Chapter 44: Exploring the Provincial Capital Together

“Comrade, this is the medicinal herb we want to sell. Take a look and see what price you can give us.”

The old man finally came to his senses. He picked up a piece of ganoderma lucidum and examined it carefully, praising it as he did.

“The quality is excellent. The harvesting time is also accurate. The spores have matured, and none have been wasted. This kind of ganoderma lucidum has the best medicinal effect. Young comrade, we buy fresh ganoderma lucidum for 3 yuan per liang. Your quality is particularly good. I’ll give you 4 yuan per liang. What do you think of this price?”

Xia Ning’an didn’t expect the old man to be so generous and offer such a high price. She immediately agreed.

“Thank you, old man, for giving us such a good price. We’ll sell all of these to your pharmacy.”

“Okay, I’ll go get the scale to weigh them.”

“There are 980 liang in total. 4 yuan per liang, a total of 3980 yuan.”

The old man took the money from the room and handed it to Xia Ning’an. He could tell that the young girl was in charge.

“Young comrade, keep the money safe.”

“Thank you. We’ll be on our way then. Goodbye.” Xia Ning’an put the bag of money in her backpack and then into the space.

“Goodbye, young comrade. I hope you’ll sell your ganoderma lucidum to our store in the future.”

“Okay.”

After leaving the pharmacy, they could no longer hold back their expressions.

Xia Ninghao was the first to speak. “Little sister, I feel like I’m dreaming. How did we sell so much money? Ganoderma lucidum is so valuable. I think I can go home and sleep with a box of ganoderma lucidum. It’s not ganoderma lucidum, it’s a big fortune.”

Although Lu Zecheng didn’t say anything, his eyes were gentle and filled with a smile. Xia Ning’an could see his admiration for her in his eyes.

“Let’s go. First, we’ll go to the hospital for Zecheng Ge’s checkup. Then, we’ll go shopping.”

“Let’s go~~~”

Xia Ning’an looked at the four large baskets and decided to put them in the guest house first and then go to the hospital. There was a guest house nearby.

She took out her letter of introduction and checked into two rooms. She put the baskets inside and the three of them went to the hospital lightly.

When they arrived at the hospital, Xia Ning’an was familiar with the registration process. She took them to the ophthalmology department. The expert looked at Lu Zecheng’s medical records and then examined his eyes. He was amazed. Such a serious injury had healed in a month, and his vision had returned to its best state.

Lu Zecheng also had a full physical examination according to the army’s requirements. It took two hours to complete everything and get the report. Seeing that all the items on the report were in optimal condition, even the strong-willed Lu Zecheng’s eyes turned red.

“Second Brother, An’an, I’m healed. I’m really healed. The checkup report is even better than before I was injured.” His voice was choked with emotion.

Xia Ninghao, who was easily moved, was already crying. He went forward and hugged Lu Zecheng.

“Brother-in-law, you didn’t disappoint Second Brother. You pulled through. Congratulations.”

He patted Lu Zecheng on the back.

Even though Xia Ning’an knew that Lu Zecheng would recover and even be better, she was also infected by the atmosphere and her eyes welled up with tears.

Lu Zecheng stretched out his arms and hugged Xia Ning’an as well. The three of them cried tears of joy.

The passersby didn’t reprimand them for their intimate actions. They understood the feeling of having a family member recover.

The checkup results were good, so Lu Zecheng needed to go to the army.

His unit was stationed in the suburbs of the provincial capital. It was an hour’s drive or an hour and a half by bus. There were two buses each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The afternoon bus left at 3 pm. They still had time to eat.

“Second Brother, An’an, I need to stay at the army for one night. I’ll be back tomorrow morning at the earliest.”

“It’s okay. Go and take care of things. We’ll have fun in the provincial capital.”

The three of them went to the state-owned restaurant. They saw that they had beef on the menu today. They ordered a dish of braised beef, a dish of sauerkraut mutton, a dish of spareribs stewed with potatoes, and a dish of home-style tofu. When they were about to order more, the waitress pointed to the dishes in front of the diners and said, “The three meat dishes you ordered are all served in this kind of bowl. Are you sure you want to order more?” The three of them thought it was a bit excessive, so they ordered three bowls of rice instead.

While waiting for the food, Xia Ning’an saw a grocery store across the street. She asked Xia Ninghao to wait for the food there and took Lu Zecheng across the street.

“Zecheng Ge, you should bring some food back to your comrades. They sent you so many things when you were injured.”

“Actually, it’s okay if I don’t. We’re all brothers. We don’t care about these things.”

“It’s a matter of courtesy. You’ve been injured for so long. They must be worried about you. When you go back, bring them some delicious food. They train hard every day.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Lu Zecheng had never had anyone prepare these things for him before. He felt warm inside.

They went into the grocery store. Xia Ning’an chose some pastries and candy, meat cans, and fish cans. While Lu Zecheng was paying, she ran to the fruit section and took a look. They had apples, pears, oranges, and bananas. She immediately took these fruits out of the space and ran back.

Lu Zecheng had already paid. Before he could say anything, she pulled him away.

Lu Zecheng was still wondering how Xia Ning’an bought things so quickly when they were already back at the state-owned restaurant.

The food had already been served. The three of them didn’t say anything. Eating was the most important thing.

After eating, the siblings said goodbye to Lu Zecheng. Xia Ning’an handed Lu Zecheng a box and told him that it contained the best ganoderma lucidum she had left this morning. He could give it to someone in need when he went back. Lu Zecheng wanted to refuse.

“Zecheng Ge, we have so much of this stuff. It’s not a rare thing. Just take it.”

“Okay, I’ll go then. Have fun. If I take the early bus, I’ll arrive in the provincial capital at 8:30 am. If I take the afternoon bus, I’ll arrive at 4 pm. If you’re at the guest house in the morning and can’t wait for me, I’ll arrive at 4 pm. If you’re out, don’t wait for me. I’ll wait for you at the guest house.” Lu Zecheng instructed carefully.

“Brother-in-law, don’t worry. I’ll take care of Little Sister!” Xia Ninghao patted his chest.

After seeing Lu Zecheng off, Xia Ninghao asked, “Little Sister, where should we go to explore?”

“Second Brother, I want to go see the Forbidden City. I heard that this Forbidden City is second only to the one in Beijing. It’s one of the two remaining palace complexes in China. I heard that this Forbidden City has a strong Manchu characteristic. Should we go there first?”

“I’ll listen to you.”

They asked someone for directions and took a bus to the Forbidden City.

This Forbidden City was built during the Qing Dynasty. The two of them were immediately awestruck by the magnificent architectural complex.

They walked along the central axis, and they could see the main buildings, such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony.

These palaces were where the Qing Dynasty held major ceremonies. The roofs of these palaces were covered with golden glazed tiles.

Xia Ning’an had been to this Forbidden City several times in the modern world. As a film student, she had to visit this famous historical site. Now, it wasn’t as well-restored as it was in the future. Some places were quite dilapidated, and there were no exhibits inside.