After walking for about three or four hours, the trees gradually became denser, so Jiang Xi dismounted from the deer and switched to walking.
After walking another three or four kilometers, we arrived at the place where we had dug up licorice last time. Just as Yan Zheng had said, because the tree canopy was so large, a lot of snow and fallen leaves were piled up densely on the branches, while the area under the tree was a snow-free place.
Jiang Xi placed the backpack on the deer, and the two of them began a thorough search.
Yan Zheng explained to Jiang Xi how to identify licorice. Actually, licorice is easy to identify. The plant looks a bit like an elongated version of the mimosa. The part that can be used medicinally is its root, which has the effect of moisturizing the lungs and relieving cough. However, it is slightly toxic and cannot be consumed in large quantities.
This crop mostly grows in patches. I found a small plant last time, and there must be more nearby this time.
Sure enough, just as Yan Zheng had expected, they found another one in less than half an hour, even bigger than the last one. Yan Zheng took out a stone shovel, and because the soil was hard in winter, he had to use quite a bit of effort to avoid damaging its roots.
The roots he dug up were only as thick as a finger, which he was not satisfied with; they were too young and had little medicinal value.
Since they were already there, they decided to look for something of value. After digging halfway through, Yan Zheng gave up and pulled Jiang Xi away to continue their search.
After eliminating several plants, we finally found one that looked a little bigger. The plant that was creeping on the ground was two or three meters long, and after digging about ten centimeters, we could see roots that were three fingers wide.
Jiang Xi was relieved; at least the trip wasn't a complete waste.
Yan Zheng was in charge of digging, and Jiang Xi was in charge of pulling. In the end, they dug out a section of licorice root that was more than two meters long. Actually, there was more underground, but it was difficult to dig it out, and this was enough. They could drink it every day for two or three years.
It was still early, and Jiang Xi wanted to look for something else in the woods, but Yan Zheng had other plans. He gestured to the north and said, "There are many birch and pine trees over there. Maybe you can find the wild ginger you mentioned."
Jiang Xi had no objection upon hearing this and followed his arrangement.
Wild ginger has more medicinal effects than licorice. It can not only treat colds, but also dispel cold when she has menstrual cramps.
She had some questions, saying, "You've never been there, how do you know there are pine trees there?"
Yan Zheng smiled and said, "Who said I haven't been there? When I came to see you last time, I explored this area thoroughly."
"Go up, and you'll be almost there."
Pine and birch trees are generally found in colder places, and the higher you go, the lower the temperature and the sparser the trees become.
It was already afternoon, and Yan Zheng, considering the heat loss, fed the fawn a sweet potato and some hay. They started a fire on the spot, heated up some rabbit meat, and boiled some water, which served as a makeshift meal.
After dinner, Yan Zheng took Jiang Xi's hand, and the two walked for about two hours. Gradually, a few birch and pine trees began to appear around them.
With hope comes the motivation to move forward.
With their direction correct, the two suddenly regained their energy.
They encountered two caves on the way, and Yan Zheng marked them one by one. He also memorized the locations along the way so that he would have a place to spend the night if he couldn't make it back in time.
After walking another two or three kilometers deeper, Jiang Xi's hands were numb with cold. Finally, she reached a real pine forest, surrounded by pine trees and a few scattered birch trees.
However, the situation is not very optimistic. They have not seen any wild ginger plants along the way. Wild ginger is actually quite easy to identify. The plants grow relatively tall, somewhat similar to reeds by the lake, but the leaves are smaller than those of reeds.
Just when morale was low, Jiang Xi spotted a plant with sharp eyes. After autumn and winter, its leaves had fallen, leaving only a bare stem about 30 centimeters tall, which was very noticeable in the snow.
Jiang Xi suddenly remembered that she had seen a documentary book that mentioned a medicinal herb that was abundant in the Northeast—ginseng.
In autumn and winter, ginseng is just a bare stem, thin and long. She saw more than a dozen such bare stems within a kilometer.
She asked, "Yan Zheng, do you think ginseng is useful?"
Yan Zheng thought for a moment and replied, "It's useful. Ginseng is most effective for catching a cold."
Jiang Xi was secretly delighted, but she asked him calmly, "How do you know so much?"
Yan Zheng replied with a smile, "Back when I was in the team, I even went to learn about some wild medicinal herbs so I could use them in an emergency."
Jiang Xi nodded: "What if I could find the ginseng now?"
Yan Zheng looked at her, his face saying: Are you serious?
Jiang Xi, acting mysteriously, bent down to dig up the bare stalks on the ground. Ginseng is particularly fragile, especially wild ginseng, which is usually quite small, so you have to be extremely careful when digging it up.
You can't use a stone shovel; you can only use a tree branch to dig away the soil little by little.
Yan Zheng's face showed a relieved expression. He really didn't expect to have this gain. He had a vague feeling that Yan Jing'an could be saved.
Seeing that Jiang Xi was moving slowly on her own, he joined in to help her.
The two of them squatted on the ground around a blade of grass, rummaging through it for a long time.
Carefully removing the soil, we finally dug out a whole ginseng. It wasn't very big, only as thick as a human finger, with several side roots. Upon closer inspection, it really did resemble a human figure.
Jiang Xi remembered watching a documentary before, which said that the age of wild ginseng could be determined by its rhizome.
The more rootlets a wild ginseng has, the older it is. This wild ginseng's rootstock is winding and twisting, and it looks at least several decades old.
Perhaps because this place is sparsely populated, there are many wild ginseng plants like this. You can find two or three more just by looking around.
Since we're here, we should definitely gather more to take back with us.
Both of them were so engrossed in their work that they didn't care about anything else.
Digging ginseng is a very delicate task. We had only dug up two or three plants when it got dark without us even realizing it.
Yan Zheng noticed that he couldn't see things clearly anymore.
He looked up at the sky and said, "Let's set up camp here tonight and go back to the cave we passed by."
Without the sun, the temperature in the forest began to drop rapidly. Jiang Xi's hands and feet were already numb from the cold. Upon hearing this, she carefully put the wild ginseng into her bag and nodded.
Yan Zheng noticed that her eyelashes and scarf were covered in frost formed from her breath, so he quickly took off his gloves and covered her face with them.
Jiang Xi felt the warmth of his palm, and only then did she feel the stiffness on her face ease considerably.
Yan Zheng advised her, "You should ride the deer. It's easy to walk in the pine forest, we'll be there soon."
Jiang Xi shook her head. The little deer had been running around all day, and besides, it would be even colder to sit for so long.
Fortunately, the cave wasn't far, and we could get there by collecting firewood along the way. We'd rather work a little harder now so that we could stay warm at night.
The road became difficult to travel after dark, but fortunately Yan Zheng had made many marks along the way, and they managed to enter the cave before it got completely dark.
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