1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 125: Please don't rely on experience to identify fungi

Ronan carefully picked one and put it in front of his nose. It had the smell of soil, a special mushroom aroma, and a little bit of nutty flavor.

He confirmed that he had never smelled a similar smell on other mushrooms before. It was not as strong as the aroma of porcini, but more 'fragrant'.

"It smells good, I wonder how it tastes." Ronan picked all the French lilies.

I hadn't found any traces of 'French Lily' before because I had never thought that this fungus would grow under fallen leaves.

But after seeing it for the first time, Ronan began to pay attention to places with large fallen leaves along the way, and he found it twice more.

This kind of mushroom likes to grow in groups. Although I haven't found it many times, there are still a small handful of them in total.

However, Ronan was not overwhelmed by joy and took them home directly for "experiments".

This kind of rare fungus rarely appears. Ronan is not sure that it is the edible mushroom he has locked on. The power of poisonous mushrooms is extremely huge. The slightest deviation may cost him his life, so he has to be careful.

He took the mushroom to a pharmacy in the village of Mena.

The last time I lined up here to get medicine, I saw a notice on the window:

Fungus poisoning has been prevalent recently. Villagers are advised not to identify fungi "based on experience". If you are not sure whether a mushroom is poisonous, you can bring it here for free testing.

This can be considered a special medical service in Luberon - the pharmacy can not only see people, but also mushrooms.

Today is not Monday, so there are not many people getting their medicine. There are only three or four people in line.

But Ronan went there a little late. The pharmacy closes at 4 p.m., and when it was his turn, it was nearly 3:40 p.m. The old-young duo had used up all their energy and enthusiasm for the day, and were not so friendly to the patients who came to pick up their medicines.

"Don't ask me everything, go ask your attending physician. I'm only responsible for getting medicine." Ronan heard the young girl refuse patients' questions more than once.

The older lady who liked to playfully smile narrowed her eyes, had a distracted expression, and didn't care what was happening outside the window.

Ronan guessed that maybe she had a lively party in the evening and was now "reserving her energy" for it.

Recalling the bad experience I had that day when I picked up my medicine.

If it were today, Ronan would probably have gone home and swallowed the suppository, as they were clearly in no mood to continue the demonstration.

Finally it was her turn. The young girl spread out her palms and moved her fingers anxiously, signaling Ronan to hand in the prescription quickly.

But what Ronan handed in was a plastic bag covered in mud.

He said nervously:
"Sorry, I came straight from the mountains and didn't have time to clean them up."

Ever since he got sick, Ronan has developed a deep fear of the medical staff in Provence.

He thought it was the most terrifying thing in Provence, bar none.

God bless, I hope these two don't throw my mushrooms out of the window.

The girl was stunned at first.

He quickly opened the bag to check the contents and said to himself:
“It’s mushrooms”

After saying that, she left her seat and went to the bookshelf at the back.

The older lady seemed to have woken up as well. She put on her glasses and said "Wow" excitedly:
"Finally something different."

Soon, the young girl came back with a thick reference book, which contained detailed records of edible wild mushrooms and beautiful illustrations.

The book was so huge that even though the two of them were flipping through it together, they still couldn't find it after nearly five minutes.

Ronan leaned forward and said politely:
"Sorry to trouble you." Who would have thought that 'analysis' meant turning pages of a book?
This is not as reliable as the knowledge in his head.
The older lady smiled and said:
"No, no, no, this is more interesting than hemorrhoid medicine and athlete's foot cream."

Until 4 o'clock, when they got off work, they still hadn't found the name and information of the mushroom.

The Provencals obviously don't have the habit of 'working overtime'. The older lady handed out the bag:
"Although we haven't found it yet, based on my experience, I can tell it's fine. You can leave a few of them and your contact information. We'll call you when we find its information. You can also send it to other places for 'testing'. There are places like Apt and Gold Village."

Ronan read the notice again:
Fungus poisoning has been prevalent recently. Villagers are advised not to identify fungi "based on experience". If you are not sure whether a mushroom is poisonous, you can bring it here for free testing.

Very good, the three words "based on experience" are highlighted.

The medical system in Provence still makes him feel full of "danger"!
Back in Lourmarin, Ronan did not eat the mushrooms that looked like French lilies without permission.

Again, don't do anything dangerous, even if there is only a one in a thousand chance of doing it.

He decided to send them to Apt tomorrow or the day after tomorrow for a real test to confirm that they were completely non-toxic before eating them.

After deciding on the main ingredients, Ronan still had a few preparations to make.

One is to borrow some chairs;
The second is to prepare a hot pot dipping sauce that suits the local taste;
The third is to confirm how the mushroom soup pot is made.

A pot of delicious mushroom soup usually requires many different mushrooms. Luo Tianhai taught him the Chinese cooking method, but Ronan wanted to see how the locals in Provence cooked mushrooms.

So one day he came to Louis's house with some porcini mushrooms he picked from the mountains.

There is the best 'local chef' in Lourmarin, enough chairs and four local mouths to feed, two of which are extremely picky eaters.

Ronan decided to complete these three preparations in one day.

"When you need a chair, just call me in advance and I'll send it to you." Vieri was very happy that he could help again.

He was frustrated that he hadn't been able to help in the last experiment.
But that was just horrible.

However, Vieri's frustration was immediately replaced by "horror".

He saw that in addition to porcini mushrooms, what Ronan brought also included some familiar seasonings.

"I'm going to bother you again later." Ronan said to Vieri with a smile.

"Aren't we eating mushrooms made by mom today?" Vieri asked nervously.

"Yes, but I want to do another little 'experiment'." Ronan entered the kitchen with the spices and porcini mushrooms.

"Oh, no!" Vieri ran back to the bedroom in pain and met Zoe coming out of the studio on the way.

"What are you yelling about?" Zoe asked Vieri with a frown.

Vieri pointed to the kitchen and said:
"I advise you to be careful at dinner. Ronan is here with his 'laboratory'. It's ten thousand times more terrifying than the anchovy almond paste you hate the most!"

In recent years, Provence has attracted a large number of tourists from all over the world.

These tourists from different cultures and races also brought a lot of new things to Provence, and all kinds of weird food combinations were produced, such as the combination of anchovies and almonds, and in the form of "sauce".

Zoe thinks the person who invented this food should be hanged.

She frowned slightly and became worried.

Ronan is here today to do something 'innovative'?

Should I eat it or not?
(End of this chapter)