Chapter 22

“Hahaha, a baby salamander scared you this much?” 

Seeing Zhou Yanfeng drenched and flustered, Tang Yunling finally identified the creature in the stream and mercilessly mocked him. 

Zhou Yanfeng, soaked from falling into the stream, clumsily scrambled to his feet but nearly slipped again on the moss-covered stones. Fortunately, Tang Yunling’s elder brother, Tang Yuanliang, was nearby and caught him in time to steady him. 

Tang Yuanliang scolded his sister, “Zhou is a city boy from Beijing. He hasn’t seen a baby salamander before.” 

“And here you are, laughing at him. What kind of young lady acts so unrefined?” 

Tang Yuanliang reassured Zhou Yanfeng, “Don’t worry, this little baby salamander won’t bite.” 

Luckily, before they set off into the mountains, He Ting had passed along Lu Baiwei’s message about possibly staying overnight. Zhou Yanfeng had brought spare clothes. 

His pants were muddy, so he went behind a large, wind-sheltered rock to change into a clean pair. His shirt was only damp, so he decided to leave it on, hoping it would dry in the sun. 

After a simple lunch, led by Lu Baiwei’s cousin, the group continued upstream along the creek. 

He Ting, worried that Lu Baiwei might tire, took the basket filled with acorus calamus and ophiopogon japonicus from her and carried it himself. 

This gesture earned He Ting approving looks from her cousins, who started calling him “brother-in-law” with satisfaction. 

The afternoon sun was scorching, but walking along the creek with its cool water and the occasional mountain breeze made the journey bearable. 

As they ventured deeper into the mountains, the vegetation became morelush. Towering ancient trees provided shade, blocking out the intense midday sun. 

By mid-afternoon, the trees began to thin, and they arrived at a vast, open valley with a crystal-clear lake in the center. 

Before He Ting and Zhou Yanfeng could take in the breathtaking scenery, Tang Yunling darted toward a sunny slope and rushed to a patch of wild plants adorned with small, bell-shaped flowers hanging downward. 

“WeiWei, is this the spot?” 

“Yes. A few years ago, I came here with Grandpa to harvest herbs and buried some fritillaria bulbs.” 

Lu Baiwei retrieved a small hoe from the basket He Ting had carried and crouched down among the plants with bell-shaped flowers to start digging. 

She loosened the soil around the *fritillaria* plants and pulled one up to examine it. Seeing the small, garlic-like bulbs attached, she smiled in satisfaction. 

“They’ve grown well. This batch of fritillaria looks great.” 

Before Lu Baiwei could ask, her cousins crouched down and began helping her harvest the bulbs. 

He Ting also joined in, examining the small, bulb-like structures clinging to the roots. Curious, he asked, “So this is the *fritillaria* that helps treat coughs and asthma?” 

“Yep!”

“Yep!” 

“So this is what fritillaria looks like. The flowers resemble little upside-down bells—it’s actually quite pretty,” Zhou Yanfeng remarked, joining He Ting in helping Lu Baiwei with the harvesting. 

Fritillaria is a valuable medicinal herb known for clearing heat, dissolving phlegm, moisturizing the lungs, relieving coughs, and reducing swelling. It’s especially effective for treating chronic coughs, lung inflammation, and abscesses. However, fritillaria has a long growth cycle, taking five years to develop the garlic-like bulbs. 

This patch of wild fritillaria was one Lu Baiwei had helped replant years ago when she had accompanied her grandfather to gather herbs. They had harvested and replanted the bulbs as they worked, and now it was time to reap the rewards. 

Most medicinal herbs are harvested in the spring or autumn, but wild fritillaria is best collected in this season. That’s why Lu Baiwei had traveled so far to harvest this semi-wild crop, which she and her grandfather had cultivated in a hidden spot deep in the mountains. 

Fortunately, this area was remote, and few people in the surrounding brigades had enough knowledge of herbal medicine to collect these plants. Thus, the *fritillaria* she and her grandfather had planted here had remained untouched. 

