Chapter 78: Chapter 78 Lucky Start Chapter 78: Chapter 78 Lucky Start The camellia was about half her height, with roughly a dozen blossoms. However, its petals were not quite the same as those of the camellias around her and, moreover, they were golden.
In the sunlight, those petals were dazzlingly yellow, as if coated with a layer of beeswax—crystalline and glossy with a slight translucency.
The golden flowers were exquisite and elegant, swaying gracefully in the wind.
Chiang Xiao instinctively felt that this flower was out of the ordinary.
She intended to ask her grandfather if he recognized this variety of camellia, but when she turned her head, she saw him not far off, bending over searching for medicinal herbs, so she swallowed her question, walked past the camellias, and approached the golden camellia.
Up close, the flower seemed even more stunning.
Its oily petals were akin to jade.
She looked to the left and right and saw that this was the only one, and her heart stirred.
It seemed that camellias could also be used as medicine, and drinking water infused with their dried petals had certain effects.
This flower was truly too special, so beautiful that Chiang Xiao couldn’t bear to pass it up.
Should she dig it up?
Although her original plan didn’t include digging up wildflowers, her space was so limited, and her goal was to collect quality medicinal herbs; she could not afford to waste any earth space. But this camellia from Tea Mountain really caught her fancy, and she was curious to see if flowers could be grown in her space. After hesitating for a moment, Chiang Xiao decided to dig up the golden camellia.
Chiang Xiao glanced at her grandfather again, saw that he was not paying attention to her, immediately took out her shovel, squatted down, and began to dig.
Fortunately, although the camellia was not small, she now had enough strength. In the past, she would probably have had to ask her grandfather for help.
Just as she had dug out the camellia, Chiang Xiao heard her grandfather calling out, startling her into tossing the camellia into her space and leaping to her feet.
Chiang Songhai was relieved to see her standing up behind that patch of camellias.
He had just turned his head and not seeing her had nearly given him a fright.
“What are you doing there? Come here, Grandpa found something good.”
Chiang Xiao immediately took her shovel and ran over.
Chiang Songhai looked at her shovel, which was already covered in soil, and exclaimed with a surprised tone, “What did you dig up?”
“Nothing, nothing, just testing my hand,” Chiang Xiao lied.
That camellia couldn’t possibly be planted in the yard, or it would inevitably be doomed by the people of the Old Chiang Family. This was something she absolutely didn’t want, so she couldn’t let her grandfather find out.
Chiang Songhai didn’t suspect her words.
“Come see, Grandpa found a patch of Purple Ginseng.”
Purple Ginseng, of course, was not Ginseng, but it was also harvested for its root to be used in medicine. The roots needed to be processed and dried after being dug out. Chiang Songhai had dug some before, and Chiang Xiao recognized it.
However, when she saw such a large patch of Purple Ginseng, she was also very pleased. As long as there was a sufficient amount, she could secret one into her space without her grandfather noticing later on.
“Grandpa, let me help dig!” Chiang Xiao was all of a sudden full of enthusiasm.
Seeing her eagerness, Chiang Songhai busily instructed her on the precautions to take when digging.
After Chiang Xiao had dug a few, she took advantage of the moment he wasn’t looking to quickly toss one into her space.
Having acquired a particularly beautiful golden camellia and a Purple Ginseng, she considered this a most auspicious start.
After they had all been dug up, Chiang Songhai proceeded to process them, removing some earth and collecting the roots and rhizomes. Chiang Xiao watched for a moment, then stood up, “Grandpa, I’m going to look elsewhere!”
She could not afford to waste all her time processing medicinal herbs; she had to quickly look for more.
Chiang Songhai cautioned her again not to go too far, and Chiang Xiao quickly agreed.
Chiang Xiao ventured into the forest, meticulously scanning the ground for treasures.
Suddenly, the underbrush up ahead shook.
Chiang Xiao immediately stopped.
She saw a flash of grey.
Chiang Xiao trusted the Snake Repellent Plaster that her grandfather made herself and felt it unlikely that snakes would come around. She hadn’t walked deep into the mountains yet and was only on the periphery, so she didn’t expect any wild animals.
The glimpse of grey from before seemed more like a wild rabbit.
If she could catch a wild rabbit, that would indeed be a catch!