Chapter 25 – 22: The Freshest Substances, Hundred Herbs Scripture (Combined Chapters)_2
Chapter 25: Chapter 22: The Freshest Substances, Hundred Herbs Scripture (Combined Chapters)_2
Lu Qing came back to his senses, hesitated for a moment, then nodded resolutely, “Give it away, of course. Compared to the life-saving grace of Grandpa Chen, what’s a hundred silver taels? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be standing here, let alone catching this Red Moon Carp!”
“Ha ha ha ha…”
Old Doctor Chen suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
After laughing for a while, he stopped and said with gratification on his face, “It’s enough for me to know you have this intention, young man. But I really can’t accept this Red Moon Carp. Such a precious fish is too much of a waste for me to eat.”
“But Grandpa Chen…”
Lu Qing wanted to say more, but Old Doctor Chen raised his hand, interrupting him.
“Alright, it’s settled then. You leave the fish with me, and in a couple of days, I’ll take it to town and sell it for silver, which you can take home for expenses.”
Lu Qing’s mouth opened, but in the end, he did not insist, only saying, “That’s fine, but Grandpa Chen, the money from selling the fish should first go to covering your previous medical fees.”
“Agreed!” Old Doctor Chen nodded.
Yet, he did not tell Lu Qing that the decoction he had previously prescribed alone had its precious ingredients worth no less than the Red Moon Carp.
That’s because the elder doctor could see that Lu Qing was a very proud young man.
If he knew the value of that decoction, he would probably refuse to take any money from the sale of the Red Moon Carp.
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Old Doctor Chen looked at the Red Moon Carp in the bucket again.
Then he frowned, “It’s a pity, though this Red Moon Carp has fine quality, it’s a bit too large and probably won’t fetch a hundred silver taels. Its value must be somewhat reduced.”
“Why is that, Grandpa Chen? Aren’t bigger fish better?” Little Yan asked, not understanding.
“Generally speaking, that’s true, but the Red Moon Carp is different,” Old Doctor Chen explained.
“The most valuable part of the Red Moon Carp is its freshness, and it’s usually when they reach around two pounds that they are the freshest and most tender. Anything heavier, even if it retains its freshness, the flesh is slightly tougher, and naturally, its value isn’t as high.”
Lu Qing could understand this.
It was like some seafood from his previous life, where bigger isn’t always pricier; rather, when smaller, the price per unit was higher.
“No matter the value, it’s all down to Grandpa Chen’s effort,” said Lu Qing.
Regardless of how valuable the Red Moon Carp was, Lu Qing had no way to sell it.
He believed that if he dared to appear in town with such a Strange Fish, even if he could sell it for money, he might not be able to leave the town.
Maybe only a Cultivation practitioner like Old Doctor Chen would be entitled to involve oneself in such trade.
“By the way, the Red Moon Carp has always been rare and its habits elusive, fond of solitude, and its tracks hardly seen. How did you manage to catch it?” Old Doctor Chen asked curiously.
“Maybe it was luck. After I caught that Green Armored Fish yesterday, I fished for a while longer and just happened to catch this Red Moon Carp,” answered Lu Qing.
His heart, however, stirred slightly.
Elusive habits, so even the elder doctor didn’t know that Red Moon Carps like Blood Apricots?
“If that’s the case, it really is fortune on your side,” Old Doctor Chen sighed somewhat. “Perhaps the heavens see the hardship you and your sister have been through and thus granted you these blessings.”
The elder doctor recalled Lu Qing’s illness that had suddenly improved.
Maybe, the sudden recovery from Lu Qing’s illness was also for this reason?
After pondering for a while, Old Doctor Chen placed the Red Moon Carp in a water tank in the house to keep it for the time being, then went to give Lu Qing acupuncture.
This time, after the acupuncture was finished, Lu Qing’s sleep was shorter than the last.
Upon awakening, he saw the elder doctor still chatting and laughing with Little Yan in the yard, with yam cakes still on the stone table.
“Woke up, have you? Come, have something to eat first.”
Old Doctor Chen saw Lu Qing come out and pushed the cakes on the table towards him.
This time Lu Qing did not refuse, picking up a piece of cake and eating it slowly.
