Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Chapter 19: Fairy Tofu
The Qinling Mountains are vast, stretching from east to west and dividing the world from north to south.

Therefore, the animals and plants in the Qinling Mountains often have characteristics shared by both the north and the south, and these characteristics are particularly evident at the border between the north and the south.

For example, giant pandas, which are originally found in Sichuan and Chongqing, can also be seen in the Qinling Mountains, and elm trees, which grow in abundance in the north, are often found on the south side of the Qinling Mountains.

Perfectly connecting the north and the south while being blocked yet effectively connected.

The tofu-tree tree is a tree that came from the south.

This tree originally likes humid and warm environment, so it is widely distributed in the south. It can be seen in Sichuan and Chongqing in the west and Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east.

However, because Sichuan, Chongqing and the Qinling Mountains are connected, it gradually spread to the Qinling Mountains with the help of birds and some animals that eat herbaceous seeds, and officially took root, becoming an alien tree species.

At first, people here didn't notice its appearance. Its size seemed so small and insignificant among the birch and red pine trees that were dozens of meters tall, and it was no different from a shrub.

But after 2000, with a new round of surveys of Qinling species resources, people discovered that this guy had already taken root in the Qinling Mountains and had formed a certain scale.

And its widespread use has also begun to unfold.

As a forest ranger, Yu Qiutang is naturally very familiar with this tree. The "fairy tofu" he mentioned is also called "Guanyin tofu" and "god tofu". Sichuan and Chongqing call it turtledove tofu, which is made from the leaves of this tofu tree.

As the name suggests, things that can be named "Guanyin" basically come from difficult times and are things that people have to accept their fate, such as Guanyin soil.

The reason why it is called Guanyin Tofu is because there was a famine in the early years and people had problems with food. They accidentally discovered that after simple processing, the leaves could be made into delicious food shaped like tofu, which saved everyone's lives. It was like a blessing bestowed by the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Yu Qiutang took Yu Xiaowei around to the south side of the mountain. The leaves of the tofu tree here were thicker, and the tofu made from it would be less bitter and astringent.

The north side of the mountain is too shady, with little sunlight throughout the day. The leaves that grow there are dark in color and taste bitter and difficult to swallow, so they are not the best raw materials for making tofu.

These are Yu Qiutang’s life experiences.

In his previous life, he often patrolled the mountains and was very familiar with the distribution of various animals and plants within a hundred miles.

Especially when it comes to plants, he knows very well what will grow where, and for the same Chinese herbal medicine, where it will have better medicinal effects, where it will grow faster, where it will have a higher yield, and so on.

Like many treasures.

The two came to a small row of trees. Yu Qiutang stopped, plucked a leaf from a tree, put it to his nose and smelled it. The familiar smell immediately invaded his heart and spleen, and he nodded with satisfaction.

"This is it."

Yu Xiaowei also learned to pick a leaf and smell it, but apart from a faint fragrance, he could not smell anything.

"Uncle, didn't you say you wanted to see the divine tofu?"

"This is it," Yu Qiutang stuck the axe into the ground next to him and started picking leaves. "Pick them and fill two bags."

"Really?"

Yu Xiaowei was confused, but seeing that Yu Qiutang had already started picking the leaves, he didn't say much and quickly followed his example to pick the leaves.

"Be careful, don't pick leaves that are too tender or too small, and don't pick leaves that have been bitten by insects. Also, be careful not to break the branches..."

While working, Yu Qiutang taught his nephew basic knowledge. Yu Xiaowei was very smart and understood what he meant almost instantly. The two talked while working, and in less than an hour, the two bags were filled and pressed tightly.

Yu Qiutang weighed the bags and estimated that each one weighed about thirty to forty kilograms. He then tied the bag mouths tightly with the ropes he had prepared earlier, tied the two bags together, and tried carrying them on his back. It was not too strenuous.

In my previous life, I could carry things weighing 70 or 80 kilograms, but it was a little more difficult. But now, it is as easy as carrying a schoolbag. I can do it with ease and I can probably carry it all home in one breath.

At this time, the sun was high in the sky. The morning sun shone through the gaps in the red pines and onto the forest floor. There were mottled shadows everywhere. When they first arrived, there was still a little dew on the ground, which wet their feet. Now the dew began to fade, and the birds in the forest chirped one after another.

"What are we going to do now, go down the mountain?"

It was Yu Xiaowei’s first time to go inside the mountain. Even though he was only at the bottom, he still found it very novel and looked as if he wanted to see more.

Yu Qiutang remembered that he had not found suitable wood for the crossbow arm yesterday, so he took his nephew along the mountain path to the back of the mountain.

The sour jujube can grow anywhere in the mountains, but it grows too fast in sunny areas and the density of the wood is not as good as in shady areas.

If people want to use jujube wood to make handles for various farm tools or the shafts of carts, they will first choose the shady side of the mountain, and only look for it on the sunny side of the mountain if they really can't find it.

But an experienced person can tell where the wood comes from just by looking at the pattern on it and weighing it. The price difference between the two is at least twice as much, and sometimes more.

Unlike the later era of standardization, people in the mountains maintain an empirical approach to everything they do.

They only believe in the experience that their ancestors or even the people themselves have explored. If it is beyond their understanding, they will not believe it no matter how much you explain.

This stubborn attitude towards life has hindered their integration into the new era to a certain extent, but it also at least ensures that they will not make any big mistakes. It has both advantages and disadvantages.

After walking around for more than an hour, the two finally arrived at the place where Yu Qiutang had been yesterday.

They did meet a few hares and squirrels on the way, but Yu Qiutang's slingshot was not ready yet, so he could only let them go for the time being. It was undoubtedly a pipe dream to catch hares and squirrels by running in the mountains.

Although these little guys have poor stamina, they have high bursts of energy in a short period of time and can accelerate very quickly, making it difficult for humans to catch up.

What’s more, squirrels can climb trees, making them even harder to catch.

But if you are on flat ground, there is still a certain chance of catching up. As long as people run fast, the lack of endurance of these guys will be revealed.

Arriving at the jujube forest, Yu Xiaowei felt as if he had arrived in heaven and immediately began to eat the jujubes.

Yu Qiutang originally wanted to let him play here by himself and find suitable wood by himself, but then he thought that although this was basically still at the foot of the mountain, what if there were wild animals like jackals or foxes that liked to run down the mountain to steal food? Yu Xiaowei was a child after all, and might easily be in danger.

So he had no choice but to let Yu Xiaowei follow closely.

"Uncle, I didn't expect the mountains to be so much fun. I heard them talk about it before, but Grandpa never let us come."

"You are still young. It is fun here, but it is also dangerous... Hey, this one is good."

Yu Qiutang suddenly saw a jujube tree as thick as an adult's calf, which stood out among all the trees.

It was exactly the thickness and straightness he needed. He spent so much time looking for it yesterday but couldn't find it. Today he found it in less than ten minutes. What a lucky guy!
(End of this chapter)