Chapter 24 Pagoda Vegetable
After waking up, it's a new day, and there's nothing I should slack off on.
First and foremost, one must strengthen their body. Without a strong body, it is impossible to cope with pregnancy, childbirth, and the extreme cold that follows extreme heat.
Today's goal is the Purple Bamboo Forest. I locked the left door, grabbed a sack and a cat-shaped chestnut, and started jogging towards my destination, enjoying the refreshing morning breeze.
Marathon running emphasizes endurance and speed, but not explosive power and extreme speed. This sport is well-suited for left-handed running.
Her personality is actually one of perseverance and composure, just like her academic performance, which has always been above average since elementary school.
In middle school, many girls' grades began to decline due to physiological and psychological reasons, but she always remained in the top ten or so in her class.
Ultimately, she went to a sports school and chose long-distance running as her major.
After transmigrating, she thanked herself countless times for this personality trait, which allowed her to quickly accept reality after the initial fear and anxiety, and begin to hoard food and accumulate silver coins like a hamster.
There will definitely be a lot of people selling pine nuts at the exchange hall these days, so she doesn't plan to join the crowd. Instead, she has chosen the Purple Bamboo Forest as her target and plans to spend time making a storage cabinet.
The original owner of this body was born in District 50 and was used to the dirt and disorder around her, so she had no need for a clean living environment. But she was different.
Even if a family is poor, it shouldn't always be a mess.
The Purple Bamboo Forest is not far from the 50th District's headquarters, but it takes at least three hours to walk there. Apart from bamboo that can be used to weave baskets, there are not many edible wild vegetables, so few people usually go there.
The mutated plants grew extremely fast, covering many parts of the road. It was still dark, and if it weren't for Mao Li leading the way to light the way, Zuo Shan would probably have fallen many times.
"Master, be careful! There is an unknown plant five meters ahead, pushing out an irregular rock. Please detour," came the childish voice of Mao Li.
"Please! Could you please convert the meters to my steps?" Zuo Shan said, annoyed. She wasn't a measuring tape; how could she possibly know the exact location five meters ahead?
“Alright, Master, there’s an obstacle two steps ahead,” Mao Li immediately gave the precise answer.
As soon as the left foot touched the ground, the raised right foot landed in place.
She cautiously moved closer, wanting to see what this plant that could support the stone looked like.
Mao Li thoughtfully focused the light near the rock. Zuo Shan pushed aside the angular rock and saw two opposite leaves.
The leaves are oblong with a pointed tip and serrated edges. In the center of the two leaves, there are clusters of beautiful white flowers with purple patterns, and some light purple buds are about to bloom.
Zuo Shan, who comes from a rural background, is very familiar with this plant. Isn't it just an enlarged version of pagoda vegetable?
The common pagoda plant is only 30-120 centimeters tall, but this one must be a mutation. The leaves are growing close to the ground, and the flowers are much smaller than before, so small that they are almost invisible if you don't pay attention.
Since the flower has shrunk, I wonder if its stem has also shrunk?
Filled with boundless curiosity, Zuo Shan decided to dig it out and take a look. Since there was no one around, the task naturally fell to Mao Li, the digging expert.
The mechanical arm of the chestnut machine dug for a full half hour before it unearthed the complete root.
What I saw was astonishing! The leaves and flowers on the ground had shrunk, but the underground rhizomes had grown thicker, each one almost the size of a carrot.
The large pile of chestnuts dug up is estimated to weigh over 30 kilograms.
Zuo Shan quickly used a cutting knife to test one: "Beep! Moderate radiation, unknown wild plant root, non-toxic, edible, it is recommended to pick it and excavate the whole plant to be sent to the safe zone for official archiving and filing."
Zuo Shan was overjoyed. He had only dug it out of curiosity and hadn't thought about whether the mutated pagoda vegetable was edible.
But now, an unexpected surprise has arrived.
In the original owner's memories, anyone who was able to collect a new edible species and hand it over would receive a high reward from the official authorities of the safe zone.
Because new species can provide official agricultural researchers with new varieties to cultivate, and once proven to be bred artificially, they will greatly help solve the current food shortage.
However, she had no idea how much the reward would be.
In my memory, the shape of the pagoda vegetable is a spiral, much like the shape of a Buddhist pagoda. The one in front of me is the same, only much larger.
