Chapter 61 Gathering Herbs for the Dragon Boat Festival
"You said you only heard about it and didn't know? No wonder it's been so quiet lately..." Rose has been much better behaved lately, no longer bothered by the night wind or running around, but has become very sleepy.
"It's probably summer fatigue," Rose yawned, lazily shrinking back onto the bamboo sofa in the main room.
The weather has been getting hotter lately, so Su Yun removed the cushions that were originally on it. The bamboo sofa, smooth and shiny, was placed in the cool main room, where Rose has recently taken a liking to sleeping. She often falls asleep while lying down.
I tried talking to her, but after only a couple of sentences, she lay back down on the sofa.
When Su Yun finished drying the shredded papaya and returned to the house, the other person was already asleep. "Little lazybones." Su Yun turned around, went back into the house, took a thin blanket, and covered the other person's stomach.
Lately, she's been feeling a bit sleepy, unsure if it's because of the May fatigue or because she's been waking up so early every day. For the past few days, Night Breeze has been sleeping back in the master bedroom. Although she's always afraid Rose will find out, every night when she sees Night Breeze standing pitifully at the bedroom door, clutching his pillow, she can't help but soften. Just this once, just this once... Tomorrow she absolutely must sleep alone...
And then, time and time again, it failed.
Alright! Tonight is the last time! Su Yun yawned and made up his mind.
However, apart from special periods, Rose wasn't interested in Night Breeze at all. Su Yun observed her many times, and sometimes she didn't even notice Night Breeze. Every day she was either hopping around looking for fun things to do or hopping around looking for delicious food. She was having a great time by herself and didn't need love at all.
Is it really just a purely physiological need?
Su Yun had many questions in his mind. What kind of extreme discomfort would make an orc break through the constraints of reason, or was Rose exaggerating on purpose?
Su Yun stroked his chin; this was a problem.
Rose said it would be around the Dragon Boat Festival. Su Yun didn't have a calendar, but she could feel the increasingly hot weather and the visible increase in poisonous insects. Su Yun felt that the Dragon Boat Festival was coming soon.
I wonder when the orcs' special day is. I'd better finish what I need to do.
My grandmother often said that the medicinal herbs dug up during the Dragon Boat Festival have the best medicinal properties.
So early the next morning, Su Yun carried a basket on her back and prepared to go up the mountain to see if there were any medicinal herbs.
She remembered seeing a lot of Solomon's Seal when she was lost before.
She planned to go back the way she came last time and dig some up.
The leaves of Polygonatum are slender and long, just like those of Asparagus setaceus, making them very easy to identify.
You can easily dig it out by following the root.
"Is this ginger?" Ye Feng looked at Su Yun's actions curiously. "Wild ginger?"
We grow ginger in our vegetable garden and use it often when cooking. The appearance of Solomon's seal is very similar to that of ginger, so it's no wonder that Ye Feng mistook it for ginger.
"No, this is called Polygonatum sibiricum. It can be used to make tea or soup to replenish qi and blood," Su Yun explained patiently.
"Replenish Qi and Blood? I don't understand."
"After being injured and losing a lot of blood, eating this will help."
"Oh, then we can dig up more." Ye Feng has always been a pragmatist, and upon hearing about the effects of Polygonatum, he immediately joined the team digging for it.
Rose slept in late at home and didn't keep up with the group.
The vegetation in the forest grew increasingly lush. If it weren't for Night Breeze Rose frequently going out hunting along this path, leaving behind a narrow trail, there probably wouldn't even be a place to stand.
Su Yun had to walk and chop as he went, taking a wooden stick and stepping into the grass, searching repeatedly before he could find any herbs.
"Don't go too far." Ye Feng was worried about her traveling alone and couldn't help but remind her from behind.
"It's alright, I won't go far. I'll just look around nearby," Su Yun replied with a smile. Because of her previous encounter with the wild wolf, she knew Ye Feng's worries.
