Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 117: Eating Wild Mushrooms Has Risks
Yi Chichi was silent; this explanation was flawless, leaving her no room to doubt it.
"Let’s go!"
Reluctantly glancing at the Huangqi, Uncle Yaozi called for Yi Chichi to leave.
"They’re too small, let them grow for a few more years before we dig them up."
"I’m just worried that they’ll be discovered and dug up early."
"If that happens, there’s nothing we can do, but we can’t dig them up ourselves."
Indeed, we can’t dig them up; the age of medicinal herbs matters, but older isn’t always better.
Take Huangqi, for example: if it’s over ten years old, it might become hollow, and generally, such Huangqi is mostly unusable.
So, in picking medicinal herbs, you need to pay attention to both age and the ability to discern age.
Medicine gatherers usually won’t dig up herbs that are over a certain age.
Ginseng is probably an exception; the older it is, the more valuable it becomes.
Thinking of ginseng, Yi Chichi curiously asked, "Uncle, is there ginseng around here?"
"Changbai Mountain is the birthplace of ginseng. We don’t usually have it here, but special circumstances can’t be ruled out."
"What kind of special circumstances?"
"Just like how we found Huangqi just now."
Yi Chichi understood quickly; this meant that if a bird ate ginseng seeds, flew over here, and happened to drop the seeds, they might take root and sprout ginseng.
But the probability of that seems quite low.
"Uncle, have you ever dug up ginseng?"
"Do I look like ginseng to you? I’ve already said there’s no ginseng here."
Uncle Yaozi diligently cleared the path with a machete without missing a beat in retorting.
Yi Chichi sighed; she still hoped for a storybook-like adventure, where the heroine just happens upon ginseng in the Northeast mountains.
"But wait, Uncle, if you’ve never dug up ginseng, how come there was a thirty-year-old ginseng used in medicine before?"
"My dad is Old Yaozi, don’t you know what Old Yaozi means?"
"No, I don’t."
"He has a wide network; swapping for ginseng might be tough for others, but it’s easy for him."
The implication is: the previous ginseng used in medicine was obtained through trading.
Yi Chichi’s eyes darted, "Is there any more?"
"Don’t think about that little bit of ginseng; it’s kept as a last resort for emergencies."
Older ginseng is becoming rarer, so each use means less, and the remaining bit must be well-preserved.
Thus, this topic came to an end.
Uncle Yaozi grew up following his dad into the mountains to gather herbs, and he knows exactly what herbs grow in each area.
After Yi Chichi followed him halfway up the mountain and was exhausted, Uncle Yaozi mercifully told her she could take a break.
She sat on the ground, took off her gloves, and pulled a water bottle from her basket to hand over, "Uncle, have some water."
"Drink it yourself. I brought my own."
As he spoke, Uncle Yaozi took out his own water bottle.
After drinking, Yi Chichi wiped the sweat from her face and was about to speak when a bear-like creature appeared in her sight, causing her to gasp and instinctively reach for the Beast Repelling Powder.
"Uncle, there’s an animal that looks like a bear."
She whispered softly to alert him. Uncle Yaozi reached into his basket, swiftly grabbed a Mauser, exuded a murderous aura, and aimed in the direction of Yi Chichi’s gaze.
Then he deflated.
The entire action was done in one smooth motion, and before Yi Chichi could even react, he put away the gun and laughed, "That’s a mountain Gouzi, you can also call it a wolverine. It’s good at catching wild cats, foxes, and other small animals. It also likes to eat mushrooms, pine nuts, and various wild fruits..."
He said so much but didn’t mention whether it would harm people.
Though it wasn’t necessary to say, as the mountain Gouzi glanced at them and then walked away.
"It looks quite nice."
When the mountain Gouzi looked over, Yi Chichi saw its appearance clearly. It had a large head and a short snout, resembling both a bear and a mink, covered in fluffy fur. Its tail was particularly striking, with long and fluffy hair.
It indeed gave off a feeling that you’d want to pet it.
"Mink is the really good-looking one, and foxes too."
Thinking of foxes, Uncle Yaozi quickly reminded, "There’s a white-browed mixed fur fox around here. If you see it, either run away or scare it off, just don’t get close."
This season sees a lot of animal activity, so you could encounter one.
"Why?"
Yi Chichi was all curiosity.
Uncle Yaozi’s expression turned a bit strange, "That fox is quite the legend around here. It used to be called Grandma Hu, quite mystical... Later, I learned that the fox likes to eat poisonous mushrooms, and its farts can make people see things they shouldn’t..."
"It must be eating mushrooms containing psilocybin."
"Psy-what?"
Uncle Yaozi looked puzzled, so Yi Chichi explained in detail what psilocybin was and which mushrooms contained this hallucinogenic compound, ending with a summary.
"In short, mushrooms shouldn’t be eaten recklessly; there’s a risk!"
This made sense, and Uncle Yaozi nodded in agreement, then suddenly shifted gears—
"This psy-whatever stuff, I think it could be used in medicine."
Wow, that’s quite a keen sense.
Psilocybin is indeed used widely in medicine, but it’s classified as a psychoactive drug.
It’s useful for depression.
"Don’t think about it; strictly speaking, it’s a controlled substance."
"Why?"
"Due to its significant harm to the human body, which can range from migraines, hyper-reflexia, dilated pupils, nausea, and abdominal pain, to potentially fatal outcomes."
"The fox didn’t die and is doing fine."
That’s indeed a good example.
But this example is an animal, so it’s not relevant to humans.
"Though both mammals, foxes and humans are different species. A fox survives eating those because it might have experience managing the dosage, but humans might face unexpected reactions."
This makes sense too.
Nevertheless, Uncle Yaozi was still unwilling to give up, "If I get the chance to encounter that fox, I won’t miss the opportunity to see what kind of mushrooms it actually eats."
Yi Chichi... was at a loss for words.
She could only hope Uncle Yaozi wouldn’t encounter that fox.
But in this world, what you fear most often comes to pass.
Feeling hungry and planning to find something to eat, Yi Chichi, led by Uncle Yaozi, arrived in front of a wooden house.
There was someone there.
It was an elderly man, with white hair and beard but a face full of youthful color. He was seated on a small stool, preparing wild chicken feathers, with a gray-white mixed fur fox squatting beside him, along with a lean, muscular dog.
The fox stared unblinkingly at the chicken in the old man’s hands, while the dog stared at the fox.
The man and the two animals maintained a marvelous balance, like mutually respecting sovereigns.
The dog and the fox both had keen senses; as soon as Yi Chichi and Uncle Yaozi appeared, the dog barked loudly.
Uncle Yaozi, annoyed, exclaimed, "Hey, Old White Head, get control of your dog. Why doesn’t it remember people? It barks at me every time it sees me!"
"Who told you to be so unlikeable..."
The elderly man glanced over while speaking, and upon seeing Yi Chichi, his eyes widened dramatically, "Good heavens, why did you bring a little girl up the mountain?"
"She’s my apprentice, I’m taking her to gather medicine."
Out in the world, one’s status is what you claim it to be.
Uncle Yaozi was no exception; to protect Yi Chichi’s reputation and prevent gossip, he introduced their relationship as master and apprentice.
