1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 124: Picking Fungi in the Mountains
What Ronan is most concerned about is definitely whether his ability to pick truffles will be enhanced after the upgrade.

The answer is yes!

In the past, he would search for traces of truffles in areas where there was no grass at all. Many times, there were areas where there was no grass at all, but when he did the second step of sweeping, no flies flew out.

Generally when encountering this situation, Ronan will abandon this area and go to the next place to look for it, because the point where the fly flew out is his "coordinate".

Without the 'coordinates' we can't start. Do we have to dig up the entire area?
How much time will that waste?

But there will definitely be omissions in this situation.

If there are no flies, there will be no truffles underneath?

The answer is definitely no.

The third level [Collection] enhanced his sense of smell. Within half a meter, Ronan could distinguish the smell of most plants.

Most of the flavors were good enough. Ronan was very familiar with the taste of truffles.

Moreover, truffles generally grow 10-30 centimeters underground, and half a meter is enough for Ronan to confirm whether there is any truffle below.

It can be said that this improvement has greatly improved Ronan's efficiency in finding truffles.

At the same time, Ronan had a lot of information about plants in his head, as if there was an encyclopedia sealed in his brain.

The encyclopedia describes the forms, habits and growth patterns of various plants.

Although he had never seen the 'French Lily', based on Pierre's description, he had already locked on to his target.

It is a kind of fungus of the genus Morel, which does not like sunlight and usually grows in dense forests. It cannot grow at an altitude of more than 1500 meters.

With this information, Ronan narrowed his search area.

He believes that the 'French Lily' will definitely appear on his dining table.

The last time Ronan went into the mountains was in winter.

The weather was cold at that time, but he couldn't sit idle. He kept walking and looking, and the environment had little impact on him.

But entering the dense forest in summer is a headache.

First of all, the high temperature was unbearable. Ronan had only been searching for an hour when he drank one-third of the water, and that was under the premise that he was able to control himself.

But no matter how much water you drink, it can never make up for the sweat you sweat out.

Every few steps he takes he will come into close contact with flying insects, and the sudden appearance of various insects around him often annoys him.

There were weeds all over the ground under his feet. Ronan really regretted why he didn't follow Thor to buy a pair of safe boots that day.
"There won't be any snakes here." Ronan's attention was all on the ground below.

We have to look for the trace of 'French Lily' and be prepared for possible dangers.

But compared with various poisonous mushrooms, pit vipers can be described as gentle.

Everyone only knows that the more beautiful and colorful the mushroom is, the more poisonous it is.

But some "well-behaved" mushrooms can still poison an elephant.

While passing by a patch of weeds, Ronan discovered a cluster of small brown mushrooms.

This small mushroom, which looks very similar to edible wild mushrooms, is called the fleshy brown-scaled ring-petaled mushroom. The mortality rate of eating this spotted mushroom is very high, as it contains a lethal amount of amanita cyanobacterium toxin.

You won’t feel uncomfortable immediately after eating it, but your liver will start to be damaged after 10 hours.

If you are unlucky enough to eat more than 100g of the fleshy brown-scaled ring-petal mushroom, you are likely to die. This mushroom grows widely in Asia and Europe.

Not only is the brown-scaled mushroom highly poisonous, any mushroom with scales in nature is extremely toxic.

After walking for a while, Ronan discovered the second kind of very deceptive poisonous mushroom.

Those were a few brown mushrooms growing in groups on dead wood. Their scientific name was Agrocybe fasciata, also known as small round caps. This simple-looking mushroom was even more poisonous than the brown-scaled ring-shaped mushroom.

At first there are vomiting and diarrhea, and within a short period of time, organs begin to fail. The person who accidentally ingested it will be extremely painful throughout the whole process and will have to watch helplessly as they slowly die.

Of course, not all beautiful mushrooms are poisonous.

For example, this mushroom that looks like coral is called coral mushroom.

Coral fungus is known as the wild flower. It contains a variety of essential amino acids for the human body and is often used in medicine.

Most coral fungi are non-toxic and edible.

But if you see white and dark purple coral fungi, you still need to be careful, as they are still toxic.

Red, lavender, and the yellow one Ronan saw were safe.

There is also this snow-white thing, which is a type of Tremella.

Although the taste is not very good, it is edible.

The strange mushrooms are not Ronan's target, his target is the 'French Lily'.

But if you see porcini mushrooms, you will pick them up.

This season is a good time to eat porcini mushrooms. They often appear at the foot of pine and chestnut trees. You can pick a lot of them if you pay attention.

If Ronan can't find 'French Lily', he can only use porcini as a substitute.

Ronan had no equipment to measure altitude, so using the mountain opposite as a reference, he thought he was close to 1500 meters in altitude.

There will be no 'French Lily' further up.

He found a clean place to rest, wiped the sweat off his face, and replenished his water while regretting that he had come here so 'suddenly'.

There is no professional equipment and no gear for summer hiking.

It definitely wouldn't be that hard if I had a set of professional clothes.

When hunting, one must wear fluorescent clothes, so Ronan will go to a store that sells outdoor equipment to make some purchases in a while, and he decides that he must buy all the equipment.

Whether it’s for hunting or hiking in the mountains, get a set for them all!
"It's another big expense," Ronan thought, thinking money was too important, "so we have to work harder to find 'French Lily'."

Ronan encouraged himself, went down the mountain from another route, and continued searching along the way.

After searching for another hour, the target was still not found.

The only reward was that the porcini in the bag grew more and more.
Ronan even saw a giant boletus as big as a cup on the road.

In 1986, the price of porcini mushrooms had not yet been driven up.

Although this thing is not as expensive as truffles in later generations, it can still be sold for 50-60 euros per kilogram.

But Ronan tasted the sweetness of the big truffle, maybe this giant porcini is also a treasure?
"If you can't find the 'French Lily', use this porcini to entertain your guests." Ronan squatted down and picked it carefully.

When picking mushrooms, try to dig with your hands and avoid using iron tools.

In order not to damage the giant boletus, Ronan cleared all the fallen leaves around it.

Suddenly, a few small light brown plants appeared under a fallen leaf.

Ronan leaned over and examined it carefully with wide eyes.

Light brown, like a lily bud, with bumps and depressions similar to those of a sheep's stomach
"You're such a hidden gem, little guy. I know you don't like sunlight, but who would have thought you hid under the fallen leaves?" Ronan said with a big laugh.

He finally found 'French Lily'!

(End of this chapter)