Chapter 18 Rules of Fangshan

  The history of ginseng mining in Changbai Mountain can be traced back to the period of Jurchen or Bohai Kingdom.

  At that time, ginseng was a tribute to the Central Plains dynasty by the ethnic minorities in Northeast China, which shows its value.

  Hundreds of thousands of years of development, countless ancestors who shuttled in the deep mountains and old forests to find ginseng have left a lot of experience and rules.

  In the past, there were special ginseng gangs, and they pointed to the mountains to dig ginseng to live. These people began to enter the mountains in spring and left the mountains before the snow fell.

  The season of releasing the mountain, according to the different seasons of ginseng growth, can be divided into Yacao City, Qingcao City, Leek Flower Market, Xiaojiabianer City, Dajiabianer City, Qinghamtou City, Honghamtou City, and Huangluosan.

   Among them, it is easiest to count Red Hammer City.

  In this season, the ginseng seeds are ripe, a cluster of bright red, swaying in the wind, as if beckoning to people.

   A little red in the green bushes is the most conspicuous.

  So, most people will rush into the mountain at this time.

  I hope to meet a big tree in the vast forest, dig it back and sell it for a good price, and improve my life.

  Xu Shiyan carried his bags on his back, traveled through the forest, and came to the vicinity of the Immortal Cave.

  He was alone, and he didn't plan to go too far, so he designated this place with a radius of more than ten miles as a mountain farm.

  The first thing to do when letting the mountain people into the mountain is to worship the old mountain god.

  Use three stones, two vertical and one horizontal, to form the "Lord's Mansion", which is the temple of the old man of the mountain god.

  Put three twigs in front of the master's mansion to replace incense, kneel down and pray to the mountain **** to bless you for safety and prosperity.

  After worshiping the mountain god, choose a leeward and sunny hillside, and build a stilt, which is the shack where the mountain people live.

  First cut three wooden poles with a fast axe, and then pick up some soft bark of poplar and elm to tie the wooden poles to support a tripod.

  Pull off the whole piece of birch bark from the birch tree, put thatch on it to prevent rain, and spread hay and animal skins inside to prevent moisture. This is considered a temporary home for the mountain people.

  After setting up the ground, we have to go around and chop some dry firewood.

  Changbai Mountain is very cool at night, and there are many wild animals. A fire can be used to keep warm, drive away mosquitoes, prevent wild animals, and guide lost people.

  The placement of the firewood is also particular, and it must be followed, which means smooth.

   After finishing all these tasks, most of the day has passed, so I started a fire to boil water, eat and rest.

  After breakfast the next morning, the mountain was officially released, also known as pressing the mountain, opening the mountain, pressing the time, and samucao.

  If you enter the mountain in groups and there are many people, everyone should stand together and shout in unison before pressing down on the mountain.

  Xu Shiyan was alone, and relying on the fact that this place was not too far from the big house, and there were not many wild animals, he saved the Huangshan Mountain and left the shack to wander around the mountain with a Suobao stick in his hand.

  Suobao stick, also known as Suobao stick, is a six-foot-long wooden stick with a red string tied to the top, and copper coins tied to both ends of the red rope.

  The vegetation is lush in the mountains and forests, and I don’t know what is hidden in the grass.

  The Fangshan people hold Suobao sticks in their hands, and while walking, they use the stick to touch the bushes and tree trunks to scare away the snakes or other small animals hiding in them.

  At the same time, weeds can also be pulled to find ginseng.

  Every time you walk a certain distance, you have to "beat the kidnapper", that is, break a thin branch at ninety degrees to use it as a mark, indicating that this place has already been passed.

  Walking around in the mountains is not easy, you can't talk, and you can't shout when you see anything.

  Xu Shiyan went into the mountain alone, which saved some trouble.

  I walked around slowly, my eyes kept wandering in the grass, not letting go of every inch of land, every flower and plant.

