Chapter 259 Xuerong
After the old shopkeeper left, Baili Yanqing helped Su Chenyu sit down, then walked to the door, opened it, and met the old shopkeeper who was eavesdropping with his ear against the door. The old shopkeeper stumbled and asked awkwardly, "Do you two need anything else?"
"I need you to stay away from the door. If it's not necessary, don't come up."
The old shopkeeper was choked by Baili Yanqing's words and laughed twice before turning around and leaving.
After making sure that no one was eavesdropping, Baili Yanqing closed the door. When he turned around, he saw that there was one more person in the room.
"You climbed in through the window?" Baili Yanqing asked.
Li Mucheng nodded: "This inn looks a bit strange. If we want to discuss something, we should stay away from people."
Su Chenyu was no longer as sickly as before, and asked, "Has Ning County always been like this?"
"I heard from my father that although Ning County is a remote border town, it is prosperous because it is rich in a kind of medicinal herb called snow mushroom. Many merchants come here to sell the herb. Baili Yanqing thought about the scenery he saw the day before. Where was the sign of prosperity?
Li Mucheng was leaning against the window when he heard the old shopkeeper's words: "This border area is already in chaos, so it's normal to have bandits. As long as someone goes to the military camp to tell them, the military camp will send people to suppress the bandits. This Ning County has been ravaged by bandits, why didn't anyone go to report it?"
"What is snow mushroom?" Su Chenyu had never heard of this medicinal herb before.
"When my grandfather was young, Ning County suffered a three-year drought and no crops were harvested. Just when everyone thought they were going to starve to death, a plant that had never appeared before grew from the cracked soil. It looked like a matsutake mushroom, but it was snow-white all over, so it was called snow mushroom."
Baili Yanqing explained that the taste of snow mushroom is similar to meat, and the people of Ning County survived the famine year by relying on the snow mushrooms growing all over the ground.
It was thought that snow fungus would no longer grow after the disaster, but it only grew in Ning County from then on, and it was also found to have a strong calming and sedative effect. Because of its low price and large output, many merchants discovered business opportunities and would come to Ning County specifically to purchase goods.
"But if that's the case, then I can't have never heard of snow mushrooms before."
"The calming effect of snow mushroom is very strong, but the side effects are also serious. People with good financial conditions would not use snow mushroom as medicine. Therefore, snow mushroom is only circulated on the black market and is not common."
If Baili Yanqing was not the head of Qianji Pavilion, ordinary people would not go out of their way to inquire about the matter of snow mushrooms. "Besides, the supply of snow mushrooms began to be cut off two years ago. Now, you can't even find snow mushrooms on the black market. Now that I think about it, something must have happened in Ning County two years ago."
"If the bandits have been invading for more than two years, why didn't anyone in Ning County go out to ask for reinforcements?" Li Mucheng didn't understand. The border has always been guarded by Li's army, and they have always been timely in suppressing the bandits. Why didn't the news of the incident in Ning County spread out?
"Either they don't dare, or they can't!" Su Chenyu tapped the table with her fingers. "Now we can only wait for them to make the first move."
In the evening, Aunt Xu took Yanyu, Gingxing and Wutong to the kitchen to cook dinner for everyone. The old shopkeeper and the waiter focused on the ingredients they brought out: "You guys are eating well."
"Our wife is not in good health. She must eat some meat to replenish her body." Aunt Xu asked again, "It's almost dark now. When can we invite the doctor over?"
The old shopkeeper glanced at the clerk, who immediately said, "Yes, my lady is in poor health and cannot wait any longer. I will go right away."
After the waiter turned and ran away, the old shopkeeper was cooking his dinner on the other side of the kitchen. However, looking at the delicious food on Aunt Xu's side, the old shopkeeper was a little jealous: "You cooked so much, can you finish it?"
"What's so great about this?" Aunt Xu put a bowl of braised pork on the tray. "I'm afraid this isn't enough!"
Nanny Xu divided the food and asked Yanyu and the others to take it to their respective rooms.
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