Chapter 147 Herbal Medicine
After lunch, everyone went about their own business. Some went to do temporary work together, some went shopping together, and some went home together.
Lin Youcai and his brothers, Uncle Zhao, Zhao Zhuang, Tian Daniu and a group of men went to work in the pork farm. They had been in Qingshui City for more than ten days, and their families were almost settled and they had rested. They were idle anyway, and the family couldn't just give out money without making any money. They would go to work with people they knew well and have company.
Shen Xianglan, Lin Zisu and Lin Xianwen waved to Lin Youcai. Lin Zisu drove the mule cart and took Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin back.
Zhao, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family, drove a ox cart and took the elderly, the weak, women and children back home.
Last week, Lin Zisu and two others said they wanted to learn how to drive. Lin Youcai called in those who were free to learn together. He taught one or two people, and then taught four or five people.
It is always good to have one more life skill. It is better to rely on yourself than to rely on others for everything.
The Shen family had an ox cart and two mule carts. Old Man Shen, Shen Jingfu, Shen Jingcai, Shen Anrong, along with Awang and Old Man Zhao, would often go out to inquire about the news and get familiar with the business situation in the country. The Shen family planned to continue doing business.
They were often out, while women and children stayed at home, so it was inconvenient to go in and out of the city to buy daily necessities and food. The idle livestock and vehicles at home were just sitting there, and women and men were the same as in the country, they could work outside and serve as officials, and there was no such thing as women not being able to show their faces in public.
When Lin Youcai came to ask, Grandma Ye asked her two daughters-in-law to learn how to drive so that it would be more convenient for them to travel.
Two mule carts drove into Qingshui No. 3 Community one after the other. Lin Zisu stopped the car in front of the gate of her yard and asked her mother and brother to go back to the yard first. Lin Xianwen called Dahei out to get on the mule cart, and Lin Zisu drove the mule cart to take Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin back.
In spring, wild grass and vegetables grow luxuriantly. Old Man Lin and Old Lady Wang would invite other elderly people who were not working to go to the nearby river or the foot of the mountain to cut wild grass to feed the livestock and pick wild vegetables for their own consumption.
Lin Zisu let Dahei go with her, and also let the tiger-striped dog from Lin Lizheng's family, the calico dog from Zhao the butcher's family, and the big yellow dog from Zhu's family go out for a walk together.
On a day that doesn’t rain, the four dogs can follow a group of old people and go out and have fun for an entire afternoon.
Lin Zisu and Lin Xianwen returned to their room to work on their writing career. Now they were both young and new to the country. At present, the family had enough money for food, accommodation and transportation, so they were not in a hurry to make money to survive.
Last week, after school every day at noon, Shen Xianglan returned to Qingshui No. 3 Community to put her things away, and then went hunting in the surrounding areas with the old ladies, old men, and dogs, carrying a basket on her back.
She collected a lot of herbs, cleaned them up, and dried them in the sun. There were many round bamboo dustpans in the yard, filled with herbs to dry.
As the old saying goes, there are no weeds in the mountains, and human knowledge is a treasure.
In the wild south, many plants that can be seen everywhere on the roadside are useful herbs, and some of them have a wide range of uses.
The big winnowing basket was filled with Viola yedoensis, a very common plant with beautiful purple flowers as its name suggests.
Viola yedoensis is a native plant of China. It likes sunshine and a humid environment. It is shade-tolerant and cold-tolerant, not picky about soil, and has strong adaptability. Therefore, it is widely distributed and can be found in most places.
Viola yedoensis has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and reducing swelling. It can be taken internally to treat jaundice, dysentery, mastitis, red and swollen eyes, pharyngitis, and applied externally to treat bruises, carbuncles, snake bites, etc.
It is also known as an aphrodisiac grass among the people, and is the nemesis of carbuncles, boils and snake venom.
People with qi and blood deficiency can use Viola yedoensis, Angelica sinensis and Astragalus membranaceus to nourish their bodies.
