Chapter 236: Knee Effusion and Kaolin
"Since it's so useful, we should gather more to take back." Huang Zhuazi was a veteran outdoorsman and had a deep understanding of the utility of these herbal remedies, so he immediately became interested.
Lingao had distinct dry and rainy seasons. Summer was humid and hot, creating a large demand for such medicinal herbs. The Ministry of Health had long ago issued a notice requiring the Long-Range Exploration Team to pay attention to collecting specimens of various herbs during their expeditions.
"No need, it won't mature until April." Bai Guoshi examined the specimen in his hand, carefully wrapped it up, took out his map, compass, and ruler, and marked the location.
"First, we collect samples. When they mature, we'll come back to harvest seeds and start a plantation. Yi Zhi fruit is very valuable; it was the earliest commercial cash crop planted in Hainan."
"You really know a lot." Huang Zhuazi admired him.
"These are all things from the history of Chinese tropical crops course. When I took that class back then, I thought it was completely useless knowledge. I didn't expect it to come in handy now," Bai Guoshi lamented.
"Hehe, people from professional backgrounds are different from generalists like us. Professional enough!"
"Not at all, not at all, I only know a smattering." Bai Guoshi was, after all, a fresh university graduate and had very thin skin.
The team delayed for a moment before continuing to advance. After moving for less than ten minutes, the team stopped again.
"Halt!" This time it was Cui Yunhong in the middle of the formation.
"Did you find something too?" Ye Mengyan was impatient. At this pace, when would they ever get back to base?
"Zhao Xue is lame." Cui Yunhong's report lacked the anxious tone a man usually has when a woman—especially a young woman—is in trouble. No wonder: he had no interest in women.
Hearing this, Bai Guoshi ignored his specimens, tossed them into Huang Zhuazi's hands, and ran toward the center guard position with all his gear.
Their marching formation used a 2-3-2 pattern: two point men, three center guards, and two rear guards. They were separated by 200 to 300 meters and communicated via walkie-talkies.
"Safety first!" Seeing the young man dive into the thin mist, Huang Zhuazi hurriedly shouted—the center guard position was over two hundred meters away.
Besides these professionals, this team also included an "IT expert"—Zhao Xue. She was brought along purely because she claimed to be a veteran outdoor enthusiast, and her computer expertise would be somewhat helpful to Cui Yunhong's exploration work. But the real key was that Liu Zheng couldn't withstand a pretty girl's pestering, and Bai Guoshi had also uncharacteristically and resolutely supported bringing Zhao Xue along.
Because they lacked local guides and the 400 years of changes had greatly altered the terrain and landforms, their maps required a large number of corrections in detail. Although the Long-Range Exploration Team had been out for reconnaissance more than once in the past, they never went far. To the west, they had only passed the Gaoshan Ridge area to reach the border of Danzhou; to the south, they reached the periphery of the Li settlements; and to the east, they entered Chengmai County.
Entering Danzhou this time was the first time the Long-Range Exploration Team had penetrated deep into territory outside Lingao County. Unfamiliarity with the roads coupled with high mental tension caused extreme physical exertion throughout the exploration. Four days after setting out, the "IT expert" everyone had been worried about finally revealed her true colors—Zhao Xue had been quite vigorous in the first two days, often ignoring distance as point man and pulling nearly a kilometer ahead of the center guard. During breaks, she would run around everywhere, climbing up and down to ask people to take photos of her when she saw good scenery. But after four days, she had to switch to the center guard, and her pace slowed down dramatically—there was a big difference between long-term fieldwork and short-term amateur play. Let alone an amateur, even a veteran with seven years of outdoor experience like Huang Zhuazi felt this mission wasn't easy. Cui Yunhong was from a geological survey background, so this intensity was a piece of cake for him. Due to his major, Bai Guoshi had a lot of experience in outdoor activities and had specifically trained for several years, so he could barely hold on. Seeing Zhao Xue starting to stagger, Bai Guoshi naturally inquired after her well-being, but she just insisted she was fine.
Running up close, he saw Zhao Xue's gear unloaded on the ground, her pant legs rolled up high, revealing a pair of snow-white calves. The only buzzkill was that Liu Zheng, this bearded man, was using his rough big paws to fiddle with that petite white knee—actually, Zhao Xue was 170cm tall, so her knees definitely couldn't be called petite.
"Knee effusion on both sides," Liu Zheng concluded after pressing for a while.
