Zhou Huaian recalled, "I have hunted a musk deer, a water deer, an old bear, a wild hog badger, and a few wild boars. Second brother, what valuable wild animals have you hunted?"
"I have been running in the mountains since I was 16 or 17 years old. In the past ten years or so, I have also hunted valuable wild animals such as musk deer and wild deer. However, my eldest son is in poor health, so most of the money I earn is spent on him."
Zhou Huaian and the others finally understood why Secretary Zhang's family lived like this. "What's wrong with your eldest son's health?"
Zhang Laoer smiled bitterly and said, "He was born with this problem. Last year, I killed a musk deer and sold it for money. Then I took him to Huacheng for a checkup. The doctor said he had a heart problem. If we want to cure it, we have to go to a big hospital in the provincial capital. This year, thanks to you guys coming to collect truffles, we are much more relaxed at home. When I save up some money, I will take him to the provincial capital for a checkup."
Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding looked at each other. No wonder they noticed that the color of the kid's nails and lips was a little abnormal the last time they saw him. "Have you been to Deshengtang across from the Chinese Medicine Hospital?"
Zhang Laoer sighed, "Why didn't I go! Ever since I found out something was wrong with the child, I've looked for doctors in the town hospitals, local herbalists, and even shamans, but even they couldn't help me, so I asked around for doctors.
My husband heard from people two years ago that Doctor Wang was a good doctor, so he went to see him. He also said that my youngest child had a heart problem and needed to go to a big hospital in the provincial capital for surgery.
I didn’t believe it at the time, so I saved some money last year and took my child to Huashi Hospital for a checkup. The doctor there also told us that if conditions permit, it would be best to send the child to a large hospital in the provincial capital for surgery.”
Zhou Huaian still believed in Doctor Wang and advised: "Doctor Wang is a very good person. He said so, so he must be right. I think you should listen to the doctor and save more money to take the child to the provincial capital."
"My husband said the same thing. We have been a burden to the old couple over the years. Fortunately, my eldest brother and third brother are generous. If it were only for the two of us, we would have collapsed long ago."
Zhou Huaian recalled how Huaigang and Aunt Zhou sold blood to treat his father's illness, and sighed, "Yes! We ordinary people are not afraid of anything except getting sick."
"Of course not! Workers are reimbursed for their illnesses, but we have to rely on ourselves if we get sick." Zhou Yiding decided to take over his old man's job after getting married. The salary is not much, but the company will reimburse him for his illness and pain.
As the three of them were talking, they reached the foot of the mountain. Lai Fu and Wang Cai ran around and came back to pick them up.
Zhang Laoer pointed to the mulberry forest above and said, "This forest was an economic forest planted by the brigade in the past. Now no one raises silkworms and no one picks mulberry leaves. However, there are quite a lot of mulberry bubbles every year. The children in the village like to come here to eat mulberry bubbles the most."
Zhou Huaian saw a few silkworm cocoons hanging on the bare mulberry branches at the foot of the mountain. After thinking for a while, he said to Zhang Laoer, "Brother Zhang, these are also medicinal herbs. Pick them all and I'll help you take Ning An to sell them."
Zhang Laoer broke off the mulberry branch and picked off the silkworm cocoons. "We know this. If the child has a problem urinating, we can find some and roast them and eat them, and they will stop urinating. So it turns out they are also medicinal herbs?"
"Yeah! Those grown on other trees are fine, but those grown on mulberry trees are more valuable." Zhou Huaian climbed up the hill and took a look around. He found that there were quite a few. "There are so many. You should be able to sell them for ten yuan if you pick them. Let's go around the forest and see if there are any other good things."
When Zhang Laoer heard that they could be sold for around ten yuan, he nodded happily and said, "Sure! Look around in the woods, I'll pick them and come back to you."
"That's right!"
Zhou Huaian and his friend walked around the mulberry forest with their dog and found that the mulberry trees were quite old. "Ding Ding Cat, look carefully. There may be mulberry fungus growing on the old tree stumps."
"Woof woof" Lai Fu barked wildly at the branches, and several sparrows that were perched on the branches were frightened and flew away.
Zhou Yiding looked around but didn't find anything. "Brother Zhang and his friends are also picking herbs to sell. If there were any, they would have picked them long ago."
"Secretary Zhang said last time that they only know Ganoderma lucidum and some common herbs. They probably don't know Coriolus versicolor, right? It's like those tree tongues in the forest farm. You see them but don't know how to pick them!"
"That's true! You've always had good luck in the mountains, maybe you'll find it." Zhou Yiding said, looking back at Zhang Laoer who was standing on tiptoe to pick silkworm cocoons, "Which is more valuable, mulberry fungus or ganoderma lucidum?"
"Same thing, good things are valuable, bad things are worthless."
The two talked as they searched, their eyes scanning the old tree stumps like radars, but after searching for an hour or so they didn't see even a shadow of the Coriolus polyphylla.
"This forest is quite large, probably about ten acres."
Zhou Yiding nodded, "Hey! Where's the dog?"
"Maybe it ran ahead." Before Zhou Huaian finished speaking, he heard the barking of a dog in front of him, "It's ahead!"
The two followed the sound and walked past several mulberry trees. They saw Wangcai coming to greet them, wagging his tail. When he saw the two of them, he turned around and ran forward.
"Ding Ding Cat, hurry up and catch up!" Zhou Huaian quickened his pace, "It looks like he found something good!"
"Gouzi is still the best!" Zhou Yiding followed with a gun in hand.
