Kissed and Seduced By the Most Rough Man in the Village-Chapter 340: Buying Seeds at the Chinese Medicine Shop
Due to Mr. Su’s situation, the neighbors in the steel factory’s residential compound usually avoided the Su family. However, the events involving the Pan and Dong families, along with the sudden appearance of the three individuals earlier, had stirred their curiosity. As a result, when Su Xiaoxiao emerged alone, they couldn’t resist gathering around her.
"Xiaoxiao, what happened when you went to the countryside? Did they really arrest the children from Old Dong and Old Pan’s families?"
"And who were the three people who came to your house today? I saw that aunt and one of the men bringing quite a few things to your house last night. Were they proposing marriage?"
"Yes, it was a marriage proposal." Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head shyly, with a look of deep embarrassment.
Her demure expression left the onlookers momentarily speechless. Before the incidents, every family with a son in the compound had wanted to marry their son to Su Xiaoxiao. But she had always seemed disinterested and avoided them completely.
Now, after her trip to the countryside, it seemed everyone was stunned.
Some people could not contain their curiosity and asked, "Did your family agree to let you marry into the countryside?"
"Yes," Su Xiaoxiao replied, her smile unchanging, her face full of happiness.
Seeing this scene made the crowd feel as if they’d just swallowed a fly. Unable to hold back, someone finally sneered, "What charm does this country bumpkin have to win over everyone in your family? You city folks turn your noses up at a 200–300 yuan bride price, while I hear it’s barely a few dozen in the countryside."
Su Xiaoxiao’s response was sweetly polite but carried a sting that everyone understood. "The key to marriage is one’s character. As long as there’s no exploitation and no unreasonable demands, I don’t care about any extras."
Those who hadn’t participated in the gossip smirked knowingly, while the others looked as though they’d just eaten something foul. In the past, these people would have dared to say a thing or two to Su Xiaoxiao. But after watching her formidable fight earlier that morning, they were practically choking on their own resentment, not daring to utter a single criticism.
The group forced smiles and tried to shift the topic by asking about the Dong and Pan families. Su Xiaoxiao happily obliged, sharing colorful tales of Dong Jiaxuan and Pan Yongsheng’s escapades since moving to the countryside, much to the astonishment of her audience.
Once she’d said all she intended, Su Xiaoxiao quietly stepped back from the conversation and hurried to catch a bus heading to the herbal medicine shop. It took her around twenty minutes to reach her destination.
Though traditional Chinese medicine had waned in popularity, the older generation still placed deep faith in their ancestral healing methods. Besides, herbs were inexpensive—just a few cents for a remedy against a common cold. Minor aches or discomforts could be addressed with acupuncture, which was also inexpensive.
Thus, the small herbal medicine shop was bustling with people. Su Xiaoxiao waited patiently in line, and after a long while, it was finally her turn. The elderly doctor glanced up at her and, noticing her healthy complexion, remarked, "Young lady, you look well and don’t seem to have any ailments. Are you here to get medicine for someone at home?"
"No, I’m here to buy some Chinese medicine seeds or fresh medicinal herbs with roots. Do you have any?" Su Xiaoxiao asked with hopeful eyes.
The old doctor looked curious. "What do you need these for?"
"I want to plant them on my balcony. Nowadays, planting flowers is considered a bourgeois hobby. I don’t want to plant vegetables, so I thought I’d grow some medicinal herbs instead," Su Xiaoxiao explained, having already prepared her reason.
The old doctor considered her request and nodded. "I collected some fresh herbs this morning and also have some seeds. Follow me."
Su Xiaoxiao was pleasantly surprised by her good fortune and thanked him profusely before following him to the back of the shop.
In the yard, the ground was covered with various herbs, sorted and spread out. There were more than ten types, including notoginseng, cassia seeds, bupleurum, celosia argentea, and others.
"How much are these?" Su Xiaoxiao asked, trying to suppress her excitement.
The old doctor thought for a moment and said, "The herbs you see on the ground are one cent each, and other seeds are two cents each."
"Do you have ginseng or lingzhi (reishi mushroom) seeds?" Su Xiaoxiao was most interested in the rare herbs.
"I have about a dozen ginseng seeds. If you want them, I can sell them to you for one yuan each. However, I don’t have lingzhi seeds; lingzhi needs spores and relies on the wind to spread," the old doctor explained.
"How many ginseng seeds can I buy? Can I buy a fresh lingzhi to plant in a pot?" Su Xiaoxiao asked eagerly.
The old doctor, initially intending to sell only a couple of ginseng seeds, decided to sell her five. However, he said he couldn’t provide fresh lingzhi.
"That will do. Thank you very much." Su Xiaoxiao was grateful.
She bought three of each fresh herb and five seeds of each type. She spent a little over ten yuan in total, wrote down all the herbs she had purchased, and happily returned home.
On the way, she also stopped by an old carpenter’s shop to buy some wooden planks.
When she arrived home, no one else was there yet. She quickly entered the space with her bucket, bowl, and knife, and began working. She cut the wooden planks into pieces, labeled each with the name of the herb, and planted them accordingly.
Although she had only bought around thirty types of herbs, setting up and planting them was quite an extensive task. Just as she finished and heard noise at the door, she quickly ran out of the space.
As she barely settled on the sofa, Mrs. Su and Aunt Guo walked in.
