Mountain God’s Forest Farm – CH91

Chapter 91: Old Salvia

In the morning, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan went up the mountain to feed the chickens.

Their chicks had already grown halfway and could now eat pure grain.

The two had transported more than ten bags of cracked corn and piled them inside the chicken shed.

Most of the time, they would come up, drag the cracked corn out of the shed, pull it to the open ground, and pour it out to feed the chickens.

Occasionally, when they were too busy, the little fellows at home would come up to feed them.

Most of the time, Xian Niao led the team, and the little fellows came together.

If Xian Niao did not lead the team, Tiaozhu or Shuangzhong would occasionally come alone. They were strong enough to drag the cracked corn, so they would directly pull the bags to the open ground, tear the bags open, and wait for the chickens to come eat.

The two walked from the foot of the mountain upward. Before they had even reached the place, Ying Kongtu first saw three wolves wandering outside the kiwifruit orchard.

They were Jingwei and its good wolf friends.

“Jingwei!” Ying Kongtu called out.

The three wolves turned their heads in perfect unison. “Awoo!”

They cried excitedly several times and charged wildly toward Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan.

When they reached their feet, the three wolves squeezed and jostled, rubbing against them with their bodies. Jingwei even stood directly on its hind legs, placing its front paws on Ying Kongtu’s waist and enthusiastically trying to lick him.

The three fellows still smelled of blood. Ying Kongtu quickly pinched both sides of Jingwei’s soft cheeks and gently dragged it away. “Hey, don’t rub against us. You’ll get blood on us.”

Jingwei licked its muzzle and still pressed close to them. “Awoo.”

Ying Kongtu asked, “Did you come back from hunting this morning? Did you specially come over to patrol?”

Jingwei said, “Awo.”

Wild wolves were generally crepuscular animals, active at dawn and dusk.

Jingwei moved around with its wild wolf friends. Every morning and evening, it went out to hunt. During the day, it mostly stayed with Xian Niao and the others.

It could be considered a lively little wolf with abundant energy.

Ying Kongtu took out jerky for them to eat. “You worked hard.”

Jingwei was already used to eating jerky, so it did not react too strongly.

The two wild wolves very carefully took the precious jerky from Ying Kongtu’s hand and happily went to the side to eat.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan played with them for a while, then entered the kiwifruit orchard to check on the chickens.

There were still 526 chickens in their kiwifruit orchard. Not one was missing.

Perhaps because Tiaozhu and the others were watching over them, raptors and carnivores did not dare steal their chickens.

The chickens nourished by divine power were also growing very well and did not get sick at all.

After being raised for this period of time, the chicks had become half-grown chickens, each one full of spirit and looking very proud.

The two checked them over. There were no problems with the young chickens, and there was still quite a lot of cracked corn piled inside the chicken shed, so they did not need to transport more up for now.

“Let’s go. We’ll check Wuchuan Mountain.” Ying Kongtu pulled Wen Zhongshan. “We can pick some vegetables to take home along the way.”

There were no problems with the chickens here. They would go check on the pigs on Wuchuan Mountain next. If the pigs were fine too, today’s patrol would be considered complete.

There was some distance from Qianzhongcui Mountain to Wuchuan Mountain, so they rode the motorcycle over.

The sun had already risen. The morning mist on Wuchuan Mountain had dispersed, but the moisture remained abundant. Walking through the mountain felt extremely comfortable.

Especially since the forest was several degrees cooler than outside, and there was also the morning breeze.

The forest wind blew briskly. When it swept over, even one’s heart seemed to quiet down with it.

The two went up to the pigpen halfway up the mountain, and the pigs happened to be nearby.

The seven big black pigs looked fat and strong, yet they were extremely agile.

Ying Kongtu wanted to catch one pig to examine it, but as soon as he walked over, the pigs ran in all directions.

He had no choice but to release a little divine power to lure the pigs over, then grabbed one by the ear and carefully examined it.

“They’re over one hundred fifty jin now.” Ying Kongtu looked at the pig for quite a while and said.

Wen Zhongshan was not sensitive to weight. “Does that count as a grown pig?”

“Definitely. They can already be slaughtered.” Ying Kongtu looked at the pig under his hand. “If we raise them another half year, until New Year, they can still gain a little more meat.”

As he spoke, Ying Kongtu released the pig in his hand.

Once the pig regained its freedom, it quickly moved its hooves and ran off fast. Its movements and agility were comparable to a wild boar’s.

