Mountain God’s Forest Farm – CH86

Chapter 86: Red Toon Trees

After girdling the orange trees, Ying Kongtu went over to inspect them for several days in a row. If the wounds on the orange trees became infected, they would be able to deal with it in time.

The orange trees did not develop problems the way they had worried.

This batch of orange trees had grown very well and was very healthy. Even after being girdled, there was still not the slightest sign of withering or disease.

Instead, because they had received the nourishment of divine power, they grew even more lush.

The little oranges on the branches were like green marbles, bouncing and swaying along with the branches. They looked extremely cute.

The two of them took this time to clear the miscellaneous trees and weeds in the orange grove.

After it was cleaned up, the orange grove looked fresh and tidy.

The orange trees appeared even taller and more luxuriant, a full size larger than ordinary orange trees.

As expected of old orange trees several decades old.

Ying Kongtu looked at his family’s orange trees and felt extremely satisfied.

Ying Kongtu planned to wait until the girdling cuts on the orange trees had healed before applying a round of fertilizer, so that the quality of this year’s oranges could be improved even further.

There were still a few more days before they could fertilize the orange trees, so they first busied themselves with other matters.

That day, Ying Kongtu went to the Forestry Bureau for a meeting.

People like them who had contracted mountain forests had to attend meetings of all sizes with the forest farm and the county every year. The topics included, but were not limited to, forest cultivation, fire prevention, and pest and disease control.

Sometimes, higher authorities would also invite experts to give lectures and publicize all kinds of documents.

Ying Kongtu quite liked these meetings. Not only could he learn things at the meetings, but sometimes, based on the content of the meetings, he would look up materials and books afterward, which broadened his horizons quite a bit.

Therefore, every time there was a meeting, he would arrive a little early.

Today, when he arrived for the meeting, familiar people greeted him and asked him to sit in the middle of the crowd.

He had managed the mountain forest for so long that he was already well known nearby.

The people around all knew that his forest was good. Those in the same field knew even better why his mountain forest was good and in what ways it was good, and they admired him even more.

Whenever they had small questions, everyone was willing to consult him. When there was new information, they were also willing to share it with him.

Ying Kongtu sat down, and someone asked, “Kongtu, what have you been busy with recently?”

“The usual things. Patrolling the mountain, protecting the forest, doing farm work.” Ying Kongtu smiled. “Do you have any guidance for me?”

“We were just talking about breeding tree species. Didn’t you specially plant several seed production forests?”

“Yes. I only started cultivating them last year. It’ll still take three to five years before they amount to anything.”

“That long? Don’t the seed forests produce seeds now?”

“Not much for the time being. Even if they do produce seeds, my family has so many mountains that we wouldn’t have enough for our own use. There’s no way to sell them outside.”

“Hey, I’d only just started the topic. How did you know I wanted to buy seeds?”

“Hahaha, Old Lin, your eagerness to buy seeds is written all over your face. Who wouldn’t know? How could you hide it from Kongtu?”

“Seriously, Kongtu, why don’t you sell me a little? It doesn’t have to be much. Just a small amount is fine.”

“The main thing is, there really isn’t any extra. If there were, I’d sell them to you.” Ying Kongtu smiled. “Besides, I don’t have the qualification certificate to sell seeds. It isn’t convenient to sell them.”

In modern times, there were laws and regulations governing every aspect of life. Ying Kongtu had specifically read the relevant laws and regulations before.

Old Lin looked completely serious. “Who said that? Article 37 of the Seed Law states that for self-propagated and self-used seeds like ours, selling or exchanging them doesn’t require a permit.”

It seemed he truly wanted the seeds from the mountain.

Ying Kongtu also said seriously, “When my seed production forest has been cultivated and there are seeds available to sell, I’ll definitely consider you first.”

Old Lin said, “Then it’s agreed. I’ll ask you again when the time comes.”

Their side was chatting enthusiastically, and more and more people gathered around.

Only when the meeting officially began did everyone stop, still not fully satisfied.

After the meeting ended, Old Lin originally wanted to drag Ying Kongtu off to drink tea.

Ying Kongtu waved his hand. “I still have some matters to handle at the Forestry Bureau. Let’s drink tea next time.”

“Busy with that forest quality improvement subsidy of yours?”

