"It really is a shame to leave these medicinal herbs here."
Li Long walked into the storeroom and over to the sacks. Smelling the faint mustiness and looking at all those sacks that clearly had barely been touched since being confiscated, he spoke with dismay.
The sacks were all different colors, clearly confiscated straight from the herb gatherers. Some held more fritillaria than others, and none showed any sign of processing.
They could at least have tipped them out and dried them outside in strong sunshine.
"That's why we brought you here," Aili said with a smile. They were actually used to it. Every year, some of the medicinal herbs confiscated from the gatherers rotted or went moldy. Around a third to half eventually proved unsalable and were dumped.
They might have been called forest rangers, but more than ninety percent of them knew nothing about storing or maintaining medicinal herbs. The Forestry Team had only been established for a couple of years, and most of its members had originally been pastoralists. It was already quite an achievement that they could patrol the mountains on horseback, catch people, confiscate things, and prevent forest fires.
To them, the medicinal herbs confiscated from the gatherers were a windfall. Selling them and splitting the money was ideal, of course, but they lost nothing if they failed to sell them. How much they sold them for was not something they cared much about.
"Come here often from now on and take whatever we confiscate straight away. That way, the herbs won't spoil," Bolati added from beside them. "For now, just see which of these herbs are usable and how much they're worth."
"All right. Come on, let's carry everything out together," Li Long said. "Bring everything out, and I'll check them sack by sack