Chapter Two: The Ginseng of Precious Medicine

"Dealing with such things is far too dangerous. If you encounter one that's particularly troublesome, you might easily fall prey to it; then, even dying would be a luxury you can't afford. So, if you truly have the heart for it, you'd be better off learning martial arts. Mastery in martial arts can also kill ghosts, and it doesn't attract these beings so easily, making it much safer."

As he spoke, he finally glanced at Chen Baihe and Zhao Hehua and said, "Baihe, the child is still young and weak; it's easy for him to attract these things. You two should pay more attention. Well, it seems there's nothing more here, so I'll be going now."

"Yes, yes, thank you so much, Uncle Zhong. It's so late; we wouldn't dream of troubling you further tonight. Tomorrow, please, you must come to our home for a meal," Chen Baihe replied, nodding repeatedly. He quickly pulled out twenty or so copper coins from his pocket and placed them in Uncle Zhong's hand.

Uncle Zhong protested for a moment, then smiled and nodded, leaving the house.

...

Chen Yushu frowned.

He had been refused.

This was, in truth, only natural. Uncle Zhong was no solitary man; he had family and relatives. His trade was his livelihood—presiding over ceremonies of joy and sorrow, earning anything from dozens to hundreds, sometimes thousands of copper coins. In the surrounding villages, it was a sought-after profession, and many wanted to learn from him.

Yushu had no kinship or ties with him, so it was normal not to be taught.

Yet, after what had happened, it was nearly impossible for his heart to settle again.

He had to learn something.

Reading? Writing?

He did possess these skills, likely from having attended private school for two years in his previous incarnation. But these were of no use in his current predicament.

Martial arts? That, too, tempted him.

But how to learn? From whom?

His family were mere farmers, with a single house and courtyard, and three acres of land—barely enough to survive. So, his father worked the fields and doubled as an herbalist, while his mother was an ordinary village woman, able to earn thirty or so copper coins a month from sewing if she was lucky.

This was typical in Beijiao Village, nestled against Jiupan Mountain, rich in vegetation and wild herbs. Many villagers, like his father, would gather herbs during idle times. Otherwise, with annual taxes and levies, three acres of rice fields could never suffice.

---

Beyond herbalists, the village had hunters and blacksmiths.

Beijiao Village wasn't large, but it had dozens of households. Only a handful of the bigger families could truly make a living from farming.

But such households could hardly afford to support his martial training. The fact that they managed to send him to private school to learn to read was already a huge investment; their greatest hope was likely for him to one day find work as a bookkeeper in town.

...

"Yushu must be asleep by now?" asked Chen Baihe from another room.

"He's already in bed," Zhao Hehua replied, unable to hold back her question, "What do you think about Yushu wanting to learn a skill? We sent him to private school, but that scholar Zhang was unreliable—taught for only two years before disappearing. Now the child is grown; he really ought to learn a trade. Otherwise, without a skill, he won't earn any money, and marrying will be a struggle. We can't have him scraping a living in the fields or gathering herbs like you, can we? That's far too dangerous."

"Certainly not," Chen Baihe shook his head. As an herbalist, he knew well the dangers of the trade.

Jiupan Mountain was hardly peaceful; poisonous insects and wild beasts abounded, and rumor had it that deep within, there were strange and ferocious creatures. Thus, most villagers only dared to roam the edges, yet even there, attacks by wild animals were not uncommon.

For instance, Song Rentou, who lived not far from their front yard, was attacked by wolves last year. He heeded the elders' advice, didn't look back, and rushed forward, but still lost half his face to their jaws.

Then there was Jiang, a young man from the neighboring village, who was gored by a wild boar, his intestines spilling out; he survived, but barely, and was said to be near death.

Even Baihe himself had faced danger several times.

With such precedents, he certainly did not want his child to follow that path.

"It's a pity Uncle Zhong won't teach him; otherwise, his skills are quite good. He's known throughout the neighboring villages, and last month, I heard he was invited by an official in the county to help out, earning three taels of silver," Zhao Hehua said enviously.

"Nonsense. He's just lucky—hasn't encountered anything major. Ten years ago, our village had a more formidable ghost-woman, one who could commune with spirits and had real skill. Without a grand sedan chair, you couldn't even invite her for help. But what happened? She went out once and never returned.

Yushu is frail; he can attract these things even just staying at home. If he followed Uncle Zhong, what good could come of it?

Don't worry about this. Three days from now is the big market. I plan to dig up that ginseng and take it to Liu's pharmacy. Over the years, I've built some rapport with the manager there. Once I offer that ginseng, I should be able to get Yushu accepted.

Liu's pharmacy is the property of the Liu family in the county. I've heard that anyone who gets in can learn martial arts, as well as the skills of identifying and understanding herbs. If he turns out well, he might even become a doctor."

---

Chen Baihe spoke through clenched teeth.

"That precious ginseng..." Zhao Hehua's expression changed.

She knew well how hard it had been for her husband to acquire it—snatched from under the nose of a wild beast, nearly at the cost of his life.

And with the autumn tax approaching, the family had no extra money. If they sent it away...

But thinking of their child, she could only sigh.

At least Liu's pharmacy was one of the rare good prospects in the surrounding villages—far better than joining a gang.

...

Early the next morning, Chen Yushu rose.

He had not slept well that night either.

Anyone who had just experienced such things could hardly sleep soundly.

Still, he got up early, washed with willow branches, and took a book from his bamboo cabinet.

The Three Character Classic!

It was a handwritten copy from his two years in private school; he also had a copy of The Hundred Family Surnames and The Thousand Character Text.

The previous Chen Yushu clearly wasn't much of a scholar—the books were not new, but showed little sign of use.

But now, things were different.

His attribute panel displayed two skills in bright clarity.

Reading! Calligraphy!

Though he had resolved to learn martial arts, with no path open yet, he refused to waste time.

Moreover, he understood well how vital literacy was for anyone hoping to achieve anything in this world.

Otherwise, even if a martial arts manual fell into his hands, he wouldn't be able to study it.

So, upon discovering the attribute panel, he began to relearn.

His focus was naturally on the script of this world.

The characters here differed greatly from those of his previous life.

He needed to compare, recognize, and memorize them anew.

Fortunately, with two days of groundwork and some 'cultural foundation,' his learning was swift.

After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, he had 'read' through the entire Three Character Classic.

Reading +1