Chapter 104 (Two-in-One)
Fu Le stayed at the Liu family's house for a whole day, until Wu Jing and Xiao Jian returned in the evening.
"Ah Xuan went to his cousin's house, don't worry about him, let me check the clothes!" Wu Jing had completely regarded Fu Le as his junior, and when he heard that he had brought new clothes for her, he was as excited as a father receiving his daughter's filial piety, his face full of joy.
"Sister, you're so kind." Wu Jian hugged Fu Le's arm and shook it for a while.
Liu Xin and Fu Le took turns accompanying the father and son, offering various suggestions from time to time, and the room was filled with laughter.
The next day, Fu Le boarded a train to Yunnan Province. Her goal was to find medicine. Besides Yunnan, the three major provinces of Heilongjiang were also among her targets. These provinces were holy lands for the production of wild medicinal herbs, and she wanted to make a big profit before industrialization arrived.
What Fu Le didn't know was that Wu Xuan had just arrived home when she boarded the train. Seeing the familiar honey jar, he knew it was Fu Le. His eyes lit up with excitement, like a puppy with a tail. "Mom, is my sister here? Where is she?" After checking the guest room and finding no one there, Wu Xuan immediately called out to his mother.
"I'm leaving now, your sister is going on a study abroad trip, she won't have time to stay long."
"What? You left? Ugh... Why didn't you call me...?" Wu Xuan yelled.
"Brother, didn't you tell us not to disturb you while you're having a big meal at Grandma's?" Wu Xuan poked half his body out of the room and interjected with a grin.
"Damn, how can that be the same? My sister can treat me to a big meal too, and it's even better than Grandma's!"
"Hey bro, I'm going to call Grandma and tell her you're disgusted by the meat at her house!"
"You idiot Wu, you're asking for it!!"
"Ah, Mom, help! My brother is so uncivilized!!"
"Shut up! What kind of martial ethics do you have when you're being hit? I'll teach you a lesson for not calling me and eating alone!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Every punch landed squarely!
"Aww..."
Liu Xin, who was watching TV, glanced speechlessly at the two brothers fighting, shook her head, and thought, "I can't bear to watch. Lele is much better."
Another day of regretting not having a daughter.
After a three-day, three-night train journey, Fu Le still felt a clattering sound in his head and the lingering smell of the train carriage on his body, making him feel unwell all over.
As soon as she exited the station, someone came up to take her luggage. Fu Le turned to the side to avoid the person's actions, "No need, I won't take a taxi, and I won't stay overnight!" She picked up her suitcase and strode away.
The village she wanted to go to was more than 30 kilometers away from the train station. She planned to take a taxi after leaving the station, which would be safer. Those people carrying bags earlier were all unlicensed taxis, and who knew where they would take people? Although she wasn't afraid, she hated trouble. At this time, she didn't want to cause any trouble. She just wanted to settle down quickly, wash up, and get some sleep. Heaven knows, her bones were about to fall apart from all the jostling.
After leaving the square, Fu Le didn't have to wait long before a taxi arrived.
They were seeing guests off. "Are you leaving?" Fu Le leaned forward and asked.
"Let's go." The master nodded.
Fu Le breathed a sigh of relief, put the small box in the back seat, and then sat down himself.
She only brought a small suitcase, just enough to carry some changes of clothes.
After getting in the car and giving the address, the driver asked in somewhat broken Mandarin, "What are you going to Jiamai Village for?"
“Look at the herbs. It is said that the whole village grows medicinal herbs, and there is also Mount Wuer behind it, with countless wild herbs.”
"Oh," the driver said, and didn't say anything more.
In those days, there weren't many cars, so there was no traffic jam. It took less than forty minutes to drive over thirty kilometers to reach the destination.
At the entrance of the village, there is an old wooden sign with faded red engravings that read 'Jiamai Village'.
Fu Le paid the fare and prepared to get out of the car, but noticed that the driver seemed hesitant to speak.
"Master, if you have something to say, please say it." Could there be some danger in the village?
The master gave an awkward smile, seemingly unsure how to begin. Hearing Fu Le's words, his face flushed red as he said, "Well, at the mud-brick house at the end of the village, there's an old woman named Li, my aunt. She's skilled in medicine and owns a medicinal mountain that produces a lot of herbs every year, and they're very effective. But the herbalists from the village offer very low prices, only half the market price, and the village doesn't care. If you're really sincere about wanting good medicine, you can go and take a look. If the price is higher than what the herbalists offer, my aunt will definitely sell it to you."
Fu Le was somewhat surprised. Was this really a good thing?
"No problem. Is your aunt a doctor?"