However, she didn't actually know many of the herbs in the mountains; she only knew a few by watching her grandmother pick them.
"Oh, there seems to be some kudzu over there." Su Yun looked at a small ravine and vaguely saw a patch of kudzu vines, but the terrain was a bit difficult to get down. She held onto the branches and hesitated about how to get down.
But the night breeze spoke first, saying, "Let me do it."
"Huh?" Su Yun was just wondering to ask, "Do you recognize kudzu root?"
As if afraid she wouldn't agree, Ye Feng quickly circled around to the front of the ravine, picked a large handful of colorful flowers, and handed them to Su Yun.
The colorful flowers in the mountains are a variant. Originally, the flowers were no bigger than a thumb, but now they are as big as a fist, like a small hydrangea, but with more colors than a small hydrangea.
The night breeze handed her a bouquet of flowers with deep red and light pink petals surrounding yellow centers, the round, disc-like blossoms contrasting beautifully with the small, round leaves.
The colorful flower is made up of clusters of tiny, star-shaped flowers, making it very delicate and beautiful.
"Wow, so beautiful!" Su Yun said happily as she took the flowers.
Seeing her smile, Ye Feng smiled too and said, "There are still some blue ones over there, I'll go pick some more."
"Great!" Who doesn't love a beautiful bouquet? Seeing these pretty flowers can make you feel especially good. But there's still a vague feeling that something's not right. Oh, right, it's her kudzu root! Ye Feng doesn't recognize kudzu root and has mistaken the colorful flowers for it.
"Oh no, this is a five-colored flower, the kudzu root hasn't been dug up yet!"
Ye Feng turned halfway around and then turned back, scratching his head and saying somewhat shyly, "Oh... so it's not kudzu root."
Su Yun smiled and said, "The five-colored flowers are also very beautiful. I like them very much."
The leaves of kudzu resemble three tiny hearts nestled at the tip of the vine.
Its vines are thin and long, covered with white downy hairs, and look very inconspicuous and weak. But if you dig down, the unexpected roots will slowly emerge.
After all, the edible part of kudzu root is mainly the root.
The root system under the intertwined kudzu vines was particularly thick and developed. Su Yun and Ye Feng dug for a long time with small hoes, and finally dug out a giant one.
Wow, what a huge kudzu root! Enough for several meals!
"Wow, what huge tree roots!"
The roots of kudzu are rich in starch and can be eaten as a staple food. Su Yun was extremely excited to have found kudzu because she hadn't eaten carbohydrates for so long.
After walking around again, we even found quite a few wild Bupleurum chinense bulbs...
"I never expected there to be so many good things in the mountains." Su Yun returned with a basket full of good things. The basket was filled with more than half a basket of Solomon's seal, more than half a basket of kudzu root, wild Bupleurum chinense, and a large handful of fresh pigeon leaves.
"I can eat pigeon leaf tofu when I get home."
"Dove? Where is the dove?" Ye Feng looked up alertly, his ears perked up as he listened to the sounds around him, searching for any trace of the dove.
Doves are one of the species that hunt in the night wind, and hearing Su Yun mention them this time made me a little sensitive.
"No, I mean this leaf. Doesn't it look like a dove?" Su Yun said, holding up the leaf in her hand. The dove leaf is actually the leaf of the Guanyin tree. Because the leaves contain a lot of gum, they can be made into tofu. Therefore, this tree is also called tofu tree. Its leaves are about the size of a palm, with a round head and a pointed tail. The veins of the leaves droop down along the edge of the leaves, just like a dove with its wings folded.
Ye Feng tilted his head and stared blankly for a long time, clearly unable to reconcile the leaf in his hand with the live dove.
Su Yun: "You need to have imagination."
Night Breeze tilts its head: "Meow?"
Fine, if you don't know, then forget it. Su Yun won't argue with a straight man.
Back home, Su Yun began to sort through the medicinal herbs. When she passed by the stream earlier, she had already washed them thoroughly, cleaning off the dust and dirt.
