There was plenty of heshouwu in this area, so there should be more nearby. Xu Yi walked around the vicinity and found another two or three plants during this time. One of them was still small, so Xu Yi didn’t dig it up.
For ordinary folk, the number of medicinal herbs they could recognize was limited. He was different though. To him, this place was practically a mountain of treasure.
Every few steps, he could find plenty of plants that grew vigorously but looked like weeds, yet were actually medicinal herbs!
Sometimes, when two plants had similarly shaped leaves with clear veins and grew almost identically, it was easy to mistake them for the same plant.
This posed no difficulty for Xu Yi though. With just a couple of glances, he could easily distinguish whether something was a weed or an herb.
The area he passed through was densely overgrown with wild wulian berries, commonly called “Five-Clawed Dragon.” Some common folk also called it snake medicine. This was a medicinal material recorded in the Book of Songs: “The kudzu grows over the brambles, the wulian creeps across the fields. My beloved is gone from here, with whom shall I dwell alone?”, the “wulian” mentioned there referred to this very herb.
In folk remedies passed down through generations, fresh wulian berry was crushed into a paste and applied to wounds from snake and insect bites. However, its fruit was slightly toxic and couldn’t be used directly.
In modern times, almost no doctors used fresh wulian berry anymore. Most was artificially cultivated, harvested, cut, and dried. It had quite a few uses, disinfecting and eliminating dampness, detoxifying and reducing swelling. Of course, there were also quite a few other medicinal materials that could substitute for it.
In the past, Xu Yi had rarely needed to use wulian berry, opting instead for more common and frequently used alternatives.
Seeing them growing so well, if he didn’t harvest more, wouldn’t that be a waste?
Xu Yi set down his back basket, took out the sickle inside, and with “swish swish swish” sounds, cut them down along with their roots.
He didn’t harvest everything. He left some in this patch to seed, so next time he came he could harvest another batch.
Besides wulian berry, there were other common medicinal herbs like white nightshade, ivy, madder root, and kudzu root. Xu Yi found quite a lot of these as well.
The huge back basket could hold many things, but Xu Yi had overestimated this body’s capacity. When it was two-thirds full, his shoulders could no longer bear the weight.
This kind of inability to carry more wasn’t the weakness of a frail person. At least the original body had worked in the fields and wasn’t a weak scholar without the strength to even truss a chicken. But it still couldn’t compare to him having practiced the Five Animal Exercises and Thunderclap Tai Chi since childhood.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t slack off even after coming here. Yilu Mountain had human presence and no large wild animals, but the deep mountains further in were different. Without a healthy body, forget about improving his living conditions, he might not even be able to go very far relying on these two legs to walk.
And no matter how prosperous the Northern Song Dynasty was, it was ultimately ancient times with inconvenient transportation. Walking, climbing mountains, carrying things, all required a good body. He needed to pick up the Five Animal Exercises and Thunderclap Tai Chi again as soon as possible.
It was still early, but Xu Yi didn’t plan to continue exploring further inside.
Little Huang following beside him was also tired. Ever since this little fellow started following him, it had never eaten its fill with a full belly. Today it had also come out to work hard with him, consuming quite a bit of energy. Now it was tired and panting with its tongue out.
Feeling the head rub from its master, Little Huang happily swept away its fatigue, rubbed against his leg, and barked “Woof~ Woof~” joyfully.
Xu Yi’s youthful face, carrying a scholarly air, revealed a smile of maturity beyond his years: “Little Huang, let’s go home.”
“Woof woof!”
Xu Yi raised an eyebrow: “Little Huang.”
“Woof woof woof!”
“Little Huang.”
“Woof! Woof?”
It seemed to recognize its name. Worthy of being his dog, so smart indeed.
After descending the mountain, the sun hung at its zenith. Xu Yi estimated it should be around noon. He first went to the temple at the mountain’s foot. The young novice monk who had received him in the morning still remembered him and came over warmly to greet him.
After getting some water to drink, Xu Yi asked what the exact time was now.
The young novice looked at the sky and said, “It’s already noon. Is the benefactor heading back?”
Xu Yi nodded: “I don’t know where the returning ox cart is waiting. I just passed by outside the temple gate, why didn’t I see any ox carts available for riding?”
The young novice said, “The cart driver left a while ago. If the benefactor wants to return, you’ll need to wait another two quarter-hours. There’s another trip. Any later and there won’t be any cart drivers coming to Yilu Mountain to receive worshippers.”
It made sense, these connected mountains had several temples with continuous incense offerings. These cart drivers, seeing there was business to be had, would come twice each day.
