Chapter 202

Whether it was good luck or the rain actually brought a lot of mushrooms, they had a great start as soon as they went up the mountain, picking a lot of matsutake mushrooms under the pine trees.

Looking at the mushrooms covering the bottom of the basket, Qing Mengzhu muttered, "There are so many mushrooms on the mountain."

Ming Chunxi helped him up. "There will be more in the mountains later."

Qing Mengzhu: "I hope so."

It had probably just rained, and the mountain was still quite slippery, so not many people came to pick mushrooms.

Qing Mengzhu followed the jungle map he had made last year.

The places where mushrooms grew last year are still there this year, clusters of them, as lush as spring grass.

Mushrooms that didn't grow last year have sprouted this year because they knocked down many spores.

There are so many mushrooms, two baskets aren't enough to hold them all.

By 11 a. m., both baskets were completely full, and Qing Mengzhu even tied a bunch of weeds together.

The sun was almost directly overhead, and the weather was getting hot, making Qing Mengzhu's face flushed.

Ming Chunxi pulled him to rest in the shade. The Guard, Dharma Protector, and red fox, who were panting from the heat, also squeezed over. The otter, a beat behind, followed behind.

They ate the food they had brought that morning, drank the water they had brought with them, and enjoyed the mountain breeze for a while until they finally felt comfortable.

Qing Mengzhu cut some branches nearby and, together with Ming Chunxi, wove a simple basket. They had no choice; the basket simply couldn't hold all the mushrooms.

They originally planned to weave two baskets for the two dogs to carry.

When Qing Mengzhu gave the basket to Gouzi, the red fox was indignant, grabbing their trouser legs and whimpering.

Qing Mengzhu had no choice but to weave two more baskets with Ming Chunxi for the red fox and the otter—they already had the red fox, and isolating the otter wouldn't be good.

Around 1 p. m., they finished picking mushrooms and came down the mountain.

Besides the mushrooms they were carrying, the four little creatures following them were also carrying baskets, which were also full of plump mushrooms.

The scene seemed familiar, yet everyone who saw it couldn't help but stop and take a picture with them.

The dog is so well-behaved, and the fox and otter cat next to it are even more unusually well-behaved. It's quite a rare sight.

Not long after Qing Mengzhu and the others returned home, they received a call from Zhou Yan.

When they returned, photos were taken and many people posted them on social media. It's not surprising that Zhou Yan saw them and asked about it.

Zhou Yan asked, "Mengzhu, did you go up the mountain to pick mushrooms?"

Qing Mengzhu ate the watermelon she'd been eating since morning, enjoying the cool breeze, and lazily leaned back in her deck chair. "Yes, there are so many mushrooms on the mountain; we'll pick more tomorrow."

Zhou Yan: "What kinds of mushrooms?"

Qing Mengzhu: "There are so many! The most common are matsutake mushrooms, followed by porcini, morels, termite mushrooms, red mushrooms, truffles, and the like. Brother Zhou, would you like to come over and get some to try?"

Zhou Yan: "Yes, are you going to sell them at the farm?"

Qing Mengzhu, "We shouldn't sell them; it's not worth much. We can just give some to relatives and friends. If you want some, just come and take it. If we wait too long, we'll have to fry them into mushroom oil."

Zhou Yan: "I'll fry it for you. You can leave it for now, I'll come over early after work tonight. Would you like some risotto? We got a good batch of butter and cheese from the kitchen today, I'll make you some mushroom risotto."

Qing Mengzhu immediately replied, "Yes! Are we having it tonight? Brother Zhou, bring over more ingredients, I'll have He Xi come over to eat with us."

Zhou Yan: "I'm only free in the evenings. I remember the onions in the vegetable garden are ripe, right? Could you dig some up for me? The onions from the garden smell better."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's go dig when the weather cools down a bit. Brother Zhou, do you need any other ingredients? If so, we can bring them back together."

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "I'll send you a list of ingredients later. It'll be easier to find things by following the list."

After hanging up the phone, Qing Mengzhu waved her phone to Ming Chunxi next to her. "It was Brother Zhou. He's going to make us stew for dinner tonight."

