Hidden moth

Chapter 144: The most tender and delicious newborn
For adults, what does rebirth feel like? Simply put, it's like opening up a new world. In other words, every glance at the world feels new, and there are always new and novel feelings.

There was one thing that once puzzled He Kao, leading to his subconscious rejection and making him hesitant to believe it: how did the ancients know the efficacy of so many medicinal herbs?

There are more than 10,000 kinds of traditional medicinal materials recorded in the pharmacopoeia of ancient Eastern countries. It should be noted that in order to use something as medicine, one must not only know its efficacy, but also have clear processing methods and usage conditions.

Taking into account the situations of using it in combination with other medicinal materials, the situation becomes even more varied and becomes an unimaginably complex big data chaos model.

In ancient times, there was a legend in the East that Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, but the actual situation was that there were more than just hundreds of herbs, at least tens of thousands of herbs and millions of prescriptions!

Even if Shennong took medicine every day, and took different kinds of medicine in different ways, he would not be able to finish taking them in several lifetimes. Moreover, taking medicine alone is useless. He must also be sick in order to know which medicine can cure which disease.

To confirm its effectiveness, repeated observations and verifications are required, and control experiments must be conducted... This is almost an impossible task. Not only Shennong could not accomplish it, but no matter how many people came, they could not accomplish it because the prerequisites were too complicated.

So He Kao once felt it was unreliable.

Take the paulownia as an example. Not to mention the rare spiritual plant jade paulownia, just the ordinary paulownia tree, its flowers, leaves, seeds, bark and roots can all be used as medicine.

They each have their own indications, and the requirements and methods of collection and preparation are different in different situations.

If you were given a ready-made prescription, telling you what to pick, how to process it, how to take it, and what illness it can cure, even if people wanted to verify its efficacy, it would take a lot of effort and cost a huge amount of money.

This is just verification.

So what about before these prescriptions were even invented? People had no idea the sycamore tree could cure illnesses, so who would use it as a medicinal herb? And then, by chance, they discovered and concluded what illness it could cure?

The sycamore seeds are fine, after all, they can be used to extract oil and can also be fried and eaten, but what about other parts?
Using it as medicine is different from eating tree bark and grass roots in famine years. It often requires special processing methods rather than being eaten directly.

For example, some medicinal materials need to be repeatedly steamed and dried in the sun, some need to be dried in the shade and roasted, while some cannot be heated and need to be hydrated at low temperature, or soaked in oil or extracted in wine.

If there are such precious things as wine and oil, why waste them on tree bark of unknown use?

Common things like sycamore are fine, but there are also many rare things, such as natural bezoar. Who would have thought that this thing could be used to make medicine and create so many different prescriptions?

How did the first person who did this discover it, or what was he thinking?

But now He Kao felt as if he had suddenly become enlightened. The combination of poison identification skills and medicine identification skills solved the above confusion.

For example, for a sycamore tree, he only needs to identify its roots, bark, flowers, leaves, and seeds, what benefits they bring to people, or what effects they have in different situations? Then he can try to find the most appropriate way to use them.

Even an unknown weed held endless novelty in He Kao's eyes. Originally, he could only simply determine whether it was "toxic" or not, but after breaking through to the third level and cultivating the art of appraising herbs, he was able to perceive more profound mysteries.

To put it in a more profound way, how many wild grasses are there in the world? Even within the same species, no two plants are exactly alike. The environment they grow in, the year they grow in, the climate changes they experience, and the forms they display all have subtle differences.

He Kao went all the way north, and his main purpose was to light up a new map, but what he lit up was not just a new map, but a new world.

But he did not just go into the mountains and taste herbs to become a little Shennong.

Old Man Jiang should have anticipated that if he broke through the third level and also mastered the art of identifying medicines, he would suddenly discover the efficacy of so many things and might not be able to resist trying them on himself, so he warned him long ago.

Jiang Daozhen said that for his current cultivation, he only needed to take twenty-three-year-old Jade Wutong Seeds to assist him, and he should not take any other medicines randomly.

