Chapter 27: Mountain Wood Ear
Ying Kongtu’s home not only had wine, the wine tasted quite good too.
“I brewed it last winter, using mountain spring water and farmhouse glutinous rice I specifically bought from the market below.”
“It’s been settling in a large earthenware jar for more than half a year. The taste should be all right. See if you’re used to it.”
Ying Kongtu used a dedicated wine cup to pour wine for Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan’s gaze followed his movements.
It was autumn, and Ying Kongtu was wearing long sleeves.
When he handed the wine cup over, his sleeve tugged upward slightly, revealing a stretch of smooth, fair wrist.
Because he was slender and lean, the styloid process of his radius was very obvious.
Wen Zhongshan’s first reaction was: sexy.
He restrained himself and withdrew his gaze, avoiding contact with Ying Kongtu’s fingers. He picked up the wine cup and took a large sip.
The rice wine entered his stomach, fragrant, faintly sweet, and slightly spicy. Then, a warm feeling rose from his stomach, and Wen Zhongshan felt his whole body heat faintly.
He looked up in some surprise.
Ordinary rice wine, if stored for long, would easily become faintly sour, and its alcohol content was not high either.
The rice wine Ying Kongtu brewed was completely different.
Meeting Wen Zhongshan’s gaze, Ying Kongtu guessed what he was thinking, smiled faintly, and said, “How could a mountain god’s wine be the same as ordinary wine?”
“It’s very good.”
“I used to drink a little occasionally. No side dishes, just distant mountains, clouds at sunset, and wind to accompany the wine. I guessed you’d like this way of drinking too?”
“I like it very much.”
The two sat in the courtyard drinking.
The wind blew past them, and the small animals at home played nearby.
“I didn’t expect someone to worship at the mountain god temple today. Recently, I prepared a batch of mountain goods, and they’re almost done. With this new power of faith, the quality of this batch of mountain goods should be even better. It counts as an unexpected joy.”
Hearing him say this, Wen Zhongshan could not help asking, “What mountain goods?”
Ying Kongtu deliberately kept him in suspense. “Just some common mountain goods. Want to guess?”
“Nuts?”
“No.”
“Wild vegetables?”
“Your range is too broad. Guess more specifically.”
“I’m not very familiar with mountain goods. I can’t really guess.”
“Want to go up the mountain together tomorrow? I’ll reveal it to you on the mountain.”
The two agreed on tomorrow’s plan just like that.
Ying Kongtu specifically reminded him that there was no need to go up the mountain so early this time; a little later would be fine.
Thus, the next morning, they only began climbing after eight.
“Which mountain are we going to?” Wen Zhongshan looked at the familiar road leading to Wuchuan Mountain. “Straight to Wuchuan Mountain?”
“All six mountains under my name have them.” Ying Kongtu smiled. “They’re mountain goods I specially cultivated, planning to exchange them for some money.”
After taking on a huge loan, Ying Kongtu was no longer as carefree as before.
Some time ago, he had deliberately taken advantage of suitable temperature and humidity to plant something, planning to earn a sum.
When Wen Zhongshan heard that it was some kind of cultivated mountain good, he became even less able to guess.
Especially since all six mountains under Ying Kongtu’s name had this mountain good, he wondered whether it might be some kind of valuable medicinal herb.
But medicinal herbs should have a longer growth cycle.
Ying Kongtu led Wen Zhongshan up the mountain.
Recently, the weather had been dry and refreshing, and the mountains were dry too. Ying Kongtu had already placed forest fire prevention as his top priority.
The path they took today, however, was different. The deeper they went, the damper it became.
Soon, they arrived beside a mountain stream.
Wen Zhongshan raised his eyes and looked upward. He remembered there was a pool above where one could swim.
So it really was some kind of medicinal herb?
“It’s just ahead.” Ying Kongtu pointed forward.
Wen Zhongshan looked in the direction he pointed.
There was nothing special ahead.
No, there was a pile of fallen trees ahead.
