Chapter 241: Mission Accomplished (Extra Update)
Following Quan into the courtyard, Yang PeiMin covertly observed and was astonished to find that the courtyard resembled a vegetable garden, divided into plots, each brimming with lush green plants.
Upon closer inspection, she finally understood where Quan’s herbal supplies originated.
Indeed, these were not ordinary plants.
Atractylodes, white peony, Poria, Panax notoginseng... the area was a swath of traditional Chinese herbs.
Quan noticed her expression and asked, "Do you see?"
Yang PeiMin exclaimed, "Each of these herbs has its own temperament and growth environment. How did you manage this?" However, she quickly reconsidered; the world was full of skilled people, and she was perhaps overreacting, though she gained more respect for Quan.
Quan invited her to sit by a stone table in the corner of the courtyard and said lightly, "When it’s necessary to make a living, you can make anything happen."
Yang PeinMin nodded, increasingly sure that Quan was not as ordinary as she appeared. She could cultivate such a range of medicinal herbs in her own yard and possibly elsewhere (certainly more than the dozen types in the yard since two ingredients for making autumn pear syrup weren’t there), and she discreetly sold autumn pear syrup in the Cooperative Society and even in stores outside the county. Yang PeiMin had learned that the syrup had been sold for five or six years, a time when things were quite constrained, indicating Quan had her unique survival strategies.
"Granny, since you have the stock, I was also hoping to buy some herbs. Could you sell me some?" Yang PeiMin had initially just intended to inquire about the source of Quan’s herbs, but was pleasantly surprised and wanted to seize this unexpected opportunity quickly.
Quan’s turbid eyes sparkled as she evaluated Yang PeiMin again and slowly responded, "Old woman like me hasn’t sold to strangers before. If you want medicinal herbs, go to the traditional medicine shop; they have a wider range."
Yang PeiMin had anticipated this, but it was difficult to buy in bulk there, and a doctor’s prescription was needed, which was quite troublesome. Alternatively, there were the barefoot doctors in the countryside, but they typically had only common herbs, something she could find herself with some effort in the mountains.