Ying Kongtu muttered, “Why run so fast? I’m not catching you now.”

Wen Zhongshan placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Sooner or later, we still will.”

“That’s true too.” Ying Kongtu naturally pulled Wen Zhongshan’s arm, drawing his hand down to hold it. “Come on, let’s go pick vegetables.”

It was summer, and the small vegetable garden on the mountain was full of all kinds of vegetables.

Ying Kongtu had planted several more types of vegetables this year. Every day, the vegetable garden produced all kinds of vegetables, more than they could finish eating. Fortunately, they had pigs and chickens. Otherwise, they might have had to pick some to sell.

“Let’s cut some chives today, pick a few eggplants and tomatoes, grab some long beans for stewing with ribs later, and then smash some cucumbers?” Ying Kongtu asked Wen Zhongshan’s opinion.

Wen Zhongshan said, “How about some pumpkin shoots? Xian Niao and the others like stir-fried pumpkin shoots.”

Ying Kongtu agreed readily. “Then we’ll stir-fry pumpkin shoots for lunch, and use the chives to stir-fry small river shrimp.”

The two quickly arranged the vegetables they would eat for breakfast, picked them, and went home.

As they walked down the mountain, before they even reached home, they saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance to their courtyard.

“Old Doctor Zhai?” Ying Kongtu greeted the old man from afar, surprised. “Why are you here so early? Come in and sit.”

The old doctor lifted the suitcase placed on the ground and said cheerfully, “Standing for a while is fine. I figured you two would be back soon.”

Ying Kongtu hurried over to support him. “Next time, just go straight inside. You can also call us, and we’ll come back right away. Standing is too tiring.”

Wen Zhongshan carried the vegetables and pushed open the door for them to go in.

The old doctor said, “I arrived yesterday and stayed at a hotel. Old people sleep less. I woke up early and walked around nearby a couple of times. There wasn’t much to do, so I simply wandered over. I’m not tired. It doesn’t matter. If I really got tired, I would have sat on your doorstep.”

Among the furry ones at home, only Dart was there. Hearing the movement, it ran out and circled around their feet.

It fairly shared its favor, rubbing against each person once.

The old doctor liked it very much and specially bent down to stroke its back. “This is little Dart, right? It came out just now and tugged at my pant leg, asking me to go in. I thought that since the owners hadn’t returned, it wouldn’t be good to enter without permission, so I didn’t go in.”

Ying Kongtu smiled. “Looks like our Dart is a warm and hospitable cat.”

Everyone entered the house. Ying Kongtu asked whether the old doctor had eaten breakfast.

The old doctor said he had, so Ying Kongtu took out tea leaves, pastries, and dried meat to entertain the old doctor with tea and snacks. He and Wen Zhongshan kept him company too.

The old doctor took a sip of tea and asked in amazement, “What tea is this? It’s so fragrant and thirst-quenching.”

Ying Kongtu said, “Eagle tea. It’s a kind of wild tea from our area. This tea belongs to green tea, so it’s especially refreshing to drink in summer.”

This tea was something they had brought back incidentally last time when they went to hunt bees.

Tea leaves grew quickly in summer. When Ying Kongtu was patrolling the mountain and saw that quite a few tender leaves had grown, he picked some and processed them into green tea. Occasionally drinking it, the taste was extremely refreshing and pleasant.

The old doctor sighed. “This tea is truly good. There are so many good things in your place.”

Ying Kongtu said, “If you drink it once in a while, you’ll find it tasty. If you like it, I’ll wrap some for you to take back later. There are plenty of tea leaves here, more than we can finish drinking.”

The old doctor said, “Then I won’t be polite.”

Ying Kongtu smiled. “Why be polite? You’re not an outsider.”

The old doctor also smiled. “Since you put it that way, it’ll be easier for me to say what comes next.”

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan had long guessed that he had something to ask, so they were not surprised now.

Ying Kongtu nodded. “If we can help, we definitely will.”

The old doctor said, “Take a look at this.”

The old doctor lifted the suitcase he had brought with him, placed it on the table, and gently opened it.

Cold air immediately spilled out of the box.

Sitting beside it, they all felt a burst of chill.

This was actually a low-temperature freezer box.

The old doctor carefully took out a packet of seeds from inside and showed it to Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan.

The moment Ying Kongtu saw the seeds, he immediately recognized them. “Salvia seeds?”

