Chapter 235 234: Good Medicine
The few of them returned to where the backpacks were placed, and Yang Chunyan took the medicine hoe and went to dig the clover.
She looked at the hillside full of clover and thought that these days no one dug up the clover growing on the hilltop. Apart from the herbalists like them who dug some to sell, the villagers also often picked its young leaves to make soup.
Two thousand years later, research found that the active ingredients of Tripterygium wilfordii can inhibit tumor cell proliferation, promote tumor cell apoptosis, and enhance the body's immunity. The price kept going up, and wild Tripterygium wilfordii was almost poached to extinction.
Sanyeqing is a herbaceous climbing vine. The surface of the tuber is dark brown, with alternate palmate compound leaves, 3 petals (the best quality leaves have 1-2 leaflets at the lateral side of the base), sparsely serrated with glandular tips on the leaf margins, glabrous or becoming glabrous, and opposite tendrils.
The flowers are similar to those of the grape family, with spherical berries and mung bean-sized fruits that look like bunches of cherries and are also similar in appearance.
Three-leaf green, scientific name: Three-leaf cliff creeper. Other names: Golden thread hanging gourd, silk thread hanging golden bell, three-leaf flat vine, stone mouse, etc.
Sanyeqing: slightly bitter, neutral. Its medicinal parts are the tubers, fruits or whole plants of Sanyeqing, which can be harvested throughout the year and can be used dried or fresh.
The root of Sanyeqing is spindle-shaped, oval, gourd-shaped or elliptical. The surface is brown, the cut surface is pink and white, and it is mild and non-toxic.
Its tubers have a high starch content, and even the dry tubers are plump without any shriveled or wrinkled skin.
It is best to dig up the Tripterygium wilfordii from more than three years old, and the tubers of Tripterygium wilfordii dug up between the Winter Solstice and the Waking of Insects have a high starch content and the best medicinal effect.
Yang Chunyan dug one up and brought it back, rinsed it with water, mashed it, and applied it to Zhang Xiuxiang's wound, then wrapped it with a handkerchief.
"Go back and get some Tripterygium wilfordii, Sour Grass, and Cyperus rotundus. Mash them up and apply heat to it. The effect will be better."
"Okay, let's go back and do it." Zhang Xiuxiang looked at the others, "I'll stay here and look for the Ganoderma lucidum."
Yang Chunyan walked to an open area and looked at the sky. "It's getting late. We were not far from the top of the mountain. Let's go back and come back tomorrow. I'll cut you a stick for you to lean on."
Zhang Xiuxiang blamed herself and said, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't chased the rabbit, I wouldn't have fallen into the pit."
Yang Xiaoxue smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, we are almost at the top of the mountain. Even if there are Ganoderma lucidum, there won't be much. Besides, it will be the same if we come to pick it up tomorrow."
Yang Chunyan: "That's right, today's harvest is already good, we can't be too greedy."
"Okay, let's go down the mountain!"
"Your legs are injured, and you can't walk fast down the mountain. It's not safe in the forest after dark." Zhao Huifang said as she stepped forward and picked up the pole from Zhang Xiuxiang's backpack and put it in her own basket. "Let me carry the heavy things so you can walk more easily."
"Give me some, I have more room here!" Li Qiuyue also stepped forward and put the herbs in the basket into her own basket.
Yang Chunyan came over with a wooden stick and said to the two of them, "Give the Lingzhi to the second sister-in-law and cover it with some herbs."
"Okay!" The three of them packed up, picked up their backpacks and walked down the mountain.
Zhang Xiuxiang walked in the middle, leaning on a wooden stick. It was easy to go up the mountain but difficult to go down. In addition, they were carrying a wounded person, so it took them several times longer than usual to reach the stream.
By this time the sun had already set, and the forest was becoming increasingly darker.
****
Zhou Huaian went to Ning'an and gave the herbs to Wang Zhen. He then carried two jars of honey and pushed a load of vegetables to the guesthouse.
