Chapter 3 Paying back the money is the top priority

"My elder brother likes to read miscellaneous books on weekdays, and I saw these in his collection." Lin Xi's mind worked quickly, and she immediately put the blame on her elder brother Lin Yunhuan, whom she had never met.

Xiao Yongyan had no doubts. Lin Yunhuan's reputation for being "unlearned and incompetent" spread throughout the capital. Everyone said that the Lin family was a strange place. The daughters were all well-educated, but none of the boys were decent.

Now that Lin Xi said that he learned it from Lin Yunhuan, Xiao Yongyan felt that it made sense. "Even so, you are responsible for finding it, and I will dig it."

Lin Xi was naturally happy and relaxed when someone volunteered to do the dirty work.

Walking a little further inside, Lin Xi called out the system and silently said in his mind, "Help me search for plants within a three-kilometer radius."

[Accepting the host's request, do you want to spend 3 experience points to search for plants within a three-kilometer radius? ]

"yes."

[Successfully deducted 3 experience points]

【Searching】

The familiar scene appeared before his eyes again. All the plant information was clearly marked. With previous experience, Lin Xi was familiar with it this time.

Pretending to search carefully, she stopped in front of a clump of weeds, on the stems of which grew small purple buds shaped like fish scales.

【Plant name: Anemarrhena asphodeloides】

[Plant Introduction: It can be used as a Chinese medicinal material, a perennial herb that clears away heat and purges fire, nourishes yin and moistens dryness. ]

Xiao Yongyan didn't recognize these things. He looked at the things in front of him with suspicion, found a thick branch and started digging.

"Wait a minute," Lin Xi called out to Xiao Yongyan, took out a hatchet and chopped it down, leaving an inclined surface on the branch, making it much easier to use.

Xiao Yongyan looked at the branch in his hand and suddenly felt that he was very useless. He even needed help from others to dig some weeds.

Lin Xi was unaware of Xiao Yongyan's complicated feelings and was busy looking for and marking other plants.

Unexpectedly, three kinds of seasonal Chinese medicinal herbs were found in the back mountain of Taoli Village, including Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Honeysuckle and Polygonatum odoratum.

The dug-out Chinese herbs occupied nine-tenths of the space in the backpack. Considering that they still had to make a living later, Lin Xi instructed Xiao Yongyan to dig a lot of wild vegetables and pile them on top.

"These are enough for us to eat for a few days. Let's go down the mountain." Lin Xi said.

"Wait a minute." Xiao Yongyan stopped Lin Xi, then squatted on the ground and dug the soil, not knowing what he was looking at.

Seeing Lin Xi's puzzled expression, Xiao Yongyan suddenly smiled mysteriously, "There may be a pheasant's nest nearby."

Lin Xi was shocked, "How did you know?"

"My father used to take me out hunting often, and he taught me." Xiao Yongyan said as he walked into the mountains.

Lin Xi followed behind, and after several twists and turns, they actually found a nest of pheasant eggs in a low grass.

Lin Xi was very excited. He grabbed four pheasant eggs, put them in his arms, and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Xiao Yongyan grabbed Lin Xi and looked around alertly, "Who's here? Come out!"

Lin Xi looked around. It was quiet and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Could it be that Xiao Yongyan had seen it wrong?

"Just because you don't come out doesn't mean I don't know where you are. I'll count to three. If you don't show up, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Xiao Yongyan said sternly.

Just when Lin Xi thought he was making a fuss, a skinny little girl timidly stood out from behind the tree, "Big brother, don't be angry, I just want to learn how to dig medicinal herbs from you."

Neither Lin Xi nor Xiao Yongyan had expected that the person following them was actually a young girl. Looking at her frightened look, it was obvious that she was scared by Xiao Yongyan.

Lin Xi hurried forward and was suddenly a little surprised, "You look so much like Aunt Wu."

The little girl said, "Then I am the mother."