For patients with pain and swelling caused by damp-heat condensation in bone abscesses, Viola yedoensis can be used together with Poria cocos, Plantago seed, Honeysuckle and Achyranthes bidentata to eliminate dampness and clear heat.
Patients with furuncles, carbuncles, redness, swelling, heat and pain can take fresh Viola yedoensis juice alone. The crushed Viola yedoensis residue can also be applied to the affected area, or it can be combined with honeysuckle, dandelion and wild chrysanthemum.
Patients with scrofula and tuberculosis of the neck can use Viola yedoensis combined with Prunella vulgaris, Scrophularia ningpoensis, Fritillaria thunbergii, and oyster to disperse the nodules and reduce swelling.
There were four baskets of violets drying in the yard, and Lin Zisu and Lin Xianwen would go to pick them from time to time. Lin Zisu thought the violets were very beautiful, and every time she saw them, she would pick a large basket of them back, as well as wild chrysanthemums and honeysuckle.
It would be a waste if you didn’t pick the wild flowers on the mountain. Whenever she went out to hunt, she would definitely come back with a basket of wild flowers.
Shen Xianglan told Old Man Lin and Old Lady Wang about some common plants, which ones were herbs and what they did. They would pick any they saw and carry them back.
The winnowing baskets in the yard are used to dry common herbs, including Houttuynia cordata, dandelions, wild chrysanthemums, honeysuckle, lilac, forsythia, and plantain. . .
Wash it, dry it whole or cut it into pieces, store it for later use, or send it to a pharmacy for sale. When Shen Xianglan went to the pharmacy to buy medicine, she specifically asked about it. The pharmacy has a staff member who specializes in collecting medicine. Many people will take the herbs they picked themselves to sell in the pharmacy.
Pharmacies prefer to buy fresh herbs, which they dry and prepare themselves, and are more professional. The quality of fresh herbs can be seen, so the price of good quality herbs will be much higher.
Shen Xianglan dried the herbs, not to sell them to the pharmacy, but to keep them for herself. She studied medicine in her previous life, specializing in Chinese medicine preparations.
Fresh herbs and herbs that are simply dried cannot be sold for a good price unless they are rare and precious herbs.
Traditional Chinese medicine production requires space, manpower, and material resources. The yard is not our own, but a rented one. The open space in front of the yard is occupied by a small vegetable garden, a caravan, a toilet, a bathroom, a barn, and a carriage.
The roof of Lin Zisu's RV was filled with winnowing baskets. The house in the yard was only one story high, with stairs built on the wall. Winnowing baskets filled with herbs were placed on the roof to dry.
Shen Xianglan wanted to make Chinese medicine ointments, pills, and powders. . . . Because there was no place, she wanted to pick herbs and make small portions by herself to practice and get familiar with them. Unfortunately, she didn't have time now. She had to take a half-day class every day, and an afternoon was not enough. Moreover, she couldn't stop or leave during the process of making medicine.
Shen Xianglan decided to collect herbs first and try again on Saturday and Sunday. She had dried herbs stored at home, so she didn't have to worry about not selling them. She could use them when her family members had minor illnesses or pains. Many medicines didn't need to be specially made to cure diseases.
The two siblings came out of the house dizzy from writing. It was almost dark outside. Dahei had come back from his walk and was following behind Shen Xianglan.
There was a basket of fresh plants at the door of the main room. Shen Xianglan was busy collecting the herbs that were drying in the sun and had no time to process them.
Lin Zisu walked over and looked around to see what kind of herbs were inside. "Did grandpa and grandma pick them?"
"Well, take them out and sort them, and clean up the rotten leaves and dirt." Shen Xianglan put the dried herbs into a plastic bag and said to the two siblings.
Lin Xianwen touched his stomach and said, "I'm so hungry! Mom!"
Shen Xianglan: "Why are you shouting? Wait a minute."
"Knock knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.
"Dad is back!" Lin Zisu turned around and opened the door.
She opened the door and saw her father standing at the gate carrying pork belly, while her uncle and his men were driving away in a ox cart.
(My dears, I have to rush to finish the second chapter in the early morning. Go to bed early, and read the second chapter tomorrow.)