36 The "Priceless" Bianli Mushroom
◎ She proposed it, and Chen Jingshan rejected it...◎
Yesterday, Ye Yunzhao boasted that her pastry recipe could earn back the money she spent on the quilts within two years. Although she said it with certainty, she actually had no idea.
In her previous life, Ye Yunzhao worked in a village doing poverty alleviation work. In her spare time, she would follow the villagers to make some simple "snacks". Later, she became interested in baking and even bought a cookbook. Although she had roughly read it, she had long forgotten many of the recipes.
What's more, Lingnan County is backed by mountains, and she didn't know what kind of food was available here. For this reason, early this morning, she carried a large bamboo basket and went into the back mountain of Xixiang.
On the way, we met Aunt Wang and a few aunts from Xixiang who were about to go into the mountains to pick mushrooms.
The weather has been cold recently, and the humidity in the mountains is high. The whole mountain is covered with misty clouds, which feel chilly on the face. The rotten leaves underfoot are slightly moist due to the moisture, and the ground seems to be a little softer. The group walks towards the back of the mountain, taking one deep step and one shallow step.
"If you want to eat mushrooms, County Magistrate Ye, just let someone tell me. Why do you need to come here in person?" Aunt Wang slowed down her pace, walked side by side with Ye Yunzhao, and whispered.
Ye Yunzhao laughed and said, "How can that be possible? Besides, the county government has been idle these past few days, so I thought I'd go for a walk in the mountains. You don't need to worry about it."
Aunt Wang nodded and said, "Okay, now that the weather is cool, it's a good time for us to go together."
Ye Yunzhao's mind wasn't on this. She scanned the area, trying to find one or two things she hadn't seen before among the weeds...
Seeing her expression, Aunt Wang said, "County Magistrate Ye, what are you looking for? Why don't you tell us so we can help you find it."
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao raised her head and quickly shook her head: "I don't know what I'm looking for...Everyone, just pick what you want and don't worry about me."
The other aunts dispersed and squatted on the ground covered with rotten leaves, digging and throwing mushrooms into their backpacks.
However, Aunt Wang was still by Ye Yunzhao's side. She was now determined to know the secrets of the county school and was keeping a close eye on Ye Yunzhao's every move.
Looking around, her eyes full of inquiry and her brows slightly furrowed, Aunt Wang looked like she was in a hurry to find something.
But why did County Magistrate Ye say that he didn’t know what he was looking for?
Could it be that she said this on purpose because she didn't want others to know?
Could it be related to the county school?
Aunt Wang rolled her eyes. If she could help County Magistrate Ye find what she wanted, wouldn't it be easy to get Erya into the county school?
Thinking of this, the melancholy that had been lingering in Aunt Wang's heart for the past few days dissipated. She quickly walked to Ye Yunzhao's side, took her arm familiarly, and lowered her voice:
"County Magistrate Ye, tell me quietly, what are you looking for? I'll help you find it, and I won't tell anyone else..."
Ye Yunzhao sighed softly and replied in an equally low voice: "Auntie Wang, I won't hide it from you. I really don't know what I'm looking for, but this thing is very important..."
"But what are the characteristics?"
Ye Yunzhao thought about it and realized that no matter what kind of pastry she made, special raw materials could make up for the shortcomings in craftsmanship. She naturally would not make those exquisite lion-awake pastries, lotus pastries, and walnut pastries. What's more, she believed that the chef of Ruyi Tower knew the methods of making these pastries better than she did.
But like crystal cakes, cakes made from special raw materials can be quite impressive.
But, what special raw materials does Lingnan County have?
Ye Yunzhao didn't know, and her original body's remaining memories didn't have it, but she knew that if the special raw materials could filter out starch like ground radishes, then the problem would be solved.
So she turned to Aunt Wang and said, "Aunt Wang, have you ever eaten any special wild fruits? Or any wild fruits that give you a stomachache if you eat too much?"
Aunt Wang seemed to be thinking. She had eaten sour fruits, sweet fruits, and even bitter fruits...
"I have a stomachache after eating too much... County Magistrate Ye, don't worry, let me think about it."
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Aunt Wang. Go pick some mushrooms first. It won't be too late to tell me when you come up with something."
The two men squatted on the ground and threw the wild mushrooms under the wood and stones into the backpack. Everyone was busy and happy.
Until the sunlight penetrated the leaves in the forest, the group discussed going home. Ye Yunzhao returned empty-handed. She could not smile and was the last one to go.
