Digging

Manbao reached out and pulled the leaves of the vine, which still felt familiar, and asked Keke, "What is yam? Have I encountered it before?"

"No," the system seemed excited, saying, "This is wild yam, very valuable." "If the host enters, you will not forget."

The system added, "It's very delicious and can be stewed with chicken."

Keke quickly found information about yams in the encyclopedia.

Now, the future yam has become extinct, but it disappeared temporarily after a glorious period as a food ingredient in history. Therefore, there are quite a few records about yams. Not only that, but a whole book of recipes using yams as an ingredient can be found in the encyclopedia.

The system prompted Manbao to swiftly excavate and document the items. It said, "Because yam not only has medicinal value but also a significant edible value, the encyclopedia holds it in high regard." "If documented, the reward points will certainly be substantial, and the process will be quick."

Up to now, the encyclopedia has not addressed the issues concerning privet berries, and the system is concerned that Manbao's enthusiasm may be dampened.

But Manbao has almost forgotten about the points for the privet berries. Upon hearing Keke praise the deliciousness of the yam, she salivated even more and gestured for Wu to dig it up for her.

Zhou Wulang looked at the clump of plants with disdain, and finally managed to recall from his limited memory, saying, "Isn't this Chinese yam?" "Why are we digging?"

Keke subconsciously searched for Chinese yam in his system but found no entry. He then searched in the encyclopedia, but there was no entry for this term, and he couldn't help but suspect, "Could this be another unrecorded alias for yam?"

Manbao didn't care; she wanted Zhou Wulang to dig. If he didn't do it, she would squat down and scratch herself with a small wooden stick.

Zhou Wulang had no choice but to pick up his sister and set her aside, saying, "Let me do it."

He found a relatively thick branch, broke it to make it sharper, and then pushed the vine aside to dig up its roots.

While digging, he complained, "This is Chinese yam, and it has long roots underneath. Why are you digging it?"

Zhou Liulang and Datou came over to see Zhou Wulang digging diligently, and they also joined in to help. While digging, they asked, "Wu, why are you digging here?"

"Manbao asked me to dig." Isn't this Chinese yam? "I remember there were some in our family's field," Zhou Wulang tried to negotiate with Manbao. "If you want, I'll dig some for you when we get back home."

Zhou Liulang looked at the clump of plants and said, "This doesn't look like Chinese yam; it doesn't even have any fruit."

Datou also didn't think it looked like Chinese yam, and the others were equally unsure as they had never heard of Chinese yam before.

Zhou Wulang was feeling a bit tired and contemplating finding an excuse to stop working when something suddenly emerged from the soil.

He exclaimed and quickly dug around the root, saying, "This is not Chinese yam."

Manbao happily squatted closer and directed, "Dig here, dig here, but don't dig too hard."

The soil here was relatively easy to dig because it was on the side of the hill, covered with a layer of fallen leaves. The brown color of the soil may be attributed to the abundance of decomposed leaves and moisture, which contributed to its loose texture.

By now, Keke had already searched for a lot of information about yams for Manbao and had also analyzed the soil for her, indicating that this area was highly conducive to yam growth.

The fertile and moist soil, along with the fallen leaves, could provide sufficient nutrients for it. Keke also reminded Manbao that for sustainable development, it is advisable not to dig up all the yams but to leave some for planting.

Manbao agreed, as there were quite a lot of yams in this clump, and they definitely couldn't dig them all up.

Manbao squatted on the side, picked up a handful of soil mixed with decomposed leaves, while Zhou Wulang had already dug out a long piece of yam, which had broken off a small piece in the soil. However, Zhou Wulang was too lazy to dig it out, so he broke the vine, handed the root to Manbao, and then went to dig another one.

The group was bustling with activity when Zhou Dalang finally sensed that something was amiss and approached.

They were digging with their buttocks up, and he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

Manbao had already started helping, her face covered in mud. She raised her excited little face and happily said to Zhou Dalang, "Big brother, come and help us. We found yams."

Zhou Dalang immediately stepped forward, took a look at the roots they had dug up, and asked, "What kind of medicine is yam?"

Manbao said, "It's just yam; you can eat it as a dish or as medicine."

Zhou Dalang didn't doubt it because Manbao had also informed them about the privet berries, and they only recognized it as medicine because of her.

He immediately rolled up his sleeves to help and asked Manbao, "Manbao, how do you know that yam is medicine?"

"It's written in the book."

Unfortunately, Manbao couldn't retrieve the book from Keke's belly to show to Zhou Dalang.

Zhou Dalang suspected that Manbao had seen the book at Master Zhuang's or the Bai family's residence because, recently, Manbao had been accompanying the young master of the Bai family to read books. According to her, the Bai family owned numerous books, one of which contained drawings of various medicinal herbs along with instructions on how to prepare them.

With Zhou Dalang's help, the speed of digging increased significantly. At Manbao's request, they left a yam plant on the hillside. She said, "Leave a root as a seed, and we can harvest more next year."

Daya straightened her slender waist and said, "It's better to dig it back home and plant it, so we don't have to come here to dig next year."

Manbao thought about it and felt that what she said made sense, so she called everyone to dig up the last yam as well.

Keke wanted to say something, but after observing, he noticed that they were not digging proficiently. Almost every root was being broken off due to their careless technique. Consequently, he decided to remain silent.

There were quite a few yams in this clump. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Wulang each carried a bunch, being careful not to break them, and placed them on a cart.

Zhou Dalang said, "I wonder if this stuff needs to be processed."

Zhou Wulang was curious, "I wonder if the medicine shop will take it."

Manbao was very confident, "Since it's medicine, of course they will take it."

Everyone's spirits were lifted, and Zhou Liulang said, "I wonder if the price is high."

Zhou Erliang had already learned from their conversation that this substance was also medicinal. He couldn't help but hug Manbao and say, "Manbao, you are really intelligent; you know more than all of us brothers."

"That's right," Zhou Dalang said proudly, "Our Manbao is a scholar."

The scholar Manbao was placed in the middle of the cart, and the two brothers of the Zhou family excitedly pulled the cart. If this yam could also fetch a good price, they would carefully search the mountains, and maybe find some more.