Gathering Medicinal Herbs

After Su Ziyang helped Zhang Rongyi sit down, he first used his hands to relax the acupoints around her eyes, and then massaged them downwards in the order Zhang Rongyi had instructed.

When Su Ziyang was in school, he was the best at massage. He had a solid foundation in massage and Zhang Rongyi taught him Zhang Rongyi by step, so he quickly mastered the essence of it.

Massage is not as simple as it looks. If done well, it can definitely resolve some of the body's ailments.

Massage techniques require a ten-character principle: evenness, gentleness, persistence, strength, and penetration.

It is also important to emphasize that strength originates from the feet, moves through the legs, is controlled by the waist, and is expressed through the hands.

Furthermore, when performing the techniques, one must adhere to the principles of Taiji Yin and Yang theory, which is too profound to be fully explained in words, so I will not elaborate further.

After practicing twice, Su Ziyang finally mastered the technique of the Eight and a Half Locks.

"In practice, we must learn and apply what we've learned flexibly."

Having mastered the basic techniques, Zhang Rongyi began to elevate his skills.

When treating patients, it is important to accurately identify the condition, determine where to start, and decide which lock to open first. It is not necessary to open Eight and a Half Locks at once, and the order in which to open them also varies.

Generally speaking, the patient presents with neck stiffness, clenched jaw, inability to open the mouth, and chest and abdominal tightness. The treatment often involves applying pressure to the Azure Dragon and Purple Gold Lock (acupoints on the back of the neck). As the saying goes, "A single sling can open the patient's mouth."

Patients with trismus who cannot speak need to have their Purple Gold Lock" opened.

If there is limb spasm, clenched fists, chest and abdominal discomfort, fever and cold limbs, then one should open the Returning Soul and White Tiger Lock.

To put it more simply, it means to unlock the blockage of Qi and blood wherever it is blocked, and to unlock the blockage on the side where Qi and blood are blocked.

In some patients, the flow of qi and blood is obstructed in the upper body; in such cases, the blockage should be addressed from top to bottom.

For some patients, the lock should be opened from the bottom up (such as patients hanging by the neck).

Generally, the opening and closing of the meridians are performed simultaneously with massage, pushing and opening at the same time, combining massage and massage. It is advisable to continue until the patient recovers. Regardless of whether it is a closed syndrome or a sha syndrome, as long as the patient opens their mouth and limb movement is restored, the goal has been achieved. It signifies that the qi and blood channels have been opened, indicating that all the locks in the body have been unlocked.

Su Ziyang nodded, indicating that he had made a mental note of it.

"If you're here, how many days are you planning to stay?"

After a morning of rehearsals, Zhang Rongyi asked.

"Hmm! Not sure yet. We're here on business. We'll head back once we've finished up there."

Su Ziyang called in the morning to specifically ask Mr. Mengfei when it would be finished, Mr. Mengfei said it would take another two or three days.

"How about we go to the outskirts of the city to collect medicinal herbs this afternoon? We have mountains around here, and there's a forest park there where we can gather herbs."

Zhang Rongyi that Su Ziyang wasn't leaving immediately, Zhang Rongyi was quite pleased and extended an invitation to Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang and Fairy Li exchanged a glance and then agreed.

The three of them took a bus to the forest park that Zhang Rongyi had mentioned on the outskirts of the city.

It's the weekend, and there are many campers in the forest park, some with their wives and children, and others with their pets.

When Zhang Rongyi arrived, he told Su Ziyang in the car that there were about two hundred kinds of medicinal herbs in this forest park.

Su Ziyang wasn't afraid of climbing mountains, but Su Ziyang didn't know anything about medicine. In fact, in modern times, there has been a trend of separating medicine from medical practice, with specialized pharmaceutical merchants and doctors mostly purchasing medicinal materials from them.

Some medicinal herbs are already cut and processed, so the understanding of the original plants is somewhat weakened.

Not to mention someone like Su Ziyang, who has formal training, it would be even more difficult for him to recognize so many native medicinal plants.

The group walked into the mountains for a while and came to a fairly flat area where a square and several pavilions had been built for tourists to rest.

Several elderly people were sitting and chatting. Zhang Rongyi saw them, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Then he took a conch shell out of his pocket and started blowing on it.

After blowing twice, one of the oldest-looking men frowned and shouted, "Hey, that's enough! I knew you were here. Stop blowing, it's giving me a headache."

"Hehe." Zhang Rongyi chuckled as he put away the conch shell. "You guys sit here. I'll take the two little ones to the mountains to look at some herbs."

Going into the mountains, you can't just follow the mountain path. The path and steps are regularly cleaned and maintained by people, but there aren't any special medicinal herbs there.

Zhang Rongyi often went up this mountain, so he knew some secluded paths. He led Su Ziyang to a quiet spot.

A winding path leads to a secluded spot.

"This is Solomon's Seal!"

Zhang Rongyi pointed to a plant with slender leaves and small white flowers.

"The medicinal herb Yu Zhu mentioned is the rhizome of Yu Zhu. It can be harvested in both spring and autumn."

When they arrived, Su Ziyang had told Zhang Rongyi that he wasn't very familiar with native plants. So Zhang Rongyi explained them to Su Ziyang and Fairy Li as they walked.

After walking for a while, Su Ziyang saw a large clump of plants similar to the Solomon's Seal he had just seen, with slender leaves and white flowers.

However, upon closer inspection, it doesn't quite look like Polygonatum odoratum. After looking at it for a while, Su Ziyang hesitated and said, "Is this Polygonatum sibiricum?"

"That's right!" Zhang Rongyi smiled happily when he saw that Su Ziyang was right.

"There are many kinds of Polygonatum, such as Polygonatum sibiricum, Polygonatum jellyfishii, Polygonatum yunnanense, and Polygonatum scabra. This is Polygonatum sibiricum, which is more common in Hunan."

"Polygonatum is generally harvested in spring and autumn, with autumn-harvested ones being of better quality than spring-harvested ones. My main purpose in coming here this time is to collect some Polygonatum."

Zhang Rongyi took out his backpack and started digging with a shovel. Su Ziyang wanted to help, but Zhang Rongyi didn't let him, instead letting Su Ziyang watch and learn from him.

"This is a bamboo and wooden shovel. Polygonatum is most averse to iron tools, so when digging it up and cutting it, you must use a wooden or bamboo knife."

Zhang Rongyi talked as he dug, and soon he dug up a lot of roots and rhizomes, which he then stuffed into his bag.

"If you want to preserve a medicinal herb well, store it whole, don't cut it. For example, dried tangerine peel should be stored whole to retain its medicinal properties and extend its shelf life. If you want to use fresh Solomon's seal all year round, dig it up with part of the above-ground stem, cover it with soil, and take it out as needed."

Zhang Rongyi put the polygonatum into his bag.

"Alright, we can't dig any more of the smaller sections here. Let's move on!"

Zhang Rongyi buried the soil he had dug up back down, then tamped it down with his feet before leading Su Ziyang and Fairy Li forward.

Along the way, Zhang Rongyi would introduce each medicinal herb he encountered to Su Ziyang: lily bulb, Solomon's seal rhizome, polygonatum rhizome, honeysuckle flower, immature bitter orange peel, clematis root, poria cocos...

Wait, wait, wait...

Zhang Rongyi actually came to collect Polygonatum sibiricum, saying he wanted to use it to make medicine. He didn't pick any other medicinal herbs, even if he came across them.

It was just an introduction for Su Ziyang and Fairy Li, but Su Ziyang was only focused on one thing: taking out his phone to take pictures!