A stunning mermaid dressed in the 1980s, the whole family lined up to pamper her endlessly.

Chapter 401 Searching for Mountain Products

With more people, the work got done faster. Everyone sat in the courtyard and pulled the lights outside. The light wasn't bright, but it warmed the eyes of the people talking, chatting, and working in the courtyard.

Even in October, you can hear frogs croaking and cicadas chirping in the mountains.

It was these sounds that brought the mountain village to life under the cover of night.

After peeling the pile of persimmons, which looked like a small mountain, they hung them up one by one in a shady place. Yun Jiao and the others didn't go back inside, but instead sat in the yard with a persimmon in hand and ate them.

Grandma Shen suddenly remembered that she hadn't finished eating the mooncakes she bought for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Want some mooncakes? You guys gave us so many, we still haven't finished them all."

What kind of filling is it?

"Five-nut filling, jujube paste, and red bean paste—that's all. What kind of filling do you want?"

Yun Xiaowu: "I want the five-nut one."

Yun Linhai said he also wanted the Five-Nut Delight.

Yun Jiao: "I want red bean paste."

Everyone has their own preferences, so Grandma Shen simply took a clean winnowing basket, lined it with newspaper, put about ten mooncakes on it, and carried it outside into the yard.

Everyone took their favorite mooncakes and started eating.

After we finished eating, it was getting late.

There are many people today, but the Shen family's rooms are limited and cannot accommodate so many people.

But this didn't deter them.

Yun Jiao and her brothers slept on the floor.

And they are very proactive.

Place a layer of dry grass at the bottom, then a layer of straw mat, and then a thin blanket.

As soon as the floor mats were laid out, Yun Xiaowu and the others happily started rolling around on them.

Shen Xiuyuan also joined in the fun.

After their playful bickering, they huddled together and whispered to each other, their laughter occasionally breaking the silence.

The kids get so energetic when they get together to play that they only lie down quietly when the adults next door come to watch them sleep.

But after the adults left, people started talking again.

Shen Xiuyuan: "Are we going to pick persimmons again tomorrow?"

Yun Xiaowu: "What, is there anything else fun?"

Shen Xiuyuan: "There are so many! There are also some late-ripening akebia melons, chestnuts and walnuts from the mountains that can be harvested, and kiwis..."

There are still quite a few ripe fruits in the mountains this season.

Yun Xiaowu said excitedly, "Then let's go look for it tomorrow."

“Jiaojiao is going too.”

Yun Jiao was half asleep and didn't hear what her brothers were saying clearly. She only mumbled "uh-huh" twice.

The next morning, Grandma Shen boiled eggs for everyone.

Eggs in sugar syrup.

Yun Jiao held the small bowl and finished eating the three eggs inside, and also drank all the sweet syrup.

The adults still had to go to work in the fields.

Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaowu carried their baskets and ran into the persimmon grove again.

However, this time we only made one trip, and then we'll head into the mountains and forests.

Yun Chenbei: "What are you doing in the mountains?"

"Go find other food. There's plenty of food in the mountains."

Yun Chenbei hesitated for a few seconds, discussed it with Shen Kuan, and decided to go with the children.

Otherwise, they really wouldn't feel at ease.

With Yun Jiao around, they boldly ventured deeper into the mountains.

In some places, there were no roads left, and we had to use machetes to clear the way.

Yun Jiao, on the other hand, kept an eye out for anything dangerous around her.

For example, venomous snakes and wild boars.

But if wild boars really come, it's like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone and never to return.

With Yun Jiao around, isn't it just pure food being served?

Yun Jiao has keen senses; she can spot snakes coiled in the dry grass as long as they aren't too far away.

Fearing that the venomous snakes might bite people, Yun Jiao would usually grab them and throw them far away.

Unless you're extremely unlucky, snakes generally don't die if they fall into a tree or onto the ground covered in leaves.

Of course, there are also a few particularly unlucky ones.

For example, right now, Yun Jiao is holding a poisonous snake and throwing it far away. When it reaches high in the air, a dark shadow flashes by.

Before the unfortunate snake even hit the ground, it was caught by an eagle.

Eagles: Lunch delivered right to our door?!

"Is that an eagle?"

