Perhaps fate liked to play tricks on me. Top and I walked along the stream for quite a while but didn't see a single patch of mint. Instead, we found quite a few wild perilla plants along the way.
Seeing that finding this mint won't be easy right now, I can only keep an eye out for it in the future.
However, finding some perilla is also a good idea. This plant has the effects of relieving cough and phlegm, promoting qi circulation and relieving stagnation, and it has a good effect on chest tightness, nausea, and fish and crab poisoning.
In southern regions, perilla is also used as a spice in cooking. Like fish mint, it can be used to cook live fish to enhance its flavor.
Considering I haven't hunted or stocked up on food for so long, and the food at home is almost gone, it's time to replenish my supplies.
Because my left hand injury hasn't healed and I can't exert any force yet, I've focused my hunting efforts on smaller animals.
There were quite a few mushrooms on the ground in the rainforest, but I didn't recognize most of them. Picking and eating them would be like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs; I might just die one day.
However, the wood ear mushrooms growing on those dead trees are safe to eat. Wood ear mushrooms are rich in various vitamins and minerals and have a good therapeutic effect on nourishing the internal organs.
Perhaps because of the tropical rainforest, the wood ear mushrooms I found were much larger than those I had seen back in my hometown; some were even bigger than an open hand.
Wood ear mushrooms thrive in warm, humid environments. I collected them from just one dead tree and got a small basket of fresh wood ear mushrooms.
Anyway, I plan to collect as many as possible, and if I can't finish them, I'll dry them for later use.
While collecting wood ear mushrooms, some dark, gritty-looking things on the exposed rocks caught my attention.
When I got closer, wow! It was a huge patch of "thunder god's droppings," also known as ground fungus or ground lichen. It usually grows after thunderstorms, hence the name.
This is a rare and precious wild vegetable, which can only grow in a pure, natural, pollution-free environment with good air quality and a constant supply of warm and humid water.
Leigongshi is an algae plant, scientifically known as Nostoc commune, and is a rare edible wild vegetable with nutritional value comparable to ginseng and bird's nest.
Although it differs from wood ear mushroom by only one character, its protein content is far higher than that of wood ear mushrooms and other vegetables, and even lower than that of eggs.
Furthermore, its vitamin content is surprisingly high, 19 times that of seaweed. In addition, it also contains trace elements such as calcium, iron, and zinc needed by the human body, as well as a variety of sugars that are easily absorbed by the human body, such as trehalose, sucrose, galactose, and xylose.
More importantly, it has extremely low fat content and medicinal effects such as clearing the liver and improving eyesight, making it an excellent food therapy and health supplement. For me, who is currently in poor health, it is simply a great blessing.
However, this wild vegetable also has a drawback: it cannot be squeezed, otherwise it will easily break.
To preserve it, you generally have to dry it in the sun or bake it in an oven.
I didn't think too much about it at the time; I just collected the sample for one or two meals first. It's best to eat this stuff fresh so that less nutrients are lost.
To avoid damaging the collected thunder dung, I carefully wrapped it up with several large leaves.
As Top and I continued into a broadleaf forest, a faint smacking sound caught my attention. It was the sound of rodents gnawing on trees or grinding their teeth.
I gestured to Top to stay put. A rodent that could make such a loud noise in the rainforest must be quite large, at least a small animal the size of a rabbit.
Just to be on the safe side, I took the crossbow off my back, strung it, loaded a bolt, and walked toward the source of the sound.
At that moment, perhaps hearing my footsteps approaching, the creature suddenly stopped gnawing.
Upon seeing this, I immediately stopped in my tracks, wondering if it had discovered me.
A while later, the sound of gnawing came again. It seemed that this guy had been a bit careless and underestimated his opponent.
I could already see the grass rustling slightly, and I hid behind a tree to carefully examine the grass.
Then a rodent with limbs like a pig and a head like a rat appeared before me. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an adult pufferfish.
Judging from its size, this guinea pig, about the size of a small dog, probably weighs around 20 kilograms. If I can catch it, I won't have to worry about food for the next few days.
I aimed the nocked crossbow at the porcupine that was gnawing on something.
It was completely unaware that its life was under great threat. I placed my fingers on the Xuan Blade, held my breath, and pulled the trigger.
With a whoosh, the incredibly fast crossbow bolt pierced through the weeds on the ground and shot directly at the porcupine's body.
Sensing something was wrong, the pufferfish tried to escape, but it was too late. Just as it turned, a crossbow bolt struck its forefoot and pierced its body.
The porcupine tried to struggle, but after taking only two steps, its legs gave way and it collapsed.
I shot at the chest cavity, the largest part of the prey, where the margin for error is greatest.
Once hit, no matter how big the prey is, it needs to breathe, and with its lungs damaged, death is only a matter of time.
Let alone a 20-pound porcupine in front of us, even a wild boar weighing several hundred pounds would die instantly if hit in the lung by a powerful crossbow bolt.
I picked up the porcupine and weighed it in my hand; it wasn't bad prey. I can call it a day and go home to process the game. Tonight I'll cook it up with some of the porcupine droppings to make a fresh, hot dish.
On the way back, as we passed a stretch of gently flowing stream, a large group of fish were swimming upstream and playing in the water.
Seeing them swimming so happily, I felt I should do something. I stood on the shore, stick in my hand, and struck the area where the fish were most concentrated several times, splashing water everywhere.
At that moment, more than a dozen unlucky creatures were hit by the sticks and died on their backs, while several others were also left dizzy and spinning around on the surface of the water.
These fish are also great fresh ingredients. I haven't eaten fish in a long time. I just happened to pick some perilla leaves today, so stewing a pot of small fish and perilla soup will have a unique flavor.
I didn't stand on ceremony; there were fifteen small fish, each about two fingers wide.
Most of them are broadfin chub and highfin chub, but there are also two slightly larger mandarin fish. These predatory fish are excellent for making soup.
I can't put these fish into the basket yet, because there are already a lot of wild vegetables like licorice root and black fungus in it, and they would easily be crushed.
I strung the fish up through its gills with vines and hung it around my neck, while holding the pufferfish I had caught in my right hand, I walked happily toward the crevice in the rocks.
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