Herbalism Skill Level 10

  Good morning! Get up and learn herbalism skills.

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  The sky was still dark, and the young medicine collectors in the small courtyard were called up by a few brocade-clad youths to gather in a large courtyard for the initiation ceremony of joining the Medicine Collection Hall.

  There were over 40 outer disciples wearing coarse blue robes to collect medicine, and five inner disciples wearing white robes to refine medicine. The children lined up in rows on the flat ground, looking very tense.

  Ye Qin was no exception, and he felt slightly uneasy in his heart.

  He found two big shots from the Medicine Pavilion standing in the courtyard.

  One of them was a short and stout man, looking like a wealthy merchant, with his hands behind his back, smiling at the children. The other was a tall and thin man in his forties or fifties, wearing a blue long gown, with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and detached, his eyes gleaming like electricity, and no one dared to look him straight in the eye.

  Zhang Dazong and dozens of pharmacists, including Wang Caizheng, were very cautious in front of the two big men and did not dare to speak much.

  Zhang Dazong introduced to the children, that rich and imposing merchant-like man was Ma Fudongzhu of the inner hall, who sat in the second seat of the medicine collection hall. The thin and tall man was Ji Fudongzhu of the outer hall, who sat in the third seat of the medicine collection hall.

  The legendary owner of the Medicine Hall, Li Da Shan Ren, did not appear at the ceremony.

  Zhang Dazong also belongs to the high-level management level, but he is in charge of some miscellaneous matters within the hall. Many miscellaneous matters in the hall are managed by him.

  The remaining dozens of medicine collectors and medicine makers are responsible for bringing apprentices and cultivating medicine collectors and medicine makers.

  Director Zhang finished introducing the big shots present and began the initiation ceremony.

  All the medicine boys stepped forward, dripping blood one by one in the blood basin at the front, half-kneeling under the flag of the Medicine King Gang, taking the most common oath of allegiance in the Jianghu gang, swearing that they would never betray the Medicine King Gang, never betray the Medicine Hall, and signing a lifelong contract, dedicating their lives to die for the Medicine King Gang.

  This bloody ritual made the children excited and also made them feel like they had become part of the Jianghu for the first time.

  Ma Vice President and Ji Vice President left immediately after the entrance ceremony, reminding the pharmacists for a while before leaving. Zhang, the general manager, followed closely behind the two vice presidents and left. Some pharmacists also left afterwards.

  In the field, only ten medicine pickers and five medicine makers were left, formally passing on the skills of the Medicine Picking Hall to the crowd of children.

  Each medicine collector will bring four to five medicine collecting children.

  And the other five apothecaries each brought only one white-robed apprentice.

  Ye Qin, Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao, Qian Ruoxiu, and Sun Ying, the five children, naturally followed Wang Caixia. Ye Qin and Yang Yicheng found it strange, occasionally glancing at those white-robed children, they felt that there was something different about them, but couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.

  Wang Caiyao stood with her hands behind her back and said in a cold tone.

  "No need to look anymore, they are the inner disciples of the pharmacy, who will either become pharmacists or stay in the store to work, and do not need to risk their lives to go out and collect medicine. They are here to enjoy themselves. You are the outer disciples of the pharmacy, who need to risk your lives to go out and collect medicine, and are here to fight for your lives. It's that simple. Now you are my disciple Wang Hong, in the future when you see these inner disciples, don't cause trouble, it's not a joke."

  Ye Qin and five others hastily lowered their heads to listen to the lecture.

  Then, Wang the medicine master began to explain to them what a qualified medicine picking child should be trained in and some things that need attention.

  The skills that the young disciples of the Medicine Hall need to learn are surprisingly many: literacy, arithmetic, pharmacology, medicine collection, wilderness survival, emergency treatment in the wild, pest control and beast fighting, trap setting, wilderness camouflage, swordsmanship, archery, basic external exercises, basic internal exercises... adding up to over a dozen categories.

  The variety is astonishing.

  To know that ordinary rural medicine collectors can only identify and collect medicines in some non-hazardous wilderness areas, which is enough.

  However, Caiyao Hall is different, it is a hall under the Medicine King Gang.

