《Her Cultivation Diary》 Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: Ive returned from the Cultivation World!_1 Chapter 1: I¡¯ve returned from the Cultivation World!_1 ¡°` On Yinmoon Peak behind the mountain. Thunderclouds gathered, thundering menacingly. Song Tan, a dual wood-water spirit root cultivator from the Cangxuan Realm¡¯s Ask Heaven Sect, had cultivated spirit plants in the back mountain for a hundred years, and had finally reached the opportunity for a breakthrough! But she hadn¡¯t expected the thunder tribulation during her core-formation to be so fierce. Her body got shattered by the lightning, and even her soul was torn apart. In a daze, just before perishing, Song Tan saw countless scenes, both familiar and unfamiliar¡ª More than a dozen vehicles were flipped and crumpled together in a heap. Collisions, pain, crying out. A car was overturned, and oil slowly began to snake across the bridge. Around her were people frantically pounding on the car windows; her vision was clouded with a layer of blood, and she couldn¡¯t move or speak. ¡°Hello, is this 120? A multi-car pileup on Ninghai Bridge¡­¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°First, get the driver out, there¡¯s still a breath¡ª¡± ¡°The girl¡¯s leg is trapped¡­ someone help¡ª¡± ¡°Move, move! It¡¯s leaking fuel, careful, it might blow¡ª¡± Song Tan watched all this blankly, completely failing to react at first. Was this¡­a heart demon? But strangely, there was a girl in the car who deeply tugged at her heartstrings. However, the other girl¡¯s head was bleeding, and her eyes were slowly closing, her breath growing weak. Song Tan could see the spiritual light fading from her body¡ªher soul was dispersing. In the next moment, Song Tan felt something pulling at her, and then her fragmented soul suddenly plummeted. In her hazy consciousness, a girl with fair skin and bright black pupils looked at her, her eyes filled with joy and comfort: ¡°You¡¯ve come back.¡± What did she mean? Just as Song Tan was about to ask, she saw the other¡¯s spirit light suddenly rush towards her fragmented soul, and then, they tightly merged together. Past life, present life¡­ She remembered! This wasn¡¯t a heart demon! It was herself coming back! From the Cultivation World back to the moment she was about to die in the modern world! This was her past life! She had originally been Song Tan, died in a car accident, and then lost her memory and arrived in the Cangxuan Realm, where she began from a village girl, practicing desperately, and finally joined the Ask Heaven Sect. And after more than a hundred years of non-stop cultivation, just to be able to break through, to protect herself amidst the perilous Cultivation World¡­ She, was Song Tan! ¡­ However, the collision up ahead was too violent, and unbearable pain shot through her body. In her previous life, she had died in that car accident¡­ No, this won¡¯t do! With difficulty, Song Tan mobilized the scant spiritual energy around her, striving to repair her body. The thin spiritual energy struggled to flow through her body, arduously repairing the damaged organs and body. When she put all her effort into opening her blood-blurred eyes, she saw a distinctly masculine face before her, handsome yet with prominent veins. He was so close that Song Tan could see his dark brown irises and the unusually dense eyelashes. Especially the small mole on his forehead, perfectly placed. The man gritted his teeth but still managed to speak: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! I will pull you out now¡ª¡± Behind her, someone was shouting desperately: ¡°Move, move, it¡¯s on fire, it¡¯s on fire¡ª¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± The man hugging her let out a low shout, sweat dripping from his forehead and cheeks, sliding down his jaw and dropping onto Song Tan¡¯s face. Her body was pulled forward with more and more force, pain shooting through her limbs and torso, as if her very soul was also being tightly clung to, merging firmly with this body. The next moment! ¡°It¡¯s exploded¡ª¡± The screams surrounding her grew more and more fearful! ¡°Bang!¡± Her heavy body was violently thrown out, and she trembled all over, consciousness already gone. ¡­ When she woke up again, three heads popped up beside the bed. The one in the lead was a middle-aged doctor, with thinning hair but clear eyes: ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Song Tan¡¯s gaze slid down to his name tag on his chest¡ª ¡°` An exceptionally lifelike close-up photo First People¡¯s Hospital of Ning Province Attending Physician: Zhang Yuan She stared at this nameplate, dumbfounded, as familiar memories continuously flowed through her mind. At this moment, she was both the cultivator Song Tan and the ordinary person Song Tan. With the fusion of her soul, the past and present life came together, and after over a hundred years, she had finally returned. The smell of hospital disinfectant filled the air from all directions. Spiritual energy was so scarce it was like a thin thread. With a thought, she silently recited the Cultivation Heart Method, and it took half a day for two strands of spiritual energy to sluggishly make their way over. Song Tan breathed a sigh of relief¡ªit was good that she could still cultivate. If she could cultivate, she could protect herself. Not to mention, having planted spirit plants for over a hundred years, she wouldn¡¯t have a problem supporting herself. Looking at the doctor waiting for her response, Song Tan opened her mouth to speak, a bit awkwardly, ¡°Pretty¡­ pretty good.¡± The obedient intern on the left presented the medical record. The newly appointed attending physician, scribbling away with arm movements as flamboyant as dragons and phoenixes, was imitating their seniors in writing illegible notes, all while smiling in an especially friendly manner: ¡°Our examination results are also very good, young lady. You are fortunate indeed! In a multiple car accident, only your head was injured, which might result in a mild concussion, but everything else is fine.¡± ¡°After observing for a day or two, you can be discharged.¡± ¡°However, the scene was too chaotic, and your phone in your clothes couldn¡¯t be turned on, and since your injuries weren¡¯t severe, we haven¡¯t notified your family so far.¡± Family¡­ Images of three identical, simple-looking faces flashed through Song Tan¡¯s mind. She subconsciously touched her head and, in a daze, remembered the car accident scene, quickly asking: ¡°I remember at that time, a gentleman saved me. How is he¡­ how is he doing now?¡± In her previous life, she had lost consciousness the moment the accident occurred and didn¡¯t know if anyone had ever tried to save her so desperately. But now¡­ The attending physician hesitated for a moment, ¡°Eighteen patients were transferred to our hospital half an hour ago. According to the firefighters, you were pulled out of the car by a young man, weren¡¯t you?¡± Song Tan nodded. The doctor hesitated for a moment, ¡°He¡­ is not in life-threatening danger, an out-of-towner, and his family took him to a superior hospital just now.¡± Song Tan¡¯s heart lightened. ¡°Could I ask for his or his family¡¯s contact information? I would like to thank them in person.¡± Such a life-saving grace saved not only the 23-year-old Song Tan but also the Song Tan who had cultivated through countless years. Even in the Cangxuan Realm, this was a tremendous favor that required one¡¯s utmost effort to repay. The doctor shook his head, ¡°That gentleman had saved several at the time, and his family, upon their arrival, stated there was no need for thanks and thus were unwilling to disclose any contact information.¡± ¡°Which hospital did they go to?¡± ¡°They went to the Imperial City Ren¡¯ai Hospital.¡± Song Tan nodded but didn¡¯t inquire further. She thought¡ªcurrently, she hadn¡¯t fully adapted to this place yet. Once she could gather spiritual energy for cultivation again, she would directly consult the divination and calculate the whereabouts of her savior. ¡­ The doctors left with a bustle. Song Tan found the murky air difficult to accept; the lack of spiritual energy around indicated it was obviously not a good place for cultivation. Subconsciously, she reached under her pillow, which was empty. Of course, her bag, including her identification, had all burned in the car accident. She then tentatively pulled open the drawer by her bed and, indeed, found a mobile phone with a shattered screen inside. The screen was most broken, and after sitting in the drawer for a night, it was unclear if it had recovered or what, but anyway, Song Tan managed to turn it on by feel. She unlocked the screen and noticed a green app in the upper right corner with a glaring red 99+ notification. There was also a blue one emitting a terrifying ding-ding sound. It immediately gave her an aversion. A cultivator¡¯s sixth sense could help them avoid many bad things, Song Tan thought: This message must not be good! Best not to look! The pressing matter at hand was to play with the phone again. She¡¯d missed it for over a hundred years and couldn¡¯t wait any longer. So she swiped her finger down and accidentally opened an app that seemed to have a music note icon. ¡°Tremolo, start a wonderful life!¡± Song Tan: ¡­ It¡¯s already open, I¡¯ll just take a glance¡­ [This book was first published on the QiDian Girls¡¯ Network. Most of the wild vegetables, fruits, and some rural tools mentioned in this book are accompanied by pictures in this chapter. Most of them come from Baidu and TaoTaoBao.] You can see the pictures by clicking the corresponding sections. We also welcome you to upload more pictures. The sources of information will be written in the author¡¯s notes; feel free to search them up if interested.] Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: 2. Hello, takeout! _1 Chapter 2: 2. Hello, takeout! _1 Glance after glance, another glance! Scrolling through short videos is really so joyful! Who knew my own life could be this interesting! Song Tan also wants to play! This world is so interesting, if I could always be this happy, there¡¯s no need to cultivate¡­no, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to start cultivating later. Anyway, there¡¯s no spiritual energy around these days, and cultivation is twice the effort for half the result, not worth it. The cultivator Song Tan pondered her decision, feeling that it wasn¡¯t the so-called ¡°procrastination¡± she often heard about, but rather the mysterious sixth sense of cultivation. In any case, she calculated it with a pinch of her fingers, now was the perfect time to play with her phone! It¡¯s just that the screen is pretty badly cracked¡­ The next moment, a call suddenly popped up on her phone¡ª ¡°Song Tan! Where¡¯s the PPT you were supposed to do! Why haven¡¯t you sent it to me yet?!¡± Song Tan: ¡­ What is a PPT? Who is this? She reviewed her memories and discovered that in her past life, it was because her boss suddenly demanded a PPT, which caused her to hurry to the company in a taxi. Luck would have it that just as her car reached Ninghai Bridge, she got into a chain collision. ¡°Also, why didn¡¯t you come to work today! Skipping work for a day will cost you 500! Do it again, and you¡¯re fired outright!¡± Song Tan: ¡­Although she couldn¡¯t remember just yet, it didn¡¯t stop her from getting angry. Just by looking at this outfit, she knew, how much does a month¡¯s salary even amount to?! Song Tan rubbed her temples, took a deep breath, and tried hard to recall the endless overtime tasks at the company, as the wish brewing deep in her heart grew more and more restless¡ª [I want to go back to my hometown] [I want to be with my parents and younger brother] [I don¡¯t want to go to work] This thought was so strong that Song Tan made her decision in an instant¡ª ¡°¡­¡± Shoot, I¡¯ve been away from work for too long, what am I supposed to say now? Ahem¡­ ¡°Is that the boss? Just hold on a second.¡± ¡­ Ning City is just an ordinary provincial capital, forever under construction, covered in dust and dirt. And Ninghai Bridge is a newly built overpass, connecting the north and south, saving on tolls, costing 55 yuan by taxi from where Song Tan rented a place. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t take a taxi, but her boss said the PPT was urgent, and she also thought about the other work she had in hand, so she indulged in the luxury of taking a taxi. Who knew she¡¯d get into an accident¡­ This time leaving the house, her shabby phone was clearly still useable, Song Tan tried scanning the code somewhat unfamiliarly, and without another word, called a taxi and went back onto Ninghai Bridge. More than half an hour later, she arrived at the company downstairs¡ªdon¡¯t think too much, it¡¯s not some big corporation. Song Tan, an ordinary graduate from a second-tier college and hailing from a rural background, couldn¡¯t even get into big companies. This company she worked for was renting the third floor of this building, doing various kinds of outsourced work. Her major was the all-purpose finance, and at the time she had no choice but to enroll wherever she could get into. After graduation, she attended a campus recruitment, cluelessly listened to an HR (later found out to be an ordinary employee) promise the moon, and then was recruited by this company. Now, after being whipped by society, she was a jack-of-all-trades 007 agent¡ªplanning, operations, post-production, editing, promotion, and a filler of all gaps rolled into one. Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, as long as there was an assignment, even if on her period she¡¯d take the medicine and still crawl to work. ¡°Internship salary 5000, regular monthly salary 7500, sounds not bad, right?¡± ¡°But despite the capital¡¯s lackluster development, housing prices have shot up, averaging fifteen thousand. The room Song Tan rented, even being an outdated residential space barely legal at twenty square meters, was nearly a thousand bucks a month.¡± ¡°Transportation, food, daily necessities¡­ she saved everything else.¡± ¡°After paying, Song Tan couldn¡¯t help sighing, ¡®Only over sixty thousand left in savings, that¡¯s quite a lot.¡¯ Who would have thought her past self was such a frugal girl!¡± ¡­ In the middle of the day, a mix of food smells wafted through the small company¡¯s office area, where a young female colleague beckoned her over: ¡°Tantan, why didn¡¯t you come this morning? Have you eaten?¡± Unable to remember her name, Song Tan silently walked over and spotted her name tag¡ª Huo Xueying Looking at the claypot rice in the foil container in front of her, the aroma of the food mingled with something else, making her feel quite uncomfortable. ¡°I had a car accident this morning, just got out of the hospital.¡± Huo Xueying fished out a fried egg from her box: ¡°Ah¡ªopen up, I¡¯ll treat you to this!¡± ¡°If the hospital let you out, then you must be okay¡ªWang the Skinflint definitely won¡¯t give you a subsidy now!¡ªcompensation is tough to get anyway, you should have lied in the hospital for a couple of days! Eat the egg to recover your strength!¡± Song Tan¡¯s stomach growled in agreement. Although the gesture was a bit too familiar, Huo Xueying seemed like a good friend, so after a brief hesitation, she opened her mouth and gently bit into the egg. As her teeth met, a bizarre taste rolled in her mouth¡ªa mix of the egg¡¯s smokiness, impurities in the food, the richness of oil, and an indescribably nauseating sensation that caused a sudden twist in her gut and her stomach began churning. This food? Forget about increasing her cultivation base; continuing to eat food filled with such impurities could mean she might not achieve Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, let alone reach Golden Core. Song Tan held back and managed to swallow that small bite of egg. Huo Xueying was ready to feed her another piece, her heart aching for the young girl who saved money by eating sparsely; she was both well-behaved and pitiful, and Huo Xueying felt sorry as a friend. But Song Tan shook her head, ¡°I won¡¯t have more, it tastes weird.¡± Weirdly unappetizing. Huo Xueying didn¡¯t hesitate to take the egg back and bit off a large piece: ¡°What¡¯s weird about it! It¡¯s 25 yuan a portion!¡± ¡°But indeed, it¡¯s not as good as the food at home. According to my mom, takeaways don¡¯t taste like vegetables; they¡¯re all just thick oil and sauces.¡± Song Tan touched her stomach, she was actually hungry too. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything from last night until this morning, only now realizing she was an ordinary human with a fleshly body that needed food. She hesitated for a moment: ¡°Is it the quality of the ingredients? Then I¡­ I¡¯ll order something better.¡± The deficiency of Spiritual Energy meant the ingredients were too impure. Thinking of the strange taste of the food she just encountered, this time, she focused on the more expensive dishes. Surely, that would mean the quality of the ingredients was better, right? While waiting for her takeaway, Song Tan asked, ¡°The boss wants a PPT¡­ that¡¯s¡­?¡± It had been too long, she truly didn¡¯t know anymore. Huo Xueying was unconcerned, casually saying, ¡°Which PPT? You mentioned you¡¯d started it yesterday, why don¡¯t you check your computer again?¡± Song Tan moved to her cramped cubicle, sluggishly turned on her computer, and opened up the half-finished PPT on the desktop¡ªpictures, text, format¡ª She looked through everything carefully and thoroughly. But¡­what about the rest? How was she supposed to finish it? Opening other folders¡ªsure enough, she didn¡¯t know how to do any of it! Song¡¤Cultivator¡¤Tan steadied herself, immovable as a mountain. If she didn¡¯t know, then she didn¡¯t know¡ªshe¡¯d had enough of hard work in two lifetimes; this time, she was not going to be a wage worker. Just then, there was a loud call from the entrance of the company: ¡°Hello, your takeaway is here!¡± Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: 3. Go back to your hometown and farm_1 Chapter 3: 3. Go back to your hometown and farm_1 Song Tan snapped back to reality and accepted her takeout¡ªthis was a top-notch meal worth 188 from the most reputable private kitchen in town. However, as soon as she opened the box, the fragrance of the food mixed with a muddled scent, much like the air she found herself increasingly uncomfortable with. Song Tan felt her stomach churn, and no matter what, she couldn¡¯t eat. Just then, the boss known as ¡°King Skinner¡± among the staff walked in and immediately said, angrily, ¡°Song Tan! You still have the appetite to eat? Where¡¯s the PPT I asked for? I¡¯m telling you, if you don¡¯t hand it in by 2 o¡¯clock, don¡¯t bother keeping your job!¡± Song Tan abruptly stood up: That¡¯s right, she remembered she had something to forget! She was here to get fired! ¡°Fine, make sure to pay the wages on time; I¡¯m resigning now to go back to my hometown!¡± The entire office was stunned. Seeing Song Tan begin to pack her things, King Skinner stood there, at this moment looking bewildered and pitiful: ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t mean that¡­ ¡± Finding another employee who was obedient, hardworking, capable, and cheap was not easy for him. Huo Xueying also stopped eating and came over, intending to persuade Song Tan not to act impulsively. With the current tough job market, it wasn¡¯t easy to switch jobs. But when she suddenly noticed the part of Song Tan¡¯s head that had been shorn bare and the gauze stuck to it, she now felt a sense of grievance: ¡°If you¡¯re going to go, go! Tantan, I¡¯ll help you pack! First take care of yourself, and after work, I¡¯ll come to you!¡± The words Song Tan had just spoken were desires hidden deep within her for many years. After saying them, images of her home¡¯s green mountains, the fat mother hen clucking, and the hefty pig snorting quickly filled her mind¡­ She didn¡¯t know if the pigs at home were free of impurities, but surely they were better than those in the city, right? At this moment, she could hardly wait to go home. ¡°No need, I¡¯m serious. I¡¯ll pack up the rental later, then head straight back home!¡± Now, Huo Xueying was also dumbfounded. ¡­ Song Tan packed at an unusually fast pace. Two lifetimes of hard work were all for the sake of a better life, weren¡¯t they? With her capabilities in cultivation (though she hadn¡¯t yet started practicing), wouldn¡¯t living self-sufficiently at home be comfortable? Having obtained a temporary ID from the police station, she took a taxi back to the rental apartment with her suitcase. In the 20 square meter room, a few clothes hung near the window, and a stack of books related to work lay on the desk. On the small 1.2-meter bed with its cotton bedding set lay yesterday¡¯s hasty departure wrinkles. Looking at it, Song Tan involuntarily remembered how thrifty she used to be. She sighed silently. She dug out a cardboard box she couldn¡¯t bear to throw away, packed some simple toiletries, disassembled the bed linen set, one box of clothes, three pairs of shoes. That was it. After cleaning up a bit, she called the landlord¡ªshe was leaving early, the deposit wouldn¡¯t be returned, but she got a refund for the excess rent. She calculated she still had sixty-three thousand, five hundred yuan! She was going back to her hometown! ¡­ High-speed train, taxi. Four hours back-to-back, the now generous Song Tan didn¡¯t take the slower long-haul trains and buses as she used to. At this moment, she also stood at the roadside five or six hours earlier than usual. Looking at the babbling stream on the other side of the road, breathing in air that was different from the city¡¯s (though still somewhat muddled), she finally pulled herself out of a swaying state of mind. Coming up the slope in the distance, a motorcycle roared towards her, descending and passing through fields planted with tea trees on both sides, before eventually stopping in front of her. A short and dark-skinned man looked at her, a simple smile spreading across his honest face: ¡°Tantan, why are you on holiday?¡± The middle-aged man stepped off the bike and placed the huge suitcase on the metal rack behind the motorcycle, tucking it in tightly with rubber straps and giving it a shake before speaking: ¡°Get on, Dad will take you home. Your mom has baked some sweet potatoes, and I caught a few crucian carp yesterday to stew for you¡ªwhat happened to your forehead?¡± This was her father, Song Sancheng. Song Tan¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at this ordinary man filled with concern, managing a smile before casually touching her head, ¡°Nothing, I bumped it when I got off work, but the company keeps asking for overtime, so I decided to come home and rest for a few days.¡± ¡°You should rest, or how will you cope if you get sick at such a young age?¡± The motorcycle¡¯s ignition was forcefully kicked a few times, then it roared to life, and Song Tan instinctively grasped the rear rack, feeling the increasingly fresh sensation of the wind on her face. Up the mountain, through bends, and amidst ever-denser trees, even in the cold winter, one could see the lush green Tea Mountain and the pine forests¡­ This was her home, Yun City, Qingxi Town, Yunqiao Village. A hometown with clear mountains and waters, distinct in all four seasons. This was her new life. ¡­ The motorcycle climbed and descended for about ten minutes and finally neared the village after a long downhill stretch. Yunqiao Village was nestled in the mountains. Although the village-to-village road connections and the once-a-day bus service made leaving no longer an issue, the winding mountain roads still posed an inconvenience. Over the recent years, fewer and fewer young people remained in the village. The elderly were gradually passing away, the young were moving away, and the population left behind in the village was becoming increasingly sparse. All told, there were now barely 30 families in the surrounding area. But what did that matter to a Cultivator? What deep forest or remote mountain hadn¡¯t they lived in? Spending months in retreat, sometimes even decades, it didn¡¯t matter whether there were people around or not. ¡­ Song Tan got off the motorcycle, feeling an intriguing sensation stirring inside her¡ªa vibration from her Spirit Plant, a sign that the deep forests were indeed more suited for cultivation. Thinking of the abilities she would regain after restoring her cultivation, Song Tan became more confident about her future. In the Cultivation World, she was a dual-elemental cultivator of wood and water, practicing techniques teeming with vitality. Yet the path of cultivation was arduous, and forming a Golden Core was difficult. Without a Golden Core, in the dog-eat-dog Cultivation World, she couldn¡¯t control her own fate. In search of an opportunity for a breakthrough, Song Tan had spent a century cultivating Spirit Plants in the back mountain, carefully understanding life and death, growth and decline, weathering storms and sunshine, dew and frost. Nurturing plants with Spiritual Energy had almost become a second nature to her. Now blessed with an extra lifetime, returning to the countryside, she didn¡¯t seek much, just to plant something she could stomach to eat. The food of the mundane world was too impure for her tastes; she really struggled to swallow it! With this thought, her empty stomach growled louder, and she was greeted by a wafting fragrance. A short and stout woman emerged from the kitchen on the other side of the courtyard: ¡°Tantan, what do you want to eat tonight? I¡¯ve made crucian carp soup and grilled a few as well. How about I stir-fry some eggs for you? Don¡¯t you love eggs? It¡¯s too late for slaughtering a chicken now, but I¡¯ll stew one for you tomorrow¡ªOld Song, go pluck a bunch of cilantro, we¡¯ll add it to the fish soup later.¡± Cilantro is another name for coriander, and everyone in the Song Tan family loved its flavor. Seeing her mother, Wu Lan, Song Tan also smiled, ¡°Add a couple more handfuls of da fei; they never use it in Ning City when making fish, and I¡¯ve missed it for so long.¡± The people from Yun City loved to add this herb when cooking fish for its unique aroma. It was only after she started working in Ning City that Song Tan learned that ¡°da fei,¡± scientifically known as ageratum, was not consumed by people from other regions, including Ning City. Wu Lan laughed, ¡°How could those restaurants outside make delicious meals? But in this deep winter, where could we find ageratum? Let¡¯s just use cilantro.¡± Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: I grow corn to raise you_1 Chapter 4: I grow corn to raise you_1 The old family yard was quite spacious, the cement floor had already cracked. Despite the deep winter, a tiny purple pimpernel managed to poke through the fissure, tremblingly blooming a small purple flower in the cold wind. Song Tan gazed at the flower, feeling that even this little wildflower seemed graceful and beautiful in a different environment. Song Sancheng placed the luggage in the main room and hurriedly called out to his daughter: ¡°Tantan, it¡¯s cold outside, come in quickly and warm up by the fire.¡± As he spoke, he also rubbed his hands and feet: ¡°Riding a motorcycle is really cold!¡± Song Tan was slow to react, then realized¡ªyes, riding in the winter was indeed very cold. But she didn¡¯t feel it much. She spread her hands and saw that her palms were as white and lustrous as jade; the desperate rush to repair her body in the car accident, to dodge the inevitable fate, had also tempered her body to some extent. However, it was quite limited. For example, at this moment, a gust of cold wind blew over, and Song Tan shivered uncontrollably. She was momentarily stunned, then quickly plunged into the house. This was a small room for keeping warm. It wasn¡¯t large, and in one corner by the window stood an iron stove with a flat iron plate on top. The chimney was long and bent at the ceiling, then extended towards a hole in another wall. This way, the fierce flame in the stove raged, but the scorching smoke was drawn out of the house through the chimney. As soon as the fire was started, the entire room became warm and toasty, comparable to a heated room in the vast Northeast. Song Sancheng had not seen his daughter for a long time¡ªin big cities, the downside was few holidays and difficulty buying tickets during peak periods. The last time he saw her was during the New Year. But it was only a three-day holiday, and she went back to work overtime on the fourth day, working very hard. His first child was such a daughter, and he always went along with whatever she said. Even after his son was born, the habit stayed the same. At this moment, pondering what to say, he then reached out with his callous hands and took a baked sweet potato from the stove: ¡°Hungry or not? Have a sweet potato to fill you up!