The Lucky Farmgirl

In a piece of land bordering the vegetable garden, there grow sparse dozens of medicinal herbs. Some are on the verge of dying, while others are as scrawny as famished migrants, seemingly ready to snap with a gust of wind.

This wouldn’t be much of a concern, but her sisters-in-law are too diligent, and if there were wild grass growing, it could at least offer some cover, or suggest that she wasn’t very attentive in planting them, leading to this situation. However, there’s not even a stalk of weed, and the plot is well-managed.

Moreover, as it is winter, the Zhou Family has even set up a shed to enclose these plots. The roof and sides are insulated with thatch, and in the adjacent vegetable garden, there are cabbages yet to be harvested, which haven’t died in such cold weather and still appear somewhat lively.

In contrast, the herbs over here look dejected, evidently not going to last long.

Shopkeeper Zheng looked around and noticed the dim light inside the thatched shed, then nodded and said, "Imperial Doctor Zhou is right. It may likely be due to the winter season."

Manbao nodded repeatedly, affirming that’s the reason.

Shopkeeper Zheng said, "How about this, our Jishi Hall is willing to allocate two acres of land to collaborate with Imperial Doctor Zhou to study how the herbs can be cultivated?"

Manbao glanced at him and said, "What can two acres of land do? Let’s do this: my family will provide the land and manpower, and your responsibility will be finding various living medicinal herbs?"

Does Manbao lack land right now?

The thing she least lacks is land. Not to mention the large tracts in the assigned fields, even the two plots her father gave her as dowry are quite substantial.

Using them to plant herbs is very convenient; it’s just not easy to find people for planting.

She doesn’t even lack seeds now. Any herb previously recorded can be repurchased as cultivated ones via the database and library.

However, she would lack points—not now, but inevitably in the future. Hence, Manbao urgently needs plants that haven’t been recorded before, preferably medicinal herbs.

Entrust them to the library for cultivation over a few years, and once they figure out how to grow them, she would only need to follow suit, saving a lot on research costs.

Having experimented with planting rice over several years but not yet cultivating the desired variety, Manbao knows plant cultivation isn’t that simple.

Shopkeeper Zheng thought for a moment and asked, "How will the harvest be calculated then?"

Manbao casually replied, "For any fresh medicinal herbs sent by Jishi Hall, once the seeds are researched and developed, I’ll give you a share for free, and also teach you the planting methods at no cost."

Shopkeeper Zheng looked at Manbao in astonishment and paused before asking, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, won’t you reconsider?"

Anyway, with the library setting the precedent, they’ll only need slight adjustments afterward, try planting for a year or two, and they’ll figure it out. The cost isn’t very high, so Manbao agreed quickly.

Moreover, Jishi Hall contributes quite a bit. Previously, she’d procured living medicinal herbs from various drug merchants and gathered seeds at Jishi Hall, but those willing to deliver herbs weren’t local medicine farmers but merchants seeking her favor.

Thus, the herbs recorded through Jishi Hall weren’t many, and costs were still high.

She’s not adept at managing such tasks, which is best handled by Jishi Hall with its extensive connections.

Yet, Shopkeeper Zheng felt that Zhou Man had a charitable heart, moved by the friendship between them, so he didn’t draft a contract with Zhou Man, directly agreeing orally, "Okay, I’ll have my people start looking for various herb seeds once I return."

Manbao quickly said, "I’ll give you a list later; the herbs on it are those for which I already have seeds, and you can just gather the remaining ones."

She paused for a moment and added, "Actually, I think there are still numerous herbs in the world unknown to people. Otherwise, the ’Classic of Herbal Medicine’ from Han times listed only two hundred thirty-nine species, but a few hundred years later, descendants discovered seven hundred thirty types, indicating there are many more herbs yet to be known by us."

Shopkeeper Zheng’s heart was stirred, and he looked at her, "So..."

Manbao seriously replied, "So why not convey to the drug merchants and farmers that if they encounter plants that haven’t been recorded as medicinal or some they’ve never seen before, they can bring those along with the herbs to the capital?"

Shopkeeper Zheng was shocked, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, you’re not planning to try all herbs like Shennong, are you? That’s unacceptable; those unknown to doctors could be highly toxic, so carelessness..."

"I know," Manbao said, "Am I the kind of careless person? Don’t worry, I’m very cautious about my life." She would first have the library record them, then research them herself once determined. Yes, her research basically confirms the library’s conclusions.

Shopkeeper Zheng looked at her skeptically; he always thought Zhou Man was a bold person. Those without courage wouldn’t have reached her position today.

The two settled on their alliance while looking at the dejected herbs before walking out of the thatched house.

After walking more than ten steps out, Shopkeeper Zheng turned back to understand why they hadn’t noticed this corner while strolling through the garden; it turns out this thatched house was blocked by flower trees taller than a person, mostly plum and peach trees.

However, the peach trees were bare at this time, with flower buds bustling on the plum trees.

The thatched house behind was very low; he had to bend his head slightly upon entering, as it wasn’t meant for residence but for warming vegetables and herbs. The thatched house stood quietly behind, neither conspicuous nor abrupt.

Noticing Shopkeeper Zheng looking back and forth, Manbao became proud, "My mother-in-law arranged this. How about it? Isn’t it beautiful? Even if someone sees this thatched house, its placement in the courtyard adds natural charm. Initially, my mother-in-law planned to build an open straw hall on the other side of the pavilion, but was ultimately vetoed by my grandmother and parents."

Old Madam Liu implied that constructing another straw hall would slice off part of the garden, and the Eldest’s garden would appear cramped, thus lacking aesthetic appeal.

Old Zhou and Ms. Qian felt that building a straw hall could be done in the countryside at a random location, so why bother constructing it at home?

Hence, Ms. Zheng’s plan fell through, but Manbao and Bai Shan have privately discussed that they feel a straw hall carries more ambiance than an open pavilion, tempted to replace the pavilion with a straw hall. However, before Old Zhou and Ms. Qian, they dared not mention it publicly.

Even Old Madam Liu wouldn’t agree.

Though the straw hall seemed simpler than a pavilion, it required annual maintenance, which consumed more effort than the existing pavilion here.

Manbao felt a bit regretful, so she said to Shopkeeper Zheng, "You don’t know, my mother-in-law has a knack for arranging these things. If you like, I can give you the sketches of the straw hall we drew, so you can build one at your place."

Then she could frequently visit her disciple for fun, for even if one doesn’t have something at home, it’s just as good to have it at someone else’s place.

Shopkeeper Zheng ignored her.

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