Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Getting the Medicinal Powder

Zhang Erlai wasn’t actually holding out much hope. It was winter, after all. Where would you find mushrooms in the mountains? Besides, Su Qing hadn’t mentioned selling any mushrooms earlier. But A Cheng kept asking about them, so Zhang Erlai had to bring it up.

Mushrooms!

As it turned out, Su Qing did have some in her space. They were all picked on Da Hu Mountain, and she could guarantee every last one was non-poisonous.

’But this time of year, wouldn’t pulling out fresh mushrooms be too suspicious? Heavy snow has already sealed off the mountains in the Northeast. Never mind that no one can get into the mountains right now—even if they could, it would be impossible to find any mushrooms.’

"Where would I find fresh mushrooms this time of year?" Su Qing said with a smile.

"Ah, I know." Zhang Erlai was a bit disappointed, but he knew it was to be expected.

"However, I do have some dried mushrooms I prepared earlier. Do you want them?" Su Qing asked. If Zhang Erlai wanted them, she could simply turn the mushrooms in her space into dried ones. For her, it would be the work of a moment.

"Ah, you have dried mushrooms?" Zhang Erlai’s face lit up. He had assumed he’d bought all of Su Qing’s mushrooms during their last trade, since it had already been late autumn turning to early winter, when there shouldn’t have been any more mushrooms to pick in the mountains. "If you have them, I definitely want them. For the dried ones, I’ll give you twenty-five fen per jin. How’s that?"

It took at least six or seven jin of fresh mushrooms to produce one jin of dried ones, so of course Zhang Erlai couldn’t pay Su Qing the same price he would for fresh ones.

"Alright, it’s a deal. Let’s meet at six this evening in the same little grove as before," Su Qing agreed with a nod.

It was winter, so the sun set early. By six o’clock, it would already be dark.

"Okay, deal. See you tonight." For his part, Zhang Erlai had to go organize his people. After all, with eight large wild boars, plus pheasants, wild rabbits, mushrooms, and everything else, a small crew wouldn’t be enough.

After leaving the black market, Su Qing found a deserted spot and prepared fifty jin of dried mushrooms from the ones in her space. Then she went to the trading grove early. When it was nearly time, she brought out eight large wild boars, twenty wild rabbits, thirty pheasants, and the fifty jin of dried mushrooms from her space.

When Zhang Erlai arrived at the grove with his men and saw the ground covered in game and a burlap sack of mushrooms, he rubbed his hands together in delight. He quickly had his men weigh and count everything. In the end, Zhang Erlai paid Su Qing a total of two thousand five hundred and twenty yuan for the lot.

After her trade with Zhang Erlai, Su Qing waited two more days before heading to Hongji Hall.

"Ah, my girl, you’ve come at just the right time." Mr. Gong was very happy to see Su Qing. He took out a small jar and handed it to her. "Here’s the medicinal powder I prepared for you. Every night before bed, just take a little bit, mix it with honey water to form a paste, and apply it to your face. Wash it off in the morning. By the way, do you have any honey? If not, I can track down a bottle for you."

Honey. Of course Su Qing had honey. Back when she was wandering through Da Hu Mountain with the three black bears, she’d taken the opportunity to grab over ten large honeycombs and store them in her space. She had several kinds of honey, all pure, natural, and exceptionally delicious.

"Yes, I have honey." Su Qing picked up the small jar with a smile. Opening the lid, she saw a fine, light purple powder inside, and the fragrance of herbs immediately wafted up to her nose.

Mr. Gong chuckled. "I made some extra powder for you. By the time the scar on your face is healed, you’ll probably still have some left. Keep it safe. If you ever get a small cut or something, you can use this powder once it scabs over. I guarantee it’ll heal in two or three days."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Gong," Su Qing said with a smile. ’This is great stuff. I’ll have to store it carefully.’

"Don’t mention it." Mr. Gong was in a particularly good mood today, because today he could finally buy the remaining medicinal herbs from Su Qing. "Aside from what I used to make this powder, I have two stalks of Chicken Blood Vine and half a root of Purple Danshen left. I’ll offer you twenty thousand yuan to buy these two herbs. Is that price acceptable to you?"

Mr. Gong felt a little uneasy. A century-old Chicken Blood Vine and Purple Danshen... this was the kind of priceless treasure you couldn’t find on the market. If this were somewhere like Beijing, people would be fighting to buy it for fifty thousand, let alone twenty thousand. Especially the Century-old Purple Danshen—it could save a life in a critical moment.

Although the twenty thousand he offered wasn’t low, he was still worried that Su Qing might suddenly change her mind and decide not to sell. After all, who wouldn’t want to keep such a treasure for themselves?

But Su Qing agreed readily. "Alright, that price is fine with me."

Mr. Gong was overjoyed. He quickly handed Su Qing the twenty thousand yuan he had prepared in advance. Two thousand ten-yuan notes was no small amount, and they were packed in a wicker case. Su Qing simply took out a burlap sack, emptied the notes from the case into it, and placed the sack in the basket on her back. She smiled at Mr. Gong and said, "I’m going straight to the bank to deposit it, so I won’t need the wicker case."

Mr. Gong stroked his beard and chuckled. "That works too." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Su Qing then took out five pieces of Huang Jing and handed them to Mr. Gong. "Mr. Gong, you went to so much trouble to make this powder for me. I couldn’t come empty-handed. I picked this Huang Jing in the mountains of Yun Province. It should be pretty good. Please take it as a gift."

Seeing the Huang Jing in Su Qing’s hand, Mr. Gong’s eyes widened. He quickly took a piece and examined it closely, then looked at Su Qing in astonishment. "My girl, you must have spent the last two months deep in the mountains of Yun Province! This is Yunnan Polygonatum, and it’s at least fifty or sixty years old. This is incredible stuff too! And you’re just giving it to me? Giving me so much? Do you have any idea how much this Huang Jing would be worth if you sold it?"

A single piece of fifty-year-old Yunnan Polygonatum like this, while not as precious as the century-old Purple Danshen or Chicken Blood Vine, could still fetch two or three hundred yuan. Five pieces would be over a thousand yuan!

Besides, fifty- or sixty-year-old Yunnan Polygonatum was also a rare sight on the market.

Mr. Gong couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy at Su Qing’s good fortune to be able to find so many precious herbs in the mountains.

Su Qing just smiled. "No matter how expensive it is, I picked it in the mountains myself, so it didn’t cost me anything. Besides, these herbs are much more useful in your hands than in mine. Please, just accept them."

"HAHAHA." Hearing Su Qing’s words, Mr. Gong laughed heartily. "Alright then, I won’t be polite! I suppose I’m benefiting from your good fortune, little one."

After bidding farewell to Mr. Gong, Su Qing left Hongji Hall. She mentally calculated her assets. Excluding that big pile of gold bars, she now had about fifty-two thousand yuan in cash. ’Hmm, after the New Year, I should find some time to go to Beijing and buy a few courtyard houses to hold onto. They’ll appreciate in value, and I can be a happy landlady.’

Just as she was thinking this, an anxious cry suddenly came from not far away: "Ma’am! Ma’am, wake up! Don’t scare me!"