After resting for a day, Xu Yang was full of energy.
Early the next morning at six o'clock, Xu Yang got up early, put on jeans, black sneakers, a black windbreaker, packed his backpack, and gathered his supplies, ready to head into the mountains.
It was the season when the ginseng's leaves had grown out, which was the best time for harvesting ginseng.
Once the leaves withered and the ginseng buried itself in the ground, it would become undetectable.
Just as he finished packing and stepped out of the house, Little Black Dog, hearing the commotion, adorably barked and ran over from its kennel.
"You sure have sharp ears, little fella."
"What are you thinking? Coming with me into the mountains?"
Xu Yang crouched down, looking at the pitch-black dog resembling a lump of coal, and smiled as he asked.
Little Black Dog lifted its head, its little tail wagging furiously, and let out a couple of whimpering barks in agreement.
"The place we're going to today is very far, getting into the mountains alone will take three hours—you won't be able to keep up."
"Stay home and behave, I'll feed you when I come back tonight," Xu Yang said, patting Little Black's head with a smile.
The little guy had more energy than Xu Yang had imagined.
Moreover, his physical condition was quite good; he was a fine dog.
However, the distance into the mountains was too great, and the puppy's stamina was not up to it; after all, he was still nursing and not yet at the age where he could accompany Xu Yang on his mountain treks.
Then, Xu Yang fed Little Black some milk, left the yard, and made sure to lock the gate behind him.
Even though it was only six in the morning, the day was already bright in the mountain village, and many villagers had started to work in their fields.
In summer, it begins to heat up at around 11 a.m., and it stays hot all afternoon, so the best time to work is just after waking up in the morning.
Finish the chores that need doing, eat breakfast, and then there's nothing to do all afternoon, allowing for a good afternoon nap.
In the evening, take care of the cattle, the sheep, or other tasks.
And just like that, another day goes by.
Xu Yang kept walking out.
He turned on the drone and started a live broadcast.
The live broadcast title read, "Heading into the mountains to dig for ginseng... en route..."
The more often he could broadcast, the more popularity value he could accumulate.
Xu Yang carried the Twelve God Flower Dew with him and sprayed it on his hands, arms, and neck, fully repelling the invasion of insects.
Although the broadcast started early, people quickly joined the live chat room.
[The host is up early!]
[Everyone's up early! Came so early!]
[Just got on the subway in the Capital City, it's like this every day!]
[Ah? I haven't slept yet, just stayed up all night getting ready to go to bed!]
[.....]
The viewers in the live broadcast room were chatting casually.
Everyone's lifestyle was different, and it was fate that brought them together in the live broadcast room.
Xu Yang wasn't paying attention to the live chat; he was solely focused on making his way quickly.
The forest was still bursting with life, with many plants growing taller than a person.
Occasionally, birds flew from the trees, the sound of their wings flapping filtering through the air.
Changbai Mountain was home to many birds, most of them birds of prey.
Many birds of prey hunted in the grasslands but nested on Changbai Mountain.
Continuing on this way, about 8:30 in the morning...
The number of people in the live broadcast room stabilized between eight to nine hundred.
There were still many people watching his broadcast.
It was then that Xu Yang actually took a paper map out of his backpack and compared it to the map on his phone.
Seeing this scene, the audience in the live broadcast room were momentarily dumbfounded.
Wait, what's going on?
A paper map?
Is this retro?
In fact, after using the Treasure Compass before, Xu Yang made a note of the map coordinates.
It was inconvenient to mark them on his phone map, so Xu Yang simply printed out a paper map and drew a three-kilometer radius on it.
This would avoid the areas scanned by the Treasure Compass being repeated.
"Paper maps are more convenient for making marks. When I find some Chinese herbs, I'll mark them on the map," Xu Yang explained to everyone.
"If I don't find any treasures in this Mountain Rush, I can gather some herbs to take back."
"Though they're not worth much, it's better than returning empty-handed."
"When you're out Mountain Rushing, you should always come back with something."
Xu Yang put away the map and continued explaining to the viewers.
When they heard what he said, the netizens suddenly saw the light.
[See that? This is what you call professional!]
[I get it, completely different from those who fish without a backup plan, if you can't catch fish, you still have to bring back something else.]
[The host's got something, and a lot of it!]
[This really is professional! It's my first time seeing a mountain runner like this, seems so cool!]
Xu Yang determined his direction from the map, managing to avoid the area he had previously scanned.
In fact, a radius of three kilometers wasn't too far, easy to avoid.
Xu Yang confirmed his target location on the paper map, then marked it on his phone's map, and set off, following the phone's navigation.
Combining technology with primitive methods.
Fully leveraging the advantages of both.
Definitely professional.
Of course, once the location was set, he couldn't appear too purpose-driven, he always had to search around a bit first.
Xu Yang continued on his way, and seeing the increasing number of people in his livestream, he began introducing the herbs and wild fruits he encountered along the way.
The variety of plants in the forest was overwhelming.
At this moment, Xu Yang made another discovery.
He walked up to a cluster of bushes, squatted down, pointed to the blue fruits laden on the bush, and said with a smile,
"Look at this, this is some good stuff."
"This is a wild fruit that grows in Changbai Mountain, its scientific name is Blueberry, also known as Mountain Eggplant."
"Around here, we call it Black Bear Fruit."
"This fruit is really tasty, sour and sweet."
"It looks a bit like a blueberry, but its value is much higher than that of blueberries."
"Haven't seen it for a long time."
As he spoke, Xu Yang picked some of the blue fruits from the bush. He quickly wiped the fruits' outer skin, then put all the small fruits into his mouth.
Instantly, a burst of sweet and sour taste exploded from within his mouth.
The sourness was similar to that of sour plum candy, even a little bit would make one's mouth water.
The sensation of sweet and sour was very pure.
Seeing his reaction, the netizens also grew interested.
[Is it really that tasty? Can I buy it online?]
[Can someone confirm if what the host is saying is true?]
[Black Bear Fruit is indeed delicious, its nutritional value is 10 times that of blueberries, and even astronauts eat it!]
[I've tried it, it has a sour-sweet taste, really nice!]
After eating a few more wild fruits, Xu Yang glanced at the chat.
Xu Yang said with a smile,
"Some people do specialize in cultivating and picking these, and it's available online, but the ones purchased online are not very good."
"Because their skin is very delicate, the slightest touch can break them, causing the juice to burst out."
"So, when Black Bear Fruits are boxed, by the time they are bought, it's guaranteed they'd be a mix of flesh and juice."
"You don't even have to wash them, just add some sugar or honey and soak them in water to drink."
"It's only in their place of origin that you can enjoy plump Black Bear Fruits."
Hearing Xu Yang's explanation, many people dropped the idea of buying them.
Adding honey and soaking in water sounded troublesome, and it wasn't necessary anyway, given that milk tea, coffee and such would definitely taste better than fruit-soaked water.
Fruit is best eaten fresh.
The blue fruits on the bush were like a supply point.
After eating some, Xu Yang felt his energy somewhat restored.
"I still need to continue searching for ginseng."
"I left home at 6 a.m. today just to rush the mountain to find some mountain goods."
"My luck has always been good; I wonder if it will stay that way today."
Xu Yang began searching more carefully.
He took a stick and occasionally swept aside some weeds.
When he arrived at the predetermined location, Xu Yang decided to use the Treasure Compass.
He opted to use it just once.
Soon, a treasure's coordinates appeared on his phone's map.
Not far from him.
Xu Yang wondered what this positioning would reveal.
Meanwhile, he continued searching while quickly approaching the treasure's location.