¡± He didn¡¯t mind the heat, and now Song Tan didn¡¯t either. She reached out to take it: ¡°Dad, you eat too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not eating!¡± Song Sancheng immediately waved his hand: ¡°When I was little, your grandma would make sweet potatoes for us every day. You can get heartburn if you eat too many, and it¡¯s no good.¡± Song Tan fell silent for a moment. And Song Sancheng eventually found a topic: ¡°How long are you staying at home this time?¡± Song Tan opened her mouth. She was always direct and unyielding in the Cultivation World, but now, the words that came out weighed a ton. ¡°Dad, I resigned. I want to come back home and farm.¡± Song Sancheng fell silent immediately, and after a long while, he sighed: ¡°Tantan, you don¡¯t know how hard farming is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a college graduate coming back to farm. I¡¯m not afraid of being laughed at, but you really can¡¯t stand the hardship.¡± Implicitly, he was disapproving. Song Tan was not in a hurry: ¡°Dad, when I was young, I used to help with farming jobs like picking peanuts, breaking corn, harvesting tea leaves, watering the vegetable garden.¡± ¡°That was just a few tasks!¡± Song Sancheng pointed at the pesticide barrel stored in the opposite junk room: ¡°You can¡¯t even carry that barrel!¡± It was an old-fashioned blue plastic pesticide barrel, weighing about thirty pounds when filled with water, and it had to be carried on one¡¯s back while moving about to spray the fields. But compared to digging in Tea Mountain, reaping rice, and planting seedlings, this was already a very light job. Don¡¯t think that rural areas don¡¯t use pesticides; nowadays, pests have strong resistance to chemicals. If everyone else is spraying and you don¡¯t, then just wait for your grains and tea leaves to be devoured! During the conversation, Wu Lan brought in a bowl of milky-white fish soup, its fragrance filling the air. Even though it had a slight taste of impurities, it was already much better than what she had tasted during the day. ¡°Tantan, drink more soup tonight. The crucian carp was caught by your dad from that wild pond; it¡¯s very nutritious. You should replenish yourself.¡± Turning her head to see the small bandage on her daughter¡¯s head, and after hearing that it was from a small accident, she was even more determined to serve her daughter an extra couple of bowls of soup that evening! Wu Lan placed the basin on the iron surface of the stove to heat, and in a blink saw the sweet potato in Song Tan¡¯s hands: ¡°Tantan, don¡¯t eat the sweet potato now. This is our local white-heart sweet potato, starchy and choking. Save it for tonight, or you won¡¯t have an appetite for dinner later.¡± Without waiting for a response, she hurried back to the kitchen. While Song Tan set the sweet potato aside and looked at Song Sancheng with a complex expression, she went over to the clutter and picked up the heavy blue medicine bucket, opened the faucet beside her, and filled it with water directly. ¡°Tantan!¡± Song Sancheng followed her out¡ªwatching his daughter¡¯s effortless actions, he felt an inexplicable twinge of heartache. His daughter had always been obedient and sensible, economizing on food and expenses. She was reluctant to spend money even when working outside, all for the sake of their home. Now the child had come back with an injury on her head and said she had resigned; she must have been mistreated in Ning City¡­ No wonder, every phone call she was working overtime, living in such a tiny room, how could she not suffer? At this moment, Song Sancheng was wavering. If the child wanted to come back and farm, let her farm. If it¡¯s really too hard, they could always find her a job in their city district later; at least it would be close to home. Just as Song Sancheng was about to speak, he saw that the medicine bucket was full, and his ¡°fragile¡± daughter was carrying it as easily as if it were a toy teddy bear. In that moment, the fifty-eight-year-old authentic farmer Song Sancheng looked at his own rough hands, feeling a sense of bewilderment: Why do I find that bucket so heavy? Am I getting old? ¡­ Just then, a cheerful shout suddenly came from afar: ¡°Sister! Sister!¡± Song Tan instinctively turned her head and saw a young boy in a black cotton vest running towards them from the road. He was quite tall, around one meter eighty, and slender. But his skin was fair, and there was a small dimple on his cheek. Now, smiling as he ran over, his entire being radiated joy: ¡°Sister!¡± This was her younger brother, Song Qiao, eighteen years old in body, but¡­ six in mind. Wu Lan had given birth to him at forty, and as prenatal check-ups weren¡¯t customary in the countryside, he was born this way, forever with the mind of a six- or seven-year-old. But he was well-behaved and sensible, and it was Song Tan who had raised him from a young age. Until she left home for school and then stayed in Ning City¡­ Song Qiao stood in front of Song Tan, his eyes sparkling, looking up at her obediently like a little dog. Song Tan stretched out her hand, and the boy obediently lowered his head for her to touch his cold face: ¡°Qiaoqiao.¡± ¡°Hmm!¡± ¡°I¡¯m back to keep you company, okay?¡± ¡°Good!¡± he exclaimed loudly. Then he hesitated as he looked at Song Sancheng: ¡°But dad said, you have to earn money, it¡¯s tiring, and I can¡¯t cling to you.¡± Song Tan laughed and checked his hands to see if his fingernails were clean¡ªthey were well-kept, no digging in the mud during the cold winter. ¡°Earning money is too tiring; your sister doesn¡¯t want to earn it anymore. I came back to be with Qiaoqiao, to be with mom and dad, and all of us together. Is that okay?¡± Song Qiao, not understanding the significance of one of the few college graduates in the village returning to farm, simply cheered: ¡°Yay!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sister! I can plant corn, I¡¯ll take care of you!¡± This time, even Song Sancheng, who had always looked troubled, laughed: ¡°All you do is put corn kernels in the ground and then break them off the stalks. What do you know about farming corn!¡± Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: 5. Sectioned Field_1 Chapter 5: 5. Sectioned Field_1 Song Sancheng reluctantly agreed to let her return to farming, and Song Tan truly let out a sigh of relief. Next was her mother, Wu Lan. Just at this moment, Wu Lan spoke up, ¡°Dinnertime¡ªQiaoqiao, go wash your hands and serve the dishes!¡± Song Qiao obediently ran over. In the dead of winter, she turned on the outdoor tap and let the water run, then diligently started to serve the dishes. A milk-white carp soup topped with a handful of coriander was so fragrant one sniff was enough to tell how fresh the fish was! Then came eight braised carps, not large, each weighing only about two to three hundred grams. Now paired with coriander, chillies, and minced green onion, they were braised until the rich aroma aggressively filled the entire room! If it had been just a bit warmer, the fish bellies would surely have contained even tastier roe! Next was radish stewed with pot-steamed pork. Pot-steamed pork is a local cooking method, salting pork with a good ratio of fat to lean, cutting it into small pieces, and stir-frying it in some peanut oil until the pork turned golden and released some delicious lard, which was then combined with the meat in a pot. Once cooled, a thick layer of white lard would tightly seal the meat. Covered and stored in a cool place, it was ready to scoop and eat at any time¡­ Now that it was stewed, even the fatty parts were fragrantly sizzling, not the least bit greasy! Next was a plate of stir-fried wild garlic with eggs. The finely chopped wild garlic was a vibrant green, and the homegrown eggs fried to a golden hue made a perfect pairing, with a mouthwatering aroma! Finally, there was the signature dish, ¡°Red-beaked Green Parrot¡±! The crisp and tender spinach tasted sweet upon entry, mixed with hotly stir-fried garlic¡­. Fairy Song Tan plumped herself down on the stool, and flatly refused to budge an inch! Her little brother Song Qiao was a sweetheart. By now he had already brought over the rice bowls, ¡°Sister, I helped catch the fish! Eat more!¡± Song Sancheng didn¡¯t care about much, but his fishing dignity was inviolable, ¡°You just baited the hook with an earthworm, what do you mean you caught it¡­¡± Only to be suppressed by Wu Lan with a single sentence, ¡°Qiaoqiao baited the worm well, that¡¯s why he could catch fish! Otherwise, why did you catch so many this time, right Qiaoqiao?¡± Song Qiao also looked at his dad, huffing through his nose, ¡°Exactly!¡± The family hierarchy was quite clear. Song Tan sipped the fish soup her brother had ladled for her, tasting its freshness. The only drawback was that behind the fresh taste, there was a sense of murkiness that only she could sense. However, even though there was no Spiritual Energy and impurities still existed, she was now ravenous enough to eat. After all, it was much better than the takeout she had during the day. ¡­ Wu Lan looked at her daughter serving herself another bowl, then looked at her pale and frail appearance, feeling both proud and heartbroken: ¡°Eat more, there¡¯s still plenty in the pot. Tomorrow I¡¯ll cook on the clay stove, then I¡¯ll make you a pot crust soaked in chicken soup!¡± Their family¡¯s kitchen was large and the old clay stove hadn¡¯t been dismantled. Every time Song Tan came home, she would definitely enjoy some pot crust rice. Song Tan¡¯s heart stirred, displaying a pitiful look, ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t want to go to work anymore, it¡¯s so tiring.¡± She intended to appear weak, but forgot she had spent a hundred years cultivating and had lost touch with her mother¡¯s temperament. For instance, right now, she heard Wu Lan also sigh, ¡°What can we do then? Maybe you should change jobs. If the money¡¯s less, it doesn¡¯t matter, your dad and I have saved up quite a bit, enough for your brother and you when we are old.¡± With Song Qiao in his condition and the hospital declaring there was nothing they could do, the elderly couple was heartbroken and had already decided to spend their old age with their son. Things like marriage, finding a woman to take care of him¡­ That was impossible. Qiaoqiao might be simple-minded, but he was a good kid too. In this day and age, even one¡¯s own children might show aversion; let alone finding someone else. Better not to wrong others, nor let them aggrieve Qiaoqiao. For years, they had scrimped and saved, all to ensure they had sufficient funds for retirement, aiming to not burden their daughter. With her good looks and university education, Tantan couldn¡¯t afford to waste time in the rural countryside¡­ Their village didn¡¯t have anyone under thirty anymore! All they hoped for was that she¡¯d find a good job, marry into a good family, and not endure hardships¡­ Song Tan had no idea that in just this short moment, her mother had a whirlwind of thoughts. Seeing that showing weakness was futile, she decided to just be direct, ¡°Mom, I want to go home and farm.¡± As the words left her mouth and she saw Wu Lan reaching for a branch, Song Tan instinctively tensed her back, but then quickly added¡ª ¡°And also to recuperate, Mom, I¡¯m too weak!¡± It was then that Wu Lan finally steadied her breathing, pondering for a while, ¡°That¡¯s true, you¡¯re still so young, your job is too draining, you need to rest.¡± ¡°Alright, stay at home for a few months. It¡¯s just after the Spring Festival and not too busy, you can use the time to exercise a bit.¡± Song Tan and Song Sancheng exchanged glances, both falling silent. However, there was one thing Song Tan hadn¡¯t lied about¡ªher body was indeed weak on the inside. Despite her strength and resistance to cold, it was only because she had been tempered by Spiritual Energy during a car accident. But the city itself had thin Spiritual Energy, and at that time her internal organs had been gravely damaged, her life hanging by a thread. It was only by desperately gathering Spiritual Energy that she managed to stay alive¡­ Now, though hospital checks showed everything was fine, she alone knew that her body was not fully recovered and her spirit was severely depleted. Staying in the countryside to recuperate was, in no part, a lie. ¡­ The meal was finished without any mishaps. After eating her fill, Song Tan was visibly more spirited. Song Qiao busied herself with washing the dishes, keen to show off in front of her sister. Meanwhile, sitting with her family by the stove, Song Tan contemplated her next business move. With the Spiritual Energy here, Song Tan was still very hopeful about the future¡ªgiven the current wellness trend, everyone loved products from the mountains and wilderness. The things she grew with Spiritual Energy would surely be in demand. But before that, there was the obstacle of her mother to overcome! Even if she were to lease a field and Bags Mountain to make a big move, Song Tan, even with a hundred years of cultivating immortals, knew well that her sixty thousand yuan would be insufficient; she couldn¡¯t avoid tapping into her parents¡¯ savings. Just by talking, a university student suddenly claiming that farming could be lucrative¡­ Song Tan believed that Wu Lan would definitely take up a tree branch and whip her while scolding, ¡°Just what are you capable of!¡± ¡°Since when can you farm!¡± ¡°If farming was so lucrative, why is everyone moving to the city!¡± ¡°If farming was so profitable, why are your parents still living in the village!¡± Well then, one step at a time, she thought, starting with cleaning up her own fields. It was the end of February by the solar calendar, just after the Lantern Festival, a perfect time when all things began to revival. Returning home at this time, she could begin by recuperating and activating the Spiritual Energy. Once the spring rains started, she planned to first produce results with her own fields and then gradually expand from there. What she had in abundance now were patience and time. But before that¡ª ¡°Mom, about our fields and land at home, carve out a section for me to try out on my own, no need for your help.¡± Wu Lan shoved another log into the stove, saying nonchalantly, ¡°So, do you want to farm or dig into the mountain? You can mess with the field in the corner of the bamboo grove; it¡¯s been abandoned for several years. Have your dad tidy it up for you.¡± ¡°As for the mountain¡­ what¡¯s there to divide? The mountain behind the house has always been ours, along with our old Tea Mountain, and there¡¯s one further away¡­ if you can manage to dig, you¡¯re free to do as you like.¡± Song Tan: !!! Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: 6. Do not imitate the pigs call_1 Chapter 6: 6. Do not imitate the pig¡¯s call_1 Song Tan was genuinely shocked. ¡°Our family is that rich?¡± Mountains and lands everywhere. ¡°What money?¡± Wu Lan didn¡¯t even lift her head, ¡°All were passed down from your grandfather. Just barren hills and fields, unsellable and unleased. They¡¯re just lying fallow!¡± Song Tan fell silent. Now, the entire village had less than thirty households, with an average age of forty to fifty. Nowadays, grains weren¡¯t worth much; it was just about scraping by with enough to eat. So, not just their family, but others had large swathes of land lying fallow too. There wasn¡¯t any other reason; it was just a lack of labor. Their area had a lot of mountainous terrain, making large agricultural machinery unusable. Small machinery was expensive as it was self-funded, and you couldn¡¯t even save up the cost with a year¡¯s earnings from an acre of land. Plus, with the twisty roads, there wasn¡¯t much to sell outside. Growing rice and wheat was just for their own consumption. Toiling all year with irrigation, fertilizing, pest control, and weeding cost quite a bit of money. And the harvest? In the face of labor shortages, they could only harvest enough for their own consumption. Looking back, in the town¡¯s supermarket, it was just over two yuan per pound. Though the taste wasn¡¯t great, it saved the trouble, and the cost was even less! Better to let the land lie fallow. To really make money, they had to go out and find work after the busy first half of the year! Like Wu Lan, who last year went to a shoe factory to thread shoelaces, earning six thousand a month, and only reluctantly returned home for the New Year. The year before that was Song Sancheng, who went to Imperial City to work on a construction site, earning four hundred a day for three months, making over thirty thousand, losing over ten pounds, and resting for more than half a month upon returning. After all, they were getting on in years! Song Tan felt a surge of sorrow in her heart and promised, ¡°Mom, rest assured, I¡¯ll definitely make sure we live a good life!¡± Wu Lan didn¡¯t discourage her but retorted, ¡°If you can handle it, I¡¯ll let you take care of the family¡¯s fields and mountains. Just don¡¯t waste the vegetable plot.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll let you see what real hardship is.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re talking about taking on both mountains and fields, and it¡¯s nearly the end of February. What are you planning to plant come spring?¡± Song Tan: ¡­ She really hadn¡¯t thought this through! She had only traveled back to this time for half a day and hadn¡¯t cultivated any ¡°Spiritual Energy¡± to speak of. What was the point of planting anything at all? But under Wu Lan¡¯s intimidating gaze, Song Tan decisively changed her answer, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry. When have I ever undertaken anything without assurance, from childhood till now?¡± That was true, the daughter was always both obedient and sensible¡ªexcept for this time. Wu Lan ¡°hmmed¡± and waited for what would come next. Song Tan then said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, let Dad rent a few machines tomorrow to till the fallow lands.¡± ¡°The plots where we have crops I won¡¯t touch.¡± ¡°I have plans for a few hilltops as well, but we¡¯ll need people to dig into them, the machines can¡¯t get up there¡ªjust hire the people, Mom, I¡¯ll pay.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll pay?¡± Wu Lan looked at her meaningfully, ¡°Girl, digging into a hill costs two hundred yuan per person per day, you only have those sixty thousand yuan, so use it sparingly, otherwise our family doesn¡¯t have that much capital for you to squander.¡± Song Tan¡¯s expression cracked¡ªwhy was she so obedient before! Reporting her savings like a mama¡¯s girl! After tidying up the kitchen, Song Qiao ran in, her hands bright red, which again upset Wu Lan, ¡°How many times have I told you, use warm water in the winter! Why don¡¯t you listen?¡± The two were trying to train Song Qiao, teaching him household tasks bit by bit, fearful of what might come someday¡­ but Song Qiao didn¡¯t know how to take care of himself, and this practical process was filled with frustration. For example, right now, Song Qiao didn¡¯t care about her, hugging close to Song Tan: ¡°Big sis, I want to watch Peppa! Mom won¡¯t let me watch!¡± Ay yo wei! Who could reject such a precious child! So Song Tan immediately pulled out her phone, ¡°Here we¡ª¡± She stumbled. The phone she pulled out was criss-crossed with cracks, clearly dancing on the edge of being scrapped¡ª Wu Lan glanced at her own thousand yuan phone, suddenly feeling a pang of sourness. ¡°I know it¡¯s tough for you out there, but we don¡¯t need your money at home, don¡¯t be too thrifty.¡± Then, softening her voice, ¡°If you want to farm, just farm well. The family has nothing else but plenty of land; you can do whatever you want with it.¡± Turning around, she even took out her phone and transferred two thousand yuan to her, ¡°Go to town tomorrow, buy a new one.¡± Song Tan blinked in bewilderment, then looked at her phone again¡ªthe unexpected joy haha! However, the next moment, she heard Song Qiao next to her making ¡°hmm hmm hmm¡± sounds, humming while watching the two of them. At this point, Wu Lan couldn¡¯t keep up her soft heartedness, and roared: ¡°Song Qiaoqiao! I told you if you mimic that pig noise again, no more TV!¡± ¡­ In the quiet of the night, Song Tan finally had the chance to try to attract Spiritual Energy. The Spiritual Energy twinkled like stars, slowly surging with the wind in the quiet winter night village. As she practiced her heart method, the Spiritual Energy, invisible to the common eye like fireflies, slowly converged bit by bit. Like rain nourishing her battered body that had escaped death, refining her vessel¡­ At last, as the dawn began to break, the Spiritual Energy, which had become richer during the process, was finally absorbed into her Dantian by Song Tan. At this moment, her body was full of sticky black impurities, and the room¡¯s scent became increasingly intoxicating. Song Tan had to stealthily head to the shower room like a thief¡ªthankful for the new rural development; even though she wasn¡¯t as afraid of the cold now, she still had to say: water heaters are amazing! But the trouble was, the filth on her body was so difficult to scrub off that after bathing, not only was the hot water gone, but Wu Lan had also woken up. Bathing on a cold winter¡¯s morning, and using up all the water heater¡¯s hot water for cold water?! She must be out of her mind! Therefore, in an instant, the whole family got up¡ªQiaoqiao brewed ginger soup, Song Sancheng fired up the stove, and Wu Lan hurried to stew water on the stove again; she must not catch a cold! Finally, when it was time to head to the street, Fairy Song Tan, wrapped in an old military coat, and wearing a grandmother-level wool hat, was allowed to sit on the back of the motorcycle. Motorcycles are hard to start in winter; Song Sancheng in front kept pumping the kickstarter, booming as she calculated what she would do today¡ª First of all, go to the town¡¯s police station to get an ID card. Thank heavens, because nowadays everyone uses mobile payment, she didn¡¯t have any cards on her when she had the accident, which spared her a lot of trouble. Then buy a new phone. Once these two important tasks were done, next was to buy some farming tools, fertilizer, and most importantly¡ªseeds. As for what seeds to buy, Song Tan already had ideas in her mind. At this moment, sitting on the motorcycle, looking at the rolling mountains they had just passed, then looking at the just-risen red sun in the sky, she felt a surge of pride: ¡°Dad! It won¡¯t take long, and I will make our village more beautiful! Our days will be better!¡± Song Sancheng, riding ahead, also shouted, ¡°Tantan, about that sixty thousand yuan, spend it carefully!¡± Chapter 7 - Chapter 7: Im a big shot!_1 Chapter 7: I¡¯m a big shot!_1 The small town¡¯s police station didn¡¯t require queuing, and Song Tan was able to get a replacement for her ID card in just ten minutes. Now, having efficiently picked out a domestically made phone for three thousand yuan, she pondered over the modest sum in her pocket with deep regret. Just sixty thousand yuan (to be precise, over sixty-two thousand, adding the two thousand yuan subsidy from Wu Lan, making it sixty-four thousand), Song Tan had also planned a budget last night. How to budget? Buying a cell phone, farming tools, seeds, and fertilizers¡­ Could she save the rest? No, she had to hire people to dig up mountains, lands, and all the places she wanted to plant¡­ That amount of money wouldn¡¯t last long for labor costs. ¡°Dad, mom said that I can do whatever I want with the fields and hills, just not to touch the vegetable garden¡ªso, are there any machines that can till the soil?¡± If she couldn¡¯t afford it, she could rent! Song Sancheng was still reluctant, ¡°Tantan, do you really want to farm? It¡¯s okay to try a little for experience, but why are you spreading everything so big? When the villagers find out, wouldn¡¯t they say you¡¯re being reckless?¡± Song Tan herself didn¡¯t mind at all, but Song Sancheng and Wu Lan had lived here their whole lives, and it was impossible for them to completely disregard gossip and rumors. Therefore, she advised, ¡°Dad, even if I just farm a small plot, people will talk. Since that¡¯s the case, I might as well do it with a splash.¡± Song Sancheng, not articulate, didn¡¯t know what to say and could only sigh again, ¡°Your mom and I discussed it last night, we can¡¯t touch the two hundred thousand we saved for our retirement, so we can only give you sixty thousand.¡± ¡°Tantan, it¡¯s not easy to make money, don¡¯t waste it.¡± Song Tan suddenly felt her eyes grow warm. She knew her father wasn¡¯t lying. Rural families, raising a college student, along with a feeble-minded son, and even with both parents taking turns to work, how much could they save? This was truly all they had. Song Sancheng had no idea what his daughter was thinking, and at the moment, he was still worried, ¡°Since you¡¯re going to do it, you have to consider, why would you make money? Otherwise, there are so many in the village who farm, who wouldn¡¯t be better than you?¡± ¡°If you aren¡¯t confident, think it over again.¡± Song Tan fell silent, too. In the Cultivation World, no one cared about what you did or didn¡¯t do as long as your realm was high enough. Just like her Water Wood Spiritual Method, she sought breakthroughs by planting Spirit Plants at Yinmoon Peak for a century. There were many cases like this. But now, in the ordinary world, she could squander sixty thousand yuan, but how could she dare let her parents worry about their hard-earned money? But how could she explain the matters of cultivation? Song Tan pondered for a moment, ¡°Dad, to be honest, I¡¯ve been thinking about coming back for a long time. Our village is close to a water source, and there are winding mountain roads. The area hasn¡¯t been polluted over the years, making it a particularly good place.¡± That was true, but with desolate mountains and wilderness, neither the mountains majestic nor precipitous, the forest lands and fields were mostly planted casually, and then most were left fallow¡­ Even if one wanted to develop the area, it really was difficult to know where to start. For so many years, there really hadn¡¯t been any pollution. Otherwise, Song Tan wouldn¡¯t have been able to succeed with qi induction so easily last night. ¡°What¡¯s so good about it?¡± Song Sancheng was indifferent, ¡°Villages like ours are everywhere.¡± But Song Tan spoke softly, ¡°Dad, the reason I dare to come back and farm is that an expert came here to test and said that the quality of the soil and water is very high. If we grow crops here, they will taste better than those from other places.¡± ¡°He is a professional, and what good does lying do him? So, feeling I couldn¡¯t keep up with my job, I wanted to come back and give it a try.¡± ¡°Dad, if I succeed, I could stay in the village with you and mom forever.¡± The last sentence moved Song Sancheng. Raising sons and daughters, didn¡¯t he wish for the family to be together? But ever since the children went to a boarding school in town for junior high, and then high school, college, work¡­counting it all up, the time they as parents spent with their children was minimal. Now with his daughter saying this, Song Sancheng couldn¡¯t help but believe¡ªyes, someone came to test it specifically, what if it were true? So he criticized himself a bit and chimed in, ¡°Yes, the vegetables we grow here have a real veggie taste compared to those sold in your supermarkets!¡± The father and daughter duo marched off to look at farming tools, full of energy and pride. ¡°By the way, Dad, how much is the tillage machinery we use to plough the land?¡± Song Sancheng thought for a moment, ¡°It seems you can get one for about five thousand yuan¡­¡± Song Tan immediately decided, ¡°I¡¯ll buy one!¡± ¡°Buy what!¡± Song Sancheng glared at her, ¡°You¡¯ll need to fix it after using it a couple of times. Besides, from the bamboo forest to the pond, we have seven or eight big fields. Can you handle all that, and do it all in one go?