41 Wei Wusheng
Wei Wusheng saw the clear eyes of the child in front of him. His eyes were filled with curiosity and he felt that it was a little interesting. This was the first child he had seen who was not afraid of him. His nephew was already 15 years old, yet he was still afraid of him.
He answered with interest, “Yes, but we can also see what kind of medicinal herbs it is. We don’t want the kind that we randomly see on the road.”
Jian Qingqing showed him the honeysuckle and the Dendrobium. “Do you accept the honeysuckle and the Dendrobium?”
Wei Wusheng took it and looked at it carefully, “For honeysuckle, we only accept the buds that have not yet bloomed. The fresh ones cost 50 wen per catty, and the processed ones cost 120 wen. If you want to send the vines, you can also send them here. The dried ones cost one wen per catty.”
“The quality of your Iron-skinned Dendrobium is pretty good. If the rest are all like this, the fresh ones cost 300 wen per catty, and the processed ones cost 500 wen.”
Jian Qingqing shook her head and said with some pity, “We don’t know how to process them.”
Wei Wusheng was curious. “Aren’t you herb gatherers? Why don’t you know how to process the herbs?”
“We’re not herb gatherers, we’re just ordinary farmers.”
Wei Wusheng was surprised this time. “Even a farmer knows how to recognize good herbs?”
With her fists hardened, Jian Qingqing restrained herself and said, “Don’t look down on me!”
Wei Wusheng shook his head and smiled. “I’m not looking down on you, I’m just a little surprised. Do you want to learn how to process the herb? I can teach you!”
“Really?!” Jian Qingqing was surprised at first, but then she became suspicious. “What’s your motive? Why do you want to teach me?”
Craftsmanship was very expensive in this era. To learn carpentry, one had to serve their master for two or three years before he would let you watch him do it, and another two or three years before he would let you learn it. One would not be able to become a master for less than ten years, and one had to pay a high tuition fee every year. Some of them might not learn anything in the end. After all, it was rare for a master to teach his disciples, and very few masters could teach them everything.
The herb gatherers’ method of processing medicinal herbs was even more so. It was basically passed down from generation to generation and was not easily shared with outsiders.
Wei Wusheng laughed in anger. “What motive could I have? What value does a little girl like you have? I just like you and want to teach you. If you don’t want to learn, then forget it.”
“I’ll learn! I’ll learn!” He was right. She indeed did not have any value for him to gain anything by deceiving her. She would want to learn anything if she could gain another ability to stand on her own feet.
“Alright, then I’ll teach you. Only if you call me ‘Big Brother’ from now on.”
Jian Qingqing was speechless. Was this fellow a fool who was so eager to have a younger sister? However, calling him ‘Big Brother’ would not cost any money, and neither would it hurt her. So, she just did it. “Big Brother.”
“Hey, Little Sister, Big Brother’s name is Wei Wusheng. Can you tell me your name?” Wei Wusheng really did not have any thoughts. He just felt that when a man met a child who was not afraid of him and was rather interesting, he just wanted to make friends.
However, it was quite embarrassing to make friends with a child. He did not think too much and wanted her to call him Big Brother. However, this girl’s voice was still quite soft.
“My name is Jian Qingqing.”
“Alright, Little Sister Qingqing, let’s go to the backyard. I’ll teach you how to process medicinal herbs.”
The backyard of Ji Shan Hall was filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs, and the air was filled with the smell of medicinal herbs.
There were quite a number of ways to process medicinal herbs. Wei Wusheng taught him how to process them by fire. They were used to stir-fry, roast, calcine, simmer, and other methods. Among them, there were very strict requirements on the temperature and time.
Wei Wusheng felt that she would not be able to learn them all in a short period of time, so he said, “Do you know how to read? Why don’t I give you a book and you can take it back to read?”
“I don’t know, but I will learn it very soon.” After she was done, she would hire someone to do the work, and then she would hire a teacher to teach her.
“Okay, you have ambition!” Wei Wusheng liked children like this. “Go back and think about what you learned today. If you don’t remember, come and ask me again.”