RYEY – Chapter 68 Danger

Cheng Qiao and Li Huan went to see Uncle Ye. Just as they arrived, Uncle Ye was holding a medicinal hoe and a basket, ready to head up the mountain to gather herbs. When he saw Cheng Qiao coming over, he paused in surprise. “Where are you feeling unwell?”

“Uncle Ye, it’s not me. I want you to check on my mother-in-law. I feel like she isn’t as healthy as she looks on the surface.”

“Oh, I see. Then let’s go. I’ll stop by on my way to collect herbs.”

The group hurried back home. When Mother Li saw Uncle Ye, she quickly came out with a smile to greet him. Uncle Ye was the only doctor in the village, known for being kind and charitable, so every villager respected him deeply.

“Stretch out your hand, I’ll take your pulse for peace.”

Mother Li froze for a moment, but when she saw Cheng Qiao’s earnest gaze, her heart warmed. She thought to herself that their Li family ancestors must be blessing them, to have married such a good daughter-in-law.

“Hmm… do you often feel mentally fatigued, with palpitations, forgetfulness, insomnia, dizziness, and weakness in your lower back and knees?”

Mother Li thought carefully. These symptoms really did happen to her frequently. Her heart tightened—could it be that she had some incurable illness?

“Don’t worry. It’s just a deficiency of qi and blood leading to liver and kidney weakness. Some medicine will fix it. I’ll write you a prescription. But some ingredients I don’t have here—you’ll need to gather them yourselves.”

“Uncle Ye, please go ahead and prescribe it. I’ll see if we can find them in the mountains,” Cheng Qiao quickly said before Mother Li could refuse. Mother Li had indeed been about to say “forget it” when she heard some things weren’t available, but with Cheng Qiao speaking up first, she couldn’t bring herself to reject her daughter-in-law’s good intentions.

“Codonopsis, roasted eucommia, honey-fried licorice, bran-fried Chinese yam, wine-processed cornus, prepared rehmannia, and goji berries. Decoction once a day will help treat the weakness.”

Cheng Qiao picked up the prescription and silently memorized it. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Uncle Ye. “Uncle Ye, let me go herb-picking with you today. I can also learn to recognize these herbs.”

Uncle Ye frowned slightly, glancing at the eager Cheng Qiao before unconsciously nodding. She was an educated youth, after all—learning another skill would do her good.

Li Huan felt a little nervous, but when he saw how enthusiastic Cheng Qiao was, his heart softened. Forget it. He had nothing urgent to do anyway—he’d go with his wife.

“Erlizi, if you can, get more eggs, milk, cabbage, apples, pork rib soup, pears, fish, and shrimp to nourish your mother. Your wife also needs some nourishment.”

Li Huan’s heart stirred. He pulled Cheng Qiao forward and said, “Uncle Ye, please check my wife too—could she be pregnant?”

Uncle Ye shook his head. Just by looking at Cheng Qiao’s complexion, he knew she was indeed pregnant. But he couldn’t check her now—if the timing didn’t match up, people would suspect. After all, they had only been married for about a month. Not even a miracle doctor could detect a pregnancy pulse this early.

It seemed clear that the other day, Li Huan and Cheng Qiao had fallen into that scheming educated youth’s trap. Luckily, the two were clever, and Cheng Qiao had escaped at the crucial moment and returned, shattering her sinister plan.

Li Huan brought out two baskets and a hoe. He gave the smaller basket to Cheng Qiao, kept the bigger one for himself, then told Mother Li to lock the door and rest while they headed up the mountain.

As they walked into the mountains, the wild fruits made Cheng Qiao’s eyes shine—wild ground cherries, thimbleberries, Chinese lantern fruit, wild rose hips, especially the wild kiwis, with delicate flesh and sweet flavor.

Whenever Li Huan and Uncle Ye weren’t paying attention, she secretly slipped plenty of wild fruits into her space, while the basket on her back gradually filled up too.

Li Huan spotted wild hawthorn, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and walnuts. He quickly gathered them as well. Back home, once roasted, they’d not only satisfy cravings during the winter but also stave off hunger.

Suddenly, Uncle Ye stopped. He had spotted ripe schizandra berries. Dried or steamed and dried again, with stems and impurities removed, schizandra could strengthen the body. Combined with lingzhi mushroom, it was used to treat insomnia.

Naturally, Cheng Qiao and the others recognized schizandra and helped pick them. But Cheng Qiao kept feeling as though something was calling her. Following her intuition, she wandered ahead and discovered several red fruits beneath a shaded old tree.

Her eyes widened. She quickly ran over, pulled a small knife from her space, and began digging eagerly. But just as she made a small pit, Uncle Ye sharply called out to stop her.

“Put that knife away! Don’t you know you can’t use iron tools to dig ginseng?”

Cheng Qiao was startled—she truly hadn’t known this. She quickly put the knife away and stepped aside for Uncle Ye.

From his pocket, Uncle Ye drew out a red thread and tied it around the wild ginseng. He always came prepared for such a find, though despite climbing these mountains hundreds of times, he had never seen wild ginseng before—it was thought to be nearly extinct.

“You’re really lucky, girl, to stumble upon wild ginseng.”

Uncle Ye took out a simple set of tools from his basket and began carefully digging. After a long while, a beautiful, perfectly formed ginseng root appeared before their eyes.

“Oh! This ginseng is compact and robust, with exquisite form, long twisting rootlets like dragons and serpents, dotted pearls, a long rhizome head, symmetrical branches—excellent quality.”

“Uncle Ye, how old is it?”

Cheng Qiao didn’t know much, only that age mattered. Uncle Ye examined its features—the rhizome rings, flower scars, and rounded root head—all signs of considerable age.

“At least thirty years, probably seventy or eighty. Cheng Qiao, would you be willing to part with it?”

Cheng Qiao felt reluctant. She wanted to plant it in her space, where time ran twice as fast and rich black soil could let wild ginseng thrive.

“Forget it. A gentleman doesn’t snatch what another cherishes. You keep it. If you don’t know how to prepare it later, come to me.”

Uncle Ye carefully handed the ginseng to Li Huan, who quickly passed it to Cheng Qiao. To be honest, he had worried she might be embarrassed to refuse giving it up. After all, finding wild ginseng required incredible luck—who would just give it away? Fortunately, Uncle Ye hadn’t forced her.

“Uncle Ye, this is the first ginseng I’ve ever dug up. I want to keep it as a memento. Next time I find one, it’ll be yours.”

Uncle Ye shook his head with a wry smile. The little girl was sweet-tongued. As if wild ginseng were cabbages growing everywhere.

The group walked further into the mountain. Li Huan, worried that Cheng Qiao might tire, found a relatively clean spot and told her to rest and eat something to regain her strength.

Her legs were indeed trembling. She quickly went over, about to sit down—when Uncle Ye suddenly gasped in a low voice: “Don’t move. Danger.”