Siheyuan Fortune Telling: Starting from a Buyer to Become an All-rounder

"Comrade Xu Xiao, this is Er Wa, he knows everyone in the village. Er Wa, take Comrade Xu to your uncle Li, uncle Wang, and uncle Zhang's house later to ask them if they have any harvest. If they don't have any, take Comrade Xu Xiao to your grandfather Gong's house to ask if he has collected any good herbs in the mountains recently.

If there is any, let them share some with Comrade Xu Xiao. Comrade Xu Xiao is for our workers to have enough to eat and eat well. Only when our workers have enough to eat and eat well, our country will develop better, so we can't let Comrade Xu Xiao go back empty-handed. Did you hear me?"

The old branch secretary’s words were full of profound meaning. Although they were spoken to the little boy Erwa, Erwa was just a kid. What could he understand?

The old branch secretary's words were mainly meant for Xu Dongsheng to hear. What he meant was that no matter how poor our village is, as long as everyone has good things in their hands, Xu Dongsheng will not return empty-handed.

"Okay, Grandpa Secretary."

Erwa listened carefully, although he did not understand the deep meaning of what he said, he believed that the old secretary was right. He nodded vigorously and assured the old secretary.

"Comrade Xu Xiao, then you should follow Erwa. You have a heavy task to do. If Lao Zhang and his men don't have anything, you should be able to get something from Doctor Gong. Old Gong goes into the mountains from time to time, so he should have some supplies."

The old branch secretary touched Erwa's head, and then told Xu Dongsheng to hurry up, otherwise it would be dark by then and he would not have completed much of his task.

Xu Dongsheng thanked the old Party branch secretary solemnly, and then left the office with Erwa. They walked on the path in the village, and Erwa introduced the situation of the village to Xu Dongsheng.

Soon, Xu Dongsheng was taken by Erwa to visit several families, all of whom were hunters. The result was the same. Those hunters were busy with farming during this period and had no chance to go into the mountains.

Finally, Xu Dongsheng followed Erwa to the home of the barefoot doctor, Dr. Gong. Dr. Gong's home was located in the village near the forest, with two small tiled houses. In the yard of the tiled house was a small medicinal field of about 20 square meters, where the medicinal herbs planted were mostly those that Xu Dongsheng did not recognize.

"Grandpa Gong, Grandpa Gong, are you home? I brought someone to you."

When the two arrived at the gate of the yard, Erwa shouted towards the house. After a while, an old man with unsteady gaits came out from the house on the left of the two tiled houses.

The old man was leaning on a cane, his hair was gray, and his face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes were sharp and he looked very energetic. The old man walked out of the house and squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of Xu Dongsheng and Erwa.

"It's Erwa, who did you bring to me?"

When the old man saw Xu Dongsheng, he knew that he was not here to see a doctor. Moreover, Xu Dongsheng was pushing a bicycle, so he must have come from the city. He thought, this person must not be here to get medical treatment, because how could people from the city come to the countryside to see barefoot doctors like them? If they were sick, they would go to the big hospitals.

"Doctor Gong, I'm Xu Dongsheng, a purchaser at the Red Star Steel Mill outside Dongzhimen. The old branch secretary said you might have some medicinal herbs here, and I'd like to buy some from you. Doctor Gong, would you mind sharing some of your stock with me?"

Without waiting for Erwa to speak, Xu Dongsheng stated his identity and purpose first, and asked sincerely whether Dr. Gong had any stock.

"Ah, it's the buyer from the city, come in."

After hearing what Xu Dongsheng said, Dr. Gong did not chase Xu Dongsheng away, but invited him and Erwa into the yard.

"Xu Dongsheng and Erwa then opened the door and entered the old doctor's yard, then followed the old doctor into the room he had just come out of.

After entering the room, Xu Dongsheng smelled a strong smell of medicine. Obviously, this old doctor was skilled. Xu Dongsheng looked around the room. There were three cabinets, a table and two benches in the room. Obviously, this room should be where the old man met with guests, consulted with patients and prescribed medicine.

