The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the Mountain Man

Chapter 217: 217 oyster mushrooms

Standing on the mountain top, she looked around at the lush green peaks connected to one another, with streams occasionally flowing through the valleys.

Mountains were like treasures, with wild animals, flowers, and herbs… as well as dangers.

If she ventured into the deeper mountains, there would undoubtedly be rewards…

But that should wait for a while.

She observed the level of greenery in the woods, noting that the mountain peak on the left was even more lush, with abundant grass and weeds. The lack of footprints indicated that it was unexplored, so there might be some discoveries to be made there.

She estimated the terrain and, parting the weeds with her basket in hand, she entered the left mountain peak where there was no path.

The mountain was vast, and without a trail, she used the roots of trees and wild grass as stepping points for each step. With one arm carrying the basket, she used the other two hands to grab tree branches and weeds for leverage, making her climb a little easier.

After a short walk, she saw many colorful mushrooms growing under the trees. They were quite beautiful, but unfortunately, the more vibrant the mushroom, the more poisonous and inedible it was.

Not much further, she found a cluster of white oyster mushrooms on the ground. These were the most common type of mushrooms. In the Xiao Family, they either ate meat or vegetables, and there were no other dishes.

She knew that the Xiao Family used to not buy even vegetables, and only started doing so for her sake, squeezing money out from their meager finances for the greens. According to the third brother, they used to pull wild vegetables to eat whenever they craved some.

Since second brother was a hunter, there was always free meat at home. This probably explained why the men in the Xiao Family were taller and stronger than the other villagers.

Looking at the cluster of oyster mushrooms, she couldn’t help but salivate at the thought of eating something other than meat and vegetables after so long.

However, she didn’t pick them right away. She planned to return the same way she came, so she’d rather pick them later to avoid carrying unnecessary weight for now.

Not far ahead, the soil was moist with plenty of rotten wood on the ground, each pile covered in white oyster mushrooms. There were over a dozen different types of mushrooms on the ground and the rotten wood. After examining them, she determined only three were edible: a yellow wild mushroom, white oyster mushroom, and a small number of shiitake mushrooms.

Speaking of shiitake mushrooms… it was time to make braised chicken.

She’d ask second brother to hunt a wild chicken, then cook it together with the shiitake mushrooms. Just thinking about the delicious dish made her mouth water.

Wiping away her non-existent saliva, she continued towards the depths of the mountain forest.

In the weed cluster, some green plants with heart-shaped or ovate leaves and delicate, erect stems grew. They looked a bit like a bunch of vegetables.

These were asarum, which had medicinal properties, such as dispelling cold, relieving wind and pain, warming the lungs, and eliminating dampness. They could be used to treat colds, headaches, and toothaches.

She picked all the asarum she could find nearby. If she had put them loosely in the basket, it would have taken up the entire space. Baskets were indeed inconvenient for carrying lots of items, especially when climbing a mountain. If only she had a back basket.

She needed to get a couple of back baskets for her family soon.

She bundled all the asarum neatly, using a long piece of grass to tie up three large bundles, which she then placed in the basket to save space.

To prevent her rice from getting dirty, she first found a big tree leaf to cover it before placing the asarum on top..