Chapter Twenty-Four: An Unexpected Path to Wealth

Yew, also known as Taxus or Red Cypress Pine, is a shallow-rooted plant recognized worldwide as a rare and endangered natural anti-cancer species. It is an ancient relic tree left behind after the Quaternary glaciation, having existed on Earth for 2.5 million years. Due to the yew’s slow growth rate and poor regenerative ability under natural conditions, large-scale yew plantations have not been established anywhere in the world for a long time.

The yew is suitable for planting throughout both northern and southern regions of China. It prefers shade, withstands drought and cold, and requires soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0. It can grow under dense forest canopies, lives for many years, but rarely forms forests of its own. It is commonly found in mixed coniferous-broadleaf forests dominated by Korean pine. On mountaintops with rocky or barren soils, it often grows as a shrub. It is often scattered under moist, fertile mixed forests on shady or semi-shaded slopes. Favoring cool and damp climates, it can survive temperatures below minus 30°C, is highly cold-resistant, and thrives best at 20-25°C, making it a shade-tolerant species. It loves moisture but dreads waterlogging, and is best planted in loose, moist, well-drained sandy loam.

The medicinal value of the yew lies mainly in its extract—a secondary metabolite known as paclitaxel. Paclitaxel was first isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew and is a potent anti-tumor compound. It is among the best medicines for treating metastatic ovarian and breast cancer and is also significantly effective against lung and esophageal cancers, with notable inhibitory effects on nephritis and minor viral infections.

The roots, stems, and leaves of the yew all have medicinal uses—they can treat urinary retention, reduce swelling and pain, and are used for diabetes, irregular menstruation in women, and excessive bleeding. Yew is also used for postnatal recovery and has certain therapeutic effects on gynecological conditions.

Because yew bark contains the anti-cancer compound paclitaxel, many people have entered forests to strip the bark, leading to a sharp decline in yew populations.

The reason the yew has faced near extinction is that in the early 1990s, a certain American company discovered the anti-cancer properties of paclitaxel in yew bark. When news of this reached China, people realized they had treasure right at their doorstep and began frantically stripping the bark, causing untold numbers of yew trees to perish overnight.

At one point, this situation became extremely serious. Driven by profit, ignorant villagers stripped bark, cut branches, plucked leaves, and even collected the seeds, but their crude and destructive methods yielded little gain.

This is the saddest thing—the yew is innocent, and yet it suffers for the value it carries.

As the anti-cancer reputation of the yew grew, unscrupulous merchants and illegal loggers set up a covert supply line stretching from the SC forest region to places like FJ and SH, causing the yew to suffer a second catastrophe in China.

In 1994, the yew was designated by China as a first-class rare and endangered protected plant. It is also regarded as a “national treasure” in the forty-two countries where it grows. The United Nations has explicitly banned its felling, making it a veritable “giant panda of the plant world.”

Yew heartwood is orange-red, while the sapwood is pale yellow-brown, with straight grain, fine structure, a specific gravity of 0.55 to 0.76, and is solid and durable with little cracking after drying. This has led many to illegally fell yew trunks and roots to make furniture, root sculptures, and tea sets for huge profits—even dead yew wood is highly coveted.

But even dead yew wood or decayed roots are illegal to buy or sell on the market—something many people may not realize.

All of this comes from collected materials and is intended as popular science—a warning to those blinded by greed and recklessness: the law is not to be trifled with.

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“Oh, so you’re collaborating to illegally harvest yew?” Chen Tianyu hadn’t expected that the scheme Xun Yuanchun and Li Qiumao were secretly plotting was this very thing.

Xun Yuanchun quickly explained, “Don’t misunderstand, we haven’t participated in the logging. We’re only responsible for processing. To be precise, Qiumao does the processing and I just receive the timber, that’s all.” He was fairly candid—compared to a murder case, this seemed less serious to him.

Chen Tianyu didn’t have time to lecture this legal novice on the law, nor did he want to escalate things too soon; he needed to focus on the homicide first.

“By your logic, you had no reason to kill Li Qiumao. If he died, nobody in the village would be able to do the processing, which would cut off your own profits.” Chen Tianyu analyzed.

Xun Yuanchun nodded repeatedly. “Exactly, who would do something so foolish?”

Chen Tianyu thought to himself, You’ve done plenty of foolish things, but he didn’t say it aloud.

He asked, “What do you make with the timber?”

Xun Yuanchun replied smugly, “Everything—tables, chairs, benches, tea trays, tea sets, you name it. Some even use it to make coffins. Oh, and that Guanyin statue Qiumao carved a few days ago—the craftsmanship for that is a bit more complicated and time-consuming, but it sells for a higher price.”

Chen Tianyu realized, “No wonder Li Qiumao finished carving the Guanyin in just two days.”

“Right, practice makes perfect.” Xun Yuanchun was evidently proud.

Chen Tianyu continued, “Where does the timber come from?”

Xun Yuanchun glanced at Li Qisi before answering, “It’s all brought by the villagers.”

He added, “There are a lot of dead yews around here, and old roots everywhere. Whenever villagers go into the mountains, they bring some back for us. As for living trees, we definitely wouldn’t cut those…” His tone suggested he felt safety in numbers.

Chen Tianyu turned to look at Li Qisi, who stayed silent, tacitly agreeing. Chen Tianyu sighed inwardly—this was clearly group logging. The fearlessness of the ignorant is truly terrifying.

Seeing Chen Tianyu fall silent, Xun Yuanchun thought the matter was settled and tentatively asked, “Officer, do you have any more questions?”

Chen Tianyu snapped back to attention. “Where do your finished products go?”

Xun Yuanchun smiled, “There are buyers, of course. Plenty of people are in this business—selling isn’t a problem.”

