Chapter 3: Paying Back the Debt Is the Top Priority

“My older brother usually likes reading miscellaneous books. These are all things I saw in his collection,” Lin Xi’s mind raced as she quickly blamed the books on her older brother Lin Yunhuan, whom she had never met.

Xiao Yongyan didn’t doubt her. Lin Yunhuan’s reputation for being “uneducated and useless” was well-known throughout the capital. Everyone said the Lin family was strange — the daughters were all excellently raised, but none of the sons were any good.

Now that Lin Xi claimed to have learned from Lin Yunhuan, Xiao Yongyan found it plausible. “Even so, you’re in charge of finding 【the plants】, I’ll do the digging.”

With someone volunteering for the dirty work, Lin Xi was naturally relieved.

They walked a little deeper into the mountains. Lin Xi summoned the system and silently said in her mind, “Help me scan all the plants within a three-kilometer radius.”

【Request received from host. Spend 3 experience points to scan plants within a three-kilometer radius?】

“Yes.”

【3 experience points successfully deducted】

【Scanning in progress】

The familiar scene appeared again. All the plant information was clearly labeled. With prior experience, Lin Xi handled it skillfully this time.

She pretended to carefully search as she stopped in front of a clump of wild grass. The stalks bore purple buds arranged like fish scales.

【Plant name: Anemarrhena (Zhimu)】

【Plant description: Used as traditional Chinese medicine. A perennial herb that clears heat and drains fire, nourishes yin and moistens dryness.】

Xiao Yongyan didn’t recognize it and looked at it skeptically. He grabbed a thick branch and started digging.

“Wait,” Lin Xi called out, took her machete, and chopped the branch at an angle. “This way it’ll be easier to use.”

Xiao Yongyan looked at the branch in his hand and suddenly felt quite useless — even digging up wild herbs, he needed help.

Lin Xi didn’t notice his complicated feelings and busied herself searching for more marked plants.

To her surprise, they found three kinds of seasonal medicinal herbs on the mountain behind Taoli Village: besides Anemarrhena, there were honeysuckle and Solomon’s seal.

The dug-up herbs filled nine-tenths of her basket. Considering they still had to live on later, Lin Xi instructed Xiao Yongyan to dig up plenty of wild vegetables and pile them on top.

“This should be enough for us to eat for a few days. Let’s head down the mountain,” Lin Xi said.

“Wait.” Xiao Yongyan stopped her, then squatted down, rummaging through the dirt. It was unclear what he was looking for.

Looking at Lin Xi’s puzzled expression, Xiao Yongyan suddenly gave a mysterious smile. “There’s probably a wild chicken’s nest nearby.”

Lin Xi was startled. “How do you know?”

“My father used to take me hunting all the time. He taught me,” Xiao Yongyan explained as he walked further into the mountains.

Lin Xi followed behind, winding through the underbrush. Sure enough, after circling around a bit, they found a nest of wild chicken eggs hidden in a low patch of grass.

Lin Xi was overjoyed. She grabbed four of the eggs and stuffed them into her arms, ready to head back.

Suddenly, Xiao Yongyan pulled Lin Xi back and looked around warily. “Who’s there? Come out!”

Lin Xi glanced around. Everything was silent, not a soul in sight. It didn’t seem like anyone was nearby. Did Xiao Yongyan mistake something?

“Just because you don’t come out doesn’t mean I don’t know where you are. I’ll count to three. If you’re still hiding, don’t blame me for being harsh!” Xiao Yongyan said sternly.

Just as Lin Xi was about to think he was overreacting, a skinny little girl timidly stepped out from behind a tree. “Big brother, please don’t be angry. I just wanted to learn how to dig up herbs like you.”

Neither Lin Xi nor Xiao Yongyan expected that the one who had followed them was just a scrawny young girl. Seeing her terrified face, it was clear she had been frightened by Xiao Yongyan.

Lin Xi quickly stepped forward and suddenly looked surprised. “You really look a lot like Aunt Wu.”

The little girl replied, “That’s my mother.”

So, she was Aunt Wu’s daughter. Lin Xi immediately felt a bit more warmth toward her.

