Several Baskets of Silver Frost Charcoal Sold for Six Taels

The first thing to do was check whether the Silver Frost Charcoal had actually been made.

Zhou Wanwan was quite excited. Eldest Maternal Uncle Liu looked at her and said, "Wanwan, it's been four days. Do you think there'll be Silver Frost Charcoal in there?"

Little Ginseng squeaked from inside the cloth bag:

"What does he mean by that? Is he doubting this great master?

He wasn't even born when this great master was memorizing all this!

I spent a full twenty years memorizing it. How could I possibly get it wrong?"

Zhou Wanwan asked softly, "A full twenty years? Why did you memorize all that?"

Little Ginseng sighed and said:

"Grandpa Purple Lingzhi made me memorize it every day. He said I wouldn't be cultivating in the mountains in the future.

He said I might follow people into the mortal world, and that all these were skills I'd need to stay alive."

Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up. "Your Grandpa Purple Lingzhi can tell fortunes too?"

"Hmph! He knows astronomy above and geography below. There's nothing in this world he doesn't know.

Whenever our little friends in the forest have a problem they can't solve, they go to him," Little Ginseng said softly.

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "Then, if I get the chance, I'll brew some more good wine. Grain wine is pretty good too."

Little Ginseng nodded. "I like grain wine too. Wanwan, brew a little extra for me to try next time!"

"Okay..."

They opened the earthen kiln and saw that the firewood had long since turned into chunks of charcoal.

The pieces were as big as a palm, glossy black, and covered with a thin layer of something that looked like white frost. They felt smooth and weren't very hot to the touch.

"It worked! It really worked!" Liu Dalang danced with joy.

Zhou Wanwan smiled too. "Pick up the Silver Frost Charcoal. Let's take it into the city and ask around. Maybe we can find a suitable buyer."

They carefully placed the charcoal in carrying baskets and headed straight into the city.

Zhou Wanwan tried several shops, but none offered a good price. In the end, they had to go to a medicine shop. Its shopkeeper swallowed as he looked at the Silver Frost Charcoal in their baskets. "Did you make this yourselves?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head. "We didn't make it. Someone asked us to help sell it. Shopkeeper, how much can this Silver Frost Charcoal sell for?"

The medicine shopkeeper looked at them and said:

"This stuff is precious in the capital, but very few people around here have a use for it.

Still, there are some. I can give you five taels of silver for these four baskets. What do you think?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head. "Only five taels for four baskets of Silver Frost Charcoal? Isn't that far too little?"

The shopkeeper looked at her and said:

"If this Silver Frost Charcoal were in the capital, I reckon it could sell for more than ten taels.

But around here, it simply won't fetch a good price. Five taels is already quite a high offer."

She had thought a few baskets of Silver Frost Charcoal could sell for ten taels of silver. They were in a very remote location, at the easternmost edge of the Great Xia Kingdom.

It was much like the northeast, except the winters were even colder.

Although autumn had only just begun, it was already very cold, so Silver Frost Charcoal was still quite useful.

Zhou Wanwan shook her head. "Six taels. There's no Silver Frost Charcoal around here, so it'll definitely sell for a good price."

"Hey! All right! But you'll have to bring me all your Silver Frost Charcoal from now on. I have my own channels. How about it? This really isn't a low price."

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment. "All right."

Zhou Wanwan exchanged all six taels of silver for grain. Liu Dalang looked at her and said, "Wanwan, you're amazing! You got six taels of silver in no time at all."

Little Ginseng said unhappily, "You got six taels of silver, but only bought me two hundred wen's worth of medicinal herbs. You're so stingy."

"I'll go up the mountain and find herbs for you in a little while. Right now, we have to do everything we can to stay alive and stockpile more grain. How can we spare a thought for anything else?" Zhou Wanwan coaxed gently.

"Then... all right! I'll put up with it. But what will I do when there aren't any herbs left on the mountain?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "We can grow our own, can't we? Aren't we stockpiling water right now? Once we have water, growing some medicinal herbs naturally won't be a problem."

"Growing medicinal herbs takes a lot of time. How long would I have to wait?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly. Ordinary people naturally needed to spend a great deal of time growing medicinal herbs, but Little Ginseng's bathwater could accelerate plant growth.

Zhou Wanwan's skill in her previous life had also been accelerating growth. The Zhou family's training was peculiar: each family head perceived plants differently.

Their abilities also differed. Some could only sense and communicate with plants, with no other abilities.

But others were different. Zhou Wanwan, for example, could accelerate plant growth.

A plant might need ten or twenty years to grow, but with her help, it would need only a very short time.

However, accelerating growth also required a great deal of mental strength. For the time being, Zhou Wanwan couldn't do it.

She didn't have enough mental strength yet. This time, they exchanged the silver for another twelve sacks of grain.

After they carried the grain into the cellar, Zhou Wanwan said, "Let's go back up the mountain and have a look around deep in the mountains."

She went back for her herb hoe, then led the group toward the mountains. Since they were going deep into the mountains this time, they had made quite thorough preparations.

Zhou Wanwan carried a crossbow. Zhou Qingyan had learned archery by now, so he carried a bow on his back.

Everyone else had a dagger in hand. Even Liu Sanlang, Liu Silang, Liu Wulang, and Liu Liulang carried hoes.

Zhou Wanwan said, "The next time we have money, I'll buy you some daggers too."

Liu Sanlang chuckled and said:

"What do we need daggers for?

Hoes are more useful. We're going deep into the old-growth forest. If we can't find a path, we can just use the hoes."

There were plenty of medicinal herbs deep in the mountains. Clumps of bupleurum grew in the grass beside the path, and a few skullcap plants were tucked into cracks between the rocks, coming out damp with soil when pried loose.

Beneath the vine-tangled bushes, a few codonopsis plants were hidden away. Most conspicuous of all was the wild ginseng on the mountainside, though it was only three years old.

Zhou Wanwan carefully dug them all up by the roots, intending to take them home and grow them there.

Dandelions and plantain grew among the grass too; a handful could be picked without effort.

Just as they were about to leave, a dandelion in the grass shouted, "Don't go! There's a whole nest of rabbits here. What am I supposed to do if you leave?"

Zhou Wanwan turned to look at it, and it continued grumbling, "They're hiding in that tree hollow. There are so, so many of them, and they gnaw on us every day. Hurry up and take them away!"

Zhou Wanwan walked straight over. There was indeed a hollow in the tree, and its opening was fairly large.

She pulled up some dry wild grass and pine needles nearby, gathered them into a small pile, and stuffed them into the mouth of the hollow. Then she struck a fire starter and lit them.

The flames were small, but the smoke was thick, drifting through the opening into the hollow.