resuming his chopping.
His glance at Lu Gu wasn’t for any particular reason. His son, Wu Tai, was already in his twenties, older than Shen Xuanqing, but because the family was poor, no one had agreed to marry him despite several matchmaking attempts. The whole family had been worried about this for the past two years.
Farmers could only scrape together a meager living from the land. If someone in the family fell ill or got injured, everyone had to tighten their belts. Those without ancestral property or resources were even poorer, and every village had its share of bachelors who couldn’t find wives.
Lu Gu had no way of knowing what others were thinking. The mountain path was bumpy, and he didn't dare put the bamboo basket filled with eggs on the cart, so he had to hold it in his hands. He walked slowly, carefully protecting the basket.
Compared to their previous trips up the mountain, the thinner summer clothes made it easier to move, as his legs and arms weren’t restricted. This made the journey a bit more comfortable.
After crossing the mountain ridge and descending the slope, they finally arrived at their destination.
It was just past noon, and the sun was still blazing. Guaizi had drunk enough water, and droplets dripped from his wet mouth as he panted, lying in the shade to rest. Da Hui and Da Hei did the same. Even though they were used to running in the mountains, such a long walk was tiring.
Shen Xuanqing brought back a bucket of water from outside, while Lu Gu squatted in front of the clay stove, already having lit the fire.
The clay pot was placed on the stove to boil water. The two of them sat in the shade to rest, feeling hungry. They reached into a small cloth bag and took out cold steamed buns to nibble on. In the heat, eating cold food wasn’t a problem, and the soft white buns were quite satisfying.
Guaizi pawed at Lu Gu’s shoe, so Lu Gu had no choice but to break off a small piece of the bun for him. Just as some people were gluttons, some dogs were too. No matter what Lu Gu ate, Guaizi always wanted a taste.
“If you’re tired, rest for a while. Take it easy,” Shen Xuanqing said after finishing a steamed bun in a few bites. Seeing that the water in the clay pot had boiled, he got up and went to the kitchen to fetch a ladle and bowls.
There was no work to be done today, so after eating and filling their stomachs, the two of them went back to their room to rest.
After lying down, Lu Gu didn’t fall asleep immediately. The mountains were cooler than the foot of the mountain, and they needed a thick quilt to sleep comfortably. A thin one would leave them feeling cold.
He played with the grass woven grasshopper in his hand, which he had placed in the egg basket during the trip to avoid crushing it in his pocket.
Shen Xuanqing laughed when he saw it. “How about I weave you a grass cage to keep the grasshopper in?”
“Make it bigger. Its antennae are so long, if it’s too small, they’ll get bent,” Lu Gu said seriously.
Shen Xuanqing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, I’ll make a big one. Then we can tie a string to the cage and hang it up.”
“That sounds great,” Lu Gu replied without hesitation.
When Shen Xuanqing got into bed, Lu Gu placed the grasshopper by his pillow and stopped playing with it.
It was unclear who initiated it, but the two of them instinctively curled up together, clinging to each other affectionately. After some playful kissing and cuddling, they fell asleep.
The shadows of the trees swayed gently, and the room grew quiet. Outside, the three dogs also found spots to lie down, all drowsy and ready to nap.
——
By the time the hottest part of the afternoon had passed, the mountain stream flowed gently through the bamboo grove. The banks were lush with vegetation, and small bamboo shoots had begun to break through the soil, though they wouldn’t grow tall for another couple of days.
Lu Gu picked about twenty slender bamboo shoots. These bamboo shoots had tiny thorns on their husks, which pricked his hands, so he plucked a large leaf from a nearby tree to wrap around them, making them easier to handle.
The bamboo shoots took up about a third of the basket. Near the stream, there was an abundance of water celery, its stems and leaves swaying with the current.
He went over and picked the tenderest parts, filling half the basket. The water here was crystal clear, and there was also water amaranth, whose tender stems and leaves could be blanched and stir-fried, served cold, or chopped and mixed with flour to make steamed dishes.
Noticing some young spring mugwort tips, he picked a handful. These were great for making a simple soup or adding to meat broth.
Many wild vegetables had grown tough by summer, so only the tender parts were edible. The basket was now packed full, with enough bamboo shoots and wild vegetables to last him and Shen Xuanqing two or three days. He hoisted the basket onto his back and called for Guaizi, who had been playing nearby, to head back.
Once home, he went to the river to wash the vegetables. He emptied the basket and rinsed it in the river, as it would be used to carry the cleaned vegetables.
He peeled the bamboo shoot husks layer by layer until the tender, white flesh was exposed. The fresh shoots were relatively clean and only needed a quick rinse in the water. He soaked them in a basin of clean water; they could be saved for the next day if not all were eaten today.
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