Hazelnut is a common dried fruit in the mountains. It is crispy and delicious after being fried with salt and spices.

Huo Qingqing said that she wanted to take some hazelnuts back to the provincial capital to give to her parents as Spring Festival gifts.

In fact, in autumn, I picked up two sacks of hazelnuts early and planned to fry them during the New Year.

Originally, he planned to give it to Huo Qingqing when he left, but Huo Qingqing had to pick it up in person, saying that the hazelnuts obtained in this way were meaningful.

It was hard for me to refuse, so I had no choice but to agree.

Mainly in a remote mountainous area like Laolingou, there really weren't many entertainment options, so I just thought of accompanying her to the mountains to relax.

When Master Sang heard that I was going to take Huo Qingqing into the mountains to pick hazelnuts, he was very "refreshed" and gave me two days off.

The price is that the money spent on buying peach cakes for the Chinese New Year will be deducted from my twelve-and-a-half yuan allowance.

I can only accept this happily, because this old guy has always been very accurate and ruthless in his timing of blackmailing.

I am basically familiar with the mountains and forests around Laolingou. As long as I don't go deep into the old forest, I don't have to worry about getting lost.

However, for safety reasons, we took a big black dog out from the forest farm.

Although there are no traces of tigers in the forest these years, wild animals such as bears, leopards, wolves, and wild boars are still very common.

Huo Qingqing has been living in a big city for these years, and he was so happy when he entered the mountains. There was a sense of freshness everywhere he looked.

"Lin Shisan, there is snow everywhere, where can we find hazelnuts?"

Looking at the white snow in the mountains and forests, Huo Qingqing couldn't help but feel worried.

"Don't worry, I have a solution."

Hazelnuts may be a rare thing in the city, but wild hazelnut trees can be seen everywhere in the mountains of Laolingou.

If it is autumn, just go to the hazelnut tree and pick up ready-made ones.

It is now the twelfth lunar month of winter, and most of the hazelnuts that have fallen under the trees are covered with snow. If you want to eat them, you have to use your brain.

I scanned around the woods and stopped at a dry tree stump.

"found it."

I took out two castor leaves from my pocket, rubbed my hands, and lay down in front of the dry tree stump.

I gently pulled the snow around the wooden pile and pulled out dozens of mountain berries from the hole in the tree.

There are hazelnuts, wild dates, and hawthorn...

"Why are there so many berries under this tree stump? Did you hide them in advance?" Huo Qingqing asked.

"I don't have that much time. These are squirrels' winter food."

After heavy snow closes the mountains, food in the mountains will become very scarce.

Squirrels often collect some mountain fruits and hide them in rock crevices, tree holes, and soil caves before winter comes.

"If we take away the hazelnuts here, won't the squirrels starve to death?" Huo Qingqing looked worried.

"These squirrels are so smart, how could they hide all the food in the same place?

Squirrels usually hide the collected winter food in more than a dozen places.

We don’t take them all, but take three and seven from each squirrel nest we find, so that we can pick up hazelnuts without delaying the squirrels’ winter.

But before digging out a squirrel's nest, be sure to wipe your hands with castor leaves to prevent the berries from being contaminated with the smell of strangers."

I picked out a few plump hazelnuts from a pile of berries and pushed the remaining berries back under the tree stump.

“I didn’t expect there are so many ways to pick up hazelnuts!”

Huo Qingqing looked impressed, with admiration in his eyes.

"There are many taboos in this mountain. If you accidentally violate the taboos, your life will be in danger."

Huo Qingqing was obviously frightened by me and leaned towards me involuntarily.

"Don't worry, I will protect you and make sure you are safe."

Huo Qingqing nodded slightly, with a hint of shyness on her red face.

Whoosh!

A gust of cool wind came and a snowball hit the back of my head.

"who?"

I turned around alertly and glanced towards the dense forest.

There are many wild monkeys in this forest, and they always like to tease people. Could it be that they are being targeted by wild monkeys?

Hooray!

A burly figure wearing canvas overalls jumped down from an old pine tree not far away.

A tall man of 1.8 meters, in his early twenties, holding a steel fork in his hand.

"Xue Bin!"

Xue Bin was the king of children in the forest farm when he was young, two or three years older than me.

When I was young, my father was the captain of the logging team, and he led many people to bully me.

What is this guy doing here? Is he trying to bring trouble on me again?

Later, I was sent to the town to study by Mr. Sang, and Xue Bin inherited his father's legacy and joined the logging team, so the two of them rarely saw each other.

As the saying goes, after seeing each other for three days, you should see each other with new eyes.

I have learned a lot of skills from Mr. Sang in the past few years, and now that I am starting to do it, I really don’t hate him.

"What are you here for?"

Xue Bin raised the corner of his mouth and walked towards us with a smile on his face.

"Don't be nervous, Brother Bin, I am now the backbone of the logging team, and I won't bully you, a little kid.

I heard that Comrade Huo from the cultural troupe was going to the mountains to collect hazelnuts. Party Secretary Wu was a little worried and asked me to protect her safety."

Xue Bin shook the steel fork in his hand, as if to show off to Huo Qingqing.

"Comrade Huo, my name is Xue Bin, and my father is the captain of the logging team.

As long as I protect you, all the wolves, tigers and leopards in this mountain will have to take a detour."

Xue Bin showed his hospitality with a smile on his face. Even a fool could tell that this guy was probably a drunkard and was not interested in drinking.

"Sorry! Let's just pick up some hazelnuts nearby. It's enough for Lin Shisan to protect me,"

Huo Qingqing obviously didn't buy Xue Bin's offer.

When he came up and was rejected, Xue Bin looked a little unhappy.

"Comrade Huo, I know a place where there are a lot of hazelnuts. I'll show you the way..."

Regardless of whether we agreed or not, Xue Bin took the initiative to lead the way with the steel fork in hand.

After all, Xue Bin was sent by Party Secretary Wu, so it's not easy for us to expel him.

After walking with Xue Bin for a while, I saw the surrounding mountains and forests and the rising fog.

"Xue Bin, there are many wild beasts in this mountain, we'd better not go too far?" I couldn't help but remind him.

Xue Bin looked disdainful and pointed towards the hillside not far away.

"Comrade Huo, look at the big pine tree on the top of the slope in front. There are many holes under the tree.

It’s full of hazelnuts, so we can pick up half the sack in a while, which is much faster than digging out a squirrel’s nest.”

Looking in the direction Xue Bin pointed, a dry old pine tree sat on the hillside.

The rhizome of this old pine tree is like a big grinding wheel, and dense vines are wrapped around the trunk.

Under the blowing of the mountain wind, the branches swayed and a whining sound was heard, just like a ghost crying.

The roots of the old pine tree are intertwined, and the dense roots pile up a large bumpkin about ten meters in diameter.

From a distance, it looks like a huge tomb.

"Isn't this the Big Pine Tomb?"
Chapter completed!