Chapter 85: The Deep‑Mountain Treasure‑Hunting Team Takes Shape; Good Days Are Just Ahead!

In the blink of an eye it was the spring equinox, and the meltwater in Shanwan Village ran through the ditches, while the tips of the old locust tree sprouted fresh green.

Lu Qingshan stood in the courtyard, his gaze turning toward the forest where most of the snow had melted, the bluish‑green interspersed with ochre.

"Zhao Tiezhu, Liu Fugui, have you got the gear all sorted?"

He turned around; Zhao Tiezhu was just placing the last hoe against the wall, while Liu Fugui squatted on the ground, counting the small shovels over and over.

"All set, Brother Qing Shan!" Zhao Tiezhu patted his chest, hoisted a newly sharpened hoe, and beside him were several sturdy bamboo baskets.

Liu Fugui also stood, shoving a few shovels of varying sizes and scissors into a cloth sack: "Qing, Brother Qing Shan, everything's all set."

Outside the courtyard, Zhao Lei, Zhao Qiang, Zhao Fei and Zhao Er Zhuang, four lanky boys, entered one after another, each carrying an empty basket, a hatchet at the waist, their eyes shining like dewy grass.

"Brother Qing Shan, shall we hurry?" Zhao Lei, the quickest hand in the village, was known for his voice arriving before his body.

Zhao Fei followed behind, a hint of shyness on his face: "Brother Qing Shan, we also want to go into the mountains to see and learn the ways of gathering herbs and mushrooms." Beside him, Zhao Er Zhuang nodded vigorously, fearing Lu Qingshan might not take him.

Lu Qingshan looked at these eager youngsters staring at him, and felt a few degrees more reassured.

They were the village youths willing to put in effort; future matters would inevitably need their support.

"Alright, more people makes work easier. But to get the ugly stuff out of the way first: today's main task is to identify things and scout locations; how much we can harvest is secondary."

He tightened his expression, "The mountain's items are varied; they may look similar yet their effects differ vastly, some even poisonous. You must follow my orders and not act recklessly."

The few nodded promptly, their excitement visibly tempered.

Lin Yue'e brought out a stack of wrapped corn cakes: "A little something for the road."

Xiao Xue also poked her head out from behind the threshold, clutching a tightly wrapped hand‑silk bundle, waddling up to Lu Qingshan and holding it up like a treasure: "Daddy, candy! I saved it for you!"

Lu Qingshan's heart softened; he crouched, took it, and kissed her forehead: "Good girl, Daddy will bring you sweet mountain fruit when I return."

Jin Hu circled Lu Qingshan's legs, his tail wagging like a tambourine, a low whine coming from his throat, eager to go along.

"Jin Hu, guard the house." Lu Qingshan patted his head, "Protect Xiao Xue and your mother." Jin Hu nudged his hand with his big head, obediently settled by Xiao Xue's feet, his ears alertly upright.

The party strode out of the village, following the muddy path left by the meltwater into the mountains.

The spring hills thawed, streams babbled, birds chattered in the woods, exuding a fresh vitality.

"Brother Qing Shan, which treasure spot are we focusing on today?" Zhao Qiang, lively‑tempered, asked from the front.

"First we head east to Black Tiger Ravine; it's shady, the snow melts slowly, and the herbs love that gap, sprouting early."

Lu Qingshan replied while walking, "After that we'll swing over to the sunny slope; perhaps we'll find the first‑flush mushrooms."

An hour later, the group reached the mouth of Black Tiger Ravine.

Lu Qingshan gestured for everyone to halt, took a few steps forward, gently closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring.

The surrounding flora's breath, the soil's moisture, even the fine pollen carried by the wind converged clearly in his mind.

He wasn't looking; it was more like he was "listening" to the forest.

After a moment he opened his eyes, pointing to a dense thicket on his left: "Take this way; there's good stuff inside."

The others exchanged glances; the spot looked no different from elsewhere.

Zhao Tiezhu was the first to push aside the brambles and go in, and the others quickly followed.

Beyond the shrubs lay a small clearing. Lu Qingshan crouched, brushed aside a thick layer of fallen leaves, and a few timid sprouts of fresh green peeked out.

"Everyone come see, these are freshly sprouted Astragalus."

He used his pocket shovel to gently lift the surrounding loose soil, revealing a short, finger‑thick, yellow‑brown rhizome. "See? It's still tender, can't be disturbed. But you must memorize its appearance and where it likes to root."

Zhao Tiezhu and a few others crowded together, straining their eyes at the unremarkable seedlings.

"Is this thing valuable?" Zhao Er Zhuang whispered, thinking it no different from ordinary weeds.

"It's indeed valuable!" Lu Qingshan tapped his forehead, "This Astragalus is a superb qi‑tonic; city pharmacies treat it as a treasure. It prefers semi‑shade, semi‑sun, loves the mid‑slope where the soil is loose. Observe the leaf shape and root color carefully, and later don't bring me a basket of ordinary grass roots."

Zhao Tiezhu gave a simple smile, "Got it, the leaves look like little copper coins, the roots are yellow." He suddenly pointed to a nearby plant with broader leaves, "Brother Qing Shan, is that one also…?"

Lu Qingshan glanced, shook his head, "That's Mao Er grass, worthless and space‑taking. You all need to observe and record more."

For the next few hours, Lu Qingshan led them through the woods, up gentle slopes, identifying seven or eight herb seedlings and their favored habitats.

Some hid in rock crevices, others beside rotten wood; without Lu Qingshan's pointing them out, they might have passed a hundred times without noticing.

