Chapter 296: Gains In The Deep Mountains
Tao Tao flew around Lu Qiaoge several times before reluctantly spreading its wings and flying toward the autumn sky.
Fluttering sounds followed as countless swallows took off too.
Instantly, half the sky was obscured.
Tao Tao said they weren’t the last batch; several more batches would fly away one after another later.
They circled in the sky for a few minutes, probably organizing their formation. Soon a shape formed, then they gradually disappeared into the azure sky.
How to put it—there was still a bit of melancholy.
Previously, Tao Tao and Nini didn’t know which regions they passed through along the way. Lu Qiaoge drew a route for them. Based on Tao Tao’s memory from last year, Lu Qiaoge discovered they weren’t just flying south as supposed—especially the Northeast flock. They needed to cross the equator, reaching as far as northern Australia.
Though Tao Tao and the others were barn swallows, they had great endurance. Like the old turtle, they were extremely sensitive to weather.
This year’s route was the same as last year’s, and the weather changes weren’t big.
Lu Qiaoge glanced at the silent forest. Now people occasionally entered the mountains to pick mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms.
That was because Guzi Village had a long-term acquisition point set up by the food factory.
Settlements were made at the beginning of each month, all in cash.
Villagers in Guzi Village, thanks to this acquisition point, had some families earning over a hundred yuan in one autumn.
That was equivalent to a year’s living expenses for a family of seven.
Looking at the situation in the mountains, they could gather until the second half of this month.
Lu Qiaoge asked Xiao Cangcang: “Do you still remember the old ginseng we marked last time? Has it been picked by someone?”
Xiao Cangcang immediately replied: 【No, it’s still there. I just went to check while you were talking to Tao Tao.】
What more could Lu Qiaoge say? She really had the most excellent scout.
So, leading the little animals, they headed deep into the big mountains.
Soon, they stopped in front of a dense woods.
Lu Qiaoge thought it over and over but still didn’t chop down any trees in the end.
Though there was no talk of health resorts now, and no one would know if she chopped trees.
But having experienced the apocalypse, she always felt the environment should still be protected.
Even a tree as thick as her wrist took over a decade to grow.
Especially since the North was different from the South.
With no bamboo to build a wooden house, she’d use the assorted wood from nearby logging operations.
Lu Qiaoge stood on the mountain peak. This place was far from the city; according to the map, they had entered the Anling Mountains.
She first went to a river in the mountain forest and picked up quite a few pebbles.
Northern pebbles were single-colored. Lu Qiaoge thought it would be great if she could go south once to pick some pretty agate stones and Rainflower stones to lay by the lakeside or place at the lake bottom.
With her speed and abilities, no need for a letter of introduction or staying at inns—just relying on her two legs and the little animals, she could totally make this idea happen.
And right then, the little animals who had gone scouting returned one after another.
This time Xiao Cangcang didn’t take the lead but yielded to Hua Hua.
The calico cat was very happy: 【Little Master, go up this river, turn a bend, and you’ll see a patch of persimmons that haven’t fallen yet—that is, the wild blueberries you mentioned. They’re huge.】
Xiao Cangcang: 【I found dozens of wild lingzhi. No one can get in there, so they’re huge, with many years on them, and plenty with golden edges…】
Diandian was participating in this kind of activity for the first time and was always in a happy state, now even happier: 【Little Master, I found a red pine forest full of huge, huge pine nut clusters up top.】
The sparrows chirped excitedly too: 【We found a patch of wild grapes, all ripe. Also hazelnuts and walnuts.】
The grey pigeon: 【Little Master, I found a hillside full of assorted wood cleared by the loggers.】
Rat Big, Rat Two, and Little Black Snake had gone together. Rat Big suppressed its excitement: 【Past the swamp is a big river, wide surface and deep water. Little Master, Little Black Snake and I went down to check—the riverbed has tons of pretty stones in every color, some transparent. Probably what humans call Northern River agate.】
Lu Qiaoge’s eyes lit up. Right, this area was in the Northern River basin. Northern River agate was water-washed agate, similar to Hetian jade seed material. After long erosion by water flow, each piece shimmered. Yes, they could go in the space’s lake water.
Little Yellow Dog and Old Black Cat were thrilled too.
But their situation was special; they couldn’t always follow the little fairy around playing.
They actually wanted to recognize Lu Qiaoge as their master too, but they had homes. Lu Qiaoge said she really liked being called little fairy by them.
So Little Yellow Dog happily ran back: 【Little Fairy, I saw a deep puddle. I also saw a big fish jump up, but I didn’t hear it speak.】
The calico cat happily rubbed against Little Yellow Dog, meowing meow meow several times.
Old Black Cat was the last to return, speaking leisurely: 【I saw a dead big pine tree on that hillside. The roots are full of pine cones. Once my little master used pine cones to start a fire, and Xiao Bao’s grandpa said they could even be carved into art pieces.】
Oh my, Lu Qiaoge laughed until her eyes curved like crescent moons.
My little cuties, excellent, excellent!
“Then let’s start gathering from this river, hahaha, let’s go, treasures!” Lu Qiaoge shouted happily.
Lunch was eaten riverside. They caught small fish for the two cats, then lit a fire, set up the small iron pot, and Lu Qiaoge used lake water from the space to boil three pots of noodles with eggs and canned meat.
Except for her own portion, the rest went into the washbasin.
Full and satisfied, they continued harvesting.
At four in the afternoon, Lu Qiaoge and the group of little animals rested on the hillside grassland.
The grassland wasn’t very green anymore; some spots had turned yellow, but it was still soft to lie on.
Lu Qiaoge glanced at the space. The hillside was piled with a huge stack of assorted wood chopped by loggers—enough to build a simple wooden house.
Then there were today’s harvests.
First, a big patch of wild lingzhi dug up and planted in the space’s grassland.
Beautiful colors—golden red inside, gold outside; some with pale yellow edges, but the older ones had deeper colors.
Next to the wild lingzhi was a big patch of wild ginseng. Lu Qiaoge spent over an hour replanting them.
A huge pile of wild grapes, about five hundred jin, not big but super sweet.
Wild blueberries filled one willow basket. The season was long past, but this was deep mountains almost no one visited, so some fruits clung on, probably late-maturing ones.
Also a huge pile of pine nut clusters. Picking them was tough, especially from tall red pines, but Lu Qiaoge easily gathered a ton.
Nearly a thousand, bigger than her palm.
She left the rest untouched—plenty of mountain animals loved pine nut clusters.
Especially Diandian, who liked them most.
The pine cones Old Black Cat found were great too. Lu Qiaoge dug them up roots and all. No life left in the roots, but they could be firewood in winter or carved after aging.
Also picked some walnuts and hazelnuts.
Only five willow baskets, so the rest piled on the grassland.
Small fish for Hua Hua and Old Black Cat—plenty caught, but live ones couldn’t go in. Lu Qiaoge let the two cats handle them. With intelligence, simple tasks were no problem…
Seeking monthly passes from the treasures, seeking continued support!!
