A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"Agrimony...it's actually agrimony!"

Su Nianci's heart pounded violently at this unexpected discovery, even temporarily suppressing the hunger in her stomach.

In her past life, the hospital where she worked had conducted research on the application of traditional Chinese medicine in hemostasis during modern surgery, and Agrimonia pilosa was one of the star drugs in that research. She was intimately familiar with the plant's morphology and medicinal properties.

In this era of scarce medical resources, where even a piece of gauze is considered a precious commodity, the value of such a powerful, all-natural hemostatic medicine is self-evident!

For ordinary villagers, a minor scrape or bruise might be something they'd simply grab a handful of soot or a strip of cloth and leave it to fate. But for those who worked in the commune or hunted in the mountains and frequently suffered serious injuries, a handful of agrimony, capable of saving their lives, was something they would absolutely be willing to pay for!

This was practically a windfall – my first pot of gold!

Su Nianci immediately took action.

She didn't rush to pick them, but first carefully surveyed the area upstream and downstream of the stream.

This body is too weak; she must use every ounce of her strength on the blade.

Soon, she found a few more small patches of Agrimonia pilosa not far downstream. Although they were not as lush as the first patch, they were enough.

Only after confirming the resources did she return to the site of the first discovery.

Instead of roughly uprooting it, she carefully pinched off the above-ground parts of the agrimony, like an experienced herbalist, preserving the rhizome. This way, new plants will grow back after some time.

This is her habit as a doctor, and it reflects her deep-seated respect for life, even if it's just a small herb.

Soon, she had picked a large bunch of Agrimonia pilosa.

But a new problem arose: what to use to store it?

She had nothing on her except for the tattered clothes and the canvas bag she kept close to her body.

Su Nianci's gaze swept around and finally landed on a large, broad-leaved plant. She picked a few of the largest leaves and, using the stem of the vine, clumsily but effectively tied them together to make a simple "package".

She set aside a small portion of agrimony and the plantain she had found earlier, and then carefully put the rest of the grass into this "grass bag".

After doing all that, she found some wild fruits nearby to fill her stomach.

With her knowledge from her past life, she could easily distinguish which ones were safe. Although most of these wild fruits were extremely sour and astringent, they were an unparalleled delicacy for someone who had been starving for two days.

After eating a few wild fruits, my stomach finally felt a little full, and the dizziness lessened considerably.

She sat by the stream, resting and recovering her strength while tending to the wound on her leg.

She first rinsed the wound clean with water, then placed the reserved plantain and agrimony on a clean stone and painstakingly mashed them with another small stone until they turned into a dark green paste.

Apply the paste, which is a mixture of two herbs, evenly to the wound. A cooling sensation immediately penetrates the wound, and the burning pain is relieved by more than half.

She tore off a corner of the lining of her clothes; though it was filthy, it was better than nothing. She washed the strip of cloth repeatedly in the stream, then carefully bandaged the wound, tying a neat surgical knot.

Looking at her "masterpiece," Su Nianci laughed self-deprecatingly. To think that she, a genius surgeon, had stooped to using such primitive methods to treat a wound.

In any case, the infection crisis has been brought under control for the time being.

After resting for about an hour, feeling that her strength had recovered somewhat, Su Nianci decided not to linger any longer.

She knew she couldn't stay here any longer. If Su Weiqiang found out she had run away, he would search for her like a mad dog. She couldn't go back to Hongqi Village; she had to go somewhere where no one knew her.

According to the original owner's memories, after crossing this back mountain, there is the neighboring village—Xiangyang Village.

Xiangyang Village is larger than their Hongqi Village and is closer to the road to the county town. Most importantly, there is an unwritten "market" there, where people from surrounding villages would secretly take some of their own goods to exchange for scarce commodities or grain on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th of each month.

Such places were later known as "black markets".

Although it's dangerous, it's her only option right now.

She glanced at the sun's position, determined her direction, then picked up the heavy "grass bundle" and, limping but with unusual determination, headed towards Xiangyang Village.

The mountain path was rugged, and for a five-year-old child, every step was extremely difficult.

Although the wound on my leg has been treated, it still stings whenever I move.

She wanted to give up several times, but when she thought of Wang Guixiang's twisted face, Su Weiqiang's greedy and vicious face, and her deceased parents and the loss of her family property, an overwhelming hatred transformed into boundless strength, supporting her to continue forward.

She can't fall!

She wants to live, to take back everything that belongs to her, and to make those people pay a bloody price!

After walking for an unknown amount of time, when she finally saw the faint outline of the village below the mountain, she was almost completely exhausted.

Instead of going directly into the village, she hid in a grove of trees at the village entrance and observed carefully.

It was afternoon, and most of the adults in the village had gone to work in the fields. Only some elderly people and children were enjoying the cool air and chatting under the big locust tree at the village entrance.

Su Nianci, like a patient cheetah, quietly waited for her opportunity.

She needed a perfect angle to sell her herbs without attracting too much attention.

Her current appearance—a five-year-old girl, dressed in rags and covered in dirt, appearing alone in an unfamiliar village carrying a large bag of herbs—is itself the biggest point of suspicion.

If you're not careful, you might not sell any herbs and instead be treated like a beggar and chased away. Or worse, you might be targeted by people with bad intentions.

Time passed second by second, and the sun slowly began to set in the west.

Just when Su Nianci was about to lose patience, an opportunity arose.

A middle-aged woman carrying a basket and walking hurriedly came out of the village, heading towards the mountain. Her face was anxious, and she kept muttering something to herself.

Su Nianci's ears twitched as she focused her attention on listening.

"...Damn it, of all times I had to twist my ankle. It hurts so much I'm screaming in pain, and the medicine at the clinic is ridiculously expensive. Where am I going to get some herbal medicine to help me heal my bones...?"

Elderberry?

Su Nianci's eyes narrowed instantly.

Although the agrimony in her arms is not bone-setting herb, it is still very effective for bruises and sprains, and for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis!

She's the one!

Su Nianci took a deep breath, adjusted her facial expression, and made herself look as helpless and pitiful as possible. Then, clutching the "grass bundle," she stumbled and "fell" out of the woods, landing right at the middle-aged woman's feet.

"Ouch!"

The middle-aged woman was startled. Looking down, she saw a little girl who was so thin she was practically skin and bones. Her anxiety instantly turned into pity.

"Whose child is this? How did they fall here? Are they alright?"

Su Nianci didn't speak, but looked at her with a pair of big, watery eyes in fear, her little hands still tightly clutching the herbal medicine bag in her arms, as if it were her everything.

Her gaze landed precisely on a corner peeking out of the woman's basket—a golden-yellow steamed bun.