"Sister-in-law, I brought two younger children to help?"

Then she said to Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi, "You can't tell anyone what you see or hear here. This is your second aunt's business to make money. Don't blame me for being ruthless later, understand?!"

Hearing their mother's tone, Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi knew she wasn't joking, and readily agreed.

“I won’t tell anyone if someone offers me candied hawthorns,” Lin Dongzi said solemnly.

Sister-in-law Lin nodded with satisfaction.

Song Anxin felt that this Sister-in-law Lin had quite the air of someone in charge.

He smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you sisters-in-law today. I have to go up the mountain with Fenghe to pick mushrooms. Fengnian and the others also have things to do and need to go up the mountain. For now, it will just be you and Meizi. Meizi will teach you. Don't rush, just take your time."

Pickling salted duck eggs is simple, just time-consuming. If the proportions are right, even two people won't go wrong.

At this moment, Lin Fengnian and Fengshou, the two brothers, carried two loads of red soil into the yard. It was noon, and the sun was blazing. The two brothers were already drenched in sweat from digging the soil and carrying it back.

Song Anxin quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe their sweat. The two brothers were so happy to see their mother caring about them.

Sister-in-law Lin's eyes reddened as she watched; her four nephews finally had a mother to love them.

"I know your family is busy, so go ahead and don't delay your work. Don't worry about me, your sister-in-law."

Song Anxin settled the group in the backyard and then took the four boys out.

Now, Song Anxin has had everything involving core technology done in the backyard, so that when someone brings duck eggs from her yard, no one will notice anything amiss.

Just like yesterday, Lin Fengshou and Lin Fengnian caught rabbits, and after Lin Fengnian finished chopping firewood, he came to help Song Anxin and Lin Fenghe pick mushrooms.

The mushrooms on the outskirts had been picked almost completely, so Song Anxin could only lead the two boys a little deeper into the mountains, but she dared not go any further.

In those days, most jungles were undeveloped and harbored many large animals such as wolves and wild boars. If you encountered any ferocious beasts, you would be in trouble.

Song Anxin was focused on picking mushrooms with a basket on her back, and every now and then she would straighten up and massage her aching back.

He sighed, realizing that lack of exercise is really bad for you as you get older, and that he must continue his morning exercise routine.

Suddenly, Song Anxin caught a glimpse of a very familiar plant. She went over to examine it and found that the plant had heart-shaped leaves with veins on them. It kept looking up and climbing up to the nearest few big trees.

Why does this thing look so familiar?

As Song An approached, he discovered that the vines were far more numerous than he had seen, covering the ground in a dense mass.

This is a He Shou Wu vine! My grandfather used to take me to dig it up when I was little. It's very hard to dig up, and a good one can be worth a lot of money.

Song Anxin quickly grasped the key information: it was valuable! The funds would then come in.

Song Anxin calmly called her two sons over. She dared not be too happy yet, because He Shou Wu was very difficult to find, and she was afraid that the greater her hope, the greater her disappointment would be.

Lin Fengnian and Lin Fenghe were puzzled. Lin Fenghe asked, "Mother, what's wrong? Are there a lot of mushrooms here?"

"No, look at these leaves. I've seen these leaves in a book before. They're the kind of plant that grows from a Chinese medicinal herb called He Shou Wu."

He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) is a very valuable medicinal herb. Mother wants to dig some up to exchange for some money, as our family doesn't have much money left.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fengnian immediately picked up his small shovel for digging mushrooms and said, "Mom, where is the He Shou Wu? I'll go dig it up right now."

Song Anxin shook her head: "You need to go home and get two hoes, otherwise it will take forever to dig with just this little shovel. Fenghe and I will first try to find the exact location of the main root of the Polygonum multiflorum vine."

Also, when you go down the mountain, if you see Fengshou, call him along too. Just have Fengyao watch the rabbit trap.

Lin Fengnian agreed and went down the mountain to get his tools.

Song Anxin began to lead Lin Fenghe to find the main root. The branches of He Shou Wu are numerous and intertwined, mostly hidden in dense bushes, making them very difficult to find.

Song Anxin led the way with a wood-chopping knife, cutting down some of the bushes blocking the path, while Lin Fenghe followed behind, throwing the cut branches aside to clear the way.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Song Anxin and Lin Fenghe searched along the vines on the ground and roughly identified four or five places that were most likely the main root.

At this moment, Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou came up, and Song Anxin directed them to start digging in one place.

However, after digging in three different locations, they still couldn't find a single he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum), and the group became somewhat discouraged.

"There are still two places left, brother. Let's keep digging. I refuse to believe we can't find this treasure!" Lin Fengshou said defiantly.

The other two locations were very close together, and Song Anxin really couldn't determine which one it was, so she simply marked them both. If one location didn't have it, the other probably wouldn't either.

Soon the two of them started digging, while Song Anxin and Lin Fenghe continued to look for other places that might be the main root.

After digging in both places, there was still nothing. Lin Fengnian shook his head at his mother in disappointment. Song Anxin sighed inwardly, but her expression did not show any comfort to the others.

Suddenly, Song Anxin slipped and lost her balance. It turned out that Song Anxin had walked to the edge of the hillside, but the bushes were too thick to see clearly. Song Anxin wanted to take a step forward to see where the vines were extending, but unexpectedly she fell down.

Song Anxin immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Ah...!"

The sons were terrified: "Mother!" "Mother!"...

He immediately dropped the hoe he was holding and ran towards his mother.

Fortunately, it was just a small slope, and there was a large flat area below. Song Anxin fell headfirst into the bushes below.

When the brothers ran over and saw their mother fall into the bushes, their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, were immediately relieved.

She jumped down immediately: "Mother, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" Lin Fenghe asked anxiously.

Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou anxiously circled around their mother, worried that she might be hurt.

Lin Fengnian said with lingering fear, "Mother, I'll do this dangerous job. I'm familiar with this mountain."

He was terrified that he would lose his wonderful mother.

Song Anxin was helped up by her sons. Seeing how worried they were about her,

She reassured them, "Mother is fine, don't worry."

Although Song Anxin was fine, the younger children were worried and insisted on helping her up the slope. As they were climbing up the slope, Song Anxin glanced to the side and wondered why there were so many He Shou Wu vines climbing on the slope.

Suddenly, Song Anxin had a flash of inspiration. That's right, she remembered that her grandfather said that He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) likes to grow in valleys, thickets, and hillsides.

These lush shrubs and so many Polygonum multiflorum vines on the slope suggest that the main root of Polygonum multiflorum might be right here.