Chapter 71: The Old Doctor
After the macaques on the mountain were chased away, they did not dare come back and cause trouble for quite some time.
Their pondweed was given plenty of opportunity to grow, and soon became lush again.
Spring and summer were the peak seasons for plant growth.
Aside from plants like black locust and pondweed, the woad plants at Ying Kongtu’s home were also growing very well.
Their woad had already been planted for more than half a year. He had wanted to harvest it earlier, but later discovered that the woad still had room to grow, so he had set the matter aside for the time being.
Woad roots were sold by weight. If he waited until they grew a little larger before harvesting, the returns would be higher.
That day, while Ying Kongtu was patrolling the mountain, he discovered that many of the daqingye in the mountains had begun to turn yellow. Some leaves had even fallen off.
Wen Zhongshan looked at the leaves scattered all over the ground and crouched down to examine them. “Are they sick?”
“No. They’re just starting to stop growing.” Ying Kongtu used the firewood knife he carried with him to gently dig open the soil around the woad root and took a look. “They can be dug up now.”
Wen Zhongshan broke off a stick and dug with him. “Its root seems a bit thick?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would it be called woad root?”
The two of them worked together and dug up the woad plant that was about to stop growing.
In just over half a year, the woad root had grown thick and large. Its diameter was nearly over two centimeters, and its length was more than twenty centimeters.
At first glance, it looked like a carrot.
Unlike a carrot, however, it carried a faint medicinal fragrance.
Ying Kongtu glanced at it and snapped it in half.
The broken surface of the woad root was a faint yellowish-brown, with radial patterns on it.
Ying Kongtu knew at a glance that it was qualified.
“Done.” Ying Kongtu said, “We can slowly dig up the woad roots and sell them bit by bit.”
It just so happened that the woad plants on their mountain did not mature at the same time. Some matured a little earlier, and some matured a little later.
They could put up a link in the online shop, dig them slowly, and sell them slowly. That way, everything would not be crammed together, and they would not be short on time.
Their great blue leaves had sold very well.
With the reputation built up from the great blue leaves, the woad roots should also sell fairly well.
Woad root was also relatively easy to store. After they dried it, they could rent a warehouse and sell it slowly without issue.
Ying Kongtu’s family had always sold medicinal herbs and mountain goods.
Listing the woad root only meant adding one more link, so it basically did not attract much attention from outsiders.
In the county, the only person who probably noticed was Yue Chengmao.
That day, when Yue Chengmao went to the old doctor for a follow-up consultation, he mentioned it specially.
Yue Chengmao had always gone to the old doctor for treatment. The old doctor knew that his medicinal herbs came from Ying Kongtu’s family and had always admired the quality of Ying Kongtu’s herbs.
When he heard that Ying Kongtu’s family had planted woad, also known as Isatis, the old doctor specifically told Yue Chengmao to let him know once the herbs were harvested. He would come over and take a look then.
Hearing that Ying Kongtu’s family had already started digging up the woad roots, the old doctor was very interested. “I thought they would dig them up a bit later. I didn’t expect them to start in mid-May.”
Yue Chengmao smiled. “Once the herbs on the mountain matured, they dug them up. They said if they didn’t dig them up now, the medicinal effect would start to decline.”
After woad roots matured, they could not be left in the ground for too long. Otherwise, the roots would gradually become woody.
The old doctor naturally knew this.
The old doctor said, “Then I’ll go over and take a look? Please let the owners know for me.”
Yue Chengmao smiled and said, “I already told them. They said you’re welcome to visit anytime.”
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan had both dealt with doctors before. From Yue Chengmao’s prescription alone, they could tell that the doctor treating him was highly skilled.
Changchuan County was relatively closed off.
If a capable doctor was willing to come over, Ying Kongtu was still very welcoming.
The day the old doctor arrived happened to be a bright, sunny day.
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan went up the mountain in the morning after the dew had dried to dig up woad roots. They had only just returned not long ago, and the woad roots had only just been placed in the dryer.
As soon as the old doctor reached the gate of their home, he smelled the faint medicinal scent.
“This medicinal smell—” The old doctor took an appreciative deep breath. “It’s been a long time since I smelled such a pure woad-root scent.”
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan both had especially sharp ears and eyes.
They were working in the courtyard, and had long since heard the footsteps, as well as the old doctor’s praise.
Ying Kongtu did not have a free hand, so he called, “Jingwei, go open the door.”
Jingwei, who had just finished hunting and come down from the mountain and was lying in the courtyard sunning itself, heard the call and went over to pull at the courtyard gate with its strong paws.
At a glance, the old doctor saw a big wolf head. His eyes brightened, and he exclaimed, “What a handsome wolf!”
Ying Kongtu had not expected the old doctor to recognize Jingwei’s identity at a glance. He hurriedly washed his hands and went over to welcome them. “Doctor Zhai, Old Yue, you’re here. Please come in.”
The old doctor was very interested in Jingwei. “Your family even raises a wolf?”
Ying Kongtu smiled and said, “It’s a little wolf we rescued earlier. Entrusted by the Forestry Bureau, we’re temporarily raising it at home.”
“A benevolent household.” The old doctor gave him a thumbs-up.
Ying Kongtu hurriedly washed his hands, invited the two of them in to sit, and brewed tea for them. “This is all wild tea from the mountain. It’s a little rough. We picked it for ourselves to drink. See if you’re used to it.”
The old doctor smelled it and said, “There’s also the fragrance of locust blossoms?”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “The locust blossoms were too fragrant this year, so we used them to scent a little tea, just for the flavor.”
