Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 113: Anchi Village

Aconite thrives in mountainous regions at altitudes of 800 to 2,500 meters, preferring cool, humid climates.

The ideal soil is a loose, fertile, and well-drained sandy loam.

Anchi Village met all these conditions perfectly.

As far as the eye could see, plots of Aconite, large and small, covered the flattened sections of the mountain.

They were all mature and ready for harvest.

An old man carrying a hoe came down from a plot of land halfway up the mountain.

Li Xu walked up to greet him. "Sir, may I ask your name?"

The old man grinned. "My surname is Ma."

Elder Ma looked Li Xu up and down. "An outsider? Here to buy Aconite?"

Li Xu gave him a thumbs-up. "You’ve got sharp eyes, sir."

Elder Ma shook his head. "It’s not that my eyes are sharp. It’s just that every Aconite harvest, outsiders come to buy it. But they all make the trip for nothing."

"Why’s that? You don’t sell your village’s Aconite?"

"Heh heh, of course we do. The Aconite from our Anchi Village is the best in all of Jiangyou. For more than ten years now, we’ve been signing contracts right after planting it in the winter. As long as we get a good harvest, we’re guaranteed to make money."

At this, Elder Ma looked proud. "And do you know who we sign the contracts with?"

"Who?"

"They’re all foreign companies."

"For export?"

"That’s right. Ninety percent of it is exported to Japan."

Li Xu fell silent.

He suddenly recalled something he had overlooked.

Most of the high-quality traditional Chinese medicinal herbs in the country were exported.

And the biggest destination was Japan.

Take Jiangyou Aconite, for example.

Of the more than 2,000 tons produced annually, the vast majority was exported, with less than 60 tons available for domestic retail.

Anchi Village’s Aconite was the best of the best.

Naturally, it had long been on Japan’s radar.

Elder Ma was an extrovert and chattered on endlessly. "It’s just that the Japanese are so demanding. They don’t let us soak it in Daban Liquid. We have to dig it up and process it on the spot. A job that would normally take half a month gets dragged out to a full month. But the Japanese pay extra for it, so we can make a bit more money..."

"Hmm?"

Li Xu heard this and was at a loss for words.

’So the Japanese knew all along that soaking Aconite in Daban Liquid would affect its medicinal properties. But they secretly kept it to themselves.’

Even domestic heavyweights like Wang Tao and Gao Guanghui had only just learned about the drawbacks of soaking it in Daban Liquid.

’Was it despicable?’

’From a business perspective, the Japanese hadn’t done anything wrong.’

’Wait a minute...’

Li Xu caught himself. The intel he had received said that Anchi Village used Daban Liquid to soak the Aconite during harvest, which was why he had rushed here.

’Could the intel be wrong?’

’Impossible. The system doesn’t make mistakes.’

Elder Ma continued, "If you really want to buy our Aconite, you’ll have to pay a high price. We could sell you a few hundred pounds."

"Didn’t you sign a contract with the Japanese?"

"Our village has 200 mu of mountain land suitable for growing Aconite. The contract covers 180 mu. The remaining 20 mu are reserved for domestic retail as required. We plan to dig that up tomorrow, soak it in Daban Liquid, and then sell it."

"Sir, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Didn’t you just say you dig it up and process it on the spot? Why would you still soak it in Daban Liquid?"

"That’s right. The Aconite we sell to the Japanese isn’t soaked in Daban Liquid. But the portion for domestic retail needs to be. Once we’re done with the exported Aconite, we’ll come back and slowly process what’s left."

"..."

Li Xu was speechless.

It was the same in so many industries.

They exported the best products abroad.

He had no way of intercepting the shipment meant for Japan.

But the Aconite from the remaining 20 mu...

He had to save it.

"Sir, I want to buy the Aconite from those 20 mu. Who should I talk to?"

"You really want to buy it? The price isn’t cheap, you know."

"Of course."

"Then you’ll have to talk to our village chief. All the Aconite in our village is sold collectively."

Li Xu asked for directions and headed toward the village committee office.

He followed the village road to the Anchi Village Committee building.

In front of a small, two-story building hung two conspicuous signs. The one on the left read, "Xinzeng Town, Anchi Village Villagers’ Committee," and the one on the right read, "Xinzeng Town Jinhua Aconite Processing Plant."

’A village-run enterprise?’ Li Xu nodded to himself.

This model was common in some rural areas: the village committee would take the lead in establishing a company to manage cultivation, processing, and sales collectively. This both ensured quality and allowed them to negotiate better prices.

He pushed open the glass door. Inside the office, only a young clerk was left, packing up to go home.

"Excuse me, is the village chief in?" Li Xu asked politely.

The clerk looked up at him. "You’re looking for Factory Director Ma? Bad timing. He went into the city with a client today."

"A client from Japan?"

Li Xu recalled what Elder Ma had said.

He had mentioned that every year during the Aconite harvest, the Japanese company would send people to supervise the entire process.

"How did you know?" The clerk was surprised, then it dawned on him. "Oh, you’re here to buy Aconite too, aren’t you?"

Just as he spoke, a youth in his early twenties suddenly rushed out from an inner room, waving his arms and giggling foolishly. "Aconite! Aconite! I want to dig for Aconite!"

As he spoke, he reached for a few pieces of Aconite on the table.

"Hey! You can’t eat that!"

The clerk rushed forward and snatched the Aconite away.

Then he pulled the youth back into the inner room and locked the door from the outside.

"Who was that...?" Li Xu asked.

The clerk explained with a wry smile, "That’s Factory Director Ma’s son. A few years ago, during the Aconite harvest, he had prolonged contact with the raw tubers and suffered from aconitine poisoning..."

He pointed to his head and sighed.

Li Xu understood immediately.

The aconitine in Aconite is a potent neurotoxin. Even trace amounts ingested, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled as dust can cause a toxic reaction.

"Didn’t he go to the hospital?"

"Of course he did. His symptoms were even worse before. He takes medication every day and has recovered quite a bit, but the doctor said a full recovery is basically impossible. The best we can do is maintain his current condition."

After a few more words, Li Xu brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand. "When will the village chief be back?"

"Tomorrow noon at the earliest." The clerk glanced at his watch. "You should come back tomorrow."

"Alright. Thanks."

Unable to meet the person in charge, Li Xu had no choice but to leave.

He took a taxi back to Xinzeng Town and found a clean hotel to stay in.

The proprietress at the front desk gave him an enthusiastic recommendation. "You’re not from around here, are you, young man? The ’Ma Family Aconite Banquet’ in town is the real deal. You should go give it a try."

"They really make the most of their local resources," Li Xu remarked.

Aconite was abundant here, so they not only sold it as a medicinal herb but also consumed it in medicinal cuisine.

The proprietress continued animatedly, "Our Aconite stewed chicken and Aconite lamb soup are unbelievably delicious! And don’t worry, it’s all been properly processed. Perfectly safe."

"I’ll go check it out."

Li Xu had already been planning to find a place to eat, and he was curious to try the Aconite stewed chicken anyway.

Following her directions, Li Xu arrived at the Ma Family restaurant in the center of town.

He pushed open the door, and a rich aroma washed over him.

The walls were adorned with descriptions of various Aconite medicinal dishes, as well as photos of the owner with celebrities.

"Just one?" The owner came up to greet him. "Care to try our signature Aconite Chicken? We use a mature hen, over three years old, paired with white Aconite slices that have been processed for 49 days. It’s great for warming the kidneys and strengthening yang..."