Chen Lan immediately replied, "Mother-in-law, I'm ready. We can set off right now!"
Xu Mingxuan, who had been admiring the fashion show, heard the mother and daughter-in-law mention leaving and quickly said, "I'm going too. I'll go with you. I've never dug for wild ginseng before!"
Chen Lan looked at her mother-in-law, who nodded and said briskly, "Xiao Lan, go find Mingxuan a wooden dibble."
Chen Lan was immediately put in a difficult position! Where would she find such a thing so suddenly?
Seeing Chen Lan's predicament, Xu Mingxuan said, "No need, Mother. I have a way." He then picked up a pair of chopsticks from the dining table.
The mother-in-law saw that this would work and had nothing more to say.
Chen Lan went to the utility room, took out a backpack, and put it on. All three were ready to set off. Chen Lan bid farewell to her mother and the dragon-phoenix twins. Her mother held the twins' chubby little hands and waved goodbye to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan, her mother-in-law, and Xu Mingxuan walked toward the hot springs with familiarity.
As they walked and chatted, Chen Lan suddenly remembered and said, "Brother Mingxuan, have you ever soaked in hot springs? There are several hot spring pools on our mountain. Since you're here on the mountain today, you can soak in the hot springs later to relieve your fatigue."
Xu Mingxuan became instantly interested and quickly said, "Really? I've only read about people describing hot springs in books. I've never seen or soaked in one. The books say that soaking in hot springs is good for your health! Is that true?"
Chen Lan looked at her mother-in-law and said, "Brother Mingxuan, if you want to know if it's true, ask Mother-in-law. She often organizes women and children to soak in hot springs here. She's the most qualified to speak."
The mother-in-law immediately said proudly, "Yes, that's right. I am the most qualified. My old cold legs were cured by soaking in hot springs! In previous years, as soon as it rained or the weather changed, my legs would feel as numb as if they were being pricked by needles. After soaking in the hot springs this year, they don't hurt as much. You need to soak in hot springs frequently, every few days, to see the effect. Su Dan novel network. During the busy autumn harvest, we take time to soak in the hot springs, and a day's fatigue and body aches are greatly relieved."
Xu Mingxuan said, "Okay, I'll go with you to dig for wild ginseng first. After we're done, I'll soak in the hot springs here today and enjoy myself to see if it's as good as you say!"
The three walked quickly. After about an hour, they began to feel the air in the forest getting warmer. After passing through a patch of goji berry bushes, they saw mist and felt increasingly warmer.
The mother-in-law pointed to the misty area and said, "Mingxuan, the hot springs are over there. You can soak well in that hot spring pool later!"
The three bypassed the hot spring pool, and Chen Lan led the mother and son further ahead. Soon, they arrived in front of a patch of red pine trees, surrounded by many hazel, eleuthero, linden trees, and other unknown tree species.
Under the trees, there were many mushrooms like hazel mushrooms, pine mushrooms, and broom mushrooms.
As Chen Lan walked, she introduced Xu Mingxuan to the basic knowledge of wild ginseng, information she had seen in online videos from her previous life about the growing environment and conditions of Changbai Mountain wild ginseng.
"Brother Mingxuan, wild ginseng prefers a special growing environment. It generally grows under mixed forests with both coniferous and deciduous trees. It must also be in a sheltered, sunny location, and in a gently sloping mixed forest. In such places, sunlight can pass through the gaps in the forest, scattering or shining directly on the leaves of the wild ginseng with the wind, providing suitable light and heat. If it suddenly rains, the water on the gentle slope will flow down, and the gentle slope will act as natural flood control. If it's dry, the loose humus soil here will evaporate moisture, providing water and nutrients to the wild ginseng roots, allowing it to grow naturally."
After taking a breath, Chen Lan continued, "Wild ginseng is a very delicate plant. It likes sunlight but fears it; it likes moisture but fears it. Its requirements for its growing environment are extremely strict. It is very difficult to survive and grow in ordinary places in nature, which is why wild ginseng is so extremely precious. In fact, from the end of August to this time is the best time to dig for wild ginseng. Firstly, the red berries of the wild ginseng have matured, and the fruits are bright red, making them easier to find. Secondly, it is said that wild ginseng dug at this time will have better medicinal properties!"
The three continued to walk and talk, and soon arrived at the place where they had found wild ginseng last time. Chen Lan began to carefully search for the markers left behind after digging for wild ginseng last time. The trees, vines, and weeds in the forest had grown wildly over the past few months and were now completely different from when they had come to dig for wild ginseng. The markers they had made could no longer be found.
As Chen Lan walked, she used her mind to open the system's search function to scan an area within a 50-meter radius. She mentally typed "wild ginseng" on the system's screen, and immediately, one or two dozen small red dots appeared on the screen. She immediately followed the red dots and soon found a four-year-old "dengtaizi" with three pairs of whorled compound leaves and bright red fruit. So she said to her mother-in-law, "Mother-in-law, there's a four-year-old 'dengtaizi' here. Do you want to dig it?"
The mother-in-law immediately replied, "Dig it. It's enough to nourish Mingxuan. (Dengtaizi) is fine." With that, she crouched down to start digging. Suddenly, the mother-in-law cried out "Ai-yah!" startling Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan. They rushed over to ask what was wrong.
The mother-in-law said sheepishly, "I shouldn't have worn new clothes today to come up the mountain to dig for wild ginseng."
Chen Lan was a bit speechless and said, "Mother-in-law, new clothes are meant to be worn for work. Don't be reluctant to wear them. This wild ginseng is much more valuable than these clothes."
The mother-in-law said with a pained expression, "It's such a shame. I just put it on, and now it's going to get dirty."
Chen Lan saw her point and took out three snakeskin bags from the system's warehouse, letting her mother-in-law spread them around the wild ginseng so she could kneel on them while digging.
Without paying attention to how the mother and son were digging for wild ginseng, Chen Lan continued to follow the red dots and soon found a "wu pî yè" with bright red fruit and five pairs of compound leaves. She made a mark with a snakeskin bag and continued to look around the area on the system's screen. As a result, she found two "liu pî yè" with six pairs of compound leaves, two "si pî yè" and one "wu pî yè". She marked all of them with snakeskin bags. Whether to dig them or not would be up to the mother and son to decide; Chen Lan wouldn't interfere. Following that, she found several "er jia zi," several "dengtaizi," several "san hua," and several "ba zhang." Chen Lan did not mark the wild ginseng with fewer branches from these years, letting them grow for a few more years. It would be fine to dig them when needed later, as they wouldn't run away.