The old doctor said, “Some time ago, Chengmao sent me your family’s locust blossoms. Truly fragrant locust blossoms. I’ve lived more than eighty years and had never tasted locust blossoms this fragrant.”
Ying Kongtu smiled again.
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan entertained the two of them with two rounds of tea.
The old doctor formally explained his purpose and said he wanted to take a look at their woad roots.
Ying Kongtu already knew he wanted to see the woad roots and did not mind, so he brought the old doctor to look at the freshly dried batch.
“Your courtyard is also kept very well. Large and refreshing, and the flowers and plants planted inside are growing beautifully.”
“They’re all ordinary mountain varieties, relatively hardy. This way. Since we keep a lot of little animals at home, I put the dryer in a corner of the courtyard so it wouldn’t affect them.”
Ying Kongtu took out some of the freshly dried woad roots for the old doctor to see.
The dried woad roots were darker in color, and the patterns on the broken surfaces were even more obvious.
The old doctor examined them carefully, then placed a woad root into his mouth and bit it.
In an instant, the rich taste of woad root spread through his mouth.
“Your woad roots are truly good. Thick, straight, and long, and they’ve been handled cleanly too. Even when I taste them like this, I don’t taste any grit.”
“Even though it’s medicine, it still has to go into people’s mouths. Of course it has to be handled properly.”
“That’s right. The effective components inside definitely aren’t low. I estimate that the indirubin and indigo content inside are much higher than the pharmacopoeia standard.”
The old doctor clearly liked their woad roots very much and praised them without stop.
Ying Kongtu only smiled.
After the old doctor finished tasting the woad roots, Ying Kongtu invited them back to the small table to continue drinking tea.
The old doctor thought for a moment, then asked, “Have your family’s woad roots found a buyer yet? If not, I know several people from large pharmacies. Such good medicine would be a pity to sell casually outside.”
Ying Kongtu asked curiously, “For woad roots of this quality, how much could they probably sell for in a large pharmacy?”
The old doctor pondered. “I estimate forty or fifty yuan per kilogram wouldn’t be a problem. This medicine is far better than ordinary bulk goods outside.”
Ying Kongtu thought for a moment. “Thank you, but we don’t have that much medicine either. We’re more inclined to sell it ourselves.”
“You’ll sell it slowly? Sell it through—”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “Through the online shop we opened. We sold great blue leaf slices before. Woad root is easier to store than great blue leaves. If we make it into sliced medicinal pieces and sell it, we should be able to sell it slowly.”
The old doctor did not avoid discussing money with them. Instead, he asked with great interest, “If you sell it online, how much could one kilogram sell for?”
Ying Kongtu said, “The price hasn’t been set yet, but selling it for around one hundred sixty or seventy, or two hundred yuan, shouldn’t be a problem.”
A look of surprise appeared on the old doctor’s face.
Ying Kongtu explained, “We mainly want to target wind-heat colds and sell it as a single-herb medicine. Wen Zhongshan and I investigated it before. These days, cold medicines for cough and phlegm relief outside basically cost twenty or thirty yuan a day. If one portion of our medicine is priced at ten or twenty yuan and can be taken for two or three days, it still has an advantage in price. It should sell.”
Medicine had been expensive these past two years. They had gone to look before. The medicine in pharmacies often cost twenty or thirty, thirty or forty yuan per box. Some medicines were even thirty or forty yuan per box, yet were only small-pack versions that could be taken for just one day.
Rather than selling their woad roots to pharmacies or medicinal herb processing factories, it would be better to sell them themselves. It would be cheap and practical, and could also help people.
After listening, the old doctor nodded. “Medicine really isn’t cheap nowadays.”
“The main thing is that our reputation has already grown, so it’ll be easier to sell. We’re not afraid of being unable to sell it.”
The old doctor did not understand. “In that case, why don’t you combine it with other herbs before selling it? Woad root alone can only treat the early stages of a wind-heat cold. Once the cold becomes a bit more severe, the effect won’t be very strong.”
“If you pair it with honeysuckle and forsythia, it would also be quite good for pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and the like.”
Ying Kongtu had truly never thought in that direction. “Can that work?”
“Why wouldn’t it?” The old doctor smiled and said, “Those capsules and tablets sold in pharmacies are also combined formulas sold to people. At least your medicine is made with real ingredients.”
The old doctor continued along this line, “If you’re worried, you can also hire a young doctor to oversee things. When someone comes to buy medicine, let the young doctor take a simple look and see whether the medicine matches the symptoms. If it does, then sell it. That will ensure nothing goes wrong.”
Ying Kongtu fell into thought.
The old doctor became enthusiastic. “I happen to know a few good formulas. I’ll write them down for you.”
Ying Kongtu said, “We don’t have the other medicinal herbs here.”
The old doctor waved his hand broadly. “It’s fine. I know plenty of pharmacies. If nothing else works, you can buy some good medicinal herbs and combine them. As long as you don’t cheat people, that’s what matters.”
Author’s Note:
The two wolves on the mountain fell in love with honey. They didn’t dare steal from Ying Kongtu’s family, so they secretly stole from other beekeepers instead.
Even though their muzzles were stung so swollen, they did not dare show it.
They obediently followed Tiaozhu’s group to patrol the mountain, and even brought wild fruits from the mountain for Dart to eat.
When they were halfway down the mountain and about to part ways, they saw Xian Niao standing at the very back, looking down at them from above.
Who knew how long it had been watching?
