GBP Chapter 343 Magical Plants
Chapter 343 Magical Plants
Tang Xin smiled and shook her head: "Sell it for money, then I can't accept it. I heard that you guys are buying sweet potatoes for money recently. When you make rain boots, I'll ask my grandfather to buy them for you. Are your rain boots expensive?"
Shen Erya, leaning on a stick, continued, "We are short of money recently, but it doesn't matter if you have one more or one less pair. Don't refuse. My sister said she will give it to you, so she will give it to you."
Tang Xin blushed slightly, but she didn't respond, because she thought that since her family wanted to do this business, it was probably not something that a little girl like Shen Youyou could give away just because she wanted to.
But she also knew that Shen Youyou meant well and liked her, so she didn't say anything, fearing that Shen Youyou would be embarrassed.
After walking for a while, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and the sun hung high in the sky, shining through the branches and leaves onto Shen Youyou and his group.
Shen Youyou wiped the raindrops that fell on her face from the leaves. Her clothes were damp from all the walking. "The sun is out. Wait until the dew on the leaves evaporates. Then the road will be easier to walk on."
Gao Erzhuang also looked up at the sky: "It looks like it won't rain for a while. I was worried that if it rained, we would have to go down the mountain early."
Guo Erya hoped it would rain: "It hasn't rained recently, and mushrooms haven't grown much, oh!"
Shen Yaya picked wild Amaranth on the road as she walked. The wild Amaranth was growing vigorously at this time and tasted very delicious. People say: "Amaranth in July is worth more than gold", which shows how delicious this wild vegetable is.
There are many ways to eat wild amaranth. It can be eaten cold, steamed with noodles, or fried with eggs. It can also be added with meat to make dumplings, steamed buns, or wontons. All of them are very delicious.
"It's okay if there are not enough mushrooms. There are amaranths everywhere along the way. We can get some back and make a cold dish at night!"
However, Amaranth is usually picked by picking a few tender leaves on its top. If you have chickens or pigs, you can pick them all off. Then people can eat the tender leaves on top, and feed the pigs and chickens with the leaves below.
Shen Youyou took out the water gourd and drank a few sips, then straightened the straw hat that was a little crooked on her head, and harvested some wild vegetables on the road as she walked.
On the way, Tang Xin also met a mountain villager who often came to Tangjia Village to buy soy sauce. The mountain people lived in Fangshan. They had no land at the foot of the mountain and made a living by hunting and mountain products.
In fact, he was a hunter. The man looked to be in his forties. He was carrying a bundle of firewood, and had a pheasant and two rabbits hanging on his body.
"Tang Xin, why didn't you follow the adults up the mountain? What are you little kids doing?"
Tang Xin stopped and smiled at the man: "Uncle, let's just walk around and not go deep into the mountains."
The man nodded and reminded, "Okay, don't go too deep. Wild boars are quite active this season. Just walk around the periphery and get down early."
"Okay, got it. Uncle, you should also be careful."
The man had just taken a few steps when he suddenly turned around and asked, "Tang Xin, I heard yesterday that someone in your village was harvesting sweet potatoes?"
This is because although his family had no land at the foot of the mountain, they had reclaimed some mountain land in front and behind their house to grow sweet potatoes.
These mountain lands do not require any taxes, but there is no protection either. If someone steals them, no one will care. However, no one steals the land of ordinary mountain residents.
Who would want to live in the mountains and farm? Not only is the yield low, but it is also difficult to grow crops and inconvenient to water.
Tang Xin was slightly stunned and looked at Shen Youyou.
Shen Youyou understood and said, "Uncle, my family is harvesting sweet potatoes. Do you want to sell them? One penny per pound. If you want to sell them, you can go to the village. The newly built mud-brick house at the foot of Fangshan is my home."
The man's surname was Hu. He nodded and said, "I have opened up some land in the mountains and planted some sweet potatoes. Yesterday, I met someone coming down the mountain who said that someone in Tangjia Village was buying sweet potatoes for one pound. I wanted to ask, other places are buying for two pounds. Do you want a lot?"
Shen Youyou: "I have limited money at the moment, so I will stop accepting money after I collect the money. If you want to sell, go there early. Since all the sweet potatoes in Tangjia Village have been collected, and we have also promoted them in the surrounding villages, I estimate that many people will come to sell them."
After hearing what Shen Youyou said, Hu the Hunter knew that there really were people buying sweet potatoes at one cent per pound. He couldn't help but smile a little and nodded in response, "Okay, I'll go back and collect them now and deliver them tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he left happily. Shen Youyou and the others didn't stay for long and continued on their way.
There were all kinds of flying insects and mosquitoes along the way. Fortunately, they all sprayed the floral water made by Shen Youyou and also brought the medicine bags given by Grandpa Guo.
There are quite a few spider webs in the woods, some of which are vertical webs that can get all over your face if you're not careful when walking.
As they walked, they held a stick or branch and swept away the spider webs on the road.
As they walked deeper into the mountains, they could still see some white mushrooms and coral mushrooms.
Of course, Shen Youyou also found a lot of the dye madder that she was looking for, as there was too much of it in the mountains.
At this time, the madder is still blooming with small white flowers. Even if there are a few fruits, they are small and green and have just grown out. They cannot be eaten yet. It is best to wait until they turn black before eating them.
However, Shen Youyou wanted to use the rhizome of madder for dyeing, so it didn't matter whether there were fruits or not. Moreover, the rhizome was used as medicine.
In order not to take up space, people will dig out the madder, cut off most of the rhizomes, and then bury the madder with a little bit of rhizomes back into the soil.
Shen Youyou didn't know if this would work, but she felt that madder was something with strong vitality and should be able to continue growing.
It's just a little troublesome for them. She did this because she thought that dyes would be an indispensable part of making plastic shoes or plastic flowers in the future. In order to allow these plants to continue to grow, it is best not to damage them excessively.
"Yo yo, I saw another patch of Eclipta prostrata, do you want more?"
Shen Youyou heard Guo Erya's voice and turned to look: "It's really a large area."
They also picked a lot of Eclipta prostrata along the way. This thing is similar to madder, it is everywhere and is very common in the fields in the countryside.
It likes to grow in a moist environment. You can find it in wetlands, streams, and roadsides.
Eclipta prostrata is an annual herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family and the genus Channa. It is a relative of the chrysanthemum and sunflower that we are familiar with.
However, the plant of Eclipta prostrata is relatively short, usually not exceeding 2 inches, and its biggest feature is its stems and leaves.
According to modern scientific research, the stems and leaves of Eupatorium are rich in melanin, which has a strong dyeing ability. It can be said that Eupatorium is a natural dyeing plant.
The seeds of Eclipta paniculata after blooming are very similar to sunflowers, but they are too small, just like miniature sunflowers.
If you rub its leaf stems with your hands, you can see black water like ink, which is very difficult to wash off.
In fact, it is also a high-quality wild vegetable. In summer, the tender stems and leaves of Eclipta prostrata are fried in water to remove the black juice and control the water.
It can be used to make soup or stir-fry meat, or it can be used to cook porridge.