After driving across the Hong River, the terrain gradually turned into an open plain. He Kao no longer insisted on driving on the country road, and took the highway which was no longer congested. He drove through several big cities and found a hotel to stay in at night.

He is a hidden moth, living in a hotel, and can return to places he has been to at any time, such as practicing on the sycamore tree in Pugang Town.

Since he wants to light up the new map, he must go to the big cities located at important transportation nodes.

The Danding Sect's medicine identification technique can not only be used to identify flowers and plants in the mountains and fields, but can also be used on anything seen anywhere. The only difference is that sometimes it is difficult to get a clear result.

The Ruwei Sect also has a technique of identifying objects, which, when cultivated to a high level, is called the technique of identifying spirits. It is mainly used to identify the physical and spiritual properties of various things. It can make up for the shortcomings of the technique of identifying medicines in this regard, and it can also be practiced concurrently in the future.

He Kao drove from the north bank of the Yangtze River, first crossing the Hong River and then the Zu River. Along the way, he walked through the mountains and stopped in important cities. He also visited many rural towns to see the excitement and saw many novel and unique products.

Nowadays, with the development of online commerce and logistics, many things can be bought online, but you have to know that these things exist so that you can remember to look for them... He Kao remembered them all in his mind.

After crossing the Zu River, the largest city he spent the longest in was Pingjing, the capital of the Eastern Kingdom. His car wasn't licensed, so he didn't dare venture out of the area. He checked into a hotel outside the Sixth Ring Road and rented another car locally for two days.

After leaving Pingjing, he drove out of the customs and entered the Northeast region...On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, he arrived in Kuanchun City and brought a lot of Qiyuan specialties to his uncle's family.

He had been to Kuanchun City twice. The first time was when he was a child and went to his uncle's house with his grandfather to play; the other time was last year, when he was trapped in a park toilet in the cold weather wearing only light clothes and almost couldn't get back.

My uncle's name is Zhou Feng, and I'm still a little confused about whether to call him Second Uncle or Third Uncle. According to the old clan tradition, since he is my grandfather's second son, he should be called Second Uncle.

But in the new society, men and women are treated the same. My uncle is the third child in the family, and he has an older aunt before him. So it seems that he should be called Third Uncle?
When he arrived in the Northeast, this problem was easily solved. He just had to call him uncle.

"Laoshu" doesn't mean the oldest, but the youngest. Similarly, the youngest aunt is also called "Laoyi".

Zhou Feng was the youngest child in the family, beloved by his parents and cared for by his older siblings. By the time he was in high school, his family was well off, giving him the opportunity to attend university, eventually enrolling at Acheng University of Technology in northeast China.

Ah Gong University is a key national university, which was a very good achievement in Puhu Village in the 1990s. My grandfather even held a grand banquet in the village, feeling that it was a great honor for the family.

After graduation, my uncle went to work at Kuanchun, a large state-owned enterprise that produces automobiles. He started as a technician, then became an engineer and a senior engineer. Now he is a middle-level leader and lives a relatively comfortable life.

He remembered that after his uncle started working, he would give him New Year's money every year, and the amount gradually increased from a few hundred to a few thousand, until last Spring Festival. This year, He Kao specifically told his uncle that he had started working and there was no need for him to give him New Year's money anymore.

My aunt is a colleague that my uncle met at the factory after he started working. They have a son named Zhou Ligong, who just started his sophomore year this year and is also at home during the winter vacation.

He Kao had greeted his uncle in advance, saying that he was passing by Kuanchun on a road trip. It was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and he had specially chosen an auspicious day, commonly known as "Po Wu Welcoming the God of Wealth" or "Opening the Door to Welfare".

My uncle even joked that he was here to be the God of Wealth.

He Kao had made arrangements in advance and didn't need his uncle to entertain him or arrange food and accommodation for him. He just wanted to come and visit. It had been four years since he last saw his grandfather since he passed away.

But the uncle still enthusiastically booked a large private room at the best hotel nearby and ordered a full table of dishes, almost all of which were classics! The plates were as big as small washbasins, and the portions were so generous that you'd feel full just by looking at them.

