The False Lantern Plant

Lin Die carefully observed her surroundings, trying to find plants that could serve as food, preferably something that could replace a staple grain.

Whenever she spotted a plant, her mind quickly scanned through related data. If she found one that was edible, her gaze would linger a little longer.

However, she didn't harvest every edible plant she saw.

First, she wouldn't take those that were too scarce; she also bypassed those with overly complex preparation methods, and she avoided anything growing too close to the tribe! After a series of screenings, she had covered more than half the journey without finding anything suitable.

Lin Die was not discouraged. The main purpose of this trip was to collect ripe fruit; finding anything else was a bonus, and not finding it was fine too.

Sometimes, accidental discoveries brought more surprises than intentional searches.

Just as Lin Die was absentmindedly looking around, she suddenly discovered a patch of weeds that looked very familiar.

She hurried forward.

"Lin Die, why are you walking so fast?" Yun and Xing, who were beside her, rushed to catch up.

Lin Die looked at the leaves in the weeds and confirmed they were False Lantern Plants.

The False Lantern Plant looked very similar to the actual Lantern Plant, hence its name. It originated from South America and was also widely distributed in southern China.

Every time she saw these plants that didn't originate from this world's equivalent of China, Lin Die felt very strange.

If she had traveled back to a primitive era, these plants shouldn't have appeared here.

But if this wasn't a primitive era, the lives of these beastmen were truly primitive.

Unable to find an answer, she set the issue aside.

Speaking of the False Lantern Plant, many people might not know it by name, but they would certainly be familiar with "seaweed masks."

There was a type of seaweed mask sold on the market that actually consisted of "seaweed seeds." When mixed with water, they would become gelatinous, and applying them to the face created a "seaweed mask."

In reality, these "seaweed seeds" were the seeds of the False Lantern Plant.

The surface of the False Lantern Plant seed had a layer of mucilage that would expand and become sticky after soaking in water.

The jelly that people often ate was also made from the seeds of this plant.

There was such a large patch of False Lantern Plants here; she could make so much jelly! Lin Die immediately decided to take all of them back.

Yun and Xing ran to Lin Die's side and saw her staring intently at the weeds in front of her.

"Lin Die, what are you thinking about?" Xing asked curiously.

Lin Die looked at her seriously and said, "Xing, do you want to eat something delicious?"

Xing nodded vigorously. Of course she did—who wouldn't want to eat something delicious!

Lin Die pointed to the patch of False Lantern Plants: "These are all delicious treats."

Delicious treats?

Xing and Yun looked at the weeds in front of them blankly. This thing was edible?

Even if it was edible, they could just go back to the tribe to pick wild vegetables to cook; there was no need to travel so far to bring these back.

Lin Die picked a lantern fruit and squeezed it gently, causing countless small seeds to fall out.

Lin Die said, "Using these grass seeds, we can make many delicious dishes."

Yun and Xing naturally couldn't imagine how these grass seeds could turn into food, but since Lin Die wanted them, they would help.

So, the three of them quickly set to work picking the False Lantern fruits. The tribespeople following behind saw them picking seeds from the weeds and stopped to ask curiously.

Lin Die's answer was that she was gathering them for food.

Although they didn't understand Lin Die's intention, they also lent a hand, picking a few fruits and dropping them into her bamboo basket before moving on.

Though Lin Die really wanted the False Lantern fruits, she also knew what was more important. This trip was mainly to pick fruit; she couldn't let her personal affairs affect the whole group, so she only picked for a while before stopping.

This amount of False Lantern fruits was enough to make several bowls of jelly.

Initially, Yang had been at the front with the hunting party to clear the way for the females. Lin Die, Yun, and Xing were also in the lead group, so he could see them as soon as he turned around.

But this time, he had cleared the path ahead, and almost all the female beastmen had passed by, yet there was no sign of the three of them.

He felt a bit worried. After instructing the beastman beside him, he turned back to look for them.

After walking just a few steps, he saw them catching up. He asked, "Why are you so slow?"

Lin Die said, "We were just picking a few things along the way."

"What did you get?" Yang lowered his head to look into the bamboo basket: "Grass seeds?"

"That's right." Lin Die happened to be holding a False Lantern fruit in her hand. She crushed the fruit as she spoke: "Look, it's the seeds of this grass. They can be used as food."

Yang didn't know how grass seeds could become food, but if Lin Die said they could, then they certainly could!

He asked, "Is this too little? Should I go pick more for you?"

Lin Die replied, "No need, we have to catch up with everyone." They had already been left quite a distance behind by the group in front.

Yang didn't let her say more and took the bamboo basket off her back: "You guys go ahead, I'll be back in a moment."

"Hey, Yang!"

Before Lin Die could say anything, Yang had already run off with the bamboo basket.

Yun patted her shoulder and said, "It's fine, just let him go. Let's catch up with the group first."

"Alright."

They hurried to catch up with the team ahead. Lin Die kept looking back as she walked to see if Yang was following.

Yun wasn't worried about her son at all. She said to Lin Die, "You don't need to worry about him. He knows these mountains and forests very well."

Lin Die thought about it and realized she was right. Yang went hunting every day, so he was definitely familiar with the terrain here. Moreover, he could kill a large wild boar by himself; even if he encountered a wild beast, there was no need to worry.