Wen Zhongshan knew that fallen trees were also an important part of a forest. As long as their quantity stayed within a suitable range, they were beneficial to the forest.
Ying Kongtu generally would not clear fallen trees unless their number was too large and affected the nearby ecology.
Seeing him point over there, Wen Zhongshan thought there must be some herb growing beneath the fallen trees and instinctively looked toward the ground.
“Not the ground. Look at the side of the fallen wood.” Ying Kongtu casually patted his shoulder, then pushed his head a little, helping him adjust the direction of his gaze.
The two were already very familiar with each other.
Ying Kongtu also often made small gestures like this.
For friends who were very familiar with one another, these intimate little gestures were usually an expression of friendship.
At this moment, when Ying Kongtu touched his cheek, Wen Zhongshan’s spine instantly tightened.
That long, soft hand still carried the warmth unique to a human body.
When that warmth collided with Wen Zhongshan’s own body temperature, it was as if something had been detonated.
He had never felt another person’s body temperature have such a strong presence.
Wen Zhongshan even uncontrollably took a small step back.
Ying Kongtu did not notice his movement and was still happily pointing for him. “See it? That small patch of black stuff.”
Wen Zhongshan suppressed the strange feeling and looked carefully. Only then did he realize, “Wood ear?”
“Yes!” Ying Kongtu’s eyes shone brightly. “I’ve been thinking: what kind of mountain goods can I collect from the mountains in large quantities without damaging the forest? It just so happens there are many oak trees on the mountain, so I found a way to cultivate some mountain wood ear.”
Wood ear mycelium grew by relying on the nutrients of dead wood.
Cultivating wood ear also helped decompose dead wood, allowing it to enter the natural cycle more quickly.
Ying Kongtu walked forward and examined the newly cultivated wood ear. “Looks like after several hundred years, I still haven’t lost my skill at growing wood ear.”
“Look.” Ying Kongtu picked a piece of wood ear and placed it in his palm for Wen Zhongshan to see. “It grew well, didn’t it?”
Only then did Wen Zhongshan focus on the wood ear in his hand.
This piece of wood ear looked plump, tender, and thick. It was very fresh and had a fleshy, chubby feeling. It also looked larger than the wood ear sold on the market.
Not just this one.
Wen Zhongshan shifted his gaze to the other wood ears growing on the dead wood.
The other wood ears had also grown very well. Regardless of size, they were all plump, as if they had fully absorbed the nutrients of the trees.
Ying Kongtu checked the wood ears on the fallen trees and picked the fully grown pieces one by one, placing them into the back basket.
Just from these few fallen trees by the stream, he harvested more than ten pieces.
“Let’s go. We’re going to the next spot.” After picking the wood ears, Ying Kongtu said to Wen Zhongshan, “When I was clearing the forest some time ago, I deliberately left behind quite a few oak branches. Let’s see how much we can harvest today.”
Wen Zhongshan usually did not talk much, and today he was slightly more silent, but this did not attract Ying Kongtu’s attention.
Ying Kongtu led him from one cultivation spot to the next.
Every time they reached a cultivation spot, they could harvest quite a few wood ears.
Their back baskets gradually filled up like this.
In the end, the whole back basket was almost unable to hold them all. Ying Kongtu had to press down hard before he could fit all the harvested wood ears inside.
After returning home, Ying Kongtu took out several large bamboo trays, poured the harvested wood ears into them, and placed them on top of the courtyard wall to dry.
There were already several large bamboo trays on the wall top. Ying Kongtu was drying chilies and eggplant strips in them.
So many large bamboo trays were arranged in a row, filled with mountain goods and vegetables of different colors, giving off a strong feeling of autumn drying.
Although these mountain goods and vegetables were not especially precious things, Ying Kongtu cherished them very much. He specifically told Tiaozhu and Dart that they were not allowed to jump in from the courtyard wall, lest they knock over the bamboo trays.
As for the wolf cub, with its short little legs, there was no need to tell it; it could not jump up anyway.
He had specially opened an enlarged and widened cat door at the bottom of the courtyard gate for the two little fellows. It was more than enough for them, and they had no need to jump over the wall at all.
