Chapter 104 Cassava? Poisonous Cassava? (Fifth Update)
Zuo Shan continued to stroll on the small hill when suddenly she saw a shrub that was over ten meters tall growing on a small hill a few dozen meters away.
Its branches stretch out freely, with some of the higher branches extending to the mountainside.
In the morning light, Zuo Shan could clearly see the largest leaf, and its main vein in the middle was red.
Because the two hills were several tens of meters apart, what she saw was a miniature version of the plant, and... it felt very familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Zuo Shan racked his brains and finally remembered.
She had seen this plant in a TV program about wilderness survival in the rainforest—it was cassava!
For a moment she couldn't believe it, but she still ran quickly toward the hill opposite without hesitation.
When she encountered the first leaf, she took out a cutting knife and began to inspect it directly.
"Beep! Highly radioactive leaves, do not eat! Warm reminder: This plant is scientifically known as yam, its fruit grows underground, is poisonous, and is not edible!" The machine's announcement poured cold water on Zuo Shan's enthusiasm.
Why is it called a poisonous cassava? It's clearly a mutated cassava!
Of course, many plants on Green Algae Star have different names than those on Blue Star, but since it is named Poison Potato, it means that it is indeed poisonous and cannot be eaten.
As I recall, when the host introduced cassava, he also mentioned that the skin of cassava is poisonous and that eating it raw can easily cause gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting, and diarrhea.
However, after processing, it can be safely consumed, but you shouldn't eat too much of it.
Zuo Shan decided to dig some back first to try.
This tree was too big for her to handle alone, so she quickly called for Mao Li.
Mao Li has now connected his database to the local communication network, allowing him to communicate directly with her wristwatch—though this is, of course, an illegal intrusion.
Mao Li felt guilty for a long time because of this, but Zuo Shan comforted him, saying that it was all out of helplessness. After all, Green Algae Star was not connected to interstellar society and could not accept him, an alien.
The chestnut tree arrived quickly, and looking at the plant that almost covered most of the hillside, he felt a pang of guilt.
“Master, are you really going to dig up its roots? This will destroy the vegetation of the entire hill and cause soil erosion. This is a serious environmental damage, a crime against the entire Green Algae Star!” Mao Li said righteously.
"Who said I'm going to destroy this place? I'll just dig up the thick roots. Don't worry, it's a mutated plant. Even if I break off a lot of roots, as long as some thin roots are left, it will quickly grow more roots." Zuo Shan said without the slightest shame.
What she didn't say was: If everyone's starving, who has the mind to care about environmental protection? Isn't that the same for Earth's civilization? Only wealthy countries care about environmental protection; who cares about environmental protection in poor, hungry countries?
"Will its roots really grow back?" Mao Li asked, half believing and half doubting.
“It’s more real than a needle! Don’t you know how strong the vitality of mutated plants is? Just look at those few plants in our yard, we just left them to grow, and they’ve all taken root, sprouted, and grown leaves, haven’t they?” Zuo Shan said confidently.
“Okay.” Mao Li was convinced by her and extended his mechanical arm to start digging. Although he did not have X-ray vision, he could sense energy fluctuations.
Wherever the underground roots are thick, the energy fluctuations will be relatively stronger. Zuo Shan especially liked this skill, as it was much more efficient than her aimlessly digging with a broken hoe.
Most importantly, while his robotic arm is digging up roots and stems, it can also detect the radiation level. Any roots with high radiation levels will not be dug up, and everything that is dug up will be edible.
Its main features are convenience, speed, and saving time and effort!
Eight hours later, when it was time for the agreed lunch break, Mao Li had dug the small hill, which was several hundred square meters in size, into a place that looked like it had been bombed. There were pits everywhere, and they were big pits!
It's really not his fault; the roots of this poisonous potato are just too long and strong. The largest ones are over three meters long and as thick as a bowl, with many branches of varying thickness growing out from them.
He had tried his best to avoid digging up the thin roots less than five centimeters in diameter, but he still dug up this huge pile that looked like a small mountain.
Xiao Bao had absorbed several pieces of metal ore today and was satisfied with his work. When he slowly strolled over following Sister Fan's scent, he was startled to see so many thick roots. Had Sister Fan struck it rich?
After Pandora returned from collecting the items, she couldn't resist testing them first. Upon receiving a voice prompt, she exclaimed, "Sister, this stuff is poisonous! Why did you dig so much out?"
"I have a way to remove its toxins, and I guarantee I can make a delicious dish that you'll never forget," Zuo Shan said with a slightly guilty smile.
In fact, she wasn't entirely sure whether this mutated poisonous potato could completely eliminate its toxins, just like the cassava she knew.
But this stuff is rich in starch and sugar, so how can you be satisfied if you don't give it a try?
If the toxins really can't be removed, we can just dry them and burn them as firewood in the winter!
There were so many mutated poisonous potatoes that Maomao had to separate them one by one and arrange them neatly to save space.
Even so, after Xiao Bao's space was completely filled, there were still two full sacks left.
There's no need to continue gathering since we've already harvested too much. After all, dragging too much stuff back will attract unwanted attention. Who would believe you if you said your sack was full of poisonous potatoes?
It was bulging and heavy; you could tell it had gotten something good!
In the end, Zuo Shan had no choice but to divide the two sacks into four sacks, and then stuff all the leaves that she and Mao Li had collected earlier, as well as the leaves that Pan Duole had collected that morning, into the four sacks and mix them together so that they wouldn't be too conspicuous.
After all, it's normal for someone to collect two sacks of vegetables from afar. Mutant wild vegetable leaves aren't hard to find this season, and no one would rob someone for two sacks of leaves.
The scavengers in District 48 aren't stupid. Those who can travel to the farthest gathering points must have excellent physical strength or be level zero ability users. It's not worth provoking them for such a small amount.
After Zuo Shan and the others had eaten and drunk their fill, they lay down for a nap. Once they had missed the period of highest radiation intensity, they slowly dragged their sacks back home.
Of course, before leaving, Zuo Shan didn't forget to cut off a branch of the mutated poisonous potato to take back with her. She remembered that this plant was planted by cutting branches into sections.
If she can remove the toxicity from the rhizome, she will definitely plant a few plants to eat in the future.
As they walked back to the residential area, not many people paid them any attention, because there were quite a few people like them who went out to collect materials, and it was not uncommon for each person to have three or four sacks of materials. For them, having two sacks of materials each was not too bad, but it was not particularly impressive either.
When they got back to their lodgings, it was already 30 p.m. Their neighbor, Aunt Zhou, had just returned from delivering dinner to her husband at the convenience store. She greeted them with a smile, "Back so late? You went somewhere quite far today!"
"It's quite far, but we still got some good stuff. Aunt Zhou will come over later to see if there are any wild vegetables you like. Take a couple to add to the porridge tomorrow," Zuo Shan said generously.
"How could I take your wild vegetables for free? I'll buy them at market price, just for freshness." Aunt Zhou's smile widened.
She had a pretty good impression of her new neighbors. The two sisters were hardworking, capable, and generous, unlike the scavengers she used to know from the 49th and 50th districts, who were short-sighted and only thought about taking advantage of others.
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