Chapter 13: Gathering Mushrooms
“Wen Zhongshan!” Ying Kongtu saw him immediately as well and waved at him from far away. “Why are you here? What did you bring?”
Wen Zhongshan stood quietly at the foot of the mountain, waiting for him to come down along the mountain path. “I brought some mushrooms. What happened to your throat?”
It was no wonder Wen Zhongshan noticed right away. Ying Kongtu’s voice was far too obviously hoarse.
When Ying Kongtu reached Wen Zhongshan’s side, Wen Zhongshan asked, “Did you catch a cold?”
Ying Kongtu waved his hand.
“Then what happened to your throat?”
“I overused it a little. It’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“What did you do? Overused it?”
“Why are you so intent on getting to the bottom of things?” Ying Kongtu looked at him helplessly. “I learned bird calls for a while.”
Wen Zhongshan understood at once. “You imitated the saker falcon?”
Ying Kongtu scooped up a medicinal herb and threw it at him. “I told you not to ask, but you insisted. Then when I answered, you laughed.”
The saker falcon’s call was actually rather high and piercing, making it quite strenuous to imitate.
Otherwise, Ying Kongtu’s voice would not have gone hoarse to this extent.
“You worked hard.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll take care of it, and it’ll be fine in a couple of days. Where did you get these mushrooms?”
“Since talking is so difficult for you, rest your voice first.” Wen Zhongshan casually took his back basket. “I bought them when I passed by the vegetable market this afternoon. I felt you’d be interested.”
“Of course.”
Ying Kongtu reached out and lightly turned over the mushrooms in the basket. “They’re all wild mushrooms. They were probably picked from the mountains outside.”
“Hm?”
“The elevation here is relatively high, so it seems the mushrooms haven’t come out yet.” After looking them over, Ying Kongtu added, “But I’m not certain either. We’ll go take a look one day.”
“One day?”
“Why are you even more impatient than I am? How about tomorrow?”
“Sure. Still meet at seven in the morning?”
“More or less. I’ll wait for you at home.”
It had been quite a while since the two had gone up the mountain together to gather mountain goods, and both were looking forward to it. The next day, they set out very early.
This time, they brought Dart with them.
Dart ran directly to the very front at a speed completely mismatched with its size. In a few quick bounds, it vanished from sight.
“Dart?” Wen Zhongshan called.
There was no movement ahead.
“It ran far off. Don’t worry about it. It probably won’t get lost.” Ying Kongtu led the way in front. “This way.”
“Have you seen mushrooms on the mountain before?”
“Yes, just very few.”
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan both had very good stamina. There was no need for either to accommodate the other; they only needed to climb upward with effort.
Very soon, Ying Kongtu discovered their target and pointed ahead. “Look there.”
Wen Zhongshan looked in the direction he pointed and saw an orange-yellow mushroom beneath the fallen leaves. “Milk-cap mushroom?”
“You know it? Yes, it’s a milk-cap mushroom.”
That milk-cap mushroom had only just grown out. Its cap had not opened much yet, and it grew tenderly in the pile of dry leaves, looking especially adorable.
Wen Zhongshan bent down and carefully patted the cap before pulling it up.
When he turned back, Wen Zhongshan met Ying Kongtu’s surprised gaze.
Wen Zhongshan explained, “The internet said that when gathering mushrooms, you should pat the caps. Once the spores fall, they’ll keep growing continuously next year.”
“I’m just a little surprised you’re so practiced.”
“We agreed to come out gathering mushrooms, so I did a little homework.”
Mushrooms usually grew in twos and threes together, and they found several more milk-cap mushrooms nearby.
Gathering mushrooms looked fun, but in reality, it was not as easy as it appeared.
After Wen Zhongshan picked for a while, he had already been scratched several times by the thorny shrubs and vines around them. His hands were covered in fine scratches.
The mountain path was also difficult to walk. One could easily slip or trip with the slightest carelessness.
Fortunately, with the mountain god leading the way, their harvest was decent.
After gathering for a while longer, Ying Kongtu suddenly straightened up.
Wen Zhongshan looked at his movement. “What is it?”
