“Husband, are you hurt?”
Lín Shūyuè asked with concern, her hands constantly feeling over Lù Zhēng.
Lù Zhēng smiled and shook his head, “No, that monkey brat wasn't as accurate as me. I scared it away with a single pebble!”
Lín Shūyuè breathed a sigh of relief, then bent down to untie the rope binding the thatch.
“Husband, I’ll help you with it!”
Lù Zhēng raised his hand to stop her.
“You don’t need to get involved in this rough work. Go and make breakfast!”
Lín Shūyuè nodded obediently and turned back into the house to cook.
Lù Zhēng then untied the hemp rope. First, he used the chopping knife to split the moso bamboo into strips about a finger wide, tied them in groups of three at one end, then layered them one over two and two over one, stuffing thatch in the middle.
Lù Zhēng had previously carried out a mission in Southeast Asia for several months and learned from the local natives how to build thatched houses. This weaving method was very simple, basically anyone with hands could do it.
While Lín Shūyuè was cooking, Lù Zhēng had already woven three. After breakfast, Lù Zhēng continued weaving.
In about half an hour, Lù Zhēng had woven more than ten thatch panels and made a ladder from the remaining moso bamboo.
He leaned the ladder against the eaves and climbed up, then threw the hemp rope down.
The Lín Shūyuè below picked up one end of the rope, tied it to a thatch panel, and Lù Zhēng easily pulled the panel up to the roof using the rope.
Repairing the roof was not difficult. He just needed to remove the damaged thatch and press the woven thatch panel onto it.
Lù Zhēng worked alone for nearly an hour, finally repairing the roof.
“Husband, be careful!”
As Lù Zhēng climbed down the ladder, Lín Shūyuè quickly stepped forward to steady it.
“There, now when it rains, we won’t get wet!”
Patting the dust off his hands, Lù Zhēng looked at the repaired roof with a sense of accomplishment.
Lín Shūyuè rolled up her sleeves again and helped Lù Zhēng wipe the sweat from his forehead.
After resting for a while, Lù Zhēng gathered some miscellaneous grass, chopped it into small pieces with the chopping knife, mixed it with soil, and stirred it thoroughly to repair the peeling walls inside the house.
Looking at Lù Zhēng’s busy back, Lín Shūyuè’s face showed a happy smile.
Although they were poor now, Lù Zhēng’s diligence gave her hope that life would certainly get better and better in the future.
Lín Shūyuè covered her chest with her hands and looked up at the sky, “Parents in heaven, please let Shūyuè find her true love!”
After lunch, Lù Zhēng took his bow and arrow and chopping knife, slung the bamboo basket on his back, and re-entered the mountains.
Although he had a few taels of silver now, which was enough to maintain the family expenses, it was still not enough capital to start a business.
The immediate priority was to save some money.
Before leaving the village, Lù Zhēng went to Yáng Táo'ér's house and knocked on the closed courtyard gate.
“Who is it?”
A vigilant voice came from the courtyard.
“Sister-in-law Tie Zhu, it’s me, Lù Zhēng!”
As soon as Lù Zhēng finished speaking, Yáng Táo'ér opened the courtyard gate a moment later.
“It’s Brother Lù Zhēng! Is there something you need?”
Lù Zhēng handed over the bamboo basket, “Sister-in-law Tie Zhu, I’ve come to return the basket! Is Chūnyā’s condition any better?”
Yáng Táo'ér took the basket and said, “She’s much better after taking the herbal medicine. We really appreciate your help last time, Brother Lù Zhēng!”
Recalling the scene at that time, Yáng Táo'ér's ears turned red.
Lù Zhēng waved his hand, “We’re neighbors, it was just a small matter! Sister-in-law Tie Zhu, you must be busy, I still need to go into the mountains!”
“Brother Lù Zhēng…”
Seeing Lù Zhēng with a chopping knife on his back and a bow, Yáng Táo'ér pursed her lips, wanting to say something but hesitating.
“Sister-in-law Tie Zhu, is something wrong?”
Yáng Táo'ér fiddled with her clothes, “I… Brother Lù Zhēng, I’d like to ask for your help!”
