The most famous and expensive one in Tibetan areas is undoubtedly Cordyceps sinensis. However, in Tibet, the most famous Cordyceps is still in Qinghai, not Tibet. When I went to the mountains to dig Cordyceps with the locals in Yushu, Qinghai, I learned this sentence - Chinese Cordyceps look at Qinghai, Qinghai Cordyceps look at Yushu, Yushu Cordyceps look at Zaduo, Zaduo Cordyceps look at Sulu.
That's right, Sulu is the hometown of Cordyceps in China, and 80% of the Cordyceps produced in Zaduo come from Zaduo. For example, a total of 10 tons of Cordyceps were dug in Yushu last year, of which Zaduo accounted for about 8 tons.
The season for digging Cordyceps is generally from May 15 to June 30 every year. Fortunately, I came to Sulu before the end of June, and went up the mountain with the locals, holding a tool like a hoe in the mountains and plains, bending over and widening my pupils, looking for the legendary expensive Cordyceps sinensis .
What the hell is going on with this Cordyceps sinensis? Why is it so expensive.
Cordyceps in Sulu Township, Zaduo County, Yushu, Qinghai, often grow at an altitude of about 4,300 meters. The living environment of Cordyceps is also very important. Insects in winter must survive in snow and temperatures below zero. It slowly turns into grass in spring, and part of it will also turn into moths (what kind of moths are, so far, the answer has not been researched.
It was the first time to research and set up the base in Tibet, but after 12 years of research, I don't know what moth it is. I originally wanted to artificially breed Cordyceps to greatly improve the cost of living of all Tibetans and increase the number of Cordyceps, but the secret of Cordyceps is difficult to unravel. ), but most will turn into grass, which can be dug for once summer. But the caterpillar fungus that turns into a moth lays eggs in autumn, and then slowly turns into grass in summer.
Under the leadership and guidance of the locals, I was lucky enough to dig 2-3 roots, but it took almost half an hour. This kind of kung fu requires experience and eyesight. Tibetans in Sulu Township who are familiar with the location and habits of Cordyceps often have sharp eyes and quick hands. Among them, a Tibetan who followed us dug 1,300 roots in one month. We joked at the time that if one was sold for 100 yuan, then his monthly income would be 130,000 yuan, which is simply enviable.
Of course, the price of Cordyceps is not so extravagant, but it is still very expensive, especially the Cordyceps sold in some large pharmacies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which costs about hundreds of thousands per catty. But in Zaduo County, Yushu, it is much cheaper.
One can cost up to 100 yuan, and the cheapest one costs around 25 to 40, but the general price is still between 50 and 100. There are usually about 1,400 cordyceps per catty. In the Cordyceps market in Zaduo County, the price of a catty of Cordyceps often ranges from 100,000, 90,000 to 80,000 depending on the quality and size.
On June 24, a local Tibetan sold about 1,400 cordyceps per catty for 72 million yuan. However, this is still a reduced price. In Zaduo, the price of Cordyceps is not regulated, and the market price is also fluctuating, often high and low, which is difficult to figure out.
In 2012, a catty of Cordyceps was 18 yuan. After 7 years, it has doubled, and the most powerful one is 8,000 yuan. But now Cordyceps are no longer sold by the catty, but by the root. The price is determined by the quality of the product, such as the color, the length of the pluck, and the size. The most expensive cordyceps produced this year is 1,200 yuan, weighing 1.2 gram. This is unbelievable. With such a price of Cordyceps, the monthly income of local people far exceeds the annual salary of many people.
In the future, if Cordyceps appears to be sold in grams, it is estimated that this price will make the Tibetan family earn millions of dollars a month, which is not impossible.
How high is the nutritional value of Cordyceps, which makes its price rise to a higher level as rare things become more expensive? After I dug up a few cordyceps, the locals said that the common cordyceps would be ground into powder and served with soup or medicine. Of course, it can also be drunk directly. For example, some Tibetans drink white wine.
It is said that a long time ago, when Cordyceps was not fried so expensively, the local people often made porridge with ground powder. If someone was injured, drinking this porridge would heal the injury quickly. , Tuberculosis also has a therapeutic effect.
A piece of Cordyceps often has 17 kinds of amino acids. The most amazing effect is the complementarity of yin and yang. Whether you have a cold or a fever, you can eat it, and it is very curative. This cannot be replaced by other drugs. It is probably because of the medicinal effect of Cordyceps and the very small quantity that the price is getting higher and higher.
When Tibetans come to the Cordyceps digging season, the whole family will often go out and live and eat on the mountain for more than a month, usually accompanied by bad weather and wild animal attacks, so whether the monthly income is hundreds of thousands or millions, it is very important He risked his life to earn it. According to the locals, the best sale of their family's Cordyceps was about 400,000 yuan.
Of course, not everyone is so lucky for the price of Cordyceps in Zaduo County. Because the output of Cordyceps varies from year to year, everything depends on nature, more or less, and the price is not fixed, so it is impossible to accurately judge how much the price of Cordyceps can be sold. But usually it can be estimated.
Because Cordyceps can bring a lot of income to the family, Tibetans from almost every village in Zaduo County will go to the mountains every May and June. They generally only dig Cordyceps on the hills of their own villages, that is, the Cordyceps area is bounded by the village, and the whole village can dig Cordyceps here. It depends on experience, eyesight, and luck. Of course, if you want to go to the Cordyceps area of another village to dig Cordyceps, it is not impossible, but each person has to pay an environmental management fee of 1,200 yuan. But such movement is limited to Zaduo County.
Since the Cordyceps in Sulu Township, Zaduo County is the best Cordyceps in Qinghai and even in China, many traders will rush here to receive their goods once it is the season to dig Cordyceps, but most of them are merchants in Qinghai at present. When we wandered around the Cordyceps market, we were often regarded as the big bosses who bought Cordyceps. Many Tibetans put out their own Cordyceps for us to choose from. Later, several partners in the same industry bought hundreds of them. One of them A friend bought 400 sticks, of which 200 are priced at 50 a stick, and the other 200 are priced at 40 a stick, a total of 18,000. Such a price is often cut down with a lot of effort.