  When you are tired, you can "take a squat", that is, rest, when you are hungry, you can "take a meal", that is, eat, and when you are addicted to smoking, you can "take a fire".

   "Na" means auspicious and smooth in Manchu, and it's all for getting big ginseng.

  Xu Shiyan wandered around the mountains for a day, but he didn't "open his eyes", so he had to go back to the ground to rest.

   It is common for the people who let the mountain go to the mountain without "opening their eyes" for a few days. Xu Shiyan was not discouraged, and proceeded to cook, cook and sleep step by step.

  It was only at night, when a wolf howled faintly in the distance, Xu Shiyan didn't sleep well.

  It started to rain in the middle of the night. Although the rain stopped in the morning, the temperature was very low. Xu Shiyan changed into a ragged leather jacket and ripped leather pants, and then put on a raincoat.

  The leather jacket and leather trousers were all found by Mrs. Li for him. When he was young, Lao Li often went to the mountains to release mountains. Now he is old enough to see ginseng on the mountains. These things are kept at home.

  When Xu Shiyan said that he wanted to go into the mountains, Mrs. Li drew out all the old man's belongings and gave them to Xu Shiyan.

  It has just rained, and the leaves and grass are covered with crystal raindrops. When the wind blows down, it is another light rain.

  Xu Shiyan was wearing a leather jacket and leather trousers and a raincoat, but he was not afraid. He still held a rope stick in his hand and wandered in another direction.

  Walking for half an afternoon, suddenly my eyes lit up, and a little red was particularly conspicuous among the green leaves in front of me.

  Xu Shiyan walked over quickly and came to the front, carefully looked at it, and it really was a small ginseng seed.

  Looking down along the ginseng seeds, there are four palmate compound leaves growing on the purple-black stalk.

Ginseng, according to different growth years and different biological characteristics of different years, can be divided into "three flowers", "slap palm", "two Jiazi", "dengtaizi", "four leaves", "five leaves" from small to large. ", "Six leaves".

  If it is garden ginseng, basically it can grow to five or six leaves in the six-year growth period.

  However, the growth cycle of wild ginseng is very long. Each stage takes several years or decades, especially the last few stages. It is possible to grow one more leaf after hundreds of years.

   That is to say, I counted the leaves of ginseng. The more leaves, the bigger and more valuable the ginseng may be.

  Generally, five leaves can produce a lot of goods, and six leaves can keep big ones.

  Four leaves, that is, four leaves, the ginseng underneath will not be very big.

  Going into the mountains to open your eyes and meeting four leaves is actually unlucky in the eyes of many people.

  Xu Shiyan stared at the ginseng tree for a while, and then called out, "The club."

  This is called Huoshan. According to legend, ginseng can run when it becomes a spirit.

   "How many leaves?" If there are many people coming, other people will ask after hearing it. This is called Jieshan.

   "Maul, do you want to take it?" This is to say the size of the ginseng, and then ask whether to dig it.

  Si, which sounds the same as death, has a bad meaning, so most people don't say it directly when they meet Sipiye, they just say stick, and the other party understands it.

   "Take it." Xu Shiyan hesitated, but decided to dig.

  Alone, the procedures that should be followed have to be followed, so I did all the work of calling mountains and mountains.

   Decided to dig this ginseng tree, first took out a red rope tied with copper coins, which is the mallet lock, and locked the mallet.

  Wrap the red thread of the mallet lock on the ginseng stalks, and put the copper coins at both ends on the Suobao sticks or branches that have been inserted into the ground to prevent the mallet from escaping.

  Ginseng is a plant, so it will not run away naturally.

   This is mainly due to the high mountains, dense forests and complex terrain, the mixture of ginseng and grass is difficult to distinguish, and it is easy to miss without marking.

  The red rope is used for the mallet lock, which is very conspicuous in a piece of green, making it easy for people to lock the target.

  (end of this chapter)