CHAPTER 31: 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.

He could only endure the discomfort in his heart and ask about Chen Erhua’s situation;

"How is Genshu’s wife doing?"

"Her body is hurt, she needs a few years to recover before considering having another child."

With these words, the team captain and the others immediately began to worry.

In Li Genshu’s family, there’s not even an elder to lend a hand.

After some deliberation, he looked at Aunt Ma and the others, "Can you find some time to help out?"

Aunt Ma and the others exchanged looks and nodded in agreement.

They couldn’t serve her like a daughter-in-law, but giving a hand was no problem.

With Aunt Ma and the others’ assurance, the team captain and the rest felt relieved.

Looking inside the room, Liu Xiangqian softly said, "Did Genshu cry?"

"... He cried."

How could he not cry?

The child was gone, and his wife was hurt as well. That Genshu didn’t completely break down was thanks to the hardships he endured which toughened his spirit.

"There’s not much need to worry about Genshu, he knows his limits."

Liu Xiangqian and the others believed this; as the pillar of his family without an elder’s support, Genshu had no other option but to be strong.

After all, his wife was relying on him. If he broke down, the family would fall apart.

"Alright, let’s all disperse."

Waving his hand, he shooed them away like chasing flies.

Yi Chichi wanted to leave with Uncle Yaozi; she had worked in the medical room for several hours and hadn’t bought her medicine yet.

However, Uncle Yaozi couldn’t accompany her now; he had to stay and observe the follow-up situation of Genshu’s wife.

If any issue arose, she would need immediate transport to the commune or county hospital, so he couldn’t leave.

Thus, seeing Yi Chichi looking eagerly at him, he stepped over, "You know where the medicine is, go take it yourself, pay me some other day."

An undeniable tone.

Yi Chichi swallowed her words and nodded, "Okay."

"If you need anything, send someone to 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.