Calm Classmates

"I'd like to ask you to help me grow some medicinal herbs," Grandma Yun said.

Song He suddenly understood, then furrowed his brows and fell into thought.

"I've heard that some fungi in Dian Province are edible and nonpoisonous when they grow on one mountain, but become highly toxic when grown on another. The same goes for medicinal herbs. In many places, the herbs grow into normal shapes, but their medicinal properties are poor." Song He voiced his concern. "I don't know whether growing medicinal herbs in North Africa will work."

"Most of the time, when medicinal herbs lose their efficacy, it isn't because of the land. It's because of cultivation and management," Grandma Yun said.

"You mean?" Song He asked curiously.

"For example, Codonopsis grows wild for five or ten years, but when cultivated, it's planted in February and harvested in September. They even use Rooting and Bulking Agent. For Atractylodes, the north processes it with wheat bran, while the south uses rice husks. They mix sugar in while stir-frying it, so the outside turns yellow while the inside stays white. They even mix Big Black Head into Bupleurum and apple peels into Radix Isatidis."

"There are also heavy-metal residues and pesticide residues. Those can change the medicinal properties too. I once prescribed medicine to a patient, but I ran out of it. He went back to his hometown and had a small pharmacy fill the prescription. The more he took it, the worse his diarrhea became." Grandma Yun said, "I thought, That's not right. It shouldn't be like this. So I had him bring in the herbs he'd bought. After testing them, we found they were full of Magnesium Sulfate, which was being used as a preservative."

"Damn." Song He's assessment was succinct.

"Sahara Farmland is newly reclaimed land, and it's far from human habitation. As they say, a blank sheet of paper is easiest to paint on. I hope to build a high-standard medicinal herb farm." Grandma Yun said, "I know the risks are high, but don't worry. I'll provide the money. If we lose money, I won't let you bear the loss."

"There's no need, Grandma. I have plenty of money. Whatever you want to grow, I'll arrange for people to grow it. However you want it grown, I'll have them do it that way." Song He made his stance clear.

"I'll definitely invest some of my own money. I can't be so irresponsible." Grandma Yun pulled open a drawer and took out a list. "I looked into the climate in North Africa. These are the medicinal herbs that should be suitable for cultivation. I've even written down the quantities."

Song He took the list and looked at it, his expression turning surprised. The planting area was truly enormous. Grandma Yun was ambitious.

"I know Cistanche. I used to work in the Great Northwest, where they grew it. It parasitizes Haloxylon ammodendron," Song He said. "It really is very suitable for cultivation in the desert."

"Changbai Mountain has Cistanche too," Grandma Yun said casually. "In the past, when they ate bear paws in the Qing Palace, they fed black bears Cistanche, Acanthopanax senticosus, Daphne Genkwa Fruit, and other things that promoted the circulation of qi and blood, then fattened them with honey. Have you ever eaten bear paw?"

Song He broke into a sweat. "Grandma, I remember bears are protected animals, right? You'd go to jail for eating bear paw, wouldn't you? Maybe things weren't strictly regulated when you were young, but people don't eat that anymore."

"Of course you can't eat it domestically. You can go abroad to Russia or Japan. There are as many as you want," Grandma Yun said. "A hibernating bear would lick one paw while holding the other against its anus. The two paws had to be stewed separately. The one held against the anus didn't taste as good after stewing, so in the past, they would throw it away instead of eating it in the Qing Palace."

"I've learned more useless knowledge." Song He smiled awkwardly. "I don't plan on eating that thing."

He quickly lowered his head and looked at the medicinal herb list. He always felt that conversations with Grandma Yun somehow wandered into criminal territory. It was better to discuss serious matters.

"Safflower?" Song He stared at the list.

"It promotes menstruation, invigorates the blood, and treats women's ailments. It's drought-resistant but fears waterlogging, and sandy soil is ideal, so it's very suitable for growing in the desert. However, you'll have to find a relatively cool place. It'll dry up and die if it's too hot," Grandma Yun explained.

"I know Scutellaria baicalensis. We've used its extract in the lab." Song He looked farther down.

"It's also drought-resistant but fears waterlogging, and it needs to be planted somewhere relatively cool. It's slightly more heat-tolerant than Safflower, though." Grandma Yun said, "Scutellaria baicalensis has excellent antibacterial properties. Its strength is that it doesn't produce drug resistance."

"Apocynum venetum sounds easy to grow."

"It really is. It grows wildly like a weed and can survive high temperatures, drought, and saline-alkaline soil. But if you take good care of it, the yield will be high. It's used to clear internal heat and protect the liver."

"I know Artemisia rupestris. Goji berries are already being grown, and licorice is like an all-purpose remedy. Our lab sometimes extracts compounds from licorice in emergencies. It contains more than five hundred compounds, including saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and a whole lot more." Song He put away the list. "All right, I won't ask about it in detail. I'll leave the cultivation to a professional team! Don't worry, Grandma. As long as the local climate is suitable, we'll definitely produce the best medicinal herbs!"

