Chapter 91 (continued)

The grassland was wet, with water and mud mixed together. Every step you took made a "squeak" sound, squeezing out a large puddle of water.

However, spring rain is like paint; each time it falls, it paints the earth a little greener.

The whole land is now lush and green, and the grass in Shi Wen's ranch is as thick as a fine carpet.

Shi Wen worried that the beehives would get wet, so I took some time in the afternoon to check on them and put new plastic sheeting on top to protect them from the wind and rain.

Because the work he did was rather trivial, he returned a little late. When he came back, Gong Jiang and the others had already returned with Yan Kexing.

Upon seeing Shi Wen, Ge Yue waved from afar, "Brother Shi, we brought back some really delicious stuffed pork belly today, you should try some!"

Shi Wen approached, wearing rain boots, and asked, "Where did you get this stuffed belly? Did you buy it at a restaurant?"

"No, it's homemade by a fellow villager," Ge Yue said happily. "It's a family heirloom recipe, and it's especially delicious. My teacher even asked someone to buy a whole box of it. They also have aspic, made with chicken and fish skin, which is also incredibly tasty."

Shi Wen, feeling a bit hungry Shi Wen her words, said, "Then we should eat early today."

For dinner, as Ge Yue had mentioned, there was stuffed pork belly and aspic. The food was indeed delicious, much better than what you can buy outside.

Everyone was eating and chatting, and somehow the conversation turned to food.

Ge Yue then asked, "It's rained several times already, when are we going to collect earth fungus?"

Shi Wen casually replied, "Ground fungus? There's some on the pasture, near the mountains. If you want some, I'll bring you some back from my patrol tomorrow. Ground fungus is alright to eat, but it's so hard to clean."

Ge Yue: "No, the lichen outside doesn't taste very good. You have to go to Ninglan Valley to pick it; the lichen there is the best."

Shi Wen, "Aren't all earth ear mushrooms different?"

Ge Yue: "Yes, those wild mushrooms are especially fresh. It seems like they can only be picked in the spring. After picking them, you have to stir-fry them with lard, and add a lot of wild chili peppers and our local wild scallions. Stir-fry them until they're fragrant and spicy, and they go perfectly with rice."

Shi Wen with doubt, "Aren't wild onions a bit bitter?"

"But it smells so good!" Ge Yue said. "Once it's thoroughly stir-fried, even the slight bitterness becomes a unique flavor. You have to eat this with a rich chicken broth to soak rice, and the rice has to be made with Northeast rice, that way it'll be fragrant and soft enough."

Ge Yue described it vividly.

Lin Chengqian said, "As if you could do it."

Ge Yue: "I'll eat it! Who among you doesn't want to eat it?"

Everyone's eyes darted around.

Shi Wen looked at them in surprise, feeling that this stir-fried earth fungus must be really delicious, otherwise everyone wouldn't have that expression.

Ge Yue said to Shi Wen, "Last year when we ate it, I thought the earth fungus was too finely chopped and troublesome to eat, so I wanted to get a spoon to scoop it out, but my senior brother scolded me for it."

Gong Jiang was unable to explain, "I didn't insult you, I just said there weren't enough earth fungus. You could just scoop some out and eat it all, then there wouldn't be any left for the others at the table."

Ge Yue snorted, "It's the same thing. Anyway, I didn't get enough last year, so I want to have another meal this year."

Shi Wen, "Is it really that delicious? You've made me want to try it too."

Shi Wen looked towards Yan Kexing.

Yan Kexing, "The taste is indeed very good. It's a seasonal wild vegetable; you can only eat it for the next two months if you want to."

Shi Wen, "How about we go and collect some?"

Yan Kexing: "Let's go on Saturday. We can pick some wild onions there and stir-fry them together."

Now that everything is arranged, Shi Wen will just wait.

On Saturday, unusually, everyone stayed up early and arrived at the Shi Wen's house waiting for them.

Ge Yue specially brought a basket and urged Shi Wen, "Brother Shi, let's hurry, the earth ear mushrooms that just sprouted this morning are the freshest."

Shi Wen quickly said, "Wait a moment, I'll go after I finish expressing the milk."

Ge Yue: "Then I'll help."

With everyone working together, the work on the ranch was quickly finished.

They split into two cars and set off with the dogs.

Today we're going to the valley to collect wild fungus; Shi Wen has never been here before.

When they arrived at the place, they saw that the riverbanks were full of jagged rocks, and only some short, tangled grass grew on the sandy ground.

Even with his sharp eyesight, he couldn't spot the earth ear at a glance.

Shi Wen, "Are there really earth ear fungus here?"

Ge Yue in, "Yes, you have to search carefully, turning over rocks. The wild onions here are especially delicious, Brother Shi, if you see any, take some with you."

Shi Wen, "Okay. Let's split up and search."

Everyone scattered.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing together, while the dogs crowded around them, running back and forth.

The two tiger cubs couldn't resist the sight of the river. While Shi Wen and Yan Kexing searching for the earth ear, they jumped into the river with a "plop" and went to play in the water.

Shi Wen the sound, turned around, and saw their figures disappear into the water. He had no choice but to turn a blind eye and pretend he hadn't seen them.

Tiger cubs' love for water is in their nature; they'll seize any opportunity to play in it. Since they can swim and won't drown, Shi Wen don't care.

Shi Wen turned his head and continued searching for the earth ear.

Soon, he spotted a small piece of earth ear.

This piece of earth ear is round and green all over. It looks a bit like a puppy's ear, but small, only about the size of a fingernail. It looks plump and tender.

Shi Wen bent down, picked it up, and smelled it. "This smell—it has a unique fresh fragrance of algae, and a hint of post-rain aroma? It certainly doesn't seem to be an ordinary variety."

Yan Kexing: "Most people simply can't tell the difference."

"Actually, the difference is quite significant. They look and taste different; other places' Euryale ferox (a type of wild mushroom) don't have this delicate fragrance." Shi Wen a deep sniff and asked, "Is this Euryale ferox the same kind we usually eat?"

Yan Kexing: "They belong to the same major category."

The two talked as they searched.

Shi Wen quickly discovered that all the earthworms were only the size of a fingernail, but the flesh was quite thick.