Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 898 - 880. Kudzu Bug [Somewhat Gross, View with Caution]

Chapter 898: 880. Kudzu Bug [Somewhat Gross, View with Caution]

Teacher Qiaoqiao explained in great detail, but alas, the kids were unreliable—their homes had neither the space nor the kudzu roots, so there was truly no way to practice. They had no choice but to stick to the live streaming room.

To tell the truth, digging kudzu roots is a very boring and exhausting job. But if the boredom and fatigue are borne by someone else, everyone else finds it quite enjoyable to watch.

Moreover, inside the live stream’s background, the ultimate dream of men—the excavator—continued to work tirelessly. As the sun gradually rose higher, the warmth of the sunlight shines on people, and the number of viewers in the live streaming room had doubled once again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Wang’s Family was swinging a hoe, digging in the soft soil, and all of a sudden, upon seeing a kudzu vine snapped in two, burst into laughter:

"Qiaoqiao, do you eat bugs?"

Qiaoqiao turned around in confusion: "Huh?"

The live streaming room also perked up: [Huh?]

One could see Zhang Wang’s Family lifted a section of the kudzu vine, and with a quick slice of the knife, handed over a piece of the vine.

The middle of that vine protruded into an oval sphere, which seemed very conspicuous on the slender vine. Then, with a twist of the hand, Zhang Wang’s Family split the vine apart, yanking to reveal the center of the sphere!

Inside the vine, an empty space had been hollowed out at some point, and several brown, cocoon-like items came into view.

Qiaoqiao instinctively shook her head: "Eh~ It’s dark and ugly, I’ll pass, I won’t eat that."

The live chat was instantly energized: [I know this one! Kudzu Bug!]

[I get it now! Huanong brothers!]

[That bug looks so ugly! Is it like bee pupae fried in oil?]

[People with protein allergies are chuckling, eating bee pupae turns them into Miss Piggy]

[Ahh ahh ahh kudzu bugs are so nutritious! And no allergies!]

[What what what? Who was the first one to eat these things? So ugly, and yet they can swallow it?]

But Zhang Wang’s Family carefully removed the pupae one by one: "These taste exceptionally fragrant when deep-fried or roasted over fire. Come on, tear it open, and the bug will come out just like this."

Upon ripping open the dark pupa, a plump and soft fat worm emerged, its body curled into a loop, the skin milky white tinted with yellow, with a few in a lighter golden color...

Qiaoqiao exclaimed in shock: "I won’t eat, I won’t eat, I really won’t eat it!"

But Zhang Yanping edged closer: "Hey, I’ve seen these in other videos before, they sell for quite a price per pound."

"Pricey?" Zhang Wang’s Family paused: "Can we sell them? We could probably find several pounds on this mountain. In previous years, we’d gather three to five pounds annually."

Zhang Yanping replied casually: "I’ll ask about the specific price—how much did it sell for in previous years?"

Zhang Wang’s Family fell silent.

This delicacy, disliked by some who shudder at a single glance, is utterly adored by others. In previous years, the children would share these bugs, they’d never been sold.

Without saying a word, Zhang Yanping seemed to get the picture, and directly took a video to send to Guo Dong:

"Kudzu Bugs, are you buying?"

Before Guo Dong could respond, the live chat became anxious.

[Ah ah ah, why is the big boss of the underworld turning his elbow outwards? We are the core fans!]

[Me me me, I’ll take it, I can offer 150 per pound!]

[... Do you guys really eat anything?]

[These are a Great Tonic! I’ll take a pound too!]

[Don’t worry about the pupae during shipping, 180 here, give it to me!]

[Can’t stand it, thankfully the camera isn’t on the bugs now, I’m terrified of insects]

[Ahh ahh ahh, it’s so scary]

[In this vast world, our ancestors sure ate everything, didn’t they]

[The ancestors were hungry, when you’re that hungry anything goes, and those that didn’t kill you become a consideration for how to make them tasty]

[You make a fair point, but I’m bound to let down our ancestors because I won’t be eating that.]

