Chen Xiaobei silently cursed in his heart, but the lesson from Wugong Ridge was still fresh in his mind.
Clearly, these people had figured out his background before making a move, so at this moment, he felt like he had no choice but to comply.
"Big Brother Sun Jian, you're right, I do need the silver, but not today. The sky is about to get dark, and we have an old saying here, 'Never enter the mountain after dark.' I'm sure you know that."
It was pure nonsense, but Chen Xiaobei said it with such seriousness.
And just like that, by pretending to be serious, others would believe it.
"Mm, Brother Xiaobei's right. We got lost in broad daylight, so we definitely shouldn't go in at night," Sun Jian actually agreed.
"Yes, yes, yes, there are fierce beasts on the mountain. They won't come out during the day, but they harm people at night. Let's go another day, another day," Chen Xiaobei quickly built on this to give Sun Jian a way out.
Sun Jian nodded. "Alright, we'll come back in three days."
Chen Xiaobei quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, that won't do. I'll be in the county tomorrow. How about we meet in three days? Three days from now."
De Gui couldn't hold back anymore. "Chen Xiaobei, you're just toying with us. You say three days, so let it be three days!"
At that moment, Sun Jian spoke up. "Alright, then, as Brother Xiaobei said, we'll meet at the mountain god's temple in three days."
After speaking, Sun Jian gestured for his men to leave.
This took Chen Xiaobei by surprise.
But now, he had no time to think about it further.
After confirming that Sun Jian and his men had left, Chen Xiaobei quickly turned around and headed into Gourd Valley.
At that moment, he didn't notice a shadow following him from a distance.
Once Chen Xiaobei entered the valley, he began by harvesting the ginseng with the red tops.
He couldn't tell the age of the ginseng, but he could differentiate the sizes, so he picked two of the larger ones. After thinking for a moment, he also dug up a few smaller ones, dirt and all, intending to plant them at home and see if he could cultivate them.
Chen Xiaobei left Gourd Valley, and just as he did, Sun Jian and the others arrived.
As soon as they entered the valley, Sun Jian and De Gui widened their eyes in surprise. They had likely never imagined such a treasure trove existed on Qingniu Mountain.
Looking at the abundance of Lingzhi mushrooms and ginseng scattered all around, De Gui couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"No wonder that kid was so secretive. Turns out he really had treasures!"
After speaking, Sun Jian stepped forward and picked two large Lingzhi mushrooms. He was about to continue collecting, but was stopped by Sun Jian.
"Don't pick anymore. Chen Xiaobei walks around here every day. If these things are suddenly too few, he'll notice."
"Big Brother, these things in the mountain aren't his, so if he can pick them, we certainly can too," De Gui said, confused.
Sun Jian shook his head. "Our immediate priority is to figure out the terrain of Qingniu Mountain. That Chen Xiaobei is very important to us."
"As long as we have the map of Qingniu Mountain's terrain, we'll take all the Lingzhi mushrooms and ginseng here, bring them to the capital, and offer them to the National Master."
Hearing this, De Gui couldn't help but get excited. He chuckled, "Right, right. Big Brother is right. The National Master will surely reward us with a few hundred taels of silver at least."
With that, everyone burst into laughter.
Chen Xiaobei returned home with a large bundle of fish mint, and the sky had darkened.
Lidong had been waiting for him. When he saw Chen Xiaobei, he quickly stood up.
"Brother Xiaobei, you're back!"
Cui Hongyu came forward and took the bundle off Chen Xiaobei's shoulder. "Husband, Lidong has been waiting for you for a long time. He wants to discuss the work for tomorrow."
Chen Xiaobei sat down under the old locust tree. At this moment, Chen Qiaoer came out from the house with a bowl of water and handed it to him. "Brother, drink some water."
Chen Xiaobei smiled, took the bowl, and drank it down in one go. He gently ruffled Chen Qiaoer's little head. "Qiaoer, you're so well-behaved. Go play over there!"
Seeing Chen Qiaoer like this, Lidong couldn't help but feel envious. His two daughters were stiff as wooden dolls. If they could be half as good as Chen Qiaoer, he'd be happy.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei spoke up.
"Lidong, just handle the work for tomorrow as you see fit. I have two things: make the house stronger, replace the thatched roof with tiles, and the yard wall should be at least two people high."
Lidong nodded and agreed. "Alright, I'll do everything as you said. Also, you'll need to find a temporary place for Qiaoer to stay for a few days. The house... may not be ready in time."
Chen Xiaobei sighed inwardly. This house that Da Chun gave him really was ideal. Otherwise, he'd have to shamelessly ask to stay at Da Chun's place.
He pointed to the western yard wall. "Take down a section of this wall, and I'll just stay at Da Chun's place."
Lidong looked surprised. "Is that really okay?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "It's fine. Before leaving, Da Chun said I should take down this wall, so we can join families. It'll also be easier to help him keep an eye on the house and yard."
"By the way, he also said to raise his yard wall a little higher."
Lidong was, of course, happy to help. Raising the yard wall meant he could work for a couple more days, earning a little extra money.
After Lidong left, Chen Xiaobei got two cement flower pots and planted the ginseng. As he was busy with this, Cui Hongyu couldn't help but laugh.
"Husband, ginseng takes many years to grow before it can be harvested. This potted plant might..."
Chen Xiaobei understood what Hongyu meant. Potted plants were time-consuming and required care, and if they weren't tended properly, it could all be for nothing.
But it was worth trying.
After all, he had gone to Gourd Valley himself, and others had gone too. If he encountered someone unscrupulous who picked all the Lingzhi and ginseng, wouldn't he be left empty-handed?
After finishing his work, Chen Xiaobei took out the two large ginseng plants he had harvested and showed them to Cui Hongyu for her assessment.
When Cui Hongyu saw the first one, she excitedly exclaimed.
"Husband, where did you find this?"
Seeing her excited expression, Chen Xiaobei felt a surge of joy. It must be a mature and valuable one.
Sure enough, before he could speak, Cui Hongyu continued, "This ginseng is at least a hundred years old. This is a rare find."
Hearing that, Chen Xiaobei became excited too. This was worth ten taels of silver!
He immediately hugged Cui Hongyu and couldn't resist giving her a kiss on the cheek. "This is amazing! This one ginseng is worth twenty taels!"
The sudden gesture left Cui Hongyu with a flustered face, but luckily it was getting dark.
Chen Qiaoer, who had been watching, couldn't help but clap her hands and shout, "Shame, shame, brother is not shy!"
Chen Xiaobei pretended to be stern, quickly grabbing Qiaoer and lifting her into the air.
"How dare you speak like that? Don't think I won't spank you!"
Qiaoer flailed her arms and legs, struggling in the air. "Sister-in-law, help me! Sister-in-law, please help me!"
Cui Hongyu's face darkened. "No, no, you should not speak out of turn."
Qiaoer clearly didn't expect Cui Hongyu, who had always been so kind to her, to say such a thing. She immediately felt wronged.
"Brother and Sister-in-law are teaming up to bully me!"