Chapter 51 : Harvest of Autumn, Looking for Wild Ginseng

After dinner, Li Yue’e came over to teach Su Mo how to make cotton-padded trousers.

Su Mo had strong learning abilities. In the morning, she had observed Li Yue’e making cotton-padded clothes and had gained a general understanding of the process. For the trousers, Su Mo volunteered to make them herself, with Li Yue’e only needing to guide her.

Su Mo first sewed the edges of the cotton-padded jacket she had completed earlier that morning to familiarize herself with using the sewing machine. Then, she threaded the machine to secure the cotton. Before long, the sewing machine was running smoothly.

Li Yue’e couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Su Mo truly lived up to being an educated youth from the city, she was quick to learn. Previously, she had tried teaching her eldest and second sons to make clothes, but they hadn’t picked it up nearly as fast.

Once the cotton-padded jacket was done, Su Mo measured herself, cut the pattern for the trousers, and then sewed, stuffed, hemmed, and finished them. Following Li Yue’e’s guidance, she completed each step with precision. In just two hours, she had made a pair of cotton-padded trousers.

Li Yue’e inspected the finished trousers and smiled, “Well done.”

“Mother, you taught me well,” Su Mo said, complimenting her.

At that time, there weren’t many clothing styles available, and Su Mo wasn’t overly concerned with appearances. As long as the clothes were warm and didn’t look especially unattractive, they were good enough.

Looking at the newly completed cotton-padded jacket and trousers, Su Mo felt delighted. She planned to head to the city in a few days to buy some coarse cloth and make another set of cotton-padded clothes for the two of them in the evenings.

Based on her calculations, they would reach the cowshed in three or four days. She decided she would seize the opportunity to visit a neighboring brigade to check out the situation.

“By the way, Mom, I heard there are a lot of wild mountain products in the northeastern mountains. People say every autumn, they go to collect them in large baskets,” Su Mo inquired.

Li Yue’e laughed at this. “Who told you that? If there were so many mountain products, how could farmers’ lives still be so hard?”

“There are a lot of mountain products, but there are also a lot of people. Everyone’s struggling for food, so whenever they have time, they head into the mountains. With so many people, there’s hardly anything left to gather.”

“Are there wild boars and pheasants in the mountains?” Su Mo asked curiously.

“Of course there are, but they’re deep in the mountains. You rarely see them in the outer areas. Even if one appears, the militia from the brigades hunt them to improve everyone’s food supply.”

The militia were no amateurs, they carried hunting rifles. Any wild animals that ventured down to destroy crops were quickly dealt with.

“Does our brigade’s militia go hunting in the mountains to catch wild boars?” Su Mo asked again.

“They do every winter to add to the New Year’s celebrations. But they don’t dare go too deep; they stay near the edges. Every year, they don’t catch much, just a few pheasants and rabbits. Wild boars are rare, and you’d need luck to catch one.”

The current militia captain was Li Cuihua’s husband. Given his timid nature, he was afraid of everything. He only managed to catch small animals each year to avoid being accused of slacking off.

“Why don’t they go deeper into the mountains?”

“The deep mountains are very dangerous. I’ve heard there are tigers, wolves, and bears man-eating creatures. Nobody dares go there,” Li Yue’e said, adding more detail to emphasize her point.

“A few years ago, a brigade had a poor harvest, and the militia ventured deep into the mountains. Out of a dozen people who went in, only five came back.”

“If you want to gather mountain products, stay on the outskirts. Don’t venture into the deep mountains. No matter how valuable the mountain products are, your life is more important,” Li Yue’e instructed.

“Alright, I understand,” Su Mo replied.

Thinking of heroines in those period dramas who effortlessly found wild boars and pheasants in the mountains, Su Mo also wanted to solve the meat issue. But she wondered if she’d have the same luck.

“Do you really want to go for the autumn harvest?” Li Yue’e asked casually, surprised that Su Mo seemed serious.

“Yes, I want to gather mushrooms and other mountain products, make some mushroom sauce, and send it to Changzheng,” Su Mo replied. She had genuinely planned to do this. Once she finished knitting her sweater, she wanted to send the mushroom sauce as a gift to Lu Changzheng.

“The hazel mushroom season is almost over. If you want to find some, you’ll need to hurry,” Li Yue’e said, touched by her thoughtfulness. Su Mo had previously sent her pine nuts and walnuts and now planned to knit a sweater and make sauce.

“Alright, I’ll ask Daya to accompany you tomorrow. You’re not familiar with the area and might get lost.”

Two years ago, some educated youth from another brigade got lost in the mountains while gathering. They were only found after two days of searching, terrified.

