Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Fearing the presence of large wild animals in the deep mountains, Zhao Yan did not dare to linger there for too long. After packing up her belongings, she carried her basket down the mountain.

I didn't find anything more valuable today, but a basket full of medicinal herbs can still fetch a good price.

Her main task today was to buy new bedding; nothing else was urgent.

Zhao Yan quickly descended the mountain and headed towards Baima Town, facing the rising sun.

On the way, when no one was around, she took out two large meat buns from her spatial storage and ate them slowly. She also drank a carton of milk before wiping her mouth with satisfaction.

She discovered that everything in the space, except for food and drink, had to be bought with money, and the prices varied.

Zhao Yan wasn't in a hurry for anything else; she really wanted to buy a larger storage cabinet so it would be convenient to store valuables in the future.

But she didn't know until she looked, and what she saw shocked her.

The previous one-cubic-meter storage locker only cost five hundred yuan, but the one she wanted to buy, a hundred-square-meter locker, was priced at a whopping one million yuan!

Ok.

She admitted that she had been delusional.

No matter when, it's really not easy for a powerless commoner like her to have anything.

The purchase of storage lockers has been put on hold for now.

She walked quickly, and when she arrived at the entrance of Miao'an Hall, it was just past dawn (7:00 AM).

She thought Miao'an Hall wouldn't be open, but it turned out they had already opened their doors to welcome guests.

Zhao Yan realized once again: the ancients' saying about going to bed early and getting up early really meant going to bed early.

Yuan Gang returned after seeing someone off and saw Zhao Yan standing at the door with a basket on her back. He hurried forward and asked, "Miss, you're here again? Are you here to see a doctor? Or...?"

"I found some herbs."

Zhao Yan pointed to the basket on her back and smiled.

She didn't say what kind of herb it was, and Yuan Gang didn't ask either. He simply led her to the backyard to see Yuan Yutang.

"Elder, this young lady is here to sell herbs."

Yuan Yutang was looking through the herbs drying in the basket when he heard this and turned to look at them.

"The little girl is here again. What good stuff has she found this time?"

They also call her "little girl"?

She looks quite old.

Zhao Yan, who has already become a mother, couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

“Sir, my husband’s surname is Yang, and my given name is Zhao Yan. Please call me by my name.”

"I dug up some Polygonum multiflorum, sir, please check the quality first."

Yuan Yutang stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "Hehe, good, Yan'er, don't call me 'Old Man' anymore, just call me Old Man Yuan or Uncle Yuan."

Zhao Yan didn't hesitate and readily called out, "Uncle Yuan."

"Eh."

Yuan Yutang responded and glanced at the basket on Zhao Yan's back.

"Yan'er, let me see what's in your basket?"

It's not that he's particularly fond of recognizing relatives.

The truth is that he felt an immediate connection with Zhao Yan upon their first meeting, which is why he couldn't help but take extra care of her.

"There is some Polygonum multiflorum, some Panax notoginseng, and the rest are just common herbs."

Zhao Yan placed the basket on the ground in front of Yuan Yutang so that he could easily look through the contents.

Yuan Yutang took out the most common herbs from the top layer and set them aside, then took out a lot of Panax notoginseng.

Zhao Yan dug up the entire patch of Panax notoginseng, and after she finished, she counted them; there were about twenty or so plants.

Yuan Yutang looked at them one by one and nodded happily.

"That's right, these Panax notoginsengs must be at least six or seven years old. They're big and old enough, so they're good stuff."

Zhao Yan was delighted to hear this.

That's great.

If Yuanbo says so, then these Panax notoginseng will definitely fetch a good price.

With a big smile on her face, she took the initiative to bring out the six he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum) at the bottom.

"Uncle Yuan, take another look at these few He Shou Wu plants."

Six dark, uneven things lay in her palm, some large and some small.

Yuan Yutang asked Yuan Gang to carefully count and weigh the herbs on the ground, and then reached out to take the Polygonum multiflorum from Zhao Yan's hand.

He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) is a perennial vine with a bitter, sweet, and warm nature.

Its roots are large and dark brown. When paired with ginseng, it is known as "double ginseng" and has the effect of nourishing the liver and kidneys and improving immunity.

