Chapter 53: An Eight-Treasures Ingredient Discovered in the Bamboo Forest
Aside from Ye Shengge, Xiao Yue, and the other women, the rest of the group was, of course, just as excited.
Suddenly, they also felt the urge to snap off a couple of bamboo shoots to take back with them.
Seeing the ground covered in bamboo shoots, they were itching to have a go.
However, they had already said they were just coming along to look and wouldn’t be harvesting any.
It felt too awkward to suddenly ask if they could harvest some after all.
They could only give up on the idea.
Li You smiled slightly. "Anyone who wants to pick some bamboo shoots, feel free. They’re a wonderful ingredient and very good for your health."
Hearing Li You say this, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, and the others were pleasantly surprised.
The boss really knew what they were thinking.
Liu Xu laughed heartily. "Well then, don’t mind if we do! To be honest, Boss, seeing all these bamboo shoots, we were dying to pick some."
Li You smiled as well. "In that case, everyone, get started."
"Hahaha! Alright! Let’s do it!"
Someone eagerly got to work.
Or rather, they used their feet.
Trying to snap them by hand wasn’t easy.
Besides, the husks covering the bamboo shoots were full of fine hairs.
Touching them with bare hands without gloves wasn’t just prickly—it would also make your hands intensely itchy and uncomfortable.
So, without gloves or other tools, using your feet was the best method.
One swift kick, a sharp SNAP, and the bamboo shoot broke off at the base.
It was both stress-relieving and incredibly satisfying.
Then, by carefully peeling off the husk by hand, you were left with the tender and delightful bamboo shoot.
"Hahaha! This is awesome! So stress-relieving! Amazing!" someone exclaimed in delight after kicking a shoot clean off.
Ye Shengge also aimed a kick at a bamboo shoot.
It didn’t break.
If you didn’t have enough force, it was indeed hard to break one in a single kick.
But no matter, she just kept kicking.
After a few more kicks, it snapped.
It was just as stress-relieving and satisfying.
Ye Shengge was delighted.
This was so much more fun than buying bamboo shoots at the market.
Wei Ping’s two children excitedly started searching for bamboo grubs.
Soon, the older one, Wei Yu, found something.
He shouted loudly to Li You, "Uncle Li You, come quick! I found a bamboo grub!"
"Alright, I’m coming to see."
Li You replied as he walked over.
When he got closer, he saw that there was indeed a bamboo grub on a bamboo shoot, currently eating it.
The bamboo grub, or bamboo weevil, gets its Chinese name from its long snout, which resembles an elephant’s trunk. It’s a large insect, capable of growing over 3.5 centimeters long.
This little critter loves to eat bamboo shoots and is one of the main pests for bamboo.
Although this thing can fly, and is quite a capable flier at that, its reactions are extremely slow.
Even when a person gets very close, it still doesn’t sense any danger. It just keeps on eating the bamboo shoot, enjoying its meal.
If you want to catch one, it’s a guaranteed grab every time.
Li You said, "It’s a bamboo grub, all right. Yu, you can just grab it; it won’t fly away. Just be careful not to get scratched by its forelegs."
The bamboo grub has three pairs of legs. The front pair is very large and long, with sharp tips. Getting scratched by them can be quite painful.
"Okay!"
Wei Yu answered, then reached out and grabbed the bamboo grub.
Just as predicted, the grub didn’t fly away and was caught easily in Wei Yu’s hand.
Wei Yu was thrilled. He ran over to Wei Ping, as well as his mom and grandparents.
He was going to show off the bamboo grub he had caught.
A little while later, Wei Yuxi caught one too. She was just as excited, showing it off to her parents and grandparents.
"Haha! Everyone, look what I found!" Jiang Caidong said happily, holding something up for the group to see.
Everyone looked over.
They saw an object a dozen or so centimeters long, snow-white, and cylindrical. On top, it wore something like a dark green cap.
A white, net-like structure draped down from under the cap, like a white, lacy skirt.
Someone’s eyes lit up. "That’s a real treasure!"
Others were confused, unable to recognize what it was.
They all started asking what it was.
Li You smiled. "That’s a Bamboo Mushroom."
Bamboo Mushroom?
Some of the previously confused people were pleasantly surprised. ’So this is a Bamboo Mushroom!’
But others were still puzzled. ’What’s a Bamboo Mushroom?’
"A Bamboo Mushroom is a saprophytic fungus that grows on dead bamboo roots. It’s an edible mushroom and a prized ingredient, one of the Grass Eight Treasures." This time, it was Ye Shengge who explained.
So it was a type of edible mushroom.
One of the Grass Eight Treasures... that certainly sounded like an incredible ingredient.
But... what were the Grass Eight Treasures?
Ye Shengge smiled faintly and continued to explain, "Everyone’s heard of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, right?"
Everyone nodded. They had indeed heard of it.
To be precise, they knew the name "Manchu-Han Imperial Feast."
As for what the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast actually entailed? They had no idea.
Ye Shengge continued, "The Manchu-Han Imperial Feast features Four Sets of Eight Treasures: the Mountain Eight, the Sea Eight, the Fowl Eight, and the Grass Eight.
Each set consists of eight prized ingredients.
The eight ingredients of the Grass Eight Treasures are: Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Silver Ear Mushroom, Bamboo Mushroom, Donkey Nest Mushroom, Morel Mushroom, Flower Mushroom, daylily, and Yunxiangxin Mushroom."
So that’s how it was.
Those who didn’t know before had a moment of realization.
They had learned something new.
So there was such an amazing ingredient to be found in a bamboo forest.
This made them all quite excited.
Jiang Caidong smiled. "Miss Ye is right, this Bamboo Mushroom is indeed one of the Grass Eight Treasures. It’s not just fragrant and delicious, but also incredibly nutritious and great for your health. While Bamboo Mushrooms aren’t extremely rare, they are very difficult to find. I never expected to see them in this bamboo forest. This is a huge surprise."
Hearing Jiang Caidong’s explanation, the group grew even more excited.
Liu Xu said, "If there’s one Bamboo Mushroom here, there must be more. Let’s keep looking and try to find as many as we can."
"Hahaha! Yes! I’m definitely going to find at least one."
"Me too, I have to find one too."
"..."
Everyone began searching for Bamboo Mushrooms with great enthusiasm.
Coming here with the boss today was absolutely fantastic.
As they searched for Bamboo Mushrooms, everyone was extremely glad they had come along.
This trip was just too much fun.
Ye Shengge said to Li You, "Boss, I’m going to look for Bamboo Mushrooms too."
Li You smiled. "Alright. I hope you find a lot."
"Thanks, Boss." Ye Shengge was very happy.
While everyone else was searching, Li You also began to look.
’Wouldn’t be bad to get a few more Bamboo Mushrooms to take back.’
Li You had known for a while that there were Bamboo Mushrooms in this forest.
This mountain was full of all sorts of ingredients gifted by nature.
Before long, Li You made a discovery, finding his first Bamboo Mushroom.
"Ingredient: Bamboo Mushroom.
Quality: Medium."
’Medium quality is already pretty good.’
He picked the Bamboo Mushroom and put it in a bag.
At that moment, many others also began to find some.
"Hahaha! I found one! It’s so beautiful!"
"I found one too! Thank you, Boss, for bringing us to this bamboo forest and letting me pull one of the Grass Eight Treasures out of the ground with my own hands."
"There’s one here too! This is awesome!"
"..."
Everyone excitedly reported their victories.
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A huge thank you to Dreamkiller Sin for the 100-coin donation and Enlightened Prince for the 100-coin donation!
Thank you, you two big shots!
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