Qin Junyao saw Fuzi crying so hard, she wished she could hit her past self. If only she had changed the subject earlier.
Fuzi hadn't cried even after all the hardships of practicing martial arts on the mountaintop, so crying like this now must mean she was terrified.
Granny Ma rushed over, wanting to hold Fuzi, but Fuzi refused. Later, Mother Qin and Aunt Qin Er came, but Fuzi continued to cry incessantly. Even Father Qin and the others couldn't console her.
Just as Qin Junyao was thinking about taking Fuzi to see a doctor, the Hou family's twins ran over to watch the commotion and saw Fuzi crying her heart out.
The two children circled Qin Junyao, who could barely hold Fuzi anymore, chanting a rhyme.
"Big crybaby, little crybaby, snuggle in arms, act so cute."
Hou Liang asked, "Who is it?"
Hou Shan replied, "It's the Zhao family's little darling."
"I'm not a little darling, I'm a big boy!" Fuzi stopped crying immediately upon hearing Hou Liang and Hou Shan's words.
Then, he struggled out of Qin Junyao's embrace and chased after the Hou family's twins.
Qin Junyao watched Fuzi run away and sighed inwardly. Forget about scary older sisters; children were truly terrifying.
She didn't know that Fuzi, who had the same habit of eavesdropping as Qin Xiaoyu, wasn't lying.
The villagers who had come to their home that morning had all been taken away by Grandma Qin. Father Qin was working with the Hou family to repair the roof and rebuild the donkey shed, as not only Qin's donkey shed had collapsed, but the Hou family's had too.
Everyone had work to do. Although Qin Junyao was thinking about the five hundred saxaul trees, she couldn't go anywhere without someone to drive her. So, she took her medicine hoe and went to the Gobi Desert to dig wolfsbane roots.
The wolfsbane had begun to bloom in small numbers. The flowers were beautiful, and those who didn't know better would never imagine it was a poisonous plant, toxic from root to tip.
Qin Junyao was digging for wolfsbane that was either budding or in bloom. She thought that Dr. Sheng would likely buy wolfsbane with its flowers, leaves, and roots.
The most poisonous part of the wolfsbane was its root. The more developed the root, the longer it had grown and the stronger its toxicity.
Therefore, Qin Junyao had to be extremely careful while digging. If the wolfsbane root was damaged, a milky white sap would ooze out. This sap would cause redness, swelling, and itching upon contact with the skin, and even a small amount ingested could cause vomiting and diarrhea.
These were all lessons learned from Qin Junyao's own experience. She had once seen a beautiful flower and wanted to dig it up to plant in a pot. The flower never made it into the pot; she ended up in the hospital.
After digging for a whole basketful, Qin Junyao realized she hadn't moved much from her original spot; there was simply too much wolfsbane.
She couldn't even scatter grass seeds. The extensive root system of the wolfsbane absorbed a large amount of moisture from the soil, preventing other grasses from surviving.
Qin Junyao carried a basketful of wolfsbane home on her back, thinking of borrowing the Hou family's cart to transport the wolfsbane, as carrying it basket by basket would be too time-consuming.
Li Chengfu, the son of Granny Li, was helping Father Qin repair the roof. From a distance, he saw the white flowers in Qin Junyao's basket.
"Brother Qin, why is your daughter digging up dog's paw flowers? They're poisonous and can't be fed to livestock." Su Dan novel network.
Father Qin, standing on the ladder, also saw what Qin Junyao was carrying. He recognized it as the wolfsbane his daughter had mentioned, which the villagers called "heartbreak grass."
"Junyao, what are you digging up heartbreak grass for?" Father Qin asked Qin Junyao as she entered the courtyard.
Qin Junyao looked up and saw Father Qin on the ladder, handing up straw to the roof. She replied, "I'm going to ask Dr. Sheng if he'll buy it."
"Miss Qin, the dog's paw flowers you dug up are poisonous. Doctors only buy medicinal herbs." Li Chengfu heard Qin Junyao mention the doctor and guessed she intended to take it to the pharmacy. He kindly reminded her to avoid wasting her effort.
Qin Junyao looked at the person speaking to her, whom she didn't recognize. She smiled and agreed, then went to borrow a cart from the Hou family.
