Chapter 632: Concocting Medicinal Wine

“Yeah, it’s about time we headed back. If we don’t, you’re going to completely plunder this mountain of all its treasures!” Qi Jian wasn’t worried about not being able to carry everything; he was more concerned that if they kept wandering around, all the good stuff in these mountains would go extinct. ‘What kind of pets does Bin even have?’ he thought. ‘I come up here almost every single day and can barely find anything all year. This guy shows up for two days and digs up more than we can carry. Is there any justice in this world?’

‘It’s a good thing he only brought a turtle this time, since it’s a bit slow. If he’d brought a more agile animal, would there be anything left in this mountain at all? No way. I have to talk to him. From now on, the earliest he can come back is in a month. If he came every day, he’d pick the whole mountain bald! At this rate, it’s like he’s trying to sever the mountain’s spiritual veins.’

“Yeah, if we hurry, we can still make it back for dinner with the search and rescue team.” The thought spurred Qi Jian into action. He couldn’t bear to stay another minute. He quickly grabbed Carmen’s leash and rushed to the front, afraid that Shen Yibin would stop again to dig up more herbs with Turtle Immortal and Xiaoliu.

“Alright, Hah’Er, keep up! I’ll make you something delicious when we get back!” ‘There are still some Yellow Essence Sprouts left,’ he thought, ‘probably enough for me, Hah’Er, and the others to share. But that’s all. If Xu Ye and Sun Qian want some, they’ll probably have to wait until the next trip into the mountains. And even then, we’d have to be lucky enough to find them again.’

Their journey up the mountain had been slow, as they were carefully searching for treasures. The trip back was much faster since they didn’t have to worry about that. With Carmen leading the way, the group made good time and returned to the search and rescue team’s base just before nightfall. After a simple dinner with the team, Shen Yibin secretly left some Maca for Qi Jian, then got in his car and headed home.

Back home, he carefully sorted all the medicinal herbs. Then, following instructions he found online and guidance from the Turtle Immortal, he stored them properly. Before they parted ways, Qi Jian had told him the earliest he could come back to the mountain was next month; otherwise, he wouldn’t be allowed in. Therefore, he had to make sure these treasures were well-preserved.

Shen Yibin understood the need for sustainable harvesting. A large part of why these herbs were so precious was their rarity and the difficulty in cultivating them. Take Maca, for example. It was incredibly draining on the soil. After a single harvest, the land had to lie fallow for seven years before it could be planted again. Other herbs had their own challenges; some had strict climate and soil requirements, while others grew so slowly that large-scale cultivation was nearly impossible. It took many years for them to recover after being picked.

So, even if Qi Jian hadn’t said anything, Shen Yibin would have waited a long time before going back into the mountains. But even if he used up all these herbs before then, Shen Yibin wasn’t too worried. ‘There are plenty of other mountains around Yunzhong City,’ he reasoned. ‘If I can’t go to the one Qi Jian is in charge of, I can just go somewhere else.’

Upon their return, the most excited one wasn’t Shen Yibin, but Xiaoliu. The little guy was jumping up and down in the courtyard. It emptied its entire stash, gathering more than ten jugs of Monkey Wine and lining them up in front of the Turtle Immortal. From the looks of it, if the pet store hadn’t been so far away, it probably would have brought back all the Monkey Wine from there as well.

“SQUEAK! SQUEAK!” Xiaoliu squatted before the Turtle Immortal, bowing and scraping with its little paws. It pointed first at the wine jugs, then at the piles of herbs. It pointed at the Maca in particular several times. It was clearly begging the Turtle Immortal to help it concoct various medicinal wines.

Fortunately, the Turtle Immortal was also quite interested in the Monkey Wine. It slowly crawled over, stretched out its neck to take a few big gulps, then returned with a boozy hiccup and began to slowly sort through the herbs. The first batch, of course, was for the Maca. The Turtle Immortal gestured for Shen Yibin to help. He sliced two black Maca roots and dropped them into a wine jug, and the turtle added a few other complementary herbs.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Yibin went to the storage room and dug out a stack of large glass jars. ‘These will be much better for brewing medicinal wine than the jugs.’ He poured in the Monkey Wine and the herbs the Turtle Immortal had selected, then slapped on a label noting the infusion date and carefully set it aside.

Next, the Turtle Immortal crawled over to the Snow Lotus flowers. Shen Yibin quickly poured a second jug of wine into another glass jar, then added the Snow Lotus and some other herbs. ‘This batch seems more suitable for the ladies, doesn’t it?’ he mused. ‘When it’s ready, I can invite Sun Qian, Bai Yanni, Qiao Wenqi, and Xia Shixuan over to enjoy it together.’

‘Then there’s the medicinal wine made with Polygonum multiflorum as the main ingredient. Wen Yuan and Director Kong could probably use some of this. They both have quite a bit of gray hair; I wonder if this will help turn it dark again.’

‘The one with Cordyceps as the main ingredient is good for fighting fatigue, nourishing the lungs and kidneys, stopping bleeding, clearing phlegm, and boosting vital energy. A few sips now and then would definitely be good for my health. And what about this Spatholobus suberectus? I wonder if drinking it will strengthen my muscles and bones?’ One by one, the medicinal wines were prepared. As Shen Yibin carefully stored them, he wondered which one was most suitable for him.

‘Hmm, it seems I can drink most of these. I probably don’t need the Maca one, though. It’s best to let Xiaoliu have that one to himself. Oh, maybe Xu Ye could try some too.’

Shen Yibin sighed to himself. ‘Well, with all this medicinal wine, it looks like my trips to the zoo are going to get a lot more frequent. If I don’t go, who knows what kind of trouble Xiaoliu will stir up out of sheer frustration.’

Shen Yibin’s villa had a wine cellar. He carefully placed the jars of medicinal wine in the best spot in the cellar. The fine red wines from Director Kong and Sylvie, along with the sake from Sakai Kaori, were relegated to a corner to collect dust. As precious as those bottles were, they were nothing compared to these medicinal wines, concocted from Monkey Wine and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

“Go take a bath and get some rest. I’ll make those Yellow Essence Sprouts for you all in the morning! Oh, right, and I’ll see what the Seven-leafed One-flowered Plant tastes like stewed with pork ribs.” With all the work done, Shen Yibin was exhausted. He hadn’t practiced his Turtle Breathing Technique by the river today, so he just returned to his bedroom early, washed up, and went to bed.

The next morning, Shen Yibin climbed out of bed, got ready, and went straight to the kitchen. He started cooking the Yellow Ginseng seedlings according to the method the Turtle Immortal had taught him. When he finished and came out, Hah’Er, the Turtle Immortal, Maphario, and Xiaoliu were nowhere to be seen. ‘Huh? Where did those guys go? Why aren’t they coming to eat?’