Aunt Wang and the aunt beside her whispered a few words, then quietly retreated to her side and poked Ye Yunzhao's arm.
Ye Yunzhao looked up and saw Aunt Wang making faces and busying herself for a while before she understood what she meant.
The two of them left the group descending the mountain one after the other. Aunt Wang said, "County Magistrate Ye, I've thought of some fruit that will give you a stomachache if you eat too much of it. But there were so many people around just now, so it's not easy to take you there secretly."
"Really?" Ye Yunzhao exclaimed in surprise, and asked hurriedly, "What kind of fruit is it? Tell me about it first."
Instead, Aunt Wang couldn't wait any longer and pulled her along: "Let's talk while we walk."
"County Magistrate Ye, you're from Yongzhou, so you may not have seen one. The fruit I'm talking about is called a water chestnut. It tastes similar to a hairy chestnut, but everyone says it's poisonous! Eating too much will give you a stomachache. I wonder if this is the fruit you're looking for."
Water chestnuts? Ye Yunzhao was delighted at the name. Since chestnuts could be ground into powder, water chestnuts could probably be ground into powder as well.
The reason why Ye Yunzhao didn't choose chestnuts was very simple...
She proposed it, and Chen Jingshan rejected it...
Ruyilou has long had pastries made from hairy chestnuts.
"I don't know either. Let's go and take a look and we'll find out." The two walked faster and faster. Aunt Wang recalled carefully: "Water chestnuts have pointed ends, like ox horns, so many people in Xixiang call them ox horn chestnuts."
Ye Yunzhao was stunned. Aquatic plants that looked like horns and were edible—wasn't this the water chestnut she had eaten in her previous life? The more she thought about it, the happier she became. If it really was a water chestnut, things would be easier.
The two of them circled the hills behind Xixiang before finally, breathlessly, reaching the spot Auntie Wang had mentioned. Looking out, they saw a pond filled with emerald green "flowers." The water chestnuts had smooth, multitudinous leaves, and when they were fruiting, they looked like flowers blooming in the water. They were indeed water chestnuts!
Aunt Wang fished out a "water chestnut flower" from the edge of the pond, pinched off a few red and purple water chestnuts from the roots, and handed them to Ye Yunzhao.
"County Magistrate Ye, this is a water chestnut. Take a look and see if it's the fruit you're looking for."
"Yes!" She grabbed Aunt Wang's hand, her face showing excitement that was hard to conceal: "Aunt Wang! Thank you!"
After saying this, Aunt Wang felt a little embarrassed. She had originally thought that it would be difficult to bring up the matter of the county school at this moment. If she said it now, people would think that she had planned it all.
"It's okay, it's okay..."
Ye Yunzhao took off the backpack and imitated Aunt Wang's movements, picking up the "water chestnut flowers" and gently pinching them, and the fresh and tender water chestnuts fell into his palm.
The two of them took turns picking up one water chestnut each, and soon they had a large handful of water chestnuts.
"I've seen enough. Let's go." Ye Yunzhao looked at the water chestnuts in the basket and said with a smile.
"Is that enough?"
Ye Yunzhao nodded.
Aunt Wang was stunned. She had gone all the way to the pond, and only picked these few?
"Is this enough?" she asked again in disbelief.
Ye Yunzhao nodded again.
Aunt Wang scratched her head helplessly: "Okay, let's go."
"How many ponds are there with water chestnuts?"
Aunt Wang looked up at the sky and thought for a moment: "Not many, I've only seen three or five."
Ye Yunzhao understood. In this case, she couldn't pick too many at one time. If Chen Jingshan was satisfied with the pastries made from water chestnuts, and they were served on the table of Ruyi Tower, the demand for water chestnuts would surely surge. She could then come up with a good idea and let the people of Lingnan County pick them and sell them to him, thus saving Ruyi Tower the trouble of paying a large sum of money for them.
The more Ye Yunzhao thought about it, the happier she became. She felt that the future was very promising. She silently praised herself in her heart:
County Magistrate Xiaoye, your poverty alleviation work has been quite effective.
"Oh! Weaving mushrooms!" Aunt Wang suddenly screamed, waking Ye Yunzhao from his daydream.
I saw Aunt Wang suddenly rushing over there, picking up the "little black spots" on the ground carefully, and putting them carefully into the backpack. Her movements were really strange.