Originally, it was just a family dinner, with only his uncle, aunt, cousin, and him as the four of them. Perhaps feeling it wasn't lively enough, his uncle invited a few more friends, who in turn invited a few more, bringing the total to fifteen people, filling the large round table. He Kao had experienced drinking and dining before, but this was his first time. Since it was his treat, even strangers at the table invited him to drink.

He Kao drank a little too much and felt dizzy. Suddenly he remembered that he had passed through the deep Dabie Mountains a few days ago. There was a few kinds of wild grass root extracts that could help to eliminate the effect of the alcohol... It was a pity that he had not prepared anything in advance.

He Kao was drunk, but several people at the same table had passed out. The uncle was also drunk, and seeing this scene, his face flushed with excitement. He kept praising He Kao for his promising future, as if he felt very proud.

My uncle drank too much and told a legendary story during the meal. His eldest brother, Zhou Du, He Kao's father, left a safe deposit box in the bank before he died. It was twenty years later that He Kao got the contents of the box... His tone was very sad.

How did my uncle know this? My eldest aunt must have told him. Looking at the reactions of the people at the table, curiosity outweighed surprise; it was clear they had heard this story before.

He Kao hadn't wanted to bring this up, but his composure was strong enough that he didn't interrupt his uncle's story out of respect. When others curiously asked about it, he simply confirmed a few things without saying much.

When his aunt went to pay the bill, He Kao listened from afar and found that the consumption was much cheaper than he expected. Compared with Qiyuan, the restaurant here is very cost-effective!

After waking up the next day, He Kao suddenly realized that he was running out of time. Today was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and his company was scheduled to return on the eighth day. Even if he turned back immediately, it would be difficult for him to drive back to Qiyuan from Kuanchun.

The map showed it was 1,800 kilometers, and the navigation recommended the shortest route, much of which was on the highway. With He Kao's energy and stamina, driving continuously wouldn't be a problem, but the highway had been jammed for the past two days.

What's more, his original destination was further north than Kuanchun, and it would be best if he could take a trip deep into the snowy forest.

After becoming a hidden moth, he often ignores the issue of spatial distance, because he can return to his habitat at any time if something happens. It seems that he needs to correct this habit, otherwise it will easily expose his identity as a hidden moth.

So he explained the situation to Gao Xue'e and asked if he could take a few more days off after the holiday. Gao Xue'e replied that it was no problem, but asked him to pay attention to safety and not drive too fast on purpose to rush back.

According to the senior supervisor, he can ask for personal leave as long as the team leader agrees and believes that it can be arranged at work, and then the supervisor will approve it.

Team leader Huang agreed, but said that He Kao could only take a maximum of two weeks of leave, and no longer than that!

Two weeks was long enough, exceeding He Kao's expectations. The senior manager approved it, but also told He Kao that his salary would be deducted for personal leave... Anyway, he could continue his journey north.

Gao Xue'e had of course known for a long time that he had driven to Kuanchun. When she heard that he wanted to continue his journey north, Gao Xue'e asked him privately if he wanted to go to Da'anling to collect wild ginseng.
He Kao smiled and replied, "Yes, if I have the chance to pick a century-old ginseng king, it will cover all the expenses for this trip, and I can even make a lot more money back!"

Jokes aside, this is not the season for ginseng picking.

At this time of year, there are still many evergreen plants in the river basins, and even a field of water bamboo shoots will emerge after a rain. However, the rivers north of Kuanchun are still frozen, and the mountains and fields are covered with snow.

The best season for locals to harvest wild ginseng is in autumn, after the grass and trees have withered and before the ground freezes. At this time, the ginseng has stored nutrients to prepare for the winter and is of the best quality.
But this time window is very short, so some people also pick ginseng after the spring and summer. At that time, the branches and leaves on the surface are easier to identify and the efficiency is higher.

Winters here often bring heavy snowfall, and the frozen soil beneath the snow is so hard that even ordinary people can't dig it up with a hoe. There's not much farm work to do in such cold weather, especially in the countryside, where people just spend their days huddled together on the kang, chatting and joking.

