novelraw Chapter 31: I Understand How the World Works
Chapter 31: I Understand How the World Works
The air quieted down.A faint sadness dispersed.
"Sigh!"
The soft sigh came from the team captain, who instinctively reached for his pipe but came up empty. Only then did he recall that in his haste, he forgot to bring his pipe.o call me."
"Hurry back."
So, Yi Chichi left with Wang Nan and the others, following the big group.
On the way back, the villagers were discussing what to bring to help Erhua’s wife recuperate, while Yi Chichi and the others remained silent.
Once the group dispersed and only the Youth Corps members were left, Wang Nan said, "Everyone’s going to see Erhua, should we do something too?"
"What should we do?"
Ge Sujuan was quite troubled, "We don’t raise chickens, and even to eat an egg we’d have to trade with the team members. What do we bring?"
"How about brown sugar?"
Qi Yang suggested, "We all contribute a little brown sugar, gather a couple of taels, and send it on behalf of all of us at the Youth Corps Courtyard. What do you think?"
Wu Yongfei thought it was a good idea and earnestly said, "Let’s do it. Everyone giving two taels is too much, but gathering nine people can work."
This was a bit unexpected for the group.
After all, Wu Yongfei wasn’t typically the generous type.
He was known for taking advantage of others, not the other way around. Now he was willing to contribute brown sugar for a gift? Would the sun rise in the west?
Yi Chichi and the others looked up at the sky, puzzled, with expressions perfectly synchronized.
Wu Yongfei, thinking there was something above, instinctively looked up. He then burst out with eyes wide open, "Darn it, just because I suggest giving sugar, it’s so strange? Strange enough for you to doubt the sun rises from the west?"
"Yes!"
In unison, their looks plainly stated as much.
Wu Yongfei was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, flaring up in anger, "I’m not so stingy that I don’t understand basic social etiquette."
"Besides, Genshu helped me with work."
Yi Chichi and the others, "..."
It felt like Genshu helping him was the real reason he was willing to give sugar.
"What if he hadn’t helped you?"
Yi Chichi couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked.
Wu Yongfei paused for two seconds, then coolly replied, "Two taels would be too much; one tael would be about right."
This response was so characteristic of Wu Yongfei.
Either way, Yi Chichi and the others were overwhelmingly silent.
Just then they reached the medical room, so Yi Chichi stopped, "I’ll grab the medicine; are you heading back first or waiting for me?"
"We’ll wait."
"Alright."
Having rushed out earlier, the herbs at the entrance hadn’t been collected. The weather at night could bring frost; if the processed herbs were caught by fog and frost, they’d become damp and lose quality and efficacy.
Therefore, Yi Chichi didn’t hurry to fetch the medicine but bent down to tidy up the herbs at the entrance first.
Seeing this, Wang Nan and the others naturally helped. At first, Yi Chichi didn’t mind, thinking it wasn’t hard. However, as soon as she carried one batch inside and came out, they had already piled up unprocessed herbs together.
Instantly, the veins on her forehead pulsed as she loudly stopped them, "Stop it."
This was disastrous, these weren’t grains that could be mixed together.
"What’s wrong?"
Wu Yongfei, about to pour Huangqi and Guanmutong together, turned at Yi Chichi’s voice.
"They can’t be mixed."
Yi Chichi went over, looked at the several mixed herbs, and said helplessly, "Each herb has a different efficacy and quality, they must be stored separately."
She hadn’t finished speaking before she bent down to sort the mixed herbs.
Wang Nan and the others gathered around to watch, soon turning into living dictionaries with endless questions.
"What are you holding?"
"Fritillaria."
"Never heard of it, what’s it for?"
"It suppresses coughs, expels phlegm... prevents platelet aggregation and acts as an antioxidant."
A bit too complex to grasp.
"What about this?"
Bai Chen handed her a dried root with stems for her to look at.
Yi Chichi glanced, "Guan Longdan, it’s mild, bitter; good for digestion, anti-inflammatory, and fever reducing."
The more she explained, the more Bai Chen and the others became intrigued by medicinal herbs.
Then, questions flooded in one after another.
Yi Chichi answered them all.
Soon, the herbs were organized, and the needed medicine was collected. She borrowed a pestle and left a note for Uncle Yaozi before closing the medical room door.
After that, she returned with Wang Nan and the others to the Youth Corps Courtyard to prepare dinner.
The stove was out, needing to be relit.
As usual, she headed to the big kitchen to borrow fire and cooked herself a bowl of egg noodles.
After eating and drinking to her heart’s content, she tidied her dishes, then, under the moonlight, sat under the eaves to grind the medicine. Wang Nan and the others squatted nearby with their bowls, watching her work while eating.
As they watched, Wu Yongfei commented—
"Why are you grinding the herbs into powder?"
"I’m blending medicine for the team captain and others to take to the mountains, so they can bring back more meat."
Relying on purchase alone was futile.
Firstly, meat vouchers weren’t that plentiful, and secondly, before the vegetable basket plan was initiated, domestic agriculture and sideline product supply couldn’t meet market demand.
Everyone had their eyes on the meat distributed by the state-owned meat factories.
So, the only hope was for the team captain and the others to reap more when going into the mountains, allowing them to trade with the villagers for shares of meat when distribution occurred.
"I want to go hunting with the team captain and others."
Qi Yang looked longingly towards the northwest direction, where layered peaks stretched as far as the eye could see.