Chapter 286: Chapter 286: The Sable Finds a Mate, Wild Gastrodia

Qinglongyi? What’s that?

Gu Qinghuan specifically looked it up—turns out, “qinglongyi” is actually the green skin of wild hickory nuts, peeled from the unripe fruit.

Green hickory nut skin has pain-relieving properties. In traditional Chinese medicine, wild hickory nut green skin is called “qinglongyi” and is used to treat skin itching and pain.

Soaking hickory green skin in alcohol can help with liver and stomach pain, stomach neuralgia, and both acute and chronic stomach pain.

But wild hickory nuts have even greater medicinal value.

She figured the person who wanted to buy from her was either a doctor or a patient.

So she replied, “What’s your price? How much do you need?”

The other party replied almost instantly.

“Fresh qinglongyi, as long as you can guarantee the quality, 50 yuan per jin (half a kilo). I’ll take as much as you have. But I don’t want any harvested after the hottest part of summer—qinglongyi is best picked during the dog days, when its medicinal value is highest.”

This person was clearly in the medicinal herb business and usually dealt with wealthy clients.

And wealthy people’s attitude is generally: “Money’s not a problem, just don’t try to scam me with fakes.”

That’s why he was so particular about the quality.

Fifty yuan per jin—that’s about five mao (0.5 yuan) per jin in today’s terms.

This was a deal worth making!

Gu Qinghuan replied right away: “Quality is absolutely guaranteed. Cash on delivery is fine. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

The other party suddenly added, “If you can get other high-quality medicinal herbs, I’ll buy those too.”

Gu Qinghuan suddenly felt like a new door had opened in her mind.

That’s right—why hadn’t she thought of this before? There were so many things she didn’t know could be sold for money, but there were people out there who wanted them!

Clearly, she needed to broaden her horizons.

From now on, she’d have to pay more attention to these private messages—who knew, she might stumble on more business opportunities.

That very day, she made a trip to the cattle shed.

She called on Zhong Zijun and Ji Linhai to help out.

After the hottest part of summer, it was too hot for much work, so Zhong Zijun’s only job was to take care of the livestock. Other than the heat and the smell, it was pretty easy.

The moment she heard there was money to be made, she agreed without a second’s hesitation.

That afternoon, the group headed into the mountains to pick green hickory nuts.

Gu Qinghuan left the two kids with Cheng Shuying, then snuck into the mountains with Zhong Zijun and Ji Linhai.

Northern forests are full of these wild hickory trees, though their nuts are pretty hard.

Ji Linhai climbed up to pick while the other two gathered below. In no time, they filled a large basket. Zhong Zijun carried the first load back.

Zhong Weiqian, Cheng Shuying, and Old Master Ji sat at home peeling the nuts.

With everyone working together, by the end of the day, the cattle shed was piled high with green hickory nuts.

The three at home weren’t idle either—they spent the whole afternoon peeling baskets of hickory skins, their hands swollen from the work.

But there were still plenty of nuts left unpeeled.

That evening, Gu Qinghuan contacted the buyer, got his address, and shipped the goods.

The buyer was shocked by her efficiency.

A full hundred jin of hickory skins.

Gu Qinghuan had suggested cash on delivery, but the buyer, being a straightforward person, paid in full up front.

She received fifty yuan, and gave thirty to Zhong Zijun and Ji Linhai. How they split it was up to them—they’d all worked together, after all.

A few days after the sable ran off, it suddenly brought back another sable with it.

When Gu Qinghuan saw the two of them, it instantly clicked—this little guy had gone off to find himself a mate!

She couldn’t blame herself for not noticing—after all this time in the space, the sable was no longer a juvenile, but an adult, and needed a mate.

The little guy, full of spirit, bowed to Gu Qinghuan in a fawning way, while his “wife” stood there, looking a bit clueless and wary.

Just as Gu Qinghuan was about to take them back into the space, the sable suddenly dropped something into her palm.

