Chapter 6: Building the Medicinal Herb Garden

Chapter 6: Building the Medicinal Herb Garden

The medicinal herb garden on the rooftop was set up quickly; in less than a week, all the seedbeds and soil pots were already in place.

One shaded pavilion, dedicated to growing shade-loving medicinal herbs, had a moist atmosphere. It had already been planted with various ready-to-plant herbs that Zhou Yun had previously cultivated, such as ginseng, safflower, honeysuckle, Notoginseng, Isatis root, purslane, and more.

Another glass greenhouse was equipped with a sand table and filled with all kinds of cacti.

In Guan Yuanfeng's eyes, these large and small, round and spiky succulent plants were indeed cacti.

However, Zhou Yun seriously introduced the varieties of these succulent plants to him: "The round one is called Golden Barrel Cactus. There are many varieties of this. This one with white spines, called White-spined Golden Barrel, is particularly outstanding in purifying the air."

"This is called the Golden Torch cactus, also known as the Safety Cactus. Its flowers are bright and colorful, and its berries can be used to make jam and ice cream, with a delightful flavor."

"This is the Sleeping Beauty Cactus. Its flowers are especially large and beautiful, and they are very fragrant. The extract from its buds has a calming and anti-depressant effect, helping to treat insomnia and reduce anxiety."

"Here we have the Queen of the Night. It can treat fractures, burns, and scalds, and is also edible. It can be made into juice, jam, and even wine. Its flowers, known as the 'Queen of the Night,' are used in soups. The dragon fruit is actually a modified variety of the Queen of the Night."

After mutation, the Queen of the Night becomes robust and flexible, capable of growing as desired. It can also serve as a rootstock for grafting various cacti, making it highly practical.

After awakening his abilities in the apocalyptic world, Zhou Yun's favorite was this so-called Whip Cactus. It could be used for offense and defense, was edible and medicinal, and could even be used to repair houses. Seeing it now, he felt a deep sense of affection and couldn't help but touch the vibrant, long succulent leaves of the Whip Cactus.

Guan Yuanfeng was somewhat surprised to see the pleasure in his eyes, his lashes lowered, fingers lightly brushing the dark green wavy succulent leaves, his love for the plant evident.

Noticing Guan Yuanfeng's gaze, Zhou Yun looked up, smiled, and continued his introduction: "Here are some medicinal succulent plants, such as the Purple Horn, Giant Unicorn Plant, Rhodiola, Orostachys, and here is the Devil's Aloe. This one is particularly effective in treating stomach ailments. There are also the Cape Aloe and Dragon Claw, common aloe varieties, each with its own benefits."

Aloe plants are robust and, after mutation, become very large with thick succulent leaves. Their extracts are useful, with anti-cancer, anti-radiation, and anti-infection properties, and can be consumed. Some less bitter varieties can also be used as feed for livestock, a rare resource in the apocalyptic world.

Guan Yuanfeng was impressed that Zhou Yun could remember so many varieties after listing two or three dozen for him and asked, "Is your thesis about the extracts of cacti and aloe?"

Zhou Yun replied, "Yes, their extracts contain various alkaloids that are very effective in treating infectious diseases." They also have anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, blood sugar-lowering, and immune-regulating effects, and can be eaten in critical moments.

In the apocalypse, zombies are particularly repelled by it. Post-apocalypse, scientists have conducted numerous studies on cacti, finding that its extract can help remove the toxins from zombie bites. If treated in time, through amputation and injection of mutated cactus extract, it might still be possible to save the person.

Succulent plants are also very resilient, able to adapt to the harsh post-apocalyptic weather. After mutation, they produce high-quality, pure wood-element essence, making them ideal for experiments. He could conduct control experiments to see which plants more easily produce wood-element essence.

Looking at this glass greenhouse full of cacti, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction, as if he were looking at a room full of easily cultivated, regenerating wood-element essence. His eyes, filled with joy, turned to Guan Yuanfeng: "Let's go have lunch."

Lunch consisted of stir-fried water spinach, with shrimp sauce sprinkled on the fresh, tender green leaves, adding a savory flavor to the freshest vegetables.