  Yaowang Gang is the fifth largest gang in Pingzhou, with great strength. The main hall is located in the capital of Pingzhou, and all counties have branch halls. As a disciple of such a large gang, they often get involved in some fierce battles in the Jianghu world. It's impossible for a member of the gang to not know martial arts. Therefore, even the lowest-level apprentice medicine collector must learn external skills and internal skills.

  Moreover, it is necessary to enter the dangerous deep mountain canyons and cliffs to collect medicinal materials that have been medicated for decades or even hundreds of years, so the skills that need to be learned are naturally particularly numerous.

  Literacy and arithmetic - the medicinal properties of herbs are all recorded in writing. If you can't read or do arithmetic, it's basically impossible to record over a thousand types of medicinal materials.

  The art of identifying medicinal herbs requires recognizing over a thousand different types of toxic, therapeutic, and rare medicinal materials. Whether poisonous or non-toxic, all must be collected. This includes herbal medicines, wooden medicines, insect medicines, snake medicines, stone medicines, and even the fur, bones, and other parts of wild beasts like tigers and wolves. One must identify the names, types, and properties of known medicinal herbs. In some cases, one must also identify the grade and properties of unknown medicinal herbs to determine if they are worth collecting. As long as it can be sold for money, any type of medicinal herb will do. Experienced collectors must be able to spot valuable herbs from a distance with just a glance.

  Herbal medicine collection techniques - In order to ensure that the maximum medicinal properties of herbs are not lost, herbal collectors need to master specialized collection techniques. If the collection method is incorrect, it can lead to collection failure. Often, some low-level herbal apprentices, due to lack of experience, make mistakes when collecting high-grade herbs, damaging their potency.

  Wilderness survival, wilderness first aid, insect and beast repellent - these are a must. Entering the mountains to collect medicine is usually done at the end of the year or early next year, so it's essential to learn how to survive in the wild for an extended period, prevent insect bites, and treat injuries.

  Trapping skills, outdoor camouflage, knife sword bow flying rope, basic external work, basic internal work heart method - these are martial arts combat skills, which have nothing to do with medicine collection. They are mainly used for self-protection and dealing with fierce beasts in the wild or even people in the Jianghu. Some precious medicinal materials often have ferocious beasts guarding them, and without killing these beasts, it is impossible to collect the materials. Traps and camouflage are very practical. And if one collects precious medicinal materials, they may be robbed by thieves on the way back. The Pingzhou region has many thieves, and fighting against them is inevitable. If a disciple of the Medicine King Sect, a major sect in Jianghu, cannot even defeat an ordinary thief, it would be laughable.

  Fortunately, Ye Qin and others are now unaware of these things, and they don't feel that there is much to learn.

  The entire training period for Tongzi lasted six months.

  During this period, the medicine hall will not give any money to the children, only providing food. There is coarse rice, green vegetables, and a small amount of meat if the named children behave well. If they behave badly, they may be expelled.

  After the six-month "training period" ends, a three-year "apprenticeship period" begins. The yamabushi children will follow the yamabushi master to go mountain climbing and learn how to use the skills they have learned in the wild. If they perform well at this time, they can receive a small amount of monetary reward.

  After a three-year apprenticeship, the medicine boy can be promoted to a medicine apprentice. At this time, he no longer needs to follow the medicine worker to collect medicine and can go out independently to collect medicine for money. The more valuable the collected medicinal materials are, the higher the reward will be.

  Seven or eight years later, an outstanding apprentice in herbal medicine can be promoted to a herbalist and take new apprentices to the mountains to collect herbs.

  Decades later, the medicine gatherer will have made enough contributions to the Medicine Gathering Hall and be promoted to a Medicine Gatherer, becoming an important figure in the hall like Wang Medicine Gatherer. It's not impossible to know that a Medicine Gatherer has a very high status in the Medicine Gathering Hall, with wealth, power, and prestige, and doesn't need to look at others' faces, except for a few people such as the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master. In Zhujie County City, they are also well-known figures.

  After Wang Zhaoyao finished speaking, Ye Qin, Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao and others almost all showed fervent eyes, clenched their fists. Such a beautiful prospect was enough to make them desperate.

  Wang Cai, the medicine master, looked at their excited faces and sneered secretly: The status of a medicine master is indeed high, but the premise is that you must survive to see that day. Medicine gathering is a matter of life and death, not just something to be taken lightly. Among the thousands of disciples in the entire medicine hall, there are only a few dozen medicine masters.

  He would never say such things.