Hu Qiaoling complained coyly while straightening her clothes.
Zhang Xiaoshan said with a smile.
"Don’t worry, it’s busy farming season. Everyone from the village goes up the mountain to work in the morning and will only come back in the afternoon."
Relieved by what Zhang Xiaoshan said, Hu Qiaoling rested for a few minutes, then stood up and said,
"It’s about time I went back. I said I was going out to gather herbs, and it’s already been over an hour. If I delay further, Li Erniu will get suspicious. What did you have me come here for in the first place?"
Zhang Xiaoshan knew that their affair must not be discovered by others, so he stopped fooling around.
Zhang Xiaoshan got up and took out two small bottles of safflower oil from the medicine cabinet and handed them to Hu Qiaoling.
"What are you giving me these for?"
Zhang Xiaoshan handed one of the bottles, labeled, to Hu Qiaoling as he explained,
"This is real safflower oil, it’s for you to rub on your body. You’ve been tormented enough by Li Erniu; a bit of this medicine will help you recover faster."
Feeling Zhang Xiaoshan’s concern, an overwhelmed and helpless Hu Qiaoling almost burst into tears.
Hu Qiaoling thanked Zhang Xiaoshan earnestly.
Zhang Xiaoshan smiled and said,
"We’ve already gotten to this point in our relationship; you don’t need to thank me."
He then continued to explain to Hu Qiaoling, Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩
"This second bottle of safflower oil, you see the label is already damaged."
"This contains medicine I mixed myself last night. Add a few drops to Li Erniu’s bowl secretly when you cook every day."
"Ah, you want me to poison Li Erniu? This... this won’t kill him, will it?"
Hu Qiaoling immediately panicked.
Clearly, although she despised Li Erniu, her inherently kind nature made it difficult for her to harm anyone.
Zhang Xiaoshan shook his head and said,
"Where did your mind go? Although Li Erniu is no good person, we aren’t talking about taking someone’s life here; this isn’t poison, it’s blood-cooling medicine!"
"Blood-cooling medicine?" Hu Qiaoling clearly didn’t understand.
Zhang Xiaoshan had to patiently explain to Hu Qiaoling,
"It means that after a man consumes this medicine, his desires will diminish, he will feel lethargic, and to put it bluntly, he will become less capable..."
Hu Qiaoling was taken aback.
Zhang Xiaoshan asked her back,
"Didn’t you say that Li Erniu is always trying to hassle you? I’m just trying to help you."
Hu Qiaoling quickly caught on and teased Zhang Xiaoshan,
"And here I thought you had some kind of magic solution, just something sneaky like that. I didn’t see that coming. You look so simple, yet you play such a mean game, you’re aiming to end Li Erniu’s line..."
"What, are you worried that Li Erniu will get a taste of my goods and you’re feeling jealous, so you’re using this trick?"
It must be said, a woman’s intuition can indeed be sharp.
Regardless, Hu Qiaoling had given her virtue to Zhang Xiaoshan, who would hardly let another man lay a finger on her.
But of course, he would never admit that in front of Hu Qiaoling.
"Don’t talk nonsense; I simply don’t want you to be bullied. If you don’t want it, then never mind."
Zhang Xiaoshan pretended to put the medicine back, but Hu Qiaoling quickly evaded him.
"Hehe, no matter what you think, I thank you,"
Hu Qiaoling secured both bottles of medicine.
"Give me some medicine for stomach pain too, so I can have something to show when I go back."
Zhang Xiaoshan handed her two boxes of medicine, and then Hu Qiaoling left.
Watching Hu Qiaoling walk away, Zhang Xiaoshan, carrying the basket of herbs he collected yesterday, locked the door and went home.
Yu Xiuxiu was like a wife looking out for her husband, waiting at the doorway.
Although she could see, her vision hadn’t fully recovered and could only make out a blurry figure until Zhang Xiaoshan walked all the way to the door where she could see clearly.
"Why have you just come back? I was so worried."
Yu Xiuxiu looked utterly distressed.
Zhang Xiaoshan hurriedly explained,
"Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I got back late from the mountain last night, and I figured you were already asleep, so I stayed in the infirmary."
"You’re not hurt, are you?" Yu Xiuxiu looked incredibly anxious.
Zhang Xiaoshan jumped up in front of Yu Xiuxiu.
"Look, I’m perfectly fine."
Seeing Zhang Xiaoshan so energetic, Yu Xiuxiu finally felt relieved.
"Good, as long as you’re safe. After you left yesterday, I regretted letting you go, and from now on, I absolutely refuse to let you do that again."
"Hehe, sister-in-law, don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine, and I have to tell you, I found something great."
Zhang Xiaoshan took Yu Xiuxiu by the arm back to the yard and closed the gate tightly.
He then took out the Red Blood Ganoderma from his basket.
"It seems to be Red Blood Ganoderma, such a large one. It must be around two or three hundred years old, right? Where did you find this?"
Yu Xiuxiu exclaimed in surprise.
Zhang Xiaoshan was also taken aback.
He stared at Yu Xiuxiu somewhat bewildered.
How could an ordinary person recognize Red Blood Ganoderma and even guess its age?
He had always thought his sister-in-law was no ordinary woman, with her ethereal, almost celestial demeanor. Yu Xiuxiu had never voluntarily mentioned her background, and Zhang Xiaoshan did not have the nerve to ask.
Now, seizing the opportunity, Zhang Xiaoshan asked,
"Sister-in-law, how do you recognize this stuff? Does your family have it too?"