The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 138 - 127: Poisonous Mushroom

Chapter 138: Chapter 127: Poisonous Mushroom

As February arrived, the spring rains began to fall in a gentle drizzle, and from time to time, the sun would shine brightly. As if they had consumed the nutrient solution Keke had mentioned, the tender buds on the trees and green grass on the ground sprouted up vigorously. Junior Ms. Qian started taking the children out to forage for wild vegetables, and every evening, the family would have fresh wild greens to eat.

They could run up into the mountains, and Datou and the others were very excited; Manbao was excited as well.

Because many of the wild plants that had sprouted from the ground were identified by Keke as plants either extinct or close to extinction.

In the past, because Manbao hardly ever participated in such activities, the wild plants she saw had already been cooked into dishes, so Keke didn’t pay much attention.

This year, because Manbao was going to school, she was not only allowed to walk around outside but also to run around in the fields. As a result, Keke’s scanning revealed incredible findings: this plant had been extinct in history, that plant was a species on the brink of extinction, with only a few left in a certain place...

The wild vegetables seemed very resilient in this era but were basically extinct in Keke’s time.

So Manbao joined the ranks of foragers, grabbing a sharp bamboo sliver after school each day and heading out. While others only harvested the young sprouts, she would dig up the entire plant, roots and all.

In the past, since the plants that needed to be recorded were either too large or too rare, Keke never asked Manbao to dig more. But now, with wild vegetables abundant and plants small, Keke asked her to dig up more for cultivation and research by scientific personnel.

Of course, Manbao’s corresponding credits would increase as well.

Manbao was very happy about this and enjoyed digging for wild vegetables every day.

Since more people were foraging, the nearby areas had been picked clean, so Manbao couldn’t help but wander a bit further, reaching the foot of a mountain.

It had rained just last night, and Daya carefully avoided the puddles on the ground, persuading Manbao, "Cousin, let’s stop digging and go home. We’ve found enough wild plants to eat."

With many people at home, Datou and Daya knew the best places to find wild vegetables, and they had already gathered enough for the family. It was only Cousin Manbao who, for some reason, was so keen on digging up wild vegetables these past few days. What’s worse, she was digging them up complete with soil, and sometimes while everyone was playing, she would even throw away the harvested vegetables.

Daya felt that Cousin was really a cause for concern.

Manbao felt a little itch on her face, so she rubbed it and realized it was wet. Then she looked up at the sky, only to discover that the leaves above her head were dripping water.

Manbao’s eyes darted around, and she glanced back at Datou and Daya standing under the tree. She rushed up to them and gave the tree a kick.

As a result, she lost her balance and ended up sitting on the grass, but the tree still shook, and water droplets poured down. Datou and Daya screamed and scattered in all directions.

Manbao laughed out loud, utterly delighted.

Keke: ...

Obviously, Manbao had found a fun game. She started shaking other trees around them, and Datou and Daya joined in, both giggling with joy.

Keke quietly observed and saw that the host was venturing deeper into the forest. Just as it was about to remind her, it suddenly scanned a set of data that was both familiar and strange. It extended its tendrils and saw a streak of white in the grass, becoming excited, "Host, I’ve discovered a very precious plant. Hurry over, hurry over?"

Manbao’s cheeks were flushed, and she stopped playing and asked, "Where is it?"

"Right in front of you to the left, in the grass. Push it aside and look, the white one..."

Manbao pushed it aside, and exclaimed excitedly, "Mushrooms!"

She reached out to pick it, but Daya caught up from behind and knocked her hand away, "Cousin, this one looks inedible."

Datou also arrived, crouched down to look, and after a while said, "It looks edible."

Manbao had eaten mushrooms before; they were the most delicious when cooked with meat. She swallowed saliva and reached out to pick them again, but Keke said, "Host, your grandniece is not wrong, this is a poisonous mushroom, you can’t eat it."

Manbao withdrew her hand and stared wide-eyed, asking in her mind, "Why pick it if it can’t be eaten?"

Keke was obviously very excited and replied, "Not all valuable plants are edible. Even those that are inedible can be very valuable. This type of poisonous mushroom went extinct during the Earth’s historical human period. It has decomposing functions, not to mention its toxins are very valuable for research. Sadly, this kind of poisonous mushroom is found only to the south of the Long River, and they are very rare. This is all the information I have now, host. It would be best to collect it for now."

Only then did Manbao look at the three pure white mushrooms in front of her and asked, "Is it very poisonous?"

To emphasize its value, Keke solemnly nodded, "Very poisonous."

Manbao shifted her little bottom back and urged Datou and Daya to step back a bit, saying seriously, "Daya is right, this is poisonous."

Datou: "How does Cousin know?"

"It’s in the books." Manbao found this excuse very useful.

Datou patted his bottom and got up, "Then let’s go home."

Manbao poked the ground with her bamboo sliver and said, "I want to dig it up."

Datou and Daya were stunned and couldn’t understand, "It’s poisonous, and we can’t eat it, Cousin, what do you want it for?"

Feeling guilty, Manbao said, "To play with."

Upon hearing this, Datou immediately pulled her by the hand and then handed it to her, "Play with it then, just don’t eat it."

Manbao, who didn’t dare to dig with her hands: ...

Manbao placed the poisonous mushrooms on the ground and then tore off a large leaf to wrap them in, picking up the leaf bundle, feeling a bit more at ease.

Curious about the discovery of the poisonous mushrooms, Datou and Daya eagerly peered into the grass, hoping to see if there were any mushrooms.

While they couldn’t find any edible mushrooms, they did find plenty of poisonous ones—white and yellow. Thinking Cousin might like to play with them, Datou plucked them all and put them in leaves for her, coaxing her, "Cousin, you can play with these slowly at home."

Manbao reluctantly nodded and turned to caution him, "Datou, stop grabbing them with your hands; what if you get poisoned?"

"It won’t happen," Datou, with his rich experience, said, "It’s fine as long as you don’t put it in your mouth."

Sure enough, nothing happened. Datou and Daya pulled up quite a few, and even Manbao eventually joined in—without incident.

When they got home, Manbao took the opportunity to give all the poisonous mushrooms wrapped in a big leaf bundle to Keke and then went to the yard to squat and wash her hands.

Daya was still worried she might have eaten them and asked, "Cousin, where did you throw the mushrooms?"

"I threw them outside."

Daya was then reassured.

When Junior Ms. Qian saw Manbao playing with water again, she pulled her up to dry her hands and asked, "What mushrooms? Did you go into the mountains to search for mushrooms?"

"They weren’t edible, Cousin wanted to play with them."

Junior Ms. Qian then said, "You should go into the mountains less often; what if you fall? Also, now there are poisonous mushrooms and fruit growing in the mountains, and you must not eat things indiscriminately."

Then she turned to Manbao and the others and said, "Especially you girls, since she hasn’t been outside much and doesn’t recognize things, you mustn’t pick things for her to eat."

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