"Good!" Grandma Yun beamed. "I'll also introduce you to the best match."

The day the gaokao results were released.

A private room in the Study Room at Jinghai City Library.

With an hour remaining until the results were announced, the young men and women in the room were unexpectedly calm. Each of them was busy in front of a laptop.

Song He sat at the end of the long table, tapping away at his computer and handling company affairs. The North Africa Desert was about to begin trial cultivation of medicinal herbs, the Rejuvenation Drug had just entered production, and multiple factories were undergoing major construction. There seemed to be an endless amount of work.

Of course he was calm. He wasn't taking the gaokao anyway. In a few days, his Full Professor certificate would be issued.

Zhao Yiyi sat beside him in a white tracksuit, biting on a lollipop while watching an idol drama.

She rested her chin in both hands, completely absorbed. Her eyes had been red just moments ago, and she seemed to be immersed in the drama's tragic romance, having completely forgotten about the gaokao results.

Ning Mo, Ding Yangze, and Zhang Zhilei were playing a shooting game together online. They wore headsets, firing away while shouting nonstop.

"Old Ning, throw smoke first! Who are you saving that smoke grenade for?" Ding Yangze gritted his teeth. "Running in an S-pattern to dodge bullets is so damn stupid. The enemy's sniper is shooting you like a crippled chicken!"

"I'm dead, I'm dead! Revive me, revive me!" Zhang Zhilei angrily slammed her mouse. "Why can't I get my KD above 1? Can someone do something about these hackers?"

"KD of 0.05, putting all the pressure on your teammates!" Ning Mo mocked. "I'm not targeting anyone. I mean both of you! If it weren't for our friendship as old classmates, I'd blacklist teammates like you after one match!"

"That's so hurtful. If I hadn't blocked bullets for you, would your KD have reached 1?" Ding Yangze retorted.

"If I hadn't saved you two, my KD would already be 2! This is so frustrating. I want to find a more reliable teammate." Ning Mo suddenly looked up. "Old Song, do you play? There's a limited-time event. Ranking up gives you a weapon skin, and each skin costs sixty yuan!"

Song He was speechless. "Sixty yuan? Old Ning, what are you talking about? I could buy that lousy game you're playing outright!"

"Then buy it! Buy the game company and give us a set of top-tier skins!" Ding Yangze also looked up excitedly.

"What's wrong with you, Old Ding? You want me to buy a game company just to give you skins?" Song He nearly vomited blood.

"Can Tencent Video be bought? I don't want to keep paying for membership." Zhao Yiyi suddenly turned her head.

"Zhao Yiyi, watch fewer ridiculous domineering-CEO dramas!" Song He had a headache.

A burst of cheerful laughter rang out in the Study Room. If classmates gathered together without joking around, then there was no point in gathering at all.

At last, Song He finished his work and snapped his laptop shut, letting out a long breath.

He checked the time. There were still forty minutes before the gaokao results were released.

The four classmates before him were still sitting steadily in front of their computers. Those who wanted to watch dramas were watching dramas, and those who wanted to play games were playing games. None of them had last year's anxiety and unease.

"Looks like all of you did well. You're not nervous at all," Song He teased. "You should at least put on a token display of nervousness. Don't you have any dignity in front of the gaokao results website?"

"So nervous, so nervous! I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Zhang Zhilei stuck out her tongue.

"I'm going to faint. I'm so nervous!" Ning Mo rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue too.

"Are you two turning into corpses?" Ding Yangze couldn't hold back anymore.

There was genuinely no way to make the atmosphere tense.

Ning Mo and Zhang Zhilei had made it into the finals of the IMO Math Competition. Together with four teammates from other provinces, they represented the national team and had successfully scored a perfect 252 points a few days ago, defeating the competition teams from 103 other countries and winning the championship without suspense!

With their IMO gold medals in mathematics, Ning Mo and Zhang Zhilei could choose any university in the world. Tsinghua and Peking University had called them long ago, and Ivy League teachers had added them on WeChat at the competition venue.

Ding Yangze was slightly behind. He hadn't made it into the IMO, but he had still received a substantial score reduction. His requirements weren't high anyway; any prestigious university would do. The only suspense now was how prestigious it would be.

Zhao Yiyi hadn't dared to check her answers after the gaokao, but she felt that she had done well. Before the exam, she had ranked third in the entire city, several places above the Tsinghua-Peking cutoff. Unless something unexpected happened, she wouldn't have performed poorly. The only question was whether she could achieve a high Provincial Ranking.

Song He felt that these classmates were something of a miracle. All these extraordinary people had somehow ended up in one class. What an incredible fate!

Of course, without being modest, Song He could claim some credit for his classmates' excellent results. For example, the math problems he had given Ning Mo and Zhang Zhilei had accurately anticipated many of the IMO question types.

The sound of a phone vibrating suddenly rang out.

Everyone froze, realizing what it meant.

Someone was calling!

What kind of call could arrive at this time?!

Everyone's eyes quickly swept around the room before focusing on the same phone.