Watching the ship sail away from the dock, Zhao Fang was reluctant to leave. She grabbed Qin Xiaozhou and asked, "How far is Yujing? Eryun is going so far, won't something happen to him?"
"It will probably take about half a month by boat to get there." Qin Xiaozhou could only comfort her, "Miss Zhu is a responsible person. Since she promised to take care of Eryun, she will not let anything happen to him. Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Eryun is timid, so he should go out and see the world."
Lu Yan grabbed her skirt, "Sister-in-law, I want to go and see too."
Qin Xiaozhou patted her head and said, "Okay, next spring, our whole family will go to Nanjing for a trip."
"Jinling?" Lu Yan asked curiously, "Where is that?"
"In the south, take a boat, first go southeast to Xuancheng, then go south along the Xuancheng Canal to Jinling."
Hearing that they were going out to play, Lu Yan was very excited. He looked forward to the New Year every day. Lu Yan was not the only one counting down the days. Li Changpu was also doing the same. In the good autumn weather, he often carried a bamboo basket into the mountains to collect herbs. Before, he only thought about collecting herbs to practice medicine. Now he wanted to collect some precious medicinal materials to sell in the county town. After all, he was going to get married. Since the Lu family was living well, he couldn't let his wife live a hard life after marrying him.
As dawn broke that day, Li Changpu went out and headed straight for the West Mountain in the northwest. Other mountains were frequented by people all year round, and the precious medicinal herbs had long been dug up. If he wanted to have any opportunities, he could only go to the dangerous mountains.
After half an hour in the mountains, there were no signs of human activity. He found wolf droppings under the bushes, which looked like they had been there for some time, so he felt safe to continue into the mountains. His clothes were fumigated with herbs, so insects, snakes, mosquitoes and ants would not easily approach him. These herbs would also mask his scent, making him much safer than others when walking in the mountains.
In the autumn mountains, besides herbs, there are wild fruits. After crossing a hill and wading through a stream, I finally saw a fruit tree with red fruits hanging on the branches. Half of the leaves had already turned yellow and fallen, attracting small birds from the mountains to peck at them.
He would come to Xishan two or three times every autumn. He knew two places in the mountains where Ganoderma lucidum grew. The best time to pick them was after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Over time, he learned about the locations and ripening times of many wild fruits in the mountains. This time, he came to scout the locations, not only for the herbs, but also for these wild fruits.
This fruit is very sweet when ripe and is excellent for replenishing qi and blood. It is good for women's health. He heard from his master that Lu Yu was very thin, so he thought of coming to pick this fruit.
Li Changpu picked up a stone and threw it up to scare away the birds. He put down his basket, climbed up, hooked a branch with his sickle, and picked the fruit. The red fruit was about half the size of a fist and had already softened. It could be eaten after peeling. Afraid of puncturing the skin, he carefully cut two large leaves from the stream to wrap the fruit and put it at the bottom of his basket. Then he used branches to create a small space and covered it with the herbs he had just collected along the way.
He continued walking into the mountains until noon, when he reached the depths of the mountains and found a wild ginseng in a forest. The ginseng was only as thick as a chopstick, but it had great medicinal properties, and such a plant could sell for three or four ounces.
Li Changpu grinned, lay down on the ground and carefully dug through the withered branches and soil, even pulling out the tiny roots bit by bit. He looked up and realized he had been digging for half an hour. The mountains were covered with tall trees, so he didn't dare to linger. He put the ginseng into his basket and hurried to the place where the Ganoderma lucidum grew.
He carried a full basket of herbs home until dark.
Doctor Li and the others waited inside, the only light coming from the brazier. "Why are you back so late? Did you go to the Western Hills again?"
It's normal for someone to spend three to five days in the mountains to gather herbs, but Doctor Li doesn't allow his apprentices to stay overnight in the mountains. He's always told them that no matter what, they must be home before dark. These past two days, Li Changpu has been acting strangely, leaving early and returning late every day.
Li Changpu took out wild ginseng from his basket. "Master, look, although it's a bit small, it's of very good quality and can fetch a good price."
Such high-quality wild ginseng is too expensive for the villagers who come to see a doctor, so it can only be sold to the county town.
Doctor Li immediately understood, "Are you afraid that the Lu family girl will suffer if she marries into the family?"
Li Changpu scratched his head. "The Lu family is doing well now. She eats and dresses well at home. I don't want her to marry into the family and wear coarse clothes. Although I am not as rich as the Lu family, I have to work hard to earn money since she is marrying me. I can't let her eat coarse food with me."
Dr. Li was very pleased. “It’s right to give your wife a good life, but you can’t come back so late in the future. It’s dangerous in the mountains, so you have to take good care of yourself. You will be the pillar of this family in the future. Only when you get better can your wife, your future children, and I get better.”
He was counting on his apprentice to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. Although he was called an apprentice, he was no different from a father and son. He raised the child from a few months old to seventeen years old, putting in a lot of effort. His wife died in childbirth when she gave birth to their daughter, and that's when he finally decided to study medicine. He studied while raising his daughter, and he raised her through thick and thin. After his daughter got married, he became a lonely man again. At that time, there was war everywhere and people were fleeing. The new dynasty had not yet been established. He found this child in the mountains and brought him back to raise, which gave him new hope.
“I know, Master. I’m being very careful in the mountains.” Li Changpu took out a red fruit from the bottom of her basket. “These red fruits are delicious, Master. Please have some.”
Dr. Li reluctantly accepted the gift, saying, "Eat your meal and go to sleep."
The next day, around noon, the Lu family's door was knocked on. Wang Lan, holding her son Xiao Si, was urinating in the corner and called out through the wall, "Who is it?"
There are no men in the Lu family home now, and Wang Lan and Lu Yu rarely open the front gate.
Li Changpu was a little nervous. This was his first time visiting, and he was all alone. "Mother-in-law, it's me, I'm Li Changpu."
It took Wang Lan a while to realize that this was her future son-in-law. After helping Xiao Si put on his pants, she went to open the door and saw a young man with skin as dark as ripe wheat. He was a head taller than her, with regular features and a square face that looked sturdy. He grinned sheepishly, revealing a set of big white teeth. "Mother-in-law, I am Li Changpu. I went into the mountains and picked some fruit. I brought them for you to try. This is a herbal remedy I prepared to reduce internal heat. Just mix it with water and drink it. And this meat is fresh."
After saying that, he shoved the things into Wang Lan's hands and left before anyone could say anything.
Wang Lan was stunned for a moment before chasing after him. "Wait a minute, why are you running? It's almost noon. Yu Niang has made lunch. Eat before you go home."
Li Changpu chuckled foolishly, "No need, no need, my master is still waiting for me."
After saying that, he ran away along the side path in the blink of an eye.
Grandma Ajin stood far away at the door, scoffing and saying, "What's so great about a daughter getting married? That Doctor Li's family doesn't even own a piece of land, how could they afford a dowry?"
,
I was lucky today; I dug up two wild ginseng roots, only about the thickness of chopsticks. However, these wild ginseng roots are very potent and not cheap.
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