Chapter 38: 37: Treasure Hunt in the mountains i
Translator: 549690339
Ni Yang walked along a mountain trail with a small bamboo basket slung on her back.
She encountered quite a few villagers along the way.
She politely greeted each one of them.
She addressed the slightly older ones as uncles and aunts, and the elders as grandpas and grandmas.
Who doesn’t love a sweet-talking young girl? Especially, one who is as pretty as Ni Yang.
As soon as Ni Yang was out of sight, the villagers immediately began to gossip.
“Don’t be fooled by her youthful appearance. She’s quite capable. I heard she saved Meifeng’s child when a ghost took possession.”
“What ghost? I heard it was epilepsy.”
“If Zhenzhen was half as sensible as her, I’d be content.”
An angular-faced, short-haired woman with a sarcastic manner chimed in: “Of course, she’s capable. Otherwise, how could she afford a Phoenix-brand bicycle?”
Upon hearing this, everyone else’s expression immediately changed.
Yes.
It was indeed suspicious that a family headed by a widow and her orphan, which didn’t even have a labor force, could afford a bicycle.
After all, even those of them who had toiled in the fields all year round couldn’t afford one!
A middle-aged woman with long hair furrowed her brows a little, saying, “Wang Jinfang, you can’t just make assumptions. Perhaps they earned the money. 1 heard that young girl wakes up early every morning to sell breakfast in the city.”
“Sell breakfast?” Wang Jinfang hinted, “Who’s to say she’s selling breakfast and nothing else.”
Wang Jinfang was a notorious gossip in the village, and a typical example of one who wants others to be poorer than oneself.
If she saw someone living a better life than herself, she would become discontent and immediately resort to sarcasm and curses, wishing ill luck on them.
The long-haired woman, who was more reasonable, immediately retorted,”Wang Jinfang, we’re in front of everyone here, and we should ensure we have evidence before we speak.”
Ni Yang was too young to have her reputation ruined by Wang Jinfang’s, how would she hold her head high in the village in the future?
Looking at the long-haired woman, Wang Jinfang spitefully shot back, “So, you witnessed her selling breakfast in the city? Or are you her business partner?” Her last sentence was especially pointed.
“You!” The long-haired woman’s face turned red in anger. She coughed and retorted, “You’re just babbling nonsense! You’re just stirring up trouble for no reason!”
“I’m stirring up trouble? I think it’s you, Zhou Qingshang, who is feeling guilty.” Wang Jinfang widened her eyes, looking very fierce.
Zhou Qingshang didn’t even know Ni Yang, she must have seen her buying the bicycle and wanted to ingratiate herself, so she stood up for her! Otherwise, why would she be so kind-hearted?
Hypocritical! Shameless!
“Ahem, I’m feeling guilty? Ahem… Wang Jinfang! You tell me now, for what reason should I feel guilty?”
Seeing that the argument was escalating, someone immediately stepped in to mediate, “Enough is enough already, let’s not quibble over an outsider.”
Since Zhou Qingshang, who was educated and also felt a bit under the weather, was coughing all the time, she didn’t want to argue further with Wang Jinfang. She picked up her hoe and headed towards the field.
How can you reason with such a person?
**
In the mountains.
Ni Yang, with her basket on her back, was venturing among the rocks on the mountainous trail, finding many wild medicinal herbs along the way.
Such as Angelica, Lingzhi, Astragalus, Bupleurum, and more.
At this time, western medicine was emerging, and traditional Chinese medicine was gradually being forgotten, so the mountains were rich in resources.
Ni Yang even discovered a wild ginseng plant that was a hundred years old, judging by its seven leaves.
Ginseng is renowned as the king of all herbs and is famed for its abilities to calm the mind, stabilize the soul, reduce palpitations, dispel evil, clarify vision, uplift mood, and stimulate the mind. It is particularly suitable for women recovering from childbirth and suffering from deficiency of vital energy.
Ni Yan was overjoyed and took a spade, carefully digging around the base of the ginseng plant, terrified she might break even a single root hair.
A moment later, an entire ginseng plant had been unearthed.
Although it was wild, the quality of this ginseng was exceptionally good and quite large. At the pharmacy, you couldn’t buy such a ginseng for less than several hundred Yuan.
