Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Picking the Stone Flower

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

The lively Spring Festival was over, and the boisterous first month of the year slowly gave way to peace and quiet.

The weather grew warmer day by day. Willows sprouted green, all living things reawakened, and a vibrant energy filled the air throughout Feng City.

The daily intel updates were as varied as ever.

Some were treatment plans for difficult and complex diseases, some were methods for processing rare medicinal herbs, and others were tips about where special herbs grew.

[Today’s Intel: High-quality Stone Flower grows beside the hot springs of Tang Mountain. It supplements the liver and kidneys, promotes urination and drains dampness, and can also dissolve internal stones...]

Seeing this intel reminded Li Xu that he hadn’t been to Tang Mountain in a long time.

Tang Mountain was the Hot Spring Mountain that Ding Kaifang had given him the rights to cultivate for free.

The area was rich in underground hot spring resources, but the springs themselves had stopped gushing out in recent years.

After having Wang the Third renovate it last year, Li Xu had used the land to grow a special type of rice.

He had even gone there during the harvest.

He never expected that a medicinal herb called "Stone Flower" also grew there.

On second thought, it made sense. Tang Mountain possessed geothermal resources.

If it could grow a special kind of rice, it wasn’t surprising that Stone Flower could be found there too.

Stone Flower, also known as stone vegetable flower or stone wood ear, is a type of lichen that grows on rocks.

It was a niche medicinal herb, rarely used in clinical practice, but it could produce miraculous effects for certain specific conditions.

This was especially true of the effects mentioned in the intel: "supplements the liver and kidneys, promotes urination and drains dampness, and can also dissolve internal stones."

There was a touching legend about the name "Stone Flower" along the Min Nan coast.

Long ago, in a fishing village on the Southeast Coast, there lived a loving couple. The wife’s name was Stone Flower, and she was virtuous, kind, and clever.

Whenever her husband was late returning from fishing, Stone Flower would go alone to a high sea reef in the harbor, standing on her tiptoes as she eagerly awaited his return.

One day, the sea grew turbulent under a sky dark with storm clouds. As always, Stone Flower went to the reef she called the "Husband-Watching Rock" to wait.

However, she waited for a long, long time, but never saw the sail of his boat returning.

As she grew more and more anxious, a giant wave suddenly crashed in. She saw a fisherman below who had fallen into the water during the storm, waving his arms and crying for help.

At that critical moment, Stone Flower bravely cast aside social conventions, clenched her jaw, and used all her strength to pull the dying fisherman onto the reef.

However, she herself lost her footing on the slippery reef and fell into the raging sea, never to be seen again.

When Stone Flower’s husband heard the terrible news, he was overcome with grief and rushed to the reef where she used to stand, crying his heart out.

Amazingly, after the weather cleared and the sea calmed, a simple, lovely, unknown little flower began to grow on that very reef.

To commemorate the brave fisherman’s wife, the villagers named this strange marine organism "Stone Flower."

The famous Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica: "(Stone Flower) can clear heat and moisten the lungs, transform phlegm and soften hardness, and has significant therapeutic effects on symptoms such as thick phlegm from lung heat, enteritis, and dysentery."

"This is good stuff."

Li Xu decided to go and pick some.

He called out to Song Sisi, "Sisi, it’s already spring and the weather’s warm. I’m giving you the day off. Let’s go to Tang Mountain for a spring outing."

Song Sisi’s eyes lit up with joy. "Okay! I’ve been wanting to go on a spring trip for ages."

After getting ready, the two of them hailed a cab to Tang Mountain.

Along the way, the spring sun shone brightly, and the scenery in the outskirts was delightful.

When they arrived at Tang Mountain, they saw a wide expanse of farmland at the foot of the mountain.

Although it was the spring planting season, the mornings and evenings were still quite cool, so the rice seedlings hadn’t been transplanted yet.

A winding path on the ridge beside the paddy fields led straight up the mountain.

The path was lined with strangely shaped, craggy rocks. Some were covered in moss, while others lay bare, showing their grayish-white stone.

The intel hadn’t specified the exact location.

But it had said it was next to the hot springs.

Li Xu, familiar with the route, made his way to the side of the abandoned hot springs.

The terrain here was rugged and dotted with bizarre rock formations. A faint smell of sulfur hung in the air, a clear sign that steam was still seeping up from the underground hot springs, which hadn’t gone completely dormant.

Many of the nearby stones were covered in a layer of moisture.

"Look, over here."

Li Xu said, pointing to a damp rock.

Song Sisi followed his finger and saw patches of a flower-like plant clinging to the rock’s surface.

They were grayish-green, with slightly curled edges.

She bent down and touched it. It was cool and felt a bit rough, but a closer look revealed its delicate texture.

The plants clung tightly to the rock, like a naturally grown "skin."

"What is this?"

Song Sisi asked curiously.

"Stone Flower."

"Stone Flower? What’s it used for?"

"It’s a medicinal herb. It can supplement the liver and kidneys, promote urination and drain dampness, and even dissolve internal stones..." Li Xu explained, then feigned surprise. "I didn’t expect to find them this season. Let’s pick some to take back."

As Li Xu spoke, he took some tools from his bag and began to harvest it carefully.

Harvesting Stone Flower was no easy task.

They clung tightly to the rock’s surface and had to be scraped off bit by bit with a small trowel or blade.

Some of the Stone Flower grew in narrow crevices, forcing Li Xu to bend down and work meticulously.

Song Sisi copied Li Xu, harvesting the herb with care.

The two worked well together, and before long, they had collected a large bag full of Stone Flower.

While they were picking, Song Sisi suddenly remembered something.

"Boss, I just remembered something."

Song Sisi spoke as she continued to pick, "When I went back to my hometown for the New Year, my third uncle had a checkup in the village and they found gallstones. He’s been hesitating about whether to get minimally invasive surgery at the hospital. If this Stone Flower is effective for dissolving stones, do you think he could try it?"

Li Xu stopped what he was doing and nodded. "Yes, Stone Flower can dissolve internal stones. Have your third uncle come over for a visit. I’ll take a look at his specific condition."

Hearing this, Song Sisi’s face lit up with joy.

Her third uncle’s family wasn’t well-off. If he could cure his gallstones with medicine, he could avoid surgery.

She immediately took out her phone and dialed her third uncle’s number.

"Hello, Third Uncle? How have you been? Did you go to the hospital for the surgery?"

Song Sisi asked with concern.

Her uncle’s tired voice came from the other end of the line. "Ah, Sisi, I haven’t gone yet. I was just thinking, if you have a perfectly good organ inside you, it’s best not to cut it out if you can help it. My side has been a little uncomfortable these past few days, but I keep feeling like it’s nothing serious."

A wave of delight washed over Song Sisi, and she quickly said, "Third Uncle, don’t worry. My boss is an incredibly skilled doctor; he’s cured all sorts of difficult diseases. Why don’t you come over in a few days and let Doctor Li take a look at you? Maybe he can cure it without any surgery!"