Free Web NovelChapter 378: Chapter 149: Ginseng
In what seemed like no time at all, the wasteland at the foot of Xiaoao Mountain was already more than halfway cleared.
Enthusiasm was high among the people of the Zhao Village, as well as those from the other villages bordering Xiaoao Mountain. As a result, the reclamation work progressed faster each day.
Soon, their work clearing the wasteland brought them near the great pagoda tree where Chen Wanqing and her companions had found the treasure chest.
This spot marked the boundary set by the county.
All the land outside this line could be reclaimed, but the land within was not to be touched.
It was important to leave a habitat for the animals that had long made their home there. One couldn’t just take everything.
Chen Wanqing hadn’t been to Xiaoao Mountain for some time, but one morning, she went up the mountain with Zhao Jing to forage for mushrooms.
A heavy rain had fallen two days prior.
Summer rains always had a certain ferocity. Many families were caught unprepared, their roofs leaking badly. Even the ditches in front of their homes, which hadn’t been cleared in time, filled with knee-deep water.
Thankfully, the rain had come and gone quickly. By dawn the following day, it had stopped completely.
By today, the hot sun had dried up most of the puddles on the ground, and batches of mushrooms had begun to sprout all over the mountain.
Every year around this time, the women of the village would go up the mountain in groups to pick mushrooms, and today was no different.
The surprise was seeing Zhao Jing among them.
Along the way, many people greeted the couple, but they focused their questions on Jing. "What brings you up the mountain? It’s full of bugs and snakes. Be careful you don’t get bitten."
"It must have been a hard walk, wasn’t it? They’ve cleared most of the land below, but they didn’t even leave a proper path. We had a tough time getting up here ourselves."
"Jing, if you want mushrooms, you should just go home and wait. Once we’re done picking, we’ll send a basket over to your house."
Zhao Jing naturally declined the women’s kind offer. He explained that he’d grown tired of studying at home and just wanted to come out for a walk. Using this as an excuse, he and Wanqing broke away from the group.
He and Chen Wanqing headed in a less crowded direction. Even after they had walked a fair distance, they could still faintly hear the villagers chattering. "What a good young man Jing is. He came out specially to accompany Wanqing while she picks mushrooms, as if we couldn’t tell."
"He’s so learned, so considerate, and he even has a scholarly title. Wanqing really lucked out..."
Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing heard it all, but they paid it no mind. In this world, people will always talk. It was best to just let them. After all, their words couldn’t hurt them.
"This way, Wanqing."
Zhao Jing took Chen Wanqing by the hand and led her deeper into the woods. His pace was slow and leisurely, making it seem less like he was there to forage for mushrooms and more like he was simply enjoying a stroll through the post-rain forest.
"Where exactly are you taking me? We can’t go any deeper. Any further and we’ll be in the heart of the mountains."
"It’s not that far. It’s safe here. Don’t worry, Wanqing, just follow me."
They walked for about as long as it takes to drink half a cup of tea. Just as Chen Wanqing was beginning to wonder if Zhao Jing planned to lead her into the deep mountains and feed her to the wolves, he stopped.
He pointed to a patch of weeds beside a large, flourishing tree. "Go take a look, Wanqing," he said.
"Look at what? Is it something good?"
Despite her words, Chen Wanqing did as he said and went over to investigate.
All around her were weeds and climbing vines, and the old poplar tree itself was dense with foliage. ’What on earth does Jing want me to see?’ she wondered.
Chen Wanqing didn’t understand, but she patiently began parting the weeds. Seeing her searching without any real method, Zhao Jing came over to help.
With a few purposeful tugs, he pulled aside a patch of weeds, revealing a small, lush, deep-green plant underneath.
But that wasn’t the important part. What was crucial were the four palmate leaves growing from the top of the stalk, and the small, pale yellow-green, umbrella-shaped flowers on its stems.
What else could this be but ginseng!
Chen Wanqing was stunned. "This is ginseng, isn’t it? How did you find it? Jing, did you discover this the last time you came up the mountain, or did you know about it even before that?"
Before he could answer her convoluted question, Chen Wanqing answered it herself. "No, it couldn’t have been long ago. If you’d found it before, you would have dug it up for Mother. And you wouldn’t have kept it a secret from me all this time. So, you must have found it on the day everyone started talking about clearing land to plant huangqi, right?"
Zhao Jing smiled warmly and gave Chen Wanqing a thumbs-up. "As expected of my Wanqing. You’re so sharp—you guessed it right away. I did find it that day. I had planned to bring you here then, but Xiang’er got in the way, and afterward, I forgot to mention it."
After that, with everyone keeping a close eye on Xiaoao Mountain, he couldn’t risk coming here. So, he waited until today.
