Kefeng City is near Medicine Mountain, and this Medicine Mountain, along with Fengluan Mountain, is covered in Spirit Herbs. This has been strange for a thousand years, perhaps the climate is particularly suitable for the growth of medicinal materials.
Consequently, Kefeng City has spawned many industries and vendors related to medicinal materials. The Medicinal Cuisine Workshop is a famous one in Kefeng City. Besides that, there is the Thousand Herbs Hall, the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion, the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, and many others involved in the medicinal materials business.
A hundred years ago, the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop was not primarily focused on herb gathering; it was famous for making Medicinal Cuisine. Medicinal Cuisine involves pairing medicinal materials with certain foods possessing medicinal value, using unique cooking techniques and methods to create tonics with specific color, aroma, taste, and shape. However, nowadays, the Medicinal Cuisine business of the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop is not doing very well. Instead, herb gathering and Medicine Refining have become its main occupations. Facing the torrent of the market, they had no choice but to adjust and adapt, otherwise, they would be eliminated.
The medicinal materials business in Kefeng City is too booming; reselling medicinal materials is more profitable than making Medicinal Cuisine. Although the business direction was adjusted, the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop still maintained a small shop in the east of the city, exclusively selling Medicinal Cuisine tonics, as a matter of sentiment.
The herb gathering storerooms of the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop are divided into the West Storeroom and the East Storeroom. The West Storeroom is managed by Pan Zhuanghe, while the East Storeroom is managed by an elder named Chai Zunhui.
Chai Zunhui is very wary of Pan Zhuanghe and usually has little interaction with him, each managing their respective medicinal material storerooms independently.
Pan Zhuanghe often takes his disciples out for Herb Gathering, obtaining many rare world-class medicinal materials. This made Workshop Master Yi Enguang even more respectful of Pan Zhuanghe, naturally giving him a much higher status than Chai Zunhui of the East Storeroom.
Zhao Hongping and Xiao Mingqing are Pan Zhuanghe's capable assistants and have long been able to lead teams to Medicine Mountain for Herb Gathering independently. However, when heading to Fengluan Mountain, Pan Zhuanghe mostly leads the team personally. The Fierce Beasts of Fengluan Mountain are not ordinary Fierce Beasts; some have even transformed into Demonic Beasts.
The last time Li Jun first encountered Pan Zhuanghe, it was when Zhao Hongping and the others were gathering herbs on Fengluan Mountain with Old Pan.
Having followed Pan Zhuanghe for so long, Zhao Hongping and the others learned countless valuable pieces of knowledge about medicinal materials through constant exposure.
They can not only easily distinguish various medicinal materials but also know how to observe the soil, analyze the plant Impurities in animal excrement, and study insect habits to determine the growth environment of the medicinal materials.
They even know the scent and habits of the medicinal materials like the back of their hands.
These subtle experiences are the valuable wealth accumulated by Pan Zhuanghe over many years, and Zhao Hongping and Xiao Mingqing gradually integrated this knowledge through their Training Experience in the wilderness.
Pan Zhuanghe's profound understanding of medicinal materials and his meticulous guidance, along with his rigorous attitude toward work, greatly benefited Li Jun as well.
With the help of Zhao Hongping and Xiao Mingqing, Li Jun quickly integrated into the West Storeroom, mastering many practical skills regarding medicinal materials, and the tacit understanding between them deepened day by day.
Li Jun recognized more and more herbs and understood their growth habits and medicinal effects.
The daily work seemed simple, but for Li Jun, not a single detail could be handled carelessly.
He carefully classified the medicinal materials, meticulously organized them, and stored them one by one in the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop's Grille Drawers.
When the Medicine Refining Room needed materials, he would skillfully retrieve them, carefully and repeatedly weigh and confirm the dosage according to the prescription, and then hand them over to the Medicine Refining Room.
What determines whether a prescription is effective is not just the properties of the medicinal materials but also the dosage, and even the heat control during the subsequent Medicine Refining—none of these details could be taken lightly.
Over time, he knew the classification and uses of these herbs by heart. Practice made perfect, and through constant exposure, it was much better than rote memorization at Shu He.
He was fascinated by the Medicine Refining process in the Medicine Refining Room and often went to watch the Alchemist Zhu Qin refine medicine. Especially when refining some special medicinal materials, Zhu Qin would take out his so-called "Spirit Tools," activate them, and they could spew fire—blue flames at that—which greatly intrigued Li Jun.
However, Zhu Qin would chase him out every time, simply because he was too young and kept messing around near the Furnace.
"Uncle Zhao, are you heading out of the mountain again today?" Li Jun's small body was perched on a ladder in the storeroom, looking at Zhao Hongping who was busy organizing the equipment, his voice carrying a hint of envy and curiosity.
Zhao Hongping looked up at him and smiled, "Yes, Old Pan is away on a long trip today, so I have to lead the team to the nearby Medicine Mountain to gather something. At this time of year, Willow Gold Flower is at its best for Picking; we must hurry to pick its stamens, otherwise, the medicinal properties will be completely gone if we miss the season."