Still, Xiao Yongyan remained cautious. “How did you know what we were digging were medicinal herbs?”

The girl replied honestly, “I heard those names in the pharmacy before.”

According to her explanation, she was Aunt Wu’s second daughter, named Wu Erniu.

A few years ago, her father suddenly fell ill. The Wu family had to rely entirely on Aunt Wu. They spent a lot of money and saw many doctors, but his illness never improved.

These days, the Wu family was living in extreme hardship. Erniu had come up the mountain today intending to dig up some wild vegetables, but by chance saw Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan gathering herbs and had an idea.

Medicinal herbs sold in pharmacies were so expensive—if she could dig up some and sell them to the pharmacy, maybe their family’s life would improve.

After hearing this, Lin Xi couldn’t help but sigh. “I didn’t realize Aunt Wu’s family was struggling so much, yet she was still willing to help us.”

Wu Erniu lowered her head and muttered, “She must have been thinking of my big sister.”

It turned out that Wu Erniu originally had an older sister, but after getting married, she lost her first child and her health deteriorated. Although her husband’s family had money, they were unwilling to spend any on treating her.

Aunt Wu couldn’t afford the treatment at the time, and in the end, her daughter gradually wasted away and passed on.

It became a lasting pain in Aunt Wu’s heart. So when she found out Lin Xi had no money for treatment and was on the verge of collapsing, she gave Xiao Yongyan a bit of money from her already meager savings.

Perhaps she was reminded of her own daughter…

Lin Xi didn’t expect the Wu family’s situation to be so dire. “Take these wild vegetables and eggs home first. Tell your mother we’ll be able to pay her back in a few days.”

Although the little girl was poor, she had been taught from a young age not to accept things from others easily. She kept refusing, but in the end, unable to resist Lin Xi’s insistence, she finally took a small bundle of wild vegetables and two wild eggs.

When they got home, Lin Xi turned to Xiao Yongyan with a serious look. “We must pay back Aunt Wu as soon as possible.”

Xiao Yongyan nodded firmly. Even if Lin Xi hadn’t said anything, he would have done so without hesitation.

The next day, Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan packed up the medicinal herbs and prepared to head to town.

The villagers were still avoiding them, and none of the families with ox carts were willing to lend them one. With no other choice, Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan had to walk to town on foot.

It took them a full two hours to reach their destination. Lin Xi was gasping for breath—she had never walked so far in her entire life.

After a short rest, the two didn’t dare waste time and immediately set out to find a pharmacy.

Fenghe Town wasn’t very large, but after searching for a while, Lin Xi finally spotted a shop called ^[1]济世堂 (Jishitang) can be translated into English as “Hall for Healing the World” or “Pharmacy of World Relief”. 济 (Ji) → to aid, to relieve, to help. 世 (Shi) → the world, people. … Continue readingJishitang.

As they approached the entrance, the shop assistant at Jishitang saw the two of them coming and assumed they were there to see a doctor. He quickly stepped forward and asked, “Which one of you is here for a consultation? What symptoms do you have?”

Xiao Yongyan shook his head. “Excuse me, does your shop purchase medicinal herbs?”

The enthusiasm on the assistant’s face immediately faded quite a bit. “Oh, you’re here to sell herbs. Please wait a moment, I’ll go get someone.”

With that, the assistant headed into the back.

Just outside Jishitang, Wang Erma was wandering around with his signboard slung over his shoulder when he suddenly noticed two familiar figures. Squinting for a better look—wasn’t that the same pair who didn’t pay last time? What were they doing here?

Afraid they might recognize him, Wang Erma quickly turned and slipped into the back hall.

Entering through the rear, he grabbed the assistant who had just received Lin Xi and asked, “What are those two outside here for?”

“Oh, they’re here to sell medicinal herbs,” the assistant replied.

“Selling herbs…”

Wang Erma’s mind started working. He turned and walked straight into one of the private rooms in Jishitang.

Inside, a man dressed in luxurious robes looked up as Wang Erma entered and smiled. “How much did you swindle this time?”

Wang Erma replied with a grin, “Brother-in-law, don’t say it like that. Who’s swindling anyone? I’m here to bring you money…”