Poisonous Mushrooms

As February arrived, the spring rain began to drizzle down, with occasional bursts of bright sunshine. The tender buds on the trees and the green grass on the ground seemed to be growing rapidly, as if they had been nourished with a special nutrient solution. Xiao Qian and her children started collecting wild vegetables, and every evening they savored fresh wild vegetables for dinner at home.

The children were very excited to go up the mountain, especially Dàtóu and Mǎnbǎo. This was because many of the wild vegetables sprouting from the ground had been identified by Xiao Qian as extinct or endangered plants.

In the past, Mǎnbǎo rarely participated in these activities, so she only saw the vegetables after they had been cooked. This year, with Manbao attending school, she not only had the opportunity to walk and run outside but also to visit the fields. This caught Xiao Qian's attention as she discovered that some of the plants that had been extinct in history were now on the brink of extinction, with only a few remaining in certain areas.

In this era, wild vegetables appear to be very resilient, but during Xiao Qian's time, they had essentially become extinct. As a result, Mǎnbǎo also joined in the vegetable picking, using a sharp bamboo stick to dig up the entire plant, rather than just picking the tender shoots like others did.

In the past, Xiao Qian never asked Mǎnbǎo to do much digging because the plants that needed to be collected were either not very large or very rare. However, now that wild vegetables were abundant and the plants were small, Xiao Qian asked her to dig more to provide for research and cultivation by scientists. Of course, Mǎnbǎo would receive more corresponding points for this.

Mǎnbǎo was very happy about this and went out to dig wild vegetables every day after school. As more people joined in the picking, the nearby areas were soon depleted, so Mǎnbǎo couldn't help but venture a little further, all the way to the foot of a mountain.

Yesterday's rain had left puddles on the ground, and Dàyā carefully avoided them, urging Mǎnbǎo, "Little sister, let's stop picking and go home." We have enough wild vegetables.

With a large family, Dàtóu and Dàyā knew exactly where to find wild vegetables and had already picked enough for the family. They couldn't understand why Mǎnbǎo was so keen on picking wild vegetables these days. Not only did she pick them, but she also dug them up with clumps of soil. Sometimes, she would even discard the vegetables she had unearthed while playing.

Dàyā felt very worried about Mǎnbǎo. Mǎnbǎo felt her face itching and wiped it, only to find water on her hand. She looked up and saw the leaves above her head dripping with water.

Mǎnbǎo's eyes turned, and she looked back at Dàtóu and Dàyā standing under the tree. She ran up to them and kicked the tree, causing it to sway and the water to drip down. Dàtóu and Dàyā screamed and ran away.

Mǎnbǎo laughed happily, enjoying herself. Xiao Qian watched quietly as the hostess moved further into the woods. Just as she was about to remind her, she suddenly detected a piece of information that was both familiar and unfamiliar. She extended her tentacles and noticed a patch of white in the grass, which excited her. "Hostess, I've found a very precious plant." "Come over here, quickly!"

Mǎnbǎo blushed and stopped playing, asking, "Where is it?"

"It's in front of you, in the grass." Move it aside and take a look. "It's white..."

Mǎnbǎo moved the grass aside and exclaimed excitedly, "Mushrooms!"

She reached out to pick them, but Dàyā, who had caught up from behind, slapped her hand away. "Little sister, you can't eat these." "They seem poisonous."

Dàtóu also came over and crouched down to look. After a while, he said, "They seem edible."

Mǎnbǎo had eaten mushrooms before and found them to be delicious when cooked with meat. She licked her lips and reached out to pick more, but Xiao Qian intervened, "Hostess, your niece is right." "These mushrooms are poisonous and should not be consumed."

Mǎnbǎo's hand retracted, and she widened her eyes, asking herself, "If they're poisonous, why pick them?"

Xiao Qian was clearly excited and said, "Not all plants in this world have value just because they are edible." Non-edible plants also hold significant value. These poisonous mushrooms became extinct during the historical era of humans, but they have the ability to decompose. Not to mention, their toxins have great research value. It's a pity that these mushrooms are only found south of the Yangtze River and are rare in number. Currently, I only have this information, so, hostess, it's best to record it.

Mǎnbǎo looked at the three pure white mushrooms in front of her and asked, "Are they very poisonous?"

To emphasize their value, Xiao Qian nodded solemnly and said, "Very poisonous."

Mǎnbǎo scooted back a bit, causing Dàtóu and Dàyā to also move away, and said seriously, "Dàyā is right, these are poisonous."

Dàtóu asked, "How do you know, little sister?"

"It's written in a book," Manbao thought. This was a good reason.

Dàtóu patted his bottom and stood up, "Then let's go."

Mǎnbǎo took the bamboo stick and said, "I want to dig."

Dàtóu and Dàyā were shocked and couldn't understand. "It's poisonous and inedible." "What are you going to do with it, little sister?"

Mǎnbǎo, feeling guilty, said, "I want to play with it."

Dàtóu reached out, pulled her close, and handed her the mushrooms. "Play with them, but don't eat them."

Mǎnbǎo, who didn't dare to use her hands to dig, placed the poisonous mushrooms on the ground and then tore a large leaf to wrap them up. She felt more at ease carrying them this way.

After discovering the poisonous mushrooms, Dàtóu and Dàyā were curious and started searching the grass to see if there were any other mushrooms. They didn't find any edible mushrooms, but they found quite a few poisonous ones, both white and yellow. Dàtóu thought that Mǎnbǎo might like to play with the toys, so he pulled them out and placed them on the leaves for her, saying, "Little sister, you can play with them when we get home."

Mǎnbǎo nodded helplessly and reminded them, "Dàtóu, don't use your hands." What if you get poisoned?

"It's fine," Dàtóu, with his extensive experience, said, "As long as you don't put them in your mouth, it's okay."

Indeed, nothing happened. Dàtóu and Dàyā pulled out quite a few mushrooms, and even Mǎnbǎo joined in at the end, but nothing happened to them.

Back at home, Mǎnbǎo found an opportunity to give Xiao Qian a large bag of leaves containing poisonous mushrooms. Then, she went to the yard to wash her hands.

Dàyā was still worried that she might have eaten some, and asked, "Little sister, where did you throw the mushrooms?"

"I threw them outside."

Dàyā was relieved.

Xiao Qian saw Mǎnbǎo playing with water and pulled her up to dry her hands, asking, "What are you doing?" "Did you go into the mountains to look for mushrooms?"

"They're not edible." Little sister wanted to play with them.

Xiao Qian said, "Don't go to the mountains." What if you fall? Currently, poisonous mushrooms and fruits are growing in the mountains. "You must not eat anything indiscriminately."

Then she stared at Mǎnbǎo and the others, saying, "Especially you, little sister." "You haven't been out much and don't recognize things."