Chapter 1929: 1861 Eating Poisonous Mushrooms and Developing Antibodies (Monthly Ticket 38000 Bonus ×76)

Four hours later, seated in the top-floor private room of Tang Song Restaurant, everyone was chatting and laughing.

Although Liu Xu zhi was intent on going back to recall the surgery details, compared to refusing Zheng Lao Ban's invitation, he still endured and came to eat.

Song Ying sat beside Zheng Ren, chatting casually about trivial matters.

His tone was neither too light nor too heavy, neither rushed nor slow, making people feel very comfortable.

"These past few days we have some fresh mushrooms shipped from Yunnan; please, Zheng Lao Ban, come try them."

When the manager opened the door and the waiters brought in the dishes one after another, Song Ying then gave the introduction.

Zheng Ren smiled.

But he clearly felt that the little hand he was holding had tightened slightly, as if Xiao Yi Ren liked it.

"Yunnan has many mushroom varieties over there, reportedly fresh and delicious; Song Ying, you've put thought into this." Zheng Ren sensed Xiao Yi Ren's liking, naturally felt happy, and gave a rare compliment.

"In Yunnan, there are too many mushroom varieties; many locals eat poisonous ones and are practically developing antibodies." Song Ying chuckled and started gossiping.

"What? Poisonous mushrooms can still be eaten?" Chang Yue exclaimed in surprise.

"Look at your clueless expression." Su Yun snapped: "The most common poisonous mushroom in Yunnan is called 'see-hand-blue'; eating it causes hallucinations."

"..." Chang Yue adjusted his glasses, feeling that the mushrooms before him all seemed poisonous.

"Don't be afraid, Xiao Chang; the mushrooms we're eating definitely aren't poisonous." Song Ying started urging everyone to eat and took on the duty of explaining.

Because the mushrooms usually eaten in Di Du are mostly oyster mushrooms, golden needle mushrooms, and common mushrooms; this time many varieties have come up that even Chang Yue hasn't seen, let alone Lin JiaoJiao.

From light-green to dark-green cyan-head mushrooms, each has its own origin and how delicious it is.

How the white-yellow-black-capped boletus is delicious, and why it is one of the four mushroom kings.

Why the dark-brown, beef-jerky-flavored dried-bar mushroom is a local specialty of Yunnan.

Why the pure wild gold-threaded red-tipped bamboo fungus is called the queen of mushrooms.

Song Ying spoke humorously and was well‑versed; his talk wasn't dull, everyone listened with relish, and they ate with gusto.

But Chang Yue still remembered the poisonous‑mushroom matter; after drinking a bottle of iron‑capped Maotai, he quietly asked Su Yun, "Why do people in Yunnan eat poisonous mushrooms?"

"Because they taste good." Su Yun gulped down the liquor in his cup, savored it for a few seconds, then continued: "A classmate of mine works in Yunnan; he said that of the people who go to the emergency department at night for stomach pumping, 70% are due to poisonous‑mushroom ingestion and 25% from drinking too much."

"Uh..." Chang Yue still didn't understand why one would eat poisonous mushrooms upon seeing them.

"They call mushroom poisoning there 'seeing little people,' and many beds in the gastroenterology ward are occupied by mushroom‑poisoning cases. They aren't afraid—seeing little people after eating mushrooms is nothing; just eat some fungi later to make up for it."

"I recall there's a hallucinogenic mushroom; is this it?" Chang Yue asked.

"Probably not; hallucinogenic mushrooms are banned in our country. See‑hand‑blue is just a common poisonous mushroom—its toxicity is low and it's hard to die from." Zheng Ren said.

"Isn't that about the same?"

"In 2006, Johns Hopkins University research found that after humans ingest the active compound psilocybin from hallucinogenic mushrooms, they will experience ecstatic hallucinations." Zheng Ren said.

"I haven't studied it closely, but it should be different." Su Yun added: "Hallucinogenic mushrooms contain psychoactive substances such as dimethyl‑4‑hydroxytryptamine phosphate and dimethyl‑4‑hydroxytryptamine, and sometimes also other tryptamine compounds with mental effects."

"Hallucinogenic mushrooms have many colloquial names, the most common being 'magic mushrooms' or 'death mushrooms.'"

"See‑hand‑blue is a collective term for a group of boletus fungi that show an indigo‑blue color reaction after injury; the number of species is huge, belonging to the boletus family."

"Most belong to the genus Boletus, with a few other genera: the yellow‑stalk boletus group, the velvet‑cap boletus group, the powdery boletus group, and the orange boletus group."

"That's overly complicated." Zheng Ren said: "See‑hand‑blue is just a collective term; some of those mushrooms are toxic, but most are not. Simply put, in Yunnan Province see‑hand‑blue usually refers to a few boletus species of a certain color that show the see‑hand‑blue trait and have a long cooking history."

"That's also dangerous." Chang Yue said.

"If it's dangerous, just don't eat it? What's pufferfish got to do with it? You've got no glutton's spirit." Su Yun said disdainfully: "Look at Xiao Yi Ren—while you're talking, how many mushrooms has she eaten?"

Zheng Ren turned his head and glanced at Xie Yiren.

Her face was flushed, a few beads of sweat on her nose tip, and she was happily eating.

Whether something is toxic or not, Xiao Yi Ren seemingly doesn't care at all.

"Hallucinogenic mushrooms are legal in the Netherlands; if you ever get a chance to go there, just be careful. They're also easy to identify—you can tell at a glance." Su Yun said: "I'm telling you, don't ever be curious enough to eat that stuff. Although it isn't addictive, that kind of curiosity is unacceptable."

"Says you." Chang Yue glanced at him contemptuously.

"On the streets of Amsterdam, coffeeshops or smartshops basically sell it for ten to twenty euros; it looks a bit like a cashew but tastes sour and foul, like rotten mushrooms. Its effect lasts 4–6 hours." Su Yun said: "After taking it, you'll feel thirsty and experience hallucinations."

"Sounds like you've tried it yourself." Chang Yue said scornfully.

"Doctor Chang, there's something called a book. Nowadays, in this internet society, just glancing at fragmented knowledge tells you." Su Yun poured her a drink, raised his cup, clinked it lightly, and drank by himself.

"It's not tasty; don't just eat anything randomly. When eating food, the main point is freshness and palatability."

"Mushrooms are fungal plants, right?"

"They belong to the mushroom family and genus of fungi." Zheng Ren said confidently.

"Don't underestimate mushrooms; if they keep growing, they can get huge." Su Yun said.

"How big can they get?"

"In 1998, an Armillaria ostoyae was discovered in the Malheur National Park of Oregon, United States. Its mycelial cords are like tubes 2–5 mm in diameter, silently spreading underground for 2,400 years, expanding its territory to 14,400 acres." Su Yun explained.

"Several million square meters…" Chang Yue thought, dazed.

"Is that possible? How was it discovered?" Chang Yue wondered, asking: "Just a little digging?"

"Americans took soil samples from different locations, then performed genetic testing on the mycelium obtained from each sampling point, confirming that the underground mycelium distributed over about 965 hectares belongs to a single individual." Zheng Ren said.

After a few bites of rice he was full and started gossiping. That giant mushroom, Zheng Ren also really wanted to see it with his own eyes.

"According to estimates, that giant mushroom weighs about 600 tons—enough to feed us for a year."