Chapter 29: Unease
Yiyi glanced at the paper in her hand again, and with a smile on her face, she continued walking forward. Now that she had contact information, she could act more conveniently in the future. Gu Tingyu obviously had something important today, so she couldn’t disturb him.
When Yiyi reached North City, she went straight into a well-established traditional medicine shop.
The shopkeeper saw Yiyi and asked with a smile, "Young lady, what are you here to buy?"
Yiyi glanced at the shopkeeper, then looked up and asked with a smile, "Do you buy medicinal herbs here?"
The shopkeeper nodded and replied, "We do buy medicinal herbs, but if it’s something too common, then we don’t buy it."
"Do you buy Sanqi and Seven leaf Lotus?"
The shopkeeper saw Yiyi seemed quite knowledgeable and responded with a smile, "We do buy these two types of herbs."
Upon hearing this, Yiyi felt somewhat relieved. She planned to continue heading up Songshan tomorrow to see if there might be more Sanqi and Seven leaf Lotus.
After thinking for a while, Yiyi asked, "If it’s six or seventy-year-old Chinese knotweed, how much can it usually sell for?"
The shopkeeper got excited and asked, "Do you have six or seventy-year-old Chinese knotweed?"
Yiyi laughed and waved her hand, "I’m just asking."
The shopkeeper’s face was filled with disappointment once more.
"Recently, our shop has been missing a high-year Chinese knotweed. If you really have such a Chinese knotweed, you could certainly sell it for a good price." The shopkeeper discreetly said to Yiyi, "I won’t hide it from you, if someone really comes with high-year Chinese knotweed, our boss might offer one thousand five hundred yuan."
Upon hearing this, Yiyi was a bit surprised. One thousand five hundred yuan was really considered a high price, and she was somewhat tempted.
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
But high-year Chinese knotweed is not easy to come by, so she didn’t give in, saying directly, "I have to be more attentive when climbing the mountain in the future, maybe I’ll dig up some Chinese knotweed."
The shopkeeper laughed upon hearing this.
"You’re quite amusing, young lady. But at such a young age, you’re thinking of climbing the mountain to dig herbs to earn money."
Yiyi shrugged and said, "My family is not wealthy, so I can only think about making money. Besides, being a girl who is not valued at home, I have to find ways myself."
The shopkeeper looked at Yiyi with some sympathy.
He knew that nowadays, even in towns, families often favored boys over girls. Life for girls wasn’t easy, especially for ones like Yiyi, who weren’t valued at home. But this was something he couldn’t change, so he simply nodded and said, "If so, then when you see herbs on the mountain, pick more to sell for money."
After Yiyi left the medicine shop, she headed straight back to Luwei Village, and decided to make another trip up Songshan tomorrow, to see if there might be herbs elsewhere, and also to explore how to reach the previous valley.
When Yiyi got home, Ding Yuejun quickly pulled her aside and asked, "Yiyi, where did you go wandering?"
"I went to East Street and West Street. Later, Zheng Xiangqiao wanted to go to the park with someone, but I didn’t want to, so I just came home."
Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Ding Yuejun nodded quickly, "Right, it’s good to come home directly." She hesitated a bit, but finally reminded Yiyi, "Yiyi, you should avoid hanging out with Zheng Xiangqiao. I think she has some ulterior motives, and she’s not suitable to be friends with."
Yiyi nodded without any hesitation, "Mom, I got it. Next time, I won’t play with Zheng Xiangqiao."
Actually, in the previous life, her mother had warned her similarly, but she hadn’t taken it seriously then. Now, reflecting, her mother had been worried all along, yet she hadn’t appreciated her mother’s intentions.
Thinking about it, Yiyi promised again, "Mom, don’t worry. I definitely won’t hang out with Zheng Xiangqiao anymore."
Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Ding Yuejun truly felt relieved, "Yiyi, it’s good that you listen to mom. I’m not against you having friends, but choosing friends wisely is important. We should make friends who are genuine and not ones who are deceitful."
"Hmm."
Yiyi nodded seriously, and then chatted with her mother about her plans to go to Songshan tomorrow.
Ding Yuejun frowned and said, "Didn’t you just go last time? Why are you thinking of going to the mountain again?"
"Mom, didn’t the orchid I dug up last time get sold? I’m thinking of going up the mountain again to see if there are any good things so we can have more money for ourselves."
Seeing her daughter eager to earn money, Ding Yuejun felt heartbroken, "Then mom will go with you tomorrow."
"Mom, I can manage by myself, don’t worry. I made it back fine last time, didn’t I? You should stay home to look after Shanshan."
Thinking about her granddaughter she had to care for, Ding Yuejun didn’t say more, especially since she wasn’t comfortable leaving Mo Shan behind either. Besides her and Yiyi, no one at home liked that cute little girl.
"Alright, then be careful tomorrow, and come back early."
Yiyi smiled and nodded, "Don’t worry, mom. I’ll come back as soon as possible."
The next morning, after having breakfast, Yiyi set out.
This time she carried a basket and took a small shovel, trying hard to recall the way to the valley.
However, after walking for a long time, Yiyi couldn’t help but feel like giving up. She hadn’t reached the spot where she got lost last time, and had no clue what mystery lay in entering that valley.
Shaking her head, Yiyi calmed herself, rested on a nearby tree stump for a while, and then continued toward the mountain top.
Since she couldn’t find the way to the valley, she could only take another route.
Luckily, the journey afterward was pretty smooth, and Yiyi found some more Seven leaf Lotus, carefully digging them up and placing them in her basket.
Looking at the pitiful amount of Seven leaf Lotus in her basket, Yiyi decided to continue going up.
"Oh my... there’s Wild Ginseng here."
The deeper Yiyi went, she finally reached a dense forest and saw a Wild Ginseng with red berries growing, and hurriedly ran forward joyfully.
However, as Yiyi approached the Wild Ginseng, she keenly scanned her surroundings.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but just now she suddenly felt uneasy, as if there were others here.
"Who..."
Listening to the rustling sound from the bushes behind her, Yiyi quickly turned to look.
But as she turned, she immediately felt someone pushing her from behind, and the person exerted force, directly causing Yiyi to stumble forward to the left.