Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

Han Zhaozhao's original target was badgers and hares, and he never expected to catch pheasants.

She had never seen a pheasant before. In later generations, pheasants became protected animals, but for some reason, the more they were protected, the fewer they were. Even if someone could catch one, they would eat it secretly.

Some time ago, she heard from Xiao Sanzi that there were many pheasants in the mountains of Beijing, but she didn't take it seriously.

Han Zhaozhao took the pheasant off the wire sleeve and used a thin hemp rope to tie up the pheasant's legs and wings.

"This pheasant looks quite big at first glance, but it doesn't feel heavy when you pick it up. I wonder if it weighs three pounds?

It's a bit risky when you think about it!"

The wire snare has been tangled up, and the place has been messed up by pheasants. There are so many signs of damage that no animal would be stupid enough to come here again.

After putting the wire snare and pheasant into the space, Han Zhaozhao continued to inspect the remaining snare traps.

But disappointingly, no other animal was caught by her.

Han Zhaozhao climbed over the hillside and found a way out of the mountain from the other side.

Coming down the slope, a small river meanders by. Walking along the riverside, you will see patches of thatched grass and clumps of wild reeds from time to time.

The further they went, the more traces of human beings they saw. Han Zhaozhao discovered a path that became increasingly clear. It seemed that people came here frequently.

In the mud near the river, Han Zhaozhao found some water celery and wild mint. Because of the frost, they not only did not dry up, but looked even more crystal green from a distance!

Han Zhaozhao stepped on the pebbles in the mud and squatted over to pluck several handfuls.

She even took the roots in the soil and put them all into her space. It just so happened that beside the river in her space, she hadn't planted any other plants except the lotus root she had buried last time!

There are not as many aquatic plants in the north as in the south. Most of the aquatic plants, such as茭白, water chestnut, shield, water caltrop, and Euryale ferox, are not found in the north.

Besides lotus root, the only common plants by the river are water celery and mint.

Most aquatic plants are cold in nature and can reduce internal heat. Eating more of them when you have internal heat is very good for your health.

Although this road out of the mountain is a bit far, it is very flat because people often walk on it, so it doesn't take much time if you walk faster.

It took Han Zhaozhao half an hour to get out of the mountain. After she got out of the mountain, she walked along the path at the foot of the mountain back to the main road, and then she hurried back pushing the cart.

Unexpectedly, she was still an hour later than usual. When she got home, her grandmother had already finished get off work and was cooking and helping her collect the medicinal herbs that were drying in the yard.

Seeing Han Zhaozhao pushing three bundles of firewood into the house, the old lady said distressedly, "Zhaozhao, don't be greedy in the future. How did you get these three bundles of firewood down from the mountain?

Even though it has no leaves, it is still firewood after all. You still bundle it into such a big bundle, it must be so heavy!

It's not worth hurting your back. Didn't grandma tell you to do less? If it's not enough, we can just spend money to buy some wood."

"Grandma, your granddaughter is very smart! I cut a solid bundle from the mountain and let it roll down directly. I don't need to carry it. No matter how heavy it is, it can't crush me. The heavier it is, the faster it rolls. I can't catch up with it.

It was even easier after we got down the mountain. We just put a bundle on the cart and walked home on a flat road, which made pushing the cart much easier."

Grandma Han couldn't win the argument with her granddaughter, so she said helplessly, "Just let it go. Whatever you say is right! Hey? You dug up so many ginseng roots again?

Hey, where did you dig them? These ginseng roots are really thick!"

Han Zhaozhao untied the rope and prepared to unload the two baskets of medicinal herbs in the front yard first.

"Grandma, you mean Danshen, right? What? Is this thing in the Northeast called Xieshengen?"

"No, Xie Shengen is the name used in my hometown of Shandong. By the way, why did you dig up this herb now?

I remember that in my hometown in Shandong, this medicinal herb was only dug around the Dragon Boat Festival.”

"Who said that? I asked the doctor at the pharmacy, and he said that as long as it is a root or rhizome of Chinese medicinal materials, the best time to dig it is after the leaves fall in autumn and before they sprout in spring.

During this period, the nutrients and medicinal properties of the herbs are locked in the rhizomes, and the medicinal effects are at their best.

As long as leaves grow, they will take away the nutrients from the tubers below, and the medicinal effect will be much worse, so your suggestion to dig it after the Dragon Boat Festival is wrong."

The grandmother thought what her granddaughter said was well-reasoned and she also went to ask the doctor at the pharmacy. He was sure that the doctor was not wrong. The ones who were wrong were the villagers in their hometown.

“In the past, villagers never thought about digging herbs to sell for money, and they didn’t understand these things.

But this Xie Canggen is really a good thing!

A neighbor in my hometown had an older sister. When she was a child, she went to the river to wash clothes in winter. She accidentally fell into the river and got choked. She never had any more problems since then.

After getting married, I was unable to have children for several years. I asked for a folk remedy. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, before sunrise, I dug up some ginseng roots, boiled them in water and drank it. I only drank it once, and the next day I suddenly had diarrhea.

It's just like a ditch that was blocked and then opened again, it works!

From then on, the elder sister recovered completely and gave birth to five children, four boys and one girl!

Don’t sell all the medicine after it’s dried. Keep some for home. It’s good for women to soak in water and drink. It nourishes the blood!”

Han Zhaozhao: "Oh my god! Is it so magical? This medicine is so effective, isn't it a miracle drug?

When I go to sell herbs, I will tell this story to the doctor and ask him if it could be true.

Why don’t I believe it!”

"How can this be impossible? I saw it with my own eyes, not from hearsay.

Anyway, we have to keep some at home. Your great-grandmother has eaten it too. When she was young, she went to the fields and got caught in the rain. She had diarrhea and it was cured by drinking this Xieshen root."

Han Zhaozhao nodded quickly. She immediately brought up two cases of patients. If they didn't agree, she would drag all the women in the village out for a chat.

"Okay, I'll leave it for you. By the way, grandma, what do you think this is?"

"Tree roots. These roots are thick enough. Don't burn them after they are dried!"

Han Zhaozhao smiled. She knew that her grandmother definitely didn’t recognize him either.

"Then take a look at what this is. Is it a small watermelon? I picked a big bag of it. Let's cut it open and taste it to see if it's sweet."

Han Zhaozhao continued to tease her grandmother, untied the cloth bag, and took out a red Trichosanthes kirilowii to show off to her grandmother.

The old lady snatched it away and slapped her on the head: "You are too greedy, child. Why do you want to eat everything?

Have you digested the scallion pancakes I made for you this morning? If you get poisoned by eating something bad, don’t throw up and have diarrhea, and waste my bowl of white flour.”

Han Zhaozhao was speechless: So her grandma only remembered whether that bowl of white flour was in vain, and didn't care whether her granddaughter suffered from vomiting and diarrhea?

"Grandma, what you said really hurts my heart! Is your granddaughter not as important as a bowl of flour?"

The old lady laughed and said, "Don't make me angry anymore. Since when did you start to be so choking when you talk?

I just said it casually, I didn't mean it that way at all. To use your grandfather Guan's words, you are deliberately misunderstanding my meaning by cutting off the beginning and the end!"

Han Zhaozhao: The old lady wanted to learn a clever phrase, but she hasn't remembered it yet. Look at what has happened. It seems that the family needs a radio!

"You mean taking things out of context?" Han Zhaozhao gave her grandmother a thumbs up. "You're really good. You even learned how to use idioms!"