Although the six Polygonum multiflorum plants that Zhao Yan found varied in size, the smallest of them was about the size of an adult's palm, so they were of excellent quality.

Yuan Yutang stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, these trees are of excellent quality, I'll take them all."

He handed the items to Yuan Gang to weigh.

"Yuan Gang, weigh it first."

"Yes, Elder."

Yuan Gang took the Polygonum multiflorum from Yuan Yutang and weighed it carefully.

After a while, he came over and reported the number.

"Elder, the other common herbs, not categorized, weigh a total of thirty-five catties. There are twenty-five Panax notoginseng plants in total, fifteen of which are seven years old and ten are six years old. There are six Polygonum multiflorum plants, excluding the stems, which weigh a total of ten catties."

After hearing this, Yuan Yutang turned to Zhao Yan and explained, "Yan girl, I charge ten copper coins per catty for all other common herbs. For He Shou Wu, I only take the root and stem, and I'll charge you one tael of silver per catty."

“Sanqi is a bit special. I’ll calculate it for you based on the year. Seven-year-old plants will cost two taels of silver each, and six-year-old plants will cost one and a half taels of silver each. Is that acceptable?”

Yes, absolutely!

Zhao Yan readily replied, "Okay, let's do as Uncle Yuan says."

All things considered, this trip yielded quite a bit of profit.

Sure enough, not long after, Yuan Gang handed over fifty-five taels of silver and three hundred and fifty copper coins.

"Thank you."

Zhao Yan thanked him, took the silver, and stuffed it directly into the basket on her back.

When she let go, the money went directly into the storage cabinet.

Thinking of the purpose of her trip, she didn't linger and smiled as she nodded to Yuan Yutang.

"Uncle Yuan, you're busy, I'll come see you again in a few days."

"Hehe, okay, Yan'er, come anytime. It doesn't matter what you bring, I'll take it all."

Zhao Yan was touched, and her smile became even more genuine.

"Okay, I've written it down."

After saying that, she nodded to Yuan Yutang again, then turned and left with her basket on her back.

Just as they stepped out of Miao'an Hall, a small, anxious figure rushed up from behind, shouting urgently, "Grandpa, Grandpa, where are you? Come with me quickly, Brother Chen is dying!"

Xiao Paozhang (Little Firecracker) strode past Zhao Yan and rushed into Miao'an Hall, shouting.

Zhao Yan quickly stepped aside, barely managing to avoid the danger.

She glanced at Miao'an Hall, and a strange sense of unease welled up inside her.

Brother Chen?

I wonder who that "Brother Chen" the child is talking about is?

The original owner's eldest nephew, I think his name was Zhao Yunchen.

Thinking about it, Zhao Yan suddenly remembered that her biological brother, who was born of the same mother, hadn't visited her in a long time.

I wonder if something happened to him?

After she and her daughter escape from the Yang family, they should find some time to visit Zhao Family Village.

The original owner's biological mother died during childbirth due to postpartum hemorrhage.

The original owner's biological father fell ill and passed away when the original owner was fifteen years old, leaving only the original owner and his older brother.

The original owner was raised by her older brother from a young age, and had an extremely close relationship with him.

The original owner's older brother was named Zhao Dahai, who was ten years older than the original owner and should be thirty-two this year.

Fortunately, when the original owner's biological father passed away, Zhao Dahai was already married and had three sons.

The older one was named Zhao Yunchen, and he was only five years old that year.

The second child was named Zhao Yunjie, and he was just one year old that year.

The third and second sons were twins named Zhao Yunqi, who were also just one year old that year.

Seven years have passed. The eldest child should be twelve years old, and the second and third children should be eight years old.

After marrying Yang Sanlang, the original owner's older brother would visit her in Chenjiagou every one or two months to make sure that his sister was not being mistreated in the Yang family before he could go home with peace of mind.

It seems that Zhao Dahai hasn't come here since last month. I don't know what happened to him.

Just as I was thinking, I suddenly heard an anxious cry.

"Grandpa Yuan—please, please save my elder brother..."

Zhao Yan looked towards the source of the voice and exclaimed in surprise, "Yun Jie? It's you!"