This year, Ying Kongtu had participated in the “Forest Quality Precision Improvement Project Subsidy” activity. He did indeed often deal with people from the Forestry Bureau, so everyone knew about it.

Ying Kongtu only smiled and did not say whether it was true or not.

Seeing that he had proper business, everyone could only say they would make plans next time.

Ying Kongtu had come to the Forestry Bureau today not for the subsidy.

There were two red toon trees on Xiwu Mountain. Now, they had both produced seeds. Under his careful care, the quality of the seeds was quite good. If he collected them and planted them, he should be able to obtain a good batch of red toon trees.

However, red toon had now become a national second-class protected plant. Even though he was the owner of Xiwu Mountain, he could not pick them casually.

He had consulted Pei Lejiu before, and Pei Lejiu said he could apply for a seedling cultivation permit.

Today, he had specially come to the Forestry Bureau to handle the procedures.

The plants Ying Kongtu grew had always been excellent, and his identity was also very special.

The leaders in the county vaguely knew his identity and also attached great importance to his needs. The applications he submitted were basically approved instantly.

This time was the same.

Ying Kongtu carefully completed the full set of procedures and only returned home after obtaining all the documents.

He had originally thought he would get the documents in the morning and go collect the seeds in the afternoon.

In the end, a typhoon had been blowing in the south these past two days, and it also started raining on the mountains on their side.

Seeds carrying rainwater were prone to mold, so he had no choice but to postpone it for two days.

Wen Zhongshan said, “There should be mushrooms after the rain, right? When the time comes, we can go up the mountain and gather mushrooms while we’re at it.”

“There definitely will be.” Ying Kongtu looked at the rain over the distant mountains and thought of the grand occasion of gathering mushrooms last year. He could not help looking forward to it. “We’re about to enter this year’s mushroom season.”

Last year, he had gathered many mushrooms on the mountain. This year, after being nourished by divine power, there would definitely be even more mushrooms on the mountain, and they would definitely taste even better too.

Ying Kongtu said, “Then in two days, we’ll need to bring two large back baskets and carry two baskets too.”

Xian Niao, who was lying to the side enjoying the rain, said, “Awoo.”

Xian Niao reminded Ying Kongtu that they could gather them too.

Ying Kongtu said, “Right. Everyone can bring a basket. We’ll gather more.”

The furry ones were now very skilled at carrying baskets in their mouths. Even Dart could steadily hold its specially made little basket and run from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain without dropping it.

Since they were about to gather mushrooms, everyone looked at the dripping rain and found it much more pleasing to the eye.

After finally waiting for the rain to stop and for the sun to dry things for another day, Ying Kongtu led the whole family up the mountain to collect red toon seeds and mushrooms.

The red toon seeds were still hanging from the branches and had not fallen.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan climbed up the trees to choose them.

A single red toon tree could produce five or six hundred thousand seeds. Ying Kongtu and the others did not need anywhere near that many.

They only needed to pick the largest, fullest, and most vigorous red toon seeds.

Ying Kongtu climbed to the treetop and shouted downward, “I’m going to start picking the seeds. You’re responsible for collecting them.”

The furry ones beneath the tree responded in unison, crying “meow-ao,” “awoo,” and “kiki.”

Hearing the chaotic cries below, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan looked at each other, both with smiles in their eyes.

With the furry ones helping, the two of them only needed to focus on choosing seeds up in the tree.

Every branch they tossed down, no matter how thin or how sparsely covered in seeds, the furry ones would accurately identify it and carry it into the basket.

Ying Kongtu had originally planned to spend the whole morning collecting red toon seeds, but in the end, they finished in just over half an hour.

“We’re done.” Ying Kongtu waved his hand. “Let’s go. Now we’re going to gather mushrooms.”

There were mushrooms on Xiwu Mountain, so they began gathering from nearby.

The weather had already been hot for some time, and all kinds of mushrooms had grown on the mountain.

The first mushroom Ying Kongtu discovered was a yellow bolete.

“Yellow tiger!” Ying Kongtu looked at the mushroom in the grass and said in surprise, “Our luck is pretty good this year. An auspicious start.”

Wen Zhongshan took the mushroom from his hand and smelled it. “It smells very fragrant.”

