Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

"Demolish the house?" Sun Shouzhen looked at the little bean sprout, who wasn't even as tall as a brick, and his mustache twitched twice. "Girl, murder is against the law."

Meng Yaya ignored him and dragged the brick to the back of the crowd.

Wang Guifen was still wailing, her voice as loud as a freshly slaughtered pig: "Everyone, look! This slut is occupying the house and won't leave, she even wants to wipe out our whole family!"

Liu Zhaodi sat on the ground, slapping her thigh. Just as she was about to curse, "God is blind," she suddenly felt a chill run down the back of her head.

"Auntie, doesn't your throat hurt?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it pierced Liu Zhaodi's ears like shards of ice. She turned around and saw Meng Yaya holding a red brick, gesturing towards her forehead.

Liu Zhaodi shuddered in fright and was about to open her mouth to curse when Meng Yaya suddenly pressed down on the brick in her hand.

"Bang!"

The brick landed on the ground between Liu Zhaodi's legs, just two fingers' width away from her crotch. Dust splattered all over her trouser leg.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

"I'll count to three." Meng Yaya patted the dust off her hands, her tone as calm as if she were saying the weather was nice today. "Who's still yelling at my door? I can't guarantee where the next brick will land."

"one."

Meng Jingui shrank his neck, the excruciating pain from his wrist being snapped last night still echoing in his mind.

"two."

Wang Guifen's mouth was wide open, as if something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word. This brat's eyes were too sinister; whoever was stared at by those dark eyes felt like they were being watched by a wolf.

"three……"

Before Meng Yaya could finish shouting, the villagers, as if just realizing what was happening, scattered several meters away in a flash. Watching the excitement was important, but their lives were more important. This girl from the Meng family, ever since she woke up with a fever, had really been daring to take action!

"You...you win!" Wang Guifen pointed at Lin Wanrou, her fingers trembling. "You just wait, the brigade leader will be back tomorrow. See you in our commune then!"

After saying that, she gave her two sons a wink, and the whole family slunk back into the main room, locking the door tightly.

Lin Wanrou watched this dramatic scene, forgetting to put down the broom in her hand.

"Mom, come inside." Meng Yaya picked up the basket on the ground, which contained all her belongings.

Sun Shouzhen stood aside, watching this old man and his two eccentric children being completely subdued by a three-year-old, and couldn't help but shake his head. This wasn't a three-year-old; this was clearly a little devil.

Once inside, Lin Wanrou noticed an old man who looked like a beggar following behind her.

"Ya Ya, who is this...?" Lin Wanrou cautiously pulled her daughter behind her.

"This is the new farmhand we found, his name is Old Man Sun." Meng Yaya pointed to Sun Shouzhen, "He'll take care of your medical needs and do some odd jobs on the side."

Sun Shouzhen was so angry that his beard stood on end: "My name is Sun Shouzhen! I'm a doctor, not a farmhand!"

Upon hearing that it was a doctor, Lin Wanrou's eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped aside: "Dr. Sun, please have a seat. My house is a mess, please don't mind."

Sun Shouzhen waved his hand dismissively and plopped down on the broken bench. His gaze fell on the basket on his back, the one he had just watched the girl carry out of the deep mountains.

"Girl, take the thing out," Sun Shouzhen said. "That thing is delicate; if it's kept away from the soil for too long, its medicinal properties will dissipate."

Meng Yaya didn't shy away from it and directly took out the old ginseng with five leaves and casually threw it on the table.

"Oh my god!" Sun Shouzhen almost jumped up in distress, quickly picking up the ginseng. "This is a life-saving treasure, how can you just throw it away like this!"

He carefully placed the ginseng on a clean, tattered cloth and took out a magnifying glass from his pocket.

Through a magnifying glass, Sun Shouzhen examined the ginseng roots one by one.

The more I looked, the more interesting the expression on his face became.

Each and every hair-thin ginseng rootlet was perfectly preserved, and even the soil covering it was just the right amount, protecting the root system without damaging the outer skin.

This technique is something even a three-year-old child, let alone an apprentice who has studied with him for ten years, cannot do.

"Girl," Sun Shouzhen put down the magnifying glass, his expression turning serious, "Did you really dig this ginseng yourself?"

Meng Yaya was munching on a dry, hard cornbread when she heard this and mumbled an "Mmm."

"How do you know which way its roots grow?"

Sun Shouzhen pressed on, leaning forward and staring intently at Meng Yaya.

"Don't tell me it's luck. This ginseng is growing in a pile of rocks, and its root system is extremely complex. If someone who doesn't understand the system doesn't know how to use it, they'll break the root with the first shovel."

Meng Yaya paused for a moment while chewing on the pancake.

That old man has a sharp eye.

She awakened dual superpowers in the apocalypse: wood-based perception and strength. Plants, in her eyes, possessed "light." She could see the root systems, the knots, even with her eyes closed. But this was inexplicable.

"What's so difficult about that?" Meng Yaya swallowed the pancake and made up a story on the spot. "I see the leaves on those plants. The way the leaf tips point is where the roots grow. And the soil, the softer side is where the roots grow the longest. That's common sense."

