The dried-up insect came back to life.

  My name is Duo Jin, I was born in 1986. Now living in Kunming, usually purchasing medicinal materials in Lijiang, Zhaotong, Wenshan and other places, also contracted a piece of land on the snow mountain to grow medicinal materials myself.

  It's called this name because when I was born, the fortune teller said that I lacked gold in my fate, and my uncultured parents gave me a name called "Duojin".

  Although I'm not very "wealthy", but in the hardworking days of Yunnan, life is still pretty good, with a house and a car, no worries about food and clothing.

  My hometown is in the mountains, very poor. In 2000, we still didn't have running water. As the saying goes, "Poor people's children grow up early," I followed my distant fourth uncle to Kunming to make a living when I was 14 years old. Don't think I'm joking, after so many years of universal nine-year compulsory education, in our hometown, it's still common for kids to drop out of school before finishing junior high and go work elsewhere.

  At a young age, I couldn't do much work, and the national law also didn't allow the recruitment of child laborers. So in the first few years, I could only help my fourth uncle with some odd jobs on the construction site to make ends meet, basically without any income.

  Until I was eighteen, I finally got a full salary, but my fourth uncle had an accident on the construction site and was crushed to death by a falling concrete slab.

  。

  It's ironic that my fourth uncle didn't have a wife or children, yet he had prepared his will in advance. According to his last words, the compensation money from the construction site ended up in my hands.

  At that time, Cordyceps sinensis was just beginning to get hot, and I took the compensation money to collect caterpillar fungus in the Tibetan area, earning the first bucket of gold in my life. From then on, I got into the business of collecting and selling medicine.

  By the time I was twenty years old, I already had my own storefront in the Shijiu Village medicinal materials wholesale market and also bought a second-hand cargo truck.

  And the turning point of my life happened in that summer when I was twenty years old.

  I still remember that afternoon was particularly sultry, I alone on the door watching TV series listlessly, suddenly someone walked into the doorway.

  It's summer and business has been slow for medicinal herbs, I haven't opened the shop in three or four days. As soon as I heard a noise at the entrance, I immediately got up from my chair.

  But what walked in was an old man, with a face full of wrinkles, white hair and beard, wearing a long gown that was patched up all over but still looked clean.

  I know this old man, he's a fortune teller who makes a living by telling people's fortunes and physiognomy, his stall is just across from my store entrance. The old man has been coming to the wholesale market for more than two months, usually sees me nodding, but never said a word to me, don't know why he ran into my store today.

  "What brings you to my shop today, sir? Are you looking to buy some dried lycium fruit or something to make a drink?" I said as I poured the old man a cup of water.

  The sun is so big outside, and at his age, it's not easy for the old man. If he really wants to buy some bubble tea, I'll just give him the cost price.

  But unexpectedly, the old man didn't say a word, he just walked around my store and then ran directly in front of me.

  "Little doll, does your store have Longguizi?" The old man asked in a Sichuan accent, winking at me.

  What is called "Long Buzi" is actually a kind of Miao medicine, which can only be found in the mountainous Miao villages. I don't know what kind of insect it is dried from, but it's very mysterious. I also learned about its existence by chance when I went to collect herbs in the mountains once.

  The only effect of Longguizi is to strengthen yang, and it is very effective. It can basically "cure the disease and rejuvenate", and is deeply welcomed by some middle-aged rich men with "impotence".

  However, because only the Miao villages in the mountains have goods, it's basically available but not for sale. Even I couldn't guarantee that I can get them every time I go into the mountains.

  But yesterday, a Miao villager did come to my store and said he had seen me in the village, wanting to sell some dragon scales to me. Although I didn't have any impression of him, when I saw the dragon scales he brought, each one was as big as a quail egg, shiny and black. I had never seen dragon scales with such good quality before, so I quickly took them all in.

  But this old man in front of him is at least sixty or seventy years old, what does he want with a dragon turtle that can strengthen his yang?

