Crossing the Unknown Country

Su He and his friends were very happy today. They had meat buns to eat and earned money. They could wear new clothes soon. The days of having enough food and warm clothes would come soon. They were very satisfied no matter how they thought about it.

Along the way, we discussed that we should take some time to go deep into the mountains and forests to look for rare medicinal herbs, which are the most profitable. Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng, mushrooms, ginkgo, and if we can collect wild honey, all of these can be sold for a high price.

If we can pick some soapberries, we can make soap and scented soap at home, which can be used for washing clothes, face and hands. The more Su He talked, the more he felt that he had to go deep into the mountains. Tomorrow, he would ask his father and uncle to go with him. With adults around, it would be okay to go deeper.

In this way, a few people were busy on the mountain, picking leaves and looking for medicinal herbs until the afternoon before going down the mountain. Anyway, there was no lunch at noon. People were busy all day, leaving home late in the morning and returning home early in the evening, just enough for two meals. If they ate three meals, they were all rich people in the town. Anyway, even the village chief’s family had two meals, but their two meals were very rich, unlike theirs, which were mainly porridge.

Su He wondered when her family could have three meals a day so that she could grow faster. Look at them, they all have thin arms and legs, which is obviously caused by long-term hunger.

When I was looking for wild vegetables, I saw Artemisia capillaris. This wild vegetable is good. Even if it is a medicinal material, it can be fried or steamed, and it can be eaten directly as a meal. Today I picked it specifically. This wild vegetable is only available in March, and it is called white wormwood in other months. It can only be eaten in March. When I was a child, I heard the proverb "Artemisia capillaris in March, wormwood in April, and firewood after May." However, for medicinal purposes, you can pick "cotton artemisia capillaris" from March to May or "flowering artemisia capillaris" from September to October.

This is a liver-protecting medicine, which is recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Now is the right time to eat Artemisia capillaris. Eat it this month, at least for a month, it is good for the body. The elder will not taste good, and you can sell the medicine if you can't finish it.

Let's pick them together. There are all over the ground now. We need to go to a shady place. Artemisia capillaris grows relatively large. It is a kind of grass that sprouts directly from old roots. After a while, Su He picked a basket, and Su Che's basket was almost full.

Su He said to Su Che, "Brother, when you go to town this time, take this basket of stuff directly to the town clinic and sell it!"

Su Che said happily: "We should also go to Huiyitang and ask Doctor Jin to sell medicine."

Everyone gained a lot this time. Su Pei took his brothers and sisters home. On the way, he had to hug Su He from time to time. Some mountain roads here were bumpy and difficult to walk. He first sent Su He and his family home, and then Su Pei took Su Che back to his own home to put things and come back later. The four brothers are now better to Su He, and this sister can be the baby of their family.

When Su He returned home, his grandmother, auntie, and his mother were all at home! They specially set aside time to make clothes today, because most of the money was paid by Su He's family, and auntie insisted on going home to bring back 300 coins, so that the two families could share the cloth equally. Auntie knew that Su He's family was in trouble, and the family should take care of each other and not just take advantage of others.

Su He quickly began to wash the leaves, and her two brothers helped her chop them up, then put them in a large pot to boil water. As the water continued to heat up, the yellow pigment in the leaves came out. Watching the water in the pot gradually turn yellow, she continued to add leaves, took out the old leaves, and put in new leaves, until the water turned yellow, and then she turned down the fire.

Su He's mother took out a gray dress and asked Su He to dye it. Su He put the dress into the pot with a stick and submerged it completely. Seeing that there was still a lot of water, she put out the fire. She asked her mother to turn the clothes over with a stick, but she was too small to do it. She watched the light gray cloth gradually mixed with the color. Su He suddenly remembered that alum stone could be a dyeing medium. It should be available in the clinic as a traditional Chinese medicine. If there is alum stone, walnut skin and lotus seed skin can be dyed black. She had been thinking about something but couldn't remember it. Now she had an idea. It seems that there are other media to think about slowly and experiment slowly.

Then wait for half an hour, dry it and boil it again. Repeat this process several times. Finally, determine the color and fix it with salt water. I guess I can't finish dyeing today, so boil a few more pieces with the remaining water and dry them. I can't waste this pot of water today, because it's almost done. Pour the water out and wash the pot. I have to use it to cook in the evening. Fortunately, the iron pot is not easy to color, so I can cook with it after washing it a few times.

Grandma and the eldest aunt said goodbye and went home, taking Su Pei and Su Che home with them. The family estimated that Su Pei's father and grandfather should have returned from the fields. They ran into Su He's father on the road, greeted him and hurried home to cook. Su Pei's grandfather and the others had worked in the fields all day, and they were tired and hungry when they got home and wanted to eat.