The two followed Wangcai and ran over, and saw Lai Fu guarding under a few large mulberry trees in the sunny place. When he saw the two coming, he barked towards the cave under the roots of the trees.
Zhou Huaian walked forward to take a look and saw that although the entrance of the hole was bigger than the rabbit hole, the dog could not get in.
He turned his head and looked at Zhou Yiding, "Dingding Cat, look at this cave, what kind of wild animal dug it?"
Zhou Yiding came forward to take a look and saw that the entrance of the cave was smooth and there was no debris at all, and there was animal feces near the cave.
"It's probably a badger hole. I heard from people in the forest farm that those creatures are cleaner than some people. Every time they go out to find food, they will wipe their hooves clean before going in, and also wash them in water."
"Hog badgers hibernate, but unlike old bears, they will wake up to eat, poop and pee during hibernation. I tell you, hog badger holes are harder to dig out than rabbit holes. There are many exits and caves inside, so they have to be blocked up and only one hole is left."
Zhou Huaian put down his backpack and picked up the medicine hoe. "Then find a hole to plug it, leaving only one hole and then smoke it out. When it faints, take it out."
"Great!" Zhou Yiding also put down his backpack and took out the medicine hoe, and the two started searching nearby.
After a while, he found a cave about six or seven meters away from the cave entrance. He picked up the hoe and started digging the soil to block the cave.
Zhou Huaian also found a cave under several thick mulberry tree stumps, and there was a small mound a few steps away from the cave entrance.
He picked up the hoe and started digging. Suddenly, he saw a flash of golden light in the gap. "Oh my god! Am I really that lucky?"
Zhou Huaian picked up the medicine hoe and turned around, his voice changed with excitement, "Ding Ding Cat, come and see what good stuff I found!"
"Did you really find it? Let me see what it looks like."
Zhou Yiding ran over happily and saw two mistletoe flowers with golden edges growing on a half-dead mulberry tree. One was bigger than a bowl, and the other was slightly smaller.
He reached out and touched the golden mushroom surface facing downwards, and found that the golden mushroom surface was like velvet. "The color is quite nice, yellow. Is this thing more valuable or is a good Ganoderma lucidum more valuable?"
"I don't know!" Zhou Huaian stepped forward and squatted. "Doctor Xiao Wang said that one ring of growth rings is one year. The longer the age, the better." He counted the rough growth rings on the back of the Coriolus grandiflora and looked at Zhou Yiding in surprise. "This small flower has fifteen rings, which proves that it has grown for fifteen years."
Zhou Yiding also went over to count them, "It's true, go count the big one!"
Zhou Huaian stood on tiptoe and counted, "This one should be seventeen years old."
Zhou Yiding took out a dagger and said, "Take it down first, dig out the badger hole, and then go down the mountain."
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian also took out a dagger, chiseled off the top one with force, and put it into his bag, "I'll go back and cook a big bone to reward the two dogs."
Zhou Yiding smiled and nodded, and handed him the Coriolus versicolor he had chiseled off. "Laifu and Wangcai are really two lucky dogs!"
"Don't you even look at who gave it the name!" Zhou Huaian put the Coriolus versicolor into his bag with a smug look on his face.
Zhou Yiding smiled and glanced at him, "Without my two good masters Dahei and Dahuang, no matter how good the name is, it's useless!"
"That's right! I haven't seen Dahei and Dahuang for a long time. I miss them a little. Will Uncle Daqing bring them down the mountain this time?"
Zhou Yiding picked up the medicine hoe and started to plug the badger burrows. "I bring it down the mountain every New Year."
"Go down the mountain and take them for a good stroll!"
The two men blocked four cave exits in total and searched the surrounding area but didn't find any other exits, so they returned to the two cave entrances where Lai Fu discovered the badgers.
Zhou Huaian saw a lot of dried wormwood under the mulberry tree, "Ding Ding Cat, go over there and cut some wormwood and dig it up with the roots."
"That's right!" Zhou Yiding picked up a medicine hoe and shoveled a bundle of stinking wormwood over, then threw it on the ground with disgust. "No wonder this thing is only cut to smoke mosquitoes. No one cuts it to use as firewood no matter how thick it grows. It's dry like this and still stinks."
Zhou Huaian picked up a handful of grass and twisted it into a bundle. "Don't be disgusted by this stuff. Last time, Doctor Xiao Wang asked us to cut several dozen kilograms and send them over. He even sold them for more than two yuan!"
Artemisia selengensis is an annual herb; its leaves are somewhat similar to carrot leaves and have a strong, disgusting odor.
It has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, cooling blood, anti-inflammatory and dehumidifying. In addition, it is also used as an insecticide.
The two men lit a fire and put it into the cave entrance, and found a leaf to fan the stinking smoke into the cave.
At this time, Zhang Laoer came over with a basket on his back, "Laoyao, Yiding, what are you doing here?"
Zhou Huaian turned his head and smiled: "Smoked badger."
Zhang Laoer said hurriedly: "Badgers are the best at digging holes. Have you blocked other exits?"
"Blocked it!" Zhou Huaian put the remaining stinking wormwood on it, and the three of them blocked the other entrance.
After a while, Lai Fu and Wang Cai, who were lying on the side, suddenly stood up and looked at the cave entrance vigilantly.
Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding raised their guns, Zhang Laoer picked up the wooden stick in his hand and stood guard at the entrance of the smoky cave, the three men and two dogs were ready for battle!
"Woo, woof~" Lai Fu and Wang Cai suddenly rushed to the small mound next to them. (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com