Chapter 181 Living Fossil (Additional chapter for 45,000 recommended votes)
Manbao had already dug out the plant. She thought it was too troublesome to carry, so she simply tore off a large leaf to wrap it, tied it with long grass, and hung it on her small shoulder bag.
Zhou Silang and his friends didn't know when the plant finally disappeared, but they were used to it.
When Manbao was very young, as soon as he could run steadily, he liked to pull all kinds of flowers and plants. At first, he picked the weeds in the cracks of the stones in front of the door of his house. After pulling them out, he would look at them over and over again and then throw them away.
When she was younger, because Manbao loved to pull plants with flowers, Old Zhou happily showed off and believed that she was the reincarnation of a flower fairy.
But later, Manbao pulled more flowers and plants, and even the trees were not spared. Old Zhou never mentioned this again, and everyone in the Zhou family had long been accustomed to Manbao's behavior.
It was a rare trip to the mountains, so Manbao certainly didn't want to leave just like that, so she went in while talking. During the trip, she pulled out countless flowers and plants, and caught a few ants with her bare hands, happily holding them in her palms.
Zhou Silang looked very worried. He felt that her family had to prepare more dowry for her, otherwise she might not be able to get married in the future.
As they walked further in, the soil under their feet was both hard and soft. Manbao looked at the soft ground with regret, "This is all fertilizer."
She had barely opened her mouth when Zhou Silang said, "It's impossible for me to come here to dig and carry soil. It's so far away."
Manbao said, "Then let's plant some crops here. The soil is very fertile."
"There are so many birds and animals in the mountains. No matter what I grow, there won't be enough for them to eat. I won't bother with that."
Manbao was thinking hard about what to plant that would not be eaten by birds but would still yield a harvest for them, when suddenly Koko's voice rang out in his mind, "Host, please come inside."
Manbao subconsciously took a step forward, staring at the ground in front of him, and asked Keke in his head, "Hey, there's no grass ahead?"
“There’s no grass, but there are trees.”
Manbao stared ahead for a long time, blinked again and again, but the big tree in front of him still didn't move.
"Yes, that's the tree."
Well, now Manbao couldn't pretend not to see it anymore. She thought to herself, "It's too big. I can't dig it out."
It was really big. The area in front of her was quite open, with only a few scattered trees, the largest of which was the one Koko had pointed out.
The soil around here may be the result of the continuous accumulation and decomposition of fallen leaves, coupled with the good sunlight, so the soil here is much darker and softer than other places. When people step on it, the branches and leaves make a crunching sound.
Manbao ran over and hugged the tree, but it was too big for her to wrap around. She tried to look up but couldn't see the top of the tree.
Manbao felt that even if she had the ability to dig it out, she would not be able to fulfill the conditions of the "silent income system" required by Keke.
So she simply gave up and looked around, trying to find a tree similar to it but smaller nearby.
But unfortunately, because of Koko's training, she is now very good at identifying organisms, especially plants. She knows with just a glance that there is no tree nearby that looks the same as this one or even similar to it.
Koko had recovered from his shock and said, "No need to dig."
This plant is a living fossil, and it's so large, so it's clearly quite old. If it encourages its host to dig it up and include it in the catalog, it could earn a large amount of points, but it will also be punished for violating regulations. Penalty points are a minor punishment, but if it causes the death of a species, it might even be sentenced to imprisonment or even disbandment.
Keke said: "The host only needs to take photos and scan all aspects of the environment in which it lives, and record it. It would be even better if we can collect its leaves, branches and fruits."
Hearing the excitement in its voice, Manbao looked at the tree curiously and asked, "What kind of tree is this? Is it very powerful?"
Keke said, "Although I'm not sure, it should belong to the Taxodium family. After scanning, I speculate that even now, it is a relict species of the Metasequoia family."
Manbao understood it, which means that this tree is a rare species even now, and it is very rare!
She looked up at it and said, "How pitiful! It's the only one left."
There are no relatives, or very few.
Zhou Silang was standing behind her, also looking up at the tree, nodding his head and saying, "Not bad, not bad. This tree is thick and straight. I can make a good bed for you in the future."
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang also saw it and gathered around to pat and kick it. They found it to be very strong. Then they peeled off the bark and saw the color inside. They were even more satisfied. "This is good. The rest can be used to make a box or something. Manbao, when Fifth Brother comes of age and gets his share of the mountain, come to my place and I'll pick out some nice trees for you so I can make you a few more boxes."
Manbao, who had been taught to protect rare species since childhood, hugged the tree trunk and said, "No, this is a rare species. We must protect it."
"Yes, it must be protected," Zhou Silang said. "I'll tell Dad later that we can carve a mark on the tree when we get back. We can't let anyone cut it down secretly. Wait until you're ready to get married before we cut it down."
Manbao: "...When I say protect, I mean protect it from being cut down. We must keep it alive."
"I can't guarantee that," Zhou Silang said. "I'm not the tree's mother. How can I guarantee it will live forever? What if it gets struck by lightning? What if it dies of drought? What if it gets eaten by insects? Besides, trees are planted to make beams and furniture. If we chop it down, we can just plant another one. Why should we protect it forever?"
Because it is a rare species?
But Zhou Silang obviously couldn't understand this, but seeing Manbao's anxious face and unable to explain clearly, he didn't argue, but agreed with a helpless look on his face. In his heart, he decided to go back and tell his father that Manbao's dowry bed was settled.
Manbao collected the bark that Zhou Wulang had just peeled, picked up a lot of fallen leaves and twigs from the ground, and grabbed a handful of soil. He gave all these things to Keke for collection.
Zhou Silang and his friends didn't notice it at all because they found a few clumps of bamboo not far from this tree, and then they saw a clumsy bamboo rat slip into the bamboo clump.
Bamboo rat~~
Bamboo rats look similar to squirrels. They look very nice when they are fat, and most importantly, they are delicious.
So the three Zhou brothers looked at each other, left their sister who was squatting on the ground digging hard, and tiptoed towards the bamboo grove.
When Manbao finally put away all the things Koko wanted, she looked up and found that her three brothers were gone, and she was the only one under the tree.
(End of this chapter)
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