Ye Yunzhao walked over curiously: "Auntie Wang, what did you see?"
"Bai Li mushrooms! So fresh and tender! The rich and powerful love to eat this!"
As she spoke, she held up the mushroom called "Braiding Mushroom" in front of Ye Yunzhao as if presenting a treasure: "County Magistrate Ye, take a look."
The cap is long and oval, and the surface is made up of many tiny pits. The mushroom is not big overall, and is brown on the top and white on the bottom.
——Isn’t this a morel?
“Morels?”
Aunt Wang was stunned. "Yes, yes, yes! It's this sheep-something mushroom. I've heard Brother Xiaochuan mention this name before."
Ye Yunzhao only knew that in modern society, morels were considered the best among all mushrooms. Although their selling price could not be said to be expensive, it was certainly not as cheap as oyster mushrooms and silver needle mushrooms.
“Is this mushroom expensive?”
"Ten fresh baize mushrooms are worth a penny!" Aunt Wang put them into her backpack with great care and smiled. "I can't bear to eat them. I don't know what they taste like."
"Ten can be sold for one penny!?" Ye Yunzhao exclaimed in amazement.
No wonder Aunt Wang was so careful. A basket of ordinary mushrooms only sold for a dozen or so coins. Compared with that, picking morels was no different from picking copper coins.
Aunt Wang said with a smile, "Take these back, County Magistrate Ye, and try them. I'll sell the rest in Yuezhou City tomorrow, just in time to exchange for some cotton wool."
Ye Yunzhao pondered for a moment, then took a rather small morel from her palm, intending to take it home to see if it could produce some mycelium.
"Auntie Wang, I'll take this small one back to have a look at. You can take the rest and sell them."
"Is this morel too small? Why can't it grow any bigger?"
Aunt Wang didn't hesitate to put all the treasures into her backpack and explained, "Oh! If we don't pick them now, I'm afraid they will all be picked by others tomorrow."
Aunt Wang was very satisfied. This time, she not only helped County Magistrate Ye find water chestnuts, but also picked more than 30 mushrooms. She was about to go down the mountain when Ye Yunzhao stopped her.
"Auntie Wang, please take all the mushrooms in my basket back home." As she said this, she stuffed the water chestnuts in the basket into her sleeves. Fortunately, she didn't pick many, so the remaining mushrooms were all poured into Auntie Wang's basket.
"County Magistrate Ye, what are you doing? Keep them for yourself!" Ye Yunzhao didn't have time to be polite with her. He quickly bent down and put the moist rotten leaves into his backpack.
"Oh!"
Aunt Wang was startled by her actions. The broken leaves all over the ground were dirty, and because of the fog, they were wet and sticky when picked up. How could County Magistrate Ye put all these things into his backpack?
In addition to the rotten leaves, Ye Yunzhao also smeared his hands and dug up some humus soil. Then he happily put on the backpack and called Aunt Wang to go down the mountain together.
"County Magistrate Ye, what do you want those leaves for?" Aunt Wang asked curiously.
"I don't know if it will succeed. If it does, I'll be the first to tell you."
Now Aunt Wang was also happy and said "OK" repeatedly.
By the time Ye Yunzhao arrived at the county government office, it was already two quarters past three in the afternoon. Her sleeves and hems were covered in black mud and water. She was tired and hungry, and her hair was stuck to her neck due to sweat. She looked like a bird hit by frost.
Han County Magistrate, who was rushing out, happened to meet her face to face and was frightened by her horrible appearance:
"What happened to you? Did you fall into the ditch?"
Ye Yunzhao waved his hands weakly, supported his knees with his hands, bent over and took a few deep breaths before saying, "No... I... I went to the back mountain... picked some... mushrooms..."
"Then you should go back and rest. I'm in a hurry to go to Dongxiang, so I won't say any more."
County Magistrate Han always acted like a gentleman, but today he was so impatient, which was really out of character. This made the tired Ye Yunzhao curious:
"Han...Han County Magistrate...Dongxiang...what happened?"
His brows were furrowed, his lips were tight, and he paced back and forth anxiously. "Didn't you tell me before that we should quickly spread the silkworm manure on the fields where the seedlings weren't emerging much? After we spread it in Xixiang, I saw there was still quite a bit left, so I asked the Dongxiang village chief to send people to take it back."
"But who would have thought...someone would actually start a fight over silkworm droppings, and...even blood..."
"What!?"
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