Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 157: Digging Stumps (2)

The next day, the family rose early and ate a simple breakfast.
Lian Fang Zhou wrapped a few pancakes and a jar of boiled eggs in water inside a clean cloth bag.
Packed, the three of them headed to the mountain.

To dig a tree stump, you would need to bring tools like a hoe, shovel, and a hatchet.
You would also need to carry the tree stumps home.
To carry all this, they put two strong bamboo baskets on either side of the donkey’s back.

Compared with the excitement of the Lian siblings, Third Aunt was very upset, thinking that the whole thing was nonsense.
Seeing Lian Fang Qing jumping with excitement and even Lian Ze and Lian Che, who were usually more stable, had bright eyes, Third Aunt couldn’t help complaining that Lian Fang Zhou was spoiling the children!

Lian Fang Zhou smiled indifferently, “Who is spoiled? They’re going to do serious work! Don’t worry, Third Aunt, I know what I’m doing, I don’t want them to grow up crooked!”

Third Aunt snorted: “This is considered serious work? Forget it, if you want to go, then go! Come back soon, that Xianteng Mountain is not easy to reach.
It’s dangerous! There is a reason people avoid it!”

Lian Ze was excited to go somewhere slightly dangerous so he could test his ability.
Smiling, he said: “Third Aunt, don’t worry! Brother Ah Jian will be there, nothing will happen!”

Third Aunt snorted again.
“Brother Ah Jian? So what! Do man-eating tigers and wolves know anything about Brother Ah Jian? Peh, my crow’s mouth, why are we talking about this? Just come back quickly!”

Lian Fang Zhou and the others responded with a smile.

When they left the house, the sun had just risen from the east and the morning mist was blowing cold against their bodies.

But this little bit of coolness was nothing to those on the road and their bodies warmed up quickly as they walked.
Coupled with their excitement, none of them felt cold.

After about an hour and a half, the mountains on either side gradually became taller and more majestic and after another half an hour, they arrived at Xianteng Mountain.

While it was Lian Fang Qing, Lian Che, and Ah Jian’s first time, Lian Fang Zhou and Lian Ze did not know how many times they had traveled to this mountain.
Seeing the familiar mountain forest, the two smiled at each other, their hearts full of nostalgia.

Ah Jian looked around but there was nothing but deep forests, with trees one after another until nothing else could be seen.
It was winter now but the mountains were still colorful with verdant pines and cypresses, as fell as various species he did not recognize.
The trees were still full of red and yellow leaves with many shades and the forest did not feel bleak, just condensed.

“This is a very good mountain!” Ah Jian praised.

Lian Fang Zhou also took a deep look around and smiled.
“It is not a good mountain.
I don’t know how many valuable resources there are on this mountain but unfortunately, its too dangerous to enter easily!”

Ah Jian nodded, “This is true.”

“Sister, should we hunt first or dig the stumps?” Lian Fang Qing couldn’t help but ask, smiling brightly.
She was very eager to try.

Lian Fang Zhou burst out laughing and said, “Don’t be foolish! We’re here to dig stumps, not hunt! Don’t make trouble!”

Hunting? How could they go hunting at this time? Lian Fang Zhou thought of Sun Zhang Xing and wondered where he was now.

Lian Fang Qing stuck her tongue out but quickly smiled, agreeing.

Lian Fang Zhou was quite familiar with the outer edge of Xianteng Mountain.
When she had picked mushrooms in the autumn, it had been much easier to travel.

That had been the season when most of the wild fruits ripened.
Every day after picking mushrooms, they would pick some fruit to quench their thirst and hunger.
Therefore, the two of them knew exactly where the fruit trees were in this area.

For the jujube trees, there was no need to search, there was a large area on the right side.
They just needed to pick one and dig whichever they wanted.

“Sister, let’s dig something else first, we can wait until the end to get the jujube tree.” Lian Ze said.

Lian Fang Zhou had also had this idea, so she nodded.

The group walked into the valley on the left.

In this valley, there were slopes on both sides full of wild pear trees, bayberries, loquats, orange trees.
Even peaches, apricots, and persimmons were easy to find.
The only thing not growing was pomegranate trees.

The tree used as a rootstock needed to be very particular.
The main trunk needed to be as think as the mouth of a rice bowl.
The side branches and shoots needed to be removed, leaving only the main trunk and the main branches about one and half meters high.
Dig up the mud and roots and take it home to transplant.
In the coming year, they would just graft the healthy orchard fruit branches.

The grafted fruit trees would not only grow fast but the fruit that grew that year could also be left to grow naturally without problems.

There were a lot of wild fruit trees on Xianteng Mountain, but it was easy for Lian Fang Zhou and her family to dig up about forty trees in just over an hour.

There was still tomorrow, so they didn’t need to rush.
Leaving the rest of them, they walked around the forest area to see what other types of fruit trees were available.
They could finish when they came back.

The ancient trees in the forest towered towards the sky, reaching towards the bright sunlight outside.
Walking through the trees, only a little weak light and shadows could be seen.
Even in summer, the forest would be cold and now it was even colder.

“Are you cold?” Lian Fang Zhou asked Lian Fang Qing and Lian Che.

The two children school their heads, looking around with nervous excitement.
How could they say they were cold? They just asked, “Why haven’t we seen any animals? Pheasants, hares… there should be a lot of them in the mountains?”

Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “Wouldn’t I hide if people were coming? Or maybe because it is cold?”

Lian Fang Qing was disappointed but before she could speak, Lian Che said excitedly: “Look, look! There is a golden pheasant! It’s tail is so long and beautiful!”

Everyone turned to look where he pointed and sure enough, a colorful golden pheasant with shining feathers was dragging its tail through the layers of fallen leaves.
It was focused on its feet, looking for food.

“Oh, its really beautiful!” Lian Fang Qing was pleasantly surprised but remembered to lower her voice.
The golden pheasant did not notice them, too busy digging through the debris.

Seeing this prey, several of them became very excited.
Lian Ze was very eager.

Ah Jian chucked and said to Lian Ze, “You have a try!”

“Yes!” Lian Ze had wanted to but had hesitated, fearing that his accuracy would be too bad.

Hearing Ah Jian, the older sister and younger siblings looked encouraging and gave no objection.
Feeling his confidence increase, Lian Ze carefully pulled a bamboo arrow from his simple quiver and gently placed it on the bow.
With one eye closed, he aimed at the golden pheasant.

His siblings held their breath, staring at the bird unblinkingly.

With a ‘whoosh’, Lian Ze released his fingers and with a light movement, the bowstring vibrated.
The bamboo arrow shot away from the string and flew towards the golden pheasant with a whirring sound.