“Help?”
Lù Zhēng remembered that he hadn’t done his good deed for the day yet, so he turned and said, “Sister-in-law, please tell me, what is it?”
Yáng Táo'ér rubbed the corner of her clothes, “Chūnyā has been coughing badly today. Brother Lù Zhēng, if it’s convenient for you, could you bring back a few stalks of honey grass if you find any in the mountains?”
Honey grass is also known as licorice. It is sweet and neutral in nature, with the effects of tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi, moistening the lungs and relieving cough. It can also moderate the harshness of other medicinal substances, hence its designation as "King's Minister."
Licorice is widely distributed and is a common Chinese medicinal herb. Lù Zhēng naturally recognized it.
“Alright, if I see honey grass on the mountain, I’ll pick some for you!”
Lù Zhēng took the bamboo basket back from Yáng Táo'ér’s hand and put it on his back. Yáng Táo'ér went back and got a small weeding hoe and handed it to Lù Zhēng.
Lù Zhēng left the village and headed for Tiger Head Mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there were still women digging for wild vegetables and picking wild fruits.
This area had been turned over dozens of times by them, and it was estimated that wild vegetables and fruits were nearly extinct.
“Brother Lù Zhēng, going into the mountains to hunt again!”
Someone saw Lù Zhēng and immediately called out a greeting.
Lù Zhēng waved to them, “Hello, sisters!”
Niú Qiānhuā and Li Xiulan were among them, but after being tricked twice, they had learned their lesson and dared not argue with Lù Zhēng anymore.
Although the two did not respond to Lù Zhēng, their eyes darted around.
As the saying goes, the taste lingered. The aroma of that wild pheasant’s meat was still fresh in their memory.
They had searched their homes top to bottom and could not find anything valuable to trade for meat, but the two were not giving up.
“When Scholar Lu returns with his prey, we’ll definitely find a way to get some meat to eat!”
Niú Qiānhuā and Li Xiulan watched Lù Zhēng’s receding back, contemplating their next move, no longer wanting to dig for wild vegetables.
Lù Zhēng’s figure was gradually obscured by the sparse vegetation, and he quickened his pace up the mountain. With his Physique of 19 points, he soon reached the dense forest.
Not long after entering the forest, Lù Zhēng sensed something unusual.
After his Physique was strengthened, besides his sense of smell, taste, and hearing improving, even his sixth sense had become much more acute.
Just a moment ago, he had the feeling that a pair of eyes were staring at him from the forest.
With one hand holding the bow, and the other reaching for the quiver at his lower back, Lù Zhēng scanned his surroundings vigilantly.
But after looking for a long time, Lù Zhēng found nothing unusual.
“Was it just my imagination?”
Lù Zhēng shook his head and walked deeper into the dense forest to look for prey.
Not long after he walked away, on a large tree, the dense branches and leaves swayed slightly, and a gray figure suddenly darted out.
After searching for about half an incense stick’s time, Lù Zhēng found several stalks of honey grass in the grass.
Honey grass is not used whole in medicine; its medicinal part is mainly the root.
He took off his bamboo basket, took out the small weeding hoe from inside, and began to dig.
The soil in this area was relatively soft, and Lù Zhēng quickly dug up seven stalks of honey grass.
“Gugu… Gugu…”
Suddenly, the call of a wild pheasant came from the forest.
Lù Zhēng stopped what he was doing and listened intently, quickly discerning that the sound was coming from the southwest!
Putting away the small weeding hoe, Lù Zhēng slung the bamboo basket on his back, carrying his bow and arrow, and jogged towards the direction of the sound.
The sound became clearer and clearer, and Lù Zhēng gradually slowed down, trying his best not to make any noise.
Soon, Lù Zhēng saw a brightly feathered male pheasant digging for food under a large tree about thirty paces away.
Lù Zhēng quietly drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it on the bowstring, and slowly raised it. With one hand supporting the bow and the other pulling the string, this Mulberry Wood Bow was drawn into a full moon.
“Splat!”
Just as Lù Zhēng was about to release the bowstring, a pebble hit his shoulder.