Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

Chapter 587: Chapter 602: Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory

An Ning didn’t have time to ask what had happened. She leaned down and examined Hua Cheng’s body.

“A gunshot wound?”

Hei Niu nodded.

Hua Cheng’s most severe wound was on his shoulder. He had many other injuries, but none were life-threatening.

The worst wound was covered with a dark, mushy substance—probably a hemostatic herb Hei Niu had found for him.

“Let’s move first.”

An Ning took some anti-inflammatory medicine and gauze from her nondescript little backpack, gave Hua Cheng a simple dressing, and then, with a heave, hoisted him onto her back.

“Can you walk?”

Hei Niu nodded, but when she stood up, An Ning saw that her leg was injured too.

“You’re…?”

“It’s a minor wound. Let’s go.”

An Ning had seen Hei Niu’s decisiveness before. A teenage girl who shouldered the burden of supporting her family and navigated the mountains alone was no ordinary person.

“Keep up. Someone’s looking for you two.”

An Ning led the way with Hei Niu following behind. They moved quickly, gradually putting more and more distance between themselves and their pursuers.

Once she was sure they were safe, An Ning set Hua Cheng down, gave Hei Niu some food to replenish her energy, and let them rest for a bit before continuing.

“An Ning? Am I dreaming? Or am I dead?”

OOF—

As Hua Cheng came to, An Ning tapped him on the head with a branch.

“If you were dead, why would you be seeing me?”

Hua Cheng, now fully conscious, replied, “Well, aren’t you a Mystic Master? I figured you might be here to guide my soul to the afterlife. I was even going to ask you to find me a good family to be reincarnated into. I want to be rich in my next life, too.”

The smart-mouthed Hua Cheng received a cruel rejection from An Ning.

“Sorry, I can’t interfere with the affairs of the underworld.”

An Ning’s deadpan delivery made Hua Cheng want to laugh, but his wounds hurt too much.

“That Hei… oh, there you are.”

Hua Cheng finally saw Hei Niu bandaging her own leg nearby and said with a sigh of relief, “Still alive. Good.”

Hei Niu gave Hua Cheng a cold chuckle.

“You should be glad you’re the one who’s still alive.”

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering, An Ning immediately cut in. “You two, shouldn’t you tell me what exactly happened here?”

Hei Niu nodded seriously. Hua Cheng didn’t have the strength to talk much, so he just pointed a finger at Hei Niu and said, “She’ll tell you.”

“I came here to find medicine for my father’s illness. I followed the old Chinese doctor’s instructions and found the right herbs without any trouble. As I was about to head back, I ran into some foreigners.”

“I don’t speak the R Country language, but I’ve seen a few war dramas, so I can still understand words like ‘baka.’ I got curious and followed them.”

“I ended up finding them forcing people to dig up medicinal herbs—harvesting them in a way that would destroy the plants for good. I kept following them, and that’s when I ran into Hua Cheng.”

The story felt incomplete, so An Ning looked at Hua Cheng. He gathered his thoughts and explained, “I was planning to open a traditional Chinese medicine factory. I started by trying to acquire an existing one to save some time. The deal was pretty much set, we just needed to finalize the paperwork, but then another company swooped in and snatched it away.”

“I wasn’t happy about it, so I decided to check out which company had stolen my deal. Turns out, the real people in charge were from R Country. How could I let that slide? It’s our ancestors’ legacy. Why should we let them buy it?”

“So I took my money and went straight to that old medicine factory to try and intercept their deal. But then I discovered that the damn owner was an R Country national hiding in Huaxia! No wonder he refused to sell to me. I wanted to tell the people at the factory who didn’t know the truth and stop the deal, but I was discovered. I ran into the mountains, ran into her, and then ran into you.”

Hei Niu rolled her eyes and continued, “Correction: you didn’t run into me. I saw you being chased and stepped in to save you.”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d have been their worst nightmare in this forest!”

After hearing this, An Ning fully affirmed Hei Niu’s statement. “Indeed. You’re right.”

“So, is the deal complete now? Why are they buying our old medicine factory?”

“What else? To steal our stuff, of course. They’re also hiring locals to go up the mountain and dig up herbs for them, with no regard for the mountain’s ecosystem. I think they plan to take the good stuff back home and sell the inferior products to us. Most importantly, that old medicine factory comes with its secret formulas!”

Hua Cheng’s words were confirmed by Hei Niu and taken seriously by An Ning.

“I’ll contact my superiors. Whatever they’re up to, we’ll detain them first and ask questions later.”

An Ning took out her phone. The ridiculously strong signal allowed her to successfully contact Director Zhao and inform him of the entire situation.

After she hung up, the three of them rested for a bit longer before moving on.

「Two hours later, An Ning successfully led the two of them out of the deep mountain forest.」

However, this spot was quite far from where An Ning had parked her car, making it difficult to go back. The three had no choice but to head in a different direction.

The other direction seemed to lead to a village. The trio stopped on a hillside, looking down at the settlement and pondering whether they should go down.

“I’ll go check it out.”

An Ning looked at Hua Cheng, who was in urgent need of medical attention, and knew they couldn’t delay any longer. She pulled a weapon from her backpack and gave it to Hei Niu.

“If there’s danger, don’t hesitate.”

Hei Niu nodded.

An Ning quickly headed down the mountain. ‘If worse comes to worst,’ she thought, ‘I’ll just pull a car out of my dimensional space in a secluded spot.’

When An Ning reached the village, she didn’t see anyone around, but in the distance, figures were moving about in the most brightly lit area.

It seemed the village was in the middle of discussing something important, and no one was paying attention to their surroundings.

Since that was the case, An Ning returned the way she came, retrieved Hei Niu and Hua Cheng from the hillside, and led them down from another direction.

「Ten minutes later, the three of them were in a somewhat battered minivan.」

“How did you convince them?”

“Act first, report later.”

The four-word answer made Hua Cheng give An Ning a silent thumbs-up. The van started up and headed toward the city.

However, the journey wasn’t as smooth as they had imagined. Someone had set up a roadblock.

“Don’t make a sound. I’m going to cast an illusion. They won’t be able to see you. Hide under the seats.”

As she spoke, several Copper Coins materialized in An Ning’s hand. With a WHIZ, they shot toward the corners of the van’s interior. It was the first time Hua Cheng had witnessed such a spectacle, and he was filled with doubt. ‘Will this really work?’

Hei Niu, on the other hand, trusted An Ning completely. After shooting Hua Cheng a look that said, “Not a peep,” she closed her eyes and hid beneath the seats.

Soon, the van stopped. At some point, An Ning had put on makeup, and now she pulled down the window with a thuggish look on her face. “What are you doing?! Get out of the way!” she shouted impatiently at the people at the roadblock. “I drive this crappy road all the time! Since when can you just set up a roadblock? I’m telling you, my great-uncle’s third-cousin’s nephew is a big shot in this city—”

“Easy there. Some valuable medicinal herbs were stolen from our factory. We’re just taking a look, won’t take much of your time.”