funbook-pk Chapter 98: Cistanche
Chapter 98: Cistanche
There were not many chicken mushroom flowers in the basket that Zhu was carrying, mostly some blue-headed mushrooms and coral mushrooms, with a few chanterelles here and there.
When they reached the door, Zhou Mingzhi and his two brothers, some carrying backpacks carried backpacks, while others without backpacks carried baskets. They didn't even wait for them and rushed forward.
"Mom, have you seen these guys? Just wait for the chicken to be killed. When they heard there was chicken mushroom, they ran faster than rabbits."
Boss Zhou said with a smile.
"Lard residue is not enough to satisfy your cravings. You also want to eat chicken." Old Mrs. Zhou walked over with a smile, preparing to pick mushrooms.
Boss Zhou put down the backpack, poured out the mushrooms inside, and then carried the empty backpack up the mountain.
Mrs. Zhu talked about the spectacular scenery in the bamboo forest, and Mrs. Zhou wanted to go up the mountain to take a look.
At her age, she had never seen such a large area of cocklebur flowers.
"This is a coincidence. It rained a few days ago, so it's just the right time to go out." Old Mrs. Zhou analyzed.
"It's possible. There are very few old ones on the ground. They are all fresh, and some have not yet opened their umbrellas. I'll go look for them again in the afternoon. This is the first time I've seen so many cocklebur flowers."
Zhu's excitement was visible to the naked eye, her face turned red with excitement.
Old Mrs. Zhou picked up the chicken mushroom flowers and put them into a bamboo basket. The white stems were bunches and bunches, which were really pleasing to the eye.
Her grandson wanted to eat chicken, and she thought this was a great idea.
Zhou Mingzhi took the lead and arrived at the bamboo forest first.
Looking at the small piles of cocklebur flowers on the ground, his dark face flushed with excitement.
"Pick them up quickly and remember to be careful." He instructed his two younger brothers who arrived later.
He broke off two leaves and put them in the basket, then he put the pile of mushrooms that Liu had picked into the basket.
Liu's hands were very quick, and in just a short while, she had picked up most of the basket.
After a few children joined in, they picked up the trash even faster. Each of them picked up a large piece and kept picking up trash without saying a word.
Boss Zhou was the last one to arrive. Being so old, it was impossible for him to run like crazy like those boys.
However, the fast walking still made him sweat. He came in a hurry and only realized that he had forgotten to put on clothes when he arrived.
Before I even entered the mountain, I was bitten by two big bites on my body. I regret it so much, so much!
"Oh my, it's only been a short while and I've already picked up two baskets." Looking up, he saw nothing but white flowers everywhere. "Oh my god, there are so many. I can still pick up more!"
He was talking to himself, but none of the people picking chicken mushrooms paid any attention to him.
Liu couldn't stand it any longer, "Pick it up quickly!"
There were four backpacks and one basket, and two of the backpacks were already full at the beginning.
Boss Zhou asked Zhou Mingzhi and Zhou Mingjie to go home and deliver the goods first before coming back, otherwise there were so many things on the ground and it would be a bit heavy to load them in two backpacks.
The flowers of the cocklebur cannot be pressed, so after much thought, I decided to make one more trip.
"What a blessing! How come you have such sharp eyes that you spotted such a good mushroom."
"Picking mushrooms won't stop you from talking. If you can't praise someone, don't do it."
Liu's hands were a little sore because there were so many chicken mushroom flowers in this area.
But washing them clean is also a big deal. I am happy when picking them up, but I cry when washing them!
Zhou Mingzhi and Zhou Mingjie each carried a basket of chicken mushrooms home. Old lady Zhou hadn't picked up all the mushrooms in her pile yet, so two more baskets came.
She took out a thatched mat from the woodshed and spread it out on the ground, then spread two baskets of chicken mushrooms on it.
"Oh my, there are so many! That's great! That's great!"
The yard was covered with white flowers, which looked very pleasing to the eye.
There are so many chicken mushroom flowers that we can’t finish eating them all.
"Grandma, there are still a lot of bamboos in the bamboo forest. We will carry two more baskets back for you." The two brothers left again with the empty baskets on their backs.
Old Mrs. Zhou took some more into the basket and prepared some for lunch later.
"Hurry up, put everything else aside and wash all the chicken mushrooms first. We will be busy this afternoon." Old Mrs. Zhou called her two daughters-in-law and asked them to come over and help.
She put down the basket in her hand and went to the backyard and called Zhou Mingqin and her two sisters over.
Old Mrs. Zhou said she got a lot of cocklebur flowers, and the three sisters were a little confused. How could grandma be so happy with just a few cocklebur flowers?!
When I arrived at the front yard and saw a large white area in the yard, I realized that it was not just a little bit, but a large area!
Zhou Mingqin and Zhou Mingqi took down all the drying baskets on the eaves and put away the dried mushrooms and fish inside.
It is very difficult to clean such a large pile of chicken mushroom flowers, and I don’t know how long it will take to clean them.
They first separated the mushroom stems and caps. Feng and Old Lady Zhou cleaned the caps at home, while Zhu and two maids cleaned the mushroom stems in the small river behind the house.
There is a lot of mud on the thin mushroom stems, and the water becomes turbid if they are shaken slightly in the river.
After washing away the mud, you have to wash it twice more with well water when you get home.
Even though there were many people in the Zhou family, they could not withstand this kind of washing. Before long, a group of people were panting and sweating profusely.
"Mom, didn't you ask my eldest brother to bring back some pork? Let's make some chicken mushroom oil. We can't finish all the chicken mushrooms in one go."
"Okay, that's what I thought. I'll buy a chicken in the afternoon and we'll have chicken soup in the evening." Old Mrs. Zhou said with a smile.
When everyone in the family heard Grandma Zhou say she wanted to buy a chicken, they all laughed, because they hadn't eaten chicken for a long time.
The soup made from chicken and chicken mushroom is so delicious that it makes me forget the tiredness of the work in my hands.
"Mom, how do we eat the ribs that eldest brother brought?" asked Feng.
The weather is hot now, and it may go bad if you don’t eat it in time.
"That's right. Let's save the ribs for cooking instead of making soup. Let's have a good meal tonight to nourish everyone."
Boss Zhou and Mrs. Liu looked at the results on the ground, their lips almost grinning to their ears.
They had finally picked all the fruits in this large area. They looked elsewhere but couldn't find any more, so they decided to go home.
One man returned with a fully loaded backpack, and Liu followed behind with a basket.
"There are so many cocklebur flowers to wash. We will be exhausted just washing these in the afternoon."
"Well, this kind of scene only happens once every ten years. I'll be a little tired, but I'll be happy in my heart."
Old Mrs. Zhou and a group of people finally finished washing the last batch of cocklebur flowers, and now a few more baskets have arrived.
"Put it on the straw mat first and prepare lunch. We'll continue washing it in the afternoon."
The sun was already setting and they hadn't had their meal yet.
Except for Old Mrs. Zhou, Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Zhu, everyone else did not stop what they were doing and continued washing the chicken mushroom flowers.
Zhou Lao Da took his two sons to wash the mushroom stalks by the river, while the others washed them twice at home until the water was clear.
The appearance of this patch of cocklebur flowers disrupted the plans of everyone in the family.