Chen Xiaobei let out a sigh of relief. Talking about money was easier. "Second Master, then it's settled. You'll need to draw up a land deed for me to sign and seal."
"No need to wait. I'll handle it now. That plot is about two mu of land. You'll pay ten wen a year."
"Good, Second Master. For the cultivation period, please write twenty years," Chen Xiaobei said with a grin.
Upon hearing this, the village head, Chen Anbang, was overjoyed.
Twenty years, and he'd be getting ten copper coins every year for nothing. This was a profitable deal.
When Chen Xiaobei returned with the copper coins from home, the document was already written.
Money exchanged hands, the document was signed, and Chen Xiaobei returned home satisfied.
As Chen Xiaobei left, Chen Anbang's wife finally spoke.
"Old man, that place becomes a pond whenever it rains. It's completely unusable for cultivation. Aren't you tricking him?"
Chen Anbang chuckled, "Someone who can't tell the difference between crops and weeds, who else should I trick if not him?"
"Oh, and all of this is Cui Hongyu's dowry. This will all be ours in the future."
His wife looked at him, confused. "This, this how it becomes ours..."
Chen Anbang realized he had said too much and forced a casual smile. "We don't need to report this to the county. It's ours."
This explanation seemed to suffice.
Seeing that his wife didn't press further, Chen Anbang tossed three large coins onto the table. "Go get some meat to eat later."
Chen Xiaobei returned home and gave the completed land deed to Cui Hongyu, telling her to keep it safe.
Cui Hongyu was stunned again. "Husband, such an important document, you should keep it yourself!"
Chen Xiaobei's response was as domineering as ever. "I give it to you because I want to. From now on, you'll be in charge of safekeeping, and I'll handle the work."
Alright. Cui Hongyu said no more, but she suddenly felt that she was starting to like this domineering attitude, this unreasonable possessiveness.
"Husband, you rest for a while. I'll go water the vegetables in the back."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei realized he had neglected the vegetable patch for the past two days.
Watering the vegetables required an iron pot.
It seemed it was time to get a couple of wooden buckets, which would be another considerable expense.
He would have to venture into the mountains to try his luck, to see if he could find some ginseng.
Just then, his second aunt, Xiu Mei, unexpectedly arrived. She seemed very anxious upon seeing Chen Xiaobei.
"Xiaobei, I just heard you're planning to cultivate that low-lying land outside the village."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Yes. With a new mouth to feed at home, we don't have enough grain."
His second aunt stomped her foot in distress. "That place can raise fish during heavy rain. Nothing grows there."
Chen Xiaobei remained unfazed. "Isn't that perfect? I'll just use it to raise fish."
"You." His second aunt sighed helplessly, looking at Chen Xiaobei with an expression of concern for the mentally challenged.
"Oh, right. Dachun asked me to tell you that you might have to find someone else to fix the house. He's afraid he won't be able to get out of bed for a while."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Second Aunt, I understand. We'll talk about this later."
His second aunt offered a few more pleasantries and left. But Chen Xiaobei suddenly felt something was amiss.
Yesterday, when he visited, Dachun's wound was still a bit red and swollen. Yet, he was able to converse clearly. How could he possibly be bedridden for many more days?
He was unaware that Dachun's family was already envisioning a bright future. They were discussing plans to buy a large mansion in the county town and live the affluent life they had always dreamed of.
After all, a thousand taels of silver was likely more money than they could earn in a lifetime.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei was still struggling to make ends meet.
He had made thorough preparations for this trip into the mountains. First, to find ginseng, and second, to gather some fish mint.
He was familiar with the path to the mountain god temple, but after searching around, he found nothing.
Chen Xiaobei gritted his teeth and continued upwards.
If Dachun could go up, why couldn't he?
Above the mountain god temple, the path became steep and difficult. In some places, he had to use both his hands and feet to climb.
As he walked, Chen Xiaobei felt something was not quite right.
Yes, there were many signs of fallen stones on the path.
There were also traces of weeds that had been trampled by many people.
Logically, Dachun alone could not have created so many marks.
This meant there were others who had come up the mountain, and more than one.
The path below the mountain god temple had less undergrowth, making it harder to discern, but here, the signs were clear.
After walking for five or six li, there was a large dense forest to his right.
A barely visible path led into the dense forest. On one side was a steep cliff, and on the other, a sheer drop.
Crossing it would test one's courage.
But for Chen Xiaobei, who grew up in the countryside, he had enough courage.
However, after crossing over, he felt a bit disheartened. There were plenty of plants in the dense forest, but none of what he was looking for. They were all common weeds found at the foot of the mountain.
Just as he was about to give up, he faintly smelled a scent.
The fragrance came from the depths of the dense forest. He was certain it was the aroma of a plant.
Chen Xiaobei followed the scent further in. The deeper he went, the stranger it felt.
The trees became fewer, and the ground gradually lost its weeds, leaving only a few tall trees.
Further in, several large rocks blocked his way, with only a small opening in the middle.
This opening was about a zhang wide and several zhang deep. Through it, he could easily see the situation on the other side.
Inside, it was lush and green, filled with various low-lying plants, not a single tall tree.
How strange. There were trees all around here, and grass on the other side.
Chen Xiaobei broke off a branch again, using it to swat away the weeds by the roadside as he walked further in.
Upon entering, the scene before Chen Xiaobei's eyes filled him with shock.
As soon as he entered, he saw two ginseng plants among the surrounding weeds. The red markings were unmistakable, and they appeared to be quite old.
My goodness, was this a welcome gift for him? Chen Xiaobei became excited.
Walking another half li further in, Chen Xiaobei spotted something that made him even more thrilled.
Lingzhi.
When he was a child, a few families in the village had wanted to cultivate this. He had even accompanied adults to visit a cultivation farm, so Chen Xiaobei still had some memory of it.
There wasn't just a few stalks of lingzhi here, but an entire patch, appearing to have several dozen to a hundred plants.
Good heavens, he had really found a treasure!
Chen Xiaobei picked the two largest ones and harvested them.
Two ginseng plants and two lingzhi. Today was not a wasted trip.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind swept through, followed by a dark cloud that drifted directly towards them, quickly obscuring the sun.
Chen Xiaobei, seeing this, inwardly cried out that it was bad and turned to flee. Sudan Novel Network
Indeed, before he could reach the forest, the rain began to pour down.
Fortunately, Chen Xiaobei let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he hadn't ventured too deep.
Well, since the weather was uncooperative, he would go back and gather fish mint.