Chapter 227 Tremella

She quickly thought of a reason and used a reed to pick out a pearl wrapped in amber syrup and motioned for everyone to see.

"Look, this is a pearl. Crystal clear, round and smooth, isn't it almost like a real pearl? Let's use this as a metaphor to elevate the drink's value."

"I see, there are indeed some similarities."

Sang Xingjia took a look and found that it was true. The pearls would emit a layer of lustrous light under the light, and the small balls in the milk tea also glowed, which really lived up to the name of pearls.

Seeing that he believed her, Sang Yu chuckled and continued, "There's more than just pearl milk tea. Konjac can also be made into small balls similar to pearls, and they taste just as good."

Sang Yongjing suddenly remembered the basket of pears they had bought together: "Can those pears be made into pear juice milk tea?"

Oh, her father is sometimes quite smart and even understands the production routine of milk tea in later generations.

Unfortunately, she didn't plan to make pear juice milk tea. In the era when there were no juicers, manually squeezing juice was too labor-intensive, so rock sugar and snow pear juice were more suitable.

She shook her head slightly: "No, pears are used to make rock candied snow pears."

Rock sugar? A new term has emerged. It seems that every time Sang Yu can easily think of a variety of new snacks.

Although he said he wanted to make candied pears, Sang Yu had no intention of actually making candied pears.

In fact, rock sugar has two more steps than ordinary malt sugar: one is crystallization and the other is decolorization.

The taste is not much different, but the appearance of rock sugar looks crystal clear like ice crystals, which is purer, and it will not have a reddish brown color when used to make food.

Although the hanging line method is good, it takes too long and is too troublesome.

She should just use malt sugar, which saves time, effort and worry.

Rock sugar and snow pear is a simple and easy to make nourishing dessert for autumn and winter. Even a kitchen novice can make it easily, let alone Sang Yu.

Even so, there is still a big problem, that is, there is one ingredient that is not available on the market.

Sang Yu had a good idea at first. For rock sugar snow pear, he could just stuff the whole pear with ingredients like white fungus, red dates, and wolfberry. After stewing, it would look both good and delicious.

But she never imagined that Tremella fuciformis was not available for purchase these days. It had to be presented as tribute to the royal family and was more expensive than bird's nest.

Thinking back to the days when thirty yuan could buy two kilograms of dried white fungus, Sang Yu finally understood why China was called "Agricultural Cthulhu".

But now there is no Pinduoduo and no developed agricultural system. If she wants to get Tremella fuciformis, she either has to look for it in the wild or spend a lot of money to buy it from other rich places and then have it shipped here.

But if I spend a lot of money on white fungus and use it in rock sugar snow pear, how much would that pear cost? Would anyone really buy it?

Sang Yu was not in a hurry about this. The main production area of ​​Tremella fuciformis in later generations was in Mindi, and there should also be wild Tremella fuciformis in Lingnan, which is adjacent to Mindi.

Her requirements are not high, as long as she can find a cluster, she will plant it herself.

Before I knew it, the pearl milk tea in my hand had been drunk up, with only a few pearls hidden in the corners of the bottom of the cup surviving.

Sang Yu held the reed stem and aimed it at the pearls one by one, sucking them all into his mouth and chewing them.

Then he put the bamboo tube aside and said vaguely, "Let's go into the mountains."

The reed stalks at home are fine for family use, but if she wants to set up a stall outside, they are not enough. She has to cut some back. By the way, she also wants to find some white fungus.

The necessary growth conditions for Tremella fuciformis make them particularly fond of shady and moist broad-leaved forests, especially the dead trees therein. Combined with appropriate scattered light, it is simply a paradise for Tremella fuciformis.

Knowing these prerequisites, it will be much easier to search in the forest.

"Going into the mountains at this time? Isn't it a bit late?" Sang Xingjia hesitated.

They went to Lingnan City this morning. Although it didn't waste much time, it was already noon after the trip back and forth. If they went into the mountains again, it would be difficult to get out.

Sang Yu patted his shoulder and signaled him to relax: "Don't stay long, cut some reeds and then come back."

However, after entering the mountains, she asked Sang Yongjing and Sang Xingjia to stay in the swamp to cut reeds, while she went to explore the surroundings alone.

If you want to find Tremella fuciformis, you have to walk along the shady side of the forest towards the place with lush vegetation.

Sang Yu held a wooden stick about 1.5 meters long in his hand. Before anyone arrived, he swept the stick across, disturbing a large area of ​​grass, scaring the snakes and insects inside into fleeing.

She glanced around as she went, not looking at the vibrant, full-of-life trees, but concentrating on searching for broad-leaved forests and dead trees.

Although he had left very obvious traces along the way, Sang Yu still acted cautiously and made a mark on the tree every few meters to avoid getting lost.

Just when she thought the time was about right and that if she didn't go back, the father and son of the Sang family would probably come directly to find her, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a tree with an empty crown and only thin branches left.

Although the trees here do shed their leaves, most are evergreen. It's rare to see a tree that sheds its leaves so early and so cleanly as this one.

No, that's not right—

A certain enlightenment flashed through Sang Yu's mind, and he suddenly realized that it was not a deciduous tree, but a dead tree that had died long ago but had not fallen yet!

Delighted, she quickly cleared away the grass and thorns in front of her and moved closer to the tree.

She didn't ask for much, just a small bunch of white fungus would be enough.

The closer Sang Yu got to the tree, the more nervous she became. She was afraid that her wish would not be fulfilled because there were no parasitic Tremella mycelium on the tree at all.

Although she had already thought that if she really couldn't find white fungus, she would make the basket of wild pears she bought into dried pear preserves, which she could then sell.

But I always have some fantasies in my mind, what if, what if there happens to be a cluster of white fungus growing on the tree.

As they got closer and saw the bark of the dead tree clearly, Sang Yu realized it was a birch tree, which was indeed the species that Tremella liked, but...

From her side, she could only see the rough bark surface with mottled black and white colors, and there was no sign of any white fungus growing at all.

The hope in her heart was like a balloon pierced by a needle, constantly leaking air.

Adhering to the traditional customs of the Chinese people since they were already here, Sang Yu did not turn around and leave. Instead, he walked around the tree and found that there was really no trace of Tremella fuciformis on the tree.

As for the cause of its death, Sang Yu bent down and picked up a yellow fallen leaf from the ground. He looked at the position of the leaf and saw a layer of spots on it that looked like rust.

This is leaf rust, a common fungal disease on birch trees that mainly damages leaves, stems and fruits.

When the disease is serious, the plant will lose water due to the evaporation of a large amount of water in the body, and will quickly dry up and die.

It seems that the birch tree died because of this. It's a pity that there was no Tremella mycelium nearby, or the time was too short for it to spread and grow, so Sang Yu's trip was in vain.