[Requesting Recommendation Votes]

For the next three days.

After sweeping the yard every day, Su Yang was still assigned by Fei Jianhua to clean the medicinal herbs in the medicinal cuisine room.

The wound on my back from the stick has healed and scabbed over thanks to the ointment Zheng Shanfu gave me every day, and the pain has been greatly reduced.

He silently and attentively buried himself between the basin of water and the pile of herbs, his hands working swiftly and skillfully. Whether it was the tangled roots of the astragalus or the soil-covered poria, he cleaned them all up, leaving them in perfect condition.

Most of the time, Zheng Shanfu just silently watched the fire and prepared the medicine, occasionally pausing slightly when his gaze swept over Su Yang's hands as he washed the medicine.

On the afternoon of the third day, there were fewer medicinal herbs than usual.

Su Yang had already drained the last basket of washed angelica root and neatly arranged it on a bamboo tray.

Zheng Shanfu, who had been staring at the medicine furnace with his back to him, suddenly turned around, his gaze falling on Su Yang. After examining him for a moment, he asked, "Su Yang, do you... know how to read?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yang put down his work and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Elder Zheng, my family was well-off when I was young, and I received some education and know some characters."

"Oh?"

A knowing look flashed across Zheng Shanfu's eyes, and he nodded.

He walked to an old wooden cabinet by the wall, opened the cabinet door, rummaged through it briefly, took out a thick booklet with yellowed pages and worn edges, and handed it over.

"This book, 'Acupuncture and Recognition of Herbs,' is not a secret, but it records the appearance, properties, processing methods, and basic uses of more than 300 common herbs."

Zheng Shanfu explained calmly, "Since you recognize some medicinal herbs and are helping out here, learning more about them will be beneficial for cleaning and sorting. After today's work is finished, you can browse through them for a quarter of an hour. Remember, do not damage them."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Zheng!"

Su Yang's heart stirred slightly, and he took the book with both hands.

The book was quite heavy, with antique ink marks, and a scent of aged paper and ink mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from it.

He found a small stool in a corner and sat down, carefully turning the pages of the book in the light filtering through the window.

The book is richly illustrated, depicting the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits of various plants, with accompanying text descriptions.

Su Yang discovered that, based on his vague memories of handling medicinal herbs when his family ran a winery, as well as his direct impressions of cleaning medicinal herbs over the past three days, he was able to understand a lot of the contents of the book, and even match them with the medicinal herbs he had previously processed.

He read intently, his mind completely absorbed, turning the pages one by one.

The book's content progresses from simple to complex, starting with the most common licorice and ginger, and moving to slightly more complicated herbs like pinellia and saposhnikovia, all described in detail. Before he knew it, half an hour had passed, and he had quickly browsed through this book on medicinal herbs.

Just as he closed the book...

hum!

Deep in my mind, that ancient panel suddenly appeared on its own and flickered slightly!

The greatest truths are the simplest.

[Su Yang]

[Martial Arts/Skills: Herbal Recognition (Beginner)]

[Simplified point: 14.9]

[Discovered skill: Medical Expertise - Can be simplified by 3 Simplification Points - Yes/No?]

"Um?"

Su Yang was jolted, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

Can it be displayed on the panel simply by reading it once?

A tremendous surprise shot through his spine like an electric current!

What does this mean?

Does this mean that if he gets his hands on a martial arts manual, he can just glance at it and put it on the character panel? And then simplify and speed up the learning process?

"It's almost time."

Just then, Zheng Shanfu's voice rang out, interrupting Su Yang's turbulent thoughts. The old man had already put away the medicine pot and was looking at him: "Put the book back where it was. Come back tomorrow after you've finished cleaning the yard."

"Yes, Elder Zheng."

Su Yang forcibly suppressed his excitement, respectfully put "Apricot Grove Herbs" back in its original place in the wooden cabinet, bowed to Zheng Shanfu, and then left the medicinal cuisine room.

A cool autumn breeze blew outside, clearing Su Yang's feverish mind somewhat. He picked up the broom leaning against the door and, as usual, slowly walked back along the familiar path.

After passing a secluded corner of a corridor, there was no one on either side.

Su Yang stopped and quickly focused his mind, summoning the panel in his mind.

"simplify!"

Su Yang looked at the panel in his mind, his heart filled with anticipation, and his consciousness confirmed "yes".

[You have consumed 3 Simplification Points to simplify the Medical Herb Identification... Simplifying... Simplification successful... Medical Herb Identification = Touching Herbs!]

A prompt appears on the simplified panel.

[Skill: Medical Herb Identification (Beginner 0/100)]

Seeing the pop-up notification on the panel, Su Yang's gaze sharpened as he pondered, "Medicinal Herbs in the Medical World... simplified to touching herbs? Does that mean I only need to touch herbs to increase my proficiency?"

"Touch it and see!"

He suppressed his excitement and scanned his surroundings.

The first thing that catches the eye is not the beautifully manicured flowerbeds in the distance, but a few withered yellow weeds sprouting from a crack in the wall at my feet. These weeds are the most inconspicuous in the mansion, yet they are the most tenacious in their vitality.

Su Yang squatted down and touched a wild grass nearby. It felt rough and carried the dry smell of soil.

However, the mental panel remained unresponsive.

The proficiency level remains at (0/100).

"This won't work?"

Su Yang frowned slightly, but was not discouraged.

He remembered that the opening of "Apricot Grove Herbs" seemed to mention that some common wild herbs could indeed be used as medicine, and perhaps the wild herbs in front of him did not belong to the category of herbs.

He took a half step and pointed to another clump of small grass growing close to the ground with oval-shaped leaves.

There was still no movement.

"None of them will work..."

Su Yang quickly summarized, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the direction of the medicinal cuisine room. A thought struck him: "That's right! I remember there seem to be a few perilla plants with only a few leaves left behind behind the medicinal cuisine room!"

The perilla seeds must have been sown and sprouted from the seeds in the medicinal cuisine kitchen.

With this in mind, Su Yang immediately got up, tiptoed, and quickly and cautiously circled around to the back of the medicinal cuisine room.

In the narrow corner between the back wall of the medicinal cuisine room and the surrounding wall, there were several broken earthenware jars and discarded bamboo baskets.

Beside an overturned, broken basket, three stalks of deep purplish-red perilla caught Su Yang's eye.

Most of their main stems have withered and yellowed, and their leaves are sparse and fallen, but in the shady spot near the roots, a few clumps of dark purple, wrinkled perilla leaves are still struggling to emerge!

A familiar, cool, spicy scent wafted through the air.

Su Yang was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to squat down. With anticipation, he gently touched the tender perilla leaves on the leaves, feeling the unique velvety texture and coolness of the leaves on his fingertips.

Touch the herb +1! (1/100)

At the same time, the panel vibrated, and a clear prompt appeared!

"It's done!"

Su Yang's spirits lifted, and his eyes shone brightly. He touched the perilla plant again with his fingertips.

Touching herbs increases proficiency by 1! (2/100)

"One more touch, and it increases by one!"

Su Yang took a deep breath and continued touching.

[Proficiency +1!]

[Proficiency +1!]

【…】

Each effective touch brings a steady increase in proficiency.

This tangible feedback made Su Yang's heart beat faster and faster, and the numbers on the panel jumped upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No, it's too dangerous here..."

Su Yang glanced around and quickly made a decision.

He uprooted the three perilla plants, carefully wrapped them in the torn inner fabric of his shirt, and gently tucked them into his pocket.

After cleaning up the scene, he casually picked up a broom and walked away.