When Chen Yutian and his wife saw the visitor, they greeted him respectfully and invited him to sit down and have some tea.
The visitor, however, cupped his hands toward Jia Shi, saying, "Sister, no need for formalities, we've met on the mountain."
Jia Shi nodded. "Yes, yes, you are Yang Dazhi, right?"
"That's right, I'm Yang Dazhi."
After introducing himself, he turned to look at Chen Yutian. "Brother Chen, shall we head up the mountain?"
Chen Yutian looked a bit surprised. "How about we have some tea before going?"
Yang Dazhi shook his head. "No need. Let's head up the mountain directly. Another brother is waiting outside the village."
Chen Yutian nodded, tightened his clothing, and said, "Alright, let's go now."
He turned to his wife. "Prepare some hearty dishes later; I'll have a drink with Brother Yang at noon."
The two of them left the house, and as they exited the village, Chen Yutian hesitated for a moment. Ahead, Li Dong was with Da Yong and the others, working on repairing the ditch for Chen Xiaobei.
However, since they had already revealed themselves, it was too late to turn back. Chen Yutian had no choice but to push forward.
When Li Dong saw him, he greeted him enthusiastically. "Uncle Yutian, where are you headed?"
Chen Yutian chuckled awkwardly. "My nephew has arrived. There's nothing much to eat for lunch, so I'm taking him up the mountain for a stroll."
Yang Dazhi nodded to the group and continued on ahead, with Chen Yutian following.
Once they were gone, Li Dong and the others casually started chatting.
One person spoke first, "How come I've never seen this nephew before?"
Li Dong rolled his eyes. "Do you recognize all the relatives of the villagers? There's no way to mistake someone's own nephew."
Another person chimed in, "It seems like you're just overthinking everything."
At this point, Da Yong spoke up. "I feel like I've seen this person somewhere before."
He tilted his head in thought, suddenly looking like he remembered something.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Dong shouted, "Da Yong, hurry up and bring a stone, stop being lazy."
Da Yong replied and turned to carry a stone, and the conversation was dropped.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei had already arrived in the county town. This time, his trip was leisurely, and he even took a short nap on the carriage.
He first sold a few fish at the tavern. As expected, the tavern keeper gave him three coins for the big fish and two for the smaller one, making a total of five copper coins for the two fish—enough to pay for a day's labor.
After selling the fish, he turned and went to Hua Haotang to find Jia Wannian.
As soon as he entered Hua Haotang, he bumped into someone—it was Liu Rubi.
The two locked eyes and froze for a moment.
Xiao Qing, who was standing nearby, cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips, shouting at Chen Xiaobei, "Hey, you're being rude! Where are you looking when you see my lady?"
Chen Xiaobei thought to himself, Where am I looking? I'm just making eye contact with her. What's the problem with that?
Liu Rubi raised her hand and patted Xiao Qing's arm, smiling warmly at Chen Xiaobei. "Mr. Chen, you're here at Hua Haotang too?"
She then turned to look at Jia Wannian. "Jia Gong, if Mr. Chen needs any herbs, feel free to give them to him, and just put it on the account of my Liu family."
Jia Wannian, who had been smiling, froze immediately at her words. He was about to explain, but Chen Xiaobei quickly spoke up.
"Ah, Miss Liu, there's nothing much. I just have a bit of a headache, so I thought I'd grab some herbs."
He thought this excuse would work, but just then, someone ran in from outside.
The person bumped right into Chen Xiaobei as soon as they entered, and, while there was no real harm, Chen Xiaobei's bundle slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a thud.
The newcomer rushed to Jia Wannian's side and grabbed his hand. "Jia Langzhong, hurry, hurry with me! My father, my father..."
Without waiting for any response, they pulled Jia Wannian out of the room.
While struggling, Jia Wannian turned back to Chen Xiaobei and said, "Brother Xiaobei, wait for me. I'll be right back."
Chen Xiaobei nodded and bent down to pick up his bundle.
As the bundle hit the ground and unfolded, the lingzhi and ginseng inside were exposed.
Xiao Qing looked down, saw the herbs, and exclaimed in surprise, "Ginseng, this is ginseng!"
Liu Rubi looked down as well, her expression filled with surprise.
"Mr. Chen, may I have a word with you?" she asked.
Chen Xiaobei nodded, carefully gathered his bundle, and picked it up again.
He followed Liu Rubi out of Hua Haotang.
"Mr. Chen, may I ask where you got this ginseng from?"
As they were walking out, Chen Xiaobei had already gone over the situation in his mind several times. He couldn't say these herbs were from Qingniu Mountain, especially since Liu Rubi had also been to the mountain.
"Oh, these were passed down in my wife's family."
Xiao Qing's eyes widened. "Chen Xiaobei, you're really making things up. The dirt on the lingzhi is fresh!"
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "You're right. This lingzhi was grown in my wife's family. The shopkeeper Jia wanted to continue growing it, so I brought the soil back for him."
Liu Rubi's expression became serious. She looked at Chen Xiaobei and softly said, "Mr. Chen, when you return, could you ask your wife to help find a hundred-year-old ginseng?"
Chen Xiaobei scratched his head. He had been told about ginseng by Cui Hongyu. "A hundred-year-old ginseng... Miss Liu, with all due respect, it's something that can't be sought easily."
"You're right. That's precisely why I'm asking Mr. Chen for help."
Seeing that Chen Xiaobei hadn't responded, Xiao Qing continued, "Miss, we don't need to ask him. I'll go back to the capital. If we can't find a hundred-year-old ginseng, I'll make sure to take care of it. Big Brother Liu will be fine."
Chen Xiaobei was startled. "What do you mean by Big Brother Liu?"
Liu Rubi nodded. "He was severely injured, and after staying in the mountains for a night, he caught a chill. His body is very weak, and he needs a hundred-year-old ginseng to help him recover gradually."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei felt a surge of anxiety. He had an inherent sense of closeness with Liu Tie. "Miss Liu, please don't worry. I'll go back and ask my wife if she can get a hundred-year-old ginseng."
He then looked down at the two ginseng plants in his bundle. "If you don't mind, you can take these two for now."
Before Liu Rubi could respond, Xiao Qing looked at the ginseng disdainfully. "They're not even a hundred years old. They're of no use, just leave them."
Liu Rubi gave a slight bow. "In that case, thank you, Mr. Chen. I'll take my leave."
Chen Xiaobei waited at Hua Haotang for about half an hour, and Jia Wannian returned.
When Jia Wannian saw Chen Xiaobei, he was even more enthusiastic.
He invited him into the back room and instructed the shop assistant to bring a pot of tea.
After a few sips of tea, Jia Wannian took out two ten-tael silver ingots.
This was clearly more than the price for two ginseng and two lingzhi.
With a smile on his face, Jia Wannian said, "Brother Xiaobei, do you think you can find a hundred-year-old ginseng?"