“Okay, I’ll go with Daya tomorrow and see what mountain products we can find.” Daya, Lu Xingjun’s eldest daughter, was nine years old.

“This time of year, you can still find some hazel mushrooms, pine nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, and shepherd’s purse. They’re not as tender as in spring, but if you dry them now, they’re great to cook in winter when vegetables are scarce,” Li Yue’e explained.

Su Mo nodded.

After chatting for a while, Li Yue’e prepared to leave. Su Mo quickly filled a jar with about a pound of brown sugar for her to take back.

After Li Yue’e left, Su Mo realized it was still early, so she took out her pen and paper to start her writing project.

She planned to write three or four short stories, each about 1,000 words, and send them to the government. These stories were centered on the intriguing experiences of educated youth in the countryside, emphasizing positivity and resilience. As the government was encouraging educated youth to settle in rural areas, Su Mo believed these stories had a good chance of being published.

Su Mo wrote until dusk, then set her manuscript aside.

That evening, she decided not to eat steamed buns. Instead, she prepared clay pot rice with preserved meat.

After shutting the back window of the living room, Su Mo took out a small stove she had used during her time in the apocalypse. She also retrieved a small clay pot, added a bit of oil to its surface, and placed pre-washed rice and water into it. She lit the stove with fine firewood and began cooking.

While the rice was cooking, she sliced some sausages and bacon. When the rice was nearly done, she spread the preserved meat on top. Afterward, she chopped cilantro and scallions. Once the rice finished cooking, she sprinkled the herbs over it, added a splash of soy sauce, and a fragrant pot of bacon rice was ready.

As she ate the clay pot rice, Su Mo looked fondly at the practical little stove. She mused about finding more opportunities to use this trusty companion from her apocalypse days. The stove had been specially designed for survival, being portable, durable, and perfect for tasks like missions or solo living.

After finishing her meal, Su Mo let the stove cool before storing it away. She also cleaned and put away the clay pot.

Later, by the light of a kerosene lamp, Su Mo boiled water for a bath. Once done, she returned to her room, closed the windows and curtains, and turned on her desk lamp. She resumed her writing until past 10 PM, then went to bed.

The next morning, Su Mo rose early and visited the vegetable garden. She worked on germinating seeds in several plots and discovered something surprising: growing crops in the soil here required much less energy than in the apocalypse.

Back then, the soil had been infected with zombie viruses, making it unusable without the help of soil-based supernatural powers. However, this artificially created soil lacked essential minerals for plant growth and was of poor quality. Many wood-element users preferred to directly induce plant growth rather than struggle with soil cultivation. Su Mo had been one of them.

This new realization delighted her. She decided to have some wooden frames made during the winter. She would fill them with soil and set them up in the living room to grow vegetables. While pretending to conduct experiments, she could simultaneously ensure a steady supply of vegetables for her needs.

For breakfast, Su Mo fried two eggs and ate a steamed bun. As she finished, someone called out from outside her yard.

“Aunt San, Aunt San, are you home?”

Su Mo stepped outside and saw nine-year-old Lu Fengqin standing by the courtyard gate with a basket on her back.

The Lu family was tall, and Fengqin inherited their height. At just nine years old, she was already about 130 cm tall. However, food scarcity left her thin, with big eyes and two neat pigtails, giving her a pretty yet delicate appearance.

When Fengqin saw Su Mo, she called out, “Aunt San, my grandma asked me to take you to harvest the autumn crops.”

“Come in and sit for a while, Fengqin. I’ll go change my clothes,” Su Mo said. Fengqin entered the courtyard and stepped into the main room. Su Mo pretended to retrieve a bun from the steamer and handed it to her.

“Here, have a bun,” Su Mo offered.

Fengqin’s eyes lit up. “Aunt San, is this a leek bun?”

The day before, Li Yue’e had taken six buns home, giving two to each of the first and second wives’ children. Fengqin had found them delicious, the best buns she’d ever eaten.

“Yes, it’s a leek bun, but it’s the last one. Eat it yourself and don’t tell anyone,” Su Mo replied.

With so many children in the family, Su Mo occasionally gave them treats, but she couldn’t afford to be too generous. She also believed in the value of returning kindness appropriately.

Initially, Fengqin wanted to share the bun with her younger siblings, but after Su Mo’s words, she ate it quickly. It wasn’t that she lacked generosity as an elder sister, but her third aunt’s instructions were clear.

Su Mo changed into work clothes, put on her Liberation shoes, grabbed her backpack, and left with Fengqin.

Excitement bubbled within her. She was heading up the mountain to harvest autumn crops, absorb energy, and most importantly hunt for wild ginseng!