It looked a bit like ginseng, but without the long whiskers—more like a big piece of ginger.

She knew the sable had a knack for finding things and wouldn’t bring back anything useless, so after looking it up, she realized—it was gastrodia (tianma).

This was a real treasure.

Gu Qinghuan remembered that a former colleague had once gone to court over buying gastrodia.

The seller had advertised it as pure wild gastrodia, selling it for 1,000 yuan per jin. She bought two jin, but when it arrived, it turned out to be farmed gastrodia, not wild at all.

The price difference between farmed and wild gastrodia is huge—one is just a few dozen yuan per jin, the other over a thousand. There’s no comparison.

Wild gastrodia is much more nutritious than the farmed kind, completely natural and pollution-free, and it’s only dug up once every three years at least.

Farmed gastrodia, on the other hand, is mixed with chemicals, harvested every year, and treated with growth enhancers.

The seller’s bait-and-switch infuriated her colleague, who took them to court—and actually won.

Of course, that was because she could afford it and just wanted justice.

Most people wouldn’t go to such lengths over a 2,000 yuan loss—the lawyer’s fees alone would be more than that.

Gu Qinghuan remembered it so clearly because, as a bystander, she deeply admired her colleague’s courage to stand up to unfairness and firmly defend her rights. She was truly cool.

Back then, Gu Qinghuan was still green and timid.

In a way, that colleague influenced her outlook on life and values.

There’s so much unfairness in the world—someone has to take it seriously.

If we don’t, our rights will be chipped away bit by bit. Eventually, we’ll shrink back, feel like we’re living in a vacuum, suffocate, and find ourselves in a world without a voice.

Those who dare to stand up are truly brave.

Gu Qinghuan really liked this saying: “You can hide in the corner and stay silent, but please don’t mock or slander those who bravely speak out—because the light they fight for may one day shine on you too!”

But back to the story.

The gastrodia the sable brought back was big and plump—even among wild gastrodia, it was top quality.

Gu Qinghuan took a photo and sent it to the buyer who wanted qinglongyi, asking if he was interested in wild gastrodia like this.

The buyer was very satisfied with the quality, asked for a video to confirm it was wild, and finally offered a high price—1,000 yuan per jin.

He said he’d take as much as she could supply.

Gastrodia usually grows in patches.

Gu Qinghuan asked the sable to lead her into the mountains to find more wild gastrodia.

Sure enough, although the patch was some distance from where they lived, that was precisely why it had survived untouched.

There was a whole area about the size of their courtyard, full of gastrodia.

All wild—she didn’t know how old they were, but they couldn’t be bad.

Gu Qinghuan was overjoyed and harvested the whole patch. This summer vacation was definitely worth it.

As a reward, she not only took in the sable’s mate, but also built them a cozy little nest under the red pine tree.

There was spiritual spring water, and all the fruits and nuts they could want.

With the gastrodia located and the buyer lined up, Gu Qinghuan brought Zhong Zijun and Ji Linhai to get to work.

They’d picked enough green hickory nuts, so she left the peeling to the elders.

The three of them geared up and headed into the mountains to dig gastrodia.

The patch was already near the deep mountains, so it was relatively dangerous. At first, Zhong Zijun hesitated—her life was precious, after all.

But when she heard Gu Qinghuan say wild gastrodia was worth five yuan per jin, her attitude changed instantly.

Gastrodia? That’s just money! Digging one jin of gastrodia was worth ten jin of qinglongyi.

Of course, Gu Qinghuan had understated the price—real wild gastrodia wasn’t that expensive in those days, and quoting too high would arouse suspicion.

With Ji Linhai, a tall, ex-military man, along, Zhong Zijun felt much safer.

Every day, the three of them would set out before dawn with their baskets, working until evening.

The forest was cool, not too hot. At noon, they’d eat their packed food, chat as they dug, and sometimes get teased by the “old married couple.” The work was actually pretty pleasant.