With He Ting, Zhou Yanfeng, and her cousins helping, most of the patch had been harvested by sunset, leaving only a few scattered plants. 

“This spot is mostly done. My cousin and I can handle the remaining scattered ones,” Lu Baiwei said to Tang Yuanliang. “The sun is setting soon, and animals will be coming to the water to drink. Liang-ge, why don’t you take He Ting and Zhou Yanfeng to set some traps?” 

Tang Yuanliang nodded and called out, “Come on, I’ll show you how to dig traps and set snares.” 

“Just wait—I’ll show you what I’m capable of.” 

As Tang Yuanliang led them off, Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling stayed behind, gathering the remaining plants. However, the remaining seedlings were small and hadn’t flowered yet, meaning their bulbs were barely the size of grains of rice. 

With their baskets already full, they decided to leave the young plants for future harvests. 

Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling put away their tools and sat on the grassy hillside to rest and enjoy the breeze. 

Tang Yunling picked a rock to sit on but didn’t position it well. The uneven stone tipped her off balance, sending her rolling down the hill. 

“Cousin!” Lu Baiwei shouted in alarm. 

The bottom of the slope ended in a rocky cliff. 

Lu Baiwei was terrified, but fortunately, Tang Yunling got tangled in layers of vines halfway down, stopping her fall. 

Lu Baiwei scrambled down the hill, her heart pounding, to help her. 

Tang Yunling, still caught in the vines, held up a handful of the broken tendrils. “WeiWei, look! What’s this?”

“WeiWei, look! What’s this?” 

The Tang kids had been learning tricks from Lu Baiwei’s grandfather since they were little, so rolling down a hillside was nothing to Tang Yunling. 

While Lu Baiwei was still concerned about whether her cousin was hurt, Tang Yunling held out a tangled handful of vines she had grabbed during her fall. 

Seeing what was in her cousin’s hand, Lu Baiwei’s eyes widened in shock. 

How lucky was her cousin? 

When they first found this hillside, Tang Yunling was the one who had spotted the *fritillaria* plants. Now, after a precarious fall down the slope that looked much worse than it actually was, not only was she completely unharmed, but she also happened to grab a vine of Polygonum multiflorum (fo-ti). 

Because the rocky cliff at the bottom blocked their view, no one passing above would have noticed the sprawling vines growing all over the ground below. 

If it weren’t for Tang Yunling’s tumble and her quick reflexes in grabbing the vine, Lu Baiwei might never have realized there was such a large patch of Polygonum multiflorum so close by. 

This remote valley, far from human activity, was rarely visited by anyone, not even the nearby villagers who occasionally ventured into the mountains. 

What were they waiting for? 

Exchanging an excited look, Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling quickly climbed down the slope, careful to hold on to the ledges, and started digging up the Polygonum multiflorum.  with their small herbal hoes. 

Though younger Polygonum multiflorum roots didn’t fetch as high a price as fritillaria, they were in a prime, untouched spot. By the time they had worked until nightfall, the two had managed to dig up a massive root. 

Thanks to Lu Baiwei’s experience from years of following her grandfather into the mountains, she estimated the large root weighed about two catties (around 2 kilogram) and was likely over a hundred years old. 

While fritillaria bulbs were valuable, they were tiny. 

By contrast, this single Polygonum multiflorum root alone weighed two catties. Tang Yunling was ecstatic. 

“WeiWei, we’ve struck gold!” 

The hillside was covered with Polygonum multiflorum vines.

Caught up in dreams of wealth, Tang Yunling was bursting with energy. “WeiWei, let’s keep digging! This root looks like it’s over a hundred years old—if we keep going, we might find even bigger ones!” 

Ignoring the approaching darkness, the two focused on following the vines to locate more roots. 

Just as they were engrossed in their work, they heard Tang Yuanliang’s urgent voice calling from above. 

“WeiWei! Lingling! Where are you?”