Chapter 114: Fruits of the Mountain Wilderness

  After eating something, everyone set off again with Snow Sculpture leading the way in front.

  "The dew is not heavy today, and it's still convenient to rush on the road." said Wu Shu Gong. Usually when the dew is heavy, you might get soaked in a short distance.

  "The weather is still okay, it shouldn't rain for these two days." Old Man Li also spoke up.

  "It's autumn now, as they say: 'Autumn is high and refreshing!' The weather will of course be good." Liu Yang added.

  The weather in autumn is relatively dry, and the saying "dry sky and withered things" refers to autumn and winter. At this time, there is little rain, but strong winds, so these two seasons are prone to fires.

  "It's not necessarily so, our southern coastal weather is quite unpredictable, and it wouldn't be surprising if there was another rain," said Chu Jiaqiang.

  The little squirrel suddenly jumped off Chu Jiaqiang's shoulder and disappeared after a few ups and downs.

  "What is Little Pine Mouse doing?" asked Ye Xiao Shuang curiously. This question no one could answer, except for Little Pine Mouse himself, who else would know?

  Everyone deliberately slowed down their pace, of course, they were not afraid that the little squirrels would get lost in the big mountains. No one knew the big mountains better than them, even Wu Yigong and others couldn't compare.

  Soon, the little squirrel came back, with a branch of wild fruit on its shoulder, looking very comical, and everyone burst out laughing. It came to Chu Jiaqiang and presented it to him like a treasure.

  Chu Jiaqiang couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. This little guy was really willing to go through great lengths to please him and get some spiritual energy! He wasn't stingy either, taking the fruit branch and stroking the little squirrel's head while giving it a dose of spiritual energy. The little squirrel was so excited that it started chattering and dancing around.

  Ye Xiaoshuang saw that the fruit was oval in shape, with a diameter of about 3 cm, densely covered with yellowish-brown branched long soft hairs. On this section of vine brought back by the little squirrel, there were more than ten fruits hanging on it.

  "Is this a kiwi? Xiao Song Shu is too amazing." Ye Xiaoshuang praised.

  Mr. Li smiled and shook his head: "It's not a kiwi, it's a wild fruit in the mountains, called fox peach."

  "Kiwi? Never heard of it, but I had kiwifruit before and it's similar." Yexiaoshuang found it quite interesting that one was called kiwifruit and the other fox peach, both named after animals.

  The professor nodded and said, "That's right, this is not a kiwi. In fact, kiwis and fox peaches look very similar and can't be distinguished if you don't observe them carefully. Kiwis are a bit smaller because monkeys like to eat this fruit, so it's also called monkey peach. Fox peaches are wild fruits in the mountains, with a slightly sour taste, but their nutritional value is actually similar to that of kiwis, both are good things."

  Although Professor Wen is not a specialist in plants, he is familiar with some common mountain fruits. The entire kiwi fruit is a treasure: the root can be used as medicine to clear heat and detoxify, promote blood circulation and reduce swelling, and relieve urinary tract infections; it can also be made into pesticides for crops, killing pests such as oil tea moths, rice weevils, and aphids. The stem contains a large amount of sticky gum, which can be used as a building material or raw material for papermaking. The leaves can be used as animal feed. The flowers can be extracted to make fragrances. The fruit is rich in sugars, organic acids, and especially vitamin C, making it suitable for eating fresh or making jam.

  Chu Jiaqiang didn't say a word, these fox peaches were already very familiar. Originally, this kind of fruit was basically inedible when it was first picked, just like taro, it would numb the throat. The village children often picked them and put them aside for a few days before they could be eaten. But the small squirrel brought back this branch which was different, the vines had withered, as if they had been broken off a few days ago.

  "Can we eat now?" asked Ye Xiaoshuang.

  Old Li nodded: "No one can understand eating fruit better than them, they must have chosen the best ones. Look at this skin, it's a bit wrinkled, which means it's already edible. Remove the skin and eat one or two, it's still pretty good. But if you eat too much, it's like eating pickled plums, and later on, your teeth might not be able to chew food."

  Chu Jiaxiong reached out and picked one, just about to peel and eat it. At this time, the little squirrel snatched the fox peach from him and put it back in Chu Jiaqiang's hand.

  Everyone burst out laughing again, this little guy really holds a grudge!

  "If you don't eat, then don't eat, who cares?" Chu Jiaxiong felt that this little squirrel always looked down on him.

  Chu Jiaqiang smiled helplessly, comforted the little squirrel for a while, and then divided the fruit into two pieces per person.

  In front of the mountains, some are steep and have fewer tall trees, mostly shrubs. There are many wild fruits, most of which have ripened, while others will not be ripe until winter, relatively late, but they will be in high demand then, as there will be fewer fruits left, and small birds and other animals won't be so picky about food.

  Early autumn is the season when the fruit of the mountain mulberry tree ripens. The fruit first turns from green to yellow, then from yellow to red, and finally from red to purple. The clusters of fruit hang densely, resembling small wine cups, with a core inside that looks like a worm, surrounded by many seeds. The taste is exceptionally sweet. When the mountain mulberries are ripe and turn purple, they are at their best flavor, refreshing and thirst-quenching, leaving a sweet aftertaste, and even staining the tongue and teeth a deep purple color.

  Loquat is a colloquial term, and the real scientific name is called Rhododendron, which is the most common type of wild fruit in the south. Unlike other fruit trees, they generally bloom, bear fruit, and mature at the same time. When they are in bloom, they are also very beautiful, with flowers that come in a variety of colors, including pink, white, yellow, and purple, making them a stunning sight to behold!

  Everyone ate a lot on the way, and their lips were all somewhat purple-black.

  "Can you eat the fruit of that tree in front?" Ye Xiaoshuang pointed to a tree in front, which was full of bright red fruits that looked like yangmei.

  "Hmm! Edible, edible, I'll go pick some for you." Chu Jiaxiong said hastily. Chu Jiaqiang, Lao Li and others all swallowed their saliva.

  These words spewed out of Chu Jiaxiong's mouth, and Ye Xiaoshuang became vigilant. This guy had never had good intentions towards himself. He said it was edible, but basically it was impossible to eat. And no one would offer kindness without reason! It definitely wouldn't be a good thing.

  "Cough, cough! You little scamp!" Chu Jiaqiang laughed and scolded, then turned to Ye Xiaoshuang, shaking his head: "I said it's edible, but it doesn't taste good. That's wild plum, you should have heard of it? It's very sour, can't describe how sour, only those who have really tasted it know its ferocity. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the idiom 'watching the plum to stop drinking'."

  Even Wu Shu's teeth felt a little loose, which shows how formidable that thing was.

  "Is it that fierce?" Miao Huo hadn't tasted it before and didn't quite believe it, curiosity would always get the better of him. He tiptoed to pick one, put it in his mouth and took a bite. Everyone saw his mouth muscles suddenly contract, and then he spat it out violently, with a stream of sour saliva gushing up: "Ptooey! Ahh! How can there be something so sour?"

  With Miao Huo's lesson learned from his predecessor, no one dared to touch that wild plum tree again.

  Not far away, Ye Xiaoshuang exclaimed again: "The persimmons are so small, should be edible, right?"

  Old Li found that the wild persimmons, which were only as big as a thumb, had turned yellow and knew they were ripe. He nodded and said, "It's okay, although the taste is very good, but half of it is the core, and there's little pulp, it's troublesome to eat."

  Ye Xiaoshuang doesn't care about the back, as long as she can eat, let her brother climb up the tree and press down the branches, she will pick them on the ground. The bag now contains many wild fruits, with at least six varieties.