After almost three days, they were finally about to finish harvesting the gastrodia.

Today was their last trip up.

Zhong Zijun was in a good mood. She’d done the math: in the past two days, they’d averaged over 500 jin of gastrodia per day—over 1,000 jin already.

If they dug up the rest today, they’d have about 1,500 jin.

At five yuan per jin, that was 7,500 yuan—split three ways, each family would get 2,500.

What did that mean? Just three days’ work for so much money—practically a windfall.

Zhong Zijun was itching to turn over the whole mountain and find another patch of gastrodia.

Unfortunately, after going up and down the mountain several times, they never found another large patch—just a few plants here and there.

Gu Qinghuan thought about asking the sable to help find another patch to satisfy Zhong Zijun.

But the sable indicated that there weren’t any more big patches nearby—only deep in the mountains, where it was very dangerous, with wild beasts.

Gu Qinghuan decided not to push her luck—life was precious, after all. There were other ways to make money.

The three of them kept chatting and digging as usual, almost done with the patch.

Suddenly, Zhong Zijun pointed at something by a tree and said, “How come there’s a dog in the mountains?”

Ignorance is bliss—she kept digging as she spoke.

Ji Linhai reacted instantly—there couldn’t be dogs in these mountains, only… wolves!

Gu Qinghuan turned and saw the wolf too, drooling as it stared at them.

She had no doubt that those sharp teeth could snap her carotid artery in an instant.

Her legs went weak.

Ji Linhai calmly reached for the knife at his waist—the one Gu Qinghuan had given him. Now it was finally coming in handy.

He shot Gu Qinghuan a look, and she understood immediately.

The next second, the wolf charged at them, eyes fixed and determined.

Ji Linhai leapt up to shield the women.

Gu Qinghuan grabbed Zhong Zijun and ran for the nearest big tree.

Zhong Zijun, still confused, was practically dragged along—Gu Qinghuan’s strength in that moment was astonishing, almost as if she was flying.

In the face of danger, people can unleash incredible potential."

"Chapter 287: Killing the Wolf, Disaster Relief

“Mom, quick, step on me and climb up the tree!”

It took Zhong Zijun a moment to react—what they’d just seen was a wolf.

“You step on me first,” Zhong Zijun quickly crouched down, wanting to help her daughter up first.

“No time to argue, you go up! I’m stronger, I need to help Uncle Ji!” Gu Qinghuan anxiously shouted, keeping an eye on Ji Linhai’s situation.

Zhong Zijun knew the situation was urgent—this wasn’t the time for back-and-forth. She didn’t want to hold them back, so she quickly stepped on her daughter’s back and scrambled up the tree.

“Huanhuan, be careful!”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t respond, immediately running over to help Ji Linhai.

The wolf was facing off with Ji Linhai, circling and probing for a weakness, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ji Linhai was patient, carefully maneuvering against it.

After several rounds, neither man nor wolf had gained the upper hand.

“What are you doing back here? Get up the tree, quick!” Ji Linhai shouted distractedly when he saw Gu Qinghuan return.

In that split second, the wolf lunged again.

Without hesitation, Gu Qinghuan pulled out a homemade pepper spray from her pocket (actually from her space) and sprayed it hard in the wolf’s direction.

This wasn’t ordinary pepper spray—it was Gu Qinghuan’s own concoction, with chili water and all sorts of extra ingredients. If it got in the wolf’s eyes, it would be in for a world of pain.

The wolf didn’t dodge and ran straight into the spray. Instantly, it let out a piercing howl.

Its eyes burned so badly it couldn’t open them. It wanted to run but couldn’t see, writhing in agony from the spray.

Ji Linhai seized the opportunity, rushed forward with his knife, flipped onto the wolf’s back, wrapped an arm around its neck, and slashed its throat in one swift, clean move.

The two exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, nothing serious had happened.