“I think so too. Compared with last year’s yellow tigers, the fragrance is even more domineering.”

Ying Kongtu smelled the mushroom and said to the furry ones, “Let’s split up to gather mushrooms. Still three teams. Xian Niao, you take Dart. Tiaozhu, Shuangzhong, Jingwei, the three of you form a team. Wen Zhongshan and I will be one team. We’ll compete to see which team gathers the most per head.”

As soon as Ying Kongtu finished speaking, Dart reacted the fastest. It immediately carried its basket in its mouth and ran off on its little paws with a thudding sound.

Xian Niao followed behind it.

“Awoo!” Jingwei jumped in place and excitedly called Tiaozhu and Shuangzhong.

They quickly chose a direction and went to gather mushrooms too.

Ying Kongtu shouted after them, “You can look for last year’s mushroom spots. New mushrooms have probably grown there.”

“Awoo—”

“Meow-ao—”

“Kiki—”

The furry ones’ voices came faintly from deep within the forest. From the sound of it, they had already run quite far.

Ying Kongtu immediately pulled Wen Zhongshan. “We need to hurry too.”

Mushrooms had spores. Sure enough, places where mushrooms had grown last year had grown some again this year.

Green russulas, big red mushrooms, boletes, coral fungi, milk-cap mushrooms, chanterelles… Ying Kongtu looked at the basket and felt extremely satisfied.

“This year’s mushrooms have grown really well. Both the quantity and quality are top-notch. When we go back later, we’ll sort through them. Some can be made into soup, and some can be stir-fried. We’ll taste this year’s mushrooms.”

“Can we also fry mixed mushrooms?”

“Of course. There are so many mushrooms this year.”

As they were talking, Ying Kongtu saw a wolf’s shadow moving in the forest.

It was Xian Niao.

Ying Kongtu waved. “Xian Niao! How many mushrooms have you gathered?”

Xian Niao was indeed very reliable, but with Dart following beside it, Ying Kongtu guessed that their team probably would not have gathered too many.

Hearing his voice, Xian Niao carried its basket and walked over steadily. “Wu.”

Dart also came running over with quick little steps. It could not brake in time, and its basket hit the ground. The whole cat almost flipped into the basket.

Dart looked a mess, but there were quite a few mushrooms in its basket.

The small basket was more than half full.

Ying Kongtu was shocked.

He looked at Xian Niao.

There were even more mushrooms in Xian Niao’s basket. It was almost full.

“How did you gather so many?!”

Was this right? Xian Niao and the others had gathered more mushrooms than them!

Xian Niao said, “Awoo.”

Tiaozhu and the others heard the sound and also ran out from the forest.

They were likewise carrying baskets in their mouths and running very fast. Even Shuangzhong, a golden eagle, was running.

Perhaps it was not easy to gather mushrooms while flying.

Ying Kongtu swept his gaze over their baskets and discovered that they had also gathered quite a few mushrooms.

Even Shuangzhong, this little fellow who did not look particularly reliable, had half a basket.

Ying Kongtu found it hard to believe. “How did you gather so many? Did you get lucky and run into mushroom spots?”

Tiaozhu raised its head and puffed out its chest, somewhat smug. “Meow.”

It meant that they patrolled the mountain every day, so of course they knew best where the mushrooms were.

A miscalculation.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan looked at each other. Recently, the two of them had been busy handling the oranges and managing the terraced fields. They really had not gone up the mountain much, so they were not very clear on where mushrooms were growing.

Ying Kongtu swept his gaze over them and quickly said, “Let’s go again. The first half is over. In the second half, let’s see which team has better luck.”

As he spoke, Ying Kongtu pulled Wen Zhongshan. “Let’s go quickly! Find last year’s mushroom spots.”

“Meow-ao!” Tiaozhu protested loudly behind them.

The other little fellows also protested that they had actually run off first.

Wen Zhongshan only smiled and ran along with Ying Kongtu.

Author’s Note:

Dart snuck into the living room to steal food, misjudged its own weight, and the moment it got onto the table, the table tilted. Ying Kongtu’s favorite white porcelain cup slid down and shattered to pieces.

Dart froze. Dart panicked. Dart meowed and circled twice, then hid the broken porcelain pieces under its butt and sat on them for the entire afternoon.

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