This had made things much more convenient for Xu Yi, so he didn’t have to walk over ten kilometers to get to such a distant place.
Living in the county town was prosperous indeed, but it was too far from the mountains and wilderness. Making a trip here to gather herbs wasn’t easy.
The small temple on Yilu Mountain was quiet and peaceful at this time. On the offering platform outside the Great Buddha Hall stood an incense burner, with curling smoke and silent tranquility.
Xu Yi lazily sat on the steps below, one hand propping up his chin, the other unconsciously stroking Little Huang who nestled against his leg.
Breathing in the scent of incense permeating the air, he fell into contemplation about the future.
Gathering herbs and preparing medicine weren’t difficult for him. Compared to modern times when it was hard to see even a single wild medicinal plant, medicinal materials were everywhere. On this trip alone, he’d gathered over twenty varieties, with heshouwu and wulian berry being the most abundant.
Between the two, heshouwu was more welcomed by medical halls. He estimated that what he’d dug up today amounted to five or six kilos. Once all of it was processed into ripened heshouwu, it would still weigh about two or three kilos.
The official scale showed 680 grams. By the time he’s done, it would probably be a bit less.
None of this mattered. He certainly wouldn’t always rely on selling herbs to improve his life.
“Dong, “
The bell sounded.
The hour of the goat had arrived. Xu Yi bid farewell to the young novice and left the temple carrying his woven bamboo basket.
At the foot of the temple, the cart driver was already waiting there with his wooden plank cart. Seeing someone coming, he didn’t even lift his eyelids, only calling out: “One copper coin per person. Pay money, board cart.”
“Uncle, here’s your copper coin.” Xu Yi took out the money and settled securely onto the wooden plank cart.
After waiting the time of one incense stick, seeing the sun moving further west and that passengers wanting to take the ox cart were few and far between, the cart driver stopped waiting.
Only two people were on the ox cart, so Xu Yi didn’t have to carry his back basket on his back like in the morning. He placed it at his side, leaned one side of his body against it, and held Little Huang in his arms.
The fellow traveler was a young gentleman around twenty years old, wearing a bamboo-green robe made of silk and satin. On his head he wore a moon-ivory colored headband that, under the sunlight, revealed faint silver-white patterns.
Seeming to sense Xu Yi’s gaze, the gentleman turned slightly and performed a leisurely casual salute toward him.
The original body’s memories were in Xu Yi’s mind. He returned the salute unhurriedly, and the two had thus greeted each other.
The journey was boring, and Xu Yi just happened to want to learn more about Yanting County and its surroundings. This gentleman was also bored, so the two struck up a conversation.
During their conversation, Xu Yi learned that this gentleman was called Xing Yuesen and lived on Second Li Lane on West Street in Yanting County. East for the noble, west for the wealthy, those who could live on West Street were generally the wealthy people of Yanting County.
Yanting County was rich in silk fabrics, and the Xing family did business in silk trade. He was currently studying, hoping to participate in next year’s prefectural examination.
The Song Dynasty’s standards for participating in the imperial examinations for official positions were relatively lenient. Initially, merchants’ children were prohibited from participating, but later the standards were relaxed, allowing merchant-class children to take part in the imperial examinations.
The Xing family wanted to transform their status, so they placed their hopes on the family’s younger generation. Xing Yuesen was the second young master born to the legitimate wife of the family’s third branch. His aptitude for studying was decent, but he had taken the exam twice and still hadn’t managed to pass.
The Song Dynasty didn’t have the title of xiucai. The first examination was the prefectural exam. Those who passed became juren.
Now Xing Yuesen was past twenty-three years old. Next year would be his last chance to participate in the imperial examinations.
“I observe that your manner of speaking and conduct are quite good. You don’t look like an ordinary farm boy. Did you study before?” Xing Yuesen, seeing that Xu Yi spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, was well-mannered, and looked like a scholar, couldn’t help but ask curiously.
Xu Yi didn’t hide it from him, telling him about how he had previously studied for five years at Master Liu’s private school in the county.
Upon hearing this, Xing Yuesen’s expression froze: “Is it you?”
“Hm?” Xu Yi’s eyes showed confusion.
“Master Liu and our teacher are good friends. Two days ago he came to our private school to teach a class. He mentioned having a student who, due to difficult family circumstances and the death of his parents, could no longer come to study. He used this to encourage fellow students who had the opportunity to study but didn’t cherish it, saying ‘proficiency in work comes from diligence.’ He urged them to study diligently.”
Proficiency in work comes from diligence, but is lost to play. Success is achieved through thinking, but destroyed by following without thought.
Xu Yi: “…”
He never imagined that one day he would become teaching material to encourage others.
