Chapter 205: Freshly Extracted, Immediately Used

“Then… do you think Heaven believes I was right or wrong?”

Madam Cui felt this was something that had to be clarified. If she misunderstood the message, things could go very wrong! That earlier incident was clearly a warning—if it really struck next time, what would she do?

Physician Cui cleared his throat and said, “Heaven cherishes life. What do you think that means?”

Madam Cui’s mind instantly ran wild with associations…

Her heart ached. She couldn’t speak for a long time.

This time, she didn’t have to force herself—she truly cried.

“I can’t count on you. You’re nothing but a money-waster. I’ll go talk to my second brother.” Madam Cui wiped her tears, perked up, locked onto Yan Lao’er, and dashed over like a gust of wind.

Physician Cui wiped his face, hitched up the donkey to the cart, and quickly loaded his precious herbs onto it, securing them somewhere sheltered from the rain. Only then did he return to gather the rest of the household items.

The sudden downpour caught everyone off guard.

Their house wasn’t even finished yet, and now they were hit with a torrential rain—everyone was caught in a sorry state.

Fortunately, all of them had fled famine before. Though they might not be fast at anything else, packing and organizing they could do with lightning speed.

Before the rain intensified—while it was still light like mist—they evacuated, people, animals, and belongings, into the forest.

The tall, lush trees came alive with the moisture. The green leaves unfurled in full glory.

They shielded the people below from the falling rain, earning the forest a pocket of peace.

As a scientifically-minded family of three, Yan Yu and her parents were on edge.

They didn’t want their belongings soaked—especially the herbs.

They had no choice but to seek shelter in the woods.

But rain and trees? Not a good combo.

Sheltering under trees in a thunderstorm was dangerous.

What if a bolt of lightning struck down? Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!

Suddenly, Yan Yu thought of the tung oil her uncle had bought earlier.

It had nearly slipped everyone’s mind.

But now—rain and tung oil? Perfect match.

“Dad, Dad, Dad! Tung oil—brush it on fabric, set it up for shelter!”

Even though the rain wasn’t heavy yet, if it picked up, they’d be drenched to the bone. Add a gust of wind, and they’d be done for—how many of the weak ones might collapse from cold?

Yan Lao’er dug out the tung oil, unsealed it, and checked—it was refined tung oil.

He had more life experience than his daughter and knew it wasn’t meant to be brushed on—it had to be wiped on with clean cotton cloth.

He called over a few brothers to help. Since they were sewing masks, cotton cloth was already on hand. The group got to work, wiping the tung oil onto a large piece of coarse cloth Madam Rong hadn’t yet cut up.

There wasn’t nearly enough tung oil—only the middle section got covered.

Hu Da ran back to grab some bamboo poles and propped the cloth up.

Even though the tung oil hadn’t dried, it was better than nothing.

The light rain bought them more time.

Everyone threw their mats over the shelter. They snapped branches, gathered leaves, and collected grass from the forest floor to layer on top.

The elderly and the children were settled first.

A fire was lit, its heat pushing back the dampness outside their makeshift tent.

Doctor An and his young servant helped too. What comforted him most was seeing the Yan family prioritize protecting the herbs first.

Master Lu sighed non-stop.

When it rains without warning, there’s not much anyone can do.

If Heaven wants to shed tears quietly, all they can do is catch them.

He just hoped it wouldn’t pour too hard—if the mortar wasn’t fully dried yet, one heavy rain and all the past few days’ efforts would be for nothing.

While the forest was still relatively dry, everyone scrambled to gather firewood.

Madam Rong swiftly moved the charcoal cylinders from the ox cart, then stacked the finished masks into a tall pile—balancing them at an almost-impossible height.

She poured water into the large pot, sliced up a chunk of wild ginger, and tossed it in generously.

Doctor An pursed his lips at the sight.

Ginger is a medicinal herb too—used for dispelling wind and cold, treating fevers, headaches, nasal congestion, coughing, asthma, nausea, and phlegm.

But Madam Rong didn’t care who was watching—she just focused on her tasks.

While waiting for the water to boil, she repacked the herbs that took up the most space, stacking them layer by layer just like the mask baskets.

With things tidied up, there was finally space to move around.

Besides Li Xuemei, whom she had pulled in first, she also yanked Yan Yu inside.

Then came Da Ya and Yan Xiangheng.

Yan Yu was a little dazed.

Ever since she’d regained her strength, honestly, whenever there was work, she always threw herself into it like a grown man—lifting, hauling, hustling!

She had just been helping her dad haul items back and forth.

Then suddenly, Madam Rong pulled her into the rain shelter.

