Chapter 34: Fine Goods

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The farther Zhou Yichen went, the denser the trees became, and the air grew fresher and more humid.

A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground beneath his feet. They felt soft and springy as he stepped on them, rustling faintly.

[Medical Skill Proficiency +1]

As expected, once he ventured deeper into the forest, Zhou Yichen discovered that there were noticeably more medicinal herbs here than lower down—and their quality was better too.

To his delight, he even found several vines of mature fleeceflower root, along with a small patch of wild honeysuckle.

“What an unexpected stroke of luck!” Zhou Yichen thought, his heart stirring.

Herbs that had grown for many years naturally possessed stronger medicinal effects. More importantly... they could fetch a good price!

A thought flashed through his mind.

He was currently the medical orderly of Xiangyang Production Brigade, and gathering herbs was part of his official duties. He had every right to do it.

Once he had gathered enough herbs in the future, he could keep some for the brigade’s reserves and take the rest to the county supply and marketing cooperative’s medicinal herb purchasing station—or sell them to elderly traditional physicians who practiced in their own clinics.

In theory, all the medicinal herbs on the mountain belonged to the production team as collective property.

But as the brigade’s medical orderly, it was perfectly proper for him to gather herbs for his own use or prepare them into medicine to treat the villagers.

As for gathering a little extra and exchanging it for money to improve his life—so long as he did not make a spectacle of it, who could really object?

After all, he had to eat and make a living too.

Besides, with money, he could buy more acupuncture needles and medical books. If the opportunity arose in the future, he might even be able to purchase seeds of more precious medicinal plants and try cultivating them himself.

With that thought, Zhou Yichen’s enthusiasm for gathering herbs increased even further.

He carefully dug up several plants of fleeceflower root, roots and all, shook the soil from them, and then meticulously picked the honeysuckle flowers. His heart was filled with energy.

When one immersed oneself wholeheartedly in a great undertaking such as gathering herbs, time always slipped away like sand through one’s fingers.

Zhou Yichen raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and glanced at the sky.

The sun had already risen, its golden afterglow filtering through the treetops and casting dappled shadows across the forest.

He hefted the burlap sack over his shoulder. It felt heavy in his hand, and he estimated that it was already seven or eight-tenths full.

Noon would arrive before long, and he needed to get back before then.

After tidying up a little, Zhou Yichen prepared to head home.

But just as he straightened and habitually swept his gaze across the surrounding forest, a nondescript patch of green in the distance suddenly caught his eye.

Beside the gnarled roots of an old pine tree, several oval-shaped leaves stubbornly poked their heads out from beneath the thick carpet of pine needles.

The edges of the leaves bore fine serrations, while their surfaces were slightly wrinkled. Their color was a deep, rich green.

Zhou Yichen’s heart gave a violent leap.

He crossed the distance in a few strides, crouched down, and carefully brushed away the fallen leaves and humus surrounding the plant.

As the covering was removed, the plant’s full form gradually came into view.

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Three to five palmate compound leaves grew from a short stem.

“Is this... ginseng?” Zhou Yichen’s breathing quickened.

Since arriving in this era, he had crammed a great deal of knowledge about traditional medicine into his head. Just yesterday, he had spent quite some time studying a handbook of commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs purchased from the supply and marketing cooperative.

He had worked especially hard on the forms, medicinal properties, and methods of identifying various herbs.

The plant before him was almost identical to the wild mountain ginseng described in the medical texts.

Zhou Yichen’s heart pounded wildly, but he forced himself to calm down.

Wild mountain ginseng was an exceedingly precious thing. The older it was, the greater its value.

He carefully examined the plant, paying particular attention to its crown—the rhizome at the top of the ginseng root.

Although most of it remained buried in the soil, the small section that was visible showed tightly packed growth rings, suggesting that it had been growing for many years.

“There’s no mistake! This is definitely wild mountain ginseng!”