However, perhaps because of the bad habit Tiaozhu had brought about, both cats were used to jumping in from the courtyard wall.
Tiaozhu was one thing. As a little mountain god, its body was extremely agile, and it could jump very high.
Dart, however, always crashed into the wall, yet it especially liked learning from Tiaozhu. It failed repeatedly and fought on repeatedly, enjoying it tirelessly.
Only now did Ying Kongtu understand that when small animals admired other animals and secretly learned their behavior, they could be far more persistent than humans.
After drying the wood ears, Ying Kongtu turned back and asked Wen Zhongshan, “Are you allergic to wood ear?”
Wen Zhongshan silently shook his head.
Ying Kongtu explained, “Fresh wood ear contains porphyrins, which can easily cause solar dermatitis. Xing Chang told me to avoid selling fresh wood ear as much as possible. But for creatures like us, it shouldn’t be much of a problem?”
“I’m not allergic,” Wen Zhongshan confirmed.
“Then today we’ll eat stir-fried wood ear. I haven’t eaten wood ear I personally grew in several hundred years. Let’s taste what this batch is like.”
Ying Kongtu cooked, and Wen Zhongshan followed behind him, helping tend the fire.
Today’s dishes were only home-style dishes.
Ying Kongtu stir-fried the fresh wood ears with his own pickled chilies and lard.
After being stir-fried, they were crisp, tender, and carried a special mushroom fragrance.
Because they were too crisp and tender, they made crunching sounds when eaten, and the texture was very unique.
They were even crisper and more tender than the ground wood ears they had eaten last time.
Ying Kongtu rather liked this texture.
“Delicious. The wood ears are good, and the pickled chilies are good too,” Ying Kongtu said while eating. “Paired with the rice you brought, it’s even better.”
“I’ll bring more next week.”
“There’s still more?”
“Yes. My friend bought a portion too. He probably hasn’t touched his.”
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan and smiled. “How can you do that? Stealing your friend’s rice?”
“He’s busy and eats at the cafeteria every day. Leaving the rice with him would just be a waste.”
As Wen Zhongshan spoke, his thoughts drifted away again.
That friend of his was called Fu Yuan. The two of them counted as brothers who had gone through life and death together.
If it was about physical contact, he had had no shortage of physical contact with Fu Yuan.
Usually, when he touched Fu Yuan’s hand, it was like his left hand touching his right hand. There was no feeling at all, and he would never think in any other direction.
Wen Zhongshan raised his head and looked at Ying Kongtu.
Only when he looked at Ying Kongtu would he notice that Ying Kongtu’s temperament was extraordinarily outstanding, his bearing exceptionally beautiful, and even the protruding bones on his hand were very sexy.
When Ying Kongtu touched him even once, he felt as though electricity ran through his body.
Wen Zhongshan closed his eyes and knew that something was wrong.
No, it was not that something had only started going wrong now.
It had long been wrong.
“Zhongshan?” Ying Kongtu looked at him.
“It’s nothing.” Wen Zhongshan avoided Ying Kongtu’s eyes. “I just feel that this wood ear has a unique fragrance, but I can’t describe it.”
“Right?” Ying Kongtu smiled. “Before, I picked some mountain goods from the mountains for Xing Chang, and he also kept saying he could taste a special fragrance, but couldn’t summarize exactly what kind of fragrance it was. Later, he said it should be the fragrance of the mountains and wilds.”
Xing Chang.
Hearing this familiar name, Wen Zhongshan’s heart stirred.
In Ying Kongtu’s heart, he was probably placed alongside Xing Chang.
Perhaps Ying Kongtu was a little closer to him, but overall, Xing Chang and he both occupied the ecological niche of good friends.
Wen Zhongshan drew back his thoughts and said, “This batch of wood ears should be very popular. Tomorrow, I’ll go pick them with you again.”
Ying Kongtu agreed happily. “Sure. There should be more wood ears mature tomorrow. Just right—we can pick more and bring them back to dry.”
