Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 347 - 346: Enjoying the Crisp Autumn Air as We Sun-Dried Persimmons, A Challenge for the Whole Network?!

Chapter 347: Chapter 346: Enjoying the Crisp Autumn Air as We Sun-Dried Persimmons, A Challenge for the Whole Network?!

Xu Yang woke up the next day without knowing what had happened on the farm at night.

He stepped out into the courtyard and saw the dogs looking at him, assuming these guys were just their usual adorable selves.

Always so lovable.

Xu Yang fed them some food and then planned to make a trip to the village.

Today, they were going to pick persimmons.

The autumn weather was crisp and just right, perfect for making persimmon cakes.

Xu Yang called on Little Black and Maquan, and they all headed towards the village, strolling along the way.

A few villagers with bamboo baskets on their backs were approaching from the opposite direction.

They were heading to Mountain Rushing.

In autumn, the mountains had plenty of wild vegetables and fruits, making it great to dig some up and bring them back.

Xu Yang also picked some wild vegetables if he ran into them while visiting Leopard.

Now, he wasn’t Mountain Rushing to make money; he simply dug up whatever he felt like eating.

Like today, he was just going to a villager’s house to pick some persimmons.

The farmer was named Ma Liang, and he had a good relationship with Xu Hongshan, so Xu Yang was also familiar with his house.

The persimmon trees in Ma Liang’s yard had ripened these past few days, making it the perfect time to pick them.

Naturally, Xu Yang was happy to come over.

Little Black and Yuanbao joyfully followed.

Along the way, they encountered the Pasture Dog gang, who all looked at Little Black and Yuanbao.

The Pasture Dogs invited them to play together.

After hesitating, they decided to stay with Xu Yang.

Having a master sure made a difference.

Soon, Xu Yang arrived at Ma Liang’s courtyard, where several tall persimmon trees stood.

"Xu Yang, you’re here,"

Ma Liang greeted him with a cheerful smile.

Now Xu Yang was the big boss, able to lend a hand in anything, so everyone was happy to interact with him.

"Yeah, picking some persimmons, ’cause you can’t buy these big ones outside,"

Xu Yang responded with a smile.

"The persimmons aren’t ripe yet, they’re a bit sour, and need a couple more days."

"Or you could pick them and let them sit for a few days."

Ma Liang promptly suggested.

"No problem, that’ll be enough; I’m planning to make some persimmon cakes for snacks,"

Xu Yang said, looking at the persimmons on the tree.

The persimmons on the tree were not small; they would be delicious made into persimmon cakes.

"Sure, go ahead and pick, take whatever you want."

"The persimmons I grow are absolutely fine; you won’t find better ones in the surrounding villages,"

Ma Liang spoke a bit smugly.

"That’s indeed true."

Xu Yang admitted that point.

Ma Liang’s persimmons were indeed delicious.

Then, he began picking the persimmons.

The individual persimmons were quite large and only a few filled the plastic bag to bulging.

Xu Yang felt he must pick at least two bags full to really enjoy them.

At that moment, Little Black saw a persimmon that had fallen and smashed on the ground, definitely not fit for human consumption.

Little Black moved closer and licked the skin of the persimmon.

That lick made it grimace and whimper.

It felt as if its mouth was filled with something unclean.

Yuanbao saw it and watched curiously, with a look that seemed to ask:

"What’s wrong, got bewitched?"

Xu Yang couldn’t help but laugh,

"The persimmons are unripe and a bit tart, they make your mouth uncomfortable."

Then, he fetched a basin of water for Little Black to wash its tongue, which made it feel better.

In this area, persimmons were a great treat.

They could be made into persimmon cakes or frozen persimmons.

Basically, it was a standard fixture in every household during the winter New Year’s celebrations.

Xu Yang loved eating them as a child, especially during the New Year when the family would prepare a plastic basket filled with sunflower seeds, peanuts, candies, and persimmon cakes, that seemed to be a staple in every household, brought out every New Year.

Xu Yang especially loved the persimmon cakes, feeling they were the best part.

Even now, he found it quite nostalgic.

Over the past few years, his tastes had changed, preferring rock candy oranges, eating lots of them while watching the Spring Festival Gala.

Many villagers grew persimmons, but Ma Liang’s were the largest.

Xu Yang, having picked two bags, bid farewell to Ma Liang and left with the persimmons.

This was a common occurrence here.

With close relations amongst the farmers, it was quite normal to give and pick whenever something ripened.

Every year during the New Year, Xu Yang would prepare New Year’s goods for farm staff and also buy some for Xu Hongshan to distribute as favors, including from Ma Liang.