"Effusion?" Bai Guoshi wanted to pretend and touch Zhao Xue's knee too, but didn't have the guts.
"Should be." Liu Zheng glanced at him and smiled slyly while turning his back to the others. "You touch it too; I'm not entirely sure."
"Okay, okay." Bai Guoshi's face actually turned red—nothing was more awkward than having one's petty thoughts seen through.
He pretended to rub it with his fingers. Because of nervousness, he only felt it was soft, smooth, and somewhat elastic. He hurriedly said, "It should be knee effusion."
"Hmm, this is a typical sports injury caused by physical exhaustion." Liu Zheng gave the conclusion he should have stated earlier.
"It doesn't matter, I can still walk!" Zhao Xue said anxiously. She had a look of refusal to admit defeat, not thinking at all of Bai Guoshi's dirty thoughts.
"It's not a major injury, but it's not suitable for excessive exertion." Liu Zheng thought for a moment. "Let's rest first."
"I'm fine, I can continue walking!"
"Don't show off," Huang Zhuazi persuaded patiently. "It's better to rest before walking. Pity we don't have ice packs; a cold compress might be effective."
Ye Mengyan returned panting from the point position and immediately exploded upon seeing this scene:
"You guys are just looking for trouble! On a mission, you insisted on finding a woman to make up the numbers! Are we filming a military TV drama?"
"Little Ye, it's not good to say that; women hold up half the sky, you know." Liu Zheng tried to smooth things over.
"Pay attention to unity, unity!" Huang Zhuazi hurriedly came to persuade. "Men and women are physiologically different; you can't generalize. It's not easy for a girl to walk this far—she's also contributing to the collective. Look, she's crying—"
Everyone looked back; sure enough, Zhao Xue's face was buried in her knees, her shoulders twitching.
"Hmph, when she was lively, she was clawing and dancing; when she can't make it, she pulls this stunt—" Ye Mengyan didn't let up.
"Complaining doesn't solve the problem." Seeing Bai Guoshi's face turn dark and worrying about unnecessary trouble, Liu Zheng hurriedly put on his captain's face. "Complaining won't change anything. Rest first, treat the injury, then we'll plan."
"Hmph, I don't need you to care, you bunch of chauvinist pigs!" Zhao Xue suddenly stood up, grabbed her gear on the ground, swung it onto her back, and walked forward in large strides. Just as everyone was about to go stop her, she stumbled less than ten meters out and half-knelt on the road again. Bai Guoshi hurriedly rushed forward to support her. Liu Zheng and the others chuckled inwardly.
They rested by the roadside and discussed. Given that there were no major discoveries on the road, they decided not to delay further and return directly to camp. Zhao Xue switched from center guard to rear guard, where there were two laborers, Huang Zhuazi and Bai Guoshi, enough to help her back. She wouldn't be assigned night duty either. After Liu Zheng announced this decision, he quietly nudged Bai Guoshi: "Seize the opportunity." Just as Bai Guoshi wanted to profess that his relationship with Zhao Xue was pure, Liu Zheng had already walked away.
Along the way, Liu Zheng asked the point man to slow down to accommodate the wounded. In fact, non-professionals like Huang Zhuazi and Bai Guoshi were also struggling a bit.
The walkie-talkie rang again, this time from point man Ye Mengyan: "Stop advancing, situation ahead!"
When Liu Zheng carefully approached Ye Mengyan in a low posture, a city actually appeared in the thin mist dissipating under the sun below a small hill not far away.
Was it really a city? Liu Zheng wiped his binocular lens in surprise. Intelligence indicated that the only city within a hundred miles was Lingao County City. Where did this walled city pop out from? Did they get lost and arrive at the Danzhou city walls?
Several people hurriedly opened the map and compared it for a long time. This was definitely not Danzhou City. But it certainly wasn't Lingao County City either. After determining their bearing and checking the map, they were currently in the area of modern Nanbao Town.
"Let's get closer to take a look?" Huang Zhuazi suggested.
"Okay. Bai Guoshi, Cui Yunhong stay behind to look after Zhao Xue. The others come with me," Liu Zheng said, tossing the Remington shotgun in his hand to Bai Guoshi. "Stay sharp. If you see something wrong, run; we can extricate ourselves."
"Understood!" Bai Guoshi was a bit nervous. He watched the others slowly grope their way forward.
The best observation point was at the top of the hill, which commanded a panoramic view. However, it was quite bright now, and farmers should be out working; they might encounter commoners chopping wood or cutting grass on the slopes. All three drew their daggers.
