Chapter 128

Ginseng is an herb for many years. It likes shade. The longer the year, the larger the rhizome, and the more valuable it is. Experienced ginseng gatherers can roughly judge the age of birth according to the berry leaves of ginseng. According to Xu Changfu, ginseng grown in one year has three leaflets, commonly known as sanhuazi. Ginseng grown in two years has five leaflets. It looks like people's palms, so it is called ma Zhangzi. Ginseng grown in three years has five leaflets, called erjiazi, and ginseng grown in four years has three forks, called dengtaizi, and so on, The six-year-old ginseng has five branches, and each branch is also five leaflets, commonly known as the pinnacle, which can be regarded as the best of ginseng.

As the king of herbs, ginseng is well known for its medicinal properties and efficacy. A large number of local ginseng collectors pour into Changbai mountains every year. Ginseng such as Euphorbia has long disappeared. Most of the ginseng kings who have been famous for ten years and a hundred years are artificial fakes. Once they are serious, they will stumble in the gutter.

The normal period of ginseng collection is from April to August. You can find and dig according to the branches, leaves and berries of ginseng. Nowadays, the mountains are closed by heavy snow, the ground is frozen and cold, and the snow depth is tens of centimeters. It is more difficult to collect a wild ginseng in such an environment than looking for a needle in a haystack.

Looking around, I didn't know what to do for a moment. However, the three of us know best that we are not picking ordinary ginseng, but ginseng essence with spiritual consciousness. Bai Ling was originally the incarnation of spirit fox. She can naturally sense whether there are her so-called fellow believers.

I stopped to get together with Bai Ling and asked in a low voice, "can you feel it?"

Bai Ling said, "as long as it appears within a ten mile radius, I can feel it."

I said, "that's not here?"

She nodded.

Since Bai Ling is sure of himself, why waste time here? I quickly stopped Xu Changfu and said with a smile, "Uncle Xu, we almost checked this forest. If someone really... Banghammer, I believe you can't escape your Dharma eye according to Uncle Xu's ability."

Xu Changfu said: "Now the snow is really thicker, so it's not easy to find a hammer. But you're right, and I don't boast. With my more than 30 years of experience in picking a hammer, as long as I walk back and forth here, I can smell whether there is a hammer or not. Obviously, there is no hammer in this forest. Even if there is, I'm afraid it hasn't been for a year. Since I haven't even been a year, It doesn't grow. It's useless even if you find it and pick it. "

Roland said, "didn't we just waste our time for a few hours?"

Xu Changfu said, "to tell you the truth, in fact, I also know that there are few possibilities in this forest. After all, this is the only way to enter the mountain. People who enter the mountain every year will choose to enter the mountain from this forest area once a year. This place can't grow even if they want to grow."

Roland said, "since you know that you still deliberately took us here for a few hours, what's your heart?"

Xu Changfu smiled and said, "Xiao Luo, don't be angry. I'm not taking a chance. You just said that you want to pick a fresh mallet. If we're lucky, we'll find one in the forest, so we don't have to risk going further."

Jiang Yilong said, "what should we do now? It's impossible to go home?"

Xu Changfu said, "of course I have this idea. I'm afraid some bosses won't like it. Ha ha... No kidding. From my more than 30 years of experience, the only place we can go now is bailigou."

While Xu Changfu said the place name, I found that his face was slightly different, but he soon returned to normal.

Jiang Yilong said, "if there is still no bailigou."

"Then we have to go to chilao peak."

Xu Changfu then pointed to the northwest and saw the half towering cloud capped and snow capped mountain standing in the sky and earth. Just looking at it, we can conclude that the road is not close. I estimate that there is no more straight road, winding and winding. It will take us a few days to go to chilao peak.

After all, Xu Changfu is a local ginseng collector with many years of experience. Of course, he knows the geographical environment here best. He concluded that bailigou, and naturally we won't speak a word. However, on the way to bailigou, Xu Changfu learned from his mouth that although bailigou is a treasure land for ginseng mining, it is full of danger. If he is careless, he will die. In the past, there were not more than ten or twenty There are many gangs. No one dares to go here. Moreover, these people dare not go deep.

Xu Changfu intends to inquire about us, and his purpose is to let us retreat from difficulties. However, it is urgent that we find a ginseng essence in this mountain as soon as possible. In this way, Bai Ling will be saved. Even if there is a real danger, we can't care so much.

