"When do you think this pot of garlic will be ready for harvest?" George was fertilizing and watering the thriving garlic plant.
"It will be ready by the end of May." Albert gently blew away the wood shavings from the wooden bracelet and placed it to compare with the runes carved on it later.
"Are you planning to eat raw garlic?" Li Qiaodan asked with a half-smile as he tossed Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into his mouth.
"Isn't your focus misplaced? You should ask Albert how he knew when the garlic would be harvested." George put down his small water bottle and looked at the multi-flavored beans in Li Jordan's hand, saying in a malicious tone, "That one in your hand is definitely booger flavored."
"This is soybean flavored." Li Qiaodan glared at George, who was actually trying to disgust others like this.
However, he still didn't eat it and threw the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean back into the box.
If you're eating it raw, I suggest you soak the garlic in soy sauce to marinate it; I've heard it tastes quite good.
"Enough, stop steer the conversation off-topic," George said impatiently. "Is it really the end of May?"
"Hagrid said he grows his own vegetables, so he must know when to harvest." Albert looked up at George. "If you want to make garlic crosses, the garlic you brought from home should be enough!"
"You only feel a sense of accomplishment when you use garlic that you grow yourself!" George said seriously.
This remark earned him a lot of eye rolls.
"Fine, whatever you say."
"Aren't you going to throw away that pot you planted? That branch has already withered; it definitely won't survive." George pointed to another flowerpot planted with white hibiscus.
"Keep it for now," Albert said, glancing up at the flowerpot. "I plan to replant it when the weather warms up."
"Why are you growing white peony? Is it just a hobby?" Li Qiaodan couldn't quite understand Albert's way of thinking.
This guy has a wide range of interests; he learns almost everything and is quite proficient in all the fields he's involved in. What's most frustrating is that this guy lives a more leisurely life than anyone else.
Sometimes, Li Jordan was quite jealous of Albert.
"Dictamnus dasycarpus has a very good therapeutic effect," Albert explained. "It has high medicinal value. In the future, if I have my own house, I will definitely plant some Dictamnus dasycarpus in the flower garden. Now I'm accumulating some planting experience."
In fact, Albert wouldn't say that he thought the healing effects of white cinnamon would be very popular among Muggles.
This special stuff can sometimes have amazing effects.
Of course, this idea actually came to Albert from time to time after he started studying economics.
He thought it was good, so he took some time to learn how to plant it.
"Your way of thinking is indeed completely different from ours." George also felt that Albert's ideas were strange.
"Really?" Albert was unconvinced and continued to concentrate on carving his runes.
This time, he made a wooden bracelet with a whole circle of runes on it, all of which he designed himself.
Albert wasn't really sure if it was effective; he didn't feel anything particularly special while carving it.
Is it appropriate to use yew wood, which is symbolized by Evazrun, as the material?
"Never mind, I'll make a note of it and see if I can find yew wood next time," Albert thought to himself.
"ah!"
A scream suddenly rang out in the dormitory.
Fred, who was reading a book, suddenly jumped out of bed and somehow threw the book he was holding away.
Albert's hand trembled, and he carved the rune crookedly.
Li Qiaodan, who was about to carefully taste the yellow multi-flavored bean, was startled and swallowed it.
George was nearly hit by the book Fred threw, which startled him so much that he jumped up and bumped into the table leg. He is now hopping around while hugging his knees.
"What's wrong with you?" The three of them glared at Fred in unison and said irritably.
"I feel... my heart hurts so much." Fred clutched his chest, pretending to be having a heart attack.
"What's wrong with him?" Li Qiaodan couldn't help but mutter, "Could he have been dumped? But I haven't heard that Fred has a girlfriend!"
"Should we take him to the school hospital?" Albert put down his carving knife and suggested. "Mrs. Pomfrey is probably still awake."
"My legs hurt so much."
"The book, that book…" Fred clutched his chest and pointed to the book he had just thrown away.
"What's wrong with the book?" George grabbed the book, glanced at the cover, and saw it was "A Thousand Amazing Herbs and Mushrooms".
"I didn't expect you to be watching this kind of thing all the time?"
"Turn to page 98, there's an introduction to snow mushrooms there," Fred said irritably, his tone anything but that of a patient.
"Snow mushroom?" George suspiciously turned to page 98, muttering, "Let me see, I've got it, snow mushroom…"
"Ah, my heart hurts so much!" A few seconds later, George suddenly clutched his chest and sat on the bed with a look of utter despair.
Albert and George Lee were drawn to their reaction and became very interested in the snow mushrooms they were talking about.
Li Qiaodan curiously opened the book, glanced at it, and slowly closed it, muttering something under his breath.
Anyway, he didn't want to say anything more, so he just handed the book to Albert and told him to read it himself.
Albert glanced at the three of them, curious about what they had seen. He would find out once he opened the book.
This painting...hmm! It looks a bit like the matsutake mushrooms they ate recently.
Last time, he found it strange that matsutake mushrooms could still be found even though it was snowing heavily in February.
"Snow mushroom, also known as snow pine mushroom..." Albert quickly finished reading the introduction about snow mushroom, and his face twitched involuntarily. No wonder they had that kind of expression.
It only grows in the snowy winter and has extremely high medicinal value...
Putting everything else aside, just one ounce of cedar mushroom powder is worth 50 Galleons, so it's no wonder they feel the pinch.
"That's definitely the most expensive thing we've ever eaten," Fred complained, clutching his chest. "Albert, you spendthrift, you actually roasted snow mushrooms like that."
"If we sell it, we can make a lot of money!" George chimed in.
"What do you think? Should we go dig for snow mushrooms? We could make a fortune from it!" Li Qiaodan suddenly suggested.
"That's a good idea." The twins' eyes gleamed with Galon's golden light.
"Is this...money-grubbing?" Albert's lips twitched.
Actually, he could understand why they had such thoughts, but he poured cold water on the three of them, saying, "Don't even think about it. We've been looking around and that's all we've found. Besides, snow mushrooms are not easy to preserve. Unless you know how to process them into powder, it's useless if you find them. If you leave them for too long, snow mushrooms that have lost their medicinal properties are worthless."
"But..."
There's no "but".
"Undeniably, the Forbidden Forest does have many good things. After all, it's still a primeval forest, and the resources there haven't been exploited yet. But I still need to remind you that even if we get the snow mushrooms now, we won't have anywhere to sell them." Albert stared into the three of them's eyes and earnestly reminded them, "Who do you expect to trade with? Do you think they'll trade fairly with you knowing you're just a child? They're not your fathers; any guarantees they make are just tricks to fool children."
"Aren't you even a little bit tempted?" George couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I will, but I know exactly what I need to do, and I don't think there are many snow mushrooms there. Besides... you need to understand, snow mushrooms are non-tradable commodities, and they're not so easy to sell."
"There are two types of prohibited items: those with extremely high value or those with extremely high danger, which are therefore strictly prohibited from being traded by the Ministry of Magic."
If you want to make a deal, you can only sell it on the black market. Kids who think they can get something from the black market, go to sleep.