Liu Mou found that the pebble he had thrown did not bounce off the tree as expected, but instead got stuck in it. Witnessing this, he was utterly bewildered!
What was going on? Today's string of bizarre events had already been too much, and he felt almost paranoid, but the evidence before his eyes was clear. How could he possibly muster such force to shoot a pebble into a tree?
Rushing over, Liu Mou touched the embedded pebble in disbelief, his face a picture of shock.
He stood there stunned for a moment, then looked down at his hands—unbelievable, he had somehow acquired mysterious strength!
It wasn't just his ability to identify herbs that had changed; his body had undergone a revolutionary transformation. Could this be the legendary underdog's comeback?
To confirm the changes in himself, Liu Mou hurriedly picked up a tree branch as thick as an arm from the ground, held it tightly, and smashed it against his other arm with all his might!
With a "crack," the thick branch broke, but his arm was unharmed, and he felt absolutely no pain. Liu Mou threw a fierce punch at the tree, and half of his fist buried into the trunk.
Hey! Impressive! At this moment, Liu Mou was overjoyed, as his life of reversal was about to begin!
Returning home, his mother Chen Shuhua scolded him fiercely, "What are you doing, running around like a child at your age? Have you been pulling pranks again? How do I even begin to talk sense into you? How will you ever find a wife acting like this? Just wait until your father comes home; he'll definitely have to discipline you."
Liu Mou stuck out his tongue. He was no ordinary person now. Hearing his mother's words, he patted his chest and said, "Mom, don't worry about me finding a wife. I already have someone in mind, and when the time comes, I'll marry her and bring her home for you to enjoy."
Although Chen Shuhua was berating her son, she thought Liu Mou might really be in love with some girl. She was very eager for her son to find a wife who could bear her a fat grandson, so she eagerly asked, "Son, has some girl taken a fancy to you? Tell me, and I'll find time to ask for her hand in marriage on your behalf."
Liu Mou said proudly, "Mom, I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the bride-to-be. It's none other than the village chief's daughter, the village beauty Li Baixuan. How about that, are you satisfied?"
Chen Shuhua's face changed at once. She looked at Liu Mou angrily and said, "You scoundrel, are you trying to make a fool of me? Look at yourself, how could Li Baixuan ever fancy you?"
"Mom, I'm your son; how can you look down on your own child? I am capable, and I will make Li Baixuan marry me. You just need to go ahead and propose," Liu Mou declared confidently.
"Enough, I'm not going to argue with you, and I'm not going to propose either. I can't afford to lose that face. Let's just have dinner, and afterward, you'll help your father with his work. The Zhuang family's harvest has been bad due to pest problems, and your father is really upset. You'd better act sensibly, otherwise, you're definitely in for a beating." Although Chen Shuhua scolded her son, she would still feel bad if he really got beaten.
Liu Mou knew his mother meant well, even though he was far from being afraid to fight, but those in front of him were his own parents, and he didn't want to make them angry, so he didn't offer too much explanation about everything that had happened today.
Returning to his room, he secretly hid the ginseng in the cupboard before coming out obediently to help his mother cook, waiting for his father's return.
After a while, he saw his father, Liu Laquan, walking back slowly. Seeing his father's pale face, and the worry it carried, Liu Mou knew something must have gone wrong with the Zhuang family's crops.
Liu Laquan sat on a stool, gazed at the simple meal on the table without any appetite, then lit a tobacco pipe and began smoking, brooding over something with a deep frown on his face.
Chen Shuhua also sat down and asked in a low voice, "Old man, are the Zhuang family's fields being difficult to deal with?"
Liu Laquan didn't answer; he just nodded before saying, "This year is really cursed—just when the Zhuang family's crops were growing so well, suddenly, there's this plague of pests. It's not only our problem; even the neighboring village is facing the same issue."
"If it were a small infestation, spraying some pesticides would do the trick, but what now? If we spray and the pests from other fields come over later on, the biggest problem is that the cost of the pesticides isn't trivial. If we spray and others don't, we will ultimately still be the victims. This is going to be difficult."
"Now everyone in the village is worrying about this, and no one has started spraying yet because it's up to each household. If others don't spray, you can't manage their affairs—it's problematic, and this time, the whole village might suffer."
Hearing this, Chen Shuhua's face turned grim. Seeing his parents in such a state, Liu Mou quickly said, "Mom, Dad, let's eat first. After dinner, I'll help Dad check on the crops, and then we can come up with a solution together. We can always find a way to solve this problem."
Liu Laquan knocked his pipe on the ground and said, "Let's just eat for now; we'll look at the fields later."
After dinner, Liu Mou followed Liu Laquan to the fields. Seeing the vast expanse of the Zhuang family's crops that could be potentially ruined by pests filled Liu Mou with sorrow. He then had an idea and said, "Dad, don't they have high-efficiency spraying equipment in town now? It's fast, efficient, and can save on pesticide expenses. Why don't we buy that?"
Hearing Liu Mou's suggestion, Liu Laquan looked displeased and said, "I know about it, but do you know how much that equipment costs? It's several thousand yuan, which is no small amount. Who in the village would be willing to spend that much money on such a thing?"
Liu Mou didn't continue explaining because he had an idea in mind and waited for the right opportunity to act. After a while, they started walking back.
Halfway home, he suddenly heard someone calling his name in a pleasant voice. Turning around, he was surprised to see Li Baixuan rushing toward him, seemingly very eager to meet with Liu Mou.
Seeing this, Liu Laquan, who had his own youthful experiences, knew that young people needed their own space. He continued walking, hoping to give the young couple some privacy since there were certain things they wouldn't want to discuss in front of him.
Even with that thought, Liu Laquan couldn't help but glance back after a while, and he was taken aback as he saw Li Baixuan suddenly embracing Liu Mou, his son, in her arms.