She felt as if everything before her eyes was grey and murky, and the next moment, she arrived in an unfamiliar place.
There were mountains, water, fields, and even a small thatched cottage—a complete pastoral scene isolated from the rest of the world.
She climbed a little way up the mountain and discovered that quite a few medicinal herbs were growing there!
An Xia’s eyes lit up. She looked up at these high mountains, feeling extremely delighted.
With these medicinal herbs, her livelihood would no longer be a concern!
She looked around and dug up two plants of Geda Qi. This plant was also a member of the Araliaceae family; it was difficult to cultivate in ancient times, and coupled with its excellent hemostatic properties, it was not cheap.
Although she had several mountains of herbs, she dared not dig up and bring out too many at once.
If she did, she feared she might have the life to earn money but not the life to spend it; it was too easy to be targeted!
An Xia brought the dug-up Geda Qi out of the space and hid it carefully!
The next day.
An Xia woke up early, kneaded the dough, chopped some pork and wild scallions, and made meat pies.
Although An Xia had obtained some silver from selling the roe deer, finding such things was, after all, a low-probability event.
However, An Xia wouldn’t let her gather firewood to sell, saying it was too tiring.
So, she decided to go up the mountain to see if she could forage for some mountain goods to sell.
Because there were no immediate concerns about livelihood, both An Xia and An Qiu got up relatively late today.
When they woke up, the crispy, sizzling meat pies had already been baked and placed in a porcelain bowl.
“Awake? Come quickly and eat the meat pies; they just came out of the pan, and they’re so fragrant!” An Chun greeted her two younger sisters.
Because the house was well-stocked with food, An Chun was generous when baking the pies.
“Eat two meat pies each this morning.”
“When we go up the mountain later, bring two more each to eat when you get hungry.”
“Oh, right, it’s hot, so remember to fill your waterskins, too.”
An Xia took a bite of the crispy meat pie and nodded obediently. “Big Sister, don’t you worry!”
An Qiu, smelling the pies where the scallion aroma and meat aroma were intertwined, couldn’t hold back anymore and took a big bite too.
“Big Sister, your cooking is so good!”
An Chun scratched her head in embarrassment. “How can you call this cooking skills? It’s just slightly tastier than usual!”
“Enough with the sweet talk, let’s go up the mountain together once we’re done eating!”
An Xia said with some displeasure, “Big Sister, didn’t we say I wouldn’t let you gather firewood to sell? It’s too tiring and bad for your body!”
“I’m not gathering firewood; I’m just going up the mountain to forage for some mountain goods!” An Chun said helplessly.
“That’s good then!”
An Xia’s purpose in going to Yanhui Mountain today was not to hunt.
Although she didn’t have much silver on hand, it should last for a while, and she still had those two Geda Qi plants, which should sell for a good price.
Going up the mountain this time was mainly to see if she could find any medicinal herbs to remove scars!
After all, she couldn’t rely entirely on the herb-covered mountains within her space; bringing out too many herbs for no reason would arouse suspicion.
Fortunately, there were quite a few medicinal herbs on Yanhui Mountain. She dug up some Chinese gall, Clematis chinensis, and Curcuma zedoaria—all of which were useful for scar removal!
An Qiu looked at the strange grass in her hands and asked puzzledly, “Second Sister, are those also wild vegetables? Can they be eaten?”
An Xia shook her head. “No, these are medicinal herbs that can remove scars.”
An Chun was startled. “Xia’er, how do you know about medicinal herbs?”
“Um… I ran into the barefoot doctor from the next village on Yanhui Mountain a few times before. Seeing how pathetic I was, he taught me to identify them!”
An Xia came up with a very reasonable excuse.
An Chun did not doubt it, as that village doctor from the next village was indeed a decent person!
It was just that the old scars on Xia’er’s face were likely not easy to heal!
How could she possibly heal them herself?
