Chapter 34: Applying What You Learn

"I haven't finished reading it yet. I'll tell you after I finish reading it." Su Ying smiled.

Everyone looked at Su Ying without saying anything, thinking that Su Ying was keeping a secret and was unwilling to share.

"Don't look at me like that, there are only a few families like us in the village. The mountain is so big, there are so many useful things, but my family can't eat it all!

Let's go back and discuss it together, and do it together!" Su Ying knew what everyone was thinking.

"Really?" everyone said happily.

"What else can we do? We are dozens of miles away from the city. The products we process are not only self-sufficient, but we also need to sell them and gradually improve our lives.

It requires the concerted efforts of all; working alone won’t last long.”

"What the girl said makes sense!" After Su Ying said this, everyone believed it.

They suffered a lot of losses in the beginning because they refused to work together.

If good things really come out in the future, we have to sell them for money. If we don’t form a group and form a force, no matter how good the things are, we won’t be able to keep them. They will be snatched away by local forces and those natives.

"Let's go! Girls, let's go a little further inside!" Everyone was so excited that they forgot about their hunting mission.

"Flutter..." Pheasants and rabbits flew out from the grass by the roadside.

"Oh, pheasant, pheasant! Hare! Quick, quick!"

Su Ying was so excited when she saw live wild animals for the first time that she ran after pheasants and rabbits with a bamboo spear.

"Yes, yes! Hurry up!" Everyone came to their senses and shouted as they drew their bows and arrows.

The forest suddenly became noisy, disturbing the leisurely animals.

The birds flew away in fright, and the monkeys that were eating wild fruits screamed and ran away quickly, hanging on the vines.

The grazing deer hid deep in the jungle, their big watery eyes showing a look of panic.

In a short while, they had shot five or six pheasants and three or four rabbits.

Su Ying and the others' backpacks were empty and were temporarily used to carry prey.

Before we knew it, it was afternoon, and Su Ying had spread lime at conspicuous places at the forks in the road to mark the direction.

In a flat, sunny place, everyone sat down to rest and have dinner.

Take out the rice balls, feel the mountain breeze, and look at the endless vast mountains.

Yang Dalang took out a grain of coarse salt from his bag and handed it to Su Bucheng.

"No, our rice balls have salt in them." Su Bucheng declined politely.

Salt is a luxury for the poor. How can they feel at ease and always accept it from others?

"?" Yang Dalang looked puzzled.

Su Bucheng gave Yang Dalang some rice balls and said, "Try it."

Yang Dalang tasted the rice ball and found it sour and salty. "My dear, your salt tastes different from ours."

"This isn't salt, it's salt-fuzzy wood," Su Bucheng explained. "Yesterday, we went to the lime kiln and saw a lot of salt-fuzzy wood there. Dalang and my daughter picked some and brought them back to use as salt."

"Saltroot? But that piece of wild fruit? No wonder it tastes sour and salty!" Yang Dalang slapped his head and said happily, "From now on, we won't have to buy salt anymore!"

"No!" Su Ying stopped him hurriedly. "If you really can't afford it, it's okay to use it as a temporary substitute, but it's not real salt, it just tastes salty. People can't live without salt for a long time."

"Oh!" Yang Dalang felt a little dizzy, knowing that what Su Ying said was true.

"How far have we walked? Are we deep into the mountains?" Su Ying calculated the time and found that they had been walking for at least three hours.

"It's too early! This is just the outer edge of the mountain. The real depths will take at least two or three days to explore. There are leopards, bears, wild boars, giant insects, pythons...

In the early years, we went in a few times without knowing the depth, and lost our loved ones in vain. Later, we only hunted pheasants, rabbits, and deer on the outer edge.

If I say too much, it will all be tears, these are all lessons learned through blood.

"Then how long will we have to walk?" Su Ying asked.

They were just here to investigate, not to die.

"Well, as usual, we'll go in for another hour or so to see if we can hunt deer or wild boar. Regardless of whether we get anything or not, we won't go any further."

