Shen Yao had already prepared things for everyone when she decided to take them up the mountain.
First, they had to wear clothes, pants, and sneakers, and it was best to wear masks to avoid scratching their faces.
She also prepared plastic bags and small backpacks and baskets for them to choose from, along with several sickles and small knives, and a pair of gloves for each girl.
A group of people entered the mountain mightily. Shen Yao walked in front, telling them about anything strange she saw, or they would ask Shen Yao if they encountered anything unfamiliar.
Walking and stopping, Shen Yao saw several clumps of pi bo zi, also called xian suan zi. Shen Yao cut them down with a sickle and distributed some to everyone.
These pi bo zi might grow in shady places, so not all of them were ripe, and many were still raw.
"This is called pi bo zi. The ripe ones can be eaten. Remember to spit out the seeds. I'll find some bamboo later to make some fun things for you."
After Shen Yao finished speaking, everyone heard that the fruit was edible and eagerly picked a few and put them in their mouths. They were sour and sweet and quite delicious, but there was too little flesh.
No one had ever eaten this kind of fruit before, so they found it very novel. Some even tried the green pi bo zi, which made their faces pucker up with sourness.
Shen Yao led them further up the mountain for a while and found a large bamboo forest. Shen Yao picked and cut down the ends of several bamboos.
Then she cut off bamboo segments about the same size as the pi bo zi.
She left a joint at one end and cut it off at the other. Then, she left about three or four centimeters at the end with the joint and cut it off. On the side with the joint, she inserted a sharpened wooden stick, leaving 5 millimeters of the stick longer than the bamboo tube.
Shen Yao took a pi bo zi and placed it at one end of the bamboo tube, pushing it in with the wooden stick until it reached the bottom. Then she took another one and placed it at the mouth of the bamboo tube on top, pressing down hard.
With a "pop," everyone looked at Shen Yao in shock. They hadn't expected her to make a small toy in just a few moves, and it looked very fun!
Then, after Shen Yao demonstrated a few more times, everyone expressed their desire to make one themselves. After a slight delay, everyone had a pi bo tong in their hands.
"Don't shoot at people. It will itch if you hit someone."
However, Shen Yao's reminder was not very effective, so she let them play as they pleased.
Along the way, those who hadn't had enough fun saw them stopping and walking, and they would stop to pick some pi bo zi for them if they saw any.
Shen Yao led them further ahead for a while. Shen Yao had come to this place when she was young. She remembered that there were several wild huang ya guo here. Because the peel of this fruit would secrete yellow juice, which would stain teeth if not careful, it got this name.
There were two types of huang ya guo. One had a very thick peel. When ripe, the flesh was extremely sweet, but the peel was very sour. People often used the peel of this type to pickle it into dried fruit. (The author's mouth was watering as she typed.)
The other type had a thin peel. The flesh of this type was not particularly sweet when ripe, but the flesh was larger and thicker, and the peel could not be eaten.
The place Shen Yao found had both types of huang ya guo, and this season was the ripe season.
As expected, Shen Yao found them after a while – those huang ya guo trees.
"This wild fruit is called huang ya guo. It's quite delicious. Everyone can pick some."
After speaking, Shen Yao ignored them because she discovered several olive trees and oilgans fruit trees not far away.
Because people's living conditions had improved, many people no longer went up the mountain to pick these wild fruits. The wild olive tree had dropped fruit all over the ground.
Shen Yao had many bags with her, including a snakeskin bag, which came in handy. She cut down a small eucalyptus tree nearby. Eucalyptus trees grow particularly straight, so they were perfect for knocking down fruit.
Shen Yao spread the bags under the olive trees and then used a wooden stick to knock on the olive trees. "Swish swish swish," the olives fell down like crazy. Soon, they attracted everyone's attention.
Many people recognized olives and came to help pick them up. Some people followed Shen Yao's instructions to pick oilgans fruit, and everyone became busy at once.
After more than an hour, Shen Yao finally finished picking all the wild fruits in this area. Because there were too many, everyone decided to pack up and go back.
Upon returning to the guesthouse, everyone put their things together. Shen Yao then asked the waiter to clean them up and put them in the pavilion, where anyone who wanted to eat could take them.
When everyone learned that Shen Yao had led them to pick fruits on the mountain, they all looked regretful that they had missed such fun!
After this one time, many people wanted Shen Yao to take them up the mountain again, but they were all refused by the Shen family.
They strictly forbade Shen Yao from going up the mountain again, threatening to lock her up at home if she was caught. However, to prevent everyone from returning disappointed, Shen Huaisang was sent to take them to play.
Shen Yao was reprimanded and dared not say a word, only obediently agreeing.
At 6 p.m., Shen Yao drove to the airport to pick up her second brother, Shen Huaijin, who was returning home.
No matter where Shen Yao stood, her appearance was the most striking, so Shen Huaijin, dragging his suitcase, quickly spotted her.
Shen Yao, dressed in a white dress, stood tall and graceful, like a beautiful scenery.
"Yaoyao," Shen Huaijin called out.
Unlike her elder brother and third brother who called her "little sister," her second brother always called her Yaoyao.
"Second brother," Shen Yao called out with a smile, then her gaze swept over him.
With just one glance, Shen Yao noticed something was wrong with Shen Huaijin. The aura around him was unstable, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.
However, there were too many people there, so Shen Yao did not check him directly.
Along the way, Shen Huaijin was very lethargic and seemed drowsy, so Shen Yao did not disturb him.
When they returned home, Shen Yao finally woke up the sleeping Shen Huaijin.
Shen Huaijin suddenly opened his eyes and relaxed when he saw his younger sister.
As soon as the car stopped, the Shen family members came out of the house. They took the luggage from Shen Yao's hands and let Shen Huaijin enter.
Shen Huaijin stood in his own yard, noticed the obviously changed guesthouse next door, and then entered the house.
After sitting down, he noticed something was wrong. He realized that his parents looked much younger, only around 30 years old!
Moreover, the scar on his elder sister-in-law's forehead was gone, and his elder brother and third brother had also become much fairer.
What had happened in the family over the past two years?
Sensing Shen Huaijin's confusion, no one gave him an explanation. Instead, they told him to eat dinner and then chat.
Shen Huaijin, who had initially said he had no appetite, felt hungry after smelling the dishes prepared by his elder brother.
While eating, he felt that his elder brother's cooking skills had improved by more than a little!