¡± The fields here were all terraced, suitable only for small machinery. While cheaper, the smaller machines were prone to problems. In this regard, Song Sancheng, unlike Song Tan who only knew how to use spells, had more experience. Following Song Sancheng, Song Tan saw him enter a machinery shop. With just a few words, he settled on a price of 500 yuan per day for tilling the land. ¡°That¡¯s really expensive¡­¡± Song Sancheng kept muttering to himself even after leaving the shop. Nowadays, not many people farmed, but there were still some, and it was the time to prepare for spring plowing, a minor peak season. Moreover, they weren¡¯t just renting the machinery but also hiring labor. The fields had been neglected for years and were semi-fallow, which made the price jaw-dropping for Song Sancheng. However, he was clearly an optimist and soon cheered up again, ¡°Machinery makes the work easier. Theirs is more expensive, but they plow deeper than others, which is good.¡± In fact, this was the only shop in town that sold and rented out agricultural machinery. To go further, they would have to go to the neighboring town. Song Tan looked at her dad and found him adorable in every way. ¡°By the way, Tantan, what do you plan to plant first? If you want to sow rice, you need to clean up the uppermost pond. It has been left untended for so many years, it¡¯s full of water chestnuts now.¡± People here liked to eat, so they used to grow both rice and wheat. But generally, rice was more commonly grown. Of course, no one grows it now! Song Tan looked at her dad, feeling like a low-profile tycoon¡¯s child, ¡°Is that pond ours too?¡± The pond¡¯s edge was lined with weeping willows and wild herbs, and the water was clear and clean. In Song Tan¡¯s memory, although the water chestnuts were small, only the size of chestnuts, their sweet and fresh flavor after peeling was incomparably different from what was sold in outside markets. She hadn¡¯t tasted anything like it in years! ¡°What else!¡± exclaimed Song Sancheng as if it were obvious, ¡°We used to grow rice at home. If we used someone else¡¯s pond, they wouldn¡¯t let us have the water, would they? How would we grow rice then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that. The bamboo forest area, including the pond in front of the gate, it¡¯s all ours.¡± ¡°I was the youngest, so when the property was divided, your elder uncle got another mountain, and we were the ones nearby.¡± ¡°Only the pond on the distant hillside was dug by the commune back in the day.¡± Song Sancheng sighed with chagrin, clearly beginning to worry about money. Song Tan was too shocked to speak. She had even considered coming back to lease the mountain fields, but after seeing this, what was there to lease? She was the landowner to the core! Filled with vigor, Song Tan then pointed to a seed store in front of them, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s start with buying a few dozen kilograms of milk vetch!¡± ¡­ ¡­ [Milk vetch can be grown in spring and autumn. The rhizobia in it can enrich the soil, making it an excellent fertilizer. Plus, it¡¯s quite nutritious, tastes good, and blooms with light purple flowers¡­ Moreover, it has a short growth cycle; it can sprout within a month or two. Both humans and livestock like pigs, cows, and sheep can eat it!] [Supplement: I¡¯ve seen many friends in the comment section asking, so let me explain. Some small agricultural machines are not expensive on their own, but they require skilled labor to operate and consume fuel, and frequent repairs are indeed a reality. What Tantan¡¯s dad was discussing is spending 500 yuan for a full day¡¯s package, including labor, fuel, and repairs. Renting can save labor and money when initial funds are tight.] Chapter 8 - Chapter 8: 8.Milk Vetch_1 Chapter 8: 8.Milk Vetch_1 Song Sancheng frowned, ¡°Are you planning to plant rice on dozens of acres of land?¡± Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for so much milk vetch to fertilize the soil, dozens of pounds? Milk vetch only requires five or six pounds of seeds per acre. Now at the end of February, people are still wearing down jackets and heavy coats. Once March passes and the temperature quickly rises, as long as there¡¯s no spring cold snap and the day-night temperature difference isn¡¯t so great, most crops can be planted. If milk vetch is planted, at the very least it wouldn¡¯t be until the end of April or May that the soil could be turned over to plant something else¡­ but that would work too, it wouldn¡¯t delay the planting of other crops. According to Song Sancheng¡¯s farming experience, May is the most suitable month for planting. Every year, March and April pose risks of spring cold snaps, with large day-night temperature differences that could frostbite the sprouting seeds, making it unsuitable. It¡¯s just that he wasn¡¯t comfortable starting with spending so much money and time. Last night, Song Tan thought long and hard, and now was calm and unhurried, ¡°The two fields at the bottom will be planted with rice for our own family¡¯s consumption.¡± Together, those two fields add up to three or four acres. Nowadays, the yield of rice is also high, enough to feed the family and even give some to friends and relatives. Song Tan didn¡¯t consider planting more, as rice farming is laborious, and he didn¡¯t want to plant too much of it. Raising fish in the rice paddies is also something to consider trying. ¡°The other fields will first be planted with milk vetch to fertilize, and when it gets warmer I¡¯ll plant vegetables.¡± This time, Song Sancheng didn¡¯t oppose, ¡°Planting vegetables is good, they sell well. Later, we can take them to the market on a tricycle.¡± Low cost, quick harvest, and easier than planting rice. Song Tan smiled, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was planning too.¡± As if. How many people are there in the town? If going, it would be to the city. In fact, last night, reflecting on her own work, Song Tan had a different idea¡ªnowadays, people like watching pastoral videos for stress relief and tranquility. But with so many rural areas around, how could she quickly catch people¡¯s attention? Either be beautiful or unique. Her hometown Yunqiao Village is pretty ordinary. Therefore, she must focus on the ¡°beautiful¡± aspect. Milk vetch has a short growing cycle, it¡¯s hardy and easy to plant, and its blooming is beautiful enough. When the time comes, she¡¯ll make a video, and she¡¯ll rely on the continuous milk vetch flowers to attract viewers for her first shot. Otherwise, with so much farming and vegetable planting, when could she create a premium product? ¡­ At the end of February, the agricultural supply store wasn¡¯t very busy. When Song Tan asked for 70 pounds of milk vetch seeds, the owner was quite surprised, ¡°How much land are you planting? The original seeds are enough with five pounds per acre, while the medicinal seeds require ten pounds. The prices are the same, ten yuan per pound.¡± Original seeds are natural seeds that haven¡¯t been treated. Medicinal seeds are the ones with pesticide coatings to prevent insects and diseases, offering better resistance. Song Tan thought to herself that she couldn¡¯t have cultivated Spirit Plants for a hundred and ten years without having some pest control methods, so she made a resolute choice: ¡°I want the original seeds!¡± Besides milk vetch, she needed to buy all the other seeds as well, such as vegetable seeds, starting from the short-cycle bok choy to seedlings that need to be raised like peppers, eggplants, cucumbers¡­ everything had to be prepared. The local seeds might not be as comprehensive as those online, but for a novice, they have the best adaptability. So, by the end of her purchases, Song Tan had spent over a thousand yuan, which made Song Sancheng¡¯s heart twinge. Song Tan was still asking! ¡°Do you have rice seeds? I want ones with good taste.¡± The owner looked up, ¡°We do, this Long Grain Fragrant variety has an amazing taste, and you can¡¯t buy it for ten yuan a pound. It just has low yield, with an output of only around eight hundred to a thousand pounds per acre.¡± Song Tan couldn¡¯t help but sigh¡ªtechnology truly is productive force! In the Cultivation World, those Spirit Grains without hybrid optimization, despite her efforts and Spiritual Energy, would yield only about five or six hundred pounds per acre at most. ¡°How much are they selling for?¡± The owner didn¡¯t beat around the bush, ¡°These seeds are expensive, eighty yuan per pound. You need two pounds per acre.¡± Eight pounds of seeds for four acres of land, how expensive could that get? Thinking of the fragrant pure rice, Song Tan¡¯s mouth was already watering, ¡°I¡¯ll take it!¡± ¡­ After spending two thousand yuan on seeds, Song Sancheng took a drag from his cigarette, speaking earnestly: ¡°Tantan, there¡¯s no rush to buy things, take your time. Plowing the field later will also be costly, you need to prepare quite a bit of money,¡± That plow machine needs to be fitted with different depth harrows, and if you buy it, those have to be matched separately. Since they were renting, there wasn¡¯t this trouble. But their fields hadn¡¯t been plowed for many years, so they¡¯d have to hire people to clear the weeds and miscellaneous trees, costing no less than 150 per person per day. For the seven plots, finishing in one day would require around a dozen people, and there goes another 2000 yuan. If they didn¡¯t hire people, it would delay things, affecting their farming. Then, they¡¯d have to set a fire in the fields before they could begin plowing. After turning and airing the soil for two days, they could start planting. Even with machinery, their fields could at most manage deep plowing of five mu a day. For fifteen mu, that would take three days, and 1500 yuan. And then there would be the subsequent expenses for fertilizers and pesticides¡­ When Song Sancheng thought about the money spent, he felt his daughter was spending way too much! ¡°With all those vegetables you¡¯re planting, won¡¯t you need to set up greenhouses for the seedlings? Didn¡¯t you say you needed to hire people to dig into the mountain? What are your plans for the mountain?¡± Calculating all this, Song Tan felt a bit overwhelmed too. Work hadn¡¯t even started, and tens of thousands of yuan were already planned to be spent. Song Tan made a decisive decision, ¡°Dad, we won¡¯t dig into the mountain for now. I plan to grow black fungus and white fungus on the mountain, using the oak trees there to culture the spores, so there¡¯s no need to clear them out.¡± There were many oak trees, also known as cork trees, locally. The wood was solid, and it burned well, which was what Song Tan¡¯s family used for heating. Of course, it was also excellent material for cultivating black fungus and white fungus. However, nowadays everyone directly used spore culture bags, and this old method hadn¡¯t been seen for many years. Consequently, the price of tree-cultured fungi has gone up. Song Tan vaguely remembered that when she was young, her family used to cultivate black fungus and white fungus this way. In the end, every household grew them, but the promised buyer didn¡¯t show up, so they had to dry them and keep them at home, consuming them for years. Song Sancheng was completely numb. ¡ªGrow black fungus and white fungus? Wouldn¡¯t that mean cutting trees and processing the trunks? Suitable tree trunks had to be chopped down, holes drilled in them one by one, then stuffed with the spores¡­ Because it took up space and the yield was low, it has been slowly phased out by spore culture bags. But Tantan made sense; people now prioritize natural and pollution-free products. Regardless of whether there¡¯s pollution or not, spore culture bags just seem to lack some flavor compared to tree-cultured ones. Song Sancheng sighed deeply. But then he thought¡ªnever mind, they had plenty of oak trees crowding several mountaintops, chopping down some would be fine. It was still better than spending money elsewhere. Spend it, spend it, once the money is gone, out of sight, out of mind! He muttered grimly, ¡°I¡¯ll go ask about the spore suppliers.¡± Seeing her father like this, Song Tan also felt uneasy¡ªbecause she had ordered a computer and several accessories online last night, spending 8000 yuan to ensure efficient editing later on. But what¡¯s spent is spent. So Song Tan struck while the iron was hot, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s clean up the pigpen by the door, and raise three or four pigs this year.¡± If the vegetables are delicious, the meat has to keep up! Song Sancheng was about to jump up, ¡°With all this work, do you want to work your mom and me to death?¡± Thinking about how expensive pork was at the moment, he was actually quite tempted, so he softened his expression: ¡°We can¡¯t build a pigsty by the door now, the village says it ruins the aesthetic, even the firewood shed has to be tidied up.¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ [About cutting trees, since there are plenty of them on rural mountaintops and each household has some, the unspoken rule is that if you cut them down, you must plant new ones, so there¡¯s no need to worry about deforestation.] [About cultivating fungi in the forest, there¡¯s scientific guidance behind it, and it¡¯s stable. The basswood white fungus we eat now is cultivated in this way, just that it¡¯s assumed there are no basswoods here, but local trees work just as well.] [About plant pictures, fearing you might find it troublesome, we haven¡¯t included any easter eggs. If anyone has pictures, feel free to share them in the comments on this chapter. Those who are interested can click to see; those who aren¡¯t, can just skip it, it won¡¯t affect the reading.] [If you have any other questions, just ask in the comments, and I¡¯ll explain as much as I can. Free chapters will be included during the free period, while I¡¯ll try to put notices in the author¡¯s comments later on not to take up word count.] Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: 9. Do you raise pigs?_1 Chapter 9: 9. Do you raise pigs?_1 When she got home, Wu Lan indeed asked about every detail of the money, and with each item that Song Tan reported, a vein in Wu Lan¡¯s forehead throbbed. That made Song Tan¡¯s heart flutter with anxiety: she didn¡¯t want to be a mama¡¯s girl, but she truly had no other choice! At this point, it was time to use the tactic of ¡°besieging Wei to rescue Zhao¡±: ¡°Mom, I¡¯m thinking of raising a few pigs, what do you think?¡± The price of pork was up and down, but no matter the price, there was always a market for home-raised pigs; it seemed sensible to raise them. ¡°How many?¡± Wu Lan snorted coldly, thinking that her daughter was truly a princess who had never been troubled with household chores: ¡°Now the price of pork is high, and so is the price of piglets, hundreds of yuan each. Bringing them home means setting up a separate stove to cook pig food, and in this cold weather, you still need to buy wheat bran, rice bran, and corn kernels¡­¡± Not to mention other things, a hungry pig grunts, and a few of them oinking away meant setting up a pigpen¡­ as if there wasn¡¯t enough work in the fields already! To Wu Lan, Song Tan seemed like she wanted to fly before she¡¯d learned to walk, which was quite unreliable in her eyes. ¡°Besides, wealth in minted coins counts but wealth in livestock does not; if they get sick¡­¡± But Song Tan was longing for it! She was now able to cultivate, and without saying anything else, surely she could improve the quality of their food ¨C the pork would taste so good! She said, ¡°Mom, raising our pigs is safe and delicious. The pork from outside doesn¡¯t taste as good as what we had in childhood. And with pork being so expensive, if we raise it ourselves we can sell some too¡­¡± ¡°Once we slaughter a pig, we can stew pork dishes, fry a dish of pork scratchings, and later stew cabbage and make buns ¨C how delicious that would be!¡± Indeed, fresh pork would be so tasty! As a qualified farmer who had raised pigs for many years and only stopped in recent years, Song Sancheng too was clearly tempted, now completely forgetting his earlier refusal, and he chimed in: ¡°Yes, yes, how about we raise one¡­¡± By the side, Song Qiao, who was looking at Peppa Pig on her phone, suddenly looked up: ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re my Pig Mommy!¡± ¡°Sister, can I live with Peppa?¡± Wu Lan quickly took a deep breath ¡ª oh my, this silly son, always causing worry! And thinking about the future and the significant expenses for their silly son¡¯s care, considering the current high price of pork, she gritted her teeth: ¡°Let¡¯s raise them!¡± ¡°The village doesn¡¯t allow pigs to be raised at the front of the house, but we could just secretly build a pigpen behind ours. Our house is only visible after turning into a side road anyway, so it won¡¯t affect the appearance. But the pigpen has to be small, big enough for at most two pigs.¡± How could that be acceptable?! A rural pigpen is a square courtyard enclosed by walls, with a shelter in the corner and a pit for the manure, followed by a small space where the pigs can move around¡­ Their house was a bungalow, with the bedroom window facing the back hill ¨C if they built a pigpen there, the smell would be¡­ indescribable! Song Tan quickly interjected, ¡°Let¡¯s use some wire fencing or something to enclose part of the back hillside. We could raise a few more pigs and let them roam freely in the woods.¡± Domestic pigs weren¡¯t that destructive; a simple enclosure should be enough, and the hillside provided plenty of room for them to roam. ¡°Besides, the back hill is close by, so if there¡¯s any noise we¡¯ll be able to hear it.¡± Now even Song Sancheng looked at Song Tan with disbelief: Who raises pigs like this? Those pink pigs running all over the hillsides ¨C never mind the risk of them breaking a limb or encountering snakes, insects, and pests ¨C how would those pigs running around the mountains gain any weight?! ¡°No white pigs, let¡¯s raise black pigs! They might be more energetic and not gain much weight, but they are pricier and tastier!¡± Just as he thought to object, he saw Song Tan grab Wu Lan¡¯s hand: ¡°Mom, please let me try! I really have a plan!¡± And looking at Song Sancheng, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve always been obedient, just this once, listen to me, okay?¡± Silence spread throughout the room. After a long while, Song Qiao suddenly said softly, ¡°Listen to me, okay?¡± Song Tan almost laughed out loud! Wu Lan also laughed out of exasperation, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ve raised two debt collectors! I¡¯ll listen to you; I¡¯ll listen to everything you say!¡± Turning her head huffily, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to make a call to check the current price! Old Song, you go clean up the back hill!¡± After she left, Song Sancheng then added, ¡°Tantan, if you¡¯re raising pigs on the mountain, you have to get a couple of big dogs to watch them, otherwise you can¡¯t keep them safe.¡± It¡¯s not just to guard against weasels and wild dogs or the like, but mainly to guard against people. Don¡¯t think the village is all peace and harmony. Years ago, someone would even steal cabbages from the fields despite everyone having them! And once, a few years back, there was an incident in the neighboring village where a dispute over a pumpkin led to someone poisoning a few of the neighbor¡¯s pigs! Having dogs is mainly to ensure that if anything stirs, they can hear it at home, which is reassuring! Song Tan fell silent for a long while before suddenly asking, ¡°Dad, since we¡¯ll have dogs and also raise pigs on the mountain, why don¡¯t we raise some chickens and ducks too?¡± Set the ducks in their own space, let them wander to the pond in front every day, and it shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble¡­ right. Song Tan thought to herself that she had finally convinced her parents, and if she didn¡¯t get it all done in one go, it would be troublesome to do it bit by bit later! Song Sancheng: !!! How come there are pigs and dogs already when nothing is settled yet? Song Sancheng, remembering how his daughter spent money today, even felt that the ten-yuan pack of Emgrand Cigarettes in his hand was expensive. Huffs puffing and sighing, he finally said: ¡°You¡¯re grown up now, do whatever you want. While we can still move, even if you lose money, we can still support you.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s one thing, the money you have, plus the sixty thousand yuan we can give, you¡¯re not allowed to borrow money! Not even a penny.¡± After speaking, he sighed again, ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid if you lose money, I won¡¯t even be able to afford my cigarettes.¡± Song Tan then sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for me either, why don¡¯t you quit smoking, Dad? You could save a hundred or two hundred a month, which could add up to two thousand yuan for me in a year!¡± She had long wanted Song Sancheng to quit smoking, but such things had been unsuccessful despite her efforts for many years¡ªnot to mention anything else, her grandfather had smoked his entire life, and when his lungs were found to be unhealthy, did he quit? No! He valued cigarettes over life! Her dad was the same. Song Sancheng loved his daughter dearly, but¡­ but those cigarettes¡­ He whispered, ¡°I only smoke half a pack a day, and sometimes when I¡¯m really tired from working, smoking one does relax me¡­¡± Having said that, Song Tan had no more arguments. But quitting smoking was definitely necessary! Song Tan pondered from every aspect, ¡°Then Dad, try to cut back a little more, how about one pack every three days? That way, a hundred yuan a month sounds fair!¡± Anything else is negotiable, just not this. Song Sancheng glared, ¡°Fair? Do I need you to support me now? Look at your granddad, now he smoke pipe tobacco to save money! Why don¡¯t you say that¡¯s even more harmful?¡± Song Tan thought to herself, both are six of one and half a dozen of the other, whether it¡¯s pipe or rolled tobacco, could any of it be good? She kept this issue in mind and then started to look through the snacks and treats she had bought in town: ¡°I¡¯m going to check on my grandparents.¡± ¡°Qiaoqiao, come with me!¡± Song Sancheng nodded, ¡°Go ahead, their spirits have not been too good lately¡­ they¡¯re getting on in years.¡± Then he reminded her: ¡°If your grandparents offer snacks to Qiaoqiao, keep an eye on it. Taking them is fine, but she can¡¯t eat them!¡± Qiaoqiao heard the word ¡°snacks¡± and looked up, ¡°I want to eat¡­¡± ¡°No way!¡± Song Sancheng flatly refused, ¡°Your grandma hoards things, every year there¡¯s something new, and we¡¯re still eating the old¡ªlast time she gave us snacks that were expired by over half a year, you can¡¯t eat those!¡± Chapter 10 - Chapter 10: 10. Big White Goose_1 Chapter 10: 10. Big White Goose_1 Song Tan¡¯s grandfather, Song Youde, was a true old farmer, and this year he was 79. He had lung issues and was prone to panting, so he hadn¡¯t done much work these past few years. Apart from tending the vegetable garden, he spent his days playing cards with a group of old men from the village. Holding an old, aged smoking pipe in his hand, a rarity within ten miles and eight villages, there were always people coming each year to ask for the old tobacco oil inside the pipe to treat sores. Grandma Wang Lifan, on the other hand, was strong-legged and very healthy, a terrific cook too. Even now, the family¡¯s vegetable garden remained neatly kept, and villagers would come annually to exchange seedlings with her. She was truly the pillar of Lao Song¡¯s family. Song Tan exited the courtyard, walked past a vegetable garden, and saw an old red-brick house standing at the foot of the mountain. The courtyard at the entrance was paved with cement, except for a corner where a sweet osmanthus tree stood, under which a few chickens were sunbathing and scratching in the sand. And at the gate, there was a fiercely aggressive goose. It had been squatting in a corner, but upon seeing someone approach, its goose-yellow crest shook vibrantly, very noticeable. It stared with its small round eyes and ¡°honk honk honk¡± started squawking, flapping its wings and wobbling over! Song Qiao, who was behind her, also hurriedly spread his arms and ran forward, shouting, ¡°Honk honk honk! Big White, here I come!¡± Then he skillfully squatted down. And embraced the goose with brotherly affection. Your arms around my long neck, and my wings around your back, such deep affection! Song Tan: ¡­ She momentarily couldn¡¯t evaluate such a ¡°man and nature¡± scene. Grandma Wang Lifan had just come out of the kitchen, very happy to see Song Tan, ¡°Tantan, when did you come back?¡± She looked at Song Qiao, ¡°Qiaoqiao, don¡¯t let Big White get your sweater dirty.¡± Qiaoqiao looked up at her, ¡°Honk!¡± Big White, the goose, also lifted its clever little head and responded, ¡°Honk!¡± Wang Lifan laughed heartily, ¡°This child¡­ Tantan, have you eaten? Grandma will get you some biscuits.¡± Song Tan quickly went over, ¡°I came back last night and went downtown this morning, haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± Hearing this, Wang Lifan hurried even more, ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring you more to eat!¡± That was exactly the effect Song Tan wanted¡ªsince the goods were expired, of course they should be dealt with quickly! She looked around the courtyard; her grandparents were diligent people, the house was tidy, and aside from a few chickens in the corner of the courtyard, it was spotless. At that moment, she knelt down, gathered a handful of rice-sized Spiritual Energy at her fingertips, just a flick, and immediately Qiaoqiao¡¯s good buddy dropped him and spread his wings, speeding over with a ¡°clack clack!¡± The flat feet stomping on the cement, the little yellow-capped head stretched out far ahead, you could tell how eager it was! Not just Big White the goose, but the five chickens that had been sunbathing in a dirt pit also went crazy, stretching their legs and running towards Song Tan, the lead rooster¡¯s shiny neck feathers puffed up, its red comb trembling, turning feeding into a battle of energies! For a moment, Qiaoqiao was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide. Song Tan thought to herself this was bad¡ªshe knew Spiritual Energy was great for farming and raising animals, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be so attractive here! If they rushed over, her clothes would be ruined! She quickly withdrew her hand, but the charging bunch couldn¡¯t stop! Just then, she felt a cool breeze sweeping past the back of her head, a broom unhesitatingly sweeping across from above, she could even sense the dust falling from the broom. That heroic broom had thrown the charging chickens and goose into a chaotic flap, scattering around the courtyard, finally calming down. Wang Lifan gasped, ¡°I just chopped up some cabbage to feed them, why are they so crazy!¡± and then felt sorry, ¡°They must have been scared; I hope they will still lay eggs in the next few days.¡± Song Tan felt a bit guilty. But Wang Lifan just nagged for a bit and at the moment, looking at her increasingly beautiful granddaughter and then at Qiaoqiao, her eyes and heart were filled with joy, ¡°Come come come, these are the cookies your aunt bought for me, eat more of them!¡± Probably worried that the children wouldn¡¯t have enough to eat, she directly used a plastic bag and filled up half of it. Song Tan figured that with this, about 80% of Grandma¡¯s stock must be cleared, if not half, at least! Qiaoqiao excitedly started to open the bag. Song Tan didn¡¯t stop him, but held the plastic bag in her hand and gave Song Qiao a small cookie, ¡°Qiaoqiao, give this to your big goose brother to try.¡± The expiration date in prominent black print clearly showed it had expired last September. Qiaoqiao happily agreed, ¡°Okay!¡± The siblings, one intentionally and the other unintentionally, both ignored the sadness on Wang Lifan¡¯s face. Seeing her own grandson so naively, Wang Lifan felt sorry for the cookies, but could do nothing about it and just looked at Song Tan, ¡°You¡¯ve lost some weight, is it good working in the province? How many days are you staying this time?¡± Song Tan didn¡¯t hide it from her, but had to use a bit of the Spring and Autumn Annals style, ¡°Grandma, I came back this time to recuperate my body, probably rest for a bit longer. When it¡¯s time to plant vegetables, come help me, will you!