Chapter 25: Rare Delicacy - Morel Mushrooms

"Xiulan, I'm heading up the mountain."

After finishing his meal, Lin Heng untied the iron chain from Xiong Ba and set off for the mountain.

"Go ahead, and be careful."

Xiulan nodded; she had to help plant sweet potatoes in the afternoon, so she wasn't going up the mountain.

"Woof woof!!"

Xiong Ba howled towards the sky and immediately ran out. After going a little distance, he turned back and came to Lin Heng's feet, whining for attention.

The forest where they were chopping wood was on the mountain behind their house. The area in the middle of this mountain belonged to their family.

By now, the sounds of tree cutting could already be heard—his father and the other three had begun working on the mountain.

Lin Heng, carrying a bow and arrow, and accompanied by Xiong Ba, were preparing to cross the mountain and check out the valley behind it. At this time of year, finding prey in the forest was a matter of luck.

Xiong Ba peed every few steps and looked back at Lin Heng as if worried about him getting lost.

"Lin's second son, are you going hunting up there?" Someone greeted Lin Heng as they walked not far.

Lin Heng turned and recognized it as an older man from the Wang family, a contemporary of his father. "Yeah, just trying my luck," he replied, before quickly walking past.

After Lin Heng had gone a little further, the Wang family man shook his head and laughed, "That good-for-nothing is hunting? Carrying a bow and arrow, just making a fool of himself."

Clearly, he thought Lin Heng was embarrassing himself by pretending to be a hunter, like a blind man trying to take a college entrance exam.

Though he was far away, Lin Heng heard the words and silently remembered them.

Soon, they entered the forest, and Xiong Ba became more alert, no longer making any noise, scanning the surroundings and occasionally sniffing the ground.

It was evident they were in hunting mode.

Lin Heng also scanned the surroundings, but the thick foliage restricted his view, making it hard to spot any prey.

After walking nearly two kilometers and reaching the top of the mountain, Lin Heng finally spotted something valuable—a cluster of kidney essence grass, also known as "Ao Ao Jiao," growing on the rock wall.

This medicinal herb was easy to recognize—dark green, with long, narrow leaves, and small yellow capsules on the underside.

Lin Heng glanced at it but didn't pick it, as there was too little of it. He decided to let it grow.

"Awoo~"

At that moment, Xiong Ba made a sound, clearly having found something.

Lin Heng walked over, and a smile spread across his face. "Good dog, you found this."

Xiong Ba had discovered a small patch of morel mushrooms. Lin Heng guessed that Xiong Ba had smelled them at home before and recognized their value.

Xiong Ba opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and showed a Samoyed-like smile, leaning forward, asking for a pat.

"Good job. If we catch any prey today, the internal organs are yours."

Lin Heng smiled and patted the dog's head. He was now sure that the old man from his previous life hadn't lied—Xiong Ba was indeed a good dog.

Morel mushrooms are a rare wild delicacy, a famous edible fungus known for its delicious taste, comparable to matsutake. There have been records of people eating them since ancient times.

Because they are highly sensitive to the environment and temperature, they are scarce and expensive. Fresh ones cost one yuan per pound, while dried ones can sell for three to four yuan per pound.

The patch Xiong Ba found had about eleven or twelve mushrooms. They were black morel mushrooms, scientifically known as Morchella elata. They were about four or five centimeters tall, with long caps and black, vertically aligned rectangular pits. The stems were off-white.

Lin Heng picked one, smelled it, and couldn't help but show a look of pleasure. The mushroom's fragrance was exquisite—not overpowering, but incredibly pleasant, without the faint earthy smell that red mushrooms sometimes have.

Lin Heng's appetite was immediately stirred, and his mouth watered. Even just making a simple soup with morels would be incredibly flavorful.

"Too bad there are only about half a pound. The two biggest ones were eaten by bugs," Lin Heng sighed, but he couldn't bring himself to discard the two larger mushrooms. He carefully placed them all in the small basket he carried.

He searched around a bit more but found nothing else.

After crossing the ridge, the area ahead brightened as there were two fields planted with wheat. The breeze blew gently, and the wheat, already starting to form ears, swayed in the wind.

Lin Heng glanced at them and then headed toward the small ravine above, following the direction of the tree-lined ravine. As he walked, he noticed Xiong Ba suddenly crouching down, slowly advancing towards the edge of the wheat field.

"Is there something?"

Lin Heng immediately stopped and looked in the direction Xiong Ba was heading. After rubbing his eyes several times, he finally saw the prey.

A gray rabbit, hiding under some grass, was nibbling on the wheat. Without Xiong Ba, Lin Heng would never have spotted it.

He thought about drawing his bow, but after checking the distance, he decided against it: "Too far."

The gap was at least a hundred meters, and there were no obstacles in between. Moving forward would inevitably alert the rabbit. It was better to see what Xiong Ba could do.

At that moment, Xiong Ba had already crawled about ten meters closer. The rabbit hadn't noticed him yet. Its ears were erect, and its gaze was focused. It froze whenever Xiong Ba moved, lying still to avoid detection.

The rabbit occasionally paused to look around, but Xiong Ba skillfully avoided being seen.

Lin Heng couldn't help but feel amazed. "Indeed, a talented dog has strong hunting instincts, even without training."

When they were within about twenty meters, the gray rabbit finally spotted Xiong Ba. Its eyes showed a flash of fear, and without hesitation, it bolted.

"Woof woof!!"

Xiong Ba also sprang into action, chasing after the rabbit at full speed. The distance between them rapidly decreased, and they soon disappeared into the nearby woods.

Lin Heng hurried to follow but couldn't even catch a glimpse of Xiong Ba—it was running too fast.

"Woof woof~~"

Soon, Xiong Ba's call echoed back to him.

Following the sound, Lin Heng quickly found Xiong Ba, who was anxiously standing in front of a burrow, surrounded by rabbit fur.

Clearly, it was his first failed hunt. The rabbit had escaped into the hole.

"It's okay, it's okay, you did well," Lin Heng patted Xiong Ba's head and encouraged him with a rub on his chest.

Xiong Ba was still young, and having not eaten well before, his body hadn't fully developed yet. Mistakes were completely normal.

Lin Heng looked at the burrow. He knew the rabbit was still inside. After a quick scan, he blocked off all the likely exits with stones.

Then he gathered some dry pine needles and used an aluminum oil lighter to start a fire.

Most rural households in this era used this type of lighter.

The oil lighter had a simple structure. The bottom part was a cotton wick soaked in kerosene, connected to the top half, which had a gear and a flint. The gear created friction with the flint, sparking, which ignited the kerosene-soaked cotton, producing a flame.

With two crisp snaps, a small yellow flame appeared. Lin Heng placed it on the dry pine needles, which quickly ignited with the help of the pine resin, crackling as it burned.

He placed the fire near the burrow and added some fresh leaves. Thick white smoke soon billowed out and was fanned into the hole. Not long later, smoke started emerging from other spots.

"Not good, there's another exit I missed!"

Lin Heng suddenly realized he had overlooked another hidden exit. As soon as he finished speaking, two gray rabbits shot out of the hole.

(End of Chapter)