Chapter 24: The Herb Collection Plan

Song Liangzuo was pulled away by Wang Chunlan, and the afternoon freedom he had counted on was abruptly canceled. As a condition of staying out of his grandmother’s sight, he assured her that he would remain close to his mother.

For the next two days, he lived under the watchful eyes of his family, waiting for another chance to go to the town—then he would be free again.

When they finally made their way back to the traditional Chinese medicine shop, the shopkeeper had some good news for him. “I asked about it, and the Renji Hall in the county is currently buying those two herbs in bulk at a price slightly higher than what I offer here—two wens for three pieces. So, do you want to take what you have today to the county or sell it to me?”

If it hadn’t been for the shopkeeper’s help, Song Liangzuo might have sent the herbs directly to town. After all, the price difference was significant since six plants would be worth one wen, and they had brought six hundred plants with them, making it a difference of one hundred wen.

Song Liangzuo felt the shopkeeper had been generous enough to him; if the shop needed these herbs, he was fine with earning one hundred wens less today.

To him, the shopkeeper had helped him, after all.

“As long as Grandpa Shopkeeper isn’t bothered by the quantity today, I’ll sell the herbs to you.”

The shopkeeper chuckled and waved to his assistant to take the herbs to the back for counting.

Soon, the assistant Fang Shuangjiang reported, “Six hundred plants—no more, no less.”

“Since this is our last transaction, I’ll give you an extra hundred wen today. Make sure to think of me the next time you find some good herbs,” the shopkeeper beamed, handing an additional hundred wens to the elderly woman.

“This… this is too generous! We can’t accept this much,” the elderly woman replied, trying to refuse. They had already received so much from the shopkeeper in the past.

From his vantage point, Song Liangzuo couldn’t see how the transaction was unfolding at the counter, but he could hear it clearly.

He looked up and declared to the empty air, “Grandpa Shopkeeper, we should be the ones thanking you, how could we ask for extra money for the herbs?”

“Haha, just take it! Consider it a down payment in case you encounter more good herbs,” the shopkeeper replied warmly.

Seeing the shopkeeper’s insistence, Song Liangzuo tugged at his grandmother’s sleeve. They finally accepted the money.

Before they left, Song Liangzuo asked, “Grandpa Shopkeeper, when we take the herbs to Renji Hall in the town, can we say you referred us?”

“Haha, of course! I’ve already decided with them. As long as the quality is the same as what you brought to me, they’ll take however many you can deliver.”

“Thank you so much, Grandpa Shopkeeper.” After expressing his gratitude, Song Liangzuo and his grandmother left the shop.

They didn’t rush home today and instead went to the market to buy a pound of fatty pork.

In his previous life, Song Liangzuo only liked lean meat, but now that life was so simple and bland, he had developed a fondness for fatty meat. Just looking at the white, fatty cuts made him imagine the burst of flavor in his mouth.

Fatty meat was expensive in this era, costing eighteen wen per pound, while lean meat was cheaper at fifteen wen per pound.

Last time, they bought some pork lard, and he had managed to score a couple of big bones; today, he came back with a pair of large pig intestines.

On their way home, he endured a fair amount of scolding from the elderly woman.

“Grandma let’s just give it a try! I heard an old lady in town say they clean this thing with wood ash, and it works out well,” he insisted.

“You just have a craving for meat! Even after I got you some, you still want this. It’s going to smell like a pigsty! It’s disgusting!” his grandmother retorted, expressing her distaste.

Song Liangzuo didn’t argue. He secretly smiled and thought to himself that once it was cleaned, she would see just how good it was.

He then explained his plan to collect herbs in the village after they got home, detailing the advantages and disadvantages of his ideas.

“My clever grandson! You can do whatever you want, but I have to go with you when you sell herbs to the county,” his grandmother supported him wholeheartedly.

“Of course.” With that, Song Liangzuo began to skip joyfully down the path back to the village.

Once they returned, the duo stowed their things before heading to visit Song Erquan’s family.

Being younger, Song Liangzuo ran quickly and shouted as he entered the yard, “Is Second Grandpa home?”

The sun hung high in the sky, and Song Chunzhi was in the kitchen cooking with her sister-in-law, Ding Yiqiao. Since they were close to the entrance, Ding Yiqiao responded first, “Who is it? Oh, it’s you, Liangzuo! How come you have time to come over?”

“Auntie, my grandma and I came to find Second Grandpa.” After recognizing her, Song Liangzuo called out without hesitation, and soon he saw Second Grandpa stepping out of the house.

At the same time, Song Jinjing, who had been playing in the shade of the trees, gathered around to see what was happening. “Song Liangzuo, why did you come here?” he queried curiously.

Song Erquan and his wife, Zhu Guixiang, had two sons and three daughters.

Their eldest son, Song Wangshu, married Ding Yiqiao and they had three children: the first two were sons named Song Jinjing and Song Jinyin, aged seven and five, respectively. Their youngest was a daughter named Song Dongxue, who was three.

Their second son, Song Wangzhuang, was married to Cao Xiaoping. They had a son, and a daughter named Song Jintian, aged five, and Song Dongya, aged two.

Currently, Cao Xiaoping was six months pregnant.

Among the family, the two elder daughters had already married off, leaving the fifteen-year-old Song Chunzhi as the only one yet to wed. However, things were progressing fast; she was already engaged to a family from Niujia Village and was slated to marry by the end of the year.

Song Liangzuo had a good impression of Song Jinjing. Even at just four years old, he carried himself with a demeanor of a little adult as he spoke with him. “I came with my grandma to discuss something with Second Grandpa.”

This scene elicited a chuckle from Song Erquan, who remarked, “Look at you! It’s great that you’re helping your family out!”

Song Erquan, seeing the lively interaction, turned his attention to Liangzuo, asking, “What do you need from Grandpa?”

Just as he said that the elderly woman entered the courtyard. “Second Brother, I have good news for you.”

After greeting the family, she began explaining to Song Erquan about their herb-gathering activities.

“Second Brother, since the adults can’t go to the fields, let the kids go gather herbs. As long as they harvest the roots intact, they can bring back five plants to our house for two wen each. The faster kids can dig up two hundred plants in a day, which means they can earn forty wen for their family.”

Song Erquan had only recently heard that Liu Xiping took Liangzuo to gather wild herbs in the fields and then brought them to town. He wasn’t sure what they were planning but listened intently as she explained that they intended to deliver the herbs to the apothecary.

Yet he couldn’t help but wonder why these plants they had eaten all their lives were suddenly considered herbs.

If someone else said this, he might think they were joking, but he believed what Liu Xiping said.

“Alright, it’s good that you want to help everyone earn some extra money. We won’t turn down the opportunity! I’ll talk to them and have them join you in the fields this afternoon.”

“Okay! Let them come to my house later, and I’ll take them with me,” the elderly woman agreed.

After discussing the matters in the fields for a while, the elderly woman finally led Song Liangzuo homeward.