¡± Understanding this, Wang Lifan realized, it¡¯s just the granddaughter wanting to stay at home and play for a while, planting vegetables and such things, what can young people do nowadays? They just look for something new. She then laughed loudly, ¡°Oh my, my granddaughter planting vegetables, I will definitely come to help you!¡± Of course, a few days later, she couldn¡¯t speak anymore. Song Tan looked around, ¡°Where¡¯s Grandpa?¡± Wang Lifan thought for a moment, ¡°Probably playing cards with people at the village square, that leaf card game of his, hardly anyone plays it nowadays, it¡¯s hard to gather enough players¡­¡± A group of shaky old men, playing for one yuan each day, nearly falling asleep with every card they play¡­ Wang Lifan was happy he found something to do outside. ¡°To spare us his picking and choosing at home.¡± She said with a distasteful look about the old man. Actually, the old couple had been together for decades; Youde had known her since he was seven or eight when he herded cattle for the landlord, their relationship was deeply affectionate. Song Tan strolled around and saw Qiaoqiao squatting there with Big White, getting along like brothers, ¡°Big White, you eat a big piece¡­ How is it? Sweet, right? It¡¯s a milk cookie.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat a small piece¡­¡± Song Tan wasn¡¯t paying attention and she too ate a bite. Song Tan: ¡­ Oh well, he had probably eaten it before, considering his expertise. She bent down and rummaged through the plastic bag again, what a find, a bag full of various cookies and candies, without exception, all were expired since last year. Among them was a package of oatmeal cookies, a rare one that had expired the year before last. Song Tan took it out, fell silent for a long time, and then didn¡¯t even dare to feed it to the goose. However, she really did take a liking to that big white goose. So noisy and bold, yet very sharp¡ªwhen she channeled Spiritual Energy, this goose stayed the farthest yet reacted the fastest! It could be a good guardian for the home. Once the pigpen in the back hill was simply fixed up, she would ask Grandma to let her use it as a herding goose! Paired with a couple of Dahuang dogs, how does the poetry go? ¡°Leading Yellow, holding up Grey,¡± something like that! Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: Handling Seed_1 Chapter 11: Handling Seed_1 The next morning, as soon as Song Sancheng got up, he was taken aback. The air¡­ so fresh! In the distance, mists wreathed the mountain ranges, tinged with a thin layer of pale gold, as picturesque as a scenic spot. The pond by the door was blanketed with a layer of white mist, thick and dense, almost entirely covering the water¡¯s surface. The mist was pressed low, slowly drifting. And around the courtyard, a plum tree¡ªwhich Song Sancheng clearly remembered had withered last month¡ªhad inexplicably bloomed several flowers. The tiny, yellow buds, only half-open, were not only exceptionally charming but also gave off a delicate fragrance from afar. At that moment, the old farmer unexpectedly felt an appreciation for beauty, but also sensed something amiss, as if he too was being admired¡­ He turned his head to look! He saw seven or eight local grey squirrels clinging to the courtyard wall, watching into the yard like nosy pups. Then looking towards the back hill, which also shared the desolate view of the passing winter, there was somehow a sense of renewed brightness. As if¡­ as if it was polished and shining! Song Sancheng stared blankly for a long time, amusing himself with his own thoughts: ¡°Achoo!¡± The morning was too cold. He hurriedly cast aside his disordered thoughts and gathered a bundle of firewood to go light the stove. Ah, being an older man is tough, everyone is afraid of the cold, yet it¡¯s always he who must get up to start the fire. ¡­ In the room. Song Tan slowly withdrew her spiritual awareness, and the Spiritual Energy drawn to her vicinity was transformed by her Water Wood Spiritual Method, now dispersing secretly as a richer vitality. Inside and outside the house, the air was fresh. Feeling the abundant Spiritual Energy within her body, she also took a long breath¡ªher body was almost fully recovered. Song Tan stepped out of her room, and after a brief wash-up, she took two wild grass stems from the pile of firewood. Casually tying them into a cross, she then squatted in the open vegetable garden, holding the cross in her palms with the ends slightly touching the ground¡ª Then, with eyes half-closed, she whispered softly, ¡°Is my savior doing well now?¡± This was mystic arts divination. An ancient method capable of divination much like the I Ching hexagrams, it required little Spiritual Energy, and even ordinary people with a slight understanding of spiritual methods could do it. It was the only thing that Song Tan, still in the Qi cultivation phase, could manage. Of course, with a low entry barrier, the divination results were also¡­ rather crude. ¡­ The man who saved her from the car accident¡ªif not for him, even with her return and the restoration of her body through Spiritual Energy, she still would have had a hard time surviving the explosion. Her memories were too disordered, and the conflict between the Spiritual Energy and her physical injuries only left her with a recollection of his dark brown eyes and thick eyelashes¡­ She failed to find out who he was in the hospital, and now that her Spiritual Energy had slightly recovered, naturally, she wanted to investigate first thing. Cultivators value cause and effect, and she, Song Tan, valued gratitude. Not to mention others, at least sending some local specialty would be feasible. Dr. Zhang Yuan from the hospital was evasive, and she always felt something was off. The Spiritual Energy surged, and the makeshift divination instrument in her hand began to slide slowly through the dew-moistened earth. Song Tan opened her eyes and saw the scattered answer on the ground: ¡°Not dead¡± Song Tan: ¡­ She cracked up. What kind of answer was that? No wonder no one uses this method in the Cangxuan Realm anymore! Dissatisfied, she closed her eyes and focused once more, asking, ¡°Where is my savior now?¡± The Spiritual Energy surged again, and eventually scribbled out an even more scattered line of text: ¡°At home¡± Song Tan grew even more frustrated! She threw the cross of grass in her hand, feeling for the first time that mysticism wasn¡¯t very helpful. After thinking for a moment, she decided to send another message to the doctor from Ning Province People¡¯s Hospital: ¡°Dr. Zhang, could I trouble you to inquire how the gentleman who saved me is doing now? Did he transfer to another hospital due to his health? If possible, could you give me his contact information?¡± ¡°Saving a life is a grace one cannot ignore. Even if he does not require my gratitude, I must offer my thanks in person.¡± The reply took a long time to come: ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask for you again.¡± ¡­ On a winter morning, even washing vegetables in the kitchen could freeze your hands, so Wu Lan simply boiled a big pot of dumplings. And there was Qiaoqiao, spinning like a top, one moment serving his sister dumplings, the next moment bringing her dumpling soup¡­ The married couple, one tending to the fire and the other cooking, just served themselves and ate by their own efforts! And Song Tan? He just sat carelessly on a chair, using cajoling words, ¡°Qiaoqiao is so good!¡± ¡°Qiaoqiao is such a good boy!¡± ¡°Qiaoqiao, the dumpling soup you brought, your sister finished it in one gulp!¡± Wu Lan and Song Sancheng both fell silent. Their silly son, what to do with him? Out of sight, out of mind, Song Sancheng grunted and changed the subject: ¡°Right, the people for the land ploughing arrived this morning, make some extra food for lunch at home.¡± Song Tan asked out of curiosity, ¡°Did they bring it with a tractor?¡± Where is there a tractor now? ¡°It was brought on a three-wheeled cart.¡± Song Tan: !!! As small as the ploughing machine was, wasn¡¯t using a three-wheeler to transport it a bit of an understatement? And besides, could a three-wheeler even make it over the hills and mountains? But before she could ponder this question, she heard the sound of a vehicle out on the road, and, going out to look, holy moly! It was indeed an old, date-red three-wheeler, just like those private little three-wheelers you see on the side of the road in Ning City, helping people move or deliver goods. In its seemingly small yet seemingly huge carrier, a similarly aging date-red land ploughing machine was clearly ready to get to work. ¡°Hey, bro, where¡¯s the field? I¡¯ll head right there!¡± ¡°You¡¯re here so early? Have you eaten yet?¡± The two men made small talk as they walked toward the fields amidst the roar of the three-wheeler. On this end, Wu Lan was considering what to cook for lunch and didn¡¯t forget to instruct her daughter: ¡°We¡¯ve also found quite a few people to cut trees on the back hill, just right to saw down those overly dense trees the size of a bowl¡¯s mouth, on one hand, to clear up space for a pigsty. On the other hand, weren¡¯t you planning to grow black and white fungus? These tree trunks will come in handy.¡± Having spent the money already, Wu Lan could only acquiesce to these plans, and she spoke of them in a calm manner: ¡°I¡¯ll ask around to have someone clear up the weeds in the Chestnut Woods on the hillside beside the pond. Otherwise, it¡¯ll affect the growth of the white fungus.¡± Meanwhile muttering, ¡°Getting someone to clear weeds costs even more than spraying pesticides¡­¡± Song Tan pretended to be a quail; in any case, using pesticides was out of the question. But pretending to be a quail didn¡¯t help her escape, as Wu Lan turned her attention back to her, ¡°If you¡¯re going to farm yourself, then you can¡¯t sit idle. Go and prepare the seeds.¡± Song Tan quickly nodded her head. Qiaoqiao, holding his bowl, had just secured a big dumpling with his chopsticks and, not quite understanding everything but eager to participate, quickly added, ¡°Sister! I¡¯ll help you!¡± ¡ªWu Lan looked even more annoyed. ¡­ Preparing Milk Vetch seeds was quite simple. Song Tan took Qiaoqiao outside to shovel a couple of scoops of sand to mix with the Milk Vetch seeds, vigorously rubbing them together¡ªthe friction helped thin out the thick husks, allowing for quicker germination. This type of rubbing through a bag, aside from requiring some effort, was also particularly fun; Qiaoqiao giggled as she rubbed, clearly showing a natural talent for farm work. After enough rubbing, it was time to sun the seeds. A few hours of sunbathing, then play with water¡ªah no, it meant soaking the seeds for half a day. By lunchtime, after a few stirs and tossing out the lower-quality seeds that floated to the surface. The seeds were considered ready. After all, it was green manure; for so many years, everyone had been using this rough method of sowing. The only difference was, while soaking, Song Tan infused some Spiritual Energy into the water. Qiaoqiao looked at the half-yard full of seeds, now extremely proud, ¡°Sister, farming is really fun!¡± Even if his arms were a bit sore. Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: 12. Chatting in the Village_1 Chapter 12: 12. Chatting in the Village_1 At the end of February and beginning of March, it was a rare leisure time for farmers throughout the year. The New Year had just ended, and the children had again taken their families and flown away, the swallows under the roof beams had not returned yet, and more and more land was going fallow, with dull yellow and grayish-brown tones taking over vast expanses. Apart from the distant green mountains, the entire village was a picture of desolation and silence. But today, in the fields by the bamboo grove of Lao Song¡¯s family, it was bustling again. ¡°Song Sancheng, what¡¯s with your family this year? Have you made a fortune and are preparing for a big endeavor? Are you going to tidy up all these fields?¡± ¡°Indeed, Old Song, what do you plan to plant? There used to be a couple of patches of tea trees in the field, are you not keeping them?¡± Everyone had been asked by Song Sancheng to come and tidy up the field. In the corner, the tiller was rumbling away, and before they could till the soil, they first had to clear the weeds and miscellaneous trees that had accumulated. Otherwise, that little machine might get jammed up. Luckily, there were many hands, and everyone working together made the task not only fun but also efficient. Once one patch was cleared in front, the tiller would turn over the soil twice behind, working together just perfectly. Those who came were about the same age as Song Sancheng. At their age, if they tried to work outside the village, most factories didn¡¯t want them. They could relax the age requirements for manual labor jobs, but employers were also afraid of accidents. Besides, people in their forties and fifties had endured hardship when they were younger and quite a few had lingering aches and pains¡­ Now staying in the village meant working sporadically, doing their best not to become a burden to their children. So when Song Sancheng talked about hiring help, despite the hard and poorly paid work of bending over all day for 150 yuan, everyone was willing to come. Getting older, they also longed for some excitement. Song Sancheng also sighed, ¡°Tea leaves aren¡¯t worth much anymore, and I still have so much of it on the hillside. I haven¡¯t taken care of these here for years¡­ Why keep them?¡± This was true. Their place wasn¡¯t known for any famous teas, just ordinary leaves from the valley. Even if they were good for a fresh and sweet drink at home, selling them for fifty yuan a kilo, there were hardly any buyers out there. The tea shrubs in these fields were purely because they didn¡¯t like to see the land lay bare¡­ But they were getting old! They really couldn¡¯t handle the heavy-duty farm work anymore and had slowly come to accept it. ¡°So what do you plan to do, tidying up both the fields and the hillside?¡± Asking the question was the neighbor Li Baoni. Speaking of this, Song Sancheng didn¡¯t know how to begin. How to explain? His daughter had decided not to work and to come back to farm? These days, how many young folks knew how to farm? If he said it aloud, wouldn¡¯t the villagers laugh themselves to death? So he said nonchalantly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. My Tantan has been working too hard and can¡¯t take it anymore. I told her our farming at home could use a hand, let her rest up at home for a year or so before going back to work.¡± This was true. Didn¡¯t every family¡¯s young ones go out to forge their paths? Li Baoni, the neighbor, sighed as well, ¡°Indeed, my daughter came back for the New Year, and her face was so pale. When I asked, it was because she had been working overtime until one or two o¡¯clock in the morning¡ªthe salary isn¡¯t much, and she has nothing left by the end of the year.¡± Li Baoni¡¯s daughter worked in a clothing store chain. With a sweet mouth and a gift for gab, she was now a supervisor, sometimes counting stock late at night and going on business trips to expand stores. It was all tough work. And with the economy being poor the last two years, her salary hadn¡¯t increased, leaving her to worry about potential layoffs¡­ When it came to their children, every household had its difficulties. Zhou Shunshui, who lived a bit further away, also sighed, ¡°My son last time said he wanted us old folks to move to the city and live with them, to help take care of the grandchildren¡ªthe chilies at the supermarket near their door cost more than ten yuan per kilo! How can one afford to eat that?¡± ¡°Taking care of grandkids, in the morning sending them to kindergarten, in the evening picking them up and off to various classes, all in different places¡ªriding the bus got me all dizzy and disoriented. Their apartment¡¯s always air-conditioned; it¡¯s not as warm as our stoves at home.¡± ¡°` ¡°I stayed for a week, just couldn¡¯t stand it, so I came back on my own.¡± As for the old lady back home, of course, she couldn¡¯t bear to part with her grandson and stayed there to take care of him with all her heart and effort. It doesn¡¯t matter whether farming is reliable or not, but anyway, the reason Song Sancheng found was quite plausible: ¡°Tantan also said that the food these past few years isn¡¯t as tasty as before. So I figured, since people are already here, why not grow some vegetables and rice for the kids, it¡¯ll taste better when we eat our own.¡± Upon hearing this, the villagers burst into laughter. ¡°Song Sancheng, you have the most farmland in the village now, you¡¯ve become a landlord¡ªyou wait until the rice is ripe, and I won¡¯t buy rice anymore, I¡¯ll buy yours.¡± ¡°Right, right, right, I¡¯ll buy too, the rice outside looks white, but that¡¯s all polished and has no nutrition, it costs several yuan per jin, and it¡¯s not as fragrant as the rice we used to grow ourselves.¡± Song Sancheng didn¡¯t dare to agree: ¡°We only have two plots of land in our family, not enough to even divide among ourselves, not selling, not selling.¡± Who here hasn¡¯t farmed before? The crowd became displeased when they heard this: ¡°You add up two plots to several acres, come on, does your family eat thousands of jin of rice a year?¡± Song Sancheng also smiled: ¡°Then what should I do? This good rice variety I have tastes great but is expensive. At best, it produces one thousand jin per acre. One thousand jin yields seven hundred jin of rice, which is just enough for two or three people to eat for a year.¡± ¡°Besides, my family¡¯s old man, old lady, the kid¡¯s grandma, uncle, aunt, eldest uncle¡­ every household has to share a bit, right?¡± ¡°With just this amount, it¡¯s barely enough for our own consumption.¡± In the village, this is how relationships work, with neighbors and relatives always sharing a bit¡ªnot much, but it¡¯s about expressing the sentiment. Everyone calculated, and there surely isn¡¯t much extra: ¡°No way, I must eat your family¡¯s rice this year, otherwise, when it¡¯s time to plant seedlings, I won¡¯t come!¡± Everyone echoed in agreement. The meaning of this conversation was clear: they would help with the seedling planting without talking about payment. Song Sancheng certainly didn¡¯t dare to agree: ¡°With just these two plots, it would take us no more than two days to plant the seedlings ourselves¡­ eating, eating, when it¡¯s really time to harvest, come help out, and there will be plenty of rice meals!¡± The group laughed and teased each other, and when a plot of land was finally cleared and ready for a change of crop, someone suddenly remembered: ¡°You¡¯re preparing this twenty acres of land, only planting a few acres of rice, what are you planning to do with the rest?¡± Song Sancheng didn¡¯t hide it: ¡°Planting vegetables.¡± ¡°I figure that we won¡¯t use pesticides, and by taking the shuttle bus to the city to sell them, we surely won¡¯t be losing money.¡± But one can¡¯t earn that much that way. Without pesticides, the weeds and insects will pile up in layers, and the couple alone can¡¯t manage it in time, not to mention the extra worry. Moreover, their road isn¡¯t easy to travel, with only one bus trip per day to and from the village, costing 40 yuan round trip¡­ Those vegetables still need fertilizer and physical labor, and there are so many vendors in the market who are from rural areas closer to the city than they are, the competition is fierce¡­ In the end, it¡¯s all hard-earned money. Everyone internally did the math, and it really didn¡¯t seem worth it! But then they thought: ¡°That¡¯s doable, Old Song, you have Qiaoqiao taking care of the house, and we¡¯re getting on in years, nobody wants us for labor work, growing our own vegetables is pretty good.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come to the field when it¡¯s time and pick what I want to buy on the spot!¡± ¡­ ¡­ The crops planted in the village are mostly of a single variety, with the households¡¯ harvest seasons often overlapping, so many times, vegetables still need to be purchased. Moreover, now in the countryside selling pigs is okay, butchering pigs for personal consumption is okay, but butchering to sell is illegal and not allowed. Tantan¡¯s next step is to plant rice, watermelons, various vegetables, chestnuts from the mountain¡­ she will also keep bees because the Milk Vetch Flower honey truly cannot be missed! There¡¯s also plenty of wild vegetables. Keeping pigs, dogs, chickens, ducks, geese, as well as fish, shrimp, water chestnuts. If there are any other crops that everyone likes, feel free to leave comments! ¡°` Chapter 13 - Chapter 13: 13. All poor fates_1 Chapter 13: 13. All poor fates_1 Now was the slack season in farming, and men and women from the village, aged thirty to fifty, those who could put in solid work, were all summoned by Song Sancheng ¡ª the season waits for no one, it was imperative to get things in order now to sow seeds in the fields come spring. Song Tan¡¯s plans were crystal clear ¡ª The grass in the Chestnut Woods needed to be cleared, and those old chestnut trees should be fertilized and pruned as necessary. Eventually, a framework for cultivating wood ear mushrooms would be set up beneath the trees. A fence also had to be erected around the perimeter to prevent animals or people from causing trouble. With the trees recently cut down from the back mountain, the trunks were segmented for inoculating mushroom spores, while the branches were used to build a shelter to protect pigs from wind and rain, complete with feeding troughs and separated with wire mesh enclosures. As for the fields, Milk Vetch was to be planted in the next month or two, and after it had flowered, it would be time once again to plow and finely till the soil in preparation for planting rice and vegetables. Some seeds could even start to be germinated after a while. There was also the need to find local chickens and ducks and to arrange a time with others for getting piglets. With so many people, managing daily meals was an additional task¡­ Song Sancheng and Wu Lan were busy as bees every day, but what about their daughter? She wasn¡¯t idle either. The young lady had quite a bit of strength, and she¡¯d been following the group up the mountain to carry back tree trunks. Who in the village wouldn¡¯t praise her upon seeing this! But hearing such compliments made Wu Lan¡¯s heart sour! Carrying tree trunks, what was this silly child doing! At the flower of her age, instead of sitting in an office, she was back in the countryside farming ¡ª how could one explain this? And when it came to discussing marriage in the future, where would they find a suitable young man! The daughter wasn¡¯t idle, but whenever she had free time, she would be researching something or other on the computer¡­ Wu Lan once went in and saw ¡ª Goodness me! Seeking knowledge at the last minute, looking up scientific farming tutorials?! This this this! She gasped; if the money hadn¡¯t already been spent, there was no way they could afford to keep this up. The couple would calculate the expenses at night: labor, machinery, spores, chickens, ducks, piglets, fertilizer¡­ Sixty thousand yuan had been spent, and that was just the beginning. After further calculations, they realized this amount would only last until the end of April, when they might just harvest a crop of Milk Vetch. There was also the sixty thousand yuan saved by Wu Lan for emergencies, but given their daughter¡¯s unreliability, Wu Lan now felt heartache at the thought of having to dip into those savings! Sixty thousand yuan ¡ª without any major issues, it would take the couple two years to save that much! Song Sancheng and Wu Lan were so worried they felt like their hair was turning white. They felt that raising sons and daughters was like owing a debt; their daughter had been obedient and sensible for twenty years, and now she was getting involved in a major way, causing worry! But strangely enough, the more they worried, the better they slept at night. Song Sancheng, who usually snored loudly, was now silent. Wu Lan, at her age, would be considered fortunate to get five hours of interrupted sleep a night; yet ever since their daughter had returned home, she would go to bed at seven or eight in the evening and not wake up until six in the morning. This was really¡­ Wu Lan complained to Song Sancheng, ¡°It¡¯s like we¡¯re fated to be poor, the more we spend and tire ourselves, the more comfortable we feel!¡± Song Sancheng agreed, ¡°Indeed, look at me, working with my back bent every day, and yet my back pain has actually disappeared!¡± In the room, Song Tan harnessed Spiritual Energy, keeping her skills hidden. Not far away, the Lao Song¡¯s family¡¯s elderly couple, Song Youde and his wife, hadn¡¯t been idle these past few days either. Now, as Song Youde contentedly puffed on his tobacco pipe, he couldn¡¯t help but feel proud. ¡°It¡¯s because our Tantan went to university; she¡¯s capable and knows to come back to farm.¡± ¡°We farmers always have a way out as long as there is food in the fields.¡± Song Youde, a typical tenant farmer from a landlord¡¯s family, knew hardship well. In his view, nothing was more important than the land. Wang Lifan shared the same sentiment, but from a different angle, ¡°Farming is good. We are still able to work and help the children. Isn¡¯t that better than sitting idle?¡± ¡°Besides, when raising sons and daughters, you hardly see them all year round. With Tantan back to farm, if we hired help, there would be fewer migrant workers in the fall, which adds some life to the village.¡± Isn¡¯t that the truth? At their age, when they were younger, they always worried because their youngest son only had Qiaoqiao, a single male in the family, which seemed insufficient. If the son is able to work, it¡¯s fine, but what if he gets old and can¡¯t move around, yet still has to look after Qiaoqiao? What then? Now with Tantan back, they have a family to rely on, and the siblings can spend more time together. If Qiaoqiao gets old, at least she can watch over him. Otherwise, if one stays away from home for too long, the ties of blood and affection fade quickly. But as someone who had weathered many years of ups and downs, Song Youde had an insight that was even clearer than Song Sancheng¡¯s: ¡°I think Tantan has truly learned something valuable. She is busy with the fields, but she works so much every day and still smiles. She must have a plan. Who knows, she might actually make a name for herself with it.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Lifan agreed, ¡°She has been smart and sensible since she was little. She wouldn¡¯t do anything unless she was confident about it.¡± In recent years, they hadn¡¯t been well, and the children did not let them farm too much, only allowing them to maintain a small vegetable garden by the door¡ª They were at leisure, but the old couple just couldn¡¯t muster any energy. Dozing off in the daytime, unable to sleep at night. Every day they looked for petty chores to do. Now seeing the large pieces of land they had divided off bustling with activity, they felt more at peace without saying a word. They paced themselves during the day; Song Youde would help clear the weeds in the fields, Wang Lifan would assist her daughter-in-law with cooking. They enjoyed meals together, discussing and laughing, feeling even closer to their son¡¯s family! Song Youde felt content and couldn¡¯t help but make more plans: ¡°It¡¯s cold now, and the hens are laying fewer eggs. Isn¡¯t Tantan planning to raise chickens? Tomorrow, let¡¯s have our old hens sit on their eggs, hatch more chicks, and save some money for the children.¡± ¡°Nowadays, local chickens are expensive and hard to come by.¡± Wang Lifan nodded too: ¡°We¡¯re eating more meat this winter, and I¡¯ve been saving up all the eggs. Let¡¯s pick through them under the light later tonight.¡± ¡°And about those ducks, there¡¯s a family selling ducklings. Their ducks don¡¯t get sick, they grow up strong and taste good too. I¡¯ll go and ask about them tomorrow.¡± Song Youde frowned again: ¡°Don¡¯t get too many, these past few years, it¡¯s either a closure here or there due to bird flu or swine fever. We need to proceed with caution.¡± Did Wang Lifan not know this? ¡°Worrying over nothing. Our place is remote, but it¡¯s got good feng shui. When have our chickens, ducks, and geese ever fallen ill? Moreover, raising chicks doesn¡¯t cost much. As long as they don¡¯t get sick, even if we can¡¯t sell them, we can eat them, right? It saves us from buying from outside.