They had braised pork ribs for lunch.
Li Xu made them. He didn’t know how to make flatbread, but he was a decent cook.
While the ribs were stewing, he made a special trip to a nearby slope to gather so wild Astragalus Root and Danggui Roots.
Astragalus Root replenishes qi and Danggui invigorates the blood. Stewing these two herbs with the pork ribs would not only enhance the flavor but also help improve the old man’s poor energy and circulation.
He washed the herbs and put them in the iron pot with the ribs.
As the concoction simred slowly over the firewood, a unique herbal fragrance began to fill the air, mingling with the aroma of the at and making one’s mouth water.
"This soup..." The old man sniffed, his eyes brightening. "It has a bit of a dicinal sll, but it’s not unpleasant."
"I added so Astragalus Root and Danggui," Li Xu said, stirring with a ladle. "It’s good for you."
Da Huang, the dog, couldn’t wait any longer. He circled the stove, his tail kicking up dust from the ground.
Li Xu smiled and ladled a full bowl for him first. The dog imdiately buried his head in the bowl and began to eat voraciously, letting out satisfied whimpers.
The old man’s teeth weren’t strong enough for the at, however.
He only drank the broth from the ribs.
He soaked the leftover flatbread from yesterday in the broth and ate it with great relish.
After the al, Li Xu moved two small stools out into the courtyard.
Although it was sumr, the mountain sunlight was warm without being scorching, making one feel comfortable all over.
The old man held the dicine bowl, taking small sips of the dark brown liquid.
"Is it bitter?" Li Xu asked.
The old man nodded, then shook his head. "I’ve had much bitterer things than this."
After finishing his dicine, the old man took out one of the local cigarettes Li Xu had bought for him.
He lit it, took a long drag, and began to reminisce. "When I was sixteen, a peddler ca to the village with a pack of ’Da Qiann’ cigarettes. Ah, the sll of that tobacco... you could sll it from half a street away..."
The old man’s mories opened like floodgates.
He spoke of the hardships of building the reservoir in his youth, of the taste of tree bark during the three years of natural disasters, and of the first family in the village to buy a television after the economic reforms began...
Those long-gone years ca to life as he spoke.
Da Huang lay at the old man’s feet, occasionally rubbing his head against his pant leg as if in agreent.
The plot of land was tilled and ready.
All that was left was for the seeds to sprout so they could be planted.
So, he had nothing to do that afternoon.
The old man and the young man sat in the courtyard for the rest of the day.
The old man talked about everything from his childhood to recent years.
He quietly narrated the story of his ordinary life.
As evening fell, Li Xu brewed another bowl of dicine.
He used a piece of freshly picked wild Gastrodia.
’Li Xu didn’t mind the expense in the slightest.’
It was just like when the pharmacy owner in Jiushui Town had brought out his prized Qianghuo and Qin Jiao.
’If it could make the old man’s final days a bit more comfortable, it was worth it.’
"Drink it while it’s hot." He handed the bowl to the old man. "Sweat it out tonight, and your legs should feel better tomorrow."
The old man took the bowl and gulped it down.
Putting the bowl down, the old man suddenly said, "Young man... I’m... not doing so well, am I?"
A mont of silence passed.
Li Xu looked up at the old man. "You figured it out?"
"I don’t know anything about dicine, but at my age, I know my own body," the old man said with a slight grin. "The way you’ve been looking at these past two days... it’s the sa way I used to look at my old ox..."
The courtyard fell silent, leaving only the occasional CRACKLE of the firewood.
Da Huang seed to sense sothing and let out an uneasy whimper.
Li Xu didn’t know what to say.
Consoling him?
It would be pointless.
The old man took out his pipe, lit it. "This homade tobacco still packs the best punch... Ah, everyone has to face this day eventually. I was just thinking about getting those seeds in the ground, hoping they’d still grow cucumbers in the fall. Really, I’m lucky to have t a kind young man like you..."
He petted Da Huang’s head. "After I’m gone, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Da Huang. He’s only seven, he’s still got a few years left. I haven’t touched the money in my bank card. You take it, use it to feed Da Huang..."
"I will."