It turned out to be Aunt Wu's daughter. Lin Xi immediately developed a favorable impression of her.

However, Xiao Yongyan was still quite cautious and asked, "How do you know that what we dug are all medicinal herbs?"

The little girl answered honestly, "I have heard of these medicines in the pharmacy."

According to the little girl's story, she was Aunt Wu's second daughter, named Wu Erniu.

A few years ago, her father suddenly fell ill, and the Wu family could only rely on Aunt Wu to take care of him. They spent a lot of money and saw many doctors, but the illness did not get better.

The Wu family is living a very miserable life now. Erniu came up the mountain today intending to dig some wild vegetables, but unexpectedly she ran into Lin Xi and the others digging medicinal herbs, and an idea came to her mind.

The herbs in the pharmacy are so expensive. If they could sell the herbs they dug up to the pharmacy, their family would definitely be better off.

After listening to this, Lin Xi couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect Aunt Wu's family was so difficult, but she was still willing to help us."

Wu Erniu lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "Mother must have thought of my eldest sister."

It turns out that Wu Erniu had an older sister, but after she got married, she lost her first child and her health deteriorated. Her husband's family was rich but were reluctant to spend money to treat the eldest sister.

Aunt Wu couldn't come up with the money at that time, and eventually her daughter became thinner and thinner and passed away.

This incident was an everlasting pain in Aunt Wu's heart, so when she learned that Lin Xi had no money for treatment and was about to die, she borrowed some money from her already tight pocket to give to Xiao Yongyan.

Maybe he was thinking of his daughter...

Lin Xi didn't expect the Wu family to be in such a bad situation. "Take these wild vegetables and pheasant eggs home and eat them first. Tell your mother that we will be able to pay her back in a few days."

Although the little girl was poor, she was taught since childhood not to take other people's things casually, so she refused to accept it. Finally, she couldn't persuade Lin Xi anymore, so she took some wild vegetables and two pheasant eggs.

After returning home, Lin Xi said to Xiao Yongyan in a serious tone, "We must pay Aunt Wu back as soon as possible."

Xiao Yongyan nodded heavily. Even if Lin Xi didn't say it, he would definitely do it.

The next day, Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan packed up the Chinese herbal medicines and prepared to go to town.

The people in the village didn't dare to contact them, and the few families who had ox carts were unwilling to lend them their carts. In desperation, Lin Xi could only walk to the town with Xiao Yongyan.

It took them two full hours to get there. Lin Xi was panting heavily. She had never walked so far since she was born.

After a brief rest, the two did not dare to delay and hurried to find a pharmacy.

Fenghe Town is not very big. Lin Xi searched for a long time before finally seeing a Jishidiang.

When they reached the door, the staff at Jishidiang saw the two people coming and thought they were here to see a doctor, so they quickly asked, "Who are you two here to see a doctor? What's wrong with you?"

Xiao Yongyan shook his head, "Excuse me, do you buy herbs?"

The enthusiasm on the guy's face instantly faded a lot, "You are here to sell medicinal herbs, wait a moment, I will go and call someone."

After saying that, the waiter went into the back hall.

At the entrance of Jishiditang, Wang Erma was walking over carrying his signboard and suddenly saw two familiar figures. He looked closely and realized that these were the people who didn’t pay last time. Why did they appear here?

Wang Erma was afraid that the two men would see him, so he turned around and went to the back hall.

After entering the back door, Wang Erma stopped the waiter who was receiving Lin Xi and the others and asked, "What are those two people outside doing?"

"Oh, they are here to sell medicinal herbs." said the waiter.

"The one selling medicinal herbs..."

Wang Erma’s mind started working, and he turned around and went into the wing room of Jishidiang.

In the wing room, a man in brocade clothes saw Wang Erma coming in and asked with a smile, "How much did you cheat this time?"

"What are you talking about, brother-in-law? How can you call it a lie? I'm here to give money to my brother-in-law..." Wang Erma said.