Chapter 42: Huang Wan'er

They were quite lucky along the way, encountering mostly overcast days without biting wind, pelting rain, or snow-blocked roads.

Yet the journey was remarkably hard on the feet. Even with his exceptional stamina, young and robust fellow Gao Wu was utterly exhausted.

Before setting off, they had obtained an extremely rudimentary hand-drawn map from Zhao Minde, which allowed them to navigate toward the county town only by rough direction.

They also had to stop and ask for directions multiple times along the way.

Climbing mountains and wading through rivers, traversing rugged and treacherous terrain, proved to be an immense test of physical strength and willpower.

Regardless of the time or whether he was pulling the handcart, the one walking at the absolute front was always Zhang Yang.

And the Gao brothers, Gao Wen and Gao Wu, seemed to find the motivation to keep moving forward simply by catching sight of his back. Gritting their teeth, they pushed through stretch after stretch.

At the foot of a mountain, they stopped to ask for directions from an old man carrying a burden on a shoulder pole.

"Judging by your accents, you aren't locals from Zhenhai City, are you? Are you headed into town?"

Zhang Yang briefly explained their circumstances.

The old man clicked his tongue in sympathy and gave them a rough route.

"Cross this mountain, walk another few kilometers ahead, and you'll see the road leading straight to Zhenhai City."

"You're going to save someone, but do you have enough money on you? How about you take these herbs I dug up and sell them, or just talk directly to the doctors at the town hospital to see if you can trade them for something?"

Zhang Yang naturally refused to accept them.

"Elderly sir! We met by chance, and you've already been kind enough to show us the way. How could we possibly take your things?"

The old man laughed heartily. "I'm not just giving them away for free! You'll be coming back this way after you're done in town, won't you?"

"An old fellow like me, with nothing better to do, lives alone in these mountains and passes the time by digging up wild herbs! It's rare enough to run into a passerby, so I just want to trade these earthy goods for a bit of grain..."

"I noticed you were carrying some wine... If you have any left, would you mind giving it to me?"

"Take these earthy lumps and sell them! If you actually manage to get some money for them, bring me back a few treats next time you come this way! I'll be endlessly grateful if you do. Otherwise, these things will just rot in my hands anyway."

Being extremely generous, the old man shoved his entire basket of goods into Zhang Yang's arms as he spoke.

Fearing that Zhang Yang might not have the strength to carry everything, Gao Wu volunteered to take the load.

Zhang Yang did not refuse. After handing the jar of yellow wine to the old man and expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he pulled the handcart and set off once more.

Finally, a little past eight o'clock in the evening, they arrived at the county hospital.

The Gao brothers were so exhausted they collapsed, leaning against a hospital bench and snoring loudly.

Zhang Yang, meanwhile, was running back and forth, busy assisting the doctors.

The test results came out shortly.

"There is blood pooling in the brain, along with a mild concussion."

"He will need to stay overnight for observation."

"Go pay the fees first."

Holding the slip of paper issued by the doctor, Zhang Yang ran up and down the hospital corridors yet again.

Having finally sorted everything out, he took the handful of crumpled small-denomination bills Zhang Haiquan had given him and went to the hospital canteen. After some sweet-talking, he bought steamed buns and salted vegetables, then woke the Gao brothers so they could share a warm meal.

"As long as there's nothing critically wrong... But staying the night at a hospital must cost a pretty penny, right?"

Gao Wu looked up at the bright, pristine hallway, feeling as though he had never stepped foot in such a luxurious place in his entire life.

Outside was freezing cold, yet inside was both clean and warm.

It was practically a dwelling for immortals!

Seeing right through Gao Wu's thoughts, Zhang Yang gave him a light, reprimanding thump on the head.

"Just keep those thoughts in your head, don't say them out there!"

"This is a hospital. Who knows how many people pass away here every single day..."

"You might think it's nice, but nobody else does!"

"Say things like that aloud, and you'll get a beating!"

Chomping on his steamed bun, Gao Wu shrank his neck and behaved himself.

After filling their stomachs, the three of them began sorting through the basket of items the old man had given them by the side of Zhang Siamo's hospital bed.

As they counted, Gao Wen's eyes grew wider and wider.

"Yangzi, that old man really gave us some incredible treasures!"

Gao Wen sorted and classified the odd-shaped roots and lumps, piling them into several separate heaps.

Pointing at a small pile, he said, "This is top-grade Panax notoginseng! It disperses stasis, stops bleeding, and relieves swelling and pain. Using this for Zhang Siamo right now couldn't be more perfect!"

"Supposedly, this stuff doesn't even grow around our parts. I never expected to see so much of it dug up!"

"Look at this next! This is Aconitum kusnezoffii! It's toxic if used directly, but if handed over to professional doctors for processing, refining, and preparation, it's also a marvelous medicinal herb."

"The most valuable of all is this right here—prime, aged wild mountain ginseng! Although it doesn't have many fibrous roots, which affects its appearance, its efficacy speaks for itself! It calms the mind, enhances intelligence, and greatly invigorates primordial Qi. It's a priceless treasure you couldn't even beg to find!"

Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat as well.

He was already familiar with the herbs Gao Wen had mentioned earlier.

He simply hadn't known their market value in this era.

As for this final item—the wild mountain ginseng—he knew it all too well!

That was an absolute treasure among treasures!

In his past life, people desperate to acquire a single root of wild, pristine, unpolluted mountain ginseng had bid seven-figure sums at auction houses!

Such rare and precious items had always been in high demand with zero supply!

Zhang Yang had previously heard that Jiakou Ravine did not produce such things, so he had never entertained the idea.

Yet, as the old saying goes, different soils nurture different people. This wild mountain ginseng was native to their region; if he didn't dig it up, someone else eventually would.

And now, it had practically been delivered right to his doorstep!

Truly an unexpected windfall.

With this single root of wild mountain ginseng, Zhang Siamo's medical expenses were undoubtedly covered.

However, this was not the fruit of their own labor.

According to his agreement with the old man, a portion of the returns had to be given back to him.

How could they maximize their profits?

Zhang Yang immediately thought of the black market in Maoli Town on the outskirts of Zhenhai City.

Besides, he was planning to take Old Fourth Peng's black stone and head out to try his luck at the black market anyway.

Now that he had wild mountain ginseng, he had an even better reason to go.

"Tomorrow at dawn, I'll head out and ask around to see what kind of price this wild mountain ginseng can fetch. The two of you stay here at the hospital and watch over Zhang Siamo."

The Gao brothers obeyed his arrangements implicitly. After discussing the plan, they hurried to get some sleep.

There were no extra beds in the ward, so the three of them simply slept on the floor.

A nurse making her rounds that night witnessed the scene and, taking pity on them, handed each of them a rubber hot water bottle.

The next morning, before dawn had broken, Zhang Yang woke up.

Feeling the hot water bottle in his hands, he was still somewhat dazed.

"Who told you guys to sleep on the floor?"

A young nurse, appearing to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, asked with a reproachful scold.

Zhang Yang quickly apologized, "We couldn't afford a room at the guesthouse outside, so we just squeezed into this ward to make do for the night. Sorry to be a bother!"

He spoke slowly, his tone gentle and refined, not sounding like a rural countryman at all.

The nurse stared at him, her eyes filled with doubt.

Assuming the nurse was about to lecture them further on hospital rules and hygiene, Zhang Yang quickly prepared to smooth things over with pleasantries.

Glancing at the collar of the nurse's uniform, he spotted three embroidered characters: Huang Wan'er.