103 Chapter 103. She Only Wants to Farm
Wasn’t that a bunch of green plants that Xiaoying and the others had overlooked sweet potato seedlings?
If there were a sweet potato plant, there would be sweet potatoes. Su Qing pulled up the sweet potato plant; sure enough, a string of red sweet potatoes was at the bottom. The thick ones were about the size of a wrist, and the thin ones were about the size of a finger. They could be used as food.
“Everyone, come here. Do you see this? You should pick it.”
Su Qing showed everyone the sweet potato seedlings and sweet potatoes. They grew sorghum, chestnut rice, other grains, and leafy vegetables. It was Ji Xiaoying’s first time seeing sweet potatoes.
“Sister, can this be eaten?”
“Yes, and it’s very delicious.”
Su Qing saw that Xiaoying didn’t recognize sweet potatoes, so she guessed that no one knew that sweet potatoes were edible crops in this era.
The yield of sweet potatoes was high. They could be used as a staple food and could also be used as vegetables. The sweet potato seedlings could be used to raise pigs and could also be used as salted vegetables when they were tender. After they got to Jingshi Dao, she would teach everyone how to grow sweet potatoes.
Because everyone was used to listening to Su Qing’s orders, they began to split up to look for the sweet potato seedlings.
“Ah!”
A shriek startled everyone. Su Qing frowned and looked over, only to see Jiang Yuyan pointing at something on the tree with a pale face. She was so scared that she didn’t dare to move.
Su Qing walked over to take a look. Wasn’t this white and chubby thing a silkworm? This thing had the highest nutritional value and could even produce silk. Silk was very valuable even in modern times.
“This is good stuff. You can eat it.”
Su Qing picked up the white, chubby bug and told Jiang Yuyan. Jiang Yuyan covered her face in fear, not daring to look. She was most afraid of these soft bugs, as they made her tremble.
“Those who aren’t afraid of bugs pick more. You can exchange silk for money.”
Su Qing turned around and told Ji Xiaoying and the rest that silk could be made into satin. Satin was very expensive, and they had another way to make money.
Hearing that they could be exchanged for money, the girls came to catch the silkworm babies. Su Qing threw many of them into the system, and little seven was busy. Its master wanted to raise silkworms to make money, so it had to care for the silkworm babies. It could not let them die.
Su Qing was afraid that Jingshi Dao had no mulberry leaves, so she found a place where no one was around, plucked two small mulberry trees, and threw them into the system. She also threw the sweet potato into the system.
She was determined to farm in the future. She would collect the seeds she saw and use them when farming.
Xiao Qi looked at her system with a bitter face. After a series of operations by her master, the high-end drug distribution system became a warehouse, kitchen, medicine shop, and farm!
Xiao Qi busied herself like a hardworking bee. Su Qing and the girls caught a basket of silkworm babies, and Su Qing picked another basket of mulberry leaves to feed the silkworm babies on the way.
There were three baskets of sweet potatoes, which should be enough to eat. Su Qing called for everyone to return. Li Shuang’er wanted to pick some herbs for Su Qing, so she said to Su Qing,”
“Sister Su Qing, can you teach us how to recognize the herbs?”
“Yes.” Su Qing glanced at Li Shuang’er and agreed. She knew that they would be able to improve their herb-picking progress.
On the way back, Su Qing told them the names of the herbs whenever she saw them. She briefly explained the medicinal properties of the herbs and which ones were more valuable and which ones were less valuable.
The more she spent on Peach Blossom, the less money she had to spend. She had to increase income and reduce expenditure. She had thought about digging up herbs and selling them before, but significant events were always happening, so she didn’t have the time to care about it.
The girls were all listening and memorizing seriously, like eager students. They looked at Su Qing with admiration as if she was their teacher.
Li Shuang’er and Jiang Yuyan gathered their courage and said to Su Qing,
“Sister Su Qing, we want to learn martial arts from you.”
They wanted to be as strong as Su Qing so that they would not need the protection of men.
“We farmers don’t need to know martial arts.”
Su Qing’s face was cold as she rejected the offer. No one could affect her determination to farm. Her dream was to farm, not bring many girls to fight and kill.