Once you get home, all you need to do is use a knife to remove the bad, stubborn dirt, and that should be enough.
There aren't many special requirements for Bupleurum; it can be directly spread out and dried in the sun to be used as medicine, and it's especially effective in treating colds caused by wind and cold.
Kudzu root is quite large. After washing it and slicing it, it makes a delicious dish whether used in soup or steamed.
The most troublesome part is the Solomon's Seal, which requires careful processing.
After cleaning the Solomon's Seal, cut it into small pieces, steam it in a pot until the white core is thoroughly cooked, and then spread it out on a winnowing basket to dry in the sun.
That's not all. Polygonatum contains a slight toxicity, and it needs to be steamed and dried nine times to completely remove the toxicity.
This is only the first step.
The above steps need to be repeated eight times.
Night Breeze: "Can't we just stir-fry vegetables?"
"It's not ginger!"
"Oh~"
"Go catch two chickens and stew them with kudzu root."
"good!"
Dinner has been tentatively decided: pheasant soup, steamed kudzu root, cold tofu salad with pigeon leaves, and sweet potato leaves.
All the medicinal herbs have been processed. Next up is the dove leaf. She especially loved eating this when she was little. It has a smooth and refreshing taste with a grassy aroma, making it perfect for summer.
Making dove leaf tofu is actually very simple. After blanching the leaves, use a mesh bag to squeeze out all the juice from the leaves.
After thoroughly filtering out impurities, mix in cypress ash, stir, and set aside to cool. The green sap will solidify on its own by the afternoon.
Scoop it out, slice it, and top it with a little sesame oil, chili, and minced garlic. It's smooth, delicious, and satisfying.
Su Yun was very much looking forward to it.
Ye Feng went out to kill a chicken, leaving a little time. Su Yun thought for a moment, since it was the Dragon Boat Festival, it couldn't be without the essential ritual of the Dragon Boat Festival - taking a medicinal bath!
The herbal bath seems to be made with mugwort, peach leaves, calamus... these can all be found along the riverbank.
Su Yun picked up the sickle and soon cut a large handful of herbs. After cleaning them, he put them directly into a pot to boil into a medicinal decoction.
The mugwort along the road had all turned grayish-green. Thinking that the dried mugwort could be used for foot baths to help promote blood circulation, Su Yun cut a lot more and spread it out on the cement ground in the yard to dry in the sun.
Mugwort is truly an essential item in their household. They use it to repel mosquitoes, to take baths, and to stop bleeding... Fortunately, mugwort is very resilient and can be found everywhere. It often grows into a large patch, otherwise Su Yun would have used it up to the point of making it a scarce commodity.
Su Yun prepared the medicinal bath water and took a warm medicinal bath before the sun set. She felt refreshed and very comfortable.
He seemed much more energetic.
"This medicinal bath is really great, I feel so comfortable after taking it."
"The mosquitoes aren't biting anymore." Ye Feng also finished washing up and was sitting in a recliner drying his hair.
"Yes, this can prevent mosquito bites. Actually, it's good to wash it from time to time if you have time."
Mugwort and calamus both contain a unique fragrance that can effectively repel mosquitoes and insects. So after taking a medicinal bath, poisonous insects basically dare not approach. It is very suitable for them to take a bath when they often roam the mountains and forests. Oh, especially Rose, who loves to go out in the wild. She should be caught and forced to take a bath.
Su Yun even specially saved half a pot for her.
but--
I didn't see any roses all day today.
"They should be here by now," Su Yun thought to herself, "Could they have run off to play again?"
Night Breeze: "He didn't come over for lunch either."
Su Yun had been busy picking herbs all day and hadn't paid much attention to Rose's whereabouts. She tried to recall her memories, and it seemed that she had seen Rose listlessly come over to eat an egg pancake with them this morning at breakfast, and then she kept saying "sleepy".
Su Yun told her to go back and catch up on her sleep.
"It's almost afternoon, and they haven't come over for lunch yet. I have to go check on them."
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