She had to admit—it felt great to be cared for.

Seeing that most of their belongings had been moved, Yan Yu decided to take it easy.

Madam Rong pulling her in was the right call—“Strong Girl Offline!”

The faintly bitter scent began to spread.

Madam Rong came back and served a bowl of ginger soup to every family member.

Of course, she didn’t forget Doctor An and his young servant.

These two were high-priority guests brought back under special permissions.

Being polite to guests fell within the scope of family hospitality.

Madam Cui had been helping out beside Yan Lao’er all along.

She finally found a chance to bring up the herbs with her second brother.

As for how the household was being handled—she wasn’t worried. If her husband couldn’t manage even that, she’d have words for him when she got back.

“Second Brother, what should we do? These herbs go wherever your brother-in-law’s heart tells them to, but I truly can’t bear to part with them. My heart hurts just thinking about it. But if we don’t take them, it’s not like I’m some unreasonable woman either. The longer Crouching Tiger City stays locked down, the longer our scholar can’t come home. Until this plague is gone, no one in the village will be at peace.

You’ve even rushed off to invite doctors from Yongning City—I get it, I do. You’re worried. But me… sigh! I’m just overwhelmed.”

Yan Lao’er completely understood.

To ask a frugal woman to give away most of the household’s valuables… how many people could do that?

“Sis, you’re speaking from the heart, and how could I not get it? I totally get it!” Yan Lao’er looked moved.

Wasn’t he doing the same? If not for Old Yan, would he have dug into their savings?

“Your brother isn’t foolish either—I’ve thought it through. This isn’t something our little household can shoulder. Helping invite a doctor, sewing some masks to donate—that’s what we can manage, it won’t break us.

But to just give the herbs away for free… we’re a small family, not built for grand gestures. At most, we don’t raise the price—sell it to the government at the old rates. I think the officials would accept that. Right now, Gu Feng, Yongning, and Crouching Tiger all lack medicine. What we’re doing is like giving charcoal in a snowy winter—meeting urgent needs!”

Madam Cui was so emotional, her face flushed red.

“Second Brother, look at us, we’re two peas in a pod! Isn’t that just the way of it?

Your brother-in-law is such a… what do you call it in Guanzhou dialect… a ‘blockhead’! He doesn’t even think—what kind of family are we? How can we compare with those wealthy households? They can give out porridge and medicine because they have deep pockets. If I had that kind of wealth, I wouldn’t even say anything. We’ve got hearts too—we know those people are suffering…

With your words, I’m at ease. You go ahead and manage the herbs. No need to charge market price—even a little cheaper is fine. Most of it was gathered by your brother-in-law himself, so it’s okay if it goes for less.”

Madam Cui returned.

Yan Lao’er moved the last of his belongings under the cloth canopy.

Faint voices of the villagers could be heard, tinged with barely concealed joy.

Spring rain is as precious as oil.

And this timely rain, coming just after the vegetable seeds were sown, was no less valuable.

Judging by the rainfall, it wouldn’t pour too hard. This kind of soft, continuous drizzle was exactly the kind of good rain that farmers loved.

If not for the incident at Crouching Tiger City, the villagers would probably be even happier.

Doctor An waited patiently for Yan Lao’er to finish his work.

“I took a rough look—some of these can be used, but they’re far from enough.”

Yan Lao’er downed the ginger tea in one gulp. The fiery taste burned down his throat to his stomach, warming his whole body.

There was still charcoal at home, so no need to go outside for firewood. Nanny Rong was taking good care of everyone, so he didn’t have to worry.

Then came Doctor An’s words.

Yan Lao’er finally relaxed a little.

As long as they were usable, that was good.

“Doctor An, I plan to head out to the nearby towns tomorrow. Maybe the news hasn’t spread that far yet—I might still be able to buy some medicine.”

Of course, this was assuming the old master would reimburse him.

That was about all he could do—run errands. He could front the money for the medicine, but only if he’d get paid back.

Give it for free? No way!

“If the nearby towns don’t have enough, I can go farther.”

Yan Yu looked at her father. Yan Lao’er gave her a smile.

And she understood instantly.

Dad wanted Sanbao to take him to explore a “new map.”

Places untouched by the epidemic.

She began recalling what Uncle had said about the towns in Guanzhou.

Other than Gufeng, Yongning, and Crouching Tiger, Longxing and Fengming might work. Changping, though, was too close to Gufeng—probably couldn’t get any medicine there either.

It was a long road!

Even if Sanbao ran day and night, he still had to pull a cart—he couldn’t go full speed. A round trip would take days.

Who knew if the other side could hold out that long.

They still had to check the situation in Crouching Tiger City again.

