She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Shen Man had a very good impression of Sun Da's wife, knowing that she was a very kind person and took good care of her in daily life.

Upon seeing her enter the house, Shen Man immediately called out to her, "Auntie."

"Oh, Man'er is such a good girl!"

Sun's wife immediately lifted the cloth on the bamboo basket, revealing seven or eight round eggs.

"Auntie doesn't have anything good at home, so let's boil these eggs for Man'er to eat!"

"Thank you, Auntie, but I can't accept this," Shen Man declined. "I have more at home."

“Yes, sister-in-law, you should keep it to hatch chicks!” Lanxiang also chimed in, refusing.

"Child, why are you being so polite with your aunt?" Sun's wife scolded, forcefully stuffing the egg into Shen Man's hand. "If you don't accept it, your aunt will get angry."

Shen Man had no choice but to accept it, "Then thank you, Auntie."

"Why be so polite with your aunt?" Sun's wife said with a smile.

"Sister-in-law, didn't you say you wanted to see me about something?" Lanxiang took the eggs from Sun Da's wife and then asked her to sit down by the bed.

“Sisters, I’m not afraid you’ll laugh at me, but seeing you earn money by gathering herbs in the mountains these days has made me a little tempted. You know my family’s situation. My parents-in-law are old and can’t do much work. My three boys, the oldest is twelve and the youngest is eight, they’re at the age where they can eat a lot. Although this year’s harvest is not bad, it’s still quite difficult to feed seven or eight people…”

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang and Shenman immediately understood the purpose of Sun Da's daughter-in-law's trip.

"So, Auntie wants to come up the mountain with us to gather herbs?" Shen Man asked.

"Yes, that's right. Not just me, I want to bring all my boys along so they can learn some skills and stop causing trouble at home all day long." Mrs. Sun nodded and said somewhat shyly, "I just don't know if you would be willing to take us."

"Why wouldn't we want to? We're all from the same village, helping each other is only right," Lanxiang said with a smile. "But gathering herbs isn't easy work, sisters-in-law, can you handle it?"

"Don't worry, I'm in good health, and my sons are strong too. They can definitely handle it." Mrs. Sun patted her chest. "I used to do all the farm work."

“Alright then,” Lanxiang nodded. “However, there’s no set rule for gathering herbs. We’ll gather whatever herbs Doctor Yu’s clinic needs. If they don’t need them, we won’t gather them…”

"Yes, yes, I know all that. As long as you take us with you when you gather herbs, that's fine." Sun's wife was very happy to see Lanxiang agree.

After finishing her business, Sun's wife left, citing family matters as an excuse.

After seeing her out of the courtyard, Lanxiang had just returned to the house when she heard someone calling her from outside the door again.

When she came out, she saw a woman surnamed Liu from the village. She was holding a cloth bag in her hands. When she saw Lanxiang, she immediately opened the bag, revealing several pieces of pastry inside.

"Lanxiang, these are pastries that my husband earned working for Master Zhu. We've been keeping them at home and haven't been able to eat them. I'm bringing them over today so that Man'er can have a taste."

"How can this be?" Lanxiang pushed the cloth bag back, refusing to accept it.

"Lanxiang, this is a small token of my appreciation. If you don't accept it, you're looking down on me!"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang had no choice but to accept the cloth bag and hand it to Shen Man.

Shen Man took the cloth bag, took out a piece of pastry and tasted it; it tasted pretty good.

"Auntie, what brings you to my house?" Shen Man asked with a smile.

"Well, I heard you're taking people up the mountain to collect herbs, and I'd like my child to go with you so we can earn some extra money to help with household expenses," Aunt Liu said with a simple, honest smile.

"This..." Lanxiang looked at Shen Man with some difficulty, not knowing how to answer.

Shen Man had already eaten a piece of pastry. As the old saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do so," so she naturally couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Auntie, gathering herbs is no easy task. You might encounter snakes, insects, and wild beasts in the mountains. Can your brother handle it?"

"I can handle it, I can handle it. My child is very clever and will definitely not cause you any trouble," Aunt Liu said hurriedly.

Shen Man thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll take him up the mountain tomorrow to try. If he can do it, I'll take him next time; if he can't, then there's nothing I can do."

Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I'll call him over first thing tomorrow morning." With that, she turned and left.

Lanxiang watched her retreating figure, wondering to herself what was wrong with these people, how they suddenly came to their senses.

After seeing Aunt Liu off, the mother and daughter thought things would finally calm down.

However, to their surprise, their home was visited by a constant stream of visitors throughout the afternoon.

One neighbor would bring over a few bunches of fresh vegetables, another a few pieces of candy, and their purpose in coming was always the same—to hope that Shen Man and her daughter could take them with them the next time they went up the mountain to collect herbs.

Lanxiang and Shenman exchanged a glance, both feeling helpless. But since they were guests and had brought gifts, they felt awkward about turning them away.

As evening approached, the last visitor finally left. Lanxiang sat wearily in a chair, looking at the mountain of gifts, and shook her head helplessly.

"Mother, what should we do with these things?" Shen Man asked.

"What else can we do but accept it for now?" Lanxiang sighed. "Man'er, since we promised Sister-in-law Sun and your Aunt Liu, we can't refuse anyone else, otherwise the villagers will say that we favor one and look down on another."

"Then let them go up the mountain together tomorrow. Anyway, it's the same whether you herd one sheep or two sheep."

"It seems that this is the only way!"

Shen Man had already decided that tomorrow she would teach them to identify some common household herbs for colds and flu, so that her efforts wouldn't be in vain.

The next morning, after Lanxiang and Shenman had breakfast, they went out with their baskets on their backs. There were already many people waiting under the big tree outside the courtyard, but the three Changsheng brothers were absent today.

Because they had just bought a cow yesterday, and the family was busy taming it, they couldn't find the time to come up the mountain with Shen Man.

"Since you all want to come up the mountain with me to gather herbs, let's get this straight: everyone must follow my and my mother's instructions and not act on their own. If anyone disobeys and something unexpected happens, don't blame us for not warning you!"

Another point is that the medicinal herbs on the mountain are all unclaimed; whoever picks them keeps them. However, if you find someone stealing someone else's herbs, don't blame me for being ruthless! Finally, I hope everyone will follow the rules, have a happy trip up the mountain, and return home safely!

Upon hearing Shen Man's suggestion, everyone immediately nodded in agreement.

Along the way, the crowd chattered incessantly with questions, which annoyed Lanxiang and Shenman to no end. Finally, after enduring the ordeal of gathering herbs and returning home, the mother and daughter were so exhausted that they almost collapsed on the ground.