“She’s from Lizhai. She married into the village. My grandfather was the village doctor. My father and uncles were unwilling to learn the profession, so my aunt was the best at it. She knew some pharmacology and was considered a semi-barefoot doctor. The herbs she grew were excellent.”
Fu Le raised an eyebrow, not expecting to run into the person she was looking for right away. "Can your car go into the village? Take me directly to your aunt's house? I'll give you an extra five yuan." It wasn't that she didn't want to give more, but she couldn't. This was the common price in this era, and being too generous would cause trouble.
The man immediately waved his hand, "No need to pay extra, I'll take you in. I'd be very grateful if you'd be willing to take a look at my aunt's medicine."
"Okay, thank you."
The car started again and slowly drove along the uneven dirt road.
However, to Fu Le's surprise, the road into the village was so far. It took her half an hour to drive there, and Fu Le's face almost turned green. If her driver hadn't spoken up, wouldn't she have had to walk dozens of miles by herself? The mountain road had dozens of twists and turns; even as exercise, it would be tiring enough. The inn she was going to was right at the entrance of the village. It was obvious that it was opened by the villagers to make it convenient for medicine dealers to stay and inspect the medicinal herbs.
Living in the plains, she understood for the first time why the greatest wish of children in the mountains is to leave the mountains and go out into the world.
As the setting sun faded on the horizon, Fu Le saw twinkling lights. Finally, they were almost at their destination.
"Jiamai Village doesn't have a large population, just over a hundred households, less than a thousand people in total. Everyone has medicinal herbs at home. If you want to buy a lot, you can talk to the village chief. However, their prices are based on market rates, not as cheap as my aunt's. Although the medicinal effects are also good, they can't compare to my aunt's. My aunt's medicinal mountain has a spring cave. When my uncle was alive, he diverted water and used mountain spring water to irrigate it. Their medicinal mountain doesn't have spring water; it's all groundwater." The driver rambled on as they arrived at their destination.
"Master's surname is Li?"
"How did you know?" the master asked in surprise.
"Didn't you say you were from Li Family Village?"
"Oh, haha, I forgot, hehe..." The master laughed, revealing his teeth, then felt embarrassed.
Fu Le found it somewhat amusing; this was a shy master.
"Come on, I'll take you inside."
"good."
When strangers entered the village, many people came out to see them. When they saw Master Li, they all greeted him. Fu Le couldn't understand the local language, so he just followed along.
"Is this girl here for tourism? There's nothing like this in our mountains." The villagers started gossiping.
"No way, it was Li Wa who brought it. She must be collecting medicinal herbs."
"A little girl collecting herbs all by herself? Isn't she afraid of the danger? The little girl doesn't look like she's even an adult?"
"They're so tall, how could they be underage? They're obviously from the city, they have such a refined air about them."
"So fair and clean, you can tell she's been to school..."
...The villagers' conversation drifted off-topic.
The village was small, and we soon arrived at Grandma Li's house, a small red clay courtyard with a strong local flavor.
Li Wa knocked on the old wooden door, and soon there was a sound coming from inside.
Creak...
The door opened, and an elderly woman with a full head of black hair, standing ramrod straight, came out. "Li Wa, why are you here at this hour?" The woman's gaze fell on the young girl next to her nephew, and she roughly understood what she did. Li Wa drove a taxi and had brought many people to look at medicinal herbs for her family over the years, but nine times out of ten, it hadn't been successful. This was because her medicinal herb mountain was too large, and she had to harvest it herself, or hire people, which was too costly. Naturally, the money offered for the herbs would be less, and some offers were even only a third of the market price. She couldn't agree to that, so she sold them along with the villagers, at least getting half the market price.
What puzzled her was how such a beautiful girl dared to go out alone to collect medicine.
Fu Le's gaze fell on the woman's full head of black hair. Her dark, hard-working skin suggested she was an elderly woman who had suffered a lot, yet she had such black and shiny hair, indicating that she was well-nourished.
Fu Le had higher expectations for the medicine for the woman.
"Auntie, this is Miss Fu. She wants to buy a lot of medicinal herbs. She's from out of town and will be staying in the village tonight. It's not safe for a young lady to stay in an inn alone. Why don't you stay at your place for a while?"
"Come in and talk." The woman didn't agree, but stepped aside to let him in.
As soon as you step inside, you're greeted by the aroma of herbs. Fu Le sniffed it and found it quite pleasant. Perhaps it was because the old man was often around herbs, as he had a strong medicinal scent on him.
There were many items in the courtyard. The most numerous were stone tools for grinding herbs and cutting tools, in various sizes. There were also many wooden racks with wooden hooks, presumably for drying herbs. There was also a long stone table, about three meters long and two meters wide, without stools, which took up most of the courtyard area. Many semi-dried herbs were hanging on the corridor, emitting a strong medicinal aroma.