Sun Shouzhen was stunned.

Leaf tip guidance? Loose soil?

This may sound like a child's joke, but in traditional Chinese medicine, it actually aligns with the profound principles of "observing qi" and "distinguishing soil"! All things grow according to their own laws. Ordinary people see mountains as mountains, but in the eyes of geniuses, mountains are veins.

"Shennong's bloodline...this must be the legendary Shennong's bloodline!" Sun Shouzhen's hands trembled with excitement as he imagined it all. "A natural affinity for plants, innate talent—this is a medical prodigy, one in a hundred years!"

Meng Yaya looked at him like he was an idiot: "Old man, are you starving?"

"I'm not unconscious! I'm perfectly awake!" Sun Shouzhen grabbed Meng Yaya's small hand, which was covered in crumbs, his gaze burning. "Girl, do you want to study medicine? No, do you want to learn how to turn the grass roots and tree bark in these mountains into life-saving gold?"

Meng Yaya was about to pull her hand away, but stopped when she heard the second half of the sentence.

Turn into gold? That's something she likes to hear.

"Can I exchange it for money?" Meng Yaya asked.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Sun Shouzhen pointed to the ginseng. "Just this one, if processed properly and sold to someone knowledgeable, would be enough for you and your daughter to buy a small courtyard in Beiping!"

Meng Yaya's eyes lit up.

"Teach me," she said immediately.

For the next hour, the dilapidated east room of the Meng family's house was transformed into a makeshift teaching site.

At this moment, Sun Shouzhen completely forgot his identity as a "farmhand" and adopted the same demeanor he used when treating leaders in the capital. He pointed to the few remaining herbs in his basket and spoke with great enthusiasm.

"This is Lobelia chinensis, a holy medicine for treating snake venom, but it also has male and female varieties. Look at the patterns on the back of the leaf..."

"This is Paris polyphylla, a type of Paris polyphylla. Girl, look, doesn't the calyx look like a plate? Remember, avoid picking it at noon, because the yang energy is too strong then, and the medicinal properties are too dry..."

Meng Yaya listened attentively. Although she could sense plants in the post-apocalyptic world, that was to determine whether they were edible or not. This kind of systematic pharmacological knowledge was something she was encountering for the first time.

She has an excellent memory; she can accurately repeat what Sun Shouzhen says after only one repetition, and can even apply what she has learned to other situations.

"If this Lobelia chinensis is paired with that purple thorny grass, will it make the wound fester even faster?" Meng Yaya suddenly asked, pointing to a weed growing at the base of the wall outside the window.

Sun Shouzhen looked in the direction she was pointing, and his pupils contracted.

That's "Bidens pilosa," which is slightly toxic. It can reduce swelling when used alone, but if it's mixed with Lobelia chinensis, the medicinal properties will clash and it can indeed cause ulceration.

This girl not only knows medicine, but also poison!

"Yes! But it's too toxic!" Sun Shouzhen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Doctors should have the heart of a parent. We study medicine to save people, not to harm them."

"Saving lives costs money, harming lives doesn't," Meng Yaya said righteously. "Save lives first, then talk about parents' feelings."

Sun Shouzhen was speechless, but his opinion of the girl rose even higher. Tough times call for harsh measures; this girl, though wild, was insightful and far superior to those bookworms who only knew how to read books.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Sun Shouzhen looked at the sky gradually darkening, and his stomach started growling.

Lin Wanrou came in carrying a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, with a few pieces of luncheon meat still floating in it. She set out the bowls and chopsticks somewhat awkwardly.

"Dr. Sun, we don't have anything good at home, please make do with this."

Sun Shouzhen stared at the bowl of meat porridge, his throat tightening. He had lived in the cowshed for more than half a year, and had never eaten a proper meal, let alone meat.

He picked up the bowl, not minding the heat, and drank it in large gulps. The hot porridge warmed his stomach, and even his heart, which had long since cooled, began to warm up again.

After finishing her meal, Meng Yaya carefully wrapped up the ginseng and tucked it into her bosom.

"We'll head into town first thing tomorrow morning." Meng Yaya looked at Sun Shouzhen. "You know where we can sell them, right?"

Sun Shouzhen put down his bowl, his expression becoming serious.

"These days, buying and selling privately is considered speculation and profiteering, and if you get caught, you'll go to jail." He lowered his voice. "However, I have an old acquaintance in the county town who once owed me a life. He now runs a special business called 'Pigeon Market'."

Pigeon Market is essentially a black market.

"Lead the way," Meng Yaya said succinctly.

Looking into her fearless eyes, Sun Shouzhen sighed, "Alright, but I have to make three rules for you. When we get there, you can only observe and not speak, and you must listen to me. That place is a mixed bag; you'll find all sorts of ruthless characters."

"As long as they don't mess with me." Meng Yaya took a pebble out of her pocket, rubbed it lightly between her fingertips, and the hard pebble turned into powder and fell down in a flurry. "Otherwise, I'll show them what a tough character they are."

Sun Shouzhen's eyelids twitched.

He suddenly realized that tomorrow, the person he should be worried about might not be this girl, but rather those unlucky guys in Pigeon City.