"Willow Gold Flower?" Li Jun sounded curious, "Is that flower rare? How long does it take to find it?"
Zhao Hongping nodded, continuing to distribute the various Herb Gathering tools to the subordinates while packing his bags, "It's not exactly rare, but its flowering period is very short. If we miss a few days, we won't be able to pick anything. This flower depends not only on the season but also on careful selection; it's best when the petals have just opened in the morning. I'll bring some back for you to see; I guarantee it will broaden your horizons."
Li Jun listened with great interest and quickly said, "Uncle Zhao, I also want to see the world. Could you take me along for Herb Gathering next time?"
Zhao Hongping smiled and waved his hand, saying, "You should stay at the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop and study obediently. Once you've learned more solidly and grown a bit older, then you can go out of the mountain with us. This mission won't be easy; although Medicine Mountain is close, there are some perilous sections on the way."
"You must be careful!" Li Jun jumped down from the ladder, dusted off his hands, and urged loudly, his eyes flashing with worry.
Zhao Hongping turned back, waved at Li Jun, and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll bring back your favorite pastries when I return!"
He strode toward the main gate, leading the team away gradually, his voice faintly carrying back, "Don't worry about me, just focus on doing your job well!"
Li Jun watched Zhao Hongping's back disappear outside the door, thinking silently, "When will I be able to lead a team out of the mountain like Uncle Zhao?"
These days were repetitive and busy, but Li Jun never found them tedious.
He diligently assisted at the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop, looking forward to: once he achieved success in his studies and found the way back home, he would open a medical clinic at the Lotus Pond in Song Village, supporting his family with a skill and earning a lot of money.
Huang Zidong, the Medicinal Cuisine Workshop Apprentice who was always cold-faced at first, had also unconsciously developed a slight change in attitude toward the diligent Li Jun.
This little kid would always call out crisply from behind, "Brother Huang, Brother Huang!" Every time this happened, even if Huang Zidong was cold, he couldn't completely ignore Li Jun's enthusiasm, and a hint of a smile would occasionally appear on his face.
"Brother Huang, what is this?" Li Jun once found some strangely shaped objects in a corner of the storeroom and ran to ask Huang Zidong.
Huang Zidong glanced at them and casually replied, "This? It's a butterfly-attracting cart I bought from the market last time. It's useless; it just attracts butterflies when you push it."
Saying that, he patted Li Jun's head and added with a smile, "If you like it, take it to play with."
"Really?" Li Jun's eyes lit up. He took the small cart and ran out joyfully, disappearing into the courtyard in an instant.
Although Huang Zidong said he didn't care, he had gradually developed a brotherly concern for Li Jun in his heart.
In daily life, he would occasionally bring back small trinkets from the street, be it sugar figures or Wood Carvings, and when handing them to Li Jun, he would always say faintly, "It's nothing special; if you like it, take it to play with."
Every time Li Jun received these things, his heart was filled with gratitude.
In Huang Zidong's eyes, Li Jun was a little brother. After all, with his calculating nature, it was hard for him to be enthusiastic toward someone from whom he could gain nothing; only Li Jun was an exception.
After greeting Li Jun, Huang Zidong returned to the Medicine Refining Room to help some Alchemists with Medicine Refining.
The Medicinal Cuisine Workshop not only sold medicinal materials but also often prepared and sold decoctions to medical clinics based on prescriptions entrusted to them—this was also a considerable source of income.
"Zidong, who was given the Immortal Gate Token this time? Do you know? A few days ago, I even saw an Immortal from the Medicine Immortal Sect come to our Medicinal Cuisine Workshop; Workshop Master Yi received him personally," Alchemist Zhu Qin asked with a face full of curiosity, his eyes fixed on the flame at the bottom of the Medicine Jar.
Huang Zidong looked around and secretly told Zhu Qin, "The last one was given to Chai Sitong; I heard this time the Immortal Gate Token was given to Yi Shangshui."
"No wonder Workshop Master has been so busy lately yet looks so cheerful; it's all for his precious son."
"The Immortal Gate Token has nothing to do with us; we should just do what Apprentices are supposed to do," Huang Zidong said.
"What if the next Immortal Gate Token is also from our Medicinal Cuisine Workshop? Then, sooner or later, we will have that luck, especially with Old Pan's capabilities here," Zhu Qin said with some longing.
"Stop dreaming so much. If you dig up a precious Spirit Herb, it's justifiable for you to take the Immortal Gate Token. Just ask Pan Zhuanghe and Yi Enguang to give it to you—stop daydreaming."
"Hehe, you certainly look at things clearly. Let me tell you something else privately. Do you know Jiang Guda from the East Storeroom? I heard from people outside that he bought a Residence in the south of the city..."
"What?! A subordinate who started later than me actually has the money to buy a Residence? This... how is this possible?"
"Don't say I told you, but many people have heard about it. You know I dislike gossip the most," Zhu Qin continued refining medicine, leaving a bewildered Huang Zidong behind.