Garlic-stirred pumpkin sprouts, fried with lard, were incredibly sweet and delicious. The meat dish was a plate of steamed sausage slices, with crispy cucumber and raw garlic sprouts sandwiched between the deep red sausage slices.

Another soup dish was made from pumpkin blossoms in rich broth. Salted duck eggs and ginger slices were stir-fried to release their aroma, then broth was added and lean meat was boiled, followed by blanched pumpkin blossoms. The soup was rich in flavor, with a unique taste. Guan Yuanfeng was surprised to learn that pumpkin blossoms could be eaten.

This week, Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun ate together, with mostly vegetarian dishes and occasionally one or two meat dishes, but almost never the same dish two days in a row.

Just counting the leafy greens, in the past few days, Guan Yuanfeng had eaten water spinach, sweet potato vines, lettuce, celery, cowpea, pumpkin shoots, cucumbers, loofah, red amaranth, eggplants, green peppers, and leeks, among others.

The dishes were simple yet varied. It was clear that not much effort was spared, but because the cook was skilled, the combinations were ingenious. Even a simple stir-fry of vegetables could be varied with lard, shrimp skin, soybean paste, pickled bamboo shoots, and pickled plums, among others. The vegetables were freshly picked from the rooftop, and the taste was excellent.

Guan Yuanfeng used his chopsticks to pick up a slice of sausage and a piece of raw garlic and found the combination quite unique. He was curious how Zhou Yun had come up with such a creative pairing.

Seeing Zhou Yun bring a basin and mix meat with leftover lamb ribs and pumpkin chunks for Comet's meal, Guan Yuanfeng noticed that Comet was eating without lifting his head.

Zhou Yun looked up, smiled, and said, "No salt was added, don't worry."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I'm just surprised that he used to not eat any vegetables at all, but now he's eating them with you."

Zhou Yun smiled. "Maybe the veggies outside aren't clean, and it can smell the pesticides."

Guan Yuanfeng looked at him suspiciously.

Zhou Yun lectured, "I’ve been telling you to avoid takeout, right? See how clean and hygienic the food is here?"

Guan Yuanfeng remained doubtful but cautiously held back from arguing. Zhou Yun couldn't help but laugh. "Vegetables like pumpkin and carrots are naturally sweet. Give them a try, and you’ll get used to them soon enough."

Guan Yuanfeng found Zhou Yun's smile infectious and couldn't help but smile himself. He thought to himself that his stomach had indeed felt much better after eating Zhou Yun's meals this past week.

A doctor who loved light, healthy food and focused on wellness, Zhou Yun cooked dishes that were easy on the stomach. From time to time, he would prepare yam and corn juice or aloe silver ear soup for Guan Yuanfeng. This week, the discomfort he felt in his stomach after taking medication had noticeably decreased.

The nighttime pain wasn’t as bad either. With a full stomach, he felt stronger and could push through the discomfort, falling back asleep faster.

Lost in thought, he noticed Zhou Yun had put a large batch of sausages into a dehydrator. Unable to hold back, he asked, "Why are you making so many sausages? These don’t look like pork."

Zhou Yun casually replied, "They're chicken sausages, made to give away."

He then studied Guan Yuanfeng for a moment. "You look like you're not sleeping well at night. Want me to check your pulse and give you something to help you relax? I'm heading back to the hospital today to take care of some business and can grab some medicine for you while I'm there."

Guan Yuanfeng hesitated. If it were someone else, he would have refused, but after spending every day this week with Zhou Yun, they had grown familiar. Zhou Yun had never asked about his disability. Plus, Zhou Yun had a presence that made people feel at ease...

But Zhou Yun had already placed a pulse pillow on the table. "Come on, put your left hand on this. No charge for the consultation."

Guan Yuanfeng couldn't help but smile and placed his wrist on the pillow. Zhou Yun carefully felt his pulse, observed his pupils for a while, asked him to stick out his tongue, and then checked his other wrist. He then took a prescription pad from a nearby cabinet and wrote a prescription with a fountain pen—a rare sight these days—filled with bluish-black ink.

Guan Yuanfeng noticed the elegant handwriting and remembered the calligraphy scroll he'd seen hanging in the corridor earlier. He complimented, "Nice handwriting. Practiced for long?"

Zhou Yun smiled. "A few years, but I'm still not quite there yet."

