The Change in How They Addressed Each Other (Continued)

The temperature in this valley is much higher than outside, and you feel a warm and comfortable sensation as soon as you enter.

Jian Mo breathed in the humid air and felt quite comfortable.

The Pallas's cats transformed back into human form and introduced the vegetables to Jian Mo and the giant wolf, "These are the vegetables we grew; they're all here."

Jian Mo climbed off the giant wolf and peered around. "There are quite a few species."

Wu Jiong also transformed back into human form. "We've never seen many of these dishes before."

Qi Ming: "These are all varieties we collected from nearby tribes. The Zhou Zhi people don't like eating the same kind of vegetable repeatedly, so I planted more of them."

Jian Mo exclaimed, "You're so kind."

Qi Ming shook his head. "It's nothing, it's all as it should be. The vegetables from this plot and that plot are mainly eaten for their leaves, the vegetables from this plot are eaten for their swollen stems, and the ones from the plot near the pond are eaten for their roots."

After introducing the vegetables to them, Qi Ming added, "Those large-leaf garlic, ginger, and scallions over there are planted in rows. They're for seasoning, and we don't eat much of them, so we didn't grow too many. The large-leaf garlic that I mentioned isn't bitter is this kind. You can try it; it's not very bitter even when eaten raw."

Since she was already there, Jian Mo stand on ceremony. She actually plucked a large garlic leaf, wiped it with her hand, and took a bite.

The unique spiciness of the garlic instantly spread throughout her mouth, making Jian Mo spit out several times, "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, so spicy!"

Qi Ming smiled, "It's not bitter, is it?"

Jian Mo took the wooden tube from Wu Jiong, drank some water to rinse her mouth, and thought carefully, "It really isn't bitter anymore, just a little bit. How did you grow non-bitter garlic so quickly?"

Qi Ming: "Maybe we're just lucky? We've only planted two rounds of large-leaf garlic in total, and this is the second round. They're not bitter anymore."

Jian Mo: "Perhaps when they are artificially cultivated, they don't absorb the necessary elements to synthesize bitterness, so they don't taste bitter."

Qi Ming roughly understood and nodded, saying, "That's possible. Pick whatever vegetables you want to eat, and we'll bring them back for you to try later."

Jian Mo didn't stand on ceremony with him. She picked some of each kind of vegetable and put them in her basket, planning to have a vegetable feast when she got back.

Jian Mo asked, "How long will it take for these vegetables to grow?"

Qi Ming: "It won't be long. The vegetables you see here were planted more than ten days ago, and they're growing very fast. Actually, when they were first planted, they grew even faster, taking only three to five days to grow a bit. But for some reason, they stopped growing as fast after that."

Jian Mo: "It might be due to insufficient fertilizer."

Qi Ming: "You mean the kind of manure your tribe uses?"

Jian Mo nodded. "The soil in this valley used to be quite fertile, with lots of decaying leaves and weeds. After you planted the vegetables, they absorbed the fertilizer, and the soil gradually became less fertile. In this situation, you need to replenish the fertilizer in time, otherwise the vegetables will grow worse and worse."

Qi Ming: "We understand. Besides not growing as well, the vegetables were also more prone to insects. Many of our vegetables were eaten by insects."

Jian Mo: "There's no other way; we're facing this problem too. Our current solution is to make a pesticide from poisonous plants and spray it on the leaves of the crops to kill the insects as much as possible."

Qi Ming asked doubtfully, "Won't this poison the people who eat the vegetables as well?"

Jian Mo: "If you take the medicine immediately after spraying it, then yes, it will. But if you wait a while after spraying it, then there won't be any problems."

They use a crop called "Spring Thunder Egg" to make pesticides to repel insects. The toxicity is actually relatively mild; it's not one of those particularly poisonous plants.

However, Jian Mo still can't say for sure whether the pesticides she made before were really that effective.

After all, the little ones in the tribe would help catch insects.

The crops they grow are also quite special. They rarely grow tender vegetables, but rather more fruits, stems, and tubers such as Flour Grass, Pearl Rice, Hairy Root, and Wood-Stabilizing Root, which are less likely to attract pests.

Seedlings attract insects, but once they grow a bit bigger, there are fewer insects.

Therefore, Jian Mo was unsure whether she could apply her previous experience with pesticides here.

Jian Mo gave a brief overview of the situation in the Riverside Tribe, saying, "Our situations are different on both sides, so we can't simply apply our experience to you."

Qi Ming: "That's true. If you only cultivate a small amount of land, you can manage to catch the insects by hand. But if you cultivate a lot, you won't be able to catch them all."

Jian Mo: "Yes. I still suggest we see if we can get some pesticides here."

Qi Ming immediately said, "Then we'll have to trouble you to help us; we don't know how."

Jian Mo: "Let me think about it."

Qi Ming and the others took Jian Mo and Wu Jiong for a tour of the small valley, and then led them back to the tribe.

The Rain Rising Tribe is almost the most developed of all the tribes in the vicinity, and many families in their tribe have metal cookware.

Jian Mo borrowed Qi Ming's pot and stir-fried several kinds of vegetables.

It must be said that the vegetables grown here are crisp, tender, and sweet. Even though they are newly domesticated and have a slightly bitter taste, they are still very refreshing to eat.

Jian Mo exclaimed, "These vegetables taste so much better than those picked directly from the ground!"

Qi Ming: "It is indeed quite tender, not as bitter, but we don't know why."

Jian Mo: "Perhaps because the growing time is too short, the bitter substances in the vegetables haven't had time to accumulate, making them taste even sweeter. If you continue to grow these vegetables, they will definitely be very popular."

Qi Ming smiled and said, "Perhaps, but we're not growing this vegetable to trade for anything."

"I know," Jian Mo teased, "You're doing this so Chief Zhou Zhi can eat a few more bites."

Qi Ming nodded. "Yes."

Jian Mo: "Anyway, it's quite rare to have such delicious vegetables in autumn and winter."

Eating vegetables is still very important in winter. A lack of vitamins can make people more susceptible to various illnesses, and a lack of fiber can easily lead to constipation.

Jian Mo had personally witnessed many beast-like cubs struggling to defecate while biting wooden sticks, leaving him with a certain amount of trauma.