  "Uncle, I did just buy a little turtle jelly yesterday, but with the weather being so hot now, I'm afraid the turtle jelly might not be suitable for you to eat." I said with a smile.

  The old man seemed to have seen through my mind, and he smiled at me: "Young man, if I were you, when dealing with the people of Miao Village, I would be more careful, or else I might lose everything, and maybe even my life."

  This remark made me feel uncomfortable. Who doesn't want to make a profit in business? I kindly invited the old man for a drink, but he cursed me with no return on investment and even said that my life would be at stake. What did I do to provoke him?

  Besides, I'm not selling longgu for the first time. Yesterday's package of longgu, although there were only five, cost me 5,000 yuan, but compared to the high price it was sold for, it's still a profitable business, how could I lose money?

  I thought: This old man is probably too old, his mind is not very clear. So I didn't bother to argue with him, and after he finished drinking water, I sent him out.

  The old man closed the stall and left as soon as he went out, because of the hot weather, there were really no customers coming. I looked at other shops also closing early, so I also closed the stall, locked the door and prepared to take a nap.

  I have a habit of sleeping with my mouth open. As I sleep, I feel a numb and itchy sensation on my face, and then I think something has crawled into my mouth. When I wake up with a start, I feel that thing sliding down my throat and into my esophagus.

  It felt extremely real and didn't feel like a dream at all. The room was pitch black, I turned on the light to check the time, and it was already 9:30 in the evening.

  Good girl, I didn't expect to sleep for more than six hours. The late-night bus is gone, and I have to stay overnight at the store today.

  I cleared my throat, but still felt a tickle in the back of my throat that made me feel uneasy. I got out of bed to boil some hot water to drink, but before I even left the inner room, I noticed that the medicine box used for storing dragon and tortoise had its lid flipped open at some point.

  。

  Longguazi is a dried insect, so it needs to be sealed and kept dry. If it gets damp, it will grow mold and can't be sold for a high price. I was still hoping to sell these five longguazi and buy a new golden cup. I hurriedly ran over to cover the medicine box again, but when I shook it, I found that there were only four longguazi left inside.

  And where did the other one go?

  "These dried-up turtle shells can't possibly come back to life and crawl away on their own, can they?" I thought to myself.

  Just as I was amused by my own thoughts, I suddenly felt a rustling sound from the medicine box in my hand, and then something cool and icy crawled onto my hand.

  A black insect, about the size of a quail egg, was crawling on my hand. Its shiny black shell reflected a glossy light, and its seven eyes on top of its head turned bright red. The mouthpart was sharp like a sickle, and I couldn't tell how many small claws were rapidly scratching against my skin from underneath its body, causing a stinging pain like being pricked by needles, each scratch feeling like it was clawing at my heart.

  Isn't this a dried-up soft-shelled turtle? Can it still come back to life after being sun-dried and become a spirit?

  I gave a sudden start and subconsciously threw the medicine box in my hand to the ground. The four dragonflies seemed to have wisdom, and with a flash of their wings, they flew to the door and drilled out from under the door gap. The buzzing sound was like a small fan, and the speed was so fast that I only had time to see a few black dots before they disappeared.

  The turtle shell is actually alive, and one is missing. Thinking back to the movement in my throat earlier, I immediately thought that the missing turtle shell might have crawled into my stomach. Dried turtle shells are medicinal materials that can be sold for a high price, but living ones aren't so lovely. I suddenly felt a wave of nausea in my stomach and rushed out of the house to vomit violently.

  I leaned against the wall and vomited out last night's dinner, almost bursting my gallbladder, but nothing came out.

  "Did I guess wrong?"

  I stumbled back into the house with shaky legs, intending to lie down for a good rest, but found that there were two more people inside, an old man and a young boy.

  These two people look like Miao people from their attire, the older one wearing white clothes and a white robe, with a white headscarf wrapped around his head, with distinct facial features, while the young woman is adorned with several silver ornaments.

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