We left the forest area and went straight to bailigou with Xu Changfu. I don't know if this guy was unhappy. He deliberately chose a very difficult and dangerous road. It was as difficult as natural danger. The God of death passed us several times. However, he said that this is the nearest road, which can save at least half the time. Since we can compromise again Half the time is saved. It's reasonable that we can get to bailigou soon. Unexpectedly, we didn't go more than half the way until dark.

We are fine. Although we complain, we are always buried in our hearts, but Roland is different. First, he scolds us and second, he accuses Xu Changfu of deliberately doing it. After all, she was a woman who wanted to travel with us. She didn't expect to suffer in the cold environment. She had to find any ginseng. However, once her words were too extreme, Jiang Yilong scolded her a few words, and she immediately settled down again.

Roland said, "it's so cold. What should we do now? It's so cold in this place that it's impossible for us to stay here for the night."

At present, there is a road ditch, thick snow is accumulated, and there is no place to shelter. In order to lighten our packing and speed up our journey, we didn't prepare a tent for the night, but just brought some dry food. Even if we stayed in such an environment for one night, we were designated to be frozen into an ice carved Snowman the next day.

"How can I?" Xu Changfu said with a smile "We people go to the mountains every year and want to have a good harvest in a limited time. We go to the mountains for at least ten days and a half months, or more than one or two months. Therefore, long ago, we built a straw shed where some clubs and hammers took root. A short way ahead, there is a straw shed. We will spend the night there tonight."

It's a good thing that we don't have to sleep in the ice and snow. We followed Xu Changfu's footsteps and walked forward for more than ten minutes. Then we found a grass shed in the open center of the forest and quickly drilled in.

The straw shed is supported by several wooden posts and covered with thatch. In addition to the gate, it is sealed all around. At the moment of entering, we can immediately feel the warmth on our body. We look around the straw shed. There are some early picked firewood, an earth stove piled with earth, and a large pot on it. Xu Changfu said that this is the habit of ginseng gatherers and the main reason It is convenient for the tourists who stay in the corridor here. Of course, if the tourists who stay here leave, they should also prepare for the next batch of passing tourists, that is, they have to supply as much as they use.

It was cold and cold. All he needed was a mouthful of hot soup. Xu Changfu quickly picked up the big pot and prepared to wash it with snow water outside the hut, and then boil a pot of hot water with snow water. At this time, Xu Changfu suddenly said, "Oh, this is wrong."

We looked puzzled and asked, "Uncle Xu, what's wrong?"

Xu Changfu pointed to the charcoal under the earth stove and said, "look at this situation. Someone has been here for at most two or three days."

There are some wood charcoal burned by firewood under the earth stove. According to the signs of wood charcoal, it should be left by burning in recent days. At present, I'm not sure: "in such weather and climate, how can anyone other than us have stayed here recently?"

Xu Changfu said, "it's really a little strange. To tell you the truth, a group of people came to our town in the first two days you entered the town."

We spoke in unison. "There's a group of people in town?"

Xu Changfu said, "you have seen the situation in the town. It's just like saying big or small. Once an outsider enters the town, it won't be long before everyone knows. Just two days before you enter the town, seven or eight outsiders suddenly came. At that time, these people also claimed to buy ginseng. Like you, they also want the freshest ginseng."

"And then?"

"Then they went into the mountain."

"They went straight into the mountain?"

"To put it mildly, if I didn't lead you into the mountain now, you would have to go home if you entered the mountain for more than eight miles and ten miles without authorization. Otherwise, if you want to go back to Baoding alive, you're not sure. Right?" seeing us nodding, Xu Changfu said: "In fact, as long as not a fool can understand this truth. Maybe it is for this reason that these guys later marked the price."

"How to clearly mark the price?"

"It doesn't matter whether you can pick ginseng or not. As long as you can take them into the mountain and reach the designated place, one person will give five thousand. To tell the truth, five thousand is enough for ten lamp stands and the spring of the next year, but it's not a problem for individuals to pick ten or more plants if they don't have so much luck."

"And then?"

"Later, the price was 10000, and finally 50000."

"Fifty thousand?"

Speaking of this, Xu Changfu was already a little excited and said: "It's really 50000. As long as we take them to the designated place, we will give them 50000 in cash. To tell the truth, we local ginseng collectors will take advantage of those roses and work hard to sell the collected ginseng to the participants. If we're less lucky, we can only make a living at most. However, they even offer 50000..."

"Why didn't you go?"

"I, I'm because they didn't see..."