The Wrong Season

Was her grandfather serious? Su Chu pursed her lips in confusion. She and Jinchen had been studying medical knowledge since they were young. Having been raised that way, she and Jinchen had a strong foundation in medicine and could handle the test if they crammed for it, but Jing Yunzhao… 

While Jing Yunzhao may be good at studying, medical knowledge was quite hard to understand. Su Chu herself still didn't understand plenty of old medical terms, and she couldn't imagine Jing Yunzhao taking the test without having broached this area of knowledge before. 

"You are doomed, you are doomed… You have no idea how strict grandpa is when it comes to medical knowledge. Just remember not to write what you are not sure of during the exam. It's actually better to hand in a blank test paper than one with the wrong answers," Su Chu explained to Jing Yunzhao, gazing at her sympathetically. 

Jing Yunzhao wouldn't call herself an expert when it came to medical knowledge but she was confident about knowing the basics. After all, Jing Yunzhao did not learn her medical knowledge from scratch. If there was something she did not understand, all she had to do was search the Naling Jade for the information to absorb. 

And even if she was not able to absorb the information at that moment, it would still remain in her mind and not fade away. 

Not knowing the advantage Jing Yunzhao had, Su Chu continued complaining. 

According to Su Chu, Grandpa Gan had set out strict punishments for those who did not do well in the test. If a blank test paper was handed in, it simply meant that no effort had been made and the punishment would normally be copying one whole medical book. 

However, if a test paper full of wrong answers was handed in, that would be a problem of attitude, and a different set of punishments would be imposed. Not only would their pocket money be deducted, they would also be brought home, be grounded, be lectured, be forced to work out in the morning, and be monitored in basically every aspect of their lives. 

Jing Yunzhao began to admire this god-grandfather of hers. After all, a physician with such strong medical ethics was very rare these days. 

The next day, Jing Yunzhao went to school as usual and went to the alley at night as promised with a basket of cnidium seeds. 

Unlike yesterday, the door creaked open as soon as Jing Yunzhao knocked, and the old man was sitting in the center of the yard, staring at Jing Yunzhao with a straight face. 

Jing Yunzhao began to get nervous at the way the old man was staring at her. 

"These are some fine herbs. Do you know what they are for?" The old man asked mysteriously.

"Dang Shen is mostly used for 'qi' and 'jin' injuries, and 'qi' and blood deficiencies, while cnidium seeds are mostly used for warming kidneys and strengthening 'yang'," Jing Yunzhao answered slowly. 

"You harvested them in the wrong season," said the old man as if he did not hear Jing Yunzhao. "Cnidium seeds are best sowed during the hottest period of summer as it would enhance the effect of the herb. You shouldn't have brought them here at this time." 

It was spring now, when no one would have harvested these two herbs.

Jing Yunzhao listened to the old man, her face turning pale when she realized that she hadn't taken that into consideration. 

"I will take the cnidium seeds back then, Mr. Xu, I won't sell them now," said Jing Yunzhao quickly, worried that the old man might ask how she managed to harvest the herbs during this season. 

"I will take them. They are fine herbs after all," the old man glanced at Jing Yunzhao and said, "follow me." 

He did not give Jing Yunzhao the opportunity to respond and instantly started walking towards the backyard. Although she didn't know what the old man was up to, Jing Yunzhao decided to follow him.

The old man walked to the backyard where a large shed was built on a raised terrain with limecrete floors for damp-proofing. Inside the shed were various types of herbs. 

"How will you convince people to buy from you when you don't even know the right time to harvest herbs? There is a lot to learn about medicine. Come here every day after this to learn about them and not waste anymore of your fine herbs," said the old man emotionlessly, his expression difficult to read.

Jing Yunzhao was tempted when she saw the variety of herbs the old man had in the shed.

She had learned about concocting herbal formulas, but reading them in the Naling Jade and actually seeing them were two entirely different things.