Training the Heavens

Chapter 199 Returning with a Full Load
"Woof woof, woof woof!" Dahuang ran fast and started barking after running out about a hundred meters. Erhuang ran slower. When he got to Dahuang and saw that he had been overtaken, he seemed a little angry.

Xu Lingjun trotted over and saw that there were indeed a few small spikes emerging from the grass in front of Dahuang. They were the Cordyceps sinensis that had already emerged and were ready to be picked. He quickly took out his tools and started digging them up.

Guo Chenzi saw the commotion and ran over. His eyes widened when he saw the Cordyceps that Xu Lingjun had dug out. "Old Xu, how did you come up with this idea?"

"I heard from Xiuzhi that there's a kind of mushroom in Sichuan called pig-arch mushroom. It grows under pine trees and tastes delicious, but it's very hard to find. Later, the locals discovered that sows really like this mushroom, so they drove the sows into the pine forest and dug wherever they saw the pigs digging. Nine out of ten times, they would dig up this mushroom, so the locals gave it a name: pig-arch mushroom!"

This thing has a more famous name - truffle. It is available in all high-end Western restaurants, and gradually in some high-end Chinese restaurants as well. You wouldn't say it tastes that good, but the key is that by adding it to the dish, it can be sold at a high price.

As he dug, Xu Lingjun said, "After listening to this, I thought about it and thought that maybe pigs can smell odors that humans can't, so they found the pig's hoof mushroom so easily. Then I thought, dogs have good noses too, so maybe I can use them to find Cordyceps sinensis too. I tried it today, and it actually works."

"Could it be a coincidence? If dogs could find it, there are so many ranches in Qilian Mountains, and which ranch doesn't have a few dogs? I'm afraid they would have found this method a long time ago!" Haisheng still didn't quite believe it.

"I don't know either. Let's try it after we finish digging." Xu Lingjun knew that what Haisheng said was actually right.

Pigs can find the pig arch fungus because it has a special smell. It is said that it can emit a male scent that attracts sows, so the locals use sows to find it. The same is true in France.

In fact, dogs have no interest in Cordyceps sinensis. Xu Lingjun relies on his special ability to get Dahuang and Erhuang to help him find it. If it were other dogs, they might not be so obedient.

In this small area, Xu Lingjun dug up six Cordyceps sinensis, which was equivalent to the harvest of other people in most of the day. After digging, he carefully put the Cordyceps sinensis into the bag.

He stood up, brushed off the dirt and grass, and took out two pieces of dried meat from his pocket and threw them over. "Well done, I'll give you a reward. If you find more, I'll give you more."

"Woof woof! Woof woof!" Dahuang and Erhuang both understood. They finished the dried meat in a few bites, lay down at the place where Xu Lingjun had just dug and sniffed it, then ran away again.

This time Erhuang learned his lesson. He knew he couldn't outrun Dahuang, so he didn't run the same route as Dahuang. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction. Dahuang had just barked twice when Erhuang also started barking.

"Da Huang, wait over there. I'll go check on Er Huang first." This behavior deserves praise. Who says Tibetan Mastiffs are stupid? Isn't Er Huang quite smart? Perhaps it's because I taught him well.

"Hey, I actually found it?" The truffle had a special smell, and Guo Zizi became interested. He was no longer in a hurry to find Cordyceps, and ran towards the rhubarb.

Haisheng and Xu Lingjun ran to Erhuang and took a look. They saw a Cordyceps sinensis in front of Erhuang's paw. It was quite large, with the part exposed above the ground being more than three centimeters long.

He quickly turned around and shouted to Guo Zi, "We found Er Huang. Uncle Guo, have you found it over there?" "Found it!" Guo Zi pointed in front of Da Huang and shouted. As soon as he said that, he felt something was wrong. "Pah, pah, pah, are you scolding me?"

"No, no, I just spoke too fast." Haisheng laughed, not knowing whether what he said was true or not.

After carefully digging out the cordyceps and putting it into the bag, Xu Lingjun took Erhuang and walked towards Dahuang. When they got there, Dahuang saw them and was about to come over to greet them. After running two steps, he saw Guo Zi still standing in front of the cordyceps out of the corner of his eye, so he quickly ran back, protecting the cordyceps with his claws, staring at Guo Zi vigilantly with his eyes, as if he was afraid that Guo Zi would rush to dig the cordyceps as soon as he left.

"Haha, you're quite clever." Guo Zizi didn't bother with the beast. "Don't worry, the rule in Qilian Mountain is whoever finds it owns it. No one will compete with your Lao Xu for it!"

After digging this one, Guo Zizi, Haisheng and others finally believed that Da Huang and Er Huang really had this ability. They marveled and said, "I have lived for decades and have never seen a dog help people find Cordyceps. Today I have learned something new."

"I'll bring my dog ​​with me when we go up the mountain tomorrow." Haisheng felt jealous when he saw the Cordyceps that Xu Lingjun had just dug out.

Cordyceps is very small and hard to find hidden in the grass. They were dazzled by the sight and could only dig about ten pieces all day long. Lao Xu worked for a while and only found eight pieces. What would happen if he had to dig for the whole day?
Haisheng didn't ask to dig as fast as Xu Lingjun, as long as he could dig faster than himself. If he worked like this for a month or so, he could send the Cordyceps to the supply and marketing cooperative at the end of the month and earn 20 or 30 yuan, which was equivalent to an extra month's salary. This was great.

"I'm afraid it won't work. As I said before, if this method works, someone would have done it a long time ago." Guo Chenzi had more life experience and was not blinded by Xu Lingjun's success.

"I think that Lao Xu's two dogs are different from ordinary dogs. When Dahuang and Erhuang grow up, I will find some female dogs for them. If they have puppies, I wonder if they can learn their father's skills." He thinks in the long term.

After watching the excitement, Guo Zizi and Haisheng also went to work. They usually had important things to do on the ranch, so they just took the opportunity of grazing to look for caterpillar fungus. Today they finally had a whole day, and it would be a waste if they spent it all watching the excitement. They had already wasted a lot of time just now, so they should hurry up and dig Cordyceps!
The barley wine they drank and the clothes for their children were all dug out from the grass.

Xu Lingjun asked Dahuang and Erhuang to get into the grass basket, then he got on his horse and ran with them for a distance before getting off the horse again and letting them continue to help find Cordyceps.

There were only so many Cordyceps in one area. He dug more, and Guo Zi and Hai Sheng dug less. He felt embarrassed to compete with Guo Zi and others, so he just ran away.

Maybe they were lucky just now, as Dahuang and Erhuang were a little slower in discovering Cordyceps, but they were still much faster than Guo Zizi and others.

When you hear the calls, go over and dig. When you get tired, take a break to drink some water and eat some dry food. Feed Dahuang and Erhuang as well. After a good rest, continue working.

Before they knew it, the sun was about to set, and Guo Zizi was calling Xu Lingjun to go home from a distance.

Only then did he remember to check today's harvest. He opened the bag and took a look. Wow, he came back with a full load today!
(End of this chapter)