Ji Shuisheng weaved a net for Li Daniu and the rest to catch fish, but the river water was too shallow. They only caught small fish that were the length of a finger. They were not full at all and could only make fish soup.
Ji Shuisheng took Zhong Yong into the mountains to hunt. When they entered the mountains, they encountered a group of wild goats. Ji Shuisheng shot two arrows simultaneously and hit two of them. The two of them were very lucky when they were together. There was plenty of grass and water on the mountain, so the two goats were quite fat.
Zhong Yong was so happy that he was grinning from ear to ear,
“Big brother, we have meat to eat.”
Zhong Yong wasn’t afraid of the heavens or the earth, but he was scared of being hungry. As long as there was food, he would be happy.
“Well, you can take it back first. I’ll see if I can catch anything else.”
Ji Shuisheng was also quite happy. This was called ‘There’s always a way out.’ They would still not starve to death if they didn’t have food.
“Alright,” he said.
Zhong Yong was incredibly obedient to Ji Shuisheng’s words. He carried the two goats effortlessly,
“Big brother, I’ll find you after I send this back.”
“No need; I’ll return directly after hunting.”
Ji Shuisheng shook his head. He still had to find Lingzhi for Su Qing. This mountain was lush and green, so it should be considered to have spiritual energy, right?
With spiritual energy, there would be Lingzhi!
“Oh.”
Zhong Yong answered naively and left with the goats on his back. Ji Shuisheng looked around and chose the highest mountain to climb. The place with the most spiritual energy should be the top of the mountain. It was shrouded in clouds and mist like a Fairyland.
When Su Qing and the ladies returned to the encampment, Zhong Yong happened to be back with the goats. Su Qing thought of a few dishes when she saw the goats.
The most delicious dish was the roasted whole goat. Unfortunately, too many people were eating, and the goats were not enough to fill the gaps between everyone’s teeth. They could only stew the goats with clear water. Only a little salt, wild scallions, and ginger were added to remove the fishy smell. The soup and water were enough to ensure that everyone could drink the soup and eat the meat.
Zhong Yong did not shirk the responsibility of skinning the goats. Although he looked simple and honest, he was efficient in his work. The goats’ skin was peeled evenly, and not a single piece of meat was taken away.
Su Qing started preparing to cook. She asked Li Daniu to gather some dry wood. To make goat soup, it had to be stewed at a high temperature. Only when it was stewed would it be mushy and fragrant?
She washed the goats and cut them evenly into small pieces of similar sizes, trying to divide them evenly without bias.
Su Qing worked, and Xiaoying assisted her. She handed over whatever was missing, and Li Shuang’er and the others took the initiative to help start the fire. Although everyone was tired, they saw hope when they saw goats. They were no longer depressed because their food had been stolen.
Ji Shuisheng grew up on the mountain and climbed up the mountain as if he was walking on flat ground. He quickly reached the top of the mountain. He heard from his foster father that Lingzhi usually grew beside oak trees and other broad-leaved trees. They liked to grow in dense vegetation, fertile soil, and moist and loose places. Moreover, the thousand-year-old Lingzhi was extracted from the essence of heaven and earth and must be protected by divine beasts.
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Ji Shuisheng had been paying attention to this place since he came up the mountain. When he walked to a rock wall, he found that the trees were dense and the land was wet. It was very likely that Lingzhi would appear.
Since a venomous snake bit him, Su Qing gave him a small pouch. Ji Shuisheng opened the pouch and saw that it contained realgar. He didn’t know where Su Qing got realgar from, but he didn’t ask and gratefully accepted it.
He had accepted the pouch to help Su Qing find the Lingzhi. As soon as he walked over, a snake slithered out of the grass, but it didn’t dare to approach him and slithered away quickly.
The poisonous creatures in the deep mountains were snakes, centipedes, mosquitoes, bees, and some plants.
This area had dense vegetation and many thistles and thorns. Ji Shuisheng took out his treasured saber to clear a path and could walk in smoothly.
As soon as he walked into the dark, he smelled a strong fishy smell.