After handing over the vegetables, he followed Huang Yongcai to the agricultural machinery station. On the way, Huang Yongcai told him that the person in charge of the agricultural machinery station was his brother-in-law.
The two men went to the agricultural machinery station, paid 1,360 yuan, and ordered a new walk-behind tractor produced by the Red Star Machinery Factory in the province. Zhou Huaian took the purchase receipt from the agricultural machinery station and only had to wait until the 15th of next month to pick up the tractor.
When he rode his bike back home, he found out that Yang Chunyan and her sisters-in-law had gone to Fangtian Brigade to find Yang Xiaoxue to go up the mountain to dig herbs.
Zhou Huaian went back to the house and hid the bills. Unable to contain his excitement, he wanted to go to Fang Tian's place to find Yang Chunyan and tell her the good news.
Zhou's mother came out and stopped him. "The mountain is so big, where are you going to find people? The yellow mud over there is not enough, and you have to deliver oil to your father-in-law's house tomorrow. You go and help for most of the day, so that your old man won't be so tired that he can't sleep well at night."
Zhou Huaian hesitated for a moment after hearing this. "Mom, there are hundreds of acres of wasteland. It will cost a lot to hire someone to work on it. Do you think we should buy a tractor?"
Mother Zhou glared at him and said, "Cai Ermei is still watching our herbal medicine business. If you want to buy one, wait a minute! Besides, a tractor is not a cabbage on the street. Can you buy it whenever you want?"
Zhou Huaian thought that if he told her that it had been decided and that it would not arrive for another half a month, she might be worried about the money from selling steel bars like last time and could not sleep. "I'm going to dig yellow mud."
He rode his bike to the earthen kiln and saw Zhou's father and Old Xu stepping on the yellow mud. At a glance, he realized that the old man had lost weight again, and even the ribs on his chest were clearly visible.
He once again felt that he had done the right thing by buying the tractor, and shouted, "Old man, where are my brothers?"
Father Zhou wiped his sweat and said, "You were picking up mud from the mountain, and you came back so soon!"
Zhou Huaian nodded, "Yes! Old man, I have something to tell you!"
Old Xu smiled and said, "Dasong, your youngest child is doing so well now that he even has a bicycle."
"What's good about it? It's still a worry for me!" Father Zhou smiled and walked towards Zhou Huaian, and whispered: "Look at you, have you gotten into trouble again?"
Zhou Huaian looked at his expression and said unhappily, "I wanted to make you happy, but forget it, I won't say anything."
"Pa~" Father Zhou raised his hand and patted him, "Why didn't you tell me to come over?"
"I, I..." Zhou Huaian suddenly felt that he might get beaten if he told her, "If you don't hit me, I'll tell you!"
"I think you are just a stubborn person, give me a beating!" Father Zhou glared at him, "You said you wanted to make me happy, but you look like you are in trouble."
"Can't you just think well of me?" Zhou Huaian took a breath and said in one go, "Brother Huang's brother-in-law is in charge of the agricultural machinery station. He took me to order a tractor for 1,360 yuan. I have already paid the money and will pick it up in the middle of next month!"
Father Zhou looked at him in surprise, then looked at Lao Zhao, and pulled him aside. "What did you say? You bought something worth more than a thousand yuan without even saying a word. Do you still think I'm your father?"
Old Xu glanced at the father and son, curled his lips and thought: It's not so easy for a second-rate guy to turn over a new leaf. He's just pretending for a few days.
"I told you last time, but you disagreed." Zhou Huaian glanced at him and saw that he had no intention of taking the pipe. "The last time Ding Dingmao and I went up the mountain to sell wild animals, each family got more than a thousand yuan. It was enough to buy a tractor."
Father Zhou felt mixed emotions. He, the unpromising youngest, had become the first in the Rich Cow Team. "You can buy something worth more than a thousand yuan with your own money without making any noise?"
(End of this chapter)
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