Ni Yan placed the ginseng in her bamboo basket and continued to wander through the forest.
If there was one ginseng in this forest, there had to be more than just one.
Sure enough, before long, Ni Yan found a second ginseng plant nearby. However, this one wasn’t a seven-year-old plant, but a younger ginseng of three to five years.
Even though it was not an older plant, the effectiveness of this young ginseng still exceeded the ones sold in the pharmacy.
Having dug out the second ginseng, Ni Yan was unable to find a third.
Ginseng is a plant that one stumbles upon rather than actively seeks. Ni Yan didn’t persist in looking for more ginseng but started to dig up some other herbs. During this process, she also discovered a cluster of aloe vera plants.
Aloe vera is a valuable asset. It not only enhances beauty but also serves as traditional medicine and can reduce inflammation, detoxify, dissipate blood stasis, and kill parasites. It treats ocular inflammation, constipation, leukorrhea, hematuria, childhood epilepsy, retained phlegm, burns and scalds, hemorrhoids, scabies, abscesses, bruises and injuries, and many more ailments.
Ni Yan picked up her spade, dug up a few aloe vera plants and put them in her basket. She planned to plant them in front her home when she returned.
After finishing all these tasks, Ni Yan slung her bamboo basket over her back and started descending the mountain.
The lush vegetation and the mountain breezes refreshed her spirit and soothed her mood.
As Ni Yan walked, she started to hum a little tune, filled with happiness.
Just then, Ni Yan perceived a slight movement and immediately froze in her steps, looking towards a bush nearby.
There was a grinding, “gurgling” noise coming from the bush.
Something was in that bush.
Having realized this, Ni Yan stepped towards the bush, and with a swift motion of her hand, parted the foliage.
There, hidden within the bushes, were seven or eight grey baby bunnies.
No bigger than the size of a palm, the bunnies looked at Ni Yan, issuing sibilant warning sounds from their mouths.
Such adorable bunnies, they’d undoubtedly be more adorable when they grew up, and their meat would be delicious!
Ni Yan could almost see roasted rabbit, stewed rabbit, braised rabbit, spicy rabbit, and other delectable dishes waving at her.
Ni Yan counted – there were nine bunnies altogether. She took eight out and put them in her basket, leaving one for the mother rabbit.
Looking at the spoils of her venture in the bamboo basket, Ni Yan’s lips curled in satisfaction. Today’s harvest was excellent.
The sun was setting, and Ni Yan shouldered her bamboo basket, making her way home swiftly.
At this time, a middle-aged woman with long hair walked towards Ni Yan, constantly breaking into fits of coughing.
The woman was none other than Zhou Qingshang who had spoken up for Ni Yan in the afternoon.
Although unaware of the incident in the afternoon, Ni Yan courteously greeted her, “Hello, Auntie Wang.”
Zhou Qingshang laughed, “Oh, it’s you, Yangyang. Have you just come down from the mountain?” She burst into a fit of coughing before she could finish, her eyes red from the intensity.
People suffering from flu get worse at the beginning and the end of the day.
Ni Yan nodded, “I have picked some herbs from the mountain. Auntie Wang, have you caught a cold? Have you been to the hospital?”
Zhou Qingshang dismissed it casually, “It’s just a minor cold, 1’11 be fine in a few days.” Villagers usually react this way, because they are keen to save money. They endure both major and minor illnesses on their own, only opting for a hospital visit when absolutely necessary. Many have even turned minor illnesses into major ones, eventually leading to fatalities.
“A cold is not a trivial matter. If the cold virus enters the bloodstream, it can lead to complications such as pneumonia and hypoxia.” Ni Yan cautioned while taking a few plants that appeared similar to a bamboo leaf from the basket and handed them to Zhou Qingshang.
She continued, “Auntie Wang, this is a medicinal herb called Bupleurum, after you go home, strip off the leaves and twigs, clean the roots and stems thoroughly, and then boil them to drink. Within three days, your cold will be gone.”
According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, Bupleurum is bitter and sweet. It is capable of dispersing body heat, soothing the liver and lifting yang energy. It is highly effective against colds.
In fact, it could cure the cold in a day, three days is just a conservative estimate..