Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Of course, Mo Lan didn't take all of this to heart at the time. She thought that her mother-in-law was exaggerating the effects of wild vegetables in order to get them to eat more of them. If they were really that miraculous, people wouldn't need to get sick, and there would be no need for hospitals.

However, Mo Lan also knows that wild vegetables have certain benefits. At least they grow naturally and are not polluted. I think there must be some truth to the saying that wild vegetables are longevity vegetables.

Since all of this is now unverifiable, Mo Lan decided to treat the wild mountain vegetables as a valuable resource and turn them into health-promoting wild mountain vegetables!

She made a decision in her mind, looked up, and saw that the three of them had already pinched quite a few hairy legs. There were many of these, all in patches, so it was quick to pinch them.

"Wait a minute, don't just pick the hairy leg, pick this too." Mo Lan picked something that looked similar to the hairy leg and ran to the three of them.

"This green thing is called bracken fern. You can see it looks a bit like hairy ferns, but it grows individually. Like hairy ferns, you pick them, but you have to keep them separate from hairy ferns," Mo Lan explained to them, distinguishing between bracken fern and hairy ferns.

Bracken fern, also known as fiddlehead fern, cat's paw fern, and dragon head fern, grows in a similar environment to hairy-legged fern. The edible part is its unopened, tender leaf buds.

Bracken fern rhizomes are thick and large, standing upright with a curled-up top, typically reaching 60 centimeters in height. If the curl at the top unfurls, it means the fern is old and won't taste good. I remember my mother-in-law often saying, "If the bracken fern's head has opened up like a palm, you must not pinch it off; pinching it back won't help, and you won't be able to eat it."

In spring, when its tender leaves have just sprouted and not yet fully unfurled, it is best to pick them and eat them at this time, as they are the tenderest and best.

Bracken fern is sweet and cold in nature. It contains various vitamins and has the effects of clearing the intestines and stomach, and relaxing muscles and tendons. However, women should not eat it often.

Before eating, you need to boil it in boiling water, then put it in cold water to remove the bitterness, and then it's ready to eat. Fresh bracken fern, if not boiled, will be very bitter if stir-fried directly. I remember she didn't know that at the time, and directly chopped it up and stir-fried it with shredded meat, and the taste was so bitter that she had to throw it in the trash.

However, bracken fern becomes very fragrant and smooth after being boiled in hot water. It's refreshing and delicious when mixed with a little wine. Of course, it can also be stir-fried or dried and used in stews during the winter.

Regular consumption can alleviate symptoms such as high blood pressure, dizziness, uterine bleeding, and arthritis, and also has a preventive effect against measles and colds. Of course, if Mo Lan were to explain these modern terms to them, they would probably be completely confused and then think of her as a monster. Therefore, she could only think about the benefits of these wild vegetables in her heart and could not say them aloud.

She excitedly joined everyone in picking wild ferns and bracken. They moved forward slowly.

"Stop." Mo Lan called out, then took a few steps forward and pointed to a large patch of tender yellow plants on the ground, saying, "We want this too."

"This, this can be eaten? Isn't this just weeds?" Qiu Dajun said, frowning as he looked at the plant in front of him, clearly not thinking it was edible.

Mo Lan smiled. Actually, when she first saw these things, she thought the same as her cousin. She mistook them for wild wormwood, but she didn't know that they tasted quite good after eating them.

“Of course you can eat it. This is called Cucumber Fragrance. You can pinch it; it’s very tender. The leaves on the top one haven’t opened yet, so it’s at its tenderest. Once they open, it will be too old to eat.” Mo Lan pinched one off and placed it in front of the three of them, explaining.

“Okay, Lanlan says we can pinch it if it’s edible. We’ll listen to her today.” Mo Changhe said as he started pinching.

Mo Lan watched the three of them busily working and smiled contentedly. She decided to make this for them that evening as a treat.

Cucumber Fragrance, also known as Cantonese Vegetable. It is a pale yellow color and typically grows to 90 cm tall. It has a straight stem, thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top, covered with needle-like scales. From the middle to the top, it is covered with small, pale yellow leaves, all huddled together and not yet open, like a shy girl.

It tastes like fresh cucumber, hence its name "Cucumber Fragrance." It's quite nutritious and well-known among wild mountain vegetables. Its medicinal properties are similar to those of bracken.

Its roots can be used medicinally, having the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, and expelling parasites. In summer, when mosquitoes are plentiful, its roots can be burned to repel them, serving the same purpose as the stem.

The edible part is the section from the middle to the top. It can be blanched in boiling water and then served cold, or pickled with salt like bracken and eaten when there are no other vegetables available. Of course, it's also good as a filling for dumplings and buns.

Cucumbers are the easiest to pick because they are relatively large and grow in large patches, so you can pick a basketful with almost no effort.

"Girl, what are you looking for, wandering around like that?" Mo Changhe watched Mo Lan wandering back and forth, occasionally touching and examining the leaves of the plants.

"I'm looking for bright leaf vegetables. Why haven't I seen them yet? Oh, this is it. Come on, there are quite a few here." Mo Lan answered Mo Changhe's question while flipping through the leaves, and finally found it.

