Chapter 147: Two Ways to Eat Morel Mushrooms

“What a pity.” Sasha glanced at the Morel Mushroom in her hand and said regretfully.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Heming asked curiously.

“The living environment of Morel Mushrooms is also somewhat special. Although not as demanding as Truffles, there are still many restrictions.” Sasha brushed her hair back and said with a smile.

“After a forest fire, these Morel Mushrooms often grow in large quantities, but their numbers decrease year by year in the following years. The forest fire here happened who knows how many years ago, otherwise you could have made some money.”

“Are they expensive here in the United States too? I thought you didn’t really like eating mushrooms like these.” Liu Heming said with a smile.

“They’re alright. The purchase price for fresh Morel Mushrooms is about 16 US Dollars per pound. Dried ones are more expensive, selling for around 200 US Dollars per pound, but it depends on the size of each mushroom.” Sasha nodded.

“Like this one just now—it’s very large and should fetch a good price. If you’re interested, you can come here earlier next year to pick them. They’re most abundant around May and June; it’s a bit late now.”

“Actually, the price used to be even higher, but now some companies are cultivating them in large quantities artificially, which has caused the price to drop a bit. However, wild Morel Mushrooms still hold their value.”

Liu Heming frowned, feeling a bit shocked by the price of Morel Mushrooms here. Sasha had mentioned the purchase price, and the profit margin seemed quite significant.

Moreover, these things grew on their own. He had a fairly large Forest here, and if he searched carefully, he could probably find two to three thousand jin next year without any problem. That would mean over ten thousand US Dollars in earnings.

He also felt a bit outdated for not knowing that Morel Mushrooms could be cultivated artificially. That raised the question: if others could grow them, could he? Perhaps he didn’t have the complete set of techniques they did, but he had Small Lake Water. Thinking about this, his mind became much more active.

Then, their group—people and bears alike—had a new task: picking Morel Mushrooms.

Upon hearing this command, the happiest one was Alex. The little one was full of energy, her big eyes focusing intently as she searched through the Forest.

Surprisingly, since no one had been in this Forest for a long time, even though it was past the peak picking season, there were still quite a few Morel Mushrooms inside, and they were quite large—some even bigger than Alex’s small hand.

Liu Heming had an idea. When he picked them, he dug them out directly with the soil attached. He wanted to see if he could cultivate them successfully. After all, he had a Greenhouse now, and it was just sitting idle. There was no harm in trying.

Sasha noticed his actions and knew he was up to something again. But she didn’t say anything. Liu Heming had repeatedly surprised her, and maybe he really could succeed in cultivating them.

They had originally come to the Forest to play but unexpectedly discovered the Morel Mushrooms. Their bags were emptied, and the food inside made the Bear Kids extremely happy, as it all ended up in their bellies.

However, the bags had limited space, and there were a few too many Morel Mushrooms. Liu Heming simply took off his jacket and used it as a wrap.

In just one morning, Liu Heming and the others had picked nearly seven to eight jin. They came in all sizes, and the largest one, Liu Heming estimated, had to be around half a jin. He had never seen one that big before.

Picking mushrooms was a lot of fun. The adults were fine, but little Alex was exhausted. On the way back, she was carried by Xiong Da. Even though Xiong Da wasn’t fully grown yet, he was quite strong.

Liu Heming selected some Morel Mushrooms that were damaged during picking and carefully washed them.

Morel Mushrooms have honeycomb-like folds, so washing them required extra care—unlike Tomatoes or Cucumbers. Liu Heming washed them four times in a row before all the dirt was cleaned off.

He had never eaten Morel Mushrooms before and didn’t know how to cook them properly. But he thought that since Morel Mushrooms were a type of mushroom, the best ways to eat them would be in soup or stir-fried.

For him now, these were not difficult tasks. Outside, a large pot was boiling with bones—only two of them. The meat was secondary; what mattered was the bone broth.

For lunch and dinner lately, they mostly used the big pot outside. Even Sasha had started to enjoy this way of dining. Even when eating steak, she would cook it in the Kitchen and then bring it outside to eat.

Liu Heming sliced the Morel Mushrooms and also cut some Pork Belly—more lean meat, less fat. He heated oil in a small wok and stir-fried the Pork Belly slices. The clinking sound of the spatula against the wok had a rhythmic quality to it. Alex stood beside Liu Heming, holding a plate of sliced Morel Mushrooms, waiting for his instructions.

Over there, the bone broth was almost ready, so Sasha took over that task. Recently, Sasha had been gradually taking over Alex’s role as kitchen helper.

“Alex, attention, add them,” Liu Heming said to his daughter.

Upon receiving the command, the little one poured the sliced Morel Mushrooms from the plate into the wok. Her tense little face immediately broke into a happy smile.

Liu Heming quickly stir-fried everything and even performed a little trick, flipping the contents of the wok into the air and catching them neatly back in the wok.

“Dad, the fire, fire,” the little one reminded him seriously.

It wasn’t that the fire had escaped the wok; she just loved seeing flames roll inside it. Well, if his daughter said so, he had to oblige.

A large plate of stir-fried Pork Belly with Morel Mushrooms and a big bowl of Morel Mushroom Soup were placed on the table, thanks to the efforts of the three of them.

“Here, try this. See how it tastes,” Liu Heming said, picking up a slice of Morel Mushroom for his daughter.

“Mmm, it’s delicious. It’s meaty and tastes really good,” the little one said happily after eating a slice.

“Now try this soup,” Sasha chimed in, not to be outdone, as she scooped a small spoonful of soup for her daughter.

The little one drank the soup with delight and gave Sasha two thumbs up.

Robin watched the family of three with amusement, feeling quite pleased. It seemed his strategy was working—spending time together often led to developing feelings.

Liu Heming picked up a slice of Morel Mushroom and put it in his mouth, chewing carefully.

Umami—that was his first impression, followed by sweetness. It wasn’t the sweetness of honey, but the kind that comes from extreme umami.

The term “savory and sweet” that people often talked about—today, Liu Heming truly experienced it for the first time.