Su Ying looked at the sky. It was a little after three in the afternoon. She stood up and said, "Then let's walk inside."

The mountain breeze brought a coolness and moisture, and the sound of rushing water could be faintly heard.

"Are there waterfalls and mountain springs here?" Su Ying followed the sound of water.

"There's a small waterfall, and the water flows down the stream next to the village."

"Has the stream ever dried up?" Su Ying asked.

"No, there are lush trees and abundant water here. In the rainy season, the trickling streams will turn into muddy rivers." Yang Dalang said.

Su Ying's eyes rolled, and then she turned to look at her father.

Su Bucheng smiled when he saw his daughter looking at him. The father and daughter were thinking the same thing.

The humidity in the air grew and the sound of water grew louder.

Turning along the mountain road, a stream of water flows along the mountain stream among the dense grass, making a gurgling sound and splashing a cloud of water mist.

This is the shady side of the mountain, with abundant water and grass.

Following the flow of the water, Su Ying saw a few plants that looked like trees but were not trees growing scattered along the stream.

"Aying, what are you doing?" Su Bucheng saw his daughter walking on slippery stones, as if looking for something.

No one has ever been here, and the rocks by the stream are covered with moss, making it difficult to walk on.

"Yeah, this is konjac! What a good thing!" Su Ying, holding a bamboo spear, staggered to a konjac plant.

"Konjac? Is this konjac?" Su Boyan, who was following behind him, looked around. There were not many, only seven or eight plants.

"But what about the konjac mentioned in Zuo Si's "Ode to the Capital of Shu," 'In its gardens there are konjac and dogwood, melons and taro fields...'?"

Su Boyan asked happily, so this is what konjac looks like!

"Yes, that's it! It grows in vegetable forests, citron trees, or in the wet areas along stream valleys. Grind the tubers underneath into juice, add wood ash and water, and cook it until you can eat it!"

"Aying, are you sure this is really konjac?" Su Bucheng was very cautious.

I have seen it in the countryside and mountains of Chang'an County. Farmers say it is poisonous. Eating it will cause burning sensation in the throat and stomach, vomiting and diarrhea, and even death.

"It's konjac, also known as konjac. It can't be eaten raw. It must be ground into a pulp and boiled with wood ash or lime water to remove the toxins before it can be eaten."

Su Ying used a bamboo spear to dig the tubers underground. The soil was soft, and soon a brown spherical tuber weighing three or four pounds was revealed.

Su Ying broke the plant above and took out the bulb.

"Don't touch it!" Su Boyan reached out to take it, but Su Ying dodged him. "The juice is poisonous. It will itch if it touches your skin."

Su Ying carefully put it into the backpack and washed her hands carefully. The back of her hands turned a little red and began to itch, probably because they were stained with juice.

"How do you know how to eat it?" Su Bucheng couldn't understand.

"Konjac is a grass, and its root is called konjac. The head is as big as a bucket, and its flesh is pure white. It can be boiled in ash juice, and then it will solidify. It can be eaten with bitter wine. The people of Shu cherish it.

In the "Ode to the Capital of Shu", the Shu people planted it in their gardens as a vegetable, and the way they ate it was not a secret, but it was not widely known.

"Girl, is this really konjac?" Yang Erlang said weakly.

Because of "Fu of Three Capitals", paper was in great demand in Luoyang. It was shameful for a rich family's son not to be able to recite a few lines. I read it to show off my elegance.

But I never thought that the reason for mentioning it again would be because of food.

Similarly, in the "Fu of Shudu", others put it into practice, but I just want to show off.

Alas, comparing yourself to others makes you feel thief!

"Yes! There are many ways to eat konjac! When I get back, I'll make konjac for everyone to try!" Su Ying said with a smile.

"Do we have to dig them all up?" Everyone was impatient.

"No, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, save it for now." Su Ying waved her hand, "I think there are plenty of shady places near the stream in the village."