It turned out to be Luo Ah-di and Luo Zhong coming over, each carrying a rattan basket.
Dong Si saw two men from the village approaching and ran over with some concern, My lady, what is the matter?
Jiang Jin smiled. Go call Suo Qian over. The villagers say they have herbs to sell.
Yun Chengxuan had already come up from the river and volunteered, I will go! I will go call him.
After saying that, he dashed off like a wisp of smoke.
Zhou Sui watched the energetic boy and could not help but suggest, My lady, should Young Master Yun not be training? I think he could run carrying a hundred pounds of weight.
Jiang Jin replied, ...It is a good idea, but I cannot control him. If you can get him to train, then go ahead.
Zhou Sui: ... If he could control him, he would have done so long ago. Why would he wait until now?
He had finally realized that his lady just wanted to pamper Young Master Yun.
Even though Yun Chengxuan listened to his aunt the most, Jiang Jin had almost no demands of him.
Jiang Jin truly did not care whether Yun Chengxuan trained or not. He was naturally strong, and Yun You had previously hired professionals to teach him, so his martial prowess was already extremely high.
Luo Zhong and the other two had already waded across the river. The river was about ten meters wide and not deep, so wading across was no problem at all.
Luo Zhong hunched his back, forcing a somewhat fawning smile on his emaciated face as he carefully set down the rattan basket he had been holding in his arms.
My lady, please take a look. These are the herbs I gathered on the mountain. I processed them all myself.
After speaking, his eyes uncontrollably drifted toward the area in the distance where dinner was being prepared. The aroma of food had already spread, faintly wafting over to their side.
He swallowed hard, his stomach cramping. It had been a very, very long time since he had eaten normal food like rice or noodles.
There were mountains around here; if the herbs were gone, he could just gather more. But grain was not something you could get just by wanting it. So, as soon as he heard that herbs could be traded for grain here, he hurried over.
Luo Ah-di also set down the rattan basket he was holding. He was just helping to carry it; the herbs all belonged to Luo Zhong.
Jiang Jin looked down. Inside the rattan basket were several small woven baskets, with the herbs sorted into them.
Jiang Jin did not know much about herbs, but she recognized most of the medicinal materials inside. They were all common herbs, and looking at them, they had been processed quite cleanly.
Soon, Suo Qian came over. He bent down, sifted through the herbs, and showed a look of approval. The processing is decent, but these are all common herbs. They are not worth much.
These herbs were common but also frequently used. With so many people in the group now, and not knowing what the situation in Gefeng would be, the more medicinal herbs they had, the better.
Luo Zhong's face lit up with joy. As long as he could trade for grain, it did not matter how much. He hurriedly said, You name a price. I... I only want grain.
Suo Qian glanced at Jiang Jin. Seeing that she did not object, he pondered for a moment before saying, I can give you at most half a dou of grain for these two baskets. Do you want to trade?
Luo Zhong was thrilled. Trade, trade.
Half a dou of grain—if he took a handful a day and mixed it with wild vegetables, it could last a month.
Jiang Jin had someone go fetch the grain, while Suo Qian went to get some bags to sort and store the herbs.
Upon receiving the grain, Luo Zhong's eyes turned red, and his heart finally settled. He hesitated for a moment before asking, My lady, where are you heading? If I gather more herbs, can I still sell them to you?
Jiang Jin did not hide it. We are planning to go to Gefeng. If you have herbs, you can come to Gefeng, though the journey there might not be very safe.
However, there were no safe places right now. Whether traveling or staying in the village, one could face danger.
Hearing the name Gefeng, Luo Zhong's expression turned bitter again. The distance was one thing, but the main issue was that Gefeng was Quzhao territory; he did not dare go there.
Jiang Jin understood his thoughts. She realized that once she took over Gefeng, she would need a large number of talented people, and healers were scarce.
Mu Zhuo's medical team was the most complete, with medicine boys and herbs, but he was not one of her people yet.
Currently, her team only had two healers: Suo Qian and Liu Mi, and Liu Mi still needed to continue studying medicine.
Once they settled down in Gefeng, she would definitely need to recruit medicine boys and people to grow, gather, and process herbs.
Since she had run into one, she might as well recruit him.
Although she did not know how good Luo Zhong's medical skills were, his method of processing herbs was quite good. At the very least, he could handle the job of processing medicinal materials.
Thus, Jiang Jin proposed, You can work for me. There will not be any wages for now, but I can guarantee you will be fed and clothed.
Luo Zhong was stunned. W-what did you say?
Jiang Jin pointed to her group. We have a lot of people. Headaches and colds are common occurrences, so we need herbs. I see your herb-processing skills are decent. You can help me process medicinal materials.
It took Luo Zhong a good while to react, and his heart swelled with joy. In these times, having enough to eat and wear was already the greatest luxury; how could he ask for wages?
Moreover, with so many people in this group, it looked safe. If he joined, he would not have to worry all day long.
He knelt down and kowtowed. Thank you, my lady. I... I still have a granddaughter at home. I usually take her with me when I gather and process herbs, and I have taught her as well.
Please, my lady, allow me to bring her along. I... I can save my rations for her. She will not be any trouble to you at all.
Jiang Jin smiled. There is no need for that. Since that is the case, bring her along. I will guarantee food and clothing for both of you. However, I must make one thing clear first: once you join my team, you must obey orders.
Luo Zhong was overjoyed. I understand, I understand. I will go back right now to pack our bags and come over.
Jiang Jin waved her hand. No rush. Just come over tomorrow morning.
Standing to the side, Luo Ah-di was full of envy. Unfortunately, he thought about himself from head to toe, and from toe to head, but could not think of a single strength he possessed.
Luo A'man's eyes, however, lit up brightly. She hurriedly asked, My lady, c-can I be your female guard?
Before Jiang Jin could speak, Luo Ah-di became anxious. W-what are you saying? Be a guard? How can that work? Father and Mother definitely will not agree. Besides, what woman becomes a guard?
Luo A'man rolled her eyes. The lady's group has female guards. Why do you not become a guard too?
Luo Ah-di was stunned, but suddenly his eyes lit up too. That was right! He had no other strengths, but he had physical strength. He did not know if the woman in front of him was hiring guards, but he did not want wages either—just enough to eat.
He quickly asked, Is it possible? Can I be your guard? I can run really fast!
Oh, right, and I can keep a secret, he added hastily, thinking of another of his strengths.
His running speed and tight lips were all because of his sister; speaking of it only brought tears.
Jiang Jin: ... These two did not look very smart.
Did you not just say your parents would not agree? she asked.
Only then did Luo A'man and her brother remember their parents. Both of them looked a bit awkward; they really had just forgotten about their parents.
Luo A'man considered her words for a moment before saying, Can my father and mother come with us? They can work too. They know how to farm and weave rattan baskets.
She lowered her head and continued, I know grain is precious. I will share some of my rations with them. We absolutely will not waste your grain, my lady.
As long as they could work, Jiang Jin did not mind having two more people. However, there were some things she needed to state upfront: My guards are meant to fight in wars. You can understand it as being soldiers.