He placed the prescription down. "I’ll pick up the herbs later and brew them for you daily. After a week, I’ll tweak the formula."

Glancing at his phone, he saw steam rising from a bamboo steamer. He went over, opened the lid, and checked the steamed cakes. "I've steamed some yam cakes. Take them back with you. If you're hungry in the afternoon, have some."

Every day during this period, Zhou Yun would steam cakes for Guan Yuanfeng to take back. Sometimes it was yam cakes or millet cakes, and other times it would be soft and hearty soups like aloe silver ear soup, eight-treasure mung bean porridge, or snow pear pig lung soup.

Zhou Yun said, "The password for my electronic lock is 111213. If you need to come over in the afternoon, feel free. Of course, you can also come directly from the rooftop." He knew Guan Yuanfeng had a good memory and would remember the password after being told just once.

Guan Yuanfeng furrowed his brow. "Why use such a simple password?"

Zhou Yun smiled. "Too complicated, and I’d forget it myself."

His phone rang, and he answered. The voice on the other end said, "Mr. Zhou, hello. You are a premium customer of our bank and are eligible for an 180,000 RMB consumer credit line with a monthly interest rate of 0.18%..."

Zhou Yun asked, "A monthly interest rate of 0.18%? What's the longest repayment period? When can the funds be disbursed?"

Guan Yuanfeng suddenly looked up, his brows furrowed, his gaze cold and heavy. Zhou Yun felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze and quickly ended the call with a smile. "Just a sales call. I was just curious."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Do you need money?"

Zhou Yun immediately denied it. "No, I was just inquiring. The monthly interest rate is quite low and sounds quite cost-effective."

Guan Yuanfeng's eyes were sharp. "I saw some small loan apps on your phone."

Zhou Yun stammered, explaining awkwardly, "I just checked them out of curiosity, but I didn’t actually apply for any loans."

Over the past week, setting up the greenhouse and herb garden had gone a bit over budget. In a world where every second counted, he needed to manage cash flow. Since he hadn't used credit cards much before, he had to exchange his gold bars for cash.

However, it took a few business days for the bank to process the exchange. Loans, on the other hand, were disbursed quickly. After researching online, he found that some small loans were disbursed instantly, so he downloaded a few loan apps to compare but ultimately decided against them.

He had originally planned to take the gold bars to the gold shop for exchange today, even if he got less, as long as he could convert them to cash quickly. He hadn’t expected Guan Yuanfeng to notice him today, probably when he was cooking or when he placed his phone on the table, allowing Guan to see the screen.

He should’ve known better—Guan was always sharp and observant.

The usually taciturn Guan Yuanfeng didn’t let the topic drop: “A monthly interest rate of 0.18% is indeed low, but this is typically sales rhetoric; the actual interest rate is usually much higher when you factor in different calculations.”

His voice was calm, but his presence was intense, almost suffocating, his eyes locked onto Zhou Yun, clearly not planning to let him off easily.

Even though Zhou Yun’s ears were flushed and he looked embarrassed, Guan Yuanfeng still decided not to let him go down a dangerous path. He had seen young men like this in the military before, who ended up patching things together until they couldn’t cover their debts anymore, leading to regretful discharges or forced retirements.

Zhou Yun lowered his head and quickly admitted his mistake: “Yes, I understand.”

However, Guan Yuanfeng took out his phone: “Add me as a friend.”

Caught off guard by this unexpected gesture, Zhou Yun quickly added him as a friend.

After the verification went through, Guan Yuanfeng immediately transferred 200,000 yuan to him: “Take this 200,000 yuan to use as a loan. No interest, and during this time, both my and the dog’s food expenses are included; you can keep track of it.”

Zhou Yun was taken aback and looked at him. Guan Yuanfeng’s tone brooked no argument: “Don’t be too formal with me. If you are, I might not come back next time, and I’ll take the balcony back as well.”

Zhou Yun met his gaze, saw the seriousness in his eyes, and realized Guan wasn’t joking around. He figured that in this post-apocalyptic world, money didn’t matter much anymore, so it was better to use it to buy some supplies now. He accepted the payment and smiled at him: “Thank you, Brother Guan. I’ll plan carefully and make sure not to waste this money.”