Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

"Second Uncle, I won!"

Zhou Rui waved the small shovel in his hand, as happy as a child.

Zhou Shijie felt a little embarrassed because he had damaged one of the vines.

"I ruined a whole nest."

"It's alright, if you ruin that nest, you can stew it tonight."

Zhou Shijie nodded and looked into the basket on his back.

"That's a lot. If we sold all of these, we'd probably make a fortune."

Zhou Shijie's eyes were burning with excitement; for the first time, he was experiencing the feeling of accomplishment.

Zhou Rui nodded. He naturally knew the current price. If he took it to the county town to sell, he could make several cents to a dollar per pound if he sold it to the right person.

The half basket contains about 20 jin (10 catties), which means that if it is sold, it will probably bring in nearly 20 yuan, which is a considerable income.

You know, they sold dozens of kilograms of meat yesterday, but only made less than a hundred yuan.

They were lucky; if the villagers had risked going up the mountain, they would most likely have returned empty-handed.

Because they are now in a position that is more or less in the shade, having moved from the front of the mountain to a slightly more shady side.

While this place isn't exactly deserted, it's not as thoroughly searched as the side near the village.

Zhou Rui relied on his experience from his previous life to avoid dangerous places as much as possible, and he also knew where these precious plants grew.

Seeing his second uncle Zhou Shijie's eagerness to try, Zhou Rui seized the opportunity to continue encouraging him.

"Come on, Second Uncle, let's see if there's anything else good."

As he spoke, Zhou Rui slung his empty basket over his shoulder, because his second uncle had taken the burden of carrying the half-full basket of wild yams.

Zhou Shijie responded, picked up the not-too-heavy wild yam, and followed Zhou Rui.

They had all brought dry rations, so they weren't worried about going hungry. It was almost noon by then, and Zhou Rui took out two boiled potatoes and handed one to his second uncle.

The two of them ate and walked like that.

Guided by his memories and intelligence from his previous life, Zhou Rui headed towards a place with dense vegetation.

My second uncle, wielding a machete and a sickle, led the way, cutting through the thorns and brambles.

The scenery in the mountains is beautiful, unlike the ubiquitous plastic waste of my previous life.

There was only a stream, green plants, and trees, all lush and green during the summer.

Because it had rained the night before, there was a lot of dew in the forest, and my trouser legs were quickly soaked.

However, neither of them cared, because there were very few leeches in this area.

The sun hangs in the middle of the azure sky, radiating warmth. The tangible sunlight filters through the dense canopy of trees, casting dappled patterns of light on the ground.

Looking at the breathtaking scene before him, Zhou Rui couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"So beautiful—"

Zhou Shijie agreed wholeheartedly. In the past, he would just drift through life in the village and rarely came to the back mountain.

After a while, they reached the shady mountainside, where the sunlight gradually thinned and the air became more humid.

Zhou Rui was not mistaken; in fact, they could already see a pine forest not far from where they were standing.

After finding his way, Zhou Rui headed into the pine forest, with his second uncle following closely behind.

The pine forest was damp because it had rained.

Wild mushrooms can only grow in such a damp environment.

A few squirrels, perhaps sensing the arrival of people, scurried about to greet them.

After walking about 300 meters, clusters of newly sprouted wild mushrooms suddenly appeared before our eyes.

From a distance, they are scattered sparsely throughout the pine forest.

Zhou Rui quickly stepped forward, confirmed that it was an edible variety, and then happily said:

"Second Uncle, watch your step, don't step on the mushrooms. We're picking some to sell at the market."

Wild mushrooms, also known as wild mushrooms, come in many varieties, some poisonous and some non-poisonous. In this era of scarcity, they were definitely the best choice for mountain people to "try something new".

Actually, by this time, they were already late, but they had come to this pine forest through a hidden path that many people didn't know about, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare to take it.

So the mushrooms here haven't been picked yet.

"Second Uncle, this is Boletus luridus. Don't touch the sap with your hands; it's poisonous."

Zhou Rui reacted quickly and stopped his eager second uncle.

My second uncle was about to cut into a brownish-yellow mushroom.

Zhou Rui recognized it at a glance; it was the famous "Jianshouqing".

If it is injured or a piece is cut off, the cross-section will quickly change color, which is proof that it contains toxins.

However, Boletus luridus is edible and quite delicious, but it must be specially processed and should not be eaten by mistake.

In his previous life, Zhou Rui had heard of many cases of poisoning from accidentally ingesting Boletus luridus.

The simplest way is to deep-fry it at high temperatures, and the time must be just right; it must be deep-fried at high temperatures to completely kill the toxins before it can be eaten.

Startled, Zhou Shijie quickly withdrew his outstretched hand. As if to verify the facts, Zhou Rui picked up a twig from the ground and then poked the "blue-flowered herb" in the hole.

Soon, the punctured cross-section quickly changed color, turning bluish-green.

"My nephew is truly knowledgeable."

Zhou Shijie scratched his head sheepishly and said something casually.

Zhou Rui did not intend to pick these mushrooms to eat, firstly because there were few of them and he was afraid of getting them mixed up, and secondly because he had other purposes for this trip.

After telling his second uncle about some poisonous wild mushrooms, Zhou Rui also picked some non-poisonous ones to use as ingredients for soup tonight.

He even found two or three precious matsutake mushrooms, but unfortunately there weren't many, otherwise some wealthy people in the county town would have loved them.

I'll save it for Grandpa to eat when I get home tonight.

Zhou Rui wasn't greedy; he didn't want to sell everything for money.

He follows a principle: after picking each wild mushroom, he gently fills the soil back in place.

This is so that this place can continue to produce wild delicacies next time.

And so, stepping on damp pine needles and picking wild mushrooms along the way, Zhou Rui arrived at the deeper part of the forest.

Here, he finally saw the main character of the day!

Astragalus!

From a distance, one can vaguely see stems emerging from the soil, quietly standing tall.

Gastrodia elata!

Zhou Rui was very excited that his wish had finally come true.

"Second Uncle, Second Uncle, come quick! There's some astragalus here, let's dig some up."

Zhou Shijie rushed over upon hearing the noise, but he didn't actually recognize Huang Qi in the field.

Just as Zhou Rui pointed to a leaf that looked very much like a locust leaf, there were some bean-shell-shaped leaves that echoed it.

This is Astragalus membranaceus; the part that can be used in medicine is the root.

The southwest region is not the main production area; only a few trees grow there sporadically.

Moreover, Zhou Rui knew that most of the villagers in the vicinity did not recognize this thing, and some people only knew that it was a medicinal herb.

However, he doesn't plan to sell it; he only wants to use it to help his grandfather improve his health. That way, as long as it's enough, it doesn't matter if there's more or less.

Judging from the amount distributed on the ground, it should be enough for a while.

What delighted him even more was the gastrodia elata growing not far away!

It's important to know that this isn't some less rare medicinal herb like astragalus or wild yam.

It is a pure wild Gastrodia elata that can fetch an "astronomical" price right now!

If handled properly, a pound of dried wild Gastrodia elata can fetch nearly 100 yuan if taken to the county town or sold to someone who knows its value!

That's equivalent to a month's salary for a town's "iron rice bowl" worker!

This is a genuine "mountain delicacy," a precious medicinal herb.