Her Cultivation Diary

Mugwort sprouts, well, over three hundred acres on Shitou Slope, mugwort, wild chrysanthemums, and sunflowers share the land.

Initially, six or seven pounds of seeds were sown per acre. Now, just after the spring rain, the barren land has sprouted a dense layer of fuzzy green, covering the originally stone-scarred terrain like a vast green carpet, without a hint of mixed color, looking incredibly beautiful.

The nearby wild chrysanthemums are equally lush and verdant.

However, those mugwort varieties have higher medicinal value but don't taste as good as wild mugwort.

So when Lun Chuan wanted to taste the mountain flavors, Seventh Uncle quickly handed him a basket and pointed out a spot.

Even as a chef, Old Man Li's days are much more leisurely than Master Jiang's, spending a lot of time wandering across the mountains every day.

And coming up, in the next two days, everyone needs to pick shepherd's purse. It's spring, and we should gather some shepherd's purse to make dumplings—earlier, it kept raining, delaying us, and now many have grown old.

If we continue to be delayed, the shepherd's purse will start blooming with white flowers.

While talking, Seventh Uncle continued muttering, "Tantan, spare some time to buy some seeds online. Stuff like shepherd's purse, baby cabbage, mugwort, buy a little more, sprinkle them along our roadsides when you have time."

"Otherwise, with the whole village going around, the wild vegetables picked won't be enough for a meal at our place."

So many people, wandering around like locusts, might strip the roadside of wild grass.

Even then, what is brought back isn't enough to eat.

Given how many people are at home, cooking meals each day is like feeding pigs; a bag of flour barely lasts two days.

Song Tan exclaimed, "Ah!"

In the mountain village, these things aren't actually scarce, but last year, with all the soil flipping and road repairs, the wild vegetables and grasses along the roadsides vanished completely.

"Seventh Uncle, your reminder is timely—I almost forgot; now is just the season, I'll buy more."

No other words are needed; everyone in the village wanting to pick some mugwort for the Dragon Boat Festival won't want to travel far up the mountain.

So, when Seventh Uncle was walking around and saw plenty of mugwort sprouts near the Old Tea Mountain, he arranged for the two of them to come over.

This entire mountain, over 100 acres, originally belonged to Old Man Li, but due to neglect, much of it has turned into wilderness. Only about a dozen acres of old tea trees have grown over two meters tall, too tall to reach for tea picking.

After Song Tan took over, she promptly pruned the old tea trees, then had the land plowed and reorganized. This spring, she filled it all back up with tea seedlings.

Just waiting for a while, this small patch of tea seedling land will soon be able to grow various watermelons in it.

And the old tea trees, after the nourishment of winter and the sprouting of spring, have now produced a layer of shiny, tender leaves. Just waiting for a few days more, when the plump new shoots sprout on top, preparations for picking can commence.

But for now—

Lun Chuan held his basket and asked, "Is that mugwort up ahead?"

Tender and green, growing in a lush cluster close to the ground, the leaves' undersides bore a faint silver-white sheen, looking fresh and lovely.

Song Tan nodded, "Yes! Truly tender!"

"Though its taste is indeed a bit strong, but Seventh Uncle can adjust it, it should be fine."

She squatted down and began picking directly, "Feel free to pick; it grows quickly, just don't disturb the roots, and within a few days, another cluster will sprout this season."

She picked quickly and deftly, and seeing this, Lun Chuan followed suit, picking a bunch, then laughed, "The taste really is strong."

"Right?" Song Tan teased, "Pick the tender ones; the city boy deserves to eat well."

The city boy smiled helplessly, "Only I eat? Won't you also eat?"

Song Tan, however, laughed, "We've seen this stuff since childhood! My parents are okay, they'll occasionally eat some in season."

"If it were my grandparents, they wouldn't touch this or sweet potatoes due to their childhood experiences of hunger."

Last year, during spring, they ate a lot, but those wild vegetables were nourished by Spiritual Energy, naturally tasting different.

Lun Chuan paused briefly, then laughed, "We'll suffer at lunch."

"Not necessarily." Song Tan was confident in Seventh Uncle, "Many wild vegetables require a lot of oil, definitely paired with meat when cooked—likely mugwort stew chicken or fragrant crispy fried meat cubes."

After she spoke, she laughed again, "Didn't you want to try Artemisia Buns before? Guess what Artemisia is?"

She pointed in front, "There, Mugwort, looks a bit like this. Fill it up with your basket and try two different dishes at noon!"

Honestly, Lun Chuan, who reads all sorts of information for writing novels, knows wild vegetables and grasses fairly well. But upon experiencing it firsthand, he realized that seeing and practicing in person feels entirely different!

He grew interested, "Where? Do you also only pick the tender leaves at the top?"

While the two chatted and laughed, a yellow shadow suddenly darted past in front, causing Lun Chuan to pause in surprise, followed by a rustling sound in the tea field.

He looked up, only to see among the pruned tea trees, a dog's head stick out, with a yellow-brown rabbit in its mouth.

Checking its neck, a big tag read two red words—

"Qibao!"

Song Tan came over, first glancing at the rabbit, "Qibao's capable now! Catching rabbits so fast!"

"Woof!"

Qibao instantly became proud, barked loudly, making the seemingly lifeless rabbit drop dead, before taking another leap and darting back into the tea bushes.

"Ugh—"

Qibao stood dumbfounded and aggrieved, trying to dart in again but was held back by Song Tan, "Forget it, catch it next time; come, help carry the basket first."

Qibao clumsily came over and bit the basket.

Lun Chuan curiously asked, "Why not let him catch it?"

Song Tan glanced at Qibao cautiously, replied helplessly, "He—his siblings were picked up by me on the road, and their brains are…"

That is indeed hard to describe.

It's not that they're not smart, just their personalities are too distinct.

Wubao loves sleeping and digging holes—Song Tan suspects Qiaoqiao taught him while planting corn.

Liubao loves stealing food, bad at math. He guards but can't even steal anything correctly, quite embarrassing for a dog.

Qibao... even more indescribable.

He's diligent, brave, obedient!

But, very reckless.

How reckless you ask?

"This very tea field right here, the larger tea trees are fine, their branches firm enough not to be recklessly damaged. But in the patch where tea seedlings were transplanted not long ago, he could chase a rabbit and plow through the field."

Thinking about it again, Song Tan could only sigh, "Perhaps it's because we never trained them."

Back then, the household was busy spinning in circles, leaving the three pups under the care of some mature treasures which resulted in…

Well, not to say they're independent, just lack any workplace competitiveness.