“I’m getting old! When I was younger, I could take down two wolves by myself. By the way, kiddo, what did you just spray?” Ji Linhai plopped down on the ground, curious.

“Want to try it yourself?” Gu Qinghuan teased, waving the spray bottle.

Ji Linhai was about to reply when Zhong Zijun came over.

“Don’t tease your Uncle Ji. What is that stuff? It’s so effective!”

Zhong Zijun had watched everything from the tree and was very interested in Gu Qinghuan’s “secret weapon.” Sometimes, little gadgets like that could save your life.

“It’s just chili water! I added scallion and ginger juice, strong liquor, vinegar—anything spicy and irritating,” Gu Qinghuan explained.

“Not bad! You should make one for your mom too. This could come in handy in a pinch,” Ji Linhai praised.

Zhong Zijun turned away, embarrassed.

Gu Qinghuan almost burst out laughing at their obvious affection—these two were just too cute together.

There was no time to chat. Killing a wolf meant the smell of blood would soon attract other animals.

Luckily, they’d already dug up most of the gastrodia (tianma) in the area. The few remaining scraps they left behind, to let the plants propagate for next year.

The three of them packed up their tianma and headed down the mountain. The wolf was stuffed in Ji Linhai’s big basket, covered with tianma.

Gu Qinghuan, strong as she was, carried over 150 jin (about 75 kg) of tianma, leading the way and carefully avoiding people as they made their way back to the small courtyard.

The job of skinning the wolf was left to Ji Linhai.

The two little ones, Dabao and Beibei, watched Ji Linhai skin the wolf with wide eyes, not afraid at all and completely fascinated.

Gu Qinghuan, worried they’d brag and give something away, reminded them not to say a word about it.

Zhong Zijun and Gu Qinghuan washed the freshly dug tianma and laid it out to dry.

That night, the family ate braised wolf meat for the first time in their lives.

Wolf meat had a gamey, slightly sour taste, similar to dog meat, and was tougher than regular poultry.

But after braising and with the spicy flavors, the dish turned out great—everyone ate their fill.

After dinner, Gu Qinghuan packed up the leftover wolf meat and had Ji Linhai and Zhong Zijun each take some home for their families.

The rest of the wolf meat was divided into three portions, one for each family. As for the wolf skin, it went to Ji Linhai—Gu Qinghuan didn’t want it; it looked a bit creepy.

As usual, Ji Linhai walked Zhong Zijun home and helped carry the meat.

The customers who’d ordered Qinglongyi (special herbal clothes) had already received the first and second batches and were very satisfied with the quality.

But the buyer hadn’t expected Gu Qinghuan to come up with 1,500 jin of wild tianma.

He’d miscalculated—he’d said he’d take as much as she could supply, but now he was caught off guard.

At 1,000 yuan per jin, buying all the tianma would cost 1.5 million yuan.

Rare as it was, he couldn’t use that much and was worried about holding too much stock.

So he was honest—he could only take 500 jin at most.

Gu Qinghuan appreciated his honesty and wasn’t upset.

She could always list the rest for sale herself—good products never lack buyers.

She shipped 500 jin to the big client and received 5,000 yuan.

The remaining tianma she listed in the online store, and it sold out quickly.

This round, she made a total of 15,000 yuan.

Officially, she reported 7,500 yuan, of which she got to keep 2,500.

So, her personal income was 10,000 yuan.

Wait, there was also the Qinglongyi—there were still a few hundred jin left. Even if it wasn’t much, it was still money, probably a few hundred more yuan.

After this busy spell, she planned to take a break. She’d been hustling all summer and was exhausted.

Early August.

The commune’s radio broadcast a special announcement.

Most of the Central Plains had been hit by continuous heavy rains and flooding. Many people were displaced, their families torn apart, and the death toll was in the tens of thousands. The whole nation was in mourning.

After careful thought, Gu Qinghuan wrote a letter in Wang Zhiyuan’s name and sent it to the local government in the disaster area.