Its root tip has grown into a spiral-shaped fleshy tuber, which is quite unique and cute. Zuo Shan picked one up, wiped off the dirt and sand, broke off the top, and took a bite.
Sure enough, it tastes just like I remember. It's crisp, tender, and refreshing, and it's fiber-free.
Because of this property, pagoda cabbage used to be one of her mother's favorite varieties for making kimchi.
Not only is pagoda plant delicious, it also has high medicinal value. It can be used to treat jaundice, urinary tract infections, wind-heat colds, hemoptysis, lymph node tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis. When applied externally, it can also treat boils, carbuncles, snake and insect bites.
Modern research also suggests that it is rich in selenium, and regular consumption may contribute to health and beauty.
In my memory, pagoda vegetables are very easy to grow. Once planted, they basically don't need any care. In the fall, they will produce a lot of rhizomes underground. Moreover, they are not demanding in terms of soil, and they can produce high yields even in sandy soil.
Zuo Shan was worried about the lack of edible vegetables during the long, cold winter when this pagoda vegetable came to her unexpectedly.
Since the pagoda-shaped vegetable has such a large and numerous root system, she decided to keep at least half of it to make pickles, as a side dish for the extremely cold weather.
Having dug up this pile of mutated pagoda vegetables, Zuo Shan lost all motivation to continue forward and immediately turned back.
When she ran home, it was just dawn. She glanced at the firethorn she had planted the day before, but it seemed to have changed little. She could only wait a couple more days to check on it.
However, Mao Li also checked its energy level and found that it only had 5 points left, probably because the Wood Spirit Core was using its own energy to maintain its life.
Hopefully, the 10 energy points lost won't be wasted.
Zuo Shan opened the door with his fingerprint and went inside to start preparing this huge pile of pagoda-shaped vegetables.
She picked out the ones that weren't growing very straight, cut off the connecting roots, and then washed and drained them.
After finishing that, it was already broad daylight. She put the rest into a tattered sack and dragged it to the exchange hall.
She wasn't familiar with any of the staff here, and after looking around for a while, she finally spotted the person who had exchanged alfalfa leaves for her last time.
Her photo, employee number, and name were pasted in a resin frame next to the counter. Zuo Shan glanced at it and memorized it. It turned out that her name was Chi Xiaofan, a name that was easy to remember and sounded nice. Last time, she was so busy looking at the price that she didn't notice it.
She walked to Chi Xiaofan's window and gave her a sweet smile: "Hello, Sister Chi! We meet again!"
"Oh, you're that girl from last time... oh no, Miss Zuo, I remember you." Chi Xiaofan said with a smile.
Although the chances of the other party obtaining low-radiation food again in such a short time are extremely low, she still had a very good attitude towards the girl who had earned her a commission.
"Thank you! I didn't expect you to remember an ordinary scavenger like me. Well, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"I heard that the authorities will give a reward for collecting new edible species. I wonder what the specific regulations are for this reward? Which department is responsible for acceptance?" Zuo Shan didn't bother with beating around the bush and asked directly.
"An edible new species? My goodness! You're so lucky! I can't make the decision on this, but I can take you to Minister Wen in our exchange hall. He's very familiar with the director of the Agricultural Research Institute, and I'm sure he'll give you a satisfactory answer."
"By the way, did you bring the things?" Chi Xiaofan asked excitedly.
She had always wanted to find an opportunity to curry favor with Minister Wen, but she was just an ordinary employee at the window, and without a proper reason, she didn't even have the chance to speak to Minister Wen.
Last time, she received nine tender alfalfa leaves with low radiation. When Minister Wen found out, he immediately took them to bribe his superiors. Of course, he also praised her and encouraged her to keep up the good work.
Now look what's happened! This girl is truly her lucky star; she's brought her such a wonderful surprise with her arrival.
Left Fan: She was just asking a question, but this person seems even more excited than her.
However, she had come for this very reason, and since the roots wouldn't survive if exposed to air for too long, she naturally didn't dare to waste any more time. She quickly nodded and said, "I brought it. Would you like to examine it?"
"No need, no need. This new species is extremely precious. Every additional cut will damage its root system. I'll contact Minister Wen right away." After saying that, Chi Xiaofan immediately connected with Minister Wen's phone.
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