"Alas, poor girl, from now on, you'll get to eat and drink the best with me." When the topic turned to physical well-being, Xia Liu glanced over and his thoughts drifted back to the scene he witnessed last night.
"Mhm, eating and drinking the best with Brother Xia Liu," Zhang Xiaoxue nodded and laughed in agreement.
After giving her a few more instructions, Xia Liu took a basket on his back and dashed toward the mountain behind the village. If he wanted to lead the village to prosperity, he first had to make his own life comfortable. Only then would everyone trust him.
Currently, they were so poor they could barely lift the pot lid. Xia Liu couldn't just wait for a wild rabbit to come to him, so he went up the mountain to forage.
All along the way, he pondered how to develop Osmanthus Village. Behind the village lay a mountain range that held countless treasures, the most valuable of which were undoubtedly the medicinal herbs. This was one path to take.
The slopes on the side of the village, on the other hand, bordered a vast ocean, which also contained endless treasures. Thinking it over, Xia Liu decided to first look into whether it was possible to gather herbs and exchange them for money.
As for Shanyan Village, which stood in front of their village like a roadblock, he would find a way to deal with it.
In just half an hour, Xia Liu reached the dense forest. His main goal this time wasn't to gather herbs but to hunt. He was afraid that Xiaoxue hadn't had a full meal for a long time and probably hadn't eaten any meat in the past two years.
Xia Liu was very lucky. After searching for an hour, he spotted a wild boar, not too big, weighing about thirty pounds or more.
The wild boar spotted Xia Liu and took off running, but its speed and reactions were no match for Xia Liu. In less than a minute, the wild boar was lying in the basket.
Just as Xia Liu was about to return home, he was suddenly taken aback by a large rock—or more accurately, by the medicinal herb under the rock!
Based on the knowledge of herbs in his mind and the scent of the herb, he determined outright that it was a Platycodon Grandiflorum!
Considering its size and the exposed roots, this Platycodon Grandiflorum must be over a hundred years old! Such a long-lived Platycodon Grandiflorum was definitely rare!
"I've struck it rich! Struck it rich!" Even though he didn't know the value of this Platycodon Grandiflorum, its age was proof enough, as wild herbs were most valuable the older they were.
Although Platycodon Grandiflorum was a common medicinal herb, the one in front of him was anything but common!
While composing himself, Xia Liu carefully picked the Platycodon Grandiflorum.
Done with that, he had no desire to stay any longer. He hurried all the way home for two reasons: first, to let Zhang Xiaoxue have a taste of meat, and second, to go to town and exchange the Platycodon Grandiflorum for money.
"Wow! That's a wild boar!" In the yard, upon seeing Xia Liu dealing with the wild boar, Zhang Xiaoxue came out of the house when she heard the noise and was immediately astounded.
"Xiaoxue, go light a fire and heat up a pot of water. You're in for a treat today." After giving his instructions, Xia Liu carried a bucket of water to take a bath, coming back just in time to finish processing the wild boar.
One hour later, the long-missed pork was on Zhang Xiaoxue's table, and tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Xiaoxue, I swear I'll make sure you live a good life from now on. Go ahead and eat, I've still got to run to town. Let me know if there's anything you want to buy. I'll bring it back for you," said Xia Liu, smiling as he saw Zhang Xiaoxue getting emotional.
"Ah! Brother Xia Liu, are you going to town? But I don't have any money..."
"Neither do I. Finish your meal and I'll show you something."
In her confusion, Zhang Xiaoxue hurriedly filled her stomach. Xia Liu's cooking was so good that she nearly forgot about the need for money to go to town.
After the meal, Xia Liu brought the basket over to Zhang Xiaoxue and explained the century-old Platycodon Grandiflorum to her.
"Wow! Brother Xia Liu, you're amazing. How much will this herb sell for?"
"I don't know, probably a few thousand yuan."
"A few thousand yuan, that much!"
"A lot? It all depends on whether there are any shop owners who know the goods," Xia Liu said with a wry smile as he looked at the innocent Zhang Xiaoxue.
It was just after two in the afternoon when Xia Liu gave a few instructions and then, carrying a basket on his back, he headed towards the town. There was still plenty of pork at home; even if he didn't come back for a few days, Xiaoxue wouldn't go hungry, so there was no need to worry.
All along the way, whenever he encountered someone, Xia Liu would greet them and introduce himself, after all, having been away for five years, the people of the village had long since forgotten him.
After Xia Liu left Osmanthus Village, the village became abuzz, and all the villagers were talking about none other than Xia Liu.
"Did you guys hear? Xia Liu from the old Xia Family has come back!"
"I saw him this morning, at first glance I almost didn't recognize the lad."
"I ran into him too, just now he left the village with a basket on his back, I hear he's going to buy some herbs and tools, he's going to continue the Xia Family's medical practice!"
"Ah, that's great news! We haven't had a doctor in the village for so many years, I'm the first to support Xia Liu reopening the clinic!"
"Support my ass, have you forgotten what happened five years ago?" Just as everyone was discussing fervently, Zhang Tie suddenly appeared, throwing a bucket of cold water over the villagers' excitement.
...
Xia Liu remembered the way from Osmanthus Village to Pinglan Town clearly, though the only trouble was Shanyan Village, where, if things were unpleasant, he wouldn't mind teaching that so-called Li Hao a lesson.
When Xia Liu arrived at Shanyan Village, ready to pass through, a few young men were sitting on a large stone at the entrance.
Seeing the situation, Xia Liu didn't react and continued striding forward. He wanted to settle things amicably, but the others did not share his desire.
"Stop right there! You're from Osmanthus Village, aren't you? You've already made all your trips to town for this month. If you want to go through, pay fifty bucks," a dark-skinned and sturdy youth stopped Xia Liu in his tracks.
"I don't have money, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."
"Oh, you're looking for trouble, aren't you!" the young man's face changed as he spoke, and the others got off the rock too. They had been guarding this spot for years, and it was the first time they encountered someone causing trouble—they were somewhat looking forward to it, as it had been a long time since they had beaten someone up.
"Brothers, beat him up. If we don't teach Osmanthus Village a lesson, they'll think we're just for show!" With a shout, the young man clenched his fists and charged.
The other young men, seeing this, also charged with their fists raised.
Bang, bang, bang...
A few thumping sounds were heard, and the young men guarding the entrance to the village were all lying on the ground, crying out in pain.
"Tell Li Hao, I am Xia Liu from Osmanthus Village. If there's still talk of restricting travel in the future, then he'll be the one lying down," Xia Liu left behind this harsh threat and walked away without a backward glance.
"Brother Ming, did you see how he threw his punches just now?"
"What's there to talk about! Hurry up and inform Brother Hao, we must deal with the emergence of such a figure from Osmanthus Village properly."
The dark-skinned young man slapped the man who was speaking across the face and slowly stood up, holding his chest.
After arriving in town, Xia Liu looked around. He hadn't paid much attention the night before because it was too dark, and the town had changed considerably from five years ago, with several tall buildings, almost catching up with the county town from back then.
When he was living at home, he frequently came to town with his father to sell medicine and knew where to find shops that would buy them. So he headed in the direction he remembered.
A few minutes later, Xia Liu stood in front of a shop called Tianluo Chinese Medicine Pharmacy. Since the town was mostly frequented by people from rural areas, his clothes did not attract much attention. He confirmed the shop's name was correct and then stepped inside.