Everyone looked up at the sky. The eagle didn't move too fast after catching the snake, so they could all see it clearly.

Yun Jiao nodded: "Yes, it's an eagle."

Everyone: "That snake is so unlucky."

After this little incident, they walked a little further and came across several chestnut trees.

Chestnuts have a spiky shell on the outside, similar to that of a sea urchin, which can be quite prickly.

A mature chestnut will have a crack in its shell.

Some chestnuts that fall to the ground come out from inside their spiky shells; you just need to pick those up.

Most of them are still encased in spiky shells.

This requires stepping on the spiky shell with the sole of your shoe and then carefully taking out the chestnuts inside.

Shen Xiuyuan: "Collect more. I'll have my father go to the river and bring back some pebbles to roast chestnuts."

Yun Jiao loves to eat, so she became even more enthusiastic when picking chestnuts.

Before long, everyone had collected enough chestnuts to fill a small basket.

"Cuckoo..."

Yun Jiao keenly heard the pheasant's call.

Her eyes lit up immediately; stewed chicken with chestnuts was delicious too.

"There are pheasants over there, I'll go take a look."

"Pheasants! We want to go too!"

Fine.

So the group followed Yun Jiao, and within minutes they were close to where the pheasant was.

There's more than one.

A flock of pheasants are eating grass seeds and insects in a meadow.

"There must be more than a dozen of them."

Yun Xiaowu: "Luckily, I brought my slingshot."

When you come to the mountains for fun, how can you miss out on a slingshot?

They were preparing to use slingshots to shoot pheasants when Yun Jiao spoke up.

"and many more."

"Is there a fox over there?"

She wasn't too sure, only vaguely seeing a red color, and its size was only slightly smaller than the village dogs.

They were probably there to hunt as well.

"Where is where?"

Everyone wanted to see it; they had never seen a fox before.

Yun Jiao pointed to a patch of relatively deep grass.

Just then, the fox that had been watching the pheasant began to move, cautiously peeking out its head.

"Shh, keep your voices down, don't scare it away."

Yun Chenbei even took out his camera.

It's no wonder he carries a camera everywhere he goes. He's snapping photos in the direction of the fox.

It's a red fox.

Its belly is white, its limbs are black, and the rest of its fur is red.

As a representative of demons in supernatural tales, the fox is indeed among the most beautiful animals in the animal kingdom.

Everyone held their breath, watching the fox approach the flock of pheasants.

Once the opportunity is right, quickly rush out of the bushes and pounce on the pheasant.

However, the commotion behind it was too great, and the pheasant reacted quickly and flew away.

The hunt failed.

The pheasants took flight and scattered.

call out……

A whooshing sound came from the air, and a pheasant that had already flown more than three meters high was hit by a small stone and fell down.

The fox became alert, instantly pricked up its ears, and darted into the bushes.

Yun Jiao and her siblings all had good aim with their slingshots, and they shot a total of five pheasants.

"It's a pity that the fox got away. I wish I could have seen it up close."

"It looks so beautiful from afar, it looks like a little fox."

Yun Jiao glanced in the direction the little fox had run away: "It didn't go far."

That little fox was quite cunning; it was hiding not far away, secretly observing.

"where?"

Upon hearing this, the group became excited and wanted to see for themselves.

Shen Kuan stopped them, saying, "Stop looking. The fox will run away by the time we get there."

Yun Xiaoqi: "How about we release a pheasant here and see if it comes out?"

Yun Xiaowu: "What, you want to catch a fox?"

Shen Kuan: "Fox meat doesn't taste good. The most useful part of a fox is its fur."

Yun Xiaoqi scratched her head: "No, I just want to see that fox. It's the first time I've ever seen a fox. It's quite a novelty."

As for the pelt, he wouldn't kill a fox for such a small amount of pelt.

It's not like we have no clothes to wear, and what can you do with just a fox pelt?
Yun Jiao: "Then let's release one."

Anyway, they've caught enough pheasants.

So, after leaving behind a pheasant, the group departed.

But they didn't go far; instead, they found a place where they could see clearly and hid.

They waited motionless for a while before there was movement in the bushes.

Sure enough, the fox returned.

No one spoke, and Yun Chenbei took several photos.