Ming Chunxi smiled and said, "I heard you, no need to repeat myself."

Qing Mengzhu lay back down next to him and said, "I just wanted to tell you."

Chapter 202

In the evening, Zhou Yan brought the ingredients over, intending to make them a stew.

Qing Mengzhu stood behind Zhou Yan, looking at the round rice grains, and asked curiously, "Is this short-grain rice?"

Zhou Yan: "Yes, it has more amylopectin, which makes it better at absorbing water."

Qing Mengzhu examined the rice carefully and felt that it was probably of "Good Grade+" grade. This quality of rice would cost Zhou Yan and his group over 300 yuan per kilogram if they bought it in bulk.

Too expensive.

Once their Rice is harvested, we can sell it at that price.

Qing Mengzhu thought of her own rice, and Zhou Yan also thought of his own rice, asking, "When will the Rice in the fields be ready for harvest?"

"It's still early." Qing Mengzhu calculated the time in her mind. "We've only just started the grouting process. If we want to harvest, it won't be until at least the end of September."

Zhou Yan nodded. "I came from the Rice paddies the other day and noticed that your Rice are quite sparse. Won't planting them like this make pollination difficult? I remember Rice is wind-pollinated, right?"

Qing Mengzhu: "The current Rice planting method is mainly for maximizing economic benefits. If you want to grow truly good Rice, it's better to plant it more sparsely, giving it enough space to grow. However, we now use drones for pollination, and the wind is quite strong when agricultural drones fly over the Rice."

Zhou Yan: "I remember now, I did see you using drones to spray pesticides and apply fertilizer."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "Many high-end Rice, both domestically and internationally, are grown this way. We read in our research that some Rice, once given enough growing space, will have larger grains; some rice grains can even reach the size of a pine nut when cooked."

Zhou Yan became interested. "I've seen this before. When we went to Japan to study, there was a long-established sushi restaurant where the rice they cooked was as big as corn kernels. It tasted especially fragrant, sweet and delicious. I still can't forget it."

Qing Mengzhu: "The Rice we grow this time will make very fragrant cooked rice."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Then I'll be waiting. After the new rice is harvested, I'll cook something delicious for you all, and we can all try it together."

Zhou Yan was still not used to having others around and getting in his way, so after chatting for a few minutes, he urged Qing Mengzhu to go to rest.

Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi sat in the courtyard scrolling through their phones.

The melted butter smells so good.

The butter and chopped onions smell delicious too.

Even the fried rice with butter smells delicious.

Qing Mengzhu couldn't sit still any longer, so she peered into the kitchen and asked Zhou Yan, "Brother Zhou, how long are you going to fry this rice? It smells so good!"

Zhou Yan held the spatula in one hand, slowly stir-frying the rice grains with a calm and composed demeanor. "Stir-fry until they're translucent, almost done."

Qing Mengzhu: "When can we eat?"

Zhou Yan: "It's still early. When you smell the aroma of stir-fried mushrooms, it should be almost ready."

As he spoke, Zhou Yan picked up the hazelnut chicken soup he had brought and poured it directly into the wok, submerging the rice grains. "I'll simmer it slowly for a while; the longer it cooks, the more fragrant it will be."

Qing Mengzhu sniffed. "Brother Zhou, did you put hazelnut chicken soup in it? This smells so good, did you not put pickled bamboo shoots in it?"

Zhou Yan: "No, this soup was specially made for this purpose; the pickled bamboo shoots would overpower the flavor."

Just as Zhou Yan was patiently cooking the ingredients, Zhao Hexi arrived.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Qing Mengzhu standing at the kitchen door talking to Zhou Yan, her mouth watering. Two dogs, a red fox, and an otter were also squatting outside the kitchen, drooling with desire.

Seeing this, Zhao Hexi stopped and sniffed the air. Then he jogged to the kitchen door, stood on the other side, and peered inside. "What delicious food are you making today? It smells so good!"

Zhou Yan: "Wild mushroom risotto."

Zhao Hexi: "It sounds delicious!"