Chapter 271 - 257: Wild Reishi

Chapter 271: Chapter 257: Wild Reishi

After his surprise, Li You said, "Uncle Guodong, just a few pounds, maybe ten, is more than enough for me. You can take the rest back for yourself."

They had agreed earlier that a few pounds, ten at most, would be fine. He hadn’t expected Lin Guodong to dig up so many.

Lin Guodong said, "What’s a few pounds, or even ten? That’s barely anything. Xiaoyou, you take all of these. I’ll just go dig up some more for myself later."

Li You said, "Save yourself the trouble of digging again. How about we split these fifty-fifty?"

Lin Guodong again insisted that Li You should take them all, then turned to Lin Zhonghai and said, "Brother Zhonghai, could you please find me a nylon sack?"

"Sure, sure," Lin Zhonghai readily agreed.

He soon came back with a nylon sack.

Lin Guodong poured all the potatoes from his back basket into the nylon sack and tied the opening shut.

’Looks like I’ll have to take all these potatoes back with me after all.’

Li You thanked them again.

’Both Lin Zhonghai and Lin Guodong are just too hospitable.’

It was four in the afternoon; about time to head back.

Li You said his goodbyes.

Lin Zhonghai and Lin Guodong knew Li You was busy, so they didn’t ask him to stay any longer.

They moved the two nylon sacks, one with plums and the other with potatoes, next to the motorcycle. Then, they tied them both to the rear rack.

After everything was secured, just as Li You was about to leave, a voice called out from a distance, "Boss Li You, please wait, wait a moment!"

Li You, Lin Zhonghai, Lin Guodong, and Lin Xiao all turned to look in the direction of the voice.

They saw a man carrying a bag and hurrying toward them.

The bag wasn’t large. ’What’s inside it?’

Lin Guodong said, "It’s Lao Zhang. I ran into him earlier when I was digging potatoes. I told him Xiaoyou was in the village. But he didn’t say he was coming to see Xiaoyou. What’s he doing here?"

The man’s name was Zhang Zongfu, whom Li You also knew, though not very well.

’If we’re not that close, he probably isn’t here to give me something, is he?’

’Then what could it be?’

Li You was a little curious.

When Zhang Zongfu got closer, Li You took a few steps forward to greet him. "Uncle Zhang, were you looking for me?"

Zhang Zongfu nodded. "Good, I’m glad I caught you. Boss Li You, I’d like to ask you to take a look at something for me."

As he spoke, he showed Li You what was inside the bag.

’So he just wants me to identify something.’

What on earth could it be? Li You couldn’t help but grow curious.

Lin Zhonghai, Lin Guodong, and Lin Xiao were just as curious. They also crowded around to look inside the bag.

Inside the bag was an umbrella-shaped object, reddish-brown in color. It had a stipe and a cap.

The cap was kidney-shaped.

Li You’s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise.

’This is a Reishi mushroom. And it looks like a wild Red Reishi.’

’This is an absolutely incredible find!’

Most people were familiar with Reishi. It was also known by other names like "Immortal Grass," "Jade Grass," "Resurrection Grass," and so on. It is the fruiting body of *Ganoderma lucidum*, a polypore fungus.

Its shape is like an umbrella, with a cap that can be kidney-shaped, semicircular, or nearly round.

From ancient times to the present day, the Reishi has been incredibly well-known. It was even mythologized, with tales claiming that eating it could grant immortality or even lead to ascension into godhood.

Though it was mythologized, the Reishi could indeed be called the king of all tonics.

It has excellent effects in tonifying qi and nourishing blood, supplementing the liver and regulating qi, and regulating menstruation and invigorating blood.

This was especially true for wild Reishi.

Nowadays, Reishi can be artificially cultivated, and the cultivation techniques are quite mature.

However, in terms of efficacy, cultivated Reishi could not even begin to compare with its wild counterpart.

’I never thought the thing Zhang Zongfu brought would be a wild Reishi mushroom.’

’It should be a wild one, right?’

Li You decided to take it out for a closer look, so he said to Zhang Zongfu, "Uncle Zhang, may I take it out to examine it more closely?"

Zhang Zongfu nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course. I brought it here specifically for you to look at. Please, Boss Li You, feel free to examine it."

Li You nodded and then carefully took the Reishi out of the bag.

First, the cap was reddish-brown, which did indeed indicate it was a Red Reishi.

Reishi mushrooms generally come in several colors, such as green, red, yellow, white, black, and purple.

The red variety is the Red Reishi. Among all types of Reishi, it is considered one of the better ones.

Of course, as long as it was a wild Reishi, its value was high regardless of color.

Li You observed it carefully.

He noted that the overall color was somewhat mottled, the body had a few insect holes, and it had no discernible smell.

’This is without a doubt a wild Reishi mushroom.’

Wild Reishi grow in the wild, so it’s inevitable that they suffer from pest damage.

Therefore, most wild Reishi will have insect holes. These holes do not affect the mushroom’s efficacy in the slightest.

If it were a cultivated Reishi, on the other hand, its appearance would be perfect.

A wild Red Reishi, and a relatively large one at that. Li You estimated its weight was close to a pound.

It was quite valuable.

So, Li You said to Zhang Zongfu, "Uncle Zhang, this is a wild Reishi mushroom. It’s very valuable."

Of course, Zhang Zongfu himself knew it was a Reishi. He just didn’t know exactly how much it was worth.

The reason he’d asked Li You to look at it was precisely to find out how much it might be worth.

In Zhang Zongfu’s eyes, Li You was worldly and knowledgeable, and also possessed top-tier culinary skills. Therefore, he ought to be very familiar with Reishi.

At least, more familiar than he was.

So, when Zhang Zongfu heard from Lin Guodong earlier that Li You had come to the village and would be at Lin Zhonghai’s house, he had rushed home to grab the Reishi and bring it over.

Now, hearing Li You say it was very valuable, Zhang Zongfu was thrilled and delighted. He quickly asked, "Boss Li You, how much is it worth, exactly?"