The group climbed the small hill without incident. Lurking here, the city was about a thousand meters down the hill; this was the closest position they could get. Further ahead was open ground, all transformed into paddy fields, with some dwellings scattered in between. Someone was driving cattle to plow in the fields.
The city appeared very small in the binoculars—smaller than Lingao County. If not for the gate tower on the city gate, transmigrators would likely mistake it for an earthen fortress.
"Damn, there are cannons on the gate tower." Huang Zhuazi held his binoculars, muttering to himself.
Liu Zheng didn't make a sound, continuing to search the city scene with his binoculars—this was definitely not a local fortress. Under the binoculars, he could see government offices, rows of brick and tile houses, and very large open ground inside the city. No rural fortress would have these.
"There's a flagpole in front of the government office, flying the Great Ming banner," Huang Zhuazi reminded Liu Zheng.
"Hmm, looks like the seat of some local administrative agency." Liu Zheng was a bit puzzled. "What exactly is it?"
The city was very quiet. Not many people entered or exited the city gate; they were all figures looking like farmers in tattered clothes. A soldier in rags stood slouching at the gate, holding a wooden spear.
Ye Mengyan had received comprehensive reconnaissance training. While Liu Zheng and the others were gawking at the rare sight, he had already roughly estimated the number of residents in the city based on its scale—less than a thousand people. Inferring from the number, form, and size of houses in the city, this was very likely a military camp: there were barracks, stables, granaries, and especially a drill ground. Although there were only two city gates, both had gate towers, and cannons were deployed on the walls.
"I know," Liu Zheng thought of some things discussed during the Intelligence Committee's joint meeting a few days ago. "This should be a Wei-Suo (Garrison) City!"
Ming Dynasty cities, besides being seats of local government, included Wei-Suo cities of a military garrison and reclamation nature. In Qiongshan County, besides the county city, there was the Haikou Rear Defense Thousand-Household Fort. In the core area of the Li settlements: below the Limu Mountains, by the Nandu River, there was also the Shuihui Thousand-Household Fort.
This very small city should be a similar garrison fort. They just didn't know which one it was—this would have to be left to the Historical Intelligence Group to research.
"Take photos, measure and record bearings," Liu Zheng instructed. "Mark geological changes on the map to facilitate troop attacks later. Take more photos."
Further away, Bai Guoshi and the others were waiting in boredom when Cui Yunhong suddenly dragged his big bag towards the slope on one side as if he had discovered a new continent.
Bai Guoshi was startled: "What are you doing?!"
Cui Yunhong waved his hand, signaling not to speak. Bai Guoshi lowered his voice, "Found something?"
"Kaolin."
"What is kaolin?" Zhao Xue asked.
Cui Yunhong pinched a piece of white stone-like substance and tapped it a few times with his geological hammer.
"Stuff used to make porcelain," Bai Guoshi explained.
"Oh," Zhao Xue was puzzled. "But we don't need to make porcelain, do we? I think lunch boxes and enamel bowls are enough."
"We need it," Bai Guoshi said. "Sanitary ware, tiles, and such can all be solved now."
Cui Yunhong shook his head, wondering how to explain the important role of kaolin in industry. While making porcelain was important, kaolin was an indispensable whitener and filler for the modern paper industry. The value of this discovery was immense.
The sample he collected was tubular coal-measure kaolin. Cui Yunhong judged there should be coal mines nearby. He remembered seeing data that small coal kilns existed near Nanbao Town in Lingao, producing low-quality lignite; kaolin was likely an associated mineral. At a rough glance, although he couldn't drill or dig exploration trenches to evaluate, judging from the kaolin outcrops, the distribution was quite extensive, indicating the reserves here had development value. If he looked carefully, he might even find the coal mine.
Lignite was the mineral coal with the lowest degree of coalification. It was a low-grade coal between peat and bituminous coal. Its calorific value was relatively low, so it couldn't be used as coke for steelmaking, but it was fine as fuel or fertilizer. If it could be developed, it would also be a very valuable resource.
This field exploration had truly yielded a significant harvest. Cui Yunhong was somewhat excited and simply took out his instruments and notebook from his backpack to conduct geophysical prospecting on the spot.
Bai Guoshi was nervous to death. Holding the Remington, he looked around, deeply afraid a native would suddenly pop out from somewhere—he hadn't killed anyone yet and didn't want to get blood on his hands here.
(End of Chapter)