Chapter 17

There was no way around it; the original owner’s memories did not include knowledge of medicinal herbs, and she only knew that snow was rarely seen in this place during winter.

Inferring from this, she deduced that her current residence was in the south, but exactly where in the south Guangning Prefecture was, or how far south it was, she had no idea.

She could only ask Fan Jin, who often read and went to the city.

After thinking it over carefully, Fan Jin replied, “I’m not entirely sure about other herbs, but we definitely have He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) in our village. Although it is very rare, when I was a child, the old village chief once dug up a twenty-year-old plant by chance and sold it for thirty taels of silver.”

The old village chief’s family gradually became wealthy from these thirty taels of silver.

The villagers were extremely envious, but no one had found a second such aged plant over the years.

However, over the years, villagers had sporadically dug up many He Shou Wu plants, though most were only one or two years old, fetching prices ranging from a hundred to five hundred wen per jin (0.5 kg), depending on their age.

When Fan Jin mentioned He Shou Wu, Shuiqing was already looking at its options.

It had calming properties, replenished vital energy and blood, strengthened muscles and bones, benefited the liver and kidneys, and blackened hair.

Distributed in the south, it primarily propagated through tubers and seeds, but could also be cultivated by cuttings and layering.

Shuiqing checked the marketplace prices.

Fresh wild He Shou Wu cost fifteen yuan per jin.

Three jins were on special offer for thirty yuan.

Selected extra-large He Shou Wu cost eighty-eight yuan for four jins.

Four jins of He Shou Wu for only eighty-eight yuan! She decided on it immediately!

With a balance of 3170 yuan, Shuiqing gritted her teeth and clicked to purchase.

Her balance instantly dropped by two thousand.

Was it just money she lost?

No, it was the bittersweet experience of using precious resources!

Ignoring the sadness, Shuiqing quickly bought more.

She first ordered three portions of the eighty-eight yuan four-jin premium extra-large fresh He Shou Wu, costing 264 yuan.

She then bought ten packs of the three-jin special offer at thirty yuan each, costing 300 yuan.

Shuiqing also found He Shou Wu seeds, fifty per pack, and bought twenty packs, costing 106 yuan.

Her balance was now only 500 yuan.

She decided to save this money for buying chicken and pork the next day.

Watching the He Shou Wu gradually pile up on the ground, Fan Jin began to plan, “I’ll take the large ones to the city’s herb shop tomorrow and take half of the smaller ones. The rest will be buried in our backyard so that if the herb shop or villagers inquire, we’ll have a reason and won’t be exposed. Are these seeds? Do you plan to cultivate He Shou Wu?”

Seeing Shuiqing nod, he praised her lightly, “You’ve thought this through well. Our family’s manpower is limited, and even if we clear the land, it’s impossible to reach the back mountain. Leaving the two back mountains empty is a waste; planting medicinal herbs there is the best use.”

Shuiqing had bought so many with this plan in mind!

She hadn’t expected that this ancient person, Fan Jin, could keep up with her thinking.

She couldn’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.

Moreover, Fan Jin’s carefulness was even more thorough given the era they lived in.

Fan Jin enthusiastically said, “He Shou Wu is a perennial and doesn’t need much care, making it perfect for planting in the mountain forests. Shuiqing, do you have any other perennial plants that don’t need much care but are highly filling?”

Shuiqing raised an eyebrow slightly.

Fan Jin immediately explained, “Every summer, we have flood seasons here. Though most years aren’t too severe, we get severe floods once every three to five years. The old village chief said that over thirty years ago, there was a particularly severe flood in summer that washed away most of the rice in the fields and collapsed all the adobe and thatched houses in the village. Many people died, and even more starved afterward. I’m thinking that although our family has the gifts from the gods and won’t starve, if the entire village can’t eat, it’ll be very dangerous for our family to be well-fed. We can’t give away our grain, so having life-saving food is very important.”

Shuiqing immediately understood Fan Jin’s point.

Their family’s fields would suffer the same as the villagers’, and if they were seen to have no harvest, it would be a visible fact.

However, the appearance of people who are starving and those who are not is completely different!

At that time, having highly filling food would be lifesaving and provide the best cover for their family.

Shuiqing wasn’t someone who ignored the long-term view. Once she understood, she thought of a food that was particularly suitable for planting in mountain forests. High in starch and highly filling, it also quenched thirst and was a medicinal herb. It didn’t need management, was a perennial, had high yields, and grew as vigorously as an invasive species! She remembered that a southern province famous for making soups also used it in their soups.

“Shuiqing, do you have it?” Fan Jin felt he might be asking too much. How could there be such a good crop?

Shuiqing directly bought three jins of seeds. Yes, they were sold by the jin, with a price of thirty-eight per jin, and a discount price of a hundred for three jins. Naturally, she chose the three-jin pack without hesitation.

“Here, kudzu root seeds. It won’t take two years to cover every nook and cranny of the mountain forests.”

Fan Jin was amazed to find such a suitable crop, his eyes shining like the moon. “We can plant valuable He Shou Wu in the mountain behind our house, making it easier to harvest later. The mountain near the village can be used to plant… kudzu. Tonight, I’ll plant the He Shou Wu, and tomorrow I’ll scatter the kudzu seeds.”

Shuiqing had no objections.

Fan Jin happily packed the He Shou Wu he planned to sell into a bamboo basket, covering it carefully with grass.

He then took some cold ashes from the stove, mixing them with the He Shou Wu seeds. The seeds were too small and would grow too densely if scattered directly. Mixing them with the ashes would solve this problem.

After finishing, he carried the basket with the remaining He Shou Wu and seeds and headed to the back mountain, planning to scatter the seeds under the cool night sky.

Shuiqing didn’t follow him. She returned to the cooling bed, seeing that the five children had given up the bed for her. The five of them slept on the ground covered with a mat, breathing evenly and softly.

Shuiqing sprawled on the cooling bed, looking at the clear bright moon and twinkling stars. The mountain air was cool and refreshing.

In this place where everything was lacking, there were still many tasks awaiting her the next day…

Exhausted from the day’s activities, Shuiqing gradually fell into a deep sleep.

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Fan Jin woke up before dawn.

He rose quietly, careful not to disturb his children sleeping on the mat or the person sprawled on the cooling bed.

After washing up silently, he hoisted the heavy basket onto his back and headed towards Guangning Prefecture.

Walking from the dim dawn to the pale horizon, then to the rising sun, he finally saw the towering city walls.

The entrance fee was two wen. Naturally, he didn’t have any money.

He took out the three eggs he had prepared and handed them to the city guard. The guard’s initial displeasure turned to a nod of approval upon seeing the eggs.

All thanks to Shuiqing!

The eggs she had bought were large and clean.

Once in the city, Fan Jin walked briskly to the largest pharmacy, Renjitang.

A small medicine boy looked up at the long-robed Fan Jin, stepped forward, and politely inquired, “Sir, are you here for a prescription or a consultation?”

Fan Jin was selling medicinal herbs for the first time, and his fair face reddened slightly. His voice unconsciously lowered, “I have some medicinal herbs. I was wondering if your shop buys them?”