Wait a minute...It seems I forgot to ask the Yin-Yang master where the other ingredient is.Before setting off,I went back to him.
"Where is the other ingredient you mentioned?I came back to ask you because it's more convenient for me to find it this way,"I said.
"Didn't I tell you before?The other one grows on a cliff because other places are not suitable for its growth,"he replied.
"No,I know that.You told me a few days ago.What I want to know is the specific location of that cliff.Can you tell me the general location?"I asked.
"I'm not quite sure either.Three years ago,I found one of those mushrooms on a cliff by chance while collecting herbs.I don't know if there are any left now.You'll just have to take your chances,"he said.
"Alright,where is it?"I inquired.
"It's on the cliff behind the stream at the east end of the village.But before you go,you need to prepare these things:a hemp rope,a grappling hook,a small trowel,and I must remind you to be careful.The cliff is very dangerous,"he warned.
"Okay,I'm setting off now,"I said.
I borrowed the grappling hook and the small trowel from Auntie Tingting's house,but I still needed a hemp rope.Not every villager has a hemp rope,and I needed a sturdy one.If the rope is too thick,it's hard to hold and climb with;if it's too thin,it might break easily.I searched every house in the village but couldn't find a satisfactory hemp rope.Not knowing what to do next,I walked to the village entrance where a vendor selling straw sandals caught my attention.I strode up to an old craftsman sitting there.
"Hello,may I take a look at the straw sandals you've woven?"I asked.
"Sure,these are all handwoven by me at home.I bring some here to sell every day.Take a look,"he replied.
I picked up a pair of sandals and examined the laces.They were incredibly sturdy.I tried to rub them against a stone,but they remained intact.I was amazed that a pair of sandals made of straw could be so durable!
"Master,these sandals are of great quality.How much for a pair?I'll take one,"I said.
"Not expensive at all,just 15 yuan for a pair.They can last for several years,"he answered.
"Alright,I'll buy them,"I decided.
With the sandals in hand,I couldn't wait to take them apart to see what kind of craftsmanship made the straw so strong and durable.I found a pair of scissors and used a lot of force to cut the laces.The laces were made by twisting dried grass together.Wait a minute...isn't this the prototype of the hemp rope I need?I suddenly had an epiphany and returned to the straw sandal vendor.
"Master,how are the laces of these sandals woven?I'm very curious,"I asked.
"Do you also want to weave straw sandals for sale?I can teach you,"he offered.
"No,no,no.I urgently need a hemp rope for rock climbing.I want to use your method to make one myself,"I explained.
"It's actually quite simple,young man.But how long do you want to make it?"he inquired.
I thought about it and decided that 20 meters would be enough.
"Twenty meters should be fine,"I said.
"That will require a lot of dried grass to make.I have some here,but if it's not enough,you can come to my house.I have plenty there,"the straw sandal vendor told me.
He explained that to make a hemp rope,first,I needed to wet the dried grass to increase its toughness.Then,I should take a few strands and twist them together like making a braid.When the grass was about to run out,I would insert more grass in the middle and continue twisting them together in the same way until I reached the desired length.However,the strength of a single strand like this would not be sufficient.So,I continued to weave dozens of thin grass ropes of the same length and then twisted them together one by one...
Finally,the task was completed!A homemade grass rope was made,although my hand had a small wound as a result.Never mind,I had obtained what I needed.To test the strength of this grass rope,I tied it to a crooked tree and held onto it,swinging my body in mid-air several times.It didn't break,so I felt relieved and retrieved it.With the grass rope,the grappling hook,and the small trowel I had borrowed,I headed towards the east end of the village.
Soon,I arrived at the stream at the east end of the village.Behind the stream was indeed a cliff,with many small trees growing in the crevices of the rocks and accompanied by some withered yellow grass.I wasn't sure if the rope was long enough,so I first tied the grappling hook securely to one end of the rope,hoping that the length would be roughly the same as the height of the cliff.
Next came a challenging task—I needed to throw the homemade rope with the grappling hook to the top of the cliff and make sure the hook firmly caught onto a large sycamore tree at the top.I tried the first time,the second time,the third time...and finally,after more than a hundred attempts,I succeeded.Fortunately,the rope was long enough.I used the uneven rocks on the cliff to hold onto the rope and began to climb upwards.It was extremely dangerous,but I had no other choice.After climbing and stopping for half an hour,I finally reached the top of the cliff.The top of the cliff was a completely different scene compared to the cliff face,with various kinds of trees,mushrooms,and different types of weeds...It was different from the shrubbery on the ground.The medicinal mushroom I was looking for should be among them.
I broke a twig and held it in my hand,constantly recalling the description of the medicinal mushroom given by the Yin-Yang master.I gently searched through the weeds with the twig,not missing a single spot until I had checked all the areas covered by weeds.I might not have been careful enough and didn't see the mushroom.I dropped the twig and decided to squat down and use my hands to part the weeds to search...This continued for several tens of minutes.My legs gradually became numb,and I found it difficult to stand up.Suddenly,I stood up too quickly and collapsed back to the ground.After a while,a cold wind blew by,and I slowly opened my eyes.To my surprise,the mushroom appeared right in front of me.This couldn't be a dream,could it?I pinched my arm hard to confirm that I wasn't dreaming.I found it,I finally found it!I picked up the small trowel,carefully checked to make sure it was the medicinal mushroom I was looking for,and then gently dug it out.I placed it in the box I had prepared in advance and then,with the help of the rope,I held onto it tightly and slowly descended the cliff along the same path I had come up.