To be precise, it was the beautiful woman beside the red sedan that caught Wu Xiaoshan's attention.
She appeared to be about thirty years old, wearing a black-and-white professional dress that highlighted her voluptuous figure.
Her raven hair was neatly coiled on top of her head, revealing a delicate makeup on her face.
However, the woman's complexion wasn't good at the moment; she furrowed her brows, gazing with full alertness at two hoodlum-looking young men blocking her car.
"Hey there, little sis is quite a beauty, how about the three of us have some fun together!" The crew-cut youth leading them sized up the beautiful woman with glowing eyes and nudged the earring-wearing man beside him.
Upon hearing this, the woman instinctively took two steps back, holding onto the car door while she asked in a cold voice, "What do you want, get out of the way, or I'll call the police!"
"Heh, go ahead and call, by the time the police arrive, we'll have slipped away without a trace."
The crew-cut youth shrugged indifferently and then his expression darkened, he said coldly, "This is a robbery, hand over everything valuable you have!"
"Not a chance!"
Though scared, the woman was uncooperative and said these words as she tried to get into her car.
Unfortunately, the two young men seemed to be seasoned at this, blocking her way from left and right before she could get in, and grabbed her shoulder bag.
"Let go... robbery!"
The woman's face turned pale, and she shouted loudly, clinging tightly to her bag, refusing to let go.
Seeing this, the crew-cut youth became upset and "smack smack" landed two slaps on the woman's face, and then took the opportunity to snatch her bag when she wasn't paying attention.
The woman staggered from the overwhelming force of the crew-cut youth's slaps and eventually hit the side of the car, letting out a muffled groan before slowly collapsing to the ground.
"Hu Zi, you keep watch, let brother have his fun first, then it's your turn!" said the crew-cut youth as he tossed the bag to the earring man and began to walk slowly towards the woman.
"Stop right there!"
Just as the woman was about to be violated, Wu Xiaoshan finally reacted. He let out a roar and picked up a stone, hurling it fiercely at the crew-cut youth.
"Ow!"
The stone hit the crew-cut youth right on the back of the head, causing blood to pour out instantly.
He touched the back of his head and instinctively wanted to confront Wu Xiaoshan, but seeing Wu Xiaoshan picking up another stone, he changed his mind.
"Hu Zi, let's go!"
After saying this, the crew-cut youth and the earring man quickly fled deep down the alleyway, disappearing in an instant.
"Bastards, you're lucky you ran fast!"
Wu Xiaoshan had already reached the woman's side by this time, he cursed and then began to check her condition.
At this moment, the woman's complexion was pale, and she had lost consciousness.
Wu Xiaoshan checked her breathing, then felt her pulse, and soon had an idea of what was wrong.
Shock!
Immediately, he followed the treatment methods provided in his mind, pinching the woman's philtrum first, then pressing on several acupoints on her body.
About a minute later, the woman's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.
She was stunned for a moment before standing up from the ground. While adjusting her clothes, she expressed her gratitude, "Thank you for saving me... Ah, my bag is gone!"
"Don't move!"
Seeing the woman panic and about to run after him, Wu Xiaoshan quickly grabbed her and said with a serious face, "Your health is too poor. You fainted just from bumping against the car earlier. If you engage in strenuous activity now, I reckon you'll faint again."
"Don't worry, I know a bit of Tuina Technique. I'll massage a few acupoints for you now."
As Wu Xiaoshan spoke, he signaled for the woman to sit inside the driver's cabin, and he took off her high heels and began to massage the soles of her feet.
Five minutes later, seeing that the woman's complexion had finally turned rosy, Wu Xiaoshan stopped his movements and revealed the fact that he had not retrieved the purse.
However, after hearing this, the woman just sighed helplessly and then softly said, "It doesn't matter, there were only a few tens of thousands of yuan in the bag. I'm fine… By the way, you didn't get hurt while rescuing me from them, right?"