A flash of excitement lit Zhou Yichen’s eyes.

He had never imagined that on his very first trip into the mountains to gather herbs, he would stumble upon such a legendary treasure.

What incredible luck!

Filled with anticipation, Zhou Yichen set down the burlap sack and drew the sharp herb-digging hoe from his waist.

But then he shook his head.

The hoe was too rough an instrument. If it damaged the ginseng, that would be a terrible waste.

He looked around and soon found a fairly sturdy dead branch. He broke it with his hands, sharpened one end, and fashioned a simple digging tool.

Crouching down, he began to loosen the soil around the ginseng plant, starting from its outer edge.

His movements were extraordinarily light and slow. He was terrified that the slightest carelessness might damage the precious roots.

The forest was utterly silent. The only sound was the faint rustling made by the stick scraping against the soil.

Sweat trickled down his temples and dripped onto the ground, but he remained completely unaware of it.

At that moment, all his concentration was focused on the wild mountain ginseng before him.

Minute by minute, time passed.

Zhou Yichen estimated that more than an hour had gone by before he had nearly cleared away all the soil surrounding the ginseng.

As the earth was peeled away bit by bit, the plant’s main root gradually emerged.

Zhou Yichen’s eyes suddenly widened.

The wild mountain ginseng was not particularly large. Its main root was only about as thick as his little finger and barely more than ten centimeters long.

Yet its form was close to perfect.

The crown was stout, with layer upon layer of clearly visible growth rings.

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Fine, deeply etched horizontal lines covered the body of the ginseng, as though they had been carved with exquisite craftsmanship.

Several main rootlets spread out naturally, covered with beadlike nodules that testified to its vigorous vitality.

“What a beauty!” Zhou Yichen could not help exclaiming softly.

He carefully used the stick to brush away the final thin layer of soil. Then he gently pinched the crown just above the root and slowly lifted the entire wild mountain ginseng from the earth.

Holding the ginseng, still clinging to fresh soil, Zhou Yichen examined it closely.

He tried to recall everything he knew about determining the age of wild mountain ginseng.

“Dense growth rings, deep iron-thread markings, old and tightly drawn skin, firm and resilient rootlets...”

Every feature pointed to the same conclusion: this wild mountain ginseng was certainly no youngster.

“Judging by the number of growth rings on the crown, along with the color and texture of its skin... this ginseng has been growing for at least fifteen years, perhaps even longer!”

Fifteen-year-old wild mountain ginseng!

In this era, it was absolutely a priceless treasure.

Zhou Yichen was beyond excited.

He knew that if he took it to the county town—or to a medicinal herb purchasing station in one of the major cities—it would certainly fetch an excellent price.

Even by a conservative estimate, it could bring in at least a hundred yuan.

To put that into perspective, an ordinary worker’s monthly wage at present was only twenty or thirty yuan.

A hundred yuan was an enormous sum.

If he was lucky enough to meet someone who recognized its true value, or someone who desperately needed it to save a life, he might even be able to sell it for one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty yuan—or perhaps as much as one hundred and fifty.

But after thinking it over, Zhou Yichen decided not to sell it for the time being.

When he had been sent down to the countryside, his family had given him a substantial amount of money, along with national grain coupons, cloth coupons, and the like. His life would not be difficult in the short term.

This wild mountain ginseng was a truly precious thing, and not merely because it could be sold for money.

It replenished the body’s vital energy. At a critical moment, it could even be used to keep someone alive.

For a doctor, what could be more valuable than a medicinal herb capable of saving a life?

“I’ll keep it for emergencies,” Zhou Yichen decided without hesitation.

Whether for himself, his family, or even patients who might genuinely need it in the future, this wild mountain ginseng could provide a value far beyond that of money.

With that thought, he found several broad leaves and carefully wrapped the fifteen-year-old wild mountain ginseng in them. He then placed it reverently at the very bottom of the burlap sack and gently covered it with the other herbs.

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