Small Village, Small Town, Big Mountain Chapter 4: A small battle against obstacles in the way
At dawn the next day, the wind was light and the clouds were light.
The young man Zhang Sanbao ate some dry food in a hurry, opened his two astringent and black eyes, and began to search carefully for hard work.
"The ones that are brightly red, have palmately compound leaves, and have oblate spherical fruits..." Zhang Sanbao muttered many times with great interest.
"Huh? The small fruit is black, no."
"It is not a single pinnate compound leaf, even if the leaves are small."
"A pair of pinnately compound leaves, the shapes don't match up either."
"The leaves of the duck paw don't match the shape, nor are they right!"
...
Lonely night.
Zhang Sanbao was alone, gathered around the campfire, listening to the rumblings of hunger, and was lost in thought.
He thought about the oily beef pie and the fluttering peach girl...
"I haven't eaten for three days, my stomach is growling, and I'm very panicked! The sky hasn't turned white yet, and I'm afraid I won't be able to survive today!" The disheveled Zhang Sanbao stared blankly at the bonfire.
He whispered in a confused and haggard voice.
"Eleven days have passed and there is still no sign of ginseng. I am afraid that the parents at home will be worried about the whereabouts of their children!"
"No! If I don't find ginseng to improve my life, I will go home hungry!"
"But if my parents at home are worried and look for me everywhere, it will be terrible."
"No! Without ginseng, my father works hard and becomes thinner and thinner. My mother has to weave linen in the dark and looks haggard!"
"You can easily find ginseng wherever you want to find it. There are many ginseng seekers who have failed."
"It's very pitiful for Xiaobao not to have enough to eat. Besides, at such a young age, he can't stand the torture at all!"
...
The sky turned white.
"At dusk, I will go back home, regardless of whether I have gained something or not." Zhang Sanbao said with a haggard and tired look, but with firm determination.
"Come here, little people, come here, little ginsengs..." Zhang Sanbao endured his hunger and faced the sharp mountain wind, muttering words of blessing.
He bowed his body and walked forward in small steps, searching carefully.
The dry food I prepared at the beginning has already been eaten.
Recently, I have been relying on the pheasants and small animals like mountain rats that I occasionally catch in the mountains to barely satisfy my hunger.
But it was still the next meal, unable to catch up with the previous meal, and he was still suffering from the inhuman treatment of being hungry!
...
dusk.
Zhang Sanbao put the sickle on his waist in frustration.
With fatigue and disappointment, he stood up straight with difficulty and walked in the direction of the return trip down the mountain.
"Pfft!" Zhang Sanbao frowned, and with a strong exertion, a large mouthful of rainwater spurted out from his mouth.
He raised his arms angrily and wiped the rain from the corners of his eyes with the black corners of his clothes.
"In late autumn, it rains heavily. What a weird weather!" Zhang Sanbao grinned and complained angrily.
However, the next moment, something unexpected happened!
Just after Zhang Sanbao complained about the bad weather, his left foot slipped and his body immediately lost its center of gravity!
As a result, he sat down on the ground and slid down.
He braced himself on the ground with both hands, trying to hold on to the plants to stabilize his body.
But God made a joke!
Zhang Sanbao couldn't catch a piece of grass, so he headed down the mountain abruptly, sliding about 3 feet away before he hit a big tree. His limbs stretched forward to stop his body.
At this time, Zhang Sanbao was in such a state of despair that he almost lost control of his emotions and burst out!
However, when he felt a little relieved, his heart thumped again!
He rubbed his eyes vigorously and stared wide-eyed at the plant in front of him: bright red, oblate spherical fruit, palmately compound leaves, and no stipules at the base. It is the "King of Herbs" ginseng.
...
After noon the next day.
At the crossing at the foot of the south side of Beiping Mountain, a large man stood in the middle of the road and blocked the crossing menacingly.
This big man is tall and strong, with a full beard and a bit of fierceness. He has a tiger-head ax on his waist, his upper body is bare and his arms are folded, and his head is tilted. He is very arrogant.
Domineering, staring fiercely at the person coming in front.
The visitor was none other than Zhang Sanbao, who hurried down the mountain after picking ginseng!
At this time, Zhang Sanbao was slovenly, but he was happy. His hands were tightly holding the strip wrapped in cloth.
Seeing the fierce and strong man with a tiger ax blocking the road in the middle of the road, his face tightened and he clenched his hands with a little more strength!
Then he looked weird.
The big man looked at the sloppy young man with twinkling eyes and threatened him coldly and contemptuously.
"Dirty boy, please hand over your belongings before you can leave!"
Zhang Sanbao raised his head and glanced at the big man.
He lowered his head, supported his trembling hands, half-raised the objects in his hands, and slowly walked towards the big man, showing an expression that was both cowardly and frightened.
Seeing the young man's frightened look, the big man's mouth curved up in a cheerful manner, knowing that he had frightened the young man.
Zhang Sanbao walked into the big man and slowly handed over the object in his hand.
The big man laughed out loud when he saw that the interesting young man knew the current affairs. He was quite satisfied with it.
But just when the big man raised his hand, something unexpected happened!
Zhang Sanbao suddenly pulled out his right hand, turned into a fist, and punched upwards with a powerful punch, hitting the big man's cheek.
A burst of brute force mercilessly knocked back the big man several steps!
The big man was knocked unconscious by a sudden punch. He was stunned for a long time before regaining consciousness.
After punching, Zhang Sanbao quickly kicked out his legs and ran down the mountain in a hurry.
"Ouch!" The big man, who had regained consciousness, raised his hand and touched his swollen face, which was suddenly filled with rage.
The big man endured the pain, raised his fierce eyes, and went down the mountain to search for the young man's figure, while making gestures to chase the young man.
But when the big man saw clearly the back of the young man who was still running wildly more than ten feet away, he was stunned.
The big man is a sensible man, but he is in bad luck today because he has encountered a little evil star.
With the speed at which the young man ran, there was no way he could catch up!
Moreover, the strength and speed of the fists punched by the young man were not inferior to his, so how could this not make him fearful.
"Bah! How can that little guy get such strength!"
The big man spit out a mouthful of blood and cursed for a while. Then he gradually lost the anger and unwillingness in his heart, and went down the mountain dejectedly with a swollen face.