Some people preferred the indifference of big cities, while others cherished the human interactions in the village.

Each had its charm.

Xu Yang, carrying the persimmons, happily strolled back home.

He was relaxed every day since he didn’t have to go to work.

Drying persimmons was also a nice activity, and Xu Yang planned to update a video by asking Li Shan to come over and film it.

Li Shan, despite his wobbly legs, had very steady hands.

His video stabilization could rival that of a tripod.

"I need to update some videos, the backend is flooded with countless private messages every day."

"If I don’t show up soon, I might get scolded."

After Xu Yang called over Li Shan, he arranged the filming.

He fetched several peelers from the kitchen to peel the persimmons, and while doing so, he explained to the camera:

"Today, I’m going to dry some persimmon cakes. These are big persimmons I picked from our village, you won’t see this size outside often."

"Drying them ourselves makes them taste even better."

While speaking, Xu Yang was peeling the persimmons.

This was quite a meticulous task.

But Xu Yang was naturally skilled with his hands, so it wasn’t long before he had cleanly peeled the persimmons.

Actually, there are tricks to drying persimmons.

If well done, the dried persimmons turn out bright red and appetizing.

If not, they just become dark lumps.

Xu Yang knew the tricks to dry persimmons.

First, make sure the skin is completely peeled off to let the moisture evaporate faster.

Then, boil them in boiling water for 30 seconds to disinfect and kill germs.

After that, just put them outside to dry.

You have to choose a time when it’s sunny for several consecutive days, then the dried persimmons turn out the best.

After Xu Yang finished his work, he placed the persimmons in a well-ventilated, dry spot against the wall, covered with a thin mesh to prevent birds from eating them.

Birds are quite fond of persimmons.

At this moment, Tabby Cat Sang Biao showed up right away.

It jumped onto the wall, came over to sniff at the bamboo basket with persimmons, seemingly curious about the treat.

"Sang Biao, you can’t eat it now!"

"You have to watch out for it, don’t let the sparrows steal it."

"I’ll give you some when they’re dried."

Xu Yang patted Tabby Cat’s head to comfort it.

After being petted a few times, the Tabby Cat gave up exploring the taste of the persimmons.

Once all the work was done, Xu Yang edited the video briefly and posted it under his video account.

He also hinted at going on a Mountain Rushing trip in a few days.

Immediately, the comment section exploded.

"He’s alive, Old Xu is back!"

"Such low key, you’ve been trending for so many days and didn’t show up!"

"Ha ha, just chilling on the farm drying persimmons!"

"I saw a passerby’s perspective, Old Xu is pretty laid-back, just strolling around the village with dogs!"

"Is there a lottery for these persimmons? I want to taste!"

The comment section was bustling, Xu Yang took a moment to browse through, and didn’t reply to many, but to the one who wanted to taste the persimmons, Xu Yang replied:

"No lottery, I’m eating them myself."

Seeing his blunt reply, everyone wanted them even more.

Now being in the limelight, many people were inspired by Xu Yang’s video and began drying persimmons too.

Those who loved life started buying persimmons and recorded their own drying process.

However, everyone’s results were quite bizarre.

Two days later.

Xu Yang checked his dried persimmon cakes, only to see them red and plump, even with a layer of white frost at the bottom!

That was top-notch persimmon cake!

It didn’t need any seasoning, perfect to eat as is.

Xu Yang posted another video; seeing such perfect persimmon cakes made everyone envious.

"Oh my, they look so tasty!"

"Old Xu’s skills are amazing!"

"How does this man know how to do everything!"

"Are you going to send it over, or should I come and steal some?"

Everyone commented enthusiastically.

Xu Yang’s persimmon post got a lot of likes.

Afterward, even more fun things happened.

Many netizens also shared their dried persimmons online.

Netizen A: "Can someone tell me why my persimmons are all black and wrinkly, they look terrible."

Someone replied: "For real, if you hadn’t said, I’d think those were dried turds..."

Netizen B: "Could someone tell me why there’s a green frost at the bottom of my persimmons?"

Someone replied: "That looks like mold, amazing, you managed to dry persimmons and grow mold, must be quite moist around there!"

The wildly varied results made everyone realize that drying persimmons was indeed a skillful task.

There are indeed tricks to it!

And it had to be Xu Yang.

Xu Yang had also seen many dried persimmon videos.

He found them very amusing.

Especially the "dried turds" and "moldy persimmons" ones—those videos got almost as many likes as his own.

Xu Yang even liked one of the videos.

The original poster was overwhelmed and expressed a desire to learn more from Xu Yang about drying persimmons.

Hoping to achieve beautifully red persimmons next time.

Just like the ones Xu Yang dried.