The fox cautiously looked around, then quickly carried away with the pheasant's carcass, disappearing into the bushes.

This time it's for real.

Yun Xiaoba: "I've seen what it looks like now. I'll draw it when I get back."

Yun Xiaoqi pouted: "Do I need you? Fourth Brother has already taken the photos."

Yun Xiaoba retorted, "You don't understand art!"

"Oh, oh, oh, you think you know everything..."

The two brothers were about to fight, so Yun Chenbei and Shen Kuan each pulled one of them away to separate them.

"I remember there were some walnut trees over there, let's go take a look."

Shen Kuan changed the subject, and the two brothers stopped arguing, but they still disliked each other.

Following the direction Shen Kuan pointed, there were indeed walnut trees.

There are three trees around there.

When walnuts are not fully ripe, they are covered with a green skin that looks a bit like a pear.

This stuff oozes a white liquid, and it turns your hands black if you get it on them; it's also hard to wash off.

The walnuts that fell to the ground had blackened outer shells and needed to be pried open with tools.

"Put on your gloves, or your hands will turn black later."

They were holding machetes and screwdrivers.

They were also wearing work gloves, but even these cotton work gloves couldn't completely protect them.

You have to use a tool to pry open the shell before you can take out the walnuts inside.

"Why do the walnuts on this tree look different?"

Yun Jiao held a walnut that was smaller than the others. After cutting open the outer shell, the brightly colored walnut inside was revealed.

"The texture of this walnut is so clear, and the shell looks so thick."

"They're quite pretty, so round and smooth, unlike walnuts from other trees."

They compared the walnuts from this tree to those from other trees.

Yun Jiao: "These walnuts are quite pretty."

Yes, that's what it feels like.

These walnuts are a bit smaller, but they look great.

The color is brighter than other walnuts, the texture is clearer and more attractive, and the shape is slightly rounder.

Shen Kuan: "There's basically no meat in these walnuts, so we can't eat them. Let's pick some from other trees instead."

Yun Xiaoba stroked his chin: "Why does he look so familiar?"

"Hahaha... Yun Xiaoba, your chin is all black."

Yun Xiaoba looked down and realized, "Oh no!"

Yun Jiao quite liked these walnuts, so she picked a lot of them and put them in a separate bag.

A group of people wandered aimlessly in the mountains, finding a lot of local produce, including some pine nuts.

They also caught two wild rabbits.

I didn't get home until almost lunchtime, and filled my basket with firewood when it was empty.

"We're back."

"Grandpa and Grandma, guess what we caught in the mountains?"

The return of a group of children immediately brought liveliness to the Shen family home.

Grandma Shen smiled and said, "Jiaojiao is amazing. She must have brought back some good stuff from the mountains."

"Quickly let Grandma see what they caught."

"Wow, so many walnuts and chestnuts!"

Yun Jiao: "Uncle, I want to eat roasted chestnuts."

Shen Nian said, "Okay, after we finish eating, I'll have your older cousin go and bring back some pebbles."

"Grandma, what delicious dishes can we make with walnuts?"

"There's plenty more. Grandma will make amber walnuts for you, and we also have some red dates at home, so we can make red date and walnut cake."

"I also roasted the pine nuts. They can be stored for a long time and will taste delicious during the Chinese New Year."

Shen Xiuyuan: "Grandma, we can make pine nut candy."

Everyone took turns discussing how to eat it.

"There are also four pheasants and two wild rabbits. Grandma, I want to eat stir-fried rabbit meat."

"Chestnut stewed with pheasant".

Aunt Shen: "Oh my, you little gluttons really know how to eat! Alright, I'll prepare everything for you today."

"Shen Kuan, go scald the pheasant with boiling water, pluck its feathers, and clean out its internal organs as well."

"Shen Nian, go and skin the rabbit."

After arranging for people to handle the chickens and rabbits, Aunt Shen and Grandma Shen also began preparing the side dishes.

Yun Jiao and her brothers weren't idle either; they were making chicken stew with chestnuts, which required chestnuts.

Raw chestnuts are so easy to peel; it's just the skin that's attached to the chestnut meat, with a bit of hair on it.

Once all the ingredients are ready, start cooking!