In the middle of summer in August, the sun is high. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The undulating green hills are gentle curves that stretch into the distance. Many people wore old clothes and carried baskets to and fro through the mountains and forests. They endure hotter and humid air than outside, mosquitoes almost everywhere, and hornets and snakes that don't know when they will suddenly attack you from a place where people can't see them. They kept stirring back and forth with their sticks in the pile of fallen leaves under the mountain forest, looking for the red mushroom, a treasure that nature has given to mankind after the summer rainy season comes.

Zhang Yan is a member of this army of explorers in the mountains.

Zhang Yan, a junior at Zhongyuan Normal University, spends every summer in the mountains picking mushrooms to sell to make up for his tuition and living expenses. His family is an ordinary farming family in the Funiu Mountains, and it is already difficult for the family to provide for him to go to college, so he always tries to reduce the burden on the family. He also thought about going north or south to work in the factory during the holidays, but there was too much farm work at home, so in order to alleviate the heavy rain at night, the originally refreshing air became more sultry as the sun rose, and even the cicadas that had been screaming and complaining about the hot weather among the trees hid. The ups and downs of the burden of the parents at home, they all help with farm work at home, and in their spare time, go to the mountains to pick mushrooms or tutor their younger brother in his schoolwork.

There was no farm work in the field today, so Zhang Yan got up early in the morning, got up from the bed before five o'clock, got dressed and carried the basket up the mountain. People in the mountains get up early, and they get up earlier than usual to pick mushrooms. Because new mushrooms grow at night, it's best to pick them before eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Prior to this time, many mushroom umbrellas were still mushroom bones without being propped up, or even if they were propped up, they were still very bright. Therefore, the earlier you pick it, the more likely you are to pick the mushroom bones.

Among the red mushrooms, the most valuable is the mushroom bones, because such mushrooms have just broken the ground, the flesh is thick and good-looking, the taste is also very good, and it is easier to preserve, which is the favorite of buyers, because they can also sell at a good price, so they will naturally give the highest price when buying. The price of the mushrooms that are stretched out is naturally not so high. If the mushroom bones can be sold for thirty pounds per catty, the mushrooms that are stretched out can be bought for fifteen or sixteen yuan at most. Of course, all mushrooms sold are based on the mushrooms that have been opened.

In the rural areas, there are very few ways to make money, except for farming, and engaging in side jobs that are within their means. Mushroom picking doesn't require much investment, just enough strength and willingness to keep shuttling through the mountains and forests. For rural people, the most indispensable thing is the strength of the body, so every mushroom picking season is also the most lively season in the mountains.

Therefore, Zhang Yan had to get up early. Mushroom picking is also a highly competitive industry.

I went up the mountain at five o'clock in the morning, and now at eight o'clock in the morning, three hours have passed, Zhang Yan has walked through seven or eight mountains, because of the sweltering heat, his body has already been soaked, and his arms and face hugging his clothes have also been bitten by mosquitoes with several pimples. However, after looking at the basket full of mushrooms, especially most of them were mushroom bones, he couldn't help but have a smile on his face. Today's harvest is quite rich, and it is not in vain that I got up so early today.

Out of the mountain forest, Zhang Yan looked up at the sun, and estimated in his heart that it was about eight o'clock, he decided to go down the mountain and go home for breakfast, and then come up after a little rest, so that he could pick a basket before eating at noon.

Carry the basket and go down the hill as fast as you can, there is a path below the mountain that runs from the village.

As soon as he arrived at the path at the foot of the mountain, he took two breaths and was about to leave, when Zhang Yan heard someone call him from behind: "Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan." ”

Zhang Yan turned around and smiled at the person who came over: "Third sister-in-law, are you going back too?" What do you think? ”

The person who came was a young woman, eight or nine years older than Zhang Yan. The village where Zhang Yan lives is called Xiaofangzhuang, but there is no one with the surname Fang in the village, but their surname Zhang is the big surname in the village, and they are all related to each other. According to Grandma Zhang Yan, the entire Nanshan Brigade (the older generation's speech, the former production brigade, now changed to an administrative village) from the innermost Da Grange to the outermost Dafang Village, the entire Lao Zhang family is an ancestor and a family. When I first moved from under the big locust tree, it was my father and four brothers. Among them, there are one person in Da Tian Zhuang, one person in Da Nan Village, and one person in Xiao Fang Village. Therefore, the entire family surnamed Zhang in Nanshan Village is called according to generation.

When he met the elders of the clan, Zhang Yan was always pointed out that this was your grandfather, grandmother, or aunt and uncle. Therefore, sometimes he mutters quietly when he is impatient, because he has many grandparents, either shouting at this aunt or at that uncle, he is really very young.

This is the case of the young woman who has just been called the third sister-in-law by Zhang Yan, her sister-in-law is married to the third brother in his clan, so Zhang Yan calls the other party the third sister-in-law.

The third sister-in-law knew that Zhang Yan was asking about her own harvest, and smiled: "Yes, the basket can't fit it, and if you don't go back, it's time to stay up." Besides, Si Peng is probably up too, and I have to go home and cook for him. How's that, how many have you picked up? ”

"I've also picked it up, and I guess my mom has already cooked the meal, and it's time to shout again if I don't go back. Go back to eat, rest for a while, and then go up the mountain, and pick up a basket before lunch. Zhang Yan pointed to his basket.

"Not bad." The third sister-in-law looked at Zhang Yan's basket of mushrooms and couldn't help but praise. "Nine uncles and nine aunts are blessed. You see, you study well, become a college student, and come back to work in the field and collect mushrooms to make money, this is capable...... By the way, if you have time, you can take a look at Sipeng's homework for your sister-in-law, some sisters-in-law don't understand, and you happen to be at home. ”

"Okay, no problem. It's afternoon, you ask Sipeng to come to my house with homework, there should be nothing to do in the afternoon, and Qianqian will also do her homework in the afternoon. Zhang Yan immediately agreed.

"That's it!" The smile on the third sister-in-law's face was even bigger.

After having lunch at home and resting a little, Zhang Yan carried the basket up the mountain again.

After a morning of picking, most of the mushrooms in the mountains have been picked, so compared to the full harvest in the morning, Zhang Yan kept running around in the morning, turning eleven or twelve mountains, and picking most of the baskets.

Walking out of the mountain forest, Zhang Yan walked dozens of meters again, arrived at the mountain land assigned to his family in the village, and went down to a stone under a separate oak bush halfway up the mountain. strand sat on it.

After shuttling in the mountains and forests all morning, coupled with the rising temperature, Zhang Yan was tired and thirsty, and a gust of mountain wind blew, which made him feel a little better.

Looking up at the sun that was about to reach overhead, Zhang Yan was deflated. Forget it, let's go back.

Zhang Yan stood up, patted his buttocks, and bent down to lift the basket, but found that there was a clear spring next to the basket, flowing with gurgling stream.