"Mother, what's wrong?" The children stopped when they saw her pause.
"Look at this—gray stem with hairs, pinnately compound leaves. This is angelica." She knew there had to be good finds in the mountains.
"What's angelica? Can we eat it?" Xiao Miao asked curiously, leaning closer.
"It can be used to make soup. It's a medicinal herb."
Xiao Shu also moved closer to the plant and looked at Zhou Qiong in disbelief. "Mother, you even know about medicinal herbs!"
Zhou Qiong smiled proudly. "I know a little. Come on, let's dig it up and see. We'll know if I recognized it correctly."
Actually, many plants look very similar and are easy to mistake. Without digging it up, there was no way to be sure.
The three of them used sticks to dig into the soil. Without a hoe, uprooting it was particularly troublesome, but they finally managed to pull it out successfully.
"Mother, this root is so long. Isn't it just an ordinary tree root?"
Seeing the fibrous roots, Zhou Qiong became even more certain. "Yes, this is it. Quickly put it in the basket."
"Mother, there's more over here." Yang Shu pointed to the side and prepared to start digging.
"We didn't bring tools today, and digging takes too much time. It's already afternoon. Let's remember this spot and come back with tools another day. For now, let's keep looking."
The three continued forward.
"Mother, what is this herb used for? What does 'make soup' mean? What kind of soup can we make with it?" Xiao Miao was very curious about angelica.
"Angelica is a medicinal herb that nourishes qi and blood. It's best used to make chicken soup. 'Make soup' just means to cook soup. Haven't you ever cooked soup before?"
Both children lowered their heads.
"Mother, we don't have any chickens at home. Third Uncle has a few, but they're raised to sell for money. He won't let us cook them to eat."
"It's fine. If we don't have chickens to cook, we can sell this for money. I just don't know how much it's worth."
Hearing that it could be exchanged for money, the children's eyes lit up instantly. "Mother, can this really be sold for money?"
"Since it's a medicinal herb, the pharmacy will probably buy it, right?" She said this but wasn't entirely sure herself. "Actually, I'm not too clear. I've forgotten a lot about the outside world. How about this—we'll dig up a few more later and find a chance to ask at the pharmacy in town to see if we can exchange them for money?" If they didn't recognize its value and treated grass as treasure, there would be nothing she could do.
Xiao Shu nodded vigorously. "If it really can be sold for money, I'll look for this every day from now on. Xiao Miao, don't tell anyone." He reminded her.
"Don't worry, brother. I won't even tell Gui Bao."
Zhou Qiong couldn't help but laugh. "Gui Bao would be sad if he knew. But I'm still not sure yet. Come on, let's keep looking. Maybe there are other things."
Along the way, Xiao Miao also found a few wild vegetables. Zhou Qiong took a look and realized they were dandelions. "Is this what you usually eat as wild vegetables? Actually, this is also a medicinal herb." But it was so common that it probably wasn't worth much.
Yang Miao and Yang Shu both gaped. "Can this be sold for money?"
Zhou Qiong shook her head. "Probably not."
Only then did the two feel relieved. They walked for a while longer and saw quite a bit of angelica. Worried it would get too late, Zhou Qiong and the children painstakingly dug up a few more plants. The angelica must have been growing for a long time, as the roots were quite robust. Just digging up these few took nearly an hour.
"In a couple of days, take me to Uncle's place. I need to bring back our family's hoe."
A few pieces of angelica weighed several pounds already, so they planned to walk a bit further before heading back.
After walking a short distance, Zhou Qiong spotted a rotting log covered in mushrooms and hurried over to examine it closely.
"Mother, those mushrooms aren't edible. They're poisonous," Xiao Shu quickly warned.
Xiao Miao moved closer to her mother. "Once, someone from the village picked them, and the whole family got poisoned."
"Yes, I know. You can't just eat any mushroom you find." This was ancient times. In the modern era, poisoning might just mean a trip to the hospital, but here, it depended on whether fate would spare you.
“Then why have you been staring at it, Mom? Could this be medicinal too?”
“It’s not medicinal itself, but where it appears, there might be a valuable herb nearby.” Zhou Qiong carefully assessed in her mind—scaly cap, a ring at the base of the stem—this was undoubtedly honey mushroom.
She searched carefully around the rotting wood and finally spotted a straight, smooth stem among the weeds. “Haha, found it.”
The two children were puzzled. “Mom, what did you find?”
“Come, follow me and dig carefully. This is something good—it’s called gastrodia tuber. It might sell for a lot of money.”
Hearing this, the two immediately perked up and started digging energetically.
“Actually, it’s better not to use a hoe. If we damage it, it won’t be worth it.”
Soon, they dug up several potato-sized tubers. Yang Miao picked one up, sniffed it, and quickly pulled it away.
“Mom, are you sure we didn’t dig up the wrong thing? It smells awful.”
“The smell is right. If you bite it, it’s bitter too. But it’s a good thing. Put it in the basket, and let’s keep looking to see if there are more.”
Soon, they found a few more nearby. The three of them each carefully dug up one plant. By the time they finished, it was almost dark. “Let’s head back. Remember this spot. If these really can be sold for money, we’ll come again.” If they couldn’t, they’d have to think of another way.
On the way back, they also gathered some wild vegetables.
Yang Shu carried the basket of treasures carefully. “Mom, are you going to town tomorrow?”
“Not tomorrow. Fresh gastrodia tuber probably won’t sell. We need to dry them for a few days before trying in town.”
“If it’s such a good thing, why don’t the villagers dig it up?”
“Are you silly? No one but me knows about this. If they found out, there’d be none left for us. So we mustn’t let anyone know.”
“Mom, you’re amazing.”
“Let’s not get too excited yet. I don’t even know if anyone here buys it.” But the traditional medicine shop seemed to sell it at a high price before.
“It’s fine if no one buys it. We can keep it for ourselves.”
Zhou Qiong smiled. “Right, we can keep it for when we need it later.”
The three of them descended the mountain together. As they passed through the village, they ran into Yang Gongcai, who had likely just returned from the fields. A boy followed behind him, looking about the same age as Yang Miao.
“You went to the mountain today? What did you find?”
He tried to look into the basket, and Yang Shu nervously hid it behind his back.
The man chuckled. “I already saw it. Those tree roots aren’t edible—at best, you can burn them for firewood.” He sighed. “Come work at your uncle’s place tomorrow. Don’t eat that stuff.”
The boy ran behind Yang Shu, picked up a gastrodia tuber, and tried to put it in his mouth.
“Debao, you can’t eat that!” Before Yang Miao could finish, the boy threw it back into the basket.
“Dad, it’s smelly.”
“Look at you, even dog poop you’d try to taste. Aren’t you ashamed?”
After scolding his son, Yang Gongcai glanced at Zhou Qiong, then looked at the siblings. “Why did you bring your mom out today? I heard she almost pushed someone into the river yesterday? Can’t you control her at home?”
“I didn’t. That child fell into the water, and I was just saving them.” Zhou Qiong couldn’t help but speak up.
Her sudden words startled Yang Gongcai so much that he took a step back. He quickly forced a smile and said, "Second sister-in-law, I didn't mean you weren't. It's getting late, let's all head back early. Xiao Shu, remember to come over tomorrow."
"Got it, Third Uncle."