¡± There were only four old hens at home. Even if all of them sat on eggs, they would only hatch a hundred or so chicks. When the time came, just let them roam the mountains and fields¡ªno need for concern at all. So simple! Song Youde thought about it and agreed, but then he sighed, ¡°It would be great if our eldest son and grandson were willing to come back and live in the old house on the mountain. It would be perfect to divide it up for them.¡± Wang Lifan rolled her eyes, ¡°Whoever stays in the village gets it. That old house, nobody would buy it even for five thousand yuan. Does your grandson, with his three to five houses in the city, care for it?¡± Song Youde felt embarrassed, ¡°After all, he is the eldest son and grandson of the Lao Song family¡­¡± Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: 14. Sowing Milk Vetch_1 Chapter 14: 14. Sowing Milk Vetch_1 In the fields, machines roared as the villagers worked and chatted; heaps of wild grass and trees piled up on the ridges, and the long-uncultivated brown earth, carrying a moist breath, was exposed under the dazzling morning sun. The mountain village was alive with activity that had been absent for a long time. Wang Lifan opened the storage room in the corner of the yard, which had been locked for a long time. It was a mud house built decades ago. That year, she had just given birth to the daughter when Song Youde, along with his brothers, kneaded the yellow clay, chopped the straw, and moulded the bricks to slowly build the house. At first, it was their main house. As the children grew up and they built a house of bricks and tiles, this room became the storeroom for grain and straw stacks¡­ Then, when they stopped farming, it completely turned into a storage room. Qiaoqiao ran over, ¡°Grandma! Grandma!¡± Wang Lifan had just rummaged out some carrying poles from inside and upon hearing him, she responded, ¡°Qiaoqiao!¡± Soon after, Qiaoqiao¡¯s neatly trimmed round head peeked in, ¡°Grandma, sister said she will take me to farm later and told me to borrow a small basket.¡± He was quickly distracted by the stacked carrying poles on the ground, ¡°Grandma, what are these?¡± Wang Lifan handed him a small basket with a chuckle and, after thinking for a bit, took a piece of plastic rope, folded it several times, and tied it around his waist, ¡°Our Qiaoqiao can farm now!¡± Song Qiao proudly puffed up his chest. But he still persisted, asking, ¡°Grandma, one, two, three¡­ seven, eight, eight of them¡­ what are these for?¡± ¡°Oh, these are for the mother hen to hatch chicks with.¡± Qiaoqiao¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°I want to hatch them too!¡± Wang Lifan: ¡­That was the reason she didn¡¯t want to answer immediately. This child¡¯s questions were endless, too many of them. Fortunately, little kids like to play with the older ones. Song Qiao was three when Song Tan was eight, and now at eighteen, he still thought he was three years old. He should indeed play with older kids. Wang Lifan, understanding his thoughts, now asked, ¡°So, are you going to farm with your sister, or are you coming back to hatch chicks with grandma?¡± For Song Qiao, such a question was indeed quite challenging. He hesitated for a long time, eventually looking in the direction of home, ¡°I¡¯ll go farm with sister.¡± As he was leaving, he lingered, ¡°Grandma, tell the mother hen not to hatch them too quickly. Wait for me to come back and do it together¡­¡± Once the pestering child finally left, Wang Lifan took out four bamboo baskets and placed them in the storeroom, first laying a thick layer of dry grass at the bottom, then counting and placing twenty to thirty eggs in each, one after the other. Following that, she went to the chicken coop and caught all four mother hens¡ª The local country chickens were skinny with long legs and would peck painfully, not easy to catch usually. Unlike the fatty broiler chickens nowadays which were lethargic; chase them a couple of steps, and they were too lazy to run, simply sitting down, but whether for laying eggs or for eating, they couldn¡¯t compare with the country chickens, only more efficient. To catch them, Wang Lifan had specifically not opened the door to the chicken coop early in the morning, and it had been clucking away all morning. She put each mother hen into a basket with large holes, covered it with another basket, and secured it. If they were kept like this for a few days, the hens would start preparing to hatch the chicks. Just wait twenty to thirty days, and the chicks would be ready to break out of their shells. Just in time for late March, when the weather would also be warmer, everything growing, making it a good time for the chicks to grow. ¡­ After two days of cleaning, enough oak trees in the back mountain had been cleared, and of the seven fields, only the outer two remained today. Song Tan saw the weather was about right, so she decided to sow the milk vetch seeds with Song Qiao. Wu Lan was still a bit hesitant, ¡°It¡¯s still very cold early in the morning and at night¡­¡± The temperature difference was too great, it could easily freeze the tender buds to death, at the very least, one should wait another half a month. Song Tan thought to herself, I know that. But the day before yesterday, when I activated Spiritual Energy for the first time without paying attention, the seeds almost sprouted on the spot. Alas, it was also due to her lack of experience in planting in this world, she simply did not realize how precious Spiritual Energy was for the plants here. If she delayed another two days, either the vitality of the seeds would be completely used up, or she would have to watch them sprout right there where they lay. So, she could only appear stubborn, ¡°Mom, Milk Vetch is not rice, it¡¯s not that delicate. It will surely survive.¡± Then she extended her hand to call out, ¡°Qiaoqiao, are the seeds packed? If they are ready, let¡¯s go to the field.¡± Song Qiao didn¡¯t care what the season was or about sprouting; her waist basket was filled with Milk Vetch seeds mixed with sand, weighing almost ten jin. The Milk Vetch seeds were flat and small, and even mixed with sand, there wasn¡¯t much, nearly enough for two mu of land, it was more like playing for Song Qiao. He looked beaming with joy, full of anticipation: ¡°Sister, let me plant today!¡± ¡°Good Qiaoqiao, sister knew you would plant!¡± The siblings then left the house like two cheerful fools. Wu Lan: ¡­ ¡­ Standing at the edge of the field, the earthy smell hit her face; the overturned chunks of soil revealed wild grasses that had already sprouted white roots. Song Tan had eaten her hometown¡¯s food for several days and although it was much better than what was available in the city, and Wu Lan¡¯s cooking was unquestionably good, as her Qi Refinement progressed, her tolerance for impurities became increasingly difficult¡­ What she ate each day, after a night of cultivation, she still had to go to the smelly toilet the next day¡­ Sigh. Anyway, it was completely unrelated to the Cultivators¡¯ way of living on nothing but wind and dew and maintaining a crystal clear body without a trace of impurity. Thinking of this, Song Tan became more impatient. The two large bags of seeds she was carrying were also eager to germinate, she could feel their pulsing life through the bags. Song Tan hesitated no longer, grabbing a handful of seeds and flinging them. The moist seeds fell silently onto the soil after soaking, quickly merging with the brown earth, indistinguishable to the naked eye. Below the undetected surface of the ground, that vigorous life force burst forth, and the overlooked seeds began to split open from inside out. Just waiting for a nourishing dew at dawn and the right amount of sunlight, they could grow exuberantly and vigorously without even needing to be covered with soil. This vibrant vitality brought immense tranquility, and Song Tan looked down at them, deciding to wait until all were sown, then, taking advantage of the warmth during the day, she would stealthily draw more moisture to press them into the earth. In a month, this place would blossom with vast patches of purple flowers. Her first step to recouping the investment would start with these Milk Vetch. Holding onto that belief, Song Tan quickly finished sowing this plot of land and was ready to move on to the next when she saw Qiaoqiao still squatting on the ridge, scrutinizing the seeds. ¡°Qiaoqiao, what are you doing?¡± But Qiaoqiao said solemnly, ¡°Sister, your way of planting won¡¯t work, you need to dig a hole, put two seeds in, and then cover them with soil.¡± Song Tan was taken aback, then it dawned on her¡ªwasn¡¯t that the method for planting corn? It turns out Qiaoqiao only knew how to plant corn! Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: Peppas Great Grace_1 Chapter 15: Peppa¡¯s Great Grace_1 The siblings left the house in high spirits. In the end, it was only one of them who returned in high spirits. ¡°Where¡¯s Qiaoqiao?¡± Wu Lan asked. Song Tan burst into laughter, ¡°He¡¯s right behind!¡± No sooner had she spoken than a tall, thin boy with a shiny, round buzz-cut came around the bend in the path behind, his sleeves wiping away tears, looking so wronged and sobbing¡­ ¡°Pfft!¡± Wu Lan couldn¡¯t hold back her laughter either as she went over to take the basket from his hand, ¡°What happened? Why are you crying? Oh dear, look at our Qiaoqiao¡¯s ¡®calico cat face,¡¯ you¡¯ve cried yourself ugly!¡± Feeling someone¡¯s sympathy, Song Qiao cried even louder. ¡°Mom¡­ waaaaah, mom¡­ my sister, waaaah¡­ my sister isn¡¯t farming properly!¡± Song Tan wouldn¡¯t take the blame for that: ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯ve scattered all the seeds, how can you say I didn¡¯t farm properly? Didn¡¯t I leave you a handful to plant slowly?¡± She then quietly explained to Wu Lan that Milk Vetch seeds just needed to be scattered directly onto the soil, but Qiaoqiao only knew how to plant corn, so he insisted on planting the seeds one by one. In the end, Song Tan scattered all the seeds, leaving him only a palm-sized patch of land and at most fifty seeds, letting Qiaoqiao plant them one pit at a time¡­ Song Qiao was crying miserably, ¡°But you¡­ but you! You scattered the seeds all over, and now we won¡¯t have any corn growing! I¡­¡± He rubbed his sleeves frantically across his face, growing more heartbroken as he spoke, ¡°Waaaaah mom, my sister, hic¡­ only gave me a little bit of seeds, I planted them so carefully¡­ and if there¡¯s too little corn when it¡¯s time to harvest, we won¡¯t have enough to eat, waaaaah¡­¡± With tears in his eyes, he gazed at Song Tan, ¡°In the future¡­ I won¡¯t be able to take care of my sister, waaaaah¡­¡± Oh dear, this sweet, foolish boy! Song Tan¡¯s heart softened completely¡ªno wonder Qiaoqiao was crying so hard, he must remember what she had said at the beginning about farming to feed themselves! He probably thought that the haphazard scattering of the seeds meant there wouldn¡¯t be enough corn to eat, which was why he felt so sad and wronged. As expected, Wu Lan also gave her a sharp stare in reprimand, and quickly comforted him, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Qiaoqiao, mom can farm, mom will take care of you!¡± Song Qiao stopped crying, hesitated for a while, and then started sniffling again, ¡°Then, you¡¯ll also take care of sister.¡± As soon as he spoke, Song Tan had already hugged his shoulders, ¡°Good brother! Sweet Qiaoqiao! Sister is so touched¡ªcome on, no more crying, wipe your face and let¡¯s watch Peppa!¡± ¡°We can watch two episodes today!¡± Ultimately, it was the pink pig that ended the tears. ¡­ The beginning of March. It was the third day of the second lunar month, the Awakening of Insects. Everything begins anew, and the hibernating creatures wake up. Song Tan had been back for half a month now. In that half-month, Song Sancheng, along with the villagers, had almost finished cleaning up the hillside, and the fields had taken on a layer of fluffy green¡ª It was the newly sprouted Milk Vetch, its tender green pushing through the brown soil, fragile as if it would break with a mere gust of wind. The villagers marveled upon seeing it, ¡°These modern seeds sure aren¡¯t afraid of the cold! Look at this, in previous years we only dared to plant seeds in March, but now they¡¯re already sprouting in early March.¡± An expanse of twenty mu was covered in this fuzzy green, with the fields unevenly distributed, and a mere glance filled one with involuntary joy. All the villagers passing by couldn¡¯t resist pausing to take a longer look. The saying ¡°The grass looks greener from afar, yet up close, there¡¯s none¡± was truly apt. An elderly villager leading an old ox passed by and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Tan Tan, when this Milk Vetch grows tall, can I bring the ox to graze in your fields?¡± Milk Vetch was nutritious and tender, a favorite among cattle and sheep. Previously, when the ox was needed for plowing the rice paddies, it was always allowed to feast on the fields, but since the farming had ceased, the ox too had aged. And Milk Vetch was no longer being planted. Song Tan promptly agreed, ¡°Of course, Grandpa Li! When the time comes, you can bring the ox down to those two lower fields, just let it in and it can eat as much as it wants!¡± Milk Vetch grows quickly; starting from the green leaves, it could be grazed for a couple of months! Old Li thought for a moment, ¡°Are you just planting these two patches of land this year? How about I bring my ox to plow your fields?¡± Indeed, an ox-plowed field couldn¡¯t compare to a tiller machine, it could only cover five or six mu per day. But Song Tan only had a little more than three mu, not even four! Otherwise, Old Li wouldn¡¯t be willing: ¡°But my ox is old, so I need to plow slowly, you can¡¯t rush me.¡± ¡°Two days to finish plowing for you, okay?¡± Song Tan smiled, ¡°Okay! That¡¯s great! Grandpa Li, then I won¡¯t mention money. When the rice is harvested, I¡¯ll bring you fifty jin!¡± The old man didn¡¯t eat much, fifty jin would last him half a year. Old Li was extremely happy in his heart! The young people coming back nowadays always talk about money, it¡¯s not that it¡¯s wrong to pay for work, but sometimes helping out neighbors can feel quite impersonal. The young people are not unwilling to help the villagers, but they simply don¡¯t know how. It made these old folks, accustomed to village favors, always feel uncomfortable. Tantan was just good like that. And besides, his own home-grown rice! How fragrant that must be! He thought about it, he hadn¡¯t tasted it in one or two decades¡­ Who would have thought that he¡¯d get to eat it again before the end. The old ox also seemed to sense his joy and let out a long ¡°moo¡± as well. Old Li patted its head, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go home! Soon there will be good food!¡± ¡­ Song Tan was also pondering: Milk Vetch, with green leaves and purple flowers, Old Ox¡­ What beautiful materials! Song Tan had planned this long ago, and now with the ox, it would appear more lively. As for whether she could sell products after becoming famous¡ªof course she could! If she couldn¡¯t sell products, what was the point of all her efforts? She was confident: after trying it once, no one could resist becoming a repeat customer. Song Tan had farmed on Yunmoon Peak for a hundred and ten years, removing pests and weeds to enhance the flavor; her skills were solidly honed! She refused to believe that vegetables grown with Spiritual Energy would not have a market! Furthermore, many of the vegetables she planned to grow were storage-resistant; wood ear and silver ear mushrooms were especially suitable for online sales. Nowadays, logistics were so developed that most cities could receive next day delivery, as long as you were willing to pay, which was sufficient to meet e-commerce demands. The perishable items, once they made a name for themselves, could be consumed locally. She farmed first to satisfy her cravings and second to make money. As for how much she earned¡ªas long as she could break even, she didn¡¯t have many demands. Calculating all this, there was still so much to prepare. In the next few days, she had to hurry and get her filming equipment ready and pick her editing skills back up. Whether she could be successful or not would depend on this wave! Thinking it over, Song Tan stood by the field, her fingers moved subtly, as she quietly drew forth strands of Spiritual Energy¡­ That invisible white mist, hardly seen by the naked eye, slowly merged into the field, making the greenness of the Milk Vetch seem even more vibrant. With a gentle breeze, the hazy shade of green at this moment grew ever richer. The roots of the Milk Vetch rapidly absorbed nutrients from the ground, while the light yellow rhizobia clinging to the roots reciprocated by nourishing the soil. Such is the life of nature. Repeating in cycles, in a rhythmic loop. Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: 16. Digging Wild Vegetables_1 Chapter 16: 16. Digging Wild Vegetables_1 After the Awakening of Insects, came the spring rain. A misty drizzle fell silently, shrouding the entire countryside and hilltops in a layer of faint green mist, fluffy and damp. Song Sancheng had just finished settling the wages for the villagers, and at this moment, smelling the scent of rain and soil outside, a slight smile finally appeared on his face. ¡°This rain couldn¡¯t have come at a better time.¡± For more than half a month, they had been bustling about every day. Wu Lan had to cook for a large group of people and take care of domestic chores both inside and outside the house. Song Sancheng had to lead people to weed the fields, clear the hillside, cut trees, trim tree trunks, and also find time to set up the pigsty, chicken coop, and duck shed¡­ The supply of mushroom spores had just arrived this afternoon, and the plan for tomorrow was to stay home and inoculate the spores without venturing out, which is why he had just settled tens of thousands in wages. And when he looked again, heavens were looking out for them¡ªIt was raining! Wu Lan sighed with the account book in hand, ¡°Tantan, your sixty thousand yuan is gone now.¡± ¡°From now on, any expenses will be supported by your dad and me, and you¡¯ll have to follow our arrangement.¡± Otherwise, she was really afraid that her daughter would relax her grip and arrange for the money to be spent again. Tantan did some calculations in her mind¡ª The piglets hadn¡¯t been brought back yet, but the pigsty was already built, so her mom had to spend that money whether she wanted to or not. They needed to buy ducklings, which would also cost money. They wouldn¡¯t buy chicken chicks this year, since grandma¡¯s house was incubating them already! The hillside forest had been cleared, and seeds had been bought. Next, they needed some labor cost for inoculating the mushroom spores, but there shouldn¡¯t be any other major expenses! She nodded and asked the essential question, ¡°Mom, what are we going to eat?¡± Wu Lan felt frustrated inside, ¡°No more money, so what to eat?¡± Go on, take Qiaoqiao with you, and dig up some wild vegetables on the slope!¡± ¡°All right!¡± The countryside had plenty of slopes with wild vegetables everywhere. Not to mention anything else, just the hollows on the slope behind their house were layered with them. However, the best season for foraging wild vegetables had not arrived yet, and the quantity might be small at the moment, probably enough for just one or two meals. Tantan went back to her room to get ready, thought for a moment, and decided to bring her mobile phone stand, ¡°Qiaoqiao, let¡¯s go dig up some wild vegetables!¡± Song Qiaoqiao had already dashed out of the yard impatiently, ¡°Oh oh! It¡¯s raining! I¡¯m going to step in puddles with Pig Mommy!¡± However, with the rain misting down, the ground only had a slightly damp feel. Where was the rain? Qiaoqiao fell silent. The siblings darted into the woods like monkeys, with Wu Lan shouting from behind, ¡°Pick some wild onions, and when you come back, I¡¯ll cook you scrambled eggs with them!¡± ¡­ Having grown up in the mountains since children, the brother and sister moved swiftly. In the midst of this, Tantan went to take another look at the rudimentary pigsty behind their hill¡ª A large shed constructed of wood, covered securely at the top with branches and tarpaulins. Inside, the ground was elevated with stones and, though the straw hadn¡¯t been laid yet, it was already looking quite clean and fresh. Pigs reared this way, with plenty of exercise, would definitely produce delicious meat. But there was a problem: pigs would inevitably defecate indiscriminately every day. With such a large range of movement in the mountains and no way to confine them to a manure pit, Sancheng pondered this issue for a long time. In the end, he came up with a solution. While the piglets were still young, they wouldn¡¯t be allowed to roam about. The slopes had grass, tree roots, and rocks, which could easily lead to injuries. At that time, they would make their enclosure a bit smaller, digging a shallow pit into which they would gradually throw the pig manure. Over time, the pigs would learn where to relieve themselves. Once they adapted to the habit, the area could be expanded step by step¡­ Whether it would work or not, Sancheng was raising pigs in the mountains for the first time and was willing to try. If nothing else, it just meant a bit more effort spent shoveling manure daily. Eventually, it could be fermented and used as fertilizer all the same. They passed through the stretch of woods to a gentle slope on the middle of the back hill where sprouts of lush little greens were beginning to emerge. Qiaoqiao was already pointing at a large bunch of lush wild onions: ¡°Sis! Fry them with eggs!¡± Wild onions, also known as sand onions or mountain garlic, are much finer than common onions and garlic, even more delicate than leeks. Every time their family ate this, Qiaoqiao¡¯s task was to select and wash them, hence the strong impression. Song Tan looked at them and also hesitated: ¡°These wild onions are growing so well, do we fry them with eggs at noon, or do we stew them with carp?¡± But no matter what, the first thing was to pluck them. It wasn¡¯t just the wild onions, there was also a cluster of newly grown shepherd¡¯s purse by the side of the forest, still small but definitely enough for a dish. Next was the shepherd¡¯s needles, there were plenty of those, both large and small, and Qiaoqiao already took off happily with the shovel. However¡­ in the end, there was too little to show, the mobile device was useless, there wasn¡¯t anything worth capturing. She sighed, then suddenly thought of something¡ª What was the going rate for wild vegetables these days? ¡­ The siblings went out and after one or two hours of hustle, Wu Lan took the basket of vegetables and puzzledly said, ¡°Did you guys also go to the pond¡¯s edge?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Qiaoqiao¡¯s sleeves were half wet, which clearly showed that he had had a good time playing in the water. Wu Lan flipped through the wild vegetables brought back: ¡°This watercress is tender indeed, hope you didn¡¯t pick them just as they sprouted¡ªhow are we going to eat them?¡± Song Tan thought for a moment, decisively choosing between mixing with shredded chicken and stewing in fish soup: ¡°Cold mixed with shredded chicken!¡± Shredded chicken required chicken breast, and where could one buy just the chicken breast in the village? Wu Lan ignored her: ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll go fry some Sichuan pepper oil, we¡¯ll have it cold mixed at noon. These past few days we¡¯ve been treating guests to rich dishes, it¡¯ll be good to eat something lighter.¡± ¡°How come there¡¯s purslane? Only this handful? Then let¡¯s mix it together later.¡± There was a good amount of wild onions, and seeing how neatly they were arranged, it must have been Qiaoqiao who cleaned them up while playing in the water by the pond. Wu Lan looked quite satisfied: ¡°Just right, the carp we caught last time has thawed, let¡¯s make some soup, and the rest we can stir-fry for a pork dish. Otherwise, eating only cold dishes in this weather is too chilly.¡± Finally, there was the thick layer of shepherd¡¯s needles at the bottom, Wu Lan decisively made arrangements: ¡°Perfect for making dumplings tonight!¡± Song Tan, who wasn¡¯t cooking, had no say in the matter, and she was quite looking forward to it anyway. She then brought up another matter: ¡°Mom, the weather is warming up, and after this rain, wild vegetables will surely grow like crazy. What if I dig up more tomorrow and sell them in the city on the bus?¡± This time, Wu Lan really saw her in a new light: ¡°Are you planning to set up a street stall? Have you ever been to the vegetable market?¡± Song Tan understood what she meant¡ªher past self would certainly have been too shy and reserved to go through with it. But now¡­ After mucking about for half a month since her return, all the money had been spent. If she didn¡¯t produce some results soon, who knows how much talking she¡¯d need to do for the next grant application? Besides, she had channeled quite a bit of Spiritual Energy to the hillside pond taking advantage of the spring rain; she should be able to harvest dozens of pounds tomorrow at least! Isn¡¯t this a chance to test the waters of the market? So she patted her chest: ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll definitely manage it tomorrow!¡± Song Sancheng had been silent throughout, but at this, he finally chimed in: ¡°The bus leaves at six o¡¯clock in the morning, and it¡¯ll take a big round through the town before reaching the city, almost nine o¡¯clock. Who would be buying vegetables at that time?¡± ¡°How about this, Tantan, you pack the vegetables tomorrow afternoon, leave early in the morning, and I¡¯ll take you to the road junction on my motorbike. From the junction, you can catch the van right to the market, just in time for the morning rush.¡± Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: 17. Shepherds purse dumplings_1 Chapter 17: 17. Shepherd¡¯s purse dumplings_1 ¡°` The spring rain intensified throughout the night. Droplets pattered unceasingly in the quiet depth of the night, quickly moistening the soil, as the chilly water vapor spread wisps of white mist over mountains, ponds, and fields, deepening the green hues and making the tender leaves unfurl even more¡­ By dawn, the rain had stopped, but the skies remained gloomy. Song Sancheng brought in some firewood from outside and stoked the stove to make it blaze even hotter, while clapping his hands, ¡°What are we eating this morning?¡± After being busy for several days, Wu Lan had finally found some leisure last night and today. She had rested well recently, everything about the air felt crisp and refreshing, and her mood was exceedingly pleasant. ¡°Let¡¯s have dumplings, those shepherd¡¯s purse from last night were so fresh.¡± The vibrant shepherd¡¯s purse, finely chopped and mixed with the granular minced meat, encased in soft dough wrappers, then dipped in a vinegar sauce¡­ Fresh. So fresh that one¡¯s tongue could almost swallow itself. Song Sancheng single-handedly devoured two big bowls. Qiaoqiao did even better, polishing off nearly three small bowls, then slurped up half a bowl of dumpling soup: ¡°Mom, it¡¯s so delicious!¡± ¡°Eating your old man out of house and home¡± wasn¡¯t just an empty saying; Wu Lan had made the dumplings last night thinking they wouldn¡¯t finish them and planned to freeze the leftovers for breakfast. But she hadn¡¯t anticipated everyone¡¯s appetite increasing so much recently that they gobbled up everything in one go. Except for Song Tan. Freshness was there, but so were the impurities. Eating one bowl felt to Song Tan like eating a bowl of perfumed rice mixed with sand. With every meal, she vowed to grow her own food. Wu Lan looked at her still slender figure, puzzled: ¡°Have you ruined your stomach with all that work outside? You¡¯ve been working hard every day, how come your appetite is still so small?¡± In her heart, Song Tan thought: It wasn¡¯t that her stomach had gone bad, she had simply become fastidious. But if she got picky about eating wild vegetables, her mother would probably roll her eyes and scold her, ¡°You¡¯ve just been spoiled by too much good food.