At noon, Qin Daniu drove the cart to take Qin Junyao to Yan County.
"Brother, eat a pancake to fill your stomach first, and there's also a cucumber. When we get to Yan County, we'll go eat Biang Biang noodles," Qin Junyao handed the pancake and cucumber in her hand to Qin Daniu, who was driving.
"Yaoyao, can what you dug up really be sold for money?"
"I don't know. It's true that wolfsbane can be used as medicine, Brother. When we come back, take me to see the saxaul trees we planted."
"Okay."
Qin Junyao was gnawing on a cucumber when she suddenly asked Qin Daniu, "Brother, who was that girl you were talking to at the village entrance just now?"
Qin Daniu was nineteen after the New Year, and Mother Qin had been trying to find a suitable wife candidate for him.
Qin Daniu hadn't agreed to any of the eligible girls her mother had suggested, only saying that his younger uncle was still unmarried, so he wasn't in a hurry.
He wasn't in a hurry, but his mother was. She was even considering discussing with her mother-in-law about tidying up the utility room to be used as a bridal chamber; having a house would make finding a wife easier.
"That's Miss Zhang. She lives at the head of the village. I helped her carry some firewood once." Qin Daniu quickly explained when he saw Qin Junyao's slightly narrowed eyes, "It was a few days ago when it rained, and her home is far from where we gathered firewood."
Qin Junyao remained silent, still holding the cucumber and staring at Qin Daniu.
Qin Daniu scratched his head. "Her father was bitten to death by a wolf the year before last, and her mother died of illness later. She's raising a younger brother and sister by herself."
"I really don't know anything else."
Qin Junyao's expression remained unchanged, but inside, she was almost laughing herself silly. Her brother was too honest.
She took a bite of the cucumber. "Oh, I was just asking casually. Brother, do you want more cucumber?"
Qin Daniu: ???
Upon arriving at Yan County, Qin Daniu drove the donkey cart directly to the back courtyard of the Hall of Quelling Illness. The apprentice who opened the door thought Qin Junyao had brought processed medicinal herbs. When he saw the fresh wolfsbane in the basket, he was a little dumbfounded.
"You don't accept it?" Qin Junyao asked, standing at the back door.
"Miss Qin, please come in. I'll go fetch my master." The apprentice opened the back door wide and asked Qin Daniu to lead the donkey cart in, then ran to call Dr. Sheng, who was in the front pharmacy.
Qin Junyao and Qin Daniu didn't have to wait long before Dr. Sheng arrived in the back courtyard.
"Junyao, you're here. There was a patient at the front who hasn't left yet. I heard the medicinal herbs you brought this time are unusual?"
"Hello, Dr. Sheng. We're not in a hurry. What about the patients at the front if you come over like this?"
"Huai Jin and Yi Ning are there, so I can take a look at the medicinal herbs you brought." Dr. Sheng walked to the donkey cart and looked at it, then burst out laughing.
"My grand-disciple probably didn't expect you to bring so many inexpensive medicinal herbs."
Qin Junyao looked at the wolfsbane on the cart and asked Dr. Sheng, "Is wolfsbane very cheap?"
Dr. Sheng stroked his beard. "Indeed. It seems you've paid good attention to that illustration book. No one here calls them wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane is quite common here, and the dosage is small, so fresh wolfsbane root is five jin for one wen, without soil."
"What about dried?" Qin Junyao hadn't expected wolfsbane to be so cheap.
"Dried is five jin for four wen. It needs to be washed and dried. Processed ones will have a higher price. Raw wolfsbane is six wen per jin, and vinegar-processed wolfsbane is fifteen wen per jin."
Dr. Sheng's mention of raw and vinegar-processed wolfsbane referred to the methods of preparing wolfsbane.
Raw wolfsbane was prepared by washing it clean, soaking it in water, slicing it after it was thoroughly soaked, and then drying it.
Vinegar-processed wolfsbane was soaked in vinegar. One hundred jin of wolfsbane required thirty jin of rice vinegar.
The average price of rice vinegar was six wen per jin. Wolfsbane slices soaked in vinegar needed to be stir-fried over low heat in a pot until slightly dry before being dried, which was somewhat troublesome.
Therefore, the price of wolfsbane processed with vinegar was slightly higher, and this was also the type most commonly used by doctors.