Along with the letter, she sent thirty large gold bars. In those days, shipments weren’t checked strictly. She wrapped them up and sent them off without any trouble—luckily, no one opened the package, or it would have been hard to explain.

These were part of the gold bars Wang Zhiyuan had left behind. Using them for disaster relief was just right.

It would help the victims and also accumulate merit for Wang Zhiyuan’s family.

In the letter, she specifically told the government staff that she would be monitoring their relief work to ensure the money was used for the victims.

This was also to put pressure on them and prevent embezzlement.

Most people were good, but society always had its share of scum.

After receiving the gold bars, the local government did an internal check and confirmed the funds could be used for disaster relief. They quickly converted the gold into cash and bought food, clothing, and bedding to distribute to the victims.

The money was limited and could only help some people, but it was better than doing nothing.

When the local newspaper interviewed officials, they didn’t take credit but truthfully said it was thanks to Mr. Wang Zhiyuan’s generosity.

For a while, the newspapers were full of praise, but no one really knew who Wang Zhiyuan was.

That night.

Gu Qinghuan had a rare dream of returning to the Underworld Hall, where she met Wang Zhiyuan—not just him, but his wife and child as well.

The three of them bowed deeply to Gu Qinghuan.

“Comrade Gu, thank you for your help. The three of us have finally accumulated enough merit and can enter the cycle of reincarnation together,” Wang Zhiyuan said gratefully.

That day, he’d checked his merit in the Underworld Hall and found it had suddenly skyrocketed by tens of thousands. He and his family finally had enough merit to be together in their next life.

It was all thanks to Gu Qinghuan, whose compassion was well known—she’d even visited the Underworld Hall before and was the highest merit earner in the past ten years.

“Congratulations on getting your wish,” Gu Qinghuan said, cupping her hands in congratulations.

Wang Zhiyuan’s wife smiled, “In those boxes, there’s one with my jewelry—my parents picked them out for me when I got married. If you don’t mind, please accept them as a keepsake.”

Gu Qinghuan’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’re giving them to me?” Those would be worth a fortune in the future.

The couple exchanged a smile—this girl really had principles.

The items were already in her possession, so they were hers by default, but she still stuck to her values—a rare thing.

“Everything is yours to do with as you wish. It’s the end of our fate together.”

Gu Qinghuan grinned like a little miser.

“Thank you so much!”

When she woke up in the morning, she was still savoring the dream—it felt so real. Had they really entered reincarnation?

She hoped they would be happy in their next life.

And so, summer vacation came to an end.

At the end of August, Gu Qinghuan made another batch of beef jerky to send to various families, along with her homemade chili sauce and doubanjiang (fermented bean paste).

Summer vegetables were so abundant she couldn’t finish them all.

She picked green and red peppers to make chili oil doubanjiang, perfect for stir-fries and braised dishes.

She also made chopped chili sauce, which could be stored for a while as long as the jars were clean and oil-free.

It was the perfect match for steamed buns and pancakes.

Ming Ruxue and Gu Lanting, the two youngsters, had graduated at the end of June.

With Zhang Zheng’s help, Gu Lanting got a job as a librarian, where he could study and attend night classes at Huaxing’s adult school.

From his letters, it was clear he was satisfied with his current life and working hard to improve himself.

People grow step by step—Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried about him.

Ming Ruxue, on the other hand, had a different path.

Her family background qualified her for special treatment from the state.

She went straight to Huaxing Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University for further study.

Gu Lanting couldn’t help but envy her, but his own circumstances meant he’d never meet the criteria for that kind of recommendation.

But he’d come to terms with it.

It didn’t matter where you studied—as long as you worked hard and kept at it, you’d achieve something.

Though their paths were different, both youngsters worked hard, learning from each other and soaking up knowledge day and night.

Even Zhong Luoning praised them for growing up and maturing."

"Chapter 288: Hiring Wang Xiaowei as a Housekeeper