Chapter 20: Vines Are Vines
On Monday, Yang Jiabo arrived at school unusually early. He stood at the school gate, waiting for Wei Jing. As soon as he saw him, he rushed over. “Brother, does your wound still hurt? Has it gotten infected?”
“It’s fine, just a small scratch,” Wei Jing said, amused by Yang Jiabo’s concern. When they had parted ways the day before, Yang Jiabo had anxiously reminded him to disinfect the wound.
“Who knows what kind of bacteria might have been under that woman’s nails? You should still be careful.”
“I know, I’ll be careful,” Wei Jing nodded seriously.
The following week, when Yang Jiabo and his friends went to sell vegetables again, they heard that the police had found a lot of counterfeit money on the plump woman and had tracked down several people involved in a counterfeit money ring. In his previous life, Yang Jiabo had only heard about counterfeit money and scams, but he never expected to encounter it firsthand after being reborn.
School life was monotonous, and before they knew it, the semester was over. Yang Jiabo was once again awarded the title of “Three Good Student”. In his previous life, he had received this honor every year in elementary school, except for one time when a mistake by the physical education teacher in grading his exam caused him to miss out. He still didn’t understand why the PE teacher was the one grading exams.
[三好学生 (sān hǎo xué shēng): Three Good Student, an honorary title awarded to students in Chinese schools who excel in three key areas: moral character, academic performance, and physical health. It’s a prestigious recognition that reflects a student’s overall excellence]
As soon as the holidays began, Yang Jiabo holed up in his room and finished all his homework in a week. By this time, his cousins were probably still struggling with their summer assignments and wouldn’t be visiting their grandmother’s house. So when his second uncle came to sell vegetables over the weekend, Yang Jiabo tagged along, insisting on going to his grandmother’s house.
Without his cousins around, life at his grandmother’s house was peaceful, as both adults and children were busy with work. Second uncle’s three children, second cousin Li Wen and fifth cousin Li Cheng, were out herding cows and cutting pig grass. Two-year-old Cousin Li Yan was taken to the fields by second aunt.
With no one to supervise him, Yang Jiabo was free to roam the mountains. He wished he could pocket every valuable thing he found in the hills. He gathered a lot of medicinal herbs, but the human-shaped fleeceflower root he was searching for remained elusive.
Seeing Yang Jiabo busy collecting herbs all day, his grandmother couldn’t help but ask, “Jiajia, what are you planning to do with all these herbs?”
“Grandma, pharmaceutical companies in the city buy these herbs. I can sell them.”
“These things are everywhere in the mountains. How much can they really be worth?” His grandmother thought the herbs Yang Jiabo was collecting were just worthless weeds.
“Every little bit adds up, and the prices for these herbs aren’t too low,” Yang Jiabo replied. Compared to the skyrocketing prices of Chinese medicinal herbs in the future, the current prices were practically dirt cheap.
“Well, go ahead, but be careful. There aren’t any big dangers in these mountains, but there are poisonous snakes,” his grandmother warned, thinking Yang Jiabo was only wandering near the village.
“Okay, Grandma. I’ll leave some Bai ji (白芨, Bletilla striata) for you. You can mix it with honey when you have a cough.”
“No need, there’s plenty in the mountains. If I need it, I’ll dig some up myself,” his grandmother said with a kind smile.
“It’s different. This is my way of showing my filial piety to you,” Yang Jiabo insisted. It was the least he could do.
His grandmother smiled warmly. “Jiajia is such a good child.”
In his search for the human-shaped fleeceflower root, Yang Jiabo had practically turned the nearby mountains upside down. He even checked the areas mentioned in the rumors, but still found nothing. He did find two ordinary fleeceflower roots, which weighed about ten pounds after he dug them up.
Sometimes he wondered if the rumors were false. After all, more than a decade later, there were countless fake “human-shaped” fleeceflower roots and false claims circulating. But second uncle had said he saw it with his own eyes. Second uncle had spent his whole life farming in the small village and had never lied. Yang Jiabo trusted him, which gave him the confidence to keep searching.
Yang Jiabo felt disheartened. Perhaps this opportunity wasn’t meant for him, and forcing it wouldn’t help. But when he thought about the future, how it felt to not have enough money for tuition, his heart ached. He couldn’t even remember why his family had ended up in such a state. Thinking about it, Yang Jiabo couldn’t give up. No matter what, he didn’t want to let go of this chance.
Distracted, Yang Jiabo slipped and tumbled down the hillside. Although the ground was covered with thick fallen leaves, there were also plenty of bushes and weeds. If he really rolled down, he didn’t dare think about the consequences. In his panic, Yang Jiabo grabbed onto a branch, sliding down on his bottom. He could only imagine how badly his poor little butt must have been scraped, the pain burning fiercely.
“That hurts! I was too careless,” Yang Jiabo muttered, leaning against a tree and standing up with his back hunched and his butt sticking out. “Today’s been unlucky. Not only did I not find anything, but I also got hurt. If Grandma finds out, she’ll never let me go up the mountain alone again.”
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