Living in a farmhouse deep in the mountains is truly comfortable; the air is fresh, and people are well taken care of.
The courtyard has four rooms, with the living room in the middle, forming a U-shape. Upon entering the room, Fu Le immediately saw the candlestick, from which the light emanated. There was a table in the main room, on which were placed a plate of green vegetables, a bowl of pickled vegetables, and half-eaten white porridge.
It seems they were just eating.
"Where are you from, young lady?" Once inside, the woman's expression softened, and she asked in Mandarin with a local accent.
"Have a seat." After saying that, she pointed to the stool next to her. "I'll tidy up this place."
“Okay, I’m from Hubei Province.” Fu Le sat down.
The woman nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she and Li Wa cleared the things off the table and wiped it until it was shiny and clean.
From the clean, earthen floor and the simple, dust-free furniture around the house, it was clear that the woman was meticulous, and there was no strange smell in the room.
Soon, the woman brought over two cups of tea. "This is wild ginseng tea. Please try it."
"Thank you." Fu Le was surprised again, because the cup the woman brought was a small jade cup about the size of a baby's fist. It looked like real jade and was completely different from the teacups the villagers remembered.
Fu Xu's gaze was too direct, which made the woman smile gently. "This was left to me by my husband. It's a complete set, made from jade scraps. Isn't it nice? I can tell you're a discerning person. I haven't given this cup to anyone else. It's new, so you can use it without worry."
"Thank you," Fu Le could only awkwardly say again.
"Miss Fu, what medicine do you need? Did you bring the prescription?" With a smile, Granny Li sat down. The light in her cloudy eyes was clear, a wisdom that had been accumulated over the years.
"I collect them for the company. I can collect any kind of medicinal herbs, regardless of the type. The main thing is the quality of the herbs."
As Fu Le finished speaking, Granny Li clasped her hands together, looking somewhat nervous. "My herb mountain is very large, and harvesting it requires a lot of labor. And the price of the herbs..."
"I'd like to see your medicinal herbs." If the herbs are good, everything will be easier to discuss.
"Auntie, I'll go get it." Li Wa was very excited and quickly went to the warehouse in the backyard to get it.
He felt that perhaps this Miss Fu was no ordinary drug dealer; she didn't have the cunning of other drug dealers, and her eyes were very honest.
Seeing this, Granny Li smiled and said, "This child always comes to check on me every now and then, afraid that something might happen to me and no one will find out. She's also worried that my medicine won't sell and will be stuck with me. I've put a lot of effort into this medicinal herb mountain. I've hired people for the work I can't do myself, and it's cost a lot. Don't be fooled by the large quantity; at the original prices, I can only make sure I have enough to eat and wear, and leave some for the children. Any more than that, and that's it. Besides, I need to set aside money for next year's expenses on the medicinal herb mountain..."
Fu Le listened to Granny Li's rambling without finding it annoying. She could hear the old woman's love for the mountains and her attachment to the land that nurtured her.
Li Wa returned quickly, carrying over a dozen cloth bags. "Miss Fu, these are all prepared. Take a look."
Fu Le's ability to identify medicinal herbs is decent. He learned it from that teacher in the Ice Age and spends at least half of his time every day smelling, identifying, and memorizing herbs. Moreover, the quality of the medicinal herbs in the base is quite good. However, compared to the old man, it seems to be somewhat unsatisfactory.
He opened each one one by one, looking at, smelling, twisting, breaking, and tasting them. The more Fu Le looked, the more excited he became. They were truly good medicines, almost identical to wild ones, and well-cared for. For some that he couldn't identify, Fu Le would chew them, his lips and teeth filled with the aroma of the medicine. If these medicinal materials were in later generations, they would probably be used as tribute medicines and monopolized.
“These are all one-year-old ginseng, these are three-year-old ginseng… these wild ginsengs, some are ten-year-old, and some are even a hundred-year-old…” The old man was happy to see Fu Le satisfied.
Where Fu Le couldn't see, Li Wa was rubbing the hem of his clothes with both hands. He really hoped that his aunt's medicinal herbs could be sold for a good price.
“I want all of these. For the pre-processed ones, I’ll give you a 5% premium over the market price. For the herbs from the mountains, if they’re all of this quality, I’ll give you 80% of the normal market price. I’ll cover the labor costs. Is that alright?”
Upon hearing this, Granny Li remained silent for a long time, stunned. Li Wa was also stunned along with her.
It's done? And there's an extra 30%? And the finished product gets a 5% premium?!
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