Chen Tianyu nodded, “Name a few people.”

Xun Yuanchun hesitated, murmuring, “Is that really necessary? We’ve all been friends for years—we each make our own living. I can’t cut off their income, you understand.”

Chen Tianyu shot him a cold look and threatened, “This may be connected to Li Qiumao’s death. Consider the consequences carefully.”

Xun Yuanchun shrank back, still wavering.

Li Qisi barked, “Stop hiding things—if we can’t find the murderer, you’ll pay with your life!”

Cold sweat broke out on Xun Yuanchun’s forehead. Clearly, he was quite afraid of Li Qisi.

“Brother Qisi, it’s not that I don’t want to say, but if I do, how will I face the village in the future? You have to consider my situation…”

Li Qisi sneered, “You cost my brother his life. Do you really think I’ll let you off?”

The words had the desired effect—Xun Yuanchun crouched on the ground, silent.

After a long struggle, he finally named a few people. Sure enough, among them were Zhang Jin and Zhang Kun. The others were names unfamiliar to Chen Tianyu.

Chen Tianyu pondered for a moment; he still hadn’t gotten to the answer he sought.

“Is the Mute involved?” He suddenly thought of that person.

Xun Yuanchun looked surprised. “The Mute? Oh, you mean the mute from Yuan Village. He’s a strange one—nobody wants to deal with him. It’s impossible to communicate with him.”

Chen Tianyu nodded. A flash of insight crossed his mind and he asked, “Has Hei Qi ever contacted you?”

“Hei Qi?” Xun Yuanchun was clearly unfamiliar with the name, but after a moment, “Oh… I remember now. He did come to me once, but I don’t recall it clearly.”

Chen Tianyu suppressed his excitement. “When was that?”

Xun Yuanchun thought for a bit. “It was before the New Year, I think. I can’t quite remember.”

Since he’d already started talking, he continued, “I recall he came with Zhang Jin that day. The man didn’t stand out and never spoke, so I barely noticed him at first. Later…”

Xun Yuanchun recalled, “Later, Zhang Jin and I were discussing carving a few more Guanyin statues before the New Year, and suddenly the man spoke up. Zhang Jin must have called his name—that’s when I realized he was Hei Qi. It’s an unusual name, easy to remember.”

Chen Tianyu asked curiously, “What did Hei Qi say?”

“Uh, I honestly don’t remember. It had something to do with the Guanyin statues, I think. They spoke very quietly and I’m hard of hearing, so I didn’t bother to listen closely,” Xun Yuanchun admitted helplessly.

Chen Tianyu nodded thoughtfully, accepting the explanation.

Suddenly, he asked, “Did you also move the statue from the Guanyin Temple?”

“That… how could I dare?” Xun Yuanchun looked extremely uncomfortable. “Officer, you have to believe me—I’m a devout man. I’ve survived all these years thanks to the gods’ protection. How could I do something so sacrilegious?”

“If you wouldn’t dare, does that mean Zhang Jin and the others wouldn’t dare either?” Chen Tianyu was unconvinced.

Xun Yuanchun hesitated, “I couldn’t say. Logically… they shouldn’t dare either.” He clearly didn’t dare make a definite statement.

Chen Tianyu didn’t press further—some things couldn’t be rushed. He changed the subject. “By the way, have you ever taught anyone your craft?”

The question was so abrupt that Xun Yuanchun was caught off guard. “Huh?”

Li Qisi, unable to contain himself, prompted, “He’s asking if you’ve taken any apprentices—don’t play dumb.” After all, this might relate to his brother’s death.

“Oh, no, absolutely not!” Xun Yuanchun replied without hesitation. “If the craft gets out, it loses its value. I’d never reveal it to others, right, Brother Qisi?”

Li Qisi growled, “How would I know? If you haven’t taught anyone, then you’re still a suspect.”

Now Xun Yuanchun was truly anxious. “Brother Qisi, you can’t wrong me like this. I haven’t taught anyone, but the world is big and there are many talented people. Others could know the skill too…”

Li Qisi said nothing, but surprisingly, Chen Tianyu nodded.

“Hmm, you make a fair point.”

Relieved, Xun Yuanchun said gratefully, “Thank you for being fair, Officer.”

Chen Tianyu smiled. “As long as you tell the truth, we’re reasonable people. In future, we hope you’ll cooperate fully—don’t hide anything.”

“That’s only right. I’d never do anything illegal,” Xun Yuanchun vowed.

Chen Tianyu couldn’t help but laugh inwardly—this fellow had already broken the law and didn’t even realize it.

He remembered something else and asked casually, “Earlier, you said the Li Qiumao brothers were fated for disaster. What made you say that?”

Xun Yuanchun shook his head. “That’s what the celestial reading indicated. I was just passing it on.”

Li Qisi snapped, “Nonsense!”

Xun Yuanchun protested, “Brother Qisi, I’ve made my living this way for years. I’d never talk rubbish or try to scare you.”

Chen Tianyu interjected, “Better to err on the side of caution. Disasters, whether natural or man-made, are best guarded against.” His words were meant to steady Xun Yuanchun.

Hearing this, Li Qisi held his tongue, though his face grew darker.

At that moment, Li Qihuai and the others entered with offerings. Seeing the tense atmosphere, they weren’t sure what to say.

Li Qisi waved angrily, “Enough. Qihuai, take everything back—we’re leaving!”

Li Qihuai, bewildered, turned and left, glancing back at Xun Yuanchun, clearly unsettled and wondering what had happened.

Xun Yuanchun watched them go, his expression clouded.

After a while, he got up and slipped quietly into his own house, soon disappearing from sight.