Chapter 53 Ginseng
"Grandma, I want to go pick wild vegetables, too."
The holes I found while catching bugs with my brothers were already filled with eggs.
Jiang Fubao planned to find another place. It happened that he had already finished eating the Artemisia annua. Last night, he heard from his grandmother and the others that they would look for wild vegetables again today.
She was just the guy who could help.
"Okay, Fubao, go wherever you want. Come and wash your face. After breakfast, we'll go up the mountain early. It'll take some effort to find wild vegetables today."
While she was talking, Zhang Jinlan had already prepared the hot water.
Half an hour later.
The five-member team of wild vegetable diggers arrived at the junction of the inner and outer areas.
"Mom, are you coming in?"
Sun Pingmei's voice was a little trembling.
She had never been to this area before and was very scared.
"Fubao, shall we go in?"
Zhang Jinlan did not answer, but asked her granddaughter instead.
It seems as if Jiang Fubao is the head of the family.
"Okay, let's go pick some wild vegetables."
Jiang Fubao heard no sound of large animals.
That means there is no danger.
She stretched out her short legs and walked in first.
Zhang Jinlan, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and their three companions hurriedly followed.
They walked through a forest and climbed up for another quarter of an hour before stopping.
Because there is a depression right in front of us, full of young sprouts.
There are so many that we can’t dig them all out.
Although the young sprouts are not as delicious as Artemisia annua, it is nice to have something to eat in this season, and the Jiang family members are not picky at all.
When Jiang Fubao turned around, her family members were already squatting on the ground and starting to dig.
"Fubao, just play around here, don't run around."
Zhang Jinlan knew in her heart that her granddaughter was lucky and it would be bad to restrain her, but she was also worried that she would run too far, so she could only give instructions again.
"I know, grandma." Jiang Fubao didn't complain.
She answered and started strolling.
There are not many stones in this area, but there are many trees, and the mud is very wet.
【Chichichichi, there are fruits here.】
Suddenly, the sound of a bird reached her ears.
After finding the direction, Jiang Fubao walked towards the sound.
She stopped only after walking two hundred meters.
There was a tree in front of her, with many small yellow fruits on the tree, only the size of soybeans, which she didn't even recognize.
There is a bird flying back and forth in the tree.
From time to time, I would exclaim that it was delicious.
The tree was too tall for Jiang Fubao to reach, so she gave up the idea of picking the fruit.
She had no interest in such small fruits.
So she decided to return the same way.
You can go halfway.
Jiang Fubao stopped.
Her attention was drawn to a plant.
It is a flower with red fruits growing on a stem.
She couldn't see clearly because she was far away.
Jiang Fubao walked over.
The mud under her feet became increasingly wetter and softer.
Like plasticine that hasn't fully hardened.
There was a lot of mud on my shoes, which stuck to them tightly. After just a few steps, they were already very dirty.
Jiang Fubao squatted down in front of the plant.
Her heart was pounding.
Five seconds later.
Excitement filled her whole body.
It’s actually ginseng!
Yes, ginseng likes relatively cold areas and has particularly high requirements for the environment. It likes moist mud, and the soil must be fertile. It just so happens that the altitude of this place is not low.
Climbed the mountain for a long time.
No wonder there is ginseng.
Jiang Fubao gently stroked the berries, which were as red as blood.
There are seeds inside.
Logically speaking, red seeds will not be produced in this season.
Jiang Fubao was a little curious but didn't think much about it. She could travel through time, so even if she saw snowing now, she would think it was normal.
It's just that she didn't have the tools to dig ginseng.
Just shout loudly.
"Grandma——"
"Mother——"
"Auntie——"
"Second aunt——"
"Come on, guys—"
This was the first time Jiang Fubao was so excited.
Because ginseng was extremely expensive in ancient times.
Even a small ginseng that is only two or three years old can be sold for two taels of silver.
The ginseng in front of her was definitely no less than ten years old. She didn't know the exact price of ginseng in this dynasty, but it was probably not much different.
If it is really a ten-year-old ginseng, it can be sold for at least ten taels of silver.
The older the year, the more expensive it is.
If it is a hundred-year-old ginseng.
If you meet a good buyer, you can easily sell it for more than 100 taels.
Unfortunately, century-old ginseng is extremely rare.
Hard to come across.
"What's wrong? What's wrong——"
"Fubao, did you fall?"
After a while.
The four people, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, came running over.
There was anxiety on their faces, and they were holding the tools for digging wild vegetables in their hands, and they didn't have time to put them down.
I saw Jiang Fubao squatting on the ground.
Zhang Jinlan thought her granddaughter had broken her leg.
She was so frightened that she almost collapsed to the ground.
"Grandma, is this the ginseng that the doctor mentioned?" Jiang Fubao once again brought up the traveling doctor.
"What ginseng?"
When Zhang Jinlan saw that her granddaughter looked normal, she realized that she had been overthinking.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
But after hearing about ginseng, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
"That's what the doctor said. He said ginseng is very valuable. If you find a grass with red fruits on the mountain, you can dig it out and it's ginseng. Fubao, there are red fruits here. Grandma, is this ginseng?"
Jiang Fubao pointed at the berries and asked innocently.
"Grandma doesn't know either." Zhang Jinlan squatted down.
She dug the soil carefully with a shovel.
Zhu Yingqiu and a few others also gathered around.
Except Jiang Fubao, everyone held their breath.
They dared not speak.
I heard that ginseng can run away. If you make a sound and scare it away, you will be in big trouble.
Fortunately, Jiang Fubao cannot hear people's voices.
Otherwise she would not be able to help laughing like a pig.
Ginseng doesn't have legs.
Where can you run?
It is rumored that ginseng can move. This is because ginseng absorbs nutrients from the soil very aggressively. It will move slowly as the surrounding nutrients and water and soil decrease. So when someone finds ginseng, they want to keep it for a few more years and then sell it for a good price. But after a few years, they can't find the ginseng anymore, and thus this rumor came about.
"Yes, it is ginseng. It is really ginseng."
A quarter of an hour later.
Sun Pingmei's mouth was trembling with excitement.
Half of the ginseng has been dug out.
Zhang Jinlan didn't even dare to breathe hard.
I heard that if you cut off one ginseng root, you will lose a lot of money.
She had no choice but to throw away the shovel and dig the soil with her hands.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
All the ginseng was dug out.
Zhang Jinlan held it carefully in her hands.
She was so excited that she couldn't speak.
"Mom, can this ginseng be sold for a lot of money? Let's go back and show it to Dad. Dad is very knowledgeable and will definitely know the answer."
Zhu Yingqiu urged.
"Yes, yes, let's go back quickly. If we want to sell fresh ginseng, we have to ask Yamato to go to the town. Let's go down the mountain."
Zhang Jinlan nodded.
She stood up from the ground.
But I squatted for too long and my feet became numb.
One of them lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, several daughters-in-law were quick.
Supported her.
Because ginseng was valuable, Zhang Jinlan took out a handkerchief and wrapped it in layers before putting it in the backpack.
It is covered with sprouts on top and also covered with sprouts underneath.
I was afraid that it would be damaged while walking.