Chapter 116 Is it wrong to eat protected animals?
Paphiopedilum greasemus?
Is it an endangered protected plant even more precious than the dove tree?
"I could just pack my bags and head straight to prison when I get back."
"Who told you not to even look at it before digging?"
Chen Youwei was on the verge of tears. "How was I supposed to know? I thought it was just ordinary weed roots. If I had known that endangered species were so easy to find, I would have slowly dug them up."
He became more and more aggrieved as he spoke.
Su Xue squatted down and touched the broken end. "This one is beyond saving. Paphiopedilum has extremely high requirements for its growing environment. Once the roots are broken, it basically won't survive."
"Brother Chen, don't overthink it. Nobody expected that there would be a Paphiopedilum next to this Davidia involucrata seedling."
Yuanyuan quickly destroyed the broken petiole leaf to cover her tracks, saying, "It's nothing, it's just a weed."
"Let's keep looking, we're sure we'll find something new."
“Yuanyuan is right, there must be others nearby.”
Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement.
"You two keep digging, Yuanyuan and I will go look for it."
"become."
Su Xue and Yuan Yuan crouched down and searched under the tree, while the little snake, the little wolf, Xiao Bai, and Yu Na also searched together.
Su Xue didn't have high hopes. The Paphiopedilum is too rare; it would be a miracle to find even one.
Within ten minutes, Yuanyuan excitedly shouted, "Aunt Su Xue, come and see!"
There are so many here!
Su Xue and the other two quickly ran over. The air under the tree was moist and carried the fresh scent of soil and grass.
Looking down, a patch of Paphiopedilum orchids grew under the tree!
It wasn't just one or two plants, but dozens huddled together. Their leaves were long and thick, with a faint purple tinge on the undersides near the roots, exuding vitality in the damp environment.
The flower stalks stretch straight upwards, some just sprouting tender buds topped with tiny flower buds.
Some are already in full bloom, with wavy edges on their yellowish-brown petals and deep purple spots scattered on their white sepals. The combination of the two is like a little girl dancing gracefully.
It's so beautiful.
"Oh my god..."
Su Xue instinctively covered her mouth, her voice trembling. She quickly walked to Yuan Yuan's side, squatted down, and carefully touched the petals of one of the flowers. Her fingertips felt a firm touch, and her voice trembled slightly as she said, "It's real, this is a real Paphiopedilum."
Chen Youwei, standing to the side, had his mouth agape and couldn't close it for a long time. He reached out to touch it but was afraid of breaking it, so he rubbed his hands anxiously.
"This is unbelievable!"
Finding a single plant is already lucky; I never expected such a large patch.
Yuanyuan stood by the flower bushes, her eyes shining. It was the first time she had ever seen such flowers. "Dig them up, take them all home."
After several hours of work, the group finally dug up five Davidia involucrata seedlings and ten Paphiopedilum davidii seedlings.
Chen Youwei straightened up, rubbed his aching back, and said with a smile, "Done! This trip was really thrilling but safe. Luckily, Yuanyuan found so many Paphiopedilum orchids, otherwise I would have been in big trouble."
"It's not that exaggerated. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, it's just a weed."
"Cough... Yuanyuan is right."
After storing everything in their spatial storage, the group was just about to find a place to rest and eat something to replenish their energy.
The wolf cub suddenly growled towards the depths of the valley, its ears pressed tightly against its head, its eyes wary.
The same applies to Little White and Little Snake.
"What's wrong?"
From the grass deep in the valley, several strange-looking creatures darted out. They were plump, with grayish-brown feathers and short wings. They walked with a waddling gait, looking somewhat clumsy.
"What is this?" Yuanyuan had never seen it before, but it looked somewhat familiar.
"It's a dodo!" Chen Youwei's eyes lit up. "To see a dodo in my lifetime is truly worthwhile!"
The birds didn't seem afraid of people. When they saw Yuanyuan and the others, instead of running away, they curiously came over and looked them over with their round eyes.
Yuanyuan slowly walked over and took out a few wild fruits from the animal skin bag. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
The giant bird, several times larger than Yuanyuan, hesitated for a moment before pecking at a fruit.
It seemed to really like the taste of the wild fruit, and chirped happily, attracting other birds to gather around.
Yuanyuan took the opportunity to ask the system if this was a dodo bird.
[Host, examination revealed that this is not a purebred dodo, but a product of inbreeding, named Grey-feathered Dodo. Its meat is tender, it is non-aggressive, and edible.]
"We need to capture two live animals to take back, and also collect samples of their feathers and feces."
Zhang Cheng analyzed the situation in a very serious manner.
"It's not a dodo bird, you can eat it."
"..."
Yuanyuan easily hugged the gray-feathered falcon in front of her. The bird only chirped twice and did not struggle.
"The system says this kind of noodle has exceptionally tender meat and is incredibly delicious..." Yuanyuan blinked. "There's so much here, is it okay to eat one?"
"Yuanyuan, you're saying it's not a dodo bird?"
Yuanyuan nodded. "The system says she is a close relative of the dodo, the grey-feathered dodo."
"..."
Zhang Cheng and Chen Youwei worked swiftly, and in no time, the two grey-feathered ravens were put into the cage.
"This...isn't this a bad idea?" Su Xue was still a little worried. "No matter what, it's a rare species."
We ate whatever we wanted, but if the higher-ups find out, we'll be in trouble...
Chen Youwei squatted down next to the cage, carefully observing the large bird inside.
"You're overthinking it. Yuanyuan already said it's not a dodo bird, so there's definitely no problem."
He reached out and carefully touched the back of one of the birds. The feathers were soft. The bird just chirped once and moved to the side, not fierce at all.
"Look at this group, there are at least twenty or thirty of them. How could they be protected animals?"
"..."
Zhang Cheng nodded, took out the small knife he carried with him, and pondered how to find a clean stone to deal with the bird.
“Yuanyuan wants to eat this. She’s worked so hard lately, we should treat her well.”
This was, of course, meant for certain big shots who are keen on spying.
This grey-feathered finch looks like it has firm, meaty flesh; it must taste delicious.
Yuanyuan tugged at Su Xue's sleeve, "Aunt Su Xue, this gray-feathered dodo bird isn't a dodo bird. They're a common prey for beastmen. Their meat is even more tender than chicken, and it's delicious whether you make soup or roast it!"
"I really want to eat it."
If they don't eat this, they'll have to hunt other prey anyway, so they might as well eat what's readily available.
She pointed her little finger at the birds in the cage, "We'll take these two back to study them, and no one will know if we secretly eat one!"
Su Xue stared at the birds in the cage for a long time. There were indeed quite a few of these grey-feathered falcons, and they didn't seem to be a rare species.
"Okay, then... then shall we cook it?"
"You can bake half and boil the other half."
“I’ll handle it. I was in the army back then, during wilderness survival training, and I’m the best at dealing with these kinds of wild animals!” said Zhang Cheng.
Chen Youwei found a flat stone, scraped off the moss with a knife, took out a water bottle from his backpack, poured some water, and rinsed the stone.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll take care of starting the fire and boiling the water. There are some dry branches here, so it'll boil quickly."
Yuanyuan clapped her hands excitedly, ran to the cage, and whispered to the gray-feathered quail that looked the most docile inside, "Little bird, little bird, don't be afraid, we won't hurt you. I'll just taste your companion's flavor."
"I'll find you some delicious fruit when I get back!"
The bird seemed to understand, chirping twice and looking at Yuanyuan with its round eyes, showing no fear whatsoever.
She didn't react when she heard that she wanted to eat her companion.
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