¡± So, she changed the subject: ¡°Were yesterday¡¯s wild vegetables tasty? After this rain, they must be even more delicious!¡± Wild vegetables tasty? How could they not be! The vibrant green and red-stemmed Indian aster was blanched and chopped, then minced with some meat. Next, crack a duck egg and beat it, add some cooking wine, salt, and MSG, and fry it into strands with a strainer in the pan. Afterwards, saut¨¦ some chopped green onions and shredded ginger, then pour in the minced meat, Indian aster, and duck egg¡­ Crunchy, crispy, and refreshing ¨C how could it not be appetizing? The leftover water spinach was blanched, seasoned with salt and MSG, and mixed well. Then Sichuan pepper was slowly fried in oil to bring out its fragrance, and combined with sauce, ginger garlic juice, sugar, MSG, Sichuan pepper oil, crushed chili, and chopped green onion¡ªall added to the blanched tender segments of the water spinach¡­ Slurp! Crisp, tender, spicy, and savory. Accompanied by wild green onion and crucian carp soup and fried eggs, the family of four devoured the basket of wild vegetables from the day before completely. Then, bloated, they chopped up the shepherd¡¯s purse for dumplings. Thinking about it now made them crave even more. Yesterday¡¯s wild vegetables were so tasty; with the boost from Spiritual Energy, today¡¯s should be even more delicious, right? Thinking about her very first business venture, Song Tan asked, ¡°Mom, how much do you think I should sell them for per pound tomorrow morning?¡± Even though it was early March and the insects had just begun to stir, in reality, the spring greens hadn¡¯t yet sprung up. It was a time when the old crops were dying and the new ones hadn¡¯t yet appeared. Lettuce tasted bitter, bok choy was already old, heart cabbage was no longer sweet; a trip to the supermarket meant that even a simple greenhouse vegetable starts at ten to eight yuan per pound. Wu Lan adeptly managed the household but had zero experience selling wild vegetables. Thinking it over, she suggested, ¡°How about you sell them all for ten yuan per pound?¡± ¡°` There¡¯s not much reason to it, just to make the accounting easier. This price is indeed not expensive for today¡¯s green vegetable market, but after all, it is wild vegetables. Wu Lan knew that everyone in the city loved to eat them, but her childhood experiences still made her subconsciously undervalue them. So she mentioned the ten yuan with particularly little confidence. Song Tan thought about it and felt that ten yuan was actually fine. Wild vegetables don¡¯t yield much after cooking. You might have a large handful, but once boiled, they shrink to a small clump. She believed that the quality nurtured by Spiritual Energy was definitely good, but since it was their first business deal, they had to let everyone taste it before they could talk about future dealings. ¡°Alright then, ten yuan it is!¡± Song Sancheng discussed, ¡°This year¡¯s shepherd¡¯s purse is really good. Why not make some more dumplings to freeze? Otherwise, in a couple of days when we start the mushroom spores, we¡¯ll be too busy and end up eating hastily.¡± In a few days, once the preparations were made, it was time to start with the mushroom spores. Song Sancheng consulted with Song Tan, saying there was no need to rush this task and it would be better to hire some elderly men and women to do it. ¡°They are older now, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they¡¯re slow. Even if they are slow, Tantan, you mustn¡¯t fuss over it¡­ Our village is down to so few households. When they grow old, they just sit there all day, staring into space or dozing off. It¡¯s a sad sight.¡± ¡°We might as well ask them to come over. We don¡¯t talk about money¡ªit¡¯s just taking their time. After the work is done, we can buy some meat to help them take home. If they need anything, we lend a hand. Your grandparents can help keep an eye on things while we¡¯re busy¡­ What do you think?¡± Sure. Why not? Song Tan agreed without hesitation. Firstly, the mushrooms and wood ear fungus were not in a rush to sprout just yet¡­ Her outer fence was not even set up! Secondly, everyone was from the village. Who else would they hire if not them? Her grandparents had been growing increasingly despondent over the past few years, and having something to do was certainly better than sitting idle. But¡­ Song Tan looked at her family¡¯s yard, complete with a motorcycle and flower beds: ¡°Our yard is a bit small, isn¡¯t it?¡± Starting the mushroom spores required pressing the spores into pre-drilled small holes in the chestnut tree trunks. The logs were somewhat long and heavy. The yard could accommodate them, but it was inconvenient to pass by. Song Sancheng thought for a moment: ¡°I¡¯ll go and talk to your grandpa later. We¡¯ll put them in his yard, which is more spacious. Your grandma can take care of the cooking, your mom can help¡­ There are only about eight or nine elderly people in the village. They don¡¯t eat much, we can just bring over rice, flour, and vegetables from our place.¡± The family of four straightened out the details (with Qiaoqiao providing the humming soundtrack) and felt everything was arranged. Seeing that it was almost nine o¡¯clock, Song Tan quickly called out to Qiaoqiao: ¡°Let¡¯s go! Bring a large basket to dig up shepherd¡¯s purse!¡± And to check on how many wild vegetables the Spiritual Energy had stimulated overnight. Climbing up the familiar hillside once again, Qiaoqiao was astounded. His mouth fell open: ¡°(¡Ño¡Ñ) Wow!¡± ¡°Sis, it¡¯s so green!¡± Isn¡¯t it just very green? Wild chives grew in bunches, as thick as layers of hair, covering the entire edge of the mountain forest slope. The Indian kalimeris that could barely fill a plate yesterday were now vying to poke out their green heads, with green and red stems crowded together as though afraid people couldn¡¯t grab a whole plateful. The shepherd¡¯s purse¡­ well, there wasn¡¯t any need to say more about it. It grew densely in the crevices, their leaves so tender they seemed to weep with moisture. Even before harvesting them, one could smell the strong fragrance of the fresh greenery. The contrast and difference between the newly sprouted green buds of the neighboring woods were strikingly visible. Song Tan had actually been mentally prepared and very confident. But at that moment, she still felt somewhat dazed and only managed to dig up a basket of fresh shepherd¡¯s purse with Qiaoqiao¡¯s help. On their way back, they also made a detour to check the pond. Very good. The watercress and purslane had spread dense patches, growing wildly as if on steroids, covering the ground and water surface around the pond! She suppressed the joy inside her¡ª These vegetables were now giving too much credit to the Spiritual Energy! Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: 18. Clean up wild vegetables_1 Chapter 18: 18. Clean up wild vegetables_1 After lunch, Song Tan grabbed a basket, planning to go dig for wild vegetables. The sky was still gloomy, and with temperatures around ten degrees and no sun, it really couldn¡¯t be considered warm. On such a day, every household would be warming themselves by the fire, and few people would venture out. Wu Lan glanced at the large basket her daughter was carrying and felt sorry for her hard work these days, ¡°There¡¯s no need to go digging for wild vegetables so early; you can go in the evening. That way they¡¯ll stay fresher for tomorrow. Besides, there isn¡¯t much to gather in this weather, and it¡¯s quick work.¡± Song Tan thought of the densely packed greenery by the pond on the hill, figuring if there wasn¡¯t ¡®Spiritual Energy,¡¯ she really wouldn¡¯t need to be so proactive. But at the moment, she took Qiaoqiao with her, ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom, you start making the dumplings. I feel like today¡¯s shepherd¡¯s purse is especially fresh.¡± Seeing her daughter¡¯s insistence, Wu Lan didn¡¯t try to stop her, but she muttered, ¡°Shepherd¡¯s purse is the same whether it¡¯s yesterday or today¡­ what could be different¡­¡± She sat by the stove, planning to sort through the shepherd¡¯s purse she had dug up in the morning, but as soon as she picked it up, something felt off¡ª ¡°How come this looks so good?¡± ¡­ Qiaoqiao was indeed a great helper; an episode of Peppa for a basket of vegetables, and in no time, he returned with a full basket of shepherd¡¯s purse. Lush green, tender and juicy, it looked delicious no matter how you looked at it, almost exaggeratedly so. Song Sancheng was helping to sort the vegetables, and when he took the basket, he paused, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there wasn¡¯t much yesterday? With a single rain, it¡¯s grown this much?¡± This was a large basket, small bundles of shepherd¡¯s purse densely packed, heaping up high in the basket, wobbling as if a few stems might tumble out at any moment. Qiaoqiao didn¡¯t understand these things and instead felt very proud, ¡°There¡¯s still so much more¡ª¡± He thought to himself: Although sister isn¡¯t very good at farming, that¡¯s okay, Qiaoqiao now knows how to dig vegetables! Qiaoqiao will support her! Suddenly feeling ambitious, he didn¡¯t care about Peppa Pig anymore and went out again with two empty baskets. Meanwhile, back at home, Song Sancheng dumped out the vegetables to weigh them, ¡°Wow, that must be over ten pounds!¡± Wu Lan was also surprised, but said, ¡°It just rained, and the vegetables are wet, and they have a bit of mud on them. It¡¯s probably only ten pounds.¡± That¡¯s still quite a lot. A basket of ten pounds, a zero-cost business, and at the price of ten yuan per pound, that¡¯s a hundred yuan already. ¡­ Digging wild vegetables this trip took a full three hours, and by the time Song Tan returned, it was already past four in the afternoon. As fate would have it, just as she returned, another rain came pouring down. The family of four didn¡¯t bother with making dumplings but hurried to deal with the wild vegetables! Looking at the ¡®Spiritual Energy¡¯ infused wild vegetables, so crisp and appealing, sparking one¡¯s appetite, Song Tan didn¡¯t believe no one would pay ten yuan per pound, and her entrepreneurial spirit emerged: ¡°Mom, just pick them a little, give the mud a wash, but don¡¯t remove all the roots, and tie them up with some grass. One bunch, one pound and two ounces, so we don¡¯t lose any weight tomorrow.¡± Wu Lan was just about to pick each one clean and was thinking it would take quite some time. Yet when Song Tan suggested this, Wu Lan couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°With one pound, you¡¯ll only have about seven or eight ounces of edible part. Can you still sell it for ten yuan?¡± Why not? Song Tan opened her mobile app, and even the local delivery of vegetables in the city, lettuce cost 14.8 yuan per pound! ¡°Wild vegetables! Fresh ones, with a bit of dirt and moisture, ten yuan is cheap, okay?¡± ¡°You forgot about last year¡¯s toon, it was fifty or sixty a pound! And they sold them by twos.¡± That¡¯s true. Wu Lan thought for a moment, ¡°Alright, since there are no costs involved, you go ahead and sell them. Don¡¯t panic if we can¡¯t sell everything; we can take them back, blanch them, dry them, and freeze them in the fridge. We can still eat them during the New Year.¡± The family of four thus each had their own tasks. Song Sancheng was responsible for cleaning the mud, Wu Lan for sorting the vegetables, Song Tan for weighing them, and Qiaoqiao for tying each bunch neatly with long grass. By the time the sky was completely dark, they finally finished tidying up the wild vegetables. After weighing them¡ª Wow! Malan heads, purslane, shepherd¡¯s purse, watercress, and wild chives¡ªa total of 80 small bundles, weighing over a hundred pounds! Song Sancheng immediately changed his mind, ¡°Maybe we should rent a vehicle tomorrow, even though 200 yuan for a round trip is expensive, they will come to pick us up at our doorstep. Otherwise, how are we going to take so many vegetables on public transport?¡± It would raise the cost all at once. Song Tan made a decisive call, ¡°Rent!¡± ¡°Right dad, I¡¯ll bring Qiaoqiao with me tomorrow.¡± Song Sancheng subconsciously opposed, ¡°Why bring Qiaoqiao? You¡¯re going to do business, and if he starts fussing¡­¡± However, before he could finish, Qiaoqiao loudly protested, ¡°Qiaoqiao wants to sell vegetables!¡± ¡°Qiaoqiao won¡¯t make a fuss!¡± ¡°Qiaoqiao wants to go out!¡± Wu Lan thought for a moment, sighed, and acquiesced, ¡°Alright, bring him along. He should be exposed to unfamiliar environments. Otherwise, spending every day in the village, he doesn¡¯t even have anyone to play with.¡± Going to the city with him occasionally, she still had to endure the scrutinizing looks of others¡­ Wu Lan¡¯s heart ached. Song Tan pretended not to notice the bitterness in those words. She had tried on the night she obtained the Spiritual Energy, and Qiaoqiao¡­ he wasn¡¯t fully developed in the womb, even if her cultivation was successful, there wasn¡¯t much she could do about it. All she could ensure was that he stayed strong and healthy, and fell ill less often. Perhaps add more exercises on top¡ªwhat¡¯s wrong with a six-year-old¡¯s IQ? Aren¡¯t there many sensible six-year-olds? So at this moment, she happily patted Qiaoqiao, ¡°Good Qiaoqiao! I knew you were the smartest! You must help out a lot tomorrow.¡± Qiaoqiao proudly accepted, in a very loud voice. The family had been busy for most of the day and only now began to feel ravenously hungry, but sorting the vegetables had left them with sore waists and backs, causing the cook Wu Lan to let out a perfunctory sigh, ¡°Alright, we just so happened not to have put away the dumplings we made this afternoon, so let¡¯s eat those.¡± Just right, Song Tan also wanted to taste today¡¯s shepherd¡¯s purse, ¡°Mom, cook more.¡± Wu Lan had initially planned to cook about the same amount as in the morning, but with Song Tan¡¯s request, she grumbled about how much the family could eat while still cooking an extra bowlful. However, when the dumplings were served, everyone¡¯s eyes widened at the first bite. Qiaoqiao began kicking his legs excitedly, ¡°Yummy! So delicious, mommy!¡± As he spoke, he grimaced from the heat but still didn¡¯t let go of the dumpling in his mouth, holding onto his bowl firmly, ¡°The yummiest in the world!¡± Song Sancheng devoured half a bowl in one breath before letting out a satisfied sigh, ¡°Indeed, why are these dumplings so delicious today?¡± Song Tan was even moved to tears: After so many days back home, they finally got to eat a meal that tasted normal and pure, oh heavens, she could show off with three bowls! Only Wu Lan ate thoughtfully¡ª The dumpling filling she made this afternoon was the same as usual! Could it be that after the spring rain, the shepherd¡¯s purse had become so much tastier? She quickly finished her portion in a few bites, put down her bowl, picked a bunch from each of the neatly tied vegetables, and went back into the kitchen to hustle about. By the time she returned with another plate, the dumplings were already polished off. Only Song Sancheng still gazed at her sycophantically, ¡°I¡¯m not quite full¡­ how about we both eat a bit more?¡± Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: 19. Vegetable Sale_1 Chapter 19: 19. Vegetable Sale_1 Wu Lan had eaten only one bowl and was full, but not completely satisfied. However, considering the appetites of her family members, they were definitely all overstuffed tonight, so she flat-out refused, ¡°Let¡¯s eat the dumplings tomorrow morning. Come on, try this wild vegetable we picked today!¡± What she picked was malan head, purslane, and watercress. To keep things simple and purely to test the taste, she boiled them briefly and then mixed them all together with the same seasoning. At this moment, the red chili, white sesame, dark brown soy vinegar, and the green tender leaves and stems were intertwined, and a fresh, sour and spicy fragrance wafted towards them. Song Sancheng no longer hesitated and quickly grabbed some with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth¡ª ¡°Mmm!¡± Delicious, spicy, refreshing, and crunchy¡­ A mix of flavors and textures all in one, making Song Sancheng unable to stop eating, with each grasp of his chopsticks taking almost half a plate of the vegetables. It¡¯s just that¡­ ¡°This is so appetizing; I should have cooked a pot of rice,¡± he lamented. But Wu Lan glanced at his belly and said, ¡°Stop eating, will you? Aren¡¯t you afraid of bursting¡ªyou¡¯re going to make yourself sick. Let me have a taste!¡± Once she tasted it, the whole family fell silent. After a while, Wu Lan hesitantly asked, ¡°Did we sell this too cheaply for ten yuan?¡± Song Tan made a swift decision, ¡°It was practically a giveaway¡ªtrust me, 20 yuan a bunch!¡± Selling early in the morning, there was no fear if they didn¡¯t sell out because the returning customers who¡¯ve already eaten at noon would definitely come back! Now, making money was crucial! Wu Lan instantly regretted, ¡°If I had known, I would have sampled just a few stalks of each!¡± ¡­ Early the next morning. It was indeed early. Song Tan was woken up at 5:30 a.m., and while Song Sancheng also planned to help carry the vegetables, he found that his daughter could carry a basket in each hand, and Qiaoqiao could hold another, so they quickly loaded seventy or eighty bundles of wild vegetables onto the vehicle. ¡°Do you really not need me to come along?¡± ¡°No need for that, Qiaoqiao is here, and Qiaoqiao can help, right?¡± Song Tan waved him off. Qiaoqiao next to her agreed enthusiastically, ¡°Yes! Qiaoqiao is enough!¡± Song Sancheng stood there aimlessly, his hand outstretched, suddenly feeling the bittersweetness of ¡°getting old.¡± He was brought back from his thoughts by Wu Lan¡¯s voice, ¡°There are a few dumplings left in the pot, you want them?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± He immediately discarded the fleeting sentimentality. ¡­ Uncle Wang, who drove the van, was a local acquaintance. While keeping an eye on the road, he asked curiously, ¡°Tantan, are you off to the city to sell these vegetables?¡± Song Tan nodded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s cold now, so it¡¯s nice to eat something fresh. If we can¡¯t sell it all, we¡¯ll eat it ourselves, no trouble at all.¡± That made sense. Uncle Wang nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good, young people these days are hesitant to take on such hardships. Your parents are lucky!¡± After a bit of mutual business flattery, the van stopped by the well-known market in the old district. It wasn¡¯t even seven o¡¯clock yet. The market wasn¡¯t formally planned; it was just next to the river, with easy access from all sides, so everyone tacitly set up shop there, shouldering baskets and pushing carts to sell their goods. Song Tan didn¡¯t even have to pay any kind of stall fee. She laid out her baskets in front of her, set up two folding stools, and took out a stack of plastic bags. Everything was ready to go. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the selling, Sister!¡± Qiaoqiao couldn¡¯t wait. Song Tan quickly gave up the prime spot to him, ¡°Alright, Qiaoqiao will sell¡ªbut you know the price, right?¡± ¡°I do!¡± Qiaoqiao geared up, ¡°Twenty yuan a bunch, no haggling!¡± That was all he needed to know. Song Tan thought for a moment and put up the two QR codes she had printed out at the Village Department yesterday¡ªone was a payment code. The other: a QR code for a group called ¡°Fresh Wild Vegetables Update Notification,¡± inviting scanning to join, with advance notifications of fresh wild vegetables. She would bet her cultivation life that anyone who tasted her wild vegetables today would definitely come back for more. ¡­ The weather was good that day. Although the sun had not yet risen by seven o¡¯clock, there was a faint hint of dawn in the sky. The market bustled with housewives in fluffy fleece pajamas or old down jackets hurrying back and forth. The siblings sat neatly on their small stools, looking similar with bright black pupils and fair skin, both pretty and charming, presenting the friendliest of visages. And she¡¯s so young, too. Just look at this market, let alone the stall owners, there are hardly any young people selling vegetables. Customers buying groceries couldn¡¯t help but turn their gaze towards her. They took the opportunity to check out the baskets in front of them¡ªwow, what kind of weather is this? To have such fresh and tender wild vegetables already, and they¡¯re so neatly arranged! ¡°Miss, how much are you selling this shepherd¡¯s purse for?¡± During the New Year, vegetables are so expensive, and with the constant coming and going of guests, everyone¡¯s first thought upon seeing shepherd¡¯s purse is fresh and tender dumplings. As soon as this aunty asked, it was as if she started a trend, and slowly more people gathered around. ¡°I know, I know! Shepherd¡¯s purse, 20 yuan a bunch, one pound!¡± Qiaoqiao couldn¡¯t wait to answer. Sitting on a small stool, slightly tilting his head up to look at the aunty in front of him, he was both well-behaved and adorable, with his round, fuzzy little head, no older aunty could resist. Moreover¡­ When adults speak, their tone is different from that of a child¡¯s. The aunty who asked the question looked at him in surprise, as if she realized something. However, she saw Qiaoqiao still persistently staring at her, so she tentatively furrowed her brows: ¡°That¡¯s way too expensive, could you sell it for 10 yuan?¡± ¡°No can do,¡± Qiaoqiao shook his head as if it were a rattle, emphasizing again: ¡°Shepherd¡¯s purse dumplings, I had three bowls this morning!¡± He held up his hand, forming the shape of the number three with his fingers. Song Tan also laughed along: ¡°Right, aunty, I dug these up myself yesterday. They really are especially fresh and tender, and 20 yuan is honestly not expensive.¡± ¡°Moreover, each bunch weighs a pound, always more rather than less, you know how expensive greenhouse vegetables are now! Spring has arrived, why not enjoy some fresh wild vegetables to freshen up?¡± She pointed at the QR code next to her: ¡°If you aren¡¯t sure, scan the code to join the group. If it¡¯s not delicious, just message me on WeChat, and I¡¯ll refund you.¡± She spoke with extraordinary confidence, and the aunty in front of her made up her mind in an instant. But in the basket in front of her, there were so many choices! Which one should she buy? She was torn. However, as soon as the aunty hesitated, Qiaoqiao drooped his eyebrows and looked up at her with pitiful eyes: ¡°Aunty, don¡¯t you want to buy? Qiaoqiao dug them up!¡± The aunty¡¯s heart melted, and everyone present also realized the situation, promptly agreeing: ¡°I¡¯ll buy it!¡± ¡°But aunty doesn¡¯t know which one to choose, what should I do?¡± Qiaoqiao blinked innocently: ¡°Then just try a bit of each!¡± He also feels this kind of pain sometimes when buying snacks. ¡°Oh my!¡± The crowd around the stall laughed joyfully: ¡°You little one, still quite greedy, aren¡¯t you? These are 20 yuan each, that would be a hundred yuan for one go.¡± But Qiaoqiao was not convinced: ¡°Qiaoqiao has been eating them for two days straight.¡± ¡°Shepherd¡¯s purse for dumplings.¡± ¡°Wild chives to stew with crucian carp or stir-fry with eggs!¡± ¡°Ma¡­ Ma¡­¡± He forgot the name. Song Tan quickly patted his head: ¡°Qiaoqiao is so brilliant!¡± Then she swiftly showed everyone the vegetables: ¡°Malantou can be fried with meat or served cold, watercress is also tender, and purslane is great for cooling heat and detoxification¡­¡± ¡°Our wild vegetables, guaranteed you¡¯ll want them a second time after one taste.¡± As she flipped the vegetables for everyone to see, each piece was verdant and tender, without a hint of damage. And considering the expert buyers all around, who could tell with one touch that this girl hadn¡¯t shortchanged them¡ªafter all, 20 yuan a pound for freshly dug wild vegetables from the village wasn¡¯t really expensive. The more everyone looked, the more tempted they became, compared to the greenhouse vegetables they were holding¡ª ¡°Come on, give me two pounds of shepherd¡¯s purse, my son loves dumplings!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take two pounds as well¡ªplus a bunch of those wild chives, oh my, the real wild ones, so pungent! I haven¡¯t eaten them in over a decade!¡± ¡°I want some too! A bundle of the purslane for me, it¡¯s anti-inflammatory and diuretic¡­¡± ¡°Malantou is best for cooling down, I¡¯ll take that, two bunches¡ªand shepherd¡¯s purse for me too!¡± ¡°Watercress! Watercress is so tender, I want three bunches, to take one home for my daughter!¡± Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: Market Old Classmate_1 Chapter 20: Market Old Classmate_1 People have a herd mentality. When a group of experienced shoppers at the marketplace gather around a small stall to compete for goods, the crowd around it can only grow larger. Song Tan could only feel the QR code payment ringing nonstop, her hands constantly packaging vegetables. This one wanted wild onions, that one wanted shepherd¡¯s purse, and another wanted kalimeris¡­ Luckily, she possessed spiritual energy and had quick reflexes. Otherwise, her first time selling vegetables and facing such a scene would have certainly been chaotic. Qiaoqiao was happily pulling out plastic bags one by one, flapping them open, and handing them to her sister, thoroughly enjoying himself. He didn¡¯t understand the nuances of good or bad business, but he found tearing the bags open really fun! ¡°Qiaoqiao, shout one time, say that the shepherd¡¯s purse is sold out.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He obediently put down the bags, stood up straight, cupped his hands around his mouth: ¡°Shepherd¡¯s purse¡ª¡ªis all sold out!¡± With that shout, those at the back who hadn¡¯t managed to buy it became even more reluctant: ¡°How can it be gone? I was waiting to make dumplings!¡± They still lined up at the front, hopeful¡ªno fish, then shrimp would do! And further back, customers who heard the news¡ª¡ªWhat? Someone was selling shepherd¡¯s purse? Where? It¡¯s already sold out? Wow, that shepherd¡¯s purse must be good! I must go have a look, memorize the stall for an early visit tomorrow! So, with the sun rising, more and more people gathered in front of the small stall, and at that moment, Qiaoqiao said dejectedly: ¡°Sister, there are no more bags.¡± The customers by now were hardly concerned about whether or not there were bags. ¡°No problem! I have bags, give me that bundle¡ª¡ªthe one next to it! I¡¯ve scanned the code already!¡± ¡°I have change¡ª¡ªhere, two bundles, forty yuan.¡± Qiaoqiao happily took the money, exclaiming loudly: ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Ah, this silly boy, unintentionally endearing, making the aunties handle their vegetables even more tenderly. At this moment, Qiaoqiao shouted again: ¡°Wild onions¡ª¡ªalso all sold out!¡± Next came the kalimeris. Purslane¡­ By the end, when only three bunches of watercress were left, the space in front of the stall finally quieted down. Song Tan also took a sigh of relief, and turning to look at Qiaoqiao, she saw him staring at the children blowing bubbles up ahead, then turning an expectant gaze towards her. Song Tan smiled: ¡°Good boy, Qiaoqiao, you helped a lot today! Let¡¯s see, how much have we made?¡± Qiaoqiao hurriedly took out all the money from his pocket, a mix of notes and coins, totaling up to over eight hundred yuan. It seems there were still plenty of people at the marketplace carrying cash. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Song Tan generously divided out twenty yuan for him: ¡°Take this, you can¡¯t wander off far, but you can buy anything you like around here.¡± She was more at ease with the spiritual energy watching over him. Otherwise, for a naive child like him wandering around, it would indeed be very dangerous. Being handed such a large sum of money, Qiaoqiao felt his heart pounding. He used to run errands for his family, but this was the first time he had been given so much money solely to buy snacks! In truth, he was not very good at arithmetic, and there weren¡¯t any children of his age in his village, so he lacked social interactions. But since Song Tan brought him out, she intended to let him practice, and now with the twenty yuan, he could spend it as he pleased. Back in his hometown, the village store had a pitiful selection of snacks, let alone toys. ¡°But if you run out of money, that¡¯s too bad, and you¡¯re not allowed to go far.