Wu Xiaoshan's mouth twitched. What do you mean "only a few tens of thousands of yuan"?
He grumbled to himself, yet on the surface, he replied with a smile, "I'm fine. But that bastard with the crew cut is bleeding because of the beating I gave him."
Upon hearing this, the woman let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she took a business card from the car, handed it to Wu Xiaoshan with both hands, and said with a smile, "My name is Yang Zishan. This is my business card. You must be a doctor, right?"
"My name is Wu Xiaoshan. I'm not a doctor, just a small-time farmer." Wu Xiaoshan took the business card and when he saw the words "General Manager of Red Maple Leaf Grand Restaurant" printed on it, he was instantly startled.
Goodness, it turns out she's a big boss. No wonder her tone was so grand.
With that thought, he began to size up Yang Zishan subconsciously.
This city dweller is truly well-bred, eh? Her skin is so white and tender, her little butt so round and perky, and those long legs…
"Xiaoshan, are you alright?" Noticing Wu Xiaoshan's odd expression, Yang Zishan asked curiously.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Anyway, Director Yang, I still need to go to the town to sell Matsutake mushrooms, or it'll be hard to sell them once it gets dark. If fate wills it, we'll meet again," said Wu Xiaoshan, clearing his throat and getting ready to leave with his basket on his back.
"Wait a second, what… what did you say, you have Matsutake mushrooms?" Suddenly, Yang Zishan stopped Wu Xiaoshan, asking with an excited face.
"Yes, the very Matsutake mushrooms I'm carrying on my back."
Upon hearing this, Yang Zishan hurriedly leaned in for a closer look and discovered that they were indeed Matsutake mushrooms, and fresh wild ones at that. She instantly burst into a smile.
"Xiaoshan, you've given me such a pleasant surprise! I came down to the countryside today to procure Matsutake mushrooms. They're quite in demand now. If you're willing, I'd like to offer a hundred yuan per pound to buy yours. What do you think?"
A hundred yuan per pound?!
Wu Xiaoshan almost bit off his own tongue and stammered, "Director Yang, you're not kidding me, right? To the best of my knowledge, Matsutake mushrooms go for at most seventy or eighty yuan per pound. You're offering such a high price!"
Seeing Wu Xiaoshan's shocked expression, Yang Zishan immediately giggled and said, "What, you're not happy with the high offer?"
"Actually, the price I'm offering isn't too high because most farmers sell to vegetable vendors, and we normally buy our ingredients from those vendors too. A hundred yuan per pound is the usual price we pay."
With that explanation, Wu Xiaoshan understood.
Afterward, Yang Zishan took a large box and an electronic scale from her car and weighed the mushrooms on the spot: 29.5 pounds.
"Let's round it up to thirty pounds, and I'll pay you three thousand yuan. However, my purse was stolen, so I can't pay cash. Can I transfer it to your phone?" Yang Zishan offered somewhat troubled.
"I don't have a mobile phone," Wu Xiaoshan said, feeling embarrassed. But then he smiled and said, "It's okay, Director Yang. I trust you. It's not too late to pay me next time."
"Alright then, keep the business card safe. If you have more Matsutake mushrooms or other wild goods in the future, you can bring them to the address on the card."
Yang Zishan nodded, chatted with Wu Xiaoshan for a few more moments, and then drove away from the scene.
Watching the car vanish from sight, Wu Xiaoshan felt incredibly excited. There were several hundred pounds of Matsutake mushrooms on Wolong Mountain. If he could sell them all to Yang Zishan, that would be tens of thousands of yuan!
A few tens of thousands might not seem like much to others, but in Wolong Village, that was the income of a household for several years, and he had earned it without much effort.
"With this money, even if Sister Yu Feng's social assistance was cut off by that bastard Zhang Dabao, it wouldn't be a problem anymore. Plus, I can slowly repay the villagers' kindness."
Having made up his mind, Wu Xiaoshan picked up his basket and headed towards Wolong Village...