Stockpiling medicinal herbs

Wang Yan stood at the edge of the camp, watching the busy tribespeople and the growing number of huts, his heart filled with hope yet shadowed by a trace of unease. A larger population meant more labor, but it also meant greater risks-especially disease.

He thought of his previous life, an era of advanced medicine, when a cold or an infected wound had been no great matter. But here, in this primitive tribe short of doctors and medicine, a sudden epidemic or even an ordinary fever or infection could easily claim a life. Previously, the tribe had been small, with little movement of people, and the risks had been relatively manageable. But once they took in large numbers of outsiders, the likelihood of cross-infection would rise sharply. Coupled with the bitter winter cold and the body's weakened resistance, it would be a peak season for illness.

We must prepare in advance! And the tribe's most precious medical resource was the experienced Granny Cao.

Wang Yan found Granny Cao beneath an enormous old pine tree. The old woman was squinting as she carefully distinguished between several kinds of freshly gathered roots, muttering to herself. The wrinkles on her face resembled parched earth, but her eyes remained clear, filled with the wisdom of the years.

"Granny Cao," Wang Yan called respectfully.

"Ah, it's young Yan." Granny Cao looked up with a kindly smile. "Come, come, take a look at these herbs I've sorted. Have I got them right?" She pointed at the herbs on the ground. "This one's for stopping bleeding, and this one's for reducing fever. It's just far too bitter..."

Wang Yan crouched down. Rather than stating his request outright, he humbly sought her advice. "Granny, you know so much. With winter coming and our tribe growing, what illnesses do you think people will be most likely to catch? Which herbs will we need to prepare most?"

A trace of worry flashed through Granny Cao's clouded eyes. She put down the roots in her hands and sighed. "Winter is the hardest time to endure. Catch a chill, and you'll get a fever and cough. Get hurt while hunting, and the wound won't heal easily-it can rot... With more people, we might even catch 'fever sickness'" (possibly influenza or some other infectious disease). "It spreads from one person to the next. Ah..." She shook her head, clearly recalling some unpleasant memories.

"Then what can we do now?" Wang Yan followed up. "Before winter comes, can we gather more herbs to deal with these problems?"

Granny Cao's eyes lit up, and she nodded firmly. "Yes! We certainly can! Plenty of herbs have to be gathered in autumn to have their full medicinal strength! Young Yan, you've been thinking the same thing as me!" Excitedly, she seized Wang Yan's hand, her withered palm surprisingly strong. "The tribe used to be small. This old woman could gather them slowly on her own, and there was barely enough. Now that the tribe is going to grow bigger and stronger, it's time we prepared more 'life-saving herbs'!"

With Granny Cao's wholehearted support, Wang Yan immediately took action. He found his mother, Qingye, and Aunt Luye, who oversaw domestic affairs, and explained the importance of stockpiling medicinal herbs.

"Granny Cao is right," Qingye immediately voiced her support. "More people mean more illness, especially in winter. We can't put this off."

Aunt Luye wholeheartedly agreed. "I'll arrange for people to go gather herbs with Granny Cao right away!"

Soon, a special "herb-gathering team" was formed. Naturally, Granny Cao was its leader, and Wang Yan specifically assigned Quanshui and Xiaocao, both attentive and possessed of good memories, as her main assistants. He also transferred five nimble, quick-learning women from the gathering team.

The herb-gathering team set out early the next morning. Still concerned, Wang Yan also suspended some of the youth team's training and had Shibang and Gubang accompany them with several skilled team members to provide protection.

Though Granny Cao was advanced in years, the moment she entered the mountain forest, she seemed to have returned to her own kingdom. Her steps were unsteady, but her gaze was as keen as a hawk's.

"Look, this one, with leaves shaped like palms and serrated edges, is called 'Blood-Stanching Herb.'" She pointed to an unremarkable plant and carefully dug it up by the roots with a bone knife. "Crush it and apply it to a wound, and it can stop the bleeding."

Quanshui and Xiaocao hurried closer, carefully examining the shape of the leaves and smelling the plant, trying hard to remember every feature.

"And this one, with the little purple flowers, is called 'Fever-Reducing Vine.'" Granny Cao pointed to a vine twining around a tree. "Dig up its roots and boil them in water to drink. It's the most effective remedy for fever, but... ah, it's terribly bitter. The children never like drinking it."

Gubang grinned beside her. "Granny, when you're sick, you have to drink it no matter how bitter it is. Staying alive comes first!"

Granny Cao led the team slowly through the mountain forest. She taught everyone not only how to identify the herbs, but also the right season to gather them, which parts to collect, and how to process them simply to better preserve their medicinal properties.

"For this anti-inflammatory 'Lichen Bark,' scrape off this layer on the shaded side of a rock, dry it in the sun, grind it into powder, and sprinkle it over festering wounds..."

"For 'Stomach-Warming Fruit,' which treats stomachaches, you have to wait until it just turns yellow before picking it. If it's too unripe, it's useless; if it's too ripe, its medicinal potency will have passed..."

Wang Yan followed along with the team, listening and learning earnestly. He discovered that Granny Cao's knowledge was a vast treasure trove. Though primitive, it embodied experience that countless generations of ancestors had paid for with their lives. He not only had Quanshui and Xiaocao commit it to memory, but also had them use blackened charcoal to draw the herbs' general shapes on scraped-flat pieces of wood, marking their names and uses with simple symbols. This was the beginnings of the Fire Tribe's first "illustrated herbal."

After several days, the herb-gathering team had brought back a substantial haul. All kinds of herbs were laid out to dry in designated areas of the tribe, giving off the distinctive scent of plants. Granny Cao patiently instructed the women in sorting, drying, and storing them.

Wang Yan also had the pottery workshop fire a batch of narrow-mouthed jars specifically for storing ground medicinal powders and herbs vulnerable to damp. He designated a dry, well-ventilated hut as a dedicated "pharmacy," managed by Granny Cao and her assistants.

As she watched the pharmacy grow fuller by the day, even the wrinkles on Granny Cao's face seemed to smooth out considerably. Holding Wang Yan's hand, she said with feeling, "Young Yan, you've done well! With these 'life-saving herbs,' we'll have much more peace of mind this winter. Even if 'fever sickness' really does come, we'll have the confidence to fight it!"

Wang Yan also felt considerably more at ease. Food, salt, shelter, defenses, and now medical supplies-the Fire Tribe's preparations for winter and population growth were becoming increasingly thorough. He knew that as the tribe expanded, relying solely on Granny Cao's oral instruction would be far from enough. An idea began to take root in his mind: when the time was right, he would systematically compile Granny Cao's herbal knowledge and train more people in basic medicine.