Old Doctor Chen observed Lu Qing’s complexion for a moment, then nodded.
“Not bad. It seems you have heeded my advice these past few days and have not skimped on food and drink.”
“Grandpa Chen, my brother and I have been eating delicious food these days. Brother makes really tasty dishes!” Little Yan boasted proudly at the side.
“Mm, I can tell,” the elder doctor said, affectionately patting the little one’s head.
With his Medical Skill, how could he not notice that the complexions of the siblings had improved greatly compared to a few days ago?
After Lu Qing ate a few pieces of cake, Old Doctor Chen leisurely said, “I mentioned before that after this round of acupuncture, I would allow you to learn about herbs for an hour. You remember, don’t you?”
Lu Qing immediately sat up straight and said solemnly, “Lu Qing certainly remembers.”
“Do you still possess a desire to learn about medicinal herbs now?”
“Of course, my interest in herbs has never waned.”
“That’s good.” Old Doctor Chen smiled, “I was worried that after you caught a Red Moon Carp and were about to possess a large sum of money, you would no longer want to take the path of gathering herbs.”
“Lu Qing wants to study medicinal herbs not just for a living, but out of pure curiosity about the various magical herbs and wanting to understand how they cure diseases and save people,” Lu Qing earnestly stated.
“In that case, come with me.”
Old Doctor Chen rose and walked towards the house.
Lu Qing quickly followed.
Once inside the house, Old Doctor Chen took out a book and handed it to Lu Qing.
“Here’s a ‘Hundred Herbs Scripture’ that contains the names, illustrations, and growing habits of various medicinal herbs. Take it and study it well. Compare it to the herbs being sun-dried outside in the courtyard, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, come and ask me.”
Lu Qing was stunned as he held the book: “Grandpa Chen, didn’t you say I would help you sun-dry the herbs while learning from you?”
Now he was being handed a medical scripture directly.
Lu Qing knew that in this world, books were very precious.
Firstly, paper was expensive; secondly, ink was expensive too.
The original host’s grandfather, when he had fled disaster in the past, had taken nothing else but a few books.
Unfortunately, during the escape, the books were lost.
As a result, the original host often heard Grandpa Lu deeply sighing that the loss of those ancient family books was his greatest failure to his ancestors.
Later, due to the family’s poverty, they couldn’t afford paper and ink, which meant Grandpa Lu had never managed to revise those ancient family books.
Even the original host had only recognized a few characters and was very shallow in writing.
“What’s wrong, aren’t you happy?” Elder Doctor Chen asked.
“Of course I’m happy,” Lu Qing hastily replied.
He was well aware of the preciousness of knowledge in this world.
“That’s fine then. You can start learning now.”
Seeing that the elder doctor had said so, Lu Qing could only take the book and return to the courtyard.
After instructing Little Yan with a few words, he walked to a quiet spot and opened the book.
However, after casually browsing through a few pages, Lu Qing couldn’t help but frown.
Because, in the “Hundred Herbs Scripture,” many of the names of the medicinal herbs were very strange, and the characters were obscure.
The original owner of the body didn’t know many characters to begin with.
Though he had the memories of his past life, the characters of the two worlds were different.
Some characters, even he didn’t recognize.
This made reading the “Hundred Herbs Scripture” quite difficult.
At this rate, he didn’t know when he’d be able to master the knowledge within.
Lu Qing knew himself well; he was not an extremely intelligent person.
Nor did he have the ability to read ten lines at a glance and understand everything immediately.
In his previous life, he was just an average person with a normal IQ, who, despite studying hard, only just managed to get into an ordinary university.
So, to learn the “Hundred Herbs Scripture” sooner, he estimated he’d have to apply the same effort he had for the college entrance examination.
After giving himself a pep talk, Lu Qing continued to read.
Then, as he read on, the scripture in front of him suddenly emitted a hazy white glow.
[Hundred Herbs Scripture: A book that contains knowledge of many herbs.]
[Mastering this book might give you a rough understanding of the herbs in the world.]
[Would you like to download?]
The first two notifications were fine, but when the third appeared, Lu Qing was completely stunned.