"Let's go then."
Huo Haocheng led Ruan Ruan through the forest again, across two hills, and finally saw the land Huo Haocheng had mentioned. There were hardly any plants to be seen, except for two licorice plants growing there, which stood out prominently.
"Is this the one you were talking about?" Huo Haocheng asked. He was also worried that they had made a wasted trip. They had been running around all day, and he was concerned about whether Ruan Ruan could hold on.
"That's it, pull it out."
Huo Haocheng picked up two licorice roots and put them in his basket. He then led Ruan Ruan down the mountain. The descent was quick because there were few plants, so they didn't have to worry about not being able to see the path. The two reached the foot of the mountain in the afterglow of the setting sun.
"Brother, let's go gather plantain," Ruan Ruan said, putting her basket down by the bridge and starting to search along the riverbank. Plantain likes places with water and prefers to grow along riverbanks or field ridges. Before long, the two of them had gathered a lot.
By the time the two arrived home, it was almost dark.
"You're finally back! If you hadn't come back, I would have gone looking for you with other people," Gu Jinghe said to them.
"Go eat quickly, I brought this from home." After Gu Jinghe returned, he started washing and drying the food. By the time he finished, it was almost dinnertime. He went back to eat and then told Gu Wenpeng about their trip to the mountain to collect herbs. Teacher Shen left their food for them. After eating, Gu Jinghe came over, worried that the two of them might miss each other at this time. But to his surprise, he waited until dark before they returned.
"Thank you, brother. Please thank Auntie for us." Exhausted, Ruan Ruan sat on a bench in the yard, too weary to even bend down to take off her shoes.
"I'll do it," Huo Haocheng said, putting down the two baskets and squatting down in front of Ruan Ruan. He took off her shoes and then brought her slippers to put on.
Afterwards, Ruan Ruan went inside, washed her hands, Huo Haocheng changed his shoes, and Gu Jinghe took out the food for them. He had put the food in the pot to keep it warm in case they came back late.
"Come and eat, then go to sleep early." Looking at their expressions, Gu Jinghe knew how difficult it was to find these herbs.
"Mmm, Auntie's cooking is so delicious." After a long day, Ruan Ruan was really exhausted.
"Why are you back so late? Come back earlier next time. It's dangerous in the mountains at night!" Gu Jinghe said to them, mainly addressing Huo Haocheng.
"It's not Hao Cheng's fault. I came back because I said I had to find it. The main reason is that I didn't want to go a second time. If I can find it in one go, why climb a second mountain? It's exhausting, okay?" Ruan Ruan argued. In her opinion, if something can be done in one go, she would never go a second time, even if it takes a little longer.
"Have you found all the remaining medicinal herbs?" Gu Jinghe asked.
"We're still missing one ingredient, but we don't need to use it yet. I'll ask Sister Xia tomorrow if she can save it."
"What?"
"green beans"
After finishing a bowl of rice, Ruan Ruan felt full and finally had the energy.
"Mung beans or medicine?" This was the first time Gu Jinghe had ever heard of this, and not only him, but Huo Haocheng had also never heard of it before.
"Mung beans have the effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, detoxifying, and lowering lipids. Otherwise, why would people like to cook mung bean soup to drink in the summer?"
"It seems that's true. I've really learned a lot from you today. In the eyes of you traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, can all plants be used as medicine?" When they came in, Gu Jinghe saw the grass in the basket on his back, which was also growing everywhere on the field ridges outside.
"Not entirely. Many herbs are poisonous. I'll take you to see them sometime." Ruan Ruan felt that since they were on missions all year round, they would see many different kinds of herbs, so it would be better for them to learn more about them.
"Alright, you guys should go to sleep early too. I'll head back now. I'll come over early tomorrow to help you with this." With that, Gu Jinghe took the bowls and went back.
Ruan Ruan was exhausted. After washing up, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed. When Huo Haocheng came back, he heard Ruan Ruan's soft snoring. He gently lay down, and Ruan Ruan rolled into his arms. They hugged each other and fell asleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com