Doctor An nodded, surprised he even thought of going to more distant towns to buy medicine.

Each place might not have much, but if they could gather bit by bit…

“It’s quite a tough task…” He hesitated.

Yan Lao’er didn’t mind at all.

“Tough doesn’t matter. What I’m worried about is delays on the road.”

There wasn’t enough time…

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out, “Doctor An, could you point out which herbs are useful? We could try going into the mountains to find them.”

Yan Yu’s eyes lit up at her father’s words.

She nearly clapped like crazy!

Awesome, Dad! I’m so proud of you!

You even thought of this? Incredible!

Her little brain started spinning wildly, calculating the feasibility of this proposal.

No problem at all!

They had the people. Not to mention they had experience living in the mountains—villagers were used to going into the mountains too.

There would be some danger, but with enough preparation, it wasn’t insurmountable.

For them, the main danger in the mountains came from wild animals.

They could only rely on numbers to offset the risk. A pity they’d lost their bamboo crossbows…

Doctor An was stunned.

He had never heard of anyone going into the mountains to gather herbs during an epidemic.

The servant nearly popped his eyes out.

How did this guy make such a crazy idea sound so reasonable?

“This won’t do. The mountains are dangerous. If they’re not regular herb gatherers, something could go wrong.” Doctor An firmly rejected the risky proposal.

“We may not be gatherers, but we’re used to walking the mountains,” Yan Lao’er tried to prove himself. He pointed to the herbs Nanny Rong had wrapped up. “Those were gathered from the mountains. We know the terrain well.”

Doctor An was tempted, but still shook his head. “Even so, many herbs can’t be used right away. They need to be dried and prepared first…”

Yan Yu flashed her neat rows of small rice-grain teeth and chirped, “Uncle Cui knows how to process herbs.”

Yan Lao’er blinked. Right, how convenient.

Their village happened to have a local herbalist who could handle medicine preparation.

The Cui family still had a batch of medicinal herbs—probably not much, but enough to deal with emergencies.

Yan Lao’er had already swapped a lot of medicine along the way, and Cui the herbalist had been gathering and preparing herbs all through the journey…

They were all ready-to-use medicinal preparations. Swap them with freshly gathered ones to buy some time.

Then supplement with purchases from farther towns.

Perfect plan!

No one knew where Cui the herbalist had been squatting, but he suddenly popped out, startling everyone.

“Doctor An, tell us what herbs you need. I’ll teach them how to identify them.”

He’d been listening for ages and finally found a way to put himself to use.

The servant clutched his chest and gasped.

What’s with this village’s doctor? Why does he appear out of nowhere?

“This is great! Let Gouzi’s dad go into the mountains—he knows his way around.” Cui’s wife also popped out suddenly, eyes shining as she looked around.

Servant: Correction. Not just the village doctor—his wife too. Both appear out of nowhere.

“Yes! Let’s all go into the mountains!” said Village Chief Luo, still hale and hearty.

“Searching the mountains is great. Maybe we’ll even catch some game for a feast.”

“Find herbs and dig wild vegetables—get two things done at once.”

“There should be wild boars in the mountains, right? Let’s plan it out and make sure we have all the gear ready…”

“Go into the mountains during the day, make mud bricks at night. It’s just a bit of extra work. No big deal.”

“Exactly. Compared to the hardest times we’ve had, this is nothing.”

Servant: …

What kind of village is this? Why are they all so excited about going into the mountains?

It’s like the mountain is their backyard—they act like they can take whatever they want from it.

Doctor An could no longer argue. He too was starting to feel a sliver of hope and began listing the herbs commonly used for treating epidemics.

Cui the herbalist acted like he’d just received a royal decree and hurried off with a crowd of villagers to teach them how to identify the herbs.

…

The rain continued into the evening before finally tapering off.

Just as the villagers had hoped, it was a good rain—it hadn’t washed away their seedlings.

There was no shelter on the homestead, and the dampness from the rain was heavy. So everyone decided to stay put and make do in the forest for the night.

Yan Lao’er couldn’t sit still. He wanted to make a trip to Crouching Tiger City.

The finished masks could be delivered. He also needed to see if his brother had left him a message. Most importantly, he needed a firm word from the old master—otherwise, the whole plan to buy medicine from towns would fall apart.

Li Xuemei filled a few bamboo tubes with ginger soup for him, then pulled out two newly altered cotton quilts from Nanny Rong—one to bring to Old Yan, the other to wrap around him to block out the chill and damp.

Yan Yu called her big brothers and sisters over to help load the masks onto the ox cart.

Nanny Rong lent a hand too.

(Chapter End)