¡± This riverside had vendors selling vegetables in the morning and people enjoying cool breezes in the evening, and naturally, there were also things being sold for children. Qiaoqiao¡¯s gaze shifted from the colorful pinwheels to the bubble machines, to the spicy strips the other children were eating¡­ He suddenly found himself unable to move. ¡­ And Song Tan checked her mobile payment¡ª76 bunches of vegetables, with just three bunches of watercress left. Cash $860, mobile payment $600 even. It looked like she hadn¡¯t been taken advantage of today, satisfied! Then she checked the QR code group from earlier¡ªregrettably, the aunties were good at picking vegetables but seemed unfamiliar and resistant to scanning the code to join the group, which now only had 15 members. But it was a good start, anyway! Song Tan adjusted the group settings and at the same time posted an announcement: ¡°Thank you for supporting the wild vegetables this morning, guaranteed refund if not tasty! Please rest assured. Also, there will be a notice in the group before selling each time, hope everyone doesn¡¯t miss out¡­¡± Before she posted it, she heard an incredulous voice beside her, ¡°Song Tan?¡± Song Tan lifted her head and saw a young woman holding a man¡¯s arm, looking at her in surprise. It took Song Tan a while to recall this person from her memory: ¡°Wa Qianqian?¡± Her high school classmate. ¡°Exactly!¡± Wa Qianqian looked over her outfit¡ªa worn down coat, sneakers, and long hair simply tied with a black elastic band, with a bare face. Although her skin was delicate and flawless, and her features became even more pleasing to the eye and prettier as one looked¡­ But what was the use of that? Look at what was in front of her: an empty basket with only some leftover vegetable leaves and dirt, plus three bunches of some green vegetable. Clearly leftovers from selling vegetables! A deep sense of disbelief and sympathy appeared in Wa Qianqian¡¯s eyes, ¡°I heard you were working in Ning City, how come you are now selling vegetables at the market?¡± Back in the day, Song Tan was delicate, pretty, and kind, and many boys in the class were nice to her. Wa Qianqian, on the other hand, had a fiery temper back then and looked down on girls like Song Tan. Latter on, she went to a vocational college, met her current boyfriend there¡ªthis man beside her. Now, he was visiting her home, and Wa Qianqian wanted to show off, which led her to bring him to take a tour of the vegetable market. She hadn¡¯t expected this ¡°surprise,¡± running into an old classmate. Song Tan smiled slightly, ¡°Yes, the pressure in the capital was too much, so I simply came back home to accompany my parents. Would you like to buy some wild vegetables? I just picked these watercress yesterday; they¡¯re very tasty when mixed up.¡± Her straightforwardness somewhat stumped Wa Qianqian, but her boyfriend seriously looked at the vegetables in the basket, ¡°Are these wild vegetables? How do you eat them? Are they good?¡± Before Song Tan could answer, Qiaoqiao happily returned with a multicolored pinwheel, and seeing someone interested in buying vegetables, he got even more excited: ¡°They¡¯re tasty! Super tasty! Qiaoqiao can eat three big bowls by himself!¡± Anyway, anything in his eyes was as delicious as shepherd¡¯s purse dumplings. His eyes were pure, and he smiled like a child, which made Wa Qianqian¡¯s look of pity even more evident: ¡°Oh right, you mentioned in school you have a younger brother who is a bit¡ª¡± Before she could finish, her boyfriend beside her coughed, prompting Wa Qianqian to quickly shut up and gave an embarrassed smile. Then she carefully picked up one of the watercress bundles tied with straw, examining it: ¡°It¡¯s not easy for you, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s often gender discrimination in the countryside¡­ ah, what I mean is, I¡¯ll take all of these vegetables.¡± However, Song Tan didn¡¯t mind. There are people with a condescending sense of pity everywhere, and they may just be looking for a sense of superiority, not necessarily having bad intentions. Plus, having cultivated for over a hundred years, she had long since become indifferent. So she treated Wa Qianqian¡¯s boyfriend just like any other customer: ¡°There¡¯s no need to buy three bunches, watercress is after all a wild vegetable, and if you haven¡¯t tried it before, you might not prepare it well.¡± ¡°If you want to try something new, one bunch is enough. When you get home, fry some Sichuan pepper in oil, and use chili sauce, soy sauce, salt, vinegar, and such, blanch it and mix it up¡­¡± Wa Qianqian¡¯s boyfriend listened intently, and even seemed a bit eager: ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll take one bunch to try¡ªhow much is it?¡± Chapter 21 - Chapter 21: 21. Old customer_1 Chapter 21: 21. Old customer_1 ¡°Twenty.¡± Though indifferent, there was no particular fondness either. Song Tan had no intention of giving a discount. ¡°What?!¡± Wa Qianqian was unhappy ¡ª where had she ever seriously bought groceries before? Now that she heard the price, she felt like Song Tan was taking advantage of her knowing they were old classmates. ¡°It¡¯s just wild vegetables, there¡¯s no cost to it. Why should it be so expensive? Song Tan, we are old classmates, you can¡¯t rip people off like this.¡± No sooner had she said this than an auntie suddenly squeezed in from behind: ¡°Aiyo, are there any vegetables left ¡ª only three bundles? Then I¡¯ll take them all!¡± The auntie, with practiced ease, bagged all three bundles while awkwardly squinting to scan the QR code for the group, mumbling on and on: ¡°I was the first to buy, just wanted to try something fresh. I didn¡¯t expect that after making noodles at home, my granddaughter ate such a big bowl! You don¡¯t know how picky she is¡­ Now that I¡¯m in the group, young lady if you come tomorrow, just let me know in advance, okay?¡± After finishing her words, she dug out sixty yuan from her pocket and swiftly handed it to Qiaoqiao, her eyes brimming with affection: ¡°Dear child, auntie will come to you for vegetables next time!¡± The auntie, satisfied with her haul, strode off triumphantly. Wa Qianqian and her boyfriend stood awkwardly in place ¡ª they had not expected that, after being so picky and accusing a classmate of overcharging, someone else would not even haggle and just buy everything up. Are these wild vegetables really so rare and tasty? With this thought lingering in their minds, the more they thought about it, the more convinced they became that they must be delicious! After hesitating for a while, Wa Qianqian¡¯s boyfriend pulled out his phone and quietly scanned the group¡¯s QR code. ¡­ Song Tan checked her phone, feeling quite satisfied: Ah! Seventeen group members, and she had already secured a return customer in just one morning. Not bad! She took Qiaoqiao¡¯s pinwheel, gave it a ¡°whoosh¡± of breath, and the colorful pinwheel started spinning rapidly, with Qiaoqiao happily watching her: ¡°Sister, have you sold everything?¡± ¡°All sold out!¡± Song Tan also pointed at the basket, ¡°Qiaoqiao, pack up, sister will call a car to pick us up.¡± After a pause, she asked, ¡°Do we have any money left?¡± Qiaoqiao patted her pocket and flipped the rest of the change to her ¡ª with the sixty from the auntie, there was a total of seventy-five left. The pinwheel cost five, so it seemed that no extra money was charged. Song Tan simply handed back fifteen: ¡°Go on, buy whatever else you like. Qiaoqiao, you¡¯ve worked so hard these past days!¡± The siblings acted as if no one else was there, and by the time they looked back around, Wa Qianqian and her boyfriend had already disappeared. ¡­ The wild vegetables sold unexpectedly fast, and Uncle Wang was still surprised when he came to pick them up: ¡°Doing so well? Tantan, you must have sold them cheap, right?¡± Otherwise, with fresh and tender greenhouse vegetables available all over the market ¡ª clean and neatly arranged ¡ª there would be no way wild vegetables could sell so well if not for a good price. Those three baskets this morning were packed solid; that was no small amount! Song Tan smiled, ¡°Not bad, wild vegetables are still scarce now, everyone wants to try something fresh.¡± That was true. Not until the season for wild vegetables really started, around Qingming Festival, would they hit the market. The siblings returned home, and it wasn¡¯t even ten o¡¯clock in the morning. Song Tan settled that day¡¯s car hire fee and watched the car drive away. As soon as she got home, she suggested to her dad: ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t you find time to get a driving license?¡± She showed the money to Wu Lan: ¡°We can still sell wild vegetables for a while, but hiring a car for one day costs two hundred. When we really start growing vegetables in our fields, can we afford a car hire every day?¡± That would be six thousand yuan a month, but buying a Wuling van would only cost a few tens of thousands of yuan. It would be even cheaper with installments. ¡°` After all the calculations, it is really cost-effective! However, Song Sancheng felt he was getting on in years, ¡°I won¡¯t learn, I won¡¯t learn. When Uncle Zhou went to learn the year before last, he couldn¡¯t remember Subject One¡¯s questions to save his life. I¡¯m already over fifty, why should I bother learning that!¡± ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you have a driver¡¯s license? You can just drive.¡± He was frightened before the battle had even begun. Song Tan didn¡¯t pressure him, ¡°Then Mom, you go learn. I think you are more dependable than Dad, and more suited to driving.¡± Wu Lan hesitated only for a moment before agreeing immediately, ¡°That¡¯s just the way your dad is. If I am to learn, then I will learn. I picked up riding a motorcycle very quickly back then! Tantan, you¡¯re so smart now because you take after me!¡± Song Sancheng: ¡­ He¡­ he wasn¡¯t completely against learning¡­ Why not persuade him a little more? But Song Tan encouraged Wu Lan, ¡°Mom, you can definitely do it¡ªwe sell vegetables every day, they are so tasty and expensive, if Uncle Wang asks for the price, it¡¯s awkward whether I tell him or not. It¡¯s more convenient to have our own car.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Wu Lan was also thinking: If everyone knew that wild vegetables could make money and they all swarmed there, it would be hard to get a good price later on. And strangely enough, when she strolled around the village that morning, everywhere was barren. Only behind their house and by the pond was there a lush green. Aiyo! This is an opportunity given by the heavens! Moreover, the wild vegetables on their land this year were indeed delicious. If the villagers wanted to pick and sell them secretly, being neighbors, how would it be determined clearly in the fields who could eat the wild vegetables and who couldn¡¯t? But twenty yuan a jin, if you eat it yourself, how extravagant! Looking at the 1,500 yuan her daughter brought home today, the main cost was just the two hundred yuan for transportation¡­ She steeled her heart, ¡°Go check the wild vegetables tomorrow, and if they¡¯re still tasty, sell them the day after tomorrow. After selling, don¡¯t rush back, go buy a car.¡± ¡°I heard that vans aren¡¯t expensive now, right?¡± Spiritual Energy isn¡¯t depleted in just one eating, more of it is hidden in the roots! The taste of the wild vegetables is beyond doubt in the short term. As for buying a car¡­ Song Tan stretched out her hand, ¡°Give me the card, and bring the documents. I¡¯ll go to the city with my dad this afternoon to have a look. And by the way, I just got a message that my ID is ready; I¡¯ll pick it up from the town hall this afternoon.¡± Then looking at Song Sancheng, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t you know a lot of people? I remember one uncle who specializes in second-hand cars, let¡¯s go buy a Wuling.¡± In the countryside, besides other vehicles, Little Pika and small vans are the most practical. Delivering vegetables, after all, is there any need for off-roading? You can pick one for just thirty thousand! Now, Wu Lan, as decisive as she was, shuddered inwardly, ¡°You just earned one thousand five, and now you want to spend thirty thousand?¡± ¡°Waiting another day is a cost of two hundred yuan, Mom!¡± Song Tan was also earnest. In the end, the two hundred yuan won over Wu Lan by a slim margin. She went back to her room and resolutely stuffed the card into Song Tan¡¯s hand: ¡°Take it, take it all!¡± ¡°There¡¯s sixty thousand in there, spend it however you like. I don¡¯t want your earnings, and don¡¯t come to me if you run out.¡± Previously she had refused because she thought it was unreliable. Now, well, it may still be unreliable, but it seemed like they were really considering how to make money. Looking at Qiaoqiao, holding a pinwheel in one hand and a bubble machine in the other, twirling around in the yard, having completely forgotten about Peppa. What else were she and her husband working hard for half their lives for, if not their two children? Thinking this way, Wu Lan felt less worried. Song Tan: ¡­ Could such good things happen?! She eagerly took the card and said in a hurry, ¡°Dad, hurry up, make a call and ask around!¡± ¡°` Chapter 22 - Chapter 22: 22. Buy a little more tomorrow. Chapter 22: 22. Buy a little more tomorrow. Men¡¯s attachment to cars is truly indescribable. After finishing the phone call, Song Sancheng was still rambling on about how driving by himself was not safe, the mountain roads were treacherous, and how one could easily be scammed when buying a second-hand car¡­ But, once he arrived at the location, his friend took him to see the rows of vehicles in the factory, and he instantly tossed his own words to the back of his mind. Now he was caught in a dilemma between choosing a van or a pickup truck. ¡°Tantan, a van isn¡¯t afraid of wind and rain, it¡¯s just that the capacity is a bit small. Maybe¡­¡± ¡°Pickup trucks can carry a lot.¡± ¡°But what if the weather is bad, it¡¯s inconvenient to put things in the back!¡± ¡°Pickup trucks can carry a lot.¡± ¡°The van can seat several people; you can¡¯t buy a car just for selling vegetables¡­¡± ¡°Pickup trucks can carry a lot.¡± Her dad was really¡­ easily persuaded and thrown into confusion by a few words. If she wasn¡¯t buying the car for selling vegetables, what was she buying it for? Was the air in the city not polluted enough for her? Plus, she planned to plant quite a variety in the several pieces of farmland she had. Without finding something that could carry a lot, how much effort would that cost her? 23,500 yuan for a second-hand pickup truck, complete with license plates and all ¨C one-stop service. Although Song Tan didn¡¯t know much about cars, she took a good look at the person selling the vehicle, who didn¡¯t seem dishonest. Song Sancheng rambled on all the way, and suddenly exclaimed from the passenger seat, ¡°Ah, this is a manual transmission, isn¡¯t it? Can your mom manage it alone? I¡¯ll have to be the one to drive¡ªI¡¯ll go inquire about a driving license in town later.¡± Song Tan suppressed her laughter: ¡°Mhm, the two of you together, it¡¯ll be good company.¡± Song Sancheng didn¡¯t notice her tone, and was already eyeing the dashboard. ¡­ They returned to town to get an ID card and bought a few plastic vegetable baskets ¨C wicker baskets were not very regular and took up lots of space as they couldn¡¯t be stacked when filled with vegetables. The car just happened to be parked outside the courtyard. Their location was a bit remote, with distant neighbors, so for the moment there was no one to come over and have a look. However, Wu Lan, though feeling the pinch of the money spent, couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of pride well up inside when seeing the thoroughly cleaned car (even if it was just a second-hand Little Pika). If it wasn¡¯t for the need to keep a low profile with the wild vegetable selling, she¡¯d probably have been out visiting neighbors by now. ¡°This vehicle is not bad, it can carry a lot. It¡¯s convenient for hauling large items too¡ªTantan, I checked on the wild vegetables, and I don¡¯t know why, but they¡¯re growing really well this year. We can continue selling them tomorrow.¡± ¡°How about we go pick some more this afternoon?¡± Clearly, she was already hooked by the money. Song Tan shook her head: ¡°Mom, there¡¯s no hurry. Most of the people who bought vegetables yesterday joined the group. We should give them some time to miss and crave for it, shouldn¡¯t we?¡± Without showing how tasty the wild vegetables were, how could she build a reputation? Right now, selling wild vegetables for twenty was not considered a high price, but after a while, when other spring vegetables and wild greens hit the market, this price would no longer be appropriate. If price was lowered, Song Tan herself would be the first to be displeased. So¡­ Let everyone crave for it first! Moreover, ¡°Mom, let¡¯s have wild vegetables again tonight.¡± Right now, the only vegetables without impurities were the wild ones. She would like to promote the growth of other vegetables, but explaining that would take too long! Wu Lan immediately refused: ¡°That won¡¯t do, they¡¯re twenty yuan a pound. If we eat several pounds in one meal, over a hundred yuan will be gone just like that.¡± Song Tan: ¡­I knew it. Without hesitation, she grabbed the basket: ¡°Qiaoqiao, time to pick vegetables.¡± Why would she bother exerting so much Spiritual Energy if not to ensure she could enjoy a good bite herself? She hadn¡¯t refined her own abilities enough yet. Wu Lan: ¡­ Spendthrift child! ¡­ In the end, they still ate those wild vegetables for dinner. Once Wu Lan tasted the vegetables, she stopped talking about wasting money and instead murmured, ¡°I should send some to your grandma and your uncle for them to try.¡± Song Tan hadn¡¯t forgotten about that, it¡¯s just¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while, Mom. There aren¡¯t many wild vegetables sprouting up right now; it would be too conspicuous if we sent some over.¡± The spiritual energy accelerated their growth, but she couldn¡¯t overdo it. Currently, the yield every two days was only around a hundred or so pounds, which was already quite plentiful for wild vegetables. Sending them now, with their delicious taste, wouldn¡¯t they have to be sent every day? What if they thought it was just some wild plants and decided to come and dig for themselves¡­ That would be inconvenient. When cultivating spiritual energy, one must understand human emotions and desires, something Song Tan was clear about. ¡°Let¡¯s wait another half month. The weather will be warmer then, and there will be more wild vegetables. At that time, we¡¯ll stop selling them and just eat them ourselves. We¡¯ll also give plenty to Grandpa and Grandma.¡± Half a month later, the milk vetch would have grown enough and tender enough to sell. Not bad for me! Song Tan felt that her business acumen was indeed very astute. ¡­ Meanwhile. In the city, Waterfront Residential Area. Zhao Yang came home from work with his pregnant wife. His mother had already prepared dinner, and seeing her daughter-in-law return to the bedroom, she looked worried, ¡°Qinqin still can¡¯t eat?¡± His wife had been pregnant for three months and was vomiting everything she ate. Just the smell of cooking oil would make her nauseous, and recently she had been very weak. It was worrying the whole family to death. Mother Zhao thought for a moment: ¡°Why don¡¯t you try giving Qinqin a taste first? I bought these wild vegetables early this morning. There was a young girl with her silly brother, who said they just dug them up from their village.¡± She rambled on, and actually felt a bit of regret: ¡°They were quite expensive though. A pound of lettuce is only fifteen yuan. At the time, so many people were scrambling for it, and I got excited too¡ªactually, twenty yuan for a bunch, and I didn¡¯t even manage to get any shepherd¡¯s purse! You know, shepherd¡¯s purse is so delicious in dumplings!¡± ¡°Look, all I got was this bunch of dandelion leaves, which are gone after blanching a bit.¡± ¡°But these dandelion leaves are quite good too, cooling and detoxifying.¡± She switched topics so fast that it was hard to tell if she was complaining about the expensive price or the fact that she didn¡¯t manage to get shepherd¡¯s purse. Zhao Yang also couldn¡¯t help but swallow¡ªshepherd¡¯s purse dumplings? Maybe he should order takeout at work tomorrow, the dumpling restaurant should have them. But then again, since these were freshly dug wild vegetables, they might taste better than greenhouse vegetables, right? Still, considering his wife¡¯s recent eating problems, he decided to be cautious. He only took a bowl and picked up a bit with chopsticks to bring to the bedroom: ¡°Qinqin, try a bit of this wild vegetable. My mom said it¡¯s called dandelion leaves, mixed with some small green chili¡­ cold and spicy.¡± Just hearing about eating made Qinqin¡¯s stomach churn again. She was about to refuse, but her husband had already brought the vegetable to her mouth. The chopsticks held only two green leaves. After considering, she opened her mouth, chewed slowly and carefully, fearing what would come afterward. However, once the wild vegetable entered her mouth¡ªit was fresh, crisp, spicy, and refreshing¡­ a mix of flavors so wonderful that it couldn¡¯t be described! Her stomach growled loudly, feeling starved crazy! Zhao Yang was watching her nervously, ¡°How is it?¡± Qinqin slowly swallowed the two leaves in her mouth, feeling her stomach as a bottomless pit, frantically clamoring for more. She suddenly stood up: ¡°Get me a bowl of rice, I want to eat this vegetable!¡± She was already impatiently out of the bedroom and at the dining table before the rice was served, gobbling down half the vegetables. Mother Zhao was overjoyed: ¡°Oh my! Oh my! If I had known, I would have bought more varieties!¡± As she spoke, she regretted again¡ªthat twenty yuan wasn¡¯t expensive! Early spring, vegetables are just this price, isn¡¯t this way more flavorsome than those greenhouse vegetables? Chapter 23 - Chapter 23: 23. The shepherds purse is a bit old_1 Chapter 23: 23. The shepherd¡¯s purse is a bit old_1 By the time Zhao Yang brought the rice to the table, the dish was almost empty. Qinqin finally caught her breath after which, feeling slightly embarrassed that she and her son hadn¡¯t started eating yet, picked up two chopsticks-full of vegetables: ¡°Mom, Zhao Yang, try this, the vegetables are really good!¡± The mother and son both laughed and took a bite¡ª Wow!!! Zhao Yang looked at the almost empty plate and then at his wife who clearly wanted more, at that moment she looked at him with anticipation, ¡°Buy more tomorrow, okay?¡± ¡­ The same scene unfolded in another neighborhood. Li Xiufen, with her fashionably dyed red curly hair, ladled a big bowl of dumplings for her granddaughter, ¡°Yuanyuan, eat up! These shepherd¡¯s purse dumplings are really fresh! Just as delicious as the ones from this morning.¡± The daughter-in-law couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at the sight: ¡°Mom, I told you, Yuanyuan is picky, she can¡¯t finish so many.¡± While speaking, she pushed her own bowl forward, ¡°Come on, Yuanyuan, give some to Mom if you can¡¯t finish.¡± Unexpectedly, the little girl turned her head with the bowl, and ¡°Ahwu¡± down went a whole dumpling, as she mumbled, ¡°Yummy! I can eat it all!¡± Yuanyuan¡¯s mom was stunned. ¡°Is it that delicious?¡± This picky eater had always had a weak stomach, refusing this, wanting to throw up that; even in kindergarten, she looked less robust than the nursery kids, which was really worrying. Now her special small bowl had over a dozen dumplings in it! Looking at her child gobble down dumpling after dumpling without even lifting her head, you couldn¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t fragrant! As a grandmother, she finally felt a sense of accomplishment. At that moment, she began to instruct imperiously, ¡°You see, you pamper her too much usually. This imported, that organic¡­ all this fuss, and look how thin the child is?¡± ¡°Take another look. This morning at the market, wild vegetables were twenty yuan a pound. I made shepherd¡¯s purse soup for Yuanyuan¡¯s noodles this morning, and she ate a big bowl of it in one go, didn¡¯t even want to leave for kindergarten.¡± She even told me at the kindergarten door, ¡°Grandma, make more delicious food like this tonight, okay?¡± Aiyo wei! At that moment, Li Xiufen¡¯s heart melted. So off she rushed to the market, and thank heavens, she managed to grab the last three bunches of watercress. The three bunches of vegetables were now in the fridge for later, while the shepherd¡¯s purse snatched that morning was quickly turned into dumplings. Talking about her victory, Li Xiufen was quite proud: ¡°You don¡¯t know, I was just in time. A young couple was picking vegetables ahead of me, complaining about twenty yuan a pound being expensive¡ª¡± Li Xiufen let out a disdainful snort, ¡°Not to brag, but do you young people even know what vegetables to buy? These fresh and tender wild vegetables were clearly grown in the wild!¡± ¡°Besides, this time of year, the supermarket has everything, cucumbers are sixteen yuan a pound, but do they taste any good?¡± ¡°I was lucky to get some.¡± But as she spoke, no one chimed in. She looked down to see her son and daughter-in-law already holding their bowls, with the dumplings nearly all eaten. Her son was even blushing slightly, ¡°Mom, are there any left?¡± Li Xiufen recalled the silly and endearing grandchild that morning and became even more irritated: how come all the boys in her family grew up so well! She replied grumpily, ¡°It was just a pound of shepherd¡¯s purse, how many dumplings can that make?¡± ¡°Then, then buy a few more pounds tomorrow!¡± her son begged, his craving apparent. A small bowl of dumplings was far from filling his stomach. Weren¡¯t there other vegetables in the fridge¡­ Li Xiufen grew even more annoyed! ¡°Eat, eat, eat; that¡¯s all you know! You say buy more as if it¡¯s so easy? Just buying a few pounds would cost over a hundred, how are you not heartbroken over the money?¡± Her son looked wronged. Weren¡¯t you the one who just said twenty yuan a pound wasn¡¯t expensive, Mom? Just then, Yuanyuan put down her bowl, ¡°Grandma, I want to eat this again tomorrow!¡± Li Xiufen¡¯s face instantly changed to one of joy and openness, ¡°Tomorrow morning let¡¯s cook noodles, we¡¯re out of dumplings¡ª¡ªbut Grandma joined the group today, and I¡¯ll ask her in a while if they¡¯re still selling tomorrow, next time we¡¯ll buy ten pounds, make dumplings and freeze them up!¡± The son and daughter-in-law exchanged glances, feeling as if they no longer had any status within the family. ¡­ Song Tan¡¯s customer group of 17 people was unusually lively tonight. [Girl, when are you selling wild vegetables again?] [Boss, can I make a reservation? I want ten pounds of shepherd¡¯s purse.] [Young lady, I have to go dancing in the park in the morning recently, can I give you the money now and have you save the vegetables for me?] Song Tan, in high spirits, simply replied: [The weather is cold now, and the wild vegetables haven¡¯t grown yet. What we have is a part that grows in the hollows of the mountain, without pesticides or fertilizers, so there isn¡¯t much wild vegetation. Therefore, there won¡¯t be any for sale tomorrow, nor will we accept reservations to hold vegetables. We tentatively plan to be at the market at seven o¡¯clock the day after tomorrow. It¡¯ll still be just the two of us siblings selling. The next sale will be three days later; we have to give the wild vegetables a chance to grow.] She then posted a little video taken while picking wild vegetables that day: The greenery on the mountain was sparse, spring had not yet arrived, but there was a patch of lush wild greens on the hillside, growing unrestrained and exuberant. Unexpected clumps of green appeared around field ridges, cracks, and pond edges, enough to prove that these were indeed naturally grown wild vegetables. Just then, someone in the group spoke up: ¡°Young lady, the wild vegetables from that plot have no cost, why do you sell them so expensively? They should be cheaper. And it¡¯s not enough, it¡¯s only eight ounces to a bunch, and the taste is just so-so.