Call everyone over, put the mushrooms you found together with hers, and carefully teach them how to identify them, which ones are edible and which ones are not. If they encounter any they don't recognize, they can take them back and show them to her later.
After everyone had learned how to do it, they were allowed to split up and search. Xia Hua led a few people to dig bamboo shoots. Although she hadn't been to this mountain many times, she knew where there was bamboo. Looking at the bamboo shoots sprouting from the ground in the bamboo forest, she had them break them off and put them in their baskets. Once the baskets were full, they would send them back.
Let them pick the mushrooms here while she goes to find mushrooms: Boletus luridus, green-headed mushroom, porcini, termite mushroom, dried mushroom, milk mushroom, matsutake. The best among them is the termite mushroom, which has a delicate fragrance and a slightly sweet taste, but it's not easy to find.
The Boletus luridus has a fresh and crisp taste, but it changes color when cut open. It is slightly poisonous and must be cooked thoroughly before eating. Matsutake mushrooms have white and tender flesh and are highly nutritious. The green-headed mushroom is the most abundant and easiest to find.
Boletus mushrooms are highly nutritious, but they are hard to find. However, she found some and plans to have a mushroom feast when she gets home tonight, eating all kinds of mushrooms.
By noon, she had found a basket, but it wasn't full. She called the others and went back to the village for lunch. They wouldn't need to come back in the afternoon; she could wash the mushrooms and find something to hang them up to dry. When the weather cleared up, they could take them out to dry. However, she felt that there probably wouldn't be much left after they finished eating tonight.
After returning to the village, everyone put their baskets outside the canteen and went back to change into clean clothes before coming back for dinner. In the afternoon, An Shuyi did not go back to her house but stayed in the canteen to watch them wash mushrooms.
Despite her injury, no one allowed her to do anything, even though she was fine now. She was just told to sit and watch until the mushrooms were cleaned, then peel the bamboo shoots, boil them again, and stir-fry them that evening.
While they were busy, Xia Hua wrote down the recipes. These were the recipes she could remember. After everything was ready, she started cooking. An Shuyi and the other woman didn't go back to the house, but stayed in the dining hall to teach them how to cook.
Before long, the food was ready, and the bell rang outside to call everyone to come in for dinner. Not only were there dishes on the table, but there were also several large pots in the kitchen: stir-fried sliced meat with bonito flakes, stir-fried milk mushrooms with chili peppers, stir-fried minced meat with green mushrooms, stir-fried sliced meat with bamboo shoots, braised pork, and a soup.
Xia Hua was worried that they wouldn't know how to make the "Jian Shou Qing" (a type of bok choy), so she watched them make it the whole time. She tasted it before it was done and found it to be fine. Everyone quickly sat down and looked at the dishes on the table. Although they had never eaten them before, they still picked up their chopsticks.
Seeing their "go to hell" expressions, swallowing the food whole without even chewing, Xia Hua had never been so speechless in her life. An Shuyi found it hilarious watching from the side.
"You can eat without worry. Sister-in-law Xia has already eaten and tasted every dish. There's nothing wrong with it at all," Madam Hua said, noticing Sister-in-law Xia's expression.
She was afraid that these idiots would upset Sister Xia.
Upon hearing this, everyone awkwardly stopped eating, looked at each other, and finally picked up the food to eat. After tasting it, they realized that the vegetable was really delicious. No wonder Sister Xia knew it was poisonous, yet she still went to pick it.
Everyone started picking up the mushrooms and eating them, looking quite pleased with themselves. After finishing the meal, they realized that they had eaten more rice than usual. Not only did they finish all the rice, but they also ate the soup with it.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua were both quite full. It was drizzling outside, so they couldn't go for a walk. They could only slowly walk home with their umbrellas and pace back and forth in their rooms.
The next day, it was still drizzling. Everyone was very enthusiastic about finding mushrooms, given how delicious they were. The group agreed to set off, and Xia Hua also set off early in the morning with two baskets on her back. This time, she carried two baskets, one in the warehouse and the other on her back.
Before noon, they filled a basket with mushrooms and put it in the warehouse. Then they took out another basket and continued searching until both baskets were full. Only then did they go back. When they found a place where tribesmen lived, they took out the basket full of mushrooms in advance.
She carried one basket on her back and another on her shoulder, heading down the mountain, calling out to the local people along the way, telling them to go back and come back to look for her the next day.
With many people, things are found quickly. In just one morning, they found twice as many mushrooms as yesterday. Xia Hua told them to pick out the bad ones and eat them, and wash the good ones, put them in a basket to dry, and then sell them when the weather is good.
In the afternoon, everyone continued to clean the mushrooms. The bad ones were set aside to be stir-fried for dinner, while the good ones were all put in a basket. The next day, everyone continued to look for mushrooms. They could still find some in the morning, but the sun would come out in the afternoon, which meant that they could no longer pick mushrooms.
In two days, everyone had picked quite a few mushrooms. When the sun came out, they could be dried. Although Xia Hua was a little disappointed that she couldn't pick mushrooms, she had enough fun after three days of picking. She told everyone to remember to take the mushrooms out to dry every day and then she didn't care anymore.
After a few days, An Shuyi's wounds had almost healed, but there was still a little bruising on her chest. It would only heal slowly and would be difficult to recover in a short time. Erwa and Li Dong also drove the carriage back, but they drove the carriage directly to the house and asked Wu to call Su to check her dowry.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua didn't hide it from the villagers, so everyone knew that the carriage contained Su's dowry. However, no one was curious, and everyone was busy with their own things. Su was also called over.
When Su was called over, she bowed and said, "Thank you, Second Brother, Brother Li."
Erwa waved his hand, "Sister-in-law, no need to be so polite. We'll move the things down. If you're sure there's no problem, then put them back in your yard."
Madam Su shook her head, "I trust Second Brother, Brother Li, no need to be gentle, just move the things down."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua came over to watch the commotion and saw several people carrying boxes down. Xia Hua instructed, "Wu Shi, go and call a few strong women to help move the things to Su Shi's courtyard."
There were so many rules in ancient times. After all, Su was a new bride, and her husband wasn't home yet. Even though Erwa was her uncle, he couldn't enter her courtyard. She could only ask the women to move the things over for her, otherwise she wouldn't be able to move so many things.
"Yes, Auntie!" Wu said, heading towards the workshop. Soon she returned with several women. An Shuyi stepped forward to thank her, and they all said there was no need to be polite, and began to help move things.
After all the items were moved, they left to work in the workshop. Erwa and An Shuyi also told each other that they would take the items to Huatian City to sell the next day.
An Shuyi nodded, "Go ahead, just be careful." Huatian City isn't far, it only takes a few days to get there. If the sales go smoothly, you'll be back soon.
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