"Morning. Ready for some work?" Xing asked. "Give me a minute to change my clothes." And closed the doors. He didn't want to wait like that. So he went directly to her backyard. Everything was already there. So, he took planks and began cutting them.
When Xifeng walked out, he was already finishing. He had to cut two more planks. After that, they began constructing raised beds. Xifeng was holding planks while Xing was nailing them together. They were done twenty minutes later.
They took bought stones and laid them at the bottom. He then brought flat rocks that would act as a divider. Then filled it with stones in size of a fist. Creating some sort of chambers for Unyielding Ginger. But then he stopped. "Shit! I've forgotten about that."
"Xifeng, we made a mistake. We should have started with making a fire to get bamboo charcoal." Xing said to her, to which she replied. "You are right. Let's focus on that now."
They chose a suitable location and started a fire. In reality, it took them more than fifteen minutes for it to start burning properly. But who would care about such a small detail?
Now it was time to get going with Fiery Bamboo. They agreed to place a fireplace in the center. Then plant bamboos around it. They decided to dig a hole with at least twice as big a diameter as the pot.
It took him forty-five minutes to get it done. Xifeng at that time, was taking care of the campfire. He came to her with the shovel and said. "Here, take this shovel. You can start taking out charcoal. For now, you can use a pot to mix it with soil. Later you will have to mix them inside the pit. But that's only when the top of the pot reaches ground level. When it happens you will have to place that pot in the middle." That sounded reasonable to her, so she agreed.
Now, when he had soil, he could continue with Unyielding Ginger. Xing dug all of them out and placed them in the raised bed. Each one of them had its own space. He filled each one of them with pebbles mixed with soil. It took him some time. Because, he had to hold every Unyielding Ginger so that it was in the right spot. Then covered everything with more stones.
"Phew, It's done. I must admit, it looks majestic. Okay, one more to go!" And he walked towards Xifeng.
"How are you doing?" Xing asked. "I'm doing fine. But now I have to mix them in a pit, so it's a little bit harder." She answered. "Leave it to me. Watch over the campfire and bring the charcoal here when it's ready. Is that okay with you?" "Sure, let's do it that way."
They had to wait for bamboos to be burned. So it took them an hour to complete it. Fortunately, when they were done, some bamboos were still on fire. Xing took a shovel and shoveled it right into the fire. Then with burning bamboo on the shovel, he walked toward the pot. And threw everything in. That way they didn't have to start it once again. After that, he took firewood and also threw it in.
"We have successfully finished and made a suitable environment for each herb. Oh, and don't worry about that fire too much. It doesn't have to be lit all the time. But if you can light it up in the morning. And then throw some more with two to three hours intervals. That will be more than enough. And even if you don't do it, thanks to the charcoal in the soil, it will grow nicely. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be as potent as with fire. So do what you think is right." He explained. "I will try my best to keep the fire on." To which Xing smiled. "That would be bad. You have to sleep properly." She only nodded.
"Okay, that should be everything, so I should get going. Have a..." "Ahh, wait a second, I have something for you!" Xifeng interrupted him and dashed into her house.
When she returned, she was carrying a sack. "Here, take this." And gave it to him. "What's that?" And he opened it up. Inside were ten silver coins. "Why are you giving me this?" "Because you helped me with that." She replied while pointing at the herbs. "Oh, I can't take money for something like this. I did it because I wanted to." Then tried to return the sack to her. But she dodged it and said. "In that case, you can return it later. You will need that money right now." He was dumbfounded "Why?" At this moment one could hear a small chuckle that left her mouth. "Didn't you say that you have only one silver coin? You need money to buy some seeds. And as you can see, mine are already planted, so you need to plant yours as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will not make it before winter." He was shocked. "You are absolutely right! Then I won't be humble. But I will definitely give it all back later." She only nodded.
They said goodbyes to each other, and he left. His destination? Everyone knows.
"Hello, Aunty Qiao!" He almost shouted when he walked into her herb shop. "Oh, Little Xing, it's you!" Then she looked at him and asked. "But why did you bring that with you?" While pointing at something. "Huh?" He looked at his right hand, where she was pointing. "Oh, that. I almost forgot that I had a saw with me. I was helping someone. We had to cut some planks to make raised beds for herbs. We just finished, and I came here right away. That's why I have it with me."
"That explains everything. Anyway, what brings you here today?" She asked, "I need some seeds." She was stunned "Am I getting old? I could swear that you bought seeds yesterday." Xing scratched his head. "I did, it's just that someone borrowed me money so we can speed something up." "Phew, so what seeds do you need?" "I need Misty Lotus and Blood Rose seeds." "Hmm. One Misty Lotus seed is for one silver coin, while Blood Rose seed is for twenty-five bronze coins."
"I will take five Misty Lotus seeds and eight Blood Rose seeds." "Sure, that will be seven silver coins." Shortly after, she brought two sacks, and he paid for the seeds.
Then Qiao Jinghua said something which surprised him. "I almost forgot. Should I order a Crimson Tree Branch for you? It will probably take two months to get it here." "How did you know?" He was astonished. "You know, to run this shop, I have to know a thing or two about herbs. And you bought Blood Rose, Scarlet Lily, and Misty Lotus seeds. It's not that hard." And she smiled.
"That makes sense. But actually, when I was buying Scarlet Lily seeds, I didn't plan to use them in the Blood cleansing pill. It's just sort of happened." Then they talked a little bit longer. And decided to order Crimson Tree Branch. "Thanks for everything, Aunty. Have a nice day!" "You too!" She replied.
When Xing arrived, he left the saw in the shed and walked to the cart. He took Herbs of the world, which he left here yesterday, thanks to how tired he was.
When he was inside, he sat at the table with a book in front of him. "Time to see how I should take care of them."
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So, what do you think about this novel so far? I'm worried that I'm giving herbs too much attention. It should be a novel about cultivation, but right now, it's some sort of farming simulator. But those skills might or may not help him in the future. So I want to do it properly. I'm just worried it might be boring. Not that it matters, because so far, nobody responded :(. Well, at least I can say that I've tried. Anyway, it's time for my catchphrase. As always, sorry for all my mistakes, and have a nice day!