And Guo Dong quickly replied:

[I’ll take it, I’ll take it, I’ll take it! 200 yuan per jin, I have a client who firmly believes this stuff is a great tonic and buys it at a high price every year! Not to mention, ours is pure wild-harvested.]

Zhang Yanping: ??? What? People farm this thing?

[Not exactly, it’s just that some areas are dedicated to growing kudzu, and so there are quite a few kudzu bugs. But nowadays, the ones that are naturally grown are still more expensive.]

Zhang Yanping put away her phone: "Uncle Zhang, Doctor Xiaoguo will take the kudzu bugs, offering you 200 yuan per jin."

Zhang Wang’s Family was stunned, then immediately overjoyed: "Alright, alright, alright, I’ll find some for her immediately."

Qiaoqiao paused, her hand stopping mid-pick of the kudzu: "Uncle, I’ll help you look, I have good eyesight!"

"Good, good, good! As long as the vine is bulging in the middle, that means there are some! Here’s the sickle, cut it into small pieces once you find them."

Zhang Wang’s Family was also happy.

The two of them scrabbled through the soil turned over by the excavator, picking through the vines; this treasure hunt was obviously much more interesting than digging for kudzu roots.

Therefore, Zhang Yanping and Xin Jun exchanged glances, then also went into the field.

Live stream: ...

[An empty wild field, an empty live stream, an empty heart of mine.]

[Used to it, numb to it, domesticated... Isn’t it just a pastoral scenery live broadcast? I can do this.]

[Can’t buy stuff from the store, can’t buy stuff from other people’s fields, what am I even trying to save for?]

[To save money, obviously.]

[It won’t take a whole morning to find a few jins, with no one in the live stream, I might as well get some good sleep.]

[Sleep as a form of respect.]

It wasn’t until Secretary Xiaozu at the foot of the mountain had gone through various difficulties to get certified and registered, and had negotiated with others for the opportunity to have traffic allocation on the live streaming platform on the day of selling...

As motorcycles roared up the hill, there was just a lone phone stand by the roadside. Meanwhile, the people in the field were shouting joyfully and exuberantly, clearly going beyond the expected.

Secretary Xiaozu: ...

She approached to take a look at the live stream, flipped through the barrage of comments, couldn’t help but laugh, then called out:

"Qiaoqiao, can I try live streaming for a bit?"

"Sure!" Qiaoqiao, engrossed in her treasure hunt, had at this point forgotten her responsibility as a teacher and casually let go.

Secretary Xiaozu thought for a moment, then picked up the phone:

"Hello everyone, I’m Secretary Xiaozu who arrived this morning. The host is busy right now, so I’ll explain a few things for you all."

She smiled warmly, briefly showing her face to the hundreds of thousands in the live audience before switching the camera to explain:

"Look, this kudzu field in front of us isn’t owned by the host’s family, it belongs to an elderly person in the village."

"This field was leased to Host Qiaoqiao’s family this spring, the whole area of it." She panned the phone around:

"But this particular piece of land from the old gentleman, even though the money was paid, the kudzu was saved until the end of the year, with the intention of letting the elderly accumulate more retirement money."

Secretary Xiaozu was tactful, aware that many of the village elders adhere to the principle of "not airing one’s dirty laundry in public," so she did not mention anything about Zhang Wang’s Family, but instead skirted the issue:

"If nothing unexpected happens, the first item I will sell in my live stream as Secretary Xiaozu should be Kudzu Root Powder."

"Since it’s not something grown by the host’s family, its flavor is far from comparable, and I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea seeing Host Qiaoqiao working here."

"Also, the price will be market rate, and we’ll make this clear when the time comes, please don’t misunderstand!"

"I hope when the sale starts, everyone will show plenty of support."