“Dart seems to be up ahead.”
Wen Zhongshan listened carefully. He did not hear a cat’s meow, only the faint sound of cat claws scratching. “It really does seem so.”
Ying Kongtu bent down and quickly picked the mushrooms at his feet. “Let’s go take a look.”
The two quickened their steps and climbed upward.
Very soon, they saw Dart’s orange-and-white figure.
Dart was using its paws to dig at a black tiger’s paw mushroom. The crisp, tender cap had been torn into pieces by its sharp claws, and there were many mushroom fragments scattered around it.
Seeing this scene, Wen Zhongshan asked, “Is it edible?”
Ying Kongtu nodded with certainty. “Black tiger’s paw mushroom. It tastes quite good.”
Wen Zhongshan walked over, picked Dart up by the back of the neck while supporting its bottom, and carried it aside. “Stop making trouble.”
Dart protested. “Meow-ow!”
Ying Kongtu picked up what remained of the black tiger’s paw mushroom and placed it in the basket. “What a pity.”
Wen Zhongshan asked, “Can it still be eaten?”
“It’s fine for eating at home. We just need to cut away the parts Dart scratched. I didn’t expect black tiger’s paw mushrooms to appear so early. Come on, let’s go farther up and see if there are any boletes.”
Boletes grew at relatively high elevations.
Several hundred years ago, Ying Kongtu could gather many boletes every year. He just did not know whether they still grew now.
Ying Kongtu led Wen Zhongshan and Dart upward.
Halfway there, Dart could no longer walk. It lay by the roadside, its belly rising and falling as it panted heavily.
Wen Zhongshan had no choice but to pick up the fat cat and continue climbing upward.
Wen Zhongshan was not as skilled at climbing mountains as Ying Kongtu. Sometimes, he needed to grab the plants and trees around him for support.
So Ying Kongtu took Dart from him, wore his clothes backward, and tucked the big fat cat into his arms.
The two climbed all the way upward. There were no boletes at the mushroom spots Ying Kongtu was familiar with. He did not know whether the timing was not right yet, or whether mushrooms no longer grew in that place.
However, along the way, they gathered green russulas and red russulas.
Both kinds of mushrooms were quite tasty, so the trip could not be counted as wasted.
Standing at the summit, Ying Kongtu planted his hands on his hips and looked downward. “Let’s go. I’m too tired. We’ll come again once all the mushrooms have come out.”
Wen Zhongshan had no objection. “We’ve already gathered more than half a basket. It’s enough.”
Ying Kongtu waved his hand. “Let’s go. We’ll descend from this side and see whether we can gather a bit more.”
They had gone up the mountain very early, and by the time they returned to Ying Kongtu’s home, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Ying Kongtu took a shower, then pushed Wen Zhongshan to take one as well. Only then did the two sit in the courtyard and process the mushrooms.
At this moment, the sun had not completely set, but it was no longer very scorching.
The mountain breeze blew over, making the grass and trees in the courtyard rustle.
There were no mosquitoes or insects in Ying Kongtu’s courtyard. Sitting in such a courtyard to work was extremely comfortable.
Wen Zhongshan glanced around, picked up a mushroom, and began processing it.
Wild mushrooms had a lot of dirt, insect holes, and debris in them, making them difficult to wash. One had to carefully scrape the mud from the stems, remove the insect holes and damaged parts, then slowly scrape and rinse them one by one.
If mushrooms were soaked in water for too long, their flavor would become weak.
Ying Kongtu was used to scraping away the dirt and debris first, then quickly rinsing each one, rather than soaking them in water.
Since Wen Zhongshan had come to help today, he followed Ying Kongtu’s habit.
Wen Zhongshan bent over and quickly washed them in the cool, sweet well water. Each time he finished washing one, he placed it in the bamboo colander to drain.
After washing for quite a while, he turned his head and saw that there was still a small half-basket of mushrooms left. He could not help letting out a soft breath.
Ying Kongtu raised his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Mushrooms are delicious, but they’re hard to wash.” Wen Zhongshan said, “And there are still so many.”
