It could only be said that Old Lady Liu felt relieved far too soon.
After Liu Si Tian finished “watering the ground” as usual, she didn’t get up to leave after pulling up her pants. Instead, she stayed there squatting, her large eyes rolling around.
She looked left and then right.
Finally, she spotted a spot that satisfied her.
A cold, damp environment? Check. A shady slope with a deep layer of humus? Check. Growing amidst dense grasses in the forest where the sunlight wasn’t too strong? Check.
This was the perfect environment for ginseng to grow.
How lovely!
That’s right—Liu Si Tian intended to take a ginseng root out from her space.
She had already spent quite a while earlier selecting the smallest one from within her space.
Using her thoughts, Liu Si Tian “planted” the ginseng into the soil bit by bit. Once all the root whiskers were buried, she nodded with satisfaction. It was simply perfect!
Even a scout wouldn’t be able to spot any flaws.
“Tian Tian, are you done yet?”
Old Lady Liu had been waiting for a while and, seeing that her granddaughter hadn’t returned, called out with some concern.
Hearing this, Li Sufen also felt a bit uneasy. She stood up and was about to walk over. Liu Si Tian noticed and quickly called out:
“Grandma, it’s okay, I’m coming back.”
She stood up quickly, ran out, and grabbed Li Sufen’s hand on the way.
“Mom, I just saw something red again.”
Li Sufen assumed it was another flower and didn’t think much of it, saying, “Then why didn’t you pick it, Tian Tian? It’s alright, after we finish picking the walnuts, Mom will go with you.”
Liu Si Tian nodded like a chick pecking at rice, “Mom is the best.”
“You little sycophant.” Li Sufen teased her daughter with a smile. Her daughter just had a sweet mouth; every day it was as if her little lips had been smeared with honey.
She didn’t know who the child took after. She herself wasn’t a big talker, and the child’s father was the type who couldn’t even “fart” after three strikes; he never had a word to spare.
Li Sufen couldn’t figure it out.
“What are you two talking about that’s making you so happy?”
Liu Si Tian: Grandma, how can you tell I’m happy?
“Mom said I’m a sycophant. Grandma, what’s a sycophant?”
The tattling was as fast as a tornado, completely unexpected.
Li Sufen: …
Old Man Liu, Old Lady Liu, and Liu Mancang: …
Liu Si Tian pretended not to understand and didn’t wait for them to answer, continuing to babble, “Grandma, just now when I was peeing over there, I saw those red things again. They were even redder than the one on your head. I wanted to pick them and bring them back for you, but then you called me.”
“Then in a little while, Grandma will go with Tian Bao’er to pick those flowers.”
“Grandma, those red beans aren’t flowers. They grow on leaves—little red beans, bunches of red beans.”
She had mentioned “red beans” so many times, the hint was so obvious—surely they wouldn’t remain indifferent?
As it turned out, they didn’t!
As soon as she finished speaking, Old Man Liu stopped picking walnuts, looked up, and asked her seriously: “Tian Tian, what do these red beans look like? Where did you see them?”
Liu Mancang, Old Lady Liu, and Li Sufen also stopped what they were doing, staring straight at Liu Si Tian.
Being from the Northeast, how could they not have some awareness of this?
“Over there.”
She turned her head and pointed with her little hand.
So cute.
Whoosh! The moment she finished speaking, she was scooped up by her grandmother. Old Man Liu and Liu Mancang had already sprinted several steps away, and her father was even untying his belt as he ran.
Liu Si Tian: What’s going on?
What was this? Why was he untying his belt?
At the critical moment, her grandmother was also moving like a gust of wind. When she reached the spot, she saw clearly: her father was actually wearing a red belt!!
He was about to tie up the ginseng!
Ginseng is the “King of Herbs.” Legend has it that ginseng possesses spiritual essence; it chooses to escape before being dug up. Mythology is full of stories about ginseng dolls in red bellybands running all over the mountains.
Before digging, one must tie a red string or attach copper coins—the theory is to bind the ginseng so it doesn’t “run away.”
Older generations of ginseng hunters were even more particular, with countless taboos. They prepared dozens of different tools, all of which had to be laid out on a piece of red cloth before starting. This was a mandatory preparation. (Baidu)
Their family’s method was already as simple as could be.
Li Sufen was stunned, not knowing what to do with her hands or feet; she couldn’t help at all.
Old Lady Liu, being older, had seen a lot and was able to stay steady. She handed her granddaughter to her flustered daughter-in-law, plucked a handful of grass, braided it like a pigtail into a rope, and handed it to Liu Mancang to use as a belt.
Old Man Liu commanded Liu Mancang: “First tie the red rope. Tie it carefully, don’t damage it, and tie it several times. This really is ginseng!”
“Dad, are you sure? Is it really ginseng?” Liu Mancang was a bit excited and couldn’t believe it.
Ginseng! It was worth a fortune.
“Nine out of ten.”
He had heard someone talk about it once when he was working away from home.
Plus, ginseng fruits ripened right around the August festival; it had to be it.
Liu Mancang used the grass to temporarily tie his waist and used a wooden stick to secure the ginseng. Then, he and Old Man Liu knelt down and began to dig.
When digging for ginseng, one must be extremely careful. It is best not to break any root whiskers, as they are the most delicate part of the ginseng and break very easily. A complete ginseng specimen looks better and sells for a higher price.
Without tools, the two used their hands to dig. Fortunately, the soil wasn’t hard. It took over half an hour for them to carefully dig out the ginseng completely, with not a single whisker broken.
“Oh, my heavens,” Old Lady Liu whispered in surprise, “This ginseng is huge!”
“No wonder the older generation talks about ginseng dolls—it really does look a bit like a baby.”
Li Sufen’s tongue was tied in surprise; she could only nod, unable to say a word.
Old Man Liu’s face was full of joy. He examined it carefully, his face wrinkling into a smile: “I reckon this root weighs nearly a catty (500g). It’s a rare treasure; it must be at least one or two hundred years old.”
“Dad, how should we handle this ginseng?” After the excitement faded, Liu Mancang felt a bit worried. Ginseng needed someone who understood pharmacology to process it; otherwise, it wouldn’t keep, and even the best ginseng would lose its medicinal properties.
But the Liu family was “red and upright”—going back five generations, they were all poor peasants. Who would know how to do that?
They didn’t know anyone either. There was a barefoot doctor in the brigade, but Old Man Chen could only handle simple headaches and fevers; processing herbs was asking too much.
They couldn’t trust a half-baked amateur with such a good ginseng.
Not to mention ruining the root, it might also cause a big commotion if word got out.
The best way was to sell it immediately, but they had no connections. More importantly, they were reluctant to sell such a fine piece of ginseng.
Even with his limited knowledge, he knew that such a large ginseng was hard to come by. As the saying goes, “Seven taels make it ginseng, eight taels make it a treasure.”
If this were back in the day, in a wealthy household, this would be a life-saving object—a treasure money couldn’t buy.
His dad and mom were getting on in years; who knew when they might need it.
Old Man Liu pondered for a moment. He had thought of everything Liu Mancang was thinking, but he was thinking even further ahead.
He looked at his granddaughter, who was being held in his daughter-in-law’s arms, and asked:
“Tian Tian, Grandpa wants to tell you: the red beans you found aren’t flowers. They are called ginseng, and they are a treasure. Since you are the one who found it, you tell us—how should we handle it?
Should we sell it to buy cakes to eat?
Or should we keep it at home?
If we trade it for cakes, we could get so many.”
Old Man Liu explained it earnestly to his granddaughter. He believed his granddaughter was a blessed child with a spiritual nature and could understand him.