The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 245 - 241: She Didn’t See Wrong, Did She?

Chapter 245: Chapter 241: She Didn’t See Wrong, Did She?

He Xinghua caught sight of Ruo Xuan and her grandmother, and Ruo Xuan had also spotted her earlier.

She took Granny Lei’s hand and said, "Grandma, that sister behind us seems to be preparing to go up the mountain too! She’s carrying a food basket, she must be bringing someone a meal."

Granny Lei, who had originally planned to take a detour down the mountain, said nothing.

It seemed they really had to pretend to pick some herbs for a while.

But it was fine, as it would give them a chance to observe that girl a bit more.

Granny Lei tightened her grip on Ruo Xuan’s hand, "Let’s go, we might as well pick some medicinal herbs along the way. The mountains here are larger than the ones near us; there should be plenty of herbs to find. Even if we dig up some herb seedlings to bring back, we could plant them on the mountain."

Ever since they had their own medicinal field at home, Granny Lei had become familiar with many herbs.

Ruo Xuan nodded her little head, "There really are quite a few, Grandma, look there’s a Wuzhi Maotao over there, let’s go dig it up!"

What herbs were on this mountain couldn’t be kept from her, this little flower.

"Really?" Granny Lei got excited upon hearing this, Wuzhi Maotao was indeed a good thing. The soup made from it had a unique coconut flavor, and Wuzhi Maotao could strengthen the spleen, nourish the lungs, promote qi circulation, and shed dampness. When simmered with herbs like Poria cocos and Chinese yam, it could tonify the spleen and drive out dampness.

The climate in Shaxi County was damp and drinking such soups was particularly beneficial, which she also enjoyed.

However, Granny Lei then realized, "We didn’t bring a hoe, how are we going to dig it up?"

"When that sister arrives, we could ask her to lend us one! I’ll go check how big the Wuzhi Maotao is first."

Having said that, Ruo Xuan ran ahead and then made the not-yet-fully-grown Wuzhi Maotao grow bigger. She also hastened the growth of the nearby herbs that had not fully grown yet.

The area around Xinghua Village was riddled with rolling mountains frequented by herb pickers. As a result, the herbs that could be easily picked were gone, not far into the mountains, leaving only those not yet fully grown. But for Ruo Xuan, it was just a matter of expending some Spiritual Power.

After she had accelerated the growth of the herbs, she waved eagerly at Granny Lei, "Grandma, over here, there is a huge Wuzhi Maotao!"

Granny Lei hurried over and found an exceptionally lush Wuzhi Maotao, each leaf resembling an open hand with five fingers.

The leaves of Wuzhi Maotao resembled open palms with five fingers. Aside from Wuzhi Maotao, there were varieties with three or four fingers. Because Wuzhi Maotao roots were used as medicine, many herb pickers would pass off the three or four-fingered varieties as Wuzhi Maotao to sell to pharmacies and clinics.

Jian Li of Fang’s Medical Clinic once had her elder sister-in-law, Madam Zhuang, try to save money by purchasing nearly a hundred pounds of Wuzhi Maotao. It turned out to be all three-finger varieties, which then fell upon her son to deal with.

Granny Lei happened to be at the scene to buy medicine for Xuanbao when all this took place; had she not been there, she would have had no idea. To continue working as an attendant at the clinic, which allowed her to get medicine for her family at a cheaper rate, her son silently accepted responsibility for not differentiating between the three and five-fingered roots.

But Granny Lei could distinguish the roots of the Wuzhi Maotao, the four-finger, and the three-finger varieties. It was even her son who had taught her that, so how could he possibly make a mistake!

She also wondered when her son would finally make something of himself at Fang’s Medical Clinic, able to heal the sick, rather than always being an attendant who dispensed and dried herbs.

Ruo Xuan found two rather sturdy branches, "Grandma, let’s start by digging up the Wuzhi Maotao with these branches. When the sister sees us, she’ll probably offer to lend us a hoe."

