She was determined to gather everything on this mountain. Several people worked together, their hands moving so fast they left afterimages. After about two hours, they finally finished picking this large area of honeysuckle.
Yaelle ordered some vines to be cut about one meter from the root. They carefully dug out the roots, then tied the cut vines around the roots in bundles, preparing to take them back to the village for planting.
After bundling them here, they piled them up since no one wanted them now. They would carry them down the mountain later.
Once this was done, Yaelle led the group deeper into the forest. Along the way, they saw several wild chickens and rabbits but ignored them. Today was not for hunting, so they did not waste time.
They came across a familiar plant. It had small yellow flowers like jujube flowers, but the petals had mostly fallen off. The tree had small thorns like a Sichuan pepper tree, but she was unsure.
She planned to come back in September to check. If it was true, they could finally enjoy hot pot by the end of the year. The thought made her very hungry.
After marking the spot, she made sure everyone remembered the location. More people remembering meant it was safer to rely on at least some of them.
After arranging this, they continued deeper but saw no plants Yaelle recognized for a long time. She felt tired and thirsty, ready to sit and drink water. Attendant Sean and the others helped her lean against a large tree.
She took a drink from her water bottle and glanced at a yellow object on a branch opposite them. Yaelle stood up to look closely. It seemed to be a cluster of fungi with irregular umbrella shapes.
She did not know much about it but tugged on Attendant Sam's sleeve and said, "Attendant Sam, what is that yellow thing on the branch over there? The color is bright and looks nice." She pointed at it.
Attendant Sam followed her finger and laughed, "Miss, you're really lucky. That's lingzhi. Such a big cluster. If we bought this outside, it would cost a lot. Even the ones in the warehouse aren't this big."
"But we don't know how to prepare it. We need to find someone skilled to help. Usually, if there's one cluster, there must be more nearby. Look carefully around, and pick them gently without damaging."
Since Yaelle was resting, the others started searching carefully nearby. Attendant Sam's guess was correct. Within half an hour, the guards had collected seven or eight clusters of various sizes, weighing around four or five jin.
Yaelle was very happy. This was her first time seeing lingzhi, and it was wild. It should be much better than farmed ones.
She used to think novels about thousand-year lingzhi were nonsense. Lingzhi is like mushrooms and grows yearly. Now with temperatures around twenty degrees, it was perfect for fungi growth.
This good resource was rare, and this area seemed very suitable for it. After resting enough, Yaelle continued further inside. She saw several trees that looked like camellia trees, probably the oil tea trees she was looking for.
There were many, meaning no one had taken the seeds. The seeds fell to the ground and grew again the next year. This cycle made the whole area full of these trees.
Yaelle was very excited. She wanted to rush forward and kiss the trees. These were money.
As a common worker, she had rarely seen money in her life. Now, her eyes sparkled with gold. But since it was not the harvest season, she had them mark the location again before moving on.
She felt very confident now. This mountain was truly a treasure. This time, she was not so lucky.
Apart from some familiar herbs and wild trees, she did not find the plants she wanted.
Yaelle did not lose heart. She believed the mountain still held many surprises waiting for her. The group walked along the mountain path and suddenly heard the sound of flowing water.
They followed the sound to a small stream with clear water.
Yaelle said excitedly, "This water source is rich and better for plant growth. Let's search nearby carefully. There might be the plants I want."
Everyone started looking by the stream. Soon, Yaelle found plants that looked like sweet potato vines but also like some kind of beans. She had seen pictures online before. It was kudzu root.
These plants grew in the bushes by the water. The vines were very thick and tangled, covering the whole area. It was hard to see any other plants.
The whole patch was kudzu vines, covering at least several acres. But unfortunately, it was not the right season to harvest. The picking time was in autumn and winter.
These plants could be eaten and used as medicine. They also had a very high yield. Next time, she would bring more people to dig them all up and bring them back.
The sun was slowly setting. The day's exploration was about to end. Although they did not find all the plants she wanted, Yaelle was very satisfied.
She decided to come again. The mountain seemed to hold countless secrets and treasures. She wanted to discover them slowly.
With their harvest, they began the journey home.
When returning, Yaelle wanted to transplant the oil tea trees and Sichuan pepper trees to the village. But the season was not right for transplanting now. If she tried and failed, it would waste time and effort.
The trees might die. It was hard to find them. If they died, who would she complain to?
As for the honeysuckle, she planned to dig up as much as possible. She had read online that this plant was easy to grow. It had another name, "winter jasmine," which meant it was very cold-resistant.
Honeysuckle adapted well. It was not picky about soil or climate but grew best in thick sandy loam. It could be planted on hillsides, terraces, dikes, or poor hills.
It could reproduce by seeds, cuttings, or roots. It flowered on new branches the same year. It grew well in acidic or alkaline soil.
The roots were strong and spread well. It helped protect soil and retain water. It could be planted on hillsides and riverbanks.
There was a farming saying: "Flood kills crops, drought kills grass, frost kills pomegranates, sunburns melons, but honeysuckle is not affected."
Yaelle did not want to plant cuttings. She decided to dig up whole plants with roots. This was safer and the plants would not die.
The mountain had many plants anyway. She had no guilt taking them.
The group went to the foot of the mountain to get the cart. They took the plants back to the village.
Luckily, the mountain was close to the village. If they went home by foot, it would be dark before they arrived.
It was already getting dark when they reached the village. They placed the honeysuckle near the mountain stream.
They did not untie the bundles but soaked the roots in water to keep them fresh.