Chapter 130

Shi Wen, "No wonder you guys want to study this."

Seeing the two of them chatting so enthusiastically, Zhou Hongzhong felt that he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Having finally gotten them to rest for a bit, Zhou Hongzhong quickly said, "I also want to take a picture and make a mark."

Shi Wen stepped aside, saying, "Come on, come on, you take the picture."

They were all moving around here, Shi Wen stepped back a few paces and walked to another clump of reeds.

Shi Wen casually parted the reeds, intending to press some of the stems to the ground to make a small cushion before sitting down, so as not to get his pants dirty.

Unexpectedly, when he parted the branches, he discovered two more Cistanche deserticola plants.

Shi Wen muttered softly, "No way? There's so much Cistanche deserticola here?"

As he spoke, Shi Wen pushed something aside again.

After shoveling through three or four clumps of reeds, he found the fourth plant, Cistanche deserticola.

Shi Wen glanced at it and confirmed that it was indeed Cistanche deserticola.

He quickly called to Yan Kexing and the others, "Come and see! I've found three more Cistanche deserticola plants!"

The young man was the quickest. "Where?"

Shi Wen pressed down the reeds and gestured for him to look.

The young man's eyes widened in surprise. "It really is! There's so much Cistanche deserticola here!"

Yan Kexing over. "There should be some around here too, let's look again."

Zhou Hongzhong replied, "I'll send reinforcements right away."

So, they spent the rest of the day searching for Cistanche deserticola in the same spot.

A large group of people searched here and finally found fifty-eight Cistanche deserticola plants.

It's possible that after the first Cistanche deserticola plant took root here, its seeds were dispersed by the wind and eventually grew into a patch.

The fact that so many of these nationally protected Class II plants can be found here demonstrates the wonder of life.

Compared to the sighs of the Shi Wen, Zhou Hongzhong was even more excited.

When writing their work reports, they should include the story of finding a large patch of Cistanche deserticola. They'll definitely be recognized as an advanced unit at the end of the year, and maybe even get promoted!

Zhou Hongzhong: "This is the largest piece of Cistanche deserticola we have discovered in recent years."

A team member behind him said, "This is the largest patch of Cistanche deserticola we've ever recorded. We've never seen so much wild Cistanche deserticola growing here before."

The familiar- Shi Wen young man whispered, "Even if they did, the villagers would secretly pick them, but they wouldn't dare report it."

Zhou Hongzhong: "That's possible. If an ordinary person found a precious medicinal herb like Cistanche deserticola, they would simply pick it."

After speaking, Zhou Hongzhong sighed, "It seems we're really lucky. This patch of Cistanche deserticola was discovered by you, not by someone else."

Laughter Shi Wen.

Zhou Hongzhong and his team arrived, and the expert group also rushed over.

Yan Kexing did not follow up further, but instead handed over the results he had obtained to the expert group.

Yan Kexing greeted Zhou Hongzhong, then led the children away from the area.

Shi Wen asked, "Aren't you staying to do the research?"

"We agreed to bring the kids out to play, let's leave work for the weekdays," Yan Kexing smiled. "There probably won't be any Ganoderma lucidum around here anymore, let's go to the place where we found it before."

Shi Wen, "Okay, let's go--"

The two of them called the little ones down the mountain, found their motorcycle hidden in the bushes, and then rode off to another mountain.

Once we entered another mountain, it became much quieter here.

Shi Wen and Yan Kexing first took out the food they had brought and invited the little ones to lunch before they went to look for Ganoderma lucidum.

Shi Wen, "Shall we make a bet? I think new Ganoderma has definitely grown where we found it before."

Yan Kexing laughed, "No need to bet, it's definitely there. Auspicious Beasts have always been lucky; we even found Cistanche deserticola, so Ganoderma lucidum is a piece of cake."

Shi Wen, "The Cistanche deserticola smelled really good, but it's a pity that our place isn't suitable for growing it. If it were, we should definitely take some seeds back to plant in our backyard."

Yan Kexing: "Why isn't it suitable? Even if the conditions aren't right, we can create them. If you want to plant some, I'll ask them for some seeds later, just plant a few."

Shi Wen: "Is that even possible?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, as long as the conditions are met, it can be planted," Yan Kexing said. "The cultivation of Cistanche deserticola is already quite standardized, and there is readily available cultivation experience to refer to, so it won't be too troublesome to grow."

Shi Wen, "Then let's plant some. It's not easy to collect wild resources, so planting some ourselves will make it more convenient when we need them. Anyway, we've already planted fritillaria and goji berries, so planting some cistanche would be a good idea too."

Yan Kexing: "Let's try it when we get back."

Chapter 130

Shi Wen and Yan Ke stayed in the mountains for two days and eventually returned home with six Ganoderma lucidum plants.

Good things are indeed hard to find.

Yan Kexing consulted friends in the industry, who said that Ganoderma lucidum is a product that can be used for both medicinal and edible purposes, and can be simply washed, dried, and then soaked in honey.

Shi Wen would dry the Ganoderma lucidum, slice it, put it in honey, seal it, and store it. He would then take it out to make tea when needed.

When Shi Wen processing the Ganoderma lucidum, Zhou Hongzhong sent them a packet of Cistanche deserticola seeds, saying they were taken from the patch of Cistanche deserticola they had discovered.

Shi Wen examined the seeds and said, "These must be last year's seeds, right?"

Yan Kexing: "More or less, found nearby."

Shi Wen, "Then it should have passed its dormancy period and can be planted now."

Shi Wen only recently learned from research that Cistanche deserticola is actually a parasitic medicinal herb, and what is used is its stem.

It needs to parasitize the roots of other plants.

When they first found Cistanche deserticola, it wasn't actually growing in the thicket of Reed grass, but rather on the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron beneath the Reed grass. However, the Haloxylon ammodendron was growing quite far away, so they hadn't noticed it.

Before it emerges, Cistanche deserticola continuously absorbs nutrients from its host, grows in the soil, and develops a sizable fleshy stem until it finally emerges from the ground.