twenty three
The bamboo forest behind Jingnan's house was planted outside the barrier. Although it was covered with ice and snow outside the barrier, the bamboo forest was still lush and green. Each bamboo branch was as thick as an arm and was bent by the heavy snow.
As soon as he left the barrier, he felt a chill in his face. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the temperature in the bamboo forest was even lower than that in Nanshan. He also had goose bumps on his back.
There is half a meter of snow outside the barrier. It is not easy to find winter bamboo shoots under the thick snow, but Du Heng has his own way.
There was a bamboo forest behind his grandfather's house, and every winter vacation, his grandfather would take him to dig winter bamboo shoots. Although his vision was not as sharp as his grandfather's, he always got something when digging along the bamboo shoots.
Jingnan and Xiaoxiao followed behind Du Heng. Du Heng carried the basket that Jingnan used to pick spiritual plants on his back. His swaying back was particularly adorable as they walked in the snow.
Jing Nan said with his hands in his pockets, "Although there are bamboos growing behind my house, I have never taken any of their shoots. I don't know how they taste." Du Heng told Jing Nan with the professional qualities of a professional foodie, "This bamboo is obviously good, and the shoots it grows must be big and sweet. Watch carefully, you will definitely be able to dig up a few shoots and take them back."
Jing Nan squinted his eyes and looked at the nearest clump of bamboo. The bamboo branches swayed slightly in the wind, making it look more upright. The bamboos in the bamboo forest grew together in clusters, so crowded that they seemed to block out the sun. The wind blew over the bamboo leaves, bringing down the fine snow on them.
At the outermost edge of the bamboo forest, there was a clump of bamboo that stood out from the crowd. The other bamboos were all lush and tall, with dark green leaves that looked particularly vigorous, but this one was only as thick as a thumb, with only three sparsely planted bamboos, and their branches were bent by the heavy snow, with the three bamboos almost lying on the ground.
Du Heng shook the bamboos to shake off the remaining snow: "If I don't shake it off, if it snows again tonight, this bamboo will be broken by the heavy snow." The other bamboos are as thick as fists, but these thin bamboos are only as thick as fingers and a little over a person tall, and they look malnourished. Its color is out of tune with the dark green bamboo forest. How to describe it? Rather than saying it is bamboo, it is better to say that it is like a jade carving ornament. Although it is malnourished, it is quite beautiful.
After Du Heng shook off the snow on the bamboo, the thin bamboo seemed to wake up, and each leaf stretched out. Du Heng touched the bamboo and said, "It's okay. When the spring comes, you will grow into a flexible bamboo, and you won't be broken by the snow." People all love beauty. Such a thin bamboo must have worked hard to survive in the bamboo forest.
Du Heng thought that he could come and transplant this bamboo into the yard next year. This bamboo didn't look like the same species as the other bamboos. It just so happened that they hadn't transplanted any spiritual plants into the yard yet, so planting a bunch of bamboo would be quite elegant and match the style of the yard.
Jing Nan smiled and said, "What do you think of my bamboo forest? Isn't it very artistic?"
Du Heng looked at the bamboo forest and said, "I can see that you have never taken care of the bamboo forest, Doctor Jing. You see, there are a lot of old bamboos in your bamboo forest. It is best to remove them in time so that new bamboo shoots can grow. Moreover, this bamboo is too dense. Sometimes, the denser the better. Plants need space to grow. Too dense is not good for both new and old bamboos."
These were all taught to him by Du Heng's grandfather. Du Heng himself was not an expert in growing bamboo. With his limited knowledge, he gave Jing Nan these suggestions. Jing Nan's mouth twitched: "You... are really not polite at all."
Du Heng laughed and said, "This is what is meant by too much is as bad as too little. Next spring, you must listen to me and remove the old bamboos and leave the new ones. Then..." Du Heng heard a slight whooshing sound and felt a pain in his butt. Du Heng almost jumped up.
When he looked back, he saw the bamboo that he had just shaken off the remaining snow was swaying. Du Heng rubbed his buttocks: "Huh? Who hit me?"
Jing Nan was so happy that he almost lost his eyes: "I told you not to talk nonsense in the bamboo forest. This bamboo forest is protected by spirits. You can't talk nonsense." Du Heng quickly shut up. He put his hands together in the direction of the bamboo forest and said, "Please don't blame me, spirit of the bamboo forest. I am not well-educated and I am talking nonsense. Please don't take it to heart. I came here today to ask for some young bamboo shoots to cook. If you don't want me to, I will go back now."
The only sound coming from the bamboo forest was the wind blowing through the leaves. Du Heng lowered his hands and looked around. Xiao Xiao, who had sharp eyes, suddenly saw that the bamboo that had hit Du Heng just now seemed to come alive and rubbed Du Heng's hand with its leaves.
Xiaoxiao was about to remind Du Heng, but Jing Nan covered Xiaoxiao's mouth and said, "Xiaoxiao, this is his chance, don't interrupt."
