Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 169 - 168: Pine Tree Yellow and Mountain Potato, Today’s Big Harvest!

Chapter 169: Chapter 168: Pine Tree Yellow and Mountain Potato, Today’s Big Harvest!

Today’s mountain rush was purely to look for treasures.

It had been a long time since I enjoyed the pleasure of foraging for mountain goods.

However, the variety of mountain goods in autumn was too extensive, and most were not very valuable. After all, others could easily find mountain goods too, so the advantage wasn’t significant.

There were still plenty of good things in the mountains, visible everywhere.

Xu Yang didn’t pick many mountain goods because he simply couldn’t carry them away.

After all, he ventured deep into the mountains and had to travel long distances, so it wasn’t easy to transport a basket full of mushrooms and the like.

After walking a few steps, there appeared a pine forest ahead.

He just glanced over it casually and already spotted some good items.

"Look at these pines, these things that look a bit like Lingzhi are called Pine Tree Yellow."

"This stuff only grows in pine forests of larch trees."

"Its scientific name is Pine Needle Layer Porous Fungus, but we call it Pine Tree Yellow, and we use it to make a tea."

"Find a small pot, soak these in it, and you can drink it for a long time, it’s good for the health," Xu Yang pointed at the tough mushrooms growing on the surface of the pine tree and explained.

"I know everyone is wondering how much this stuff costs; the cheap ones are 20 per pound, the expensive ones 100 per pound, depends on the size."

"Like the ones on this tree, I estimate they could sell for forty or fifty per pound," Xu Yang added.

Having said that, everyone became acquainted with Pine Tree Yellow.

That’s what the netizens were thinking.

Don’t talk about the useless stuff, just tell us what these mountain goods are good for and how much they’re worth.

Forty or fifty per pound, that’s not a low price.

If one were to gather ten or twenty pounds, wouldn’t that sell for four or five hundred yuan?

[Collecting all these Pine Tree Yellows, Old Xu’s going to make a few hundred more bucks?]

[It’s so easy to make money in the mountains? I want to go too!]

[This isn’t easy, those who can enter the mountains are no ordinary people.]

[Don’t be fooled by Old Xu, he is experienced and also lucky, not every mountain runner makes that much money!]

Everyone was commenting in the live stream room.

Xu Yang looked up at the Pine Tree Yellows on the pine tree; some were quite high up and needed to be poked down with a stick.

Sticks were everywhere.

You could just pick up a long one off the ground.

"Pine Tree Yellow isn’t easy to get down, it’s pretty firm, let me try," Xu Yang said, wielding a long branch and poking vigorously upwards.

Fortunately, with just one poke, a Pine Tree Yellow fell.

The mountains still had plenty of good stuff.

Xu Yang poked down a few more.

"I’m out of Pine Tree Yellow at home, might as well pick some myself, too lazy to go to the market to buy them," Xu Yang said while picking and storing all the Pine Tree Yellows grown on the pine tree.

They weighed about three or four pounds in total, worth over a hundred yuan—not bad at all.

Subsequently, Xu Yang kept wandering in the mountains.

In this season, some people specifically look for pine forests to pick Pine Tree Yellow; sometimes you have to run around for several days, looking in different areas, as not all pine forests have them.

But if you find them, you can pick a lot and make a few hundred yuan.

During this period, mountain runners were quite active, but Xu Yang, busy with farm affairs, hadn’t been rushing the mountains much.

Today, he could take a good look around.

He continued to walk further in.

The forest was a bit cold, with the wind whistling; Xu Yang didn’t feel much and even found it refreshing.

Strolling through the forest, he felt more relaxed.

The colder season is relatively safe in the woods.

All animals are busy preparing for winter, probably in the last phase of hoarding.

Not only squirrels hoard, but many small animals do so as well, getting ready for the winter.

The forest was entering a busy season.

"Haven’t seen many animals along the way, just silly roe deer, hardly any wild boars,"

"I wonder where they’ve all gone."

"Squirrels and birds have become less numerous as well."

"Seems like the animals don’t move around much when the weather turns cold, probably resting in their nests."

"If they really get hungry, then they will come out to look for food."

"Winter is quite tough; I hope all the animals in the forest survive."

"If some animals come to my farm, I will help feed them when the time comes," Xu Yang mused as he looked into the depths of the jungle, speaking unhurriedly.

He walked on for a bit longer.

This place was somewhat unfamiliar, so Xu Yang decided to use the Treasure Compass.

Then, following the guide of the Treasure Compass, he looked for mountain goods.

This time his luck wasn’t as good; he found an area where Schizandra grew in abundance.

Schizandra was an old acquaintance, found often, and Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to pick them.

Mainly because he couldn’t transport them.

"Spotted a large patch of Schizandra again, too bad it’s deep in the mountains. If it were outside my farm, I’d drive the tractor right over," Xu Yang sighed with a tinge of regret.

[Haha, Old Xu, why don’t you just bring an excavator!]

[All good stuff, too bad it can’t be taken!]

[It’s better that it can’t be taken, can’t let him pick up every good thing!]

[Old Xu’s knowledge about mountain rushing is really unparalleled, feels like he knows everything.]

Seeing that this was of no use, Xu Yang continued to walk through the mountains, looking for mountain goods.

There’s a saying in the mountains, "So long as you’re willing to look down, you needn’t worry about food and drink."