“If we’re eating them ourselves, we should wash them more carefully. Otherwise, biting into a mouthful of sand later would be very uncomfortable.”
Ying Kongtu was not annoyed by washing mushrooms. Whenever he did these mechanical tasks, his heart was always very peaceful.
“How about you go down the mountain to Uncle Xu’s house and buy a chicken? A hen, a fat one. Ask him to slaughter and clean it for us.”
“Forget it. I’ll just call and ask him to deliver one. If I leave you alone to wash this many mushrooms, who knows how long it’ll take?”
They washed the mushrooms for more than two hours before finally finishing.
Yellow milk-cap mushrooms, pale green green russulas, red russulas, black tiger’s paw mushrooms, and amber-colored milk mushrooms were piled one by one in the bamboo colander, looking trembling and plump.
Ying Kongtu did not cut them, only tore them into pieces by hand, gently squeezed out the water, and piled them in a basin.
The hen had already been delivered.
Ying Kongtu separated out the chicken fat, washed the large iron wok clean, and had Wen Zhongshan stoke the firewood stove until it burned strong.
Then, he placed the dried chicken directly into the dry wok with the skin facing downward.
The oil in the chicken skin was quickly forced out by the high temperature, turning into a rich fragrance.
Ying Kongtu patiently pan-fried all the chicken skin until golden, then poured in boiling water, transferred everything into a clay pot, and simmered it slowly over charcoal.
Ying Kongtu washed the large iron wok clean again. Once the wok was heated until it smoked, he poured in rapeseed oil and added the cut chicken fat and garlic cloves.
The orange-yellow free-range chicken fat quickly shrank in the wok, transforming into clear oil.
At this moment, Ying Kongtu poured the drained mushrooms into the wok. With a sizzling sound, the rich aroma of chicken fat and mushrooms surged upward, filling the entire kitchen.
When stir-frying mushrooms, he did not add water either. He simply let the mushrooms, green chilies, and garlic cloves simmer in the small amount of broth released by the mushrooms themselves.
Mushrooms had to be thoroughly cooked and cooked until they absorbed flavor before they were safe.
Ying Kongtu covered the wok with a wooden lid and let them slowly cook.
By the time they ate again, it was already more than an hour later.
At this moment, the entire courtyard was filled with the rich fragrance of stir-fried mushrooms and stewed chicken soup.
Ying Kongtu first took out a chicken leg, tore it into shreds, and mixed it with rice for Dart.
Only then did the two sit in the courtyard and prepare to eat.
Today, Ying Kongtu used mushrooms to make only two dishes: stir-fried mixed mushrooms and stewed free-range chicken soup.
There was naturally no need to say much about mountain mushroom free-range chicken soup. It was clean, sweet, fragrant, and rich. One sip felt as though even the soul had been soothed.
Wen Zhongshan had gone to southern Yunnan before and had drunk mushroom chicken soup several times.
But those nationally famous mushroom chicken soups were not as delicious as the one he drank today.
He had not been very hungry before, but after one mouthful of soup, his hunger was awakened, and his entire body began looking forward to the stir-fried mushrooms.
Ying Kongtu’s stir-fried mushrooms were very simple. The only seasoning he added was salt, yet the flavor was fragrant, rich, and powerful.
Wen Zhongshan tasted a bite and felt an extreme freshness surge up.
The most wonderful part was that these mushrooms were not tender-soft, but crisp. Crisp and fresh, without any fibrous residue at all, they were immensely satisfying to eat.
Wen Zhongshan scooped some mushrooms and sauce over his rice. The rice was mixed until it became fragrant, rich, and glossy with oil, each grain distinct.
With one large bite, the fragrance of the mushrooms and the fragrance of the rice were fully wrapped inside his mouth. It was so fragrant that he wished he could swallow his tongue as well.
He had originally only planned to eat two bowls of rice, but after mixing the mushrooms into the rice, he could not help serving himself a third.
“Worth it,” Wen Zhongshan said.
“What was worth it?”
“Climbing the mountain all day was worth it. Bending over to wash mushrooms for two hours was also worth it.” Wen Zhongshan held his bowl and said, “This truly is a supreme delicacy.”