The kang culture in Northeast China has been relatively developed since ancient times. A group of people get together to chat, just like performing a skit.

He Kao replaced the antifreeze in the car and installed snow tire casings before he dared to continue driving forward. Fortunately, the car is a hybrid electric vehicle. If it were a pure electric vehicle, the performance would be more affected.

His next big city was Acheng, where his uncle had gone to college. He found that there were quite a lot of tourists here this year, who came to see the ice and snow scenery and experience various ice and snow entertainment projects.

He Kao had already taken a leave and also played here for a day.

As we left Acheng and went further north, driving became increasingly difficult. The municipal government still had snow shovels clearing the main roads at any time, but He Kao's SUV could not be driven on other rural roads.

After arriving in Heling, he finally found a hotel to stay in, parked his car in the heated garage, and set off on foot with his equipment... The temperature was very low, often dozens of degrees below zero at night, and he also put on professional cold-proof clothing.

He Kao paid a week's deposit in advance to the hotel front desk, giving people the feeling that he had always lived here, but in fact he had already entered the vast Da'anling Mountains.

The mountains rise and fall continuously, the forests are not so dense, and the flatter the terrain, the thicker the snow.

If He Kao hadn't been so skilled, he wouldn't have been able to get far in such a place. Besides carrying the necessary supplies, he also carried skis, which saved him a lot of effort when skiing downhill.

In fact, he can go back to other places at any time, such as to a secret base to rest and get things, and then come back to continue his journey. The experience is completely different from that in the river basin area.

He had collected a lot of delicious things along the way, either for medicinal purposes or for cooking. Not to mention the bamboo shoots, there were also many unknown roots and buds, all of which tasted excellent, especially their invincible tenderness.

Pay attention to the cooking method and the combination of ingredients to bring out the best flavor...

Even in the snow-covered Da'an Mountains, He Kao could still find a lot of delicious food, such as pine nuts that ripened in autumn. Some pine cones were still hanging on the branches, and some could be dug out from the snow.

In addition to nuts such as pine nuts and chestnuts, there are also some unknown berries.

They may not taste good or be inedible when they first ripen in autumn, but after being left on cold branches and undergoing a natural freeze-drying process, they become surprisingly delicious, often with a unique taste.

Most of the food ingredients are various roots and rhizomes buried in the soil, which require spiritual consciousness to distinguish.

This is a great exercise for spiritual consciousness, because the snow layer is very thick and the permafrost layer is very hard. Sometimes it is necessary to clear away a piece of snow to sense things under the soil, and the sensing distance is greatly limited.

He Kao thinks many things are delicious, and so do squirrels, wild boars, and even bears.

Herds of wild boars would dig up the snow under the oak trees to eat the fallen acorns. The taste of these acorns is not very good, and if you want to eat them, they need to be processed in a relatively complicated way. Even if they are used to make wine, the fusel alcohol content is very high, so He Kao is not interested in them.

But the wild boars didn't know. Whenever He Kao passed by, they seemed to think that He Kao was coming to steal food. They would either be scared away or warn He Kao to take a detour.

The bears were still hibernating, but their sleep wasn't restful. When the weather was nice, they'd occasionally come out for a stroll. He Kao had seen them from a distance and had avoided them in time...he didn't want a conflict.

He heard that bear paws were a delicacy and bear bile was a precious medicinal ingredient, but he didn't want to harm these wild animals unless necessary.

Every day he performs a set of dragon tendon exercises in the snowy field at sunrise. His movements scare away many animals and also attract some small animals to watch from afar. For example, the squirrels in the tree holes are very confused - what's wrong with this person?
In the mountains and forests, He Kao finally saw traces of wild tigers and leopards. In order to avoid danger, he had to remain alert and pick up a weapon.

The weapon is still made of purple jade bamboo, and its texture is very tough and elastic, but it is not a spear. Its shape looks a bit like a riot fork, which is not harmful but restrictive.

It's not just He Kao who is in danger. To those tigers and leopards, He Kao is actually more dangerous.

To be on the safe side, he also carried a gun with him. He didn't intend to use it, but he had to be prepared.

**
(End of this chapter)