It’s what the mountain runners themselves say.

Pay extra attention to the surroundings of trees and in the thickets, and you’re always likely to find something good.

As Xu Yang walked, his eyes remained fixed on the ground, not missing a single leaf or clump of grass.

He continued deep into the forest until, after another ten or so minutes, he suddenly stopped.

Standing beneath a very large tree, he looked up, high into the canopy.

There was a bird’s nest there.

It was a Black Kite’s nest.

Xu Yang looked up to see that the Black Kite Mother was perched above the nest, watching her surroundings with vigilance.

Before, the two Black Kites had to care for three eggs, so they both had to go out hunting, otherwise, they couldn’t feed their chicks adequately.

Now, with only one chick left, they could take turns hunting, with one always guarding the nest.

That sole surviving chick was the one Xu Yang had saved; otherwise, it would have been a tragedy.

The system had said that once spring arrived and the little Black Kite could fly, it would come to the farm and grow close to Xu Yang.

After all, Xu Yang had saved its life, so it made sense for the bird to feel close to him.

Seeing the Black Kite Mother there, Xu Yang dismissed the idea of climbing the tree.

He didn’t want to risk scaring the Black Kite family.

Xu Yang looked up, listening, as a string of immature birdcalls sounded from the nest, high-pitched and crisp.

This indicated that the little Black Kite was growing strong.

Knowing this was enough for him.

He hoped it would grow up quickly.

Inside the nest, the Black Kite Mother looked at the little Black Kite with some confusion.

Why was the little one suddenly so excited?

The little Black Kite hadn’t fully grown its feathers yet and looked rather bare and somewhat ugly.

All birds are like this, looking unattractive during their chick phase, but they become beautiful once they grow their feathers.

The opposite is true for mammals; most mammals are particularly cute when young, especially as babies, when they are irresistibly charming.

The drone was live streaming this scene.

The online viewers couldn’t see the nest, so they had no idea what Xu Yang was looking at.

Nor did anyone remember that he had once saved a bird egg here.

After all, they couldn’t tell one tree from another, so they couldn’t remember this particular tree.

Xu Yang lingered for a short while, then continued onward.

He chose a path he hadn’t taken before, entering an unfamiliar part of the forest, continuing to use the Treasure Compass to search for treasures.

The next two finds were not items he could take with him, which was normal since the Treasure Compass didn’t always find good things.

It wasn’t until he entered another part of the forest that Xu Yang decided to use the Treasure Compass one last time.

He didn’t have high hopes, but fate took a turn, and what he found was beyond his expectation.

Rarely, he found something good again.

Xu Yang couldn’t help laughing.

"Got something, this trip wasn’t in vain!" Xu Yang said with a smile.

Many of the longtime fans in the live stream room knew Xu Yang’s habits like the back of their hand.

Seeing him laugh, they knew he had found something good!

[Oh man, what good stuff did he find this time? Could it be Wild Ginseng?]

[Could he be getting rich again?]

[Old Xu, what did you find?]

[There’s nothing in this place!]

The viewers responded one after another.

Now, it was clear that the viewers were afraid of Xu Yang getting rich.

When he first started live streaming, the viewers really hoped Xu Yang would find good things, feeling he deserved a break due to his hard work.

Now, everyone knew Xu Yang was incredibly skilled at finding things and even owned a farm, so they almost wished he would come up empty, taking pleasure in his misfortune.

It was a culture of its own.

When you seem down on your luck, they wish you well; but when you’re doing exceptionally well, they hope you don’t do quite so well.

At that moment, Xu Yang squatted down, pointing at the scattered green leaves on the ground, and said:

"Look at these leaves, these are good stuff."

"This plant is amazing, during winter, its leaves are green, even in snowy weather."

"But come summer, the green leaves turn yellow and wither."

"So it’s hard to find in summer, but in the cold autumn, the leaves turn green and are easier to spot."

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s words, the viewers were stupefied again.

What?

What is this?

How can the forest be full of such odd things?

Leaves that are green in winter but wither in summer.

Do such plants even exist?

The green leaves were long and narrow. Xu Yang dug into the ground and, holding onto the leaves, pulled up the item buried beneath.

The thing dangling from below was a white fruit, not looking so white due to the dirt that covered it.

"You just take this little bit from below, the leaves are useless."

"Locally, we call it ’Ice Ball’, also known as Mountain potato, the scientific name being Mao Cigu."

"This plant has high medicinal value, especially these wild ones, which are even more valuable."

"Mountain potato is not easy to find, but once you do, you’ll find a lot of it."

"The current buying price at our market is 130 yuan per kilogram; I asked specifically."

When Xu Yang frequented the mountain goods market, he also chatted with others, so he knew a lot about the prices of various mountain goods.

Most mountain products have transparent pricing, and nearly everyone knows how much they go for.

A few items like genuine Wild Ginseng or Natural musk have a smaller market presence with fewer transactions, making their prices less transparent.

When they heard 130 yuan per kilogram, the viewers actually breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, it was a relief that what he found wasn’t worth hundreds of thousands.

In reality, while there were many treasures in the mountains, it was extremely rare to sell ginseng for tens of thousands, and even rarer for the price to reach a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand.

While one could make money with these finds, the chance of striking it rich was about the same as winning the lottery.

Of course, with the Treasure Compass as his cheat code, Xu Yang had already hit the jackpot a few times.