“Yes! Salvia!” the old doctor said in pleasant surprise. “Do you have salvia on your mountain? Do you usually grow it?”

“There’s no salvia on my current mountains. I’ve seen it before in the past.” Ying Kongtu pinched the seeds and looked them over. “These seeds are good, but they’ve been stored for quite a long time?”

“I knew I couldn’t hide it from your eyes.” The old doctor said, “They’ve been stored for over thirty years. They were special seeds given to me by a patient when I went out to practice medicine in my youth.”

Ying Kongtu sensed them for a moment. “They are indeed somewhat special. Their medicinal power is probably stronger than ordinary salvia seeds.”

“Exactly. They were given to me back then because the medicinal power of this salvia was extremely strong. Especially when used to treat cerebral infarction, angina, and hemiplegia, it had miraculous effects.” The old doctor rubbed his knee. “This medicine was truly good. I prescribed it several times, and almost every time, the patients who drank this kind of salvia showed considerable improvement.”

Ying Kongtu nodded, expressing his understanding.

The old doctor sighed. “This medicine is good, but its growing conditions are extremely demanding. Before, it only grew on a few mountains in the Qinling Mountains. Now, perhaps because the climate has changed or for some other reason, it can no longer grow on those mountains either. This kind of salvia is about to go extinct. There may still be a few scattered plants growing in the wild.”

Ying Kongtu roughly understood what he meant. “The shelf life of salvia seeds is extremely short. This batch of salvia seeds has been stored for so long that their activity is already very low. They may not be able to sprout?”

The old doctor nodded. “I know. I used to have quite a few salvia seeds in hand, and I entrusted several groups of people to plant them in various places with environments similar to the Qinling Mountains. But none of them succeeded. Now, I only have these hundred or so seeds left.”

The old doctor paused, then continued, “Your medicinal herbs are truly good. We’ve known each other for some time now, and I’ve seen all kinds of medicinal herbs from your hands. There isn’t a single bad one among them.”

Ying Kongtu said softly, “You’re praising us so much we’re embarrassed.”

The old doctor shook his head. “Those are my sincere words. I no longer expect this kind of salvia to be grown anywhere else. I didn’t expect that before I died, I would get to know you. I want to presumptuously ask you to help me try. If even you can’t grow it, then probably no one can.”

Ying Kongtu looked at the seeds. “Let me think.”

The old doctor smiled freely. “If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then this matter will be settled for me too, and I won’t keep thinking about it anymore. If it’s certain that it can never be grown again, although that would be a little regrettable, it’s still better than worrying about it all the time.”

Since he had already said this much, Ying Kongtu seriously agreed. “We’ll try. If we manage to grow them, these seeds—”

The old doctor waved his hand. “This visit is to fulfill a wish of mine. I’m giving the seeds to you. If you can grow them, you can handle them yourselves. If you can’t, just let me know.”

These seeds had to be stored at low temperature. The old doctor placed them back into the freezer box, then pushed the freezer box toward Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan. “I’m already very grateful that you’re interested in trying. Living conditions are good now, and there are also many people with cerebral infarction and hemiplegia. If the prescriptions can be restarted, perhaps many people will benefit.”

Ying Kongtu promised seriously, “We will try. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The expression on the old doctor’s face relaxed a little. “If they truly can be grown, I’ll send you a few prescriptions too. They’re all prescriptions that use this salvia as the sovereign herb. Because the medicinal material has not been usable in recent decades, I haven’t used these prescriptions in decades either.”

Ying Kongtu had read medical and pharmacological texts extensively, so he knew what a sovereign herb was.

The sovereign herb was the medicinal ingredient in a prescription that played the main therapeutic role.

This salvia could serve as the sovereign herb, and without it, the prescriptions could not be prescribed for decades. That meant its role truly was significant.

Ying Kongtu was very interested. “I’ll think of a way. Whether it works or not, we’ll know in a month.”

The old doctor said repeatedly, “Good, good, good. If it truly can be grown, perhaps my few prescriptions will see the light of day again.”

Ying Kongtu smiled. “Let’s hope Heaven lends us a bit of luck.”

Author’s Note:

Online, people say that if you hold a puppy’s muzzle and squeeze it a few times, it will click-click-click like clappers.

Ying Kongtu went to squeeze Jingwei’s muzzle. Jingwei looked at him innocently, its muzzle making no movement at all.

Instead, Dart beside them proudly went click-click a few times, showing Ying Kongtu its little sharp teeth that looked like a stapler.

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