Chapter 72: Deep Communication

Amidst the grass and trees, a plant with a red crown stood out, catching Ye Xin Ran’s attention.

Her heart skipped a beat with excitement!

As she approached, it was indeed a ginseng plant.

The leaves of ginseng gradually increase in number with age, producing one stem each year, with five leaves on each stem.

After the sixth stem, the number of stems no longer increases, but the stalk and leaves grow thicker with age.

The ginseng plant that Ye Xin Ran had found had large, thick leaves, a deep color, and was likely around 20 years old.

She called Xiao Huai’an over to look. “Didn’t you find this ginseng when you were hunting before?”

Xiao Huai’an took a look, clearly surprised. “This is ginseng?”

He had seen ginseng before.

Sliced, chopped, whole, in soup, soaked in liquor, or used in medicine, but he had never seen it growing in the ground.

So, he didn’t recognize the ginseng leaves.

“Yes!” Ye Xin Ran replied.

Now, Ye Xin Ran understood why this ginseng had never been discovered, it was because the hunters didn’t recognize it.

Had a herbalist seen it, it probably would have been long gone by now.

The two crouched down to dig up the ginseng.

Wild ginseng roots are very long, especially for older plants like this one, where the roots grow in a complicated tangle.

When digging, they had to be gentle.

The soil had to be peeled away layer by layer to avoid damaging the ginseng.

After about half an hour, they finally dug it out.

Ye Xin Ran picked up the ginseng and examined it. The long root, about the thickness of a finger, had two large roots branching out to the sides, forming a perfect “人” (person) shape with the upper part.

It was indeed good ginseng!

Ye Xin Ran picked some moss from a nearby stone.

She wrapped the ginseng in it to ensure its freshness.

Once everything was done, Xiao Huai’an glanced at the sky. “It’s getting late. Let’s quicken our pace. Can you still keep going?”

“I’m fine!” Ye Xin Ran waved her hand.

Her legs had hurt when she woke up in the morning, but it wasn’t to the point of unbearable pain.

The two quickened their pace slightly.

As they walked, Ye Xin Ran continued to observe the surrounding plants, hoping to find the herbs she was looking for.

Ginseng and He Shou Wu were valuable enough to sell, but at this moment, it was the Ice Spirit Flower and Luo Suo Zi that she wanted the most.

Unfortunately, as they continued on their journey, they didn’t find anything else.

By the time the sun was setting, they reached the resting spot Xiao Huai’an had mentioned.

With yesterday’s experience, Ye Xin Ran wasn’t surprised by what she saw now.

As Xiao Huai’an had said, the wooden house below looked quite worn down because few people visited it regularly.

The one they arrived at today had much more complete supplies inside.

There were rice barrels, water tanks, wooden basins, and even some oil and seasonings.

Xiao Huai’an set down his basket and went to fetch water from the back.

After washing their hands and faces, Ye Xin Ran suggested, “It’s still early. Let’s go look around for some wild vegetables!”

Although they should keep things simple when out in the wild, she still hoped to make the best of the limited conditions to live more comfortably.

“Alright, I’ll take you there.”

Xiao Huai’an wiped his face, which was still wet, then picked up a basket and a machete, leading Ye Xin Ran toward the back of the cabin.

Not far from there, there was a small bamboo forest, where Xiao Huai’an had once seen people digging for bamboo shoots.

They made their way to the bamboo grove, and as Ye Xin Ran walked slowly, she managed to find quite a few edible plants before they even reached it.

She found chick weed, tender shoots of Chinese toon, and mug wort tips.

These were all edible and medicinal, and Ye Xin Ran had seen them in medical books.

Xiao Huai’an didn’t doubt their edibility at all.

Because Ye Xin Ran had already proven her knowledge, if she said something was edible, it definitely was.

After digging up two bamboo shoots, Ye Xin Ran looked at their basket and suggested that they return.

The wooden cabin only had an iron pot.

The vegetables they had were quite diverse.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Xin Ran decided to cook some rice and make a stir-fry with Chinese toon, chickweed, and mug wort tips.

The combination of vegetables was unexpected, but surprisingly delicious.

Xiao Huai’an had never eaten so well on the mountain before and couldn’t help but finish all the leftover rice.

Ye Xin Ran was pleased that her cooking had been appreciated, but she still asked, “Aren’t you curious where the eggs came from?”

Xiao Huai’an thought for a moment, “I am curious, but if you don’t want to say, I won’t ask.”

Ye Xin Ran smiled, “You really are something…”

After spending a day together in adversity yesterday, their relationship had naturally grown much closer.

Ye Xin Ran decided to take the conversation a bit deeper.

“Actually, you’ve noticed that something’s a bit strange about me, haven’t you? But you never asked. Don’t you think I might be here to harm you?”

“Harm me?” A hint of sarcasm appeared on Xiao Huai’an’s lips.

“Harm me, a penniless, useless cripple?”

“Actually, you’re not entirely useless…”

Ye Xin Ran murmured in defense.

A trace of tenderness appeared in Xiao Huai’an’s eyes as he replied,

“I can tell that you’re genuinely good to the children. If you’ve put in so much effort just to harm me, then I can only say, this is my fate, and I accept it willingly.”

Ye Xin Ran had never expected Xiao Huai’an to say something like that.

Was this a form of indirect confession?

She felt a bit flushed on her face.

Quickly changing the topic, she asked, “Do you never cook when you come up the mountain?”

Xiao Huai’an nodded.

“Cooking is too troublesome, and besides, my cooking skills are…”

Ye Xin Ran understood.

His cooking skills were probably so bad that even he couldn’t stomach them.

Xiao Huai’an continued, “When I’m hungry, there are wild fruits on the mountain, or I can roast some of the game I’ve caught, and that will last for a few days.”

“But with your condition, you shouldn’t have to suffer like that,” she said.

Ye Xin Ran thought of the 400 taels of silver Xiao Huai’an had given her.

Someone who could afford 400 taels of silver wouldn’t need to hunt, and their life wouldn’t be too bad, probably better than most in the village.

“Are you doing this to hide your true identity?”

Based on Ye Xin Ran’s current experience, she knew that behind every odd situation, there was usually something more.

Xiao Huai’an hesitated, his lips moving as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

Ye Xin Ran waved her hand casually. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. We all have our secrets. As long as we’re not trying to hurt each other, we don’t need to share everything.”

Xiao Huai’an felt a twinge of emotion.

Does she really not care?

If she knew the truth, would she run away in fear?

“What if my secret could one day actually hurt you?” he asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“Did you do it on purpose?” Ye Xin Ran asked.

“No!”

“Then it’s fine!”

Ye Xin Ran brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. “As long as you don’t want to hurt me, we can face everything else together!”