Granny Lei came back to her senses and took a branch, "Alright, Xuanbao, just sit by the side; Grandma will do the digging."

As she spoke, she forcefully broke off the branches and leaves from the Wuzhi Maotao.

"It’s okay, I’m strong; we can dig together."

So, when He Xinghua climbed up the mountain, she saw the granddaughter and grandmother industriously using branches to dig up the roots of the Wuzhi Maotao.

She said to herself, "..."

Were the two of them serious about herb picking on the mountain?

They hadn’t brought any tools.

Seeing He Xinghua, Ruo Xuan waved excitedly from a distance, "Beautiful sister!"

He Xinghua: "..."

She was dark and robust, taller even than some men in the village, so after her betrothal was annulled, she had trouble finding another match, not understanding why the little girl kept calling her "pretty sister" with every sentence.

Speaking of age, she was old enough to be the girl’s mother.

It wasn’t far, just a few dozen meters away, so she walked over and then saw the branches and leaves of the five-fingered hairy peach tree discarded on the ground. She was slightly surprised; how had she not noticed such a lush five-fingered hairy peach tree when she went up the mountain every day?

As a mountain dweller, she recognized the five-fingered hairy peach, or even if she didn’t, she would have learned about it, seeing how often others went up the mountain to collect it.

"How come you don’t bring any tools when you go up the mountain to gather herbs? After I deliver food to my parents, I’ll go home and fetch a hoe for you!"

It was then that a grey hare suddenly jumped out and froze upon seeing people.

He Xinghua had barely spotted it, her mind still not quite catching up like the hare, when a small stone struck the rabbit on the head.

The rabbit fell down!

He Xinghua: "..."

She hadn’t seen wrong, had she?

Wasn’t it that girl who looked like a New Year picture’s lucky baby who threw that stone?

Ruo Xuan ran over joyfully, picked up the rabbit: "Pretty sister, this rabbit is for you. Thank you for giving us the baskets."

He Xinghua snapped back to reality, hurriedly refusing, "No need, no need, it’s just a basket, not worth any silver. This rabbit, however, is valuable, I can’t accept it."

A wild rabbit, considering its fur, was worth at least a hundred or so wen. A hundred and some wen could buy ten baskets; how could she have the nerve to accept it?

Ruo Xuan pressed it into her hands: "Pretty sister, take it! There are plenty of wild rabbits on the mountain, they’re not worth much, I can catch another one in a bit."

Granny Lei also said: "Miss, you might as well take it! You showed us the way earlier, gave us water to drink, and even gave us baskets. We can’t repay this kindness. We might not meet again, and if you don’t accept it, we’ll feel uneasy. It’s just a rabbit; Xuanbao can catch another one in no time. My Xuanbao is the best at catching rabbits!"

He Xinghua: "..."

Of course, she knew there were plenty of wild rabbits on the mountain, but living at the foot of it, she knew this area was well-trodden with scarce rabbits, and she was aware of how difficult it was to catch mountain rabbits. Only then did she believe them.

"I really can’t take this rabbit! There’s a lot of traffic in this area, not many rabbits, they’re rare. You can sell it for a good price, it’s only a basket, no need for formality." Saying this, she broke off a tree branch, stripped its bark, and tied the rabbit’s front and hind legs.

In the meantime, Ruo Xuan threw out a few more stones, then eagerly ran to pick up one rabbit, scampered off to another side, and lifted up another rabbit: "Pretty sister, look! I told you there were many rabbits on the mountain, I can simply catch more!"

Granny Lei ran out too and picked up two rabbits.

He Xinghua: "..."

What was up with the rabbits today?

On most days, not even a hair from a rabbit was seen, but today they just kept popping up. Had they stumbled upon a rabbit warren?

"Cackle, cackle, cackle, cack..." At that moment, there were sounds of chicken crowing.

Two pheasants flapped their wings, flying over.

Ruo Xuan quickly dropped the rabbit she was holding, picked up small stones, and threw them again.

He Xinghua: "..."

She began to doubt if the mountain she had climbed today was the same one she was familiar with.