Maybe it has been used for many years, the cabinet has turned yellow and black. Xu Dongsheng was very satisfied and saw the value of these three cabinets at a glance. He didn't expect that these three cabinets could be worth three hundred yuan in this day and age.

Xu Dongsheng didn't know whether the herbs inside were worth so much money or the cabinet itself was worth so much money. But Xu Dongsheng didn't care, because his purpose was to buy herbs, and they had to be raw.

"You said you wanted to purchase medicinal herbs. Do you have a specific category? Or will it be okay as long as it's medicinal herbs?"

The old doctor sat across the table and asked Xu Dongsheng what medicinal materials he wanted to purchase. Did he have a detailed list? The old doctor was very old and still alone. Erwa said he didn't even have an apprentice. It wasn't that no one was willing to learn, but that he was unwilling to teach.

I heard from the adults that the old man's medical skills come at a price. If he learned the old man's skills, he might end up alone like the old man, without even a companion for the rest of his life. At that time, if he hadn't been left with no other choice and couldn't survive, he wouldn't have learned it.

After he learned it, he had planned to pass it on when he died, but he found that everyone's life had gotten better and better since the change of leader, so he gave up on passing on the craft because he found that not only could everyone survive, but they could also live a comfortable life. So he let go of this craft that could only make a living.

Moreover, the reason why Doctor Gong was willing to open the door and ask Xu Dongsheng what medicinal herbs he needed was because he sensed that he might not be able to hold on. He would be 90 years old after the end of the year, and those who could live to be 90 years old these days were considered to be very old. He felt that he might die at the end of the year or the beginning of the year.

So he wanted to save enough money for his coffin. Originally, he had been a doctor in the village for decades, saving countless lives and doing immeasurable merits. Basically, everyone in the village, young and old, had received his kindness. Now he was old and alone.

If he couldn't move, he would be left alone. If he died, the commune would make arrangements for him to leave in a dignified manner. He was aware of these circumstances, but he didn't want to cause trouble for everyone, so he wanted to earn enough money to buy a coffin himself.

Therefore, he let them in when he heard that Xu Dongsheng was here to purchase medicinal materials. Otherwise, if they were not seeking medical treatment, Doctor Gong would not have paid any attention to them.

"Doctor Gong, I'm buying herbs to bring back to the chef in our factory for use in making medicinal meals. They say they need fresh ginseng and Polygonum multiflorum, as well as Paris polyphylla and Ganoderma lucidum. They say these are the hardest to find. The ones in the city's pharmacies are all dried and useless, so they asked us buyers to look around when we go to the countryside."

Xu Dongsheng thought of a few smaller but high-priced medicinal herbs and listed them out, then asked the old doctor if he had any fresh ones in stock.

"I don't have fresh Lingzhi here, only the ones that have been prepared. I have all of them, including ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, and Paris polyphylla, but they are all of relatively young age. And they are not in my house, but in the mountains. Do you want some?"

If you want, I can take you there. Don't worry, it's not far. Because I have difficulty walking, I transplanted them near the entrance to the mountain after I found them. If you young people, you can find them in an hour after entering the mountain, but because I am old and weak, it may take a little longer.

If you are not in a hurry to use them, you can wait until next time you come. I will transplant them to the yard tomorrow and you can take them away when you come."

When Doctor Gong heard what Xu Dongsheng said about the medicinal herbs, he thought for a moment and said that he knew where they were and that they needed to be found in the mountains.

"If I wait until the next time, I don't know when it will be. It will be troublesome if I fail to complete my mission by then. So, please take me to find it, Doctor Gong. Don't worry, after we enter the mountain, I just need you to show me the way."

Hearing that Dr. Gong had something, Xu Dongsheng felt that it was a pleasant surprise. He had originally come here just to try his luck, but he didn't expect to really find it. Hearing that there was something, Xu Dongsheng didn't want to delay any longer. If he delayed outside for one day and kept it in the hemisphere space, it would be a waste of three months. Therefore, Xu Dongsheng felt that as long as he knew, getting it to the hemisphere space was an urgent matter.