Li Xu had replied.
It was unclear if the old man heard him.
Before long, the sound of the old man’s light snores reached his ears.
His qi and blood were failing severely.
He couldn’t hold on much longer.
...
「The next morning.」
When Li Xu got up, the intelligence for the day was about Huang Jing on a nearby mountain.
Huang Jing is recorded in Shennong’s Materia dica, where it is listed as a superior-grade herb. The Daoist School even called it an "immortal grass," believing that consuming it could lead to immortality.
According to legend, there was once a tuberculosis patient who, believing he didn’t have long to live, fled into the deep mountains to hide.
A few years later, not only was he not dead, but he had grown strong and robust. His voice bood like a great bell and he walked as if he were flying. Many people said he had beco an Immortal.
One day, the famous physician Hua Tuo was passing through the area and heard this story, so he decided to get to the bottom of it.
He searched the famous mountains and great rivers nearby and finally found this reclusive "Immortal."
He learned from this "Immortal" that he had cured his illness by consuming a plant with green flowers and yellow roots over a long period.
Looking at this plant, which had the function of tonifying deficiency and replenishing essence, Hua Tuo casually remarked, "This is truly the essence of all dicines."
Thus, it was given the na "Huang Jing," which has been passed down to this day.
...
Of course, Huang Jing couldn’t actually make one an immortal.
However, it could moisten the lungs and nourish yin, tonify the spleen and replenish qi, benefit the kidneys and supplent essence, and strengthen muscles and bones.
It was a rare and valuable herb.
Naturally, Li Xu wasn’t going to miss out.
After breakfast, he brewed the dicine for the old man. "How are your legs feeling?"
"Much better."
The old man rubbed his leg. "I’ll be able to go comfortably. Young man, thank you."
"Go ahead and drink this bowl of dicine," Li Xu added.
He grabbed his dicinal hoe and went up the mountain.
Huang Jing mostly grows in damp, shaded areas like grassy slopes and forest undergrowth.
Following the tip from his intelligence, Li Xu found a patch of Huang Jing before long.
A characteristic of Huang Jing is that it always grows in large patches.
In a short while, Li Xu had dug up more than ten pounds.
Moreover, it was all top-quality ’Chicken Head Huangjing.’
This is because the rhizo of the Huang Jing grows horizontally and has nodular swellings. When fresh, its surface is yellowish-white, and the stem scars are round, resembling a chicken’s head, which is why it’s commonly known as "Chicken Head Huangjing."
Lesser quality varieties are ’Ginger-shaped Huangjing’ and ’Large Huangjing.’
After Li Xu finished gathering the herbs, he returned to the village and saw a middle-aged man talking with Grandpa Zhou.
After so introductions, he learned the man was Wang Baimu, the village chief of Shangwang Village.
"I just ca by to check in."
Wang Baimu gave Li Xu a aningful look, signaling for him to step aside to talk.
Li Xu shook his head. "Grandpa Zhou already knows."
"Huh?"
Wang Baimu froze and looked at the old man.
The old man said peacefully, "Rember to bury on the mountain behind the village."
Wang Baimu nodded.
He stayed for a little while longer, then left.
Grandpa Zhou asked Li Xu, "Did you find any herbs?"
Li Xu held up the bag in his hand. "The mountains are full of treasures. I found a patch of Huang Jing and dug so up."
The old man smiled. "That they are. The Qinling Mountains are a treasure trove."
...
「Another day passed.」
When Li Xu got up and was about to make breakfast, he noticed there was no sound from the old man’s room.
He had a feeling what it ant.
He gently pushed open the door.
The old man was lying quietly on the bed.
He checked for breath under his nose. There was none.
He felt for a pulse. There was nothing.
He took out his phone and called Wang Baimu. "Village Chief Wang, you should co over. Grandpa Zhou has passed away."
Wang Baimu arrived quickly.
He brought a few young n with him.
Li Xu helped prepare the body for burial.
He discovered sothing in the old man’s bedding.
He took it out and saw it was a plastic bag containing a damp towel. Unfolding the towel, he saw that the cucumber and bean seeds inside had sprouted.
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