¡± Song Tan¡¯s eyebrows raised¡ªnot enough weight? When binding, they were two ounces per pound per bunch, and with the weather like this, there was no evaporation of water content. The vegetable leaves were crisp and briskly fresh, not to mention how tender they were. This morning she randomly picked and weighed a few bunches, and the weight hardly changed. As for a mediocre taste? Didn¡¯t she know the taste of her own harvest? This was underestimating her century-old experience in farming. And in a group of just over a dozen people, someone was picking faults? Song Tan wasn¡¯t going to pamper them. So she replied politely, ¡°Hello, the weight was off and it didn¡¯t taste good, right? The morning after next, please come over and I will give you a refund.¡± The boss is so easy to talk to? After a while, someone in the group tentatively said, ¡°Actually, that shepherd¡¯s purse I got is a bit old¡­¡± What month was it? The shepherd¡¯s purse hadn¡¯t even grown big, how could it be old? But if there was a deal to be had, why not take it? Song Tan also replied uniformly, ¡°That¡¯s fine, as long as you think the taste is not good, I will give everyone a refund the morning after next.¡± If the taste is not good, then maybe it¡¯s better not to eat it in the future. She was selling vegetables, she was selling Spiritual Energy, she cared about making money but also about being happy, there¡¯s no need to deal with these kinds of people. With a century of experience, Song Tan rarely got angry¡ªbecause she usually resolved matters before she had the chance to get upset. However, while some were trying to take advantage, others were speaking frankly: [Do you find it amusing to say such things? You can tell whether the vegetables are old or not, can¡¯t you?] [Exactly, boss, don¡¯t indulge them. If it¡¯s that hard to eat, let¡¯s see them take the vegetables back for a refund!] [Girl, your wild vegetables are very good! They¡¯re also clean. I went through them yesterday and hardly found a few old leaves; they¡¯re not those fake ones¡­] [That¡¯s right, if they don¡¯t want them, leave them for me!] Although Song Tan wanted to make money, she preferred a comfortable life. So she edited the group announcement: [1. Pure ecological, pollution-free wild vegetables, not sorted by variety, uniformly 20 yuan per pound. Each bundle is sorted at two ounces per pound, and customers are welcome to weigh them at home, with excess refunded and shortages supplemented. 2. If the wild vegetables are not fresh, or are old, please bring the uneaten (cooked or raw both are fine) vegetables from our farm to the market, I will provide a full refund. 3. Farm¡¯s own product, limited production, each sale will be notified in advance through the group, thank you for your support.] Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: 24. Refund_1 Chapter 24: 24. Refund_1 With the car bought and the wild vegetables growing like crazy, almost as they were trying to sprout inside Wu Lan¡¯s heart, she was dying to go to the market to sell them every single day. But Song Tan wouldn¡¯t have it. She was the only one in the family with a driver¡¯s license, so that by the third day, Wu Lan had no choice but to cram a whopping 170 pounds of vegetables in the back of the car! Even Song Tan fell silent at the sight. ¡°Mom, after we sell this batch, let¡¯s give the wild veggies a couple of days off, okay?¡± The vegetables were being coaxed to grow non-stop, not even allowed a chance to rest. Thinking about the soil that was nearly scraped clean, Wu Lan coughed dryly, ¡°Gas is expensive, you know¡­ each trip has to at least break even.¡± After a pause, she added another reminder, ¡°I¡¯m taking someone to your grandpa¡¯s today at noon to check on the mushroom spawn. Your dad is getting someone to go up the mountain to cast nets. If you guys come back for lunch, go straight to your granddad¡¯s house to eat.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Song Tan started the car. ¡°Qiaoqiao, let¡¯s go!¡± Qiaoqiao, thrilled, settled into the passenger seat. Following Song Tan¡¯s instructions, he buckled up his seatbelt and looked around, ¡°Sis, is this our car?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Song Tan coaxed him as she drove, ¡°Pretty impressive, huh? Qiaoqiao¡¯s been good and sensible these past few days, so your sister specially took you for a ride!¡± Maybe it was the instinct from her days as a working stiff, but now speaking off the cuff, she actually dangled a big promise in front of her six-year-old-at-heart brother: ¡°Hang in there, Qiaoqiao, and once your sister makes some money, she¡¯ll buy you a learning machine so you can watch Peppa wherever you go.¡± After she finished, listening to Qiaoqiao¡¯s cheers in the car, Song Tan fell silent first. Hmm, turns out she was the capitalist after all. ¡­ Song Tan arrived at the vegetable market again. Fearing a parking ticket, she parked the car a bit farther away. Seriously, Cultivators have no sense of prestige¡­ And then, without moving from the spot, she set up her stall right under the car to start selling. At this moment, the aunties who had been wandering around the market for the past half-hour were too eager to wait any longer. No one expected these wild veggies to taste so good! Last time, on Song Tan¡¯s first visit, and with the price set at 20, the most anyone bought was about four to five pounds per person. Those who bought less only took a handful each. But who knew they¡¯d be so delicious. A plate of wild greens would be gone in just a few bites, and any other veggies left over¡­ Everyone shared a saying from a rather anachronistic poem: ¡°The vast ocean doesn¡¯t make for good water anymore, once you¡¯ve seen the clouds over Wushan mountain.¡± That¡¯s just what it felt like! Having tasted these fresh and tender wild vegetables, eating anything else felt like chewing on grass. It was not just hard to swallow but made them long for more. Song Tan hadn¡¯t come the entire day yesterday, leaving everyone heartbroken with anticipation. This morning, even the most calculating auntie had three to five hundred yuan in her pocket. So in a secluded corner of the vegetable market, a group of aunties didn¡¯t even wait for Song Tan to notify them on the group chat before they accurately spotted them! And sure enough, you wouldn¡¯t find a more eye-catching sister and brother duo in the entire market! How noticeable! The crowd surged forward. This time, nobody even bothered to pick and choose. ¡°Shepherd¡¯s purse! Give me five pounds of shepherd¡¯s purse!¡± ¡°Wild chives, I want three bunches of wild chives, I¡¯m going to make wild chive and pork buns when I go back!¡± ¡°Water spinach! Oh my, it makes a soup so rich and smooth!¡± ¡°Chickweed¡ª¡± ¡°Give me two handfuls of purslane! Add two more for the buns I¡¯ll make!¡± It was like some major clearance sale frenzy, with everyone agitated and shoving money forward as fast as they could. Qiaoqiao was so busy he almost cried out, ¡°Slow down! Slow! Qiaoqiao can¡¯t calculate anymore!¡± He couldn¡¯t do math to begin with, but Song Tan would tell him how much to collect, and he could recognize that, just a bit slowly. Now, with his voice quivering with the threat of tears, something funny happened¡ªthe buying army instantly calmed down. The stylish red-haired auntie at the head of the line looked at him fondly, ¡°Alright, sweetie, no rush, let¡¯s line up!¡± Having said that, he quickly took the opportunity to stand first in line. Soon, a small queue had formed. Since there was no need to weigh the produce, the process was highly efficient, and each auntie packed her bag to the brim, fearing they wouldn¡¯t get another chance. Song Tan looked at the two remaining baskets of vegetables in the back of the cart and thought that today¡¯s selling speed might even surpass that of the day before! Buying vegetables at the market and seeing people queue up to grab them? People nearby slowly gathered around, and seeing the aunties jovially parting with hundreds of yuan without a second thought, they couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°Are they using shills to sell vegetables now?¡± The auntie ahead of her turned back to see a youngster and immediately snorted arrogantly, looking down her nose and sideways at the eyes: ¡°Oh my, young people can¡¯t cook these days, that¡¯s for sure, but now they can¡¯t even pick out vegetables.¡± When it was her turn, she said in a loud voice, ¡°Give me the remaining four catties of shepherd¡¯s purse! I¡¯ll take three catties of purslane¡­ and three catties of watercress too!¡± Then she smiled and asked, ¡°Miss, when will you come again next time?¡± Song Tan was helpless¡ªcouldn¡¯t the spiritual energy cultivation be a little less exaggerated? ¡°In three days, I¡¯ll notify the group.¡± The youngster behind was even more astonished¡ªselling vegetables in the market with group notifications now? The auntie in front left with her bags full. Song Tan turned to the young new customer and asked with a friendly smile, ¡°What would you like?¡± The young man craned his neck to look¡ªnot recognizing a single one. After thinking it over, he said, ¡°Just¡­ that one that looks like a leek.¡± Qiaoqiao burst into laughter, ¡°Brother, this is called wild leek, you can make buns, stew fish, or fry it with eggs, it¡¯s delicious!¡± The young man felt a bit embarrassed, but then he looked into Qiaoqiao¡¯s bright, innocent eyes and his heart softened instantly¡ª [Although it¡¯s embarrassing to be laughed at¡­ he called me brother!] So he immediately stopped being annoyed and instead asked, ¡°Then how do you make buns with it?¡± This time, it was Qiaoqiao who was stuck for an answer. He said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiaoqiao doesn¡¯t know how, Qiaoqiao only knows how to eat.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you join the group then? My sister said you¡¯d find out if you joined the group, there are many who know how to cook.¡± Since the brother said it! The young man decisively scanned the QR code, and on seeing the group members¡ª [Boundless Skies] [Orchid Heart, Gentle Virtue] [Cha Yun] [Happiness is All]¡­ Yeah, the age range was pretty clear. Just at that moment, a slightly shrill voice came from behind: ¡°Miss, the wild greens I bought from you the day before yesterday were old and bitter, not tasty at all. Didn¡¯t you say you would refund me?¡± ¡°But you said I had to bring the vegetables back, so what can I do? By the time you mentioned it in the group, my family had already eaten them all, we can¡¯t waste food right?¡± ¡°You see, either give me two more bunches of greens or a refund.¡± The young man was taken aback and looked at the wild leek in his hand¡ªfresh and dewy, with a strong flavor, it didn¡¯t look old at all. The girl selling the greens had a clear and fair face, pure and flawless, with a smile that was both amiable and sweet: ¡°Is that so? Auntie, what¡¯s your group nickname? I remember you bought a bunch of Malan head, right? Twenty yuan.¡± The auntie¡¯s eyebrows immediately lifted with smugness, ¡°You have a good memory, girl¡­ what¡¯s a group nickname? I am this¡ªhey hey hey! Why did you move me out of the group?!¡± ¡°I was going to buy a few more catties of shepherd¡¯s purse!¡± The young man beside couldn¡¯t help but let out a snicker¡ªwhat do you mean moved away? Clearly, she was kicked out. Besides, if it really tasted bad, would you come back for more? Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: 25. Old Classmate Comes Again_1 Chapter 25: 25. Old Classmate Comes Again_1 Song Tan, however, smiled serenely: ¡°Auntie, here¡¯s twenty yuan, please take it¡ª I¡¯m well aware of the quality of my vegetables. Since you don¡¯t like them, why waste more money, right? There are so many people waiting to buy; let¡¯s leave the shepherd¡¯s purse for them.¡± The auntie was momentarily stuck for words and then didn¡¯t accept the money: ¡°You¡¯re really hotheaded, young lady. Can¡¯t people discuss the flaws when doing business? It¡¯s just twenty yuan, no big deal. I don¡¯t want it; you sell me that shepherd¡¯s purse.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡± Song Tan smiled as pleasantly as her refusal was firm: ¡°As you¡¯ve seen, we don¡¯t even have enough vegetables to sell. If you¡¯re going to return home and dislike it, why bother?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± The auntie behind immediately chimed in: ¡°I¡¯ll take the shepherd¡¯s purse!¡± Pinching pennies only to count major losses, that shepherd¡¯s purse was just laying in the basket, with barely five pounds left. Here you are nitpicking and still asking to buy veggies, and later you come back trying to get a refund by playing dumb¡­ An idiot wouldn¡¯t make that deal! With the taste of these wild vegetables, who would worry about selling them? Taking advantage of the other¡¯s wide-eyed silence, Song Tan had deftly stuffed the twenty yuan into her hand: ¡°Auntie, there are other vegetables in the market. Please go pick some more, I¡¯m busy here.¡± That tone, as if she were brushing something off. The woman hadn¡¯t had a chance to retort when she was pushed aside by the eager customers squeezing up from behind. Meanwhile, a couple was stealthily looking over from not far away. The girl was scowling: ¡°What do you mean? You think my classmate is pretty, don¡¯t you? Going on about buying vegetables¡ªyou¡¯re just making excuses!¡± The speaker was Song Tan¡¯s classmate, Wa Qianqian. Her boyfriend had quietly joined the group the other day and discovered that this small group of only a dozen people was extremely lively! Everyone was praising the amazing taste of the wild vegetables, making it sound just like a heavenly feast. Thinking back to the Swiss chard that brushed past him that day, the more the young man craved it, the more he dreamed of that wild vegetable¡¯s taste! And here he was, having rushed over with his girlfriend early in the morning after seeing the group¡¯s messages. But he hadn¡¯t expected there to be such a long line. And seeing Wa Qianqian looking like that, he became hesitant and didn¡¯t dare to queue up. He could only coax her with sweet words: ¡°Qianqian, look at how many people are in line, the vegetables must be good! I¡¯ve been coming here for several days, and today I wanted to make a dish for our parents to showcase it¡ªafter all, she¡¯s your classmate. And what we said yesterday was also not very proper. How about I wait here for you, and you go buy them?¡± At these words, Wa Qianqian¡¯s anger turned into joy; nothing was more delightful than having her boyfriend value her own. She thought about it and then demurely nodded: ¡°Okay! Then I¡¯ll go and queue up to have a look.¡± Putting on airs, she glanced at this stall and then at the green vegetables over there before leisurely joining the line. However, by the time it was her turn, the basket was empty except for a small bunch of heartleaf that Song Tan was packing into a plastic bag. She grew anxious: ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Why is there none left? Song Tan, where are your vegetables?¡± Before Song Tan could speak, Qiaoqiao piped up: ¡°Sister, you¡¯re late, there are no veggies left!¡± Then, as if she had done it many times before, she pushed forward the QR code scanner: ¡°Join the group, sister? I¡¯ll let you know the next time we sell.¡± Wa Qianqian was so annoyed! She ignored Qiaoqiao, instead focusing on the bunch of vegetables in Song Tan¡¯s hand: ¡°Song Tan, don¡¯t you still have a bunch there? Old classmate comes to support your business, how can you not sell?¡± Song Tan didn¡¯t even look up: ¡°This is to be given away.¡± With her boyfriend still looking over from the distance, Wa Qianqian felt even more embarrassed: ¡°Aren¡¯t wild vegetables everywhere? You can always give them away. To be honest, I wouldn¡¯t have come here today if it weren¡¯t for my boyfriend wanting to try the wild vegetables¡¯ taste.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t haggle with you; just sell me that bunch of vegetables.¡± Song Tan wasn¡¯t particularly concerned with someone¡¯s ulterior motives, but she wasn¡¯t about to compromise herself either: ¡°That won¡¯t do; if wild vegetables are everywhere, go forage for them yourself¡ªyou¡¯ll even save twenty yuan.¡± Turning, she firmly reached for the basket: ¡°Qiaoqiao, let¡¯s go.¡± Leaving Wa Qianqian standing there in a daze, watching as Song Tan¡¯s foolish younger brother loaded the basket into Little Pika, which then started up and drove away. It wasn¡¯t until then that her boyfriend anxiously walked up to her: ¡°Oh no! Couldn¡¯t get it again! I saw in the group chat that the next batch won¡¯t be until three days later¡­¡± Wa Qianqian already felt humiliated, and upon hearing this, she exploded: ¡°Buy, buy, buy! Buy my ass! What¡¯s wrong with the vegetables at the market that we have to go for wild vegetables? Country bumpkin!¡± Her boyfriend¡¯s face changed instantly. ¡­ Meanwhile, Song Tan drove the Little Pika to the Wind Speed Express Station. ¡°Please pack this up, send it as chilled express delivery, First People¡¯s Hospital of Ning Province, Zhang Yuan¡ªhere¡¯s the phone number.¡± The courier took the bunch of milk vetch out of the plastic bag: ¡°Chilled delivery, huh? That¡¯s gonna cost more! Just for this bunch of greens, it doesn¡¯t seem worth it.¡± Song Tan also felt the pinch of the delivery fee, but at least the wild vegetables were free. She nodded: ¡°It¡¯s fine, just send it¡ªshould arrive by tomorrow since it¡¯s within the province, right?¡± The clerk nodded: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will definitely arrive tomorrow morning. I guarantee the greens will still be fresh.¡± Song Tan then made the payment. This Dr. Zhang Yuan hadn¡¯t replied to the message about the lifesaver for days¡ªSong Tan worried that something might have happened to him, so she decided to send some wild vegetables as a roundabout way to urge a response. After all, it was just wild vegetables, surely it wouldn¡¯t involve anything like having to give a red envelope or bribery. After finishing up and returning home, the family sat down and crunched the numbers¡ª Wow, that¡¯s three thousand bucks! Wu Lan couldn¡¯t help but feel regretful: ¡°If only we could sell these wild vegetables all year round¡­¡± Song Sancheng was immediately speechless at his wife¡¯s financial fantasies. ¡°It¡¯s only because of nature¡¯s favor that this year¡¯s wild vegetables are especially good. In half a month, what vegetables won¡¯t be available? Are you still planning to sell them for twenty then? I don¡¯t even know how long you could sell them for ten.¡± Song Tan mulled it over and said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world: ¡°I plan to keep selling them for twenty.¡± ¡°All the way until the end of the month.¡± With such a flavor profile, there were plenty willing to pay, and she had never underestimated everyone¡¯s spending power. It was perfect to set the stage for the vegetables she was about to plant¡ªshe, Song Tan, sold vegetables that were good, pricey, and worth every penny. To miss a meal was to feel an itch you couldn¡¯t scratch! As for why she would stop selling at the end of the month? By then, the milk vetch would be ready, and she¡¯d sell the tender young milk vetch shoots. Forget about wild vegetables, for daily plucking wears even the spiritual energy thin, so she might as well let them live. ¡­ While Wu Lan just dreamed, Song Tan dared to act! Just look at how brashly she spoke, as if people couldn¡¯t live without her vegetables. Song Sancheng, the father, let out a sigh, wondering if money was really that easy to make in the city these days? He decisively changed the subject: ¡°While it¡¯s not too busy these days, your mother can look after things at home in the morning while you take me to learn driving. I¡¯ll take her there in the afternoon.¡± ¡°We have a car at home, and it shouldn¡¯t just sit around wasting away. Once I get my license, I can do the driving.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look good for a girl to drive a pickup.¡± He spoke as if the license was already within his reach. Song Tan glanced at him: ¡°Dad, have you even learned the questions for the first subject yet?¡± Chapter 26 - Chapter 26: Hospital News_1 Chapter 26: Hospital News_1 Ning Province First People¡¯s Hospital. Doctor Zhang Yuan had just stepped down from the operating table when a nurse told him on the way, ¡°Dr. Zhang, you¡¯ve got a package.¡± Zhang Yuan was startled, unable to recall purchasing anything. When he saw what it was in the office, he exclaimed, ¡°Hey! Why is it still fresh and chilled?¡± He looked at the sender¡ªSong Tan. He fell silent. The junior nurses crowded around, ¡°Dr. Zhang, what did you buy?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry, ¡°This wasn¡¯t something I bought. There was a car accident on the bridge before, and a girl I took care of is sending this to me.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, you all remember¡ªthe young girl got trapped in the car, and she couldn¡¯t be pulled out. A Good Samaritan came along and dragged her out. By the time she got to the hospital, she didn¡¯t have a single issue!¡± What luck! It was certainly something that amazed everyone for a long time. He, a doctor, was just doing his duty by saving people; having the girl suddenly send him something, Zhang Yuan recalled their conversation from a few days before and somewhat understood. But dealing with this was really problematic! The nurses sighed, ¡°Now they¡¯re so strict with these things¡­ Dr. Zhang, you might as well see what it is. Perishables can¡¯t be returned, so in a while we should check the price and give the money back to her. Otherwise, it¡¯s not worth getting a report over this.¡± That was what Doctor Zhang Yuan was thinking as well. But these days, being a doctor also meant having a tight budget¡ªwhat if she sent something expensive? How much money would he have to pay then? With that on his mind and a feeling of apprehension, he opened the package. A foam box, dry ice bags, air column bags¡ªinside was wrapped a bunch of green, tender, crisp wild vegetables. Attached was a note: Dr. Zhang, these are wild vegetables, Malantou, from my hometown for you to try. Everyone: ¡­ So, it cost 30 Yuan to ship with ice from within the province, just to send a bunch of wild vegetables? Zhang Yuan let out a sigh of relief and couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at the same time. Everyone fell silent and could only awkwardly complement, ¡°The handwriting is pretty nice.¡± ¡­ There are no secrets in the office. By noon, everyone knew that Zhang Yuan, a doctor from the trauma department, had received a bunch of wild vegetables sent from far away by a patient¡ªa gift light in value but heavy in sentiment! The hospital leadership also found it amusing, ¡°That young lady couldn¡¯t possibly think our Dr. Zhang, with his old-fashioned looks, would cook, right?¡± ¡°The man is a bachelor, eating every day in the canteen. What¡¯s the use of sending wild vegetables? Come on, tell Xiaozhang to just donate the vegetables to the canteen; let everyone have a taste!¡± At that, everyone had a good laugh. Dr. Zhang was also quite happy about it. A bunch of wild vegetables wasn¡¯t considered bribery; they were sent from a long distance with heartfelt sincerity. Even though it wasn¡¯t worth much, because of this he might get a mention in front of the hospital leadership¡­ Wow! He happily rushed to deliver the wild vegetables to the canteen immediately. The chef was delighted upon seeing them, ¡°Dr. Zhang, the sender was really thoughtful. Look at these Malantou, so crisp and fresh, just perfect! Now that it¡¯s cold, wild vegetables aren¡¯t abundant. It takes care to gather such a nice bunch.¡± ¡°Wait for lunch¡ªI¡¯ll blanch them and serve them up. Let¡¯s all enjoy a taste of spring!¡± Zhang Yuan pictured it: a rural countryside, the chilly wind biting, a simple girl in homespun clothing, searching laboriously in the fields¡­ He was surprisingly moved for a moment. He quickly scrolled through his contacts, sent out a message, and also included a photo of the wild vegetables. ¡°Ms. Lun, how is Lun Chuan recovering recently?¡± ¡°This is the situation¡ªyou requested strict confidentiality, so I never said anything. But that young lady who was rescued by Lun Chuan from the car has been asking around. Now, she has even sent wild vegetables from a great distance.¡± ¡°The rural child, too, had her own way of showing kindness.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, if you really don¡¯t want to give the address, at least provide a contact number. After the young girl expresses her thanks, she will also be at peace.¡± The life-saving grace, not a word from the other side before they transferred hospitals, not even a message left behind. How could the young girl feel at ease in her heart? ¡­ Imperial City Ren¡¯ai Hospital. A haggard-looking woman sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, staring blankly at the wall. Suddenly, her cellphone chimed several times with notifications. She was startled and opened the chat: the first picture was of vibrant, appealing green vegetables. As she looked at the following messages, the woman fell silent. After a moment, she typed a difficult reply: ¡°Thank you, Dr. Zhang Yuan. Lun Chuan¡¯s condition is still manageable. It¡¯s just that the doctor mentioned extensive deep second-degree blast and burn injuries or something¡­ I don¡¯t really understand, I only know that if it¡¯s delayed, it¡¯s very likely he won¡¯t recover properly later on.¡± ¡°But even with skin grafting, it¡¯s very likely there will still be scars¡­¡± ¡°Lun Chuan said that he isn¡¯t fond of going out anyway. Now that his face is disfigured, he might as well stay at home to avoid people bothering him. Only, at home, the wounds weren¡¯t healing well, so he had to come back to the hospital.¡± After thinking, she deleted this part. She simply replied: ¡°Thank you, Dr. Zhang Yuan. Lun Chuan¡¯s physical condition is still good, it¡¯s just that he refuses skin grafting and is still recovering.¡± ¡°The young girl is sentimental, which proves my child did not save the wrong person. Go ahead and give her Lun Chuan¡¯s contact details; the WeChat and phone number are the same.¡± They¡¯re both young people. Lun Chuan didn¡¯t have any close friends to begin with. What if she could persuade him? In the hospital room just beyond the wall, Lun Chuan was awakened by the pain in his body, and now he opened his eyes with difficulty. His hair had been shaved off, and his entire cheek from the left cheekbone to the forehead was covered with medical dressings. The left side of his neck was also tightly wrapped, the dressings extending to the shoulder, back, and even slightly to the front chest. Finally, they were firmly hidden by the patient gown. He reached for his phone; his Weibo private messages were at 99+. And in the writer¡¯s backend, beneath his last message announcing a break from updates, there were 20,000+ comments, all from readers clamoring for the next installment. Lun Chuan fell silent for a moment before finally exiting out. And when he opened WeChat, new messages popped up. ¡°Lun Chuan, you are the only male in the Zhou family. I can forgive you for secretly changing your surname when you came of age, as long as you change it back. But you should never have been so reckless with your own body.¡± ¡°I heard from your mom that you don¡¯t want to undergo skin grafting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You must get better! You¡¯re good-looking, and your Uncle Zhang¡¯s daughter likes you a lot. They only have one daughter and assets worth millions. You can¡¯t miss out on this chance!¡± ¡°Moreover, if my assets worth several millions have no male heir, do you want everyone to laugh at me?¡± ¡°I am your biological father! Even if I divorced your mom, that still stands!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you must undergo surgery! Your Uncle Zhang¡¯s daughter is deeply loyal to you, so far without a boyfriend ¨C it¡¯s clear she¡¯s waiting for your recovery! Don¡¯t disappoint her, and don¡¯t fail me!¡± ¡°After the surgery, come back to Ning Province as soon as possible.¡± Lun Chuan snorted derisively, the skin wrapped around his face pulled taut, a stinging pain akin to his current predicament. He scrolled through his contacts and sent a message: ¡°Hello, is this Mr. Zhao from Harmony Agency in Imperial City? The house my mom was interested in, I¡¯ve decided to buy it, in my mom¡¯s name.¡± ¡°Please come to Ren¡¯ai Hospital to collect the deposit and take my mom to see the house again. Just say it was arranged by me.¡±