Du Heng felt an itch on his hand. He looked down and saw three bamboos swaying in the wind. The jade-colored bamboo leaves touched the back of his hand. Du Heng touched the bamboo leaves and said, "Grow well. I will transplant you to the yard in the spring."
The spirits in the bamboo forest didn't seem to object to Du Heng's search for bamboo shoots, so Du Heng took a small hoe and walked towards the nearest clump of bamboo. He found an old bamboo and dug up the snow at the roots.
Under the thick snow was a layer of gray-brown bamboo leaves. The damp bamboo leaves were gray-brown and smelled of soil. Du Heng dug through the bamboo leaves and saw the solid soil underneath. The soil near the roots of the bamboo was arched up by the bamboo whips and extended in one direction.
Experienced bamboo shoot diggers can judge where the bamboo shoots will be based on the thickness of the bamboo nodes and the direction of the bamboo leaves, but Du Heng does not have such vision. All he can do is find the bamboo shoots and dig along them. If he is lucky, he will soon find the winter bamboo shoots buried in the soil.
Watching Du Heng busying himself, Jing Nan hugged Xiao Xiao and leaned against a bamboo stick: "Oh, I didn't realize it was so professional."
Du Heng dug for bamboo shoots in the forest. He was lucky. The bamboo shoots he found were lightly floating on the soil, so he didn't need much effort to dig them. In addition, Du Heng was now at the third level of Qi training. With a little spiritual energy in his shovel, he dug very quickly.
Not long after digging, he found a yellow bamboo shoot on the bamboo shoot. The bamboo shoot had pointed ends and a round middle. Du Heng weighed it and estimated that it should weigh more than a pound.
He happily dug the winter bamboo shoots carefully off the bamboo shoots and threw them into the backpack: "Not all winter bamboo shoots can grow into bamboos. Many winter bamboo shoots will rot in the soil, and spring bamboo shoots will grow again in the spring."
Jing Nan looked at the bamboo forest and raised his eyebrows: "Oh~ Is there such a thing? I didn't expect you to know a lot about bamboo."
Du Heng continued to dig bamboo shoots along the bamboo shoots. As he dug, he said modestly: "I can't say I know much about it. I only know very common bamboos. I have never seen the bamboo behind your house before. I have never seen such beautiful bamboo before. What is the name of this bamboo?"
Jing Nan said, "Peizhu, the full name of this bamboo is Peizhu." Du Heng thought about it and said, "This name sounds nice." However, bamboos are elegant plants, and their names won't be that bad.
Jing Nan smiled and said, "Du Heng, have you never read the history of the cultivation world before?"
Du Heng shook his head honestly. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I was an outer disciple in Medicine King Valley before, and I didn't have access to such profound things."
Jing Nan said: "That's good. Sometimes ignorance is also a kind of happiness."
Du Heng: ...suddenly I felt like I was being scolded.
The winter bamboo shoots of Peizhu are very big. There are seven or eight bamboo shoots on one bamboo shoot. Soon, half of the basket is filled with bamboo shoots. Du Heng covered the bamboo shoots with mud mixed with ice and snow: "After picking the bamboo shoots, you must protect the bamboo shoots well, so that the bamboo can grow well."
Jing Nan nodded: "Yeah~" His expression seemed perfunctory. Seeing Du Heng looking at him, Jing Nan spread his hands and said: "Don't look at me. Apart from you, no one in the village should come to pick bamboo shoots."
Du Heng asked: "Why? Don't you know how to dig bamboo shoots?"
Jing Nan shrugged: "No, do you know what Peizhu's nickname is?" Du Heng asked: "What is it?"
Jing Nan said, "Pei Bamboo is also known as Ghost Weeping Bamboo." Du Heng said, "I know. Is it true that when the wind blows through the bamboo forest, it will make ghostly howling sounds? Bamboo forests are generally quiet, so it's normal to hear such sounds."
Jing Nan smiled and said, "No, it's because this kind of bamboo grows big and has a fierce temper. Anyone who enters the bamboo forest for any purpose will be beaten to a pulp."
Du Heng was startled. He turned his head and looked at the bamboo swaying gently in the wind: "No way?" Is this just an ordinary bamboo? If it was really like what Jing Nan said, why was he able to come out intact? He also took bamboo shoots. Wouldn't he die in the bamboo forest?
Jing Nan looked Du Heng up and down: "Perhaps you have a top-grade wood spiritual root, and Peizhu likes you very much. When you collect your own spiritual plant in the future, why not consider using Peizhu as your own spiritual plant?" Du Heng scratched his head: "Hmm... OK."
Bamboo is a good thing, and its whole body is a treasure. Du Heng felt that he was not competitive with the world, so he should not need to collect a bad temper and aggressive spiritual plant. It was good to use bamboo as a spiritual plant. If he was short of food, he could dig bamboo shoots to make do with a meal, which was good.
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