Tang Yunshu took out the blueprint for the wheelchair and said to Tang Dashan,
“Dad, Mom said Uncle Su knows carpentry. This is the wheelchair design I drew. Could you ask him to help make it? Once it’s done, Big Brother can use it. That way he won’t have to lie in bed every day anymore.”
“Alright, I’ll go right away. Your Uncle Su and I are very close. Yunshu, you come with me too. You can explain the details on the blueprint—I don’t really understand them.”
Ever since Tang Yunshu transmigrated here, she had never gone out before. Along the way, every time Tang Dashan ran into someone, he would introduce his daughter.
Tang Yunshu greeted everyone with a bright smile. In truth, Tang Dashan was eager to show off that his daughter was no longer foolish—he wished the whole village knew that his girl had become smart.
Before long, word spread through the village: the Tang family’s youngest daughter wasn’t silly anymore—she had recovered!
When they arrived at Su Youtian’s home, Tang Dashan introduced everyone to his daughter.
“Yunshu, this is your Uncle Su, this is your Aunt Su, and this is Su Daliang. You can call him Brother Daliang.”
Tang Yunshu greeted them one by one, and then Tang Dashan got down to business.
“Youtian, my daughter wants to trouble you to help make a wheelchair. This is the blueprint. I’m a bit short on money right now—could I owe you the labor fee and pay you back later?”
“Dashan, what kind of relationship do we have that you’d say something like that?” Su Youtian replied. “As long as I can make it, how could I possibly charge you labor fees?”
He took the blueprint and looked it over, praising it as he did so.
“This design is great! It’s for your family’s Dazhuang, right? This thing is really convenient—just like a person’s two legs. Truly good. Did Tangtang draw this?”
“My daughter drew it. Her proper name is Yunshu—from now on, just call her Yunshu.”
“Yunshu is amazing! I’ll make it for you as soon as possible. But the wheelchair needs good wood. You’ll have to go up the mountain with me to cut it—we need quality timber.”
“Youtian, have you finished planting your fields? Will this delay your work?”
“It won’t. The fields are already planted. Tomorrow we’ll go up the mountain to cut trees.”
After everything was settled, Tang Yunshu asked Tang Dashan to take her around the village so she could familiarize herself with the layout.
Tang Dashan was more than happy to show off his daughter. Along the way, he kept pointing things out, telling her whose house was whose.
Tang Yunshu had an excellent memory—she remembered everything after hearing it once.
“Dad, let’s go up the mountain tomorrow. I want to see if there are any medicinal herbs.”
“Alright. Dad and your brothers will go with you.”
“That won’t do—we have to go cut trees in the mountains first. After that, we’ll go back up the day after tomorrow.”
When the day came, Tang Yunshu entered the mountains under the protection of her father and brothers.
Because it was a shallow mountain area, plants like shepherd’s purse (also known as dandelion) were familiar to most villagers and had already been dug up to eat as vegetables.
Even if there were any left, they wouldn’t sell for much money. The Tang family didn’t recognize medicinal herbs, so they could only follow behind Tang Yunshu.
At that moment, Tang Yunshu called out, “Dad, brothers, come quickly—this is licorice. I’ll teach you how to recognize it. Remember it well. In the future, if you see it, you’ll be able to dig it up yourselves.”
Licorice has effects such as relieving cough and phlegm, strengthening the spleen and boosting qi, clearing heat, and detoxifying. In compound Chinese medicines, it can also reduce the toxic side effects of other herbs.
Tang Dashan and his sons examined it carefully for a while. Then Tang Dashan said,
“Daughter, I’ve remembered it.”
The others followed suit.
“Little sister, we’ve remembered it too.”
“Second Brother, you dig it. Be careful—its root needs to be dug out to sell for money. The leaves aren’t very useful.”
Second Brother picked up the small shovel Tang Yunshu had taken out from her space and started digging.
Licorice roots grow very long—some go deep underground, while others spread horizontally in all directions.
Second Brother dug out a licorice root over a meter long. Tang Yunshu said,
“This one’s quite thick. The thicker the licorice, the older it is, and the more valuable it becomes.”
Fifth Brother asked curiously,
“Little sister, how much would one root like this be worth?”
“Fifth Brother, I’ve never even been to the town. How would I know the price of medicinal herbs here?”
“Oh, that’s true.” The group continued searching.
Tang Yunshu said,
“Look around nearby—there should be more. Some licorice rhizomes grow horizontally underground and keep sending out new shoots in the surrounding soil.”
Sure enough, they spotted several more nearby.
“Little sister, come take a look—is this licorice?” Third Brother called out.
Tang Yunshu went over and glanced at it.
“Yes, Third Brother. You can dig it.”
Before long, Tang Dashan called out as well,
“Daughter, come see if this one is.”
Tang Yunshu took a look.
“Yes, Dad. You can dig it.”
Second Brother and Fourth Brother also found some. Only Fifth Brother hadn’t found any yet and was getting anxious.
“Little sister, everyone else has found some. How come I haven’t found any?”
“It’s okay, Fifth Brother. Maybe next time you’ll be the first one to find it. Later, help fill the soil back in, okay? The pits are so big—if someone accidentally falls in and sprains their ankle, that wouldn’t be good.”
Hearing that he could be useful too, Fifth Brother broke into a wide grin. The pits left from digging licorice varied in depth—some were half a meter deep, others over a meter.
Tang Yunshu continued searching the forest for traces of medicinal herbs. After a while, she called out,
“Dad, I’ve found another medicinal herb. Come quickly.”
Everyone hurried over and gathered around. She squatted down and gently brushed aside the surrounding weeds, revealing several plants.
The plants weren’t very tall. Most of the leaves were heart-shaped, deep green in color, soft in texture, and glossy.
The flowers were small and dark purple, hidden beneath the leaves, making them hard to notice unless one looked carefully.
Tang Yunshu explained,
“Everyone, look. This is called wild ginger (Asarum). Its rhizome is thin and long, yellowish-white, with many fine roots. When digging, you must be very careful not to break the rhizome, or the medicinal effect will be greatly reduced.”
This time, Fifth Brother volunteered eagerly.
“Little sister, I’ll dig it.”
“Be careful, Fifth Brother.”
Wild ginger has the effects of releasing the exterior and dispersing cold, expelling wind, and relieving pain. It’s very effective for headaches, toothaches, and rheumatic pain, and it can also open the nasal passages and relieve nasal congestion.
(Author’s note: The author is not medically trained; the effects and characteristics of wild ginger and other Chinese herbs were researched online.)
Before long, a complete wild ginger plant was carefully dug out by Fifth Brother. Sunlight fell on his sweat-soaked yet smiling face, making it glow brightly.
Tang Yunshu praised him without hesitation.
“Fifth Brother, you did a great job!”
Fifth Brother was the original owner’s twin, and after all, he was still a child—he especially loved hearing praise.
Tang Yunshu continued,
“Everyone, look carefully some more. Wild ginger usually grows in clusters. There should be more nearby.”
Sure enough, they discovered quite a few more wild ginger plants in the area and all began digging carefully.
By noon, they stopped to eat. They had brought steamed buns and water. Going back and forth to the house would waste too much time, so they decided to make do and eat on the mountain.
Just as Tang Yunshu was about to eat, she suddenly heard a sound coming from the forest.
She immediately raised a finger, signaling everyone to be quiet. Seeing this, the others stopped what they were doing and froze in place, not daring to move at all.