When the three of them got closer and saw what Mo Lan was holding, they were speechless. These were all leaves. You can eat leaves?

Mo Lan glanced at the three people's expressions, chuckled, and said, "Look at how brightly the back of this leaf shines, that's why it's called leaf vegetable. It's delicious in steamed buns."

"How did you know? Have you ever eaten it?" Qiu Dajun asked疑惑地问道. How come his cousin says she can eat anything?

"I, of course I haven't eaten it," Mo Lan answered his question smugly, then added, "But my grandma has eaten it, she told me."

“If your grandma says so, then it must be right. Let’s pick them.” Mo Changhe waved to the two of them and began picking leafy greens.

Mo Lan watched the three of them busy. In fact, she had eaten Mingye Cai's buns before, and quite a few at that.

The scientific name for this leafy vegetable is Platycodon grandiflorus, also known as "monk's hat," which produces small blue flowers at the top. The root of Platycodon grandiflorus has expectorant, antipyretic, analgesic, and antitussive properties; it is also used to lower blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and fight ulcers and tumors.

Although the medicinal value lies in the roots, the body also has some medicinal uses. Eating it won't do any harm, and it will give you an extra dish at home, so why not?

Pinch off the tenderest part at the top and use it as filling for dumplings or buns. It has a subtle fragrance. You can add some fatty pork to the filling and mix it together. The taste is simply amazing.

"Hey, don't pick them all, just pinch off the top. The rest are too old and won't taste good."

"Brother Dajun, the one you picked isn't it. Didn't you see that the leaves on the back are shiny? The one you picked isn't edible."

Mo Lan kept calling out to the group, telling them how to pick the bright leaf vegetables.

"Alright, these vegetables together fill more than a sack. We can't carry them all back if we pick any more. Let's rest for a bit, and then go find some wild aralia shoots."

After Mo Lan finished speaking, she found a slightly cleaner spot to sit down, took out a bamboo tube from her basket, and offered everyone water. Everyone must be thirsty after such a busy day; they'd only had some porridge in the morning, which had long since been digested. She then took out some mixed grain flatbread and handed it to everyone.

After everyone finished eating and drinking and rested for a while, we left the burlap sacks here before heading to find the prickly ash tree. Since we were going to go deeper into the area, the burlap sacks wouldn't be convenient. So we left them here and would bring them down the mountain on our way back.

The group was not far apart, and Mo Lan began to look at the trees on the mountain. The mountain was mostly covered with pine trees, but there were also some other trees mixed in, such as hickory trees, maple trees, prickly ash trees, and cypress trees.

"What does this tree look like? I can't see it," Qiu Dajun asked Mo Lan as he looked at it.

“You can tell from the name, Prickly Bud, of course the tree is full of thorns,” Mo Lan replied, looking around as she did so.

"Lanlan, come and see, isn't this the prickly ash you mentioned? But why is this tree so small?" Mo Changhe's shout came from not far away.

Hearing the shouts, the group rushed over. When Mo Lan got closer, she realized that her father had indeed found the right tree. The tree in front of her was not big; it grew straight and was not thick, about the same thickness as Mo Changhe's thumb. It was only about 2 meters tall and covered with large thorns, which looked quite frightening.

“That’s it, just like Grandma said. You see, this little tree will sprout at intervals. We pick the tenderest buds, they’re very green. If the buds turn into leaves, we don’t want them. Grandma said that if the buds turn into leaves, they’ll be prickly and won’t taste good.” Mo Lan pointed to the buds and told everyone.

"Yes, there are only a few buds on each tree. That's really rare," Mo Changhe said as he picked the tender buds.

"Ah!" Erlang suddenly exclaimed.

"Did you get pricked by a thorn?" Mo Lan asked anxiously.

"Yeah, it's okay, it doesn't hurt." Erlang smiled sheepishly. He saw a tender one and reached out to pick it, but he didn't notice and got pricked by a thorn.

"You must be careful, watch out for the thorns. We won't pick the parts that are hard to pick," Mo Lan instructed. She didn't pick them herself; she was terrified of the thorns. When she and her mother-in-law went to pick them before, they always wore thick gloves and still often got pricked. Now, with bare hands, she was afraid.

"There's nothing left at the bottom and in the middle, and there are still several buds at the top, but they're too high, I can't reach them." Mo Changhe stood on tiptoe, trying hard to reach them, but he still couldn't reach them.

"Hehe, that won't do. I have a way." Mo Lan smiled mysteriously, then took out a hemp rope and rags from the basket.

"Father, put this rope on the upper part of the tree, then slowly pull it down. When you can reach it, use a cloth to hold onto the tree so you can pick it. The cloth is thick so it won't prick your hands," Mo Lan told the group how to pick the tender buds at the top.

"Dad, don't pull too hard, or you'll break the tree and it will die, and then we won't be able to pick the fruit anymore." Mo Lan told Mo Changhe to be gentle as she watched his movements.

"Okay, Dad understands. You three go find the tree first. I'll pick the buds here by myself. Let me know when you find one." Mo Changhe told the three of them to go find the tree first, and he started picking the tender buds at the top.

The three responded, and then shouts echoed through the woods, indicating that many thorny bud trees had been discovered.