Master Liu had felt quite sorry for this student, saying that although his talent was average, at least he was hardworking and diligent, which ordinary family children couldn’t compare to. Because of this remark, he remembered Xu Yi.
Now seeing the protagonist right in front of him, Xing Yuesen’s eyes held a bit more curiosity: “What did you pick today? Ever since I got on the cart, I’ve been smelling a refreshing fragrance.”
This refreshing fragrance naturally came from Xu Yi’s woven bamboo basket.
Seeing him ask about it, Xu Yi was happy to tell him about going up the mountain today to gather medicinal herbs.
“Brother Yi is quite impressive, to actually recognize so many herbs.” Xing Yuesen’s tone held admiration.
Although he too could recognize several medicinal materials he’d seen in books, if you actually asked him to go dig up these herbs in the mountains, that would be utterly impossible.
Xu Yi said, “Compared to studying for the imperial examinations, I prefer researching these things.”
“But medical arts are ultimately unorthodox paths. Even if one’s medical skills are excellent, in the end one can only become a medical official. The prospects cannot compare at all with the imperial examinations.” Xing Yuesen’s expression was subtle.
Xu Yi’s face remained composed: “That’s not so. In my heart, there is no distinction of nobility between all things. Whether imperial examinations or medical arts, both are where people’s hearts aspire. Officials serve the people, doctors serve the people, both serve the people. Why should there be only one path?”
Seeing him say this with such firm expression, not at all like someone speaking falsely, Xing Yuesen instantly felt an indescribable emotion surge within him. His heart was also delighted, feeling that Xu Yi was a person worth befriending.
Among his fellow students, most looked down on people outside of scholarly pursuits, thinking that scholars were noble and all others were common folk. Yet they didn’t think about how, without so many common folk, how could they set off the nobility of scholars?
“Well said!” Xing Yuesen exclaimed. “I was thinking wrongly. What Brother Yi says is reasonable.”
In this world, besides studying, there were so many other paths to walk. Why compete with thousands upon thousands of scholars for that one crowded, narrow road?
In the next moment, after expressing his admiration, he let out a deep sigh.
Xu Yi said, “Does Brother Xing have some worry?”
Xing Yuesen said, “Two years ago, my grandfather at home became unwell. Medicinal decoctions have been constant, but the illness hasn’t lessened. He’s been bedridden for quite a while now.”
Xu Yi said, “What are the symptoms?”
Xing Yuesen visited his grandfather on rest days and was very familiar with his condition. He said, “The doctor said this is bi syndrome, caused by evil qi invading the body while righteous qi is insufficient. He said it probably can’t be cured.”
Xu Yi frowned slightly, somewhat hesitant. This bi syndrome was gout. Gout was difficult to cure. In the early stages, it might still be curable, but Grandfather Xing’s gout had lasted three years. At most, medication could relieve the pain.
After pondering for a few seconds, Xu Yi told Xing Yuesen what was in his heart.
“I have a prescription here that can relieve the worsening symptoms of bi syndrome, but I’m afraid curing it won’t be possible.”
“Really?” Xing Yuesen was astonished. He had only been venting his inner troubles, never expecting such an opportunity.
He hurriedly took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone he carried with him: “Brother Yi, quickly write it down. When I get back, I’ll immediately have a servant go to the medical hall to get the medicine.”
Xu Yi had an excellent memory. In the past when studying, he memorized things very quickly.
Learning Chinese medicine wasn’t easy. One had to remember all kinds of medicine names, the properties of various medicinal materials, what prescriptions they were used in, and what effects they would produce. All of this had to be memorized, and one also had to know how to draw inferences, after all, not all patients suffered from illnesses found in books.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t had time to accumulate more experience. His heart held many regrets.
Today his harvest was quite bountiful. Not only did he treat someone’s illness, he also met a good friend he regretted not meeting sooner.
The ox cart’s speed was slow, swaying leisurely, but it still arrived outside Yanting County town.
Xu Yi and Xing Yuesen had conversed happily. Over an hour had passed, yet they still felt it wasn’t enough.
After Xu Yi finished writing the prescription and handed it to him, he gave two sentences of instructions on matters to pay attention to.
As for matters like keeping warm and maintaining a light diet, Xu Yi didn’t need to say anything, Xing Yuesen understood all of this.
After speaking, they shared their addresses and agreed to chat again next time when they had leisure.
After bidding farewell to Xing Yuesen in his silk and satin robe, Xu Yi carried his large back basket and walked toward home.
Today he had only eaten one and a half eggs. Yet, he’d climbed the mountain for so long and talked the whole way. He was extremely hungry and thirsty.