The sun shifted overhead, and the party turned onto the sunny slope.

Here it was warm, the snow long melted clean, and fresh grass was a soft carpet.

Lu Qingshan's eyes suddenly lit up; he darted a few steps to an old crooked pine, crouched and brushed aside the pine needles.

The others swarmed around in a whirl, and on the moist black earth they saw a few gray‑brown mushrooms with honey‑comb caps trembling upright.

"Morel!" Liu Fugui's tongue went numb, his eyes wide, "My mother, this is premium goods!" He had only heard of them at the town Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where they were frighteningly expensive.

Lu Qingshan's mouth twitched upward, "The first‑flush morels are the freshest. But look closely; don't pick the tiny ones, choose those with plump caps and deeper color." He drew a small knife and made a gentle cut at the lower part of a stem, "When harvesting, cut here so the mycelium stays in the soil and can regrow. Pulling the whole root is a waste, like a hammer‑full of profit lost."

Zhao Lei examined carefully, "Brother Qing Shan, this looks a bit like the poisonous goose‑liver fungus; don't we pick the wrong one?"

"Good question." Lu Qingshan gave him an approving glance, "The poisonous goose‑liver fungus has a smooth cap with a ring, while the morel's head is hollow with many folds. Their smell differs too. You'll have to learn this slowly; a mistake can be fatal."

With that said, everyone harvested cautiously, fearing a mix‑up.

Zhao Qiang's hand was swift, almost pulling up a tiny fresh cluster, but Lu Qingshan stopped him in time, "I said harvest the big ones and leave the small; this isn't weed‑pulling!" Zhao Qiang sheepishly withdrew his hand.

"There are some here too!" Zhao Fei exclaimed excitedly; a short distance away, a few more sprouted beneath decaying wood.

Before long, besides morels they also came across freshly emerged hazelnut mushrooms and yuan mushrooms; though scant, they were top‑quality fresh produce.

"Alright, stop when it looks good."

Lu Qingshan saw each basket had some, and called a halt, "We're here to learn, not to clear the mountain. The season is still early; leave some seedlings so they'll grow for future harvests."

The sun leaned westward, and the glow bathed the forest in a warm hue.

Their back baskets were heavy, and excitement shone unmistakably on their faces.

Lu Qingshan had everyone dump their finds, then he sorted them one by one, gathering the finest morels, hazelnut mushrooms, and a few newly identified tender herb sprouts into his own large backpack.

"These are for selling to make money. The rest, you all split evenly, take home to taste fresh and show your families."

Zhao Tiezhu stared at the pile of premium goods and couldn't help asking, "Brother Qing Shan, with just this amount, can we really make a lot of money?"

Lu Qingshan held a top‑grade morel in his hand: "If this morel reaches the county, a dry weight of one jin would fetch at least this amount." He stretched out five fingers.

"Five, five yuan?!" Liu Fugui's eyes nearly popped out. They work themselves to death in the production team for a day, earn only a few work points, which when converted to cash is just a few mao.

"Hazelnut mushrooms can sell for two or three yuan, the yuan mushroom a bit less, still over a yuan. Once the medicinal herbs are processed, it's even better."

Lu Qingshan's tone was calm, but to the crowd's ears it was no less than a thunderclap.

"Good!" Zhao Er Zhuang clicked his tongue, "This makes money faster than digging the ground!"

"Fast it is, but you still need connections, a keen eye, and know how to preserve and process." Lu Qingshan gave them a splash of cold water, "What we gathered today is nothing; there's a lot of knowledge ahead. On the way back I'll tell you how to handle these things—what to air‑dry, what to sun‑dry, what to use fresh."

The group's steps lightened considerably, gathering around Lu Qingshan, perking up their ears to hear the teachings they had never heard before.

Early the next morning, Lu Qingshan packed the carefully selected mushrooms and several freshly paired herbs into clean cloth bundles, placed them in his backpack, hitched a cart that Liu Hua Qiang was driving to the market, went first to the town, then transferred to a passenger carriage bound for the county seat.

At the state‑run hotel entrance, Director Zhang was chatting with two people in official uniforms; when he looked up and saw Lu Qingshan, he broke into a wide grin and hurried a few steps forward: "Ah, Brother Lu Qingshan, we've been waiting for you!" His warm enthusiasm made the two officials beside him glance at Lu Qingshan a few more times.

Lu Qingshan set down his backpack, placed it firmly: "Director Zhang, the first batch of mountain goods just came down, let you have a look." He untied the cloth bundle, and a forest‑fresh fragrance mixed with the scent of mushrooms wafted out. Each morel was whole and plump, the hazelnut mushrooms still bore morning dew droplets.

Director Zhang leaned in, picked up a morel, inhaled under his nose, then examined the cap's pattern closely; his smile deepened: "Authentic! Definitely top‑grade! Brother Lu Qingshan, this is timely rain! Not to hide it from you, in a couple of days the county will host an important reception, provincial leaders are coming down, and I've been worried about lacking rare dishes for the banquet!"

He turned to the two officials, with a hint of pride: "See? This is the Dou Hei Xiong Xia Zi, Lu the hunter I told you about. Our hotel's wild‑meat banquet can stand out thanks to his unique mountain goods!"

The two officials, hearing that, looked at Lu Qingshan with a more inquisitive and respectful gaze.

Lu Qingshan merely gave a courteous smile, said little.

These items are just Door‑knocking Brick; what he's really calculating is a larger deal, longer‑term matters.

The treasures of this mountain are far more than these mushrooms and herbs.

He knows the good show has only just begun.