After a moment of silence, she said, “Xia’er, tomorrow Big Sister will take you to town to see a doctor and see if those scars on your face can be removed!”
“Anyway, we got some money from selling the roe deer.”
“If it’s still not enough, don’t worry about the money. Gathering firewood is tiring, but it is a stable source of income!”
An Xia shook her head repeatedly. “No need to spend that money; I can heal them myself!” She had absolute confidence in her own medical skills.
But in An Chun’s ears, it sounded like she was choosing not to get treated because she couldn’t bear to spend the money.
“Xia’er, you haven’t studied medicine before; it’s better to go to town and see a doctor!” she continued to persuade.
“I really don’t need to!” An Xia refused resolutely.
“Big Sister, you go about your business; I’m going to pick some more herbs!” While speaking, she dug up another plant of Bai Jili.
An Qiu had a strong interest in hunting wild game. She asked with some expectation, “Second Sister, when will you teach me how to shoot an arrow?”
An Xia turned back and smiled at An Qiu. “I’ll teach you when we get back!”
“That’s a deal. Once I learn, the family will have wild game to eat every day!”
An Xia smiled helplessly. “Do you think these mountains are filled with wild game?”
An Qiu stuck out her tongue, looking a bit deflated. “Oh, that’s right. We’ve been up here for half the day, and we haven’t seen anything!”
An Xia stopped paying attention to An Qiu and focused on digging up herbs until the bamboo basket was filled to the brim before she stopped.
Although these common herbs weren’t expensive, they could always be sold for some money.
Under An Xia’s guidance, An Chun gathered quite a few mushrooms this time!
There were ordinary mushrooms, a nest of Termitomyces, and plenty of pine mushrooms!
“Xia’er, do you think these can be sold to the restaurant in town?” She felt a bit unsure!
“Won’t we know if we try? If we can’t sell them, we’ll eat them ourselves!” An Xia wasn’t entirely sure how acceptable mushrooms were to the town restaurants.
“That’s true, we’ll know once we ask the restaurant tomorrow!”
The three sisters returned fully loaded. An Xia secretly placed the two Geda Qi plants she had dug up from the space’s medicinal mountain at the very bottom of the bamboo basket.
She took out the scar-removal herbs, prepared the recipe, and ground the herbs into a paste.
After applying the paste to her face, she found a breathable cloth and wrapped it up!
She looked at An Qiu, who was washing her hair, and said, “Qiu’er, come over to my side once you’ve finished washing up; I’ll apply the medicine to the scar on your head!”
An Qiu agreed readily. “Alright! Second Sister!”
An Chun was worried, fearing that something might go wrong with her two younger sisters.
However, fortunately, the night passed without incident, and she breathed a sigh of relief!
The next morning, they took Aunt Sun’s ox cart to town.
Because An Xia’s face was wrapped in cloth strips, it wasn’t convenient to be seen, so she was wearing a face veil today!
A flash of pity crossed Aunt Sun’s eyes.
She then said cheerfully, “You three little girls, what are you going to town to sell today?”
An Xia didn’t hide anything from Sun Taohua. “We picked some mushrooms to see if the restaurants in town will take them, and some medicinal herbs!”
Sun Taohua hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something.
An Xia said bluntly, “Auntie, please speak your mind!”
Sun Taohua said heartily, “Then I’ll speak plainly. Apart from those straw mushrooms which are edible, no one dares to eat any of these other mushrooms. If you take them to a restaurant, I fear you’ll get scolded!”
An Xia knew she meant well. “Thank you for the warning, Auntie; we know what to do!”
Yunshui Town.
Seeing An Xia and the others arrive, the restaurant owner welcomed them happily. “Little girl, have you hunted something good again?”
An Xia took the basket and handed it to Shopkeeper Ge to look at. “We picked some wild mushrooms; please take a look and see if you’ll take them!”
The shopkeeper’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant for a moment.
“Little girl, aren’t you pulling my leg?”