She laid out the items from the basket one by one on the tabletop. "Sister-in-law Qiao, I see there aren't many wild vegetables on this mountain, but there are quite a lot of these things!"
Li Yan looked at the red berries and various herbs, and instinctively patted her thigh. "Ah... these things are everywhere on the mountain."
She pointed to the piles of things on the small tea table. "Berries like these red ones are sour, and the children don't like them. Those flowers and such don't make a meal, and they wither within a few days of picking. It's not worth the effort. As for wild vegetables, the villagers picked them long ago. How could they wait until now!"
It seemed the villagers had no idea these things were medicinal herbs. Not that they didn't know, they simply didn't understand.
"Do you have a medical clinic in your town?"
"A clinic... there used to be two. Later, the town's population decreased, and the common people were so poor that they'd endure illness. If they could endure it, they lived; if not, they died. So, the medical clinics weren't prosperous. Now, there's only one medical clinic left in town!"
This Pingling Town was so desolate, with only one clinic in the entire town!
Qiao Chuan, listening to his wife's conversation with them, realized they weren't there to trade for grain and immediately joined the chat.
"The remaining clinic is barely staying open. Nowadays, people who can afford medical treatment mainly rely on barefoot doctors. Whether it can cure them or not is another matter, but it doesn't cost much."
Pinting listened to the village chief say this and was perplexed. "Village Chief, what do you mean, 'whether it can cure them or not'? If it can't be cured, wouldn't that lead to a death?"
Qiao Chuan also looked helpless, spread his hands, and retorted, "What else can be done?"
"A doctor from the clinic charges twenty wen for a house call, not including the cost of medicine. Even if someone is sent to the clinic, a diagnosis costs ten wen. Then, if you take medicine for a few days, it'll cost at least thirty to fifty wen. The barefoot doctor doesn't charge for diagnosis, only for medicine, and a dozen wen is enough. Tell me, which would the common people choose!"
Pinting frowned. "Thirty to fifty wen, at least, can cure the illness and prevent death. What if the barefoot doctor is fake and just selling medicine? If the person dies, everything is lost!"
In Pinting's view, thirty to fifty wen was not much different from a dozen wen. She simply believed that as long as life remained, spending a few more copper coins was worth it.
Qiao Chuan could see that these two people came from wealthy families and had no understanding of the hardships of the common people.
He didn't argue with them anymore. He sighed, picked up his water bowl, took a drink, and then continued, "Even if the crops in the fields yield enough grain for a year, after paying taxes, if the common people have enough to eat, they wouldn't avoid going to the clinic!"
"Now, the crops in the fields are almost a complete failure. The wild grass in the mountains is the common people's food. Those who occasionally can go out for odd jobs are very few. With no food and no income, Madam Fan, tell me, isn't thirty to fifty wen a huge sum?"
Li Yan also felt that life was quite miserable. She sighed, "If every household had an ounce or two of silver, they would be considered wealthy."
"Never mind other things, just take my son for example. If he were to marry, the bride's family would demand five taels of silver as a betrothal gift. If we don't have silver, what can we do? We can only ask for five taels when our daughter gets married!"
"Families with daughters and sons can arrange an exchange marriage, which costs nothing. Families with several daughters become wealthy immediately after their daughters are married off."
"Families with only sons can only watch helplessly, and even families with three sons might all remain unmarried. What can be done? The world is just like this!"
What else could you do!
These words made Pinting's jaw drop. She couldn't believe that in Yun Kingdom, such things still happened in the countryside.
She withdrew her astonished gaze and turned it to Zhao Jiaqi, asking weakly, "Sister-in-law, is it true?"
Zhao Jiaqi had no idea about this issue. The village she came from wasn't this poor.
However, seeing how earnestly the village chief and his wife spoke, she feared it might be true.
"I heard that nothing grows in the fields. Village Chief, can you take us to see the fields?"
Qiao Chuan and Li Yan exchanged glances, wondering what these two young wives were thinking. What was there to see in a place where even a blade of grass wouldn't grow?
Keeping in mind they were big customers, Qiao Chuan didn't want to offend them and nodded in agreement. "Then let's go. The fields are all outside the village!"
The village chief led the way, with the two young wives following behind. Li Yan felt something was amiss and went back to get her daughter to accompany them, so there would be no gossip.
As the four of them walked towards the south of the village, the villagers chatting and laughing under the big tree saw them and looked over with smiling eyes, even teasing the village chief.
"Oh, Village Chief, you have pretty young wives following you. You're quite lucky!"
"Are you too full from lunch, or is there too much salt at home? You're so idle. Go away, don't be an eyesore!"
Qiao Chuan, blushing, scolded the gossiping villagers. He felt something was missing and muttered a curse at them, then felt it was right.
If you don't curse your mother, your spirit won't soar!
The three behind him chose to remain silent. They arrived outside the village, and the scene before them was indeed surprising.
The vast expanse of land was barren. There weren't even many wild grasses. The ground exposed to the air had a faint white layer.
"Did it snow?" Pinting, seeing the white, instinctively asked.
After speaking, she realized it was impossible for it to snow in this hot weather. She squatted down and looked at the white stuff, very curious.
"Sister-in-law, what is this?"
Pinting scooped up a handful of dirt and brought it to Zhao Jiaqi, asking.
"Salt frost!"
The village chief and Qiao Jin were stunned. Everyone didn't know what this thing was called, not even the old farmers. But a lady from a wealthy family recognized it at a glance, which truly awed the Qiao father and daughter.
Qiao Chuan pushed Qiao Jin aside, walked to Zhao Jiaqi's side, pointed at the item in Pinting's hand, and asked her again, "What is this?"
Zhao Jiaqi replied solemnly, "This is called salt frost. This entire area you see is saline-alkali land. Forget about planting vegetables and grains; even if you plant wild grass, it won't grow much. It's land where nothing grows!"
"That serious?" Pinting hadn't expected such a result.
Zhao Jiaqi looked at the patches of land and took a deep breath. To change this land for the better would likely require some effort.
Qiao Chuan's dim eyes lit up. Since they knew what kind of land it was, did that mean it could be resolved?
"Madam Fan, can this land be saved?"
Before she could speak, Qiao Chuan continued on his own, "Let me tell you, our older generation has experimented on this land. No matter what crops were planted, they wouldn't grow. We even planted a few types of fruits, but they didn't succeed either. If Madam Fan knows, please enlighten us!"