Chapter 35: New Discovery

Chen Xiaobei sighed with relief. Talking about money made things easier. "Uncle, then it's settled. When you can, get the land deed ready. It needs to be signed and sealed."

"No need to wait. I'll handle it now. The land is about two acres, so you can pay me ten copper coins a year," said Chen Anbang.

"Great, Uncle. For the farming term, let's make it twenty years," Chen Xiaobei said with a big smile.

Hearing this, Chen Anbang's heart was filled with joy.

Twenty years, and getting ten copper coins every year without any effort—this is a good deal!

When Chen Xiaobei returned with the copper coins, the contract was ready.

With one hand giving the money and the other receiving the deed, Chen Xiaobei walked away satisfied.

After he left, Chen Anbang's wife finally spoke up.

"Old man, that land will turn into a pond when it rains. It's impossible to farm it. Aren't you just scamming him?"

Chen Anbang laughed heartily. "A person who can't even tell crops from weeds, who else am I supposed to scam?"

"By the way, all of this is part of Cuihua's dowry. In the future, all of this will be ours."

His wife looked at him, confused. "How is this ours?"

Chen Anbang realized he had said too much and smiled casually. "This doesn't need to be handed over to the county. It's ours."

That explanation seemed to work.

Seeing his wife not ask further questions, Chen Anbang tossed three big coins onto the table. "Later, go get some meat for us to eat."

When Chen Xiaobei got home, he gave Cuihua the land deed and told her to keep it safe.

Cuihua was once again stunned. "Husband, such an important thing, you should keep it yourself!"

Chen Xiaobei responded confidently, "I said it's for you, so it's for you. I'll handle the work, and you handle the management."

Cuihua didn't say anything else but suddenly felt like she was starting to enjoy this domineering attitude. She liked this kind of unreasonable feeling.

"Husband, you rest first. I'll go water the vegetables."

Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei realized that he had neglected the vegetable garden for the past couple of days.

Watering the vegetables still required the iron pot.

It seemed like it was time to get two wooden barrels, which would be another significant expense.

So, he would need to go into the mountains again to try his luck and see if he could find two more ginseng roots.

Just then, Second Aunt Xiumei unexpectedly arrived. When she saw Chen Xiaobei, she seemed quite anxious.

"Xiaobei, I just heard you're planning to farm that lowland outside the village."

Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Yeah, we're adding a member to the family, and food's getting scarce."

Second Aunt stamped her foot anxiously, "That land can only raise fish when there's heavy rain. Nothing else will grow there."

Chen Xiaobei remained calm, "Well, that's perfect then. I'll just use it to raise fish."

"You..." Second Aunt sighed helplessly and gave Chen Xiaobei a look of concern, as if he were a fool.

"By the way, Da Chun asked me to tell you that for the house repairs, you might have to find someone else. He won't be able to get out of bed for a while."

Chen Xiaobei nodded, "I understand, Second Aunt. We'll talk about it later."

After a few more pleasantries, Second Aunt left, but Chen Xiaobei suddenly felt something wasn't right.

When he went to see Da Chun yesterday, his wound was still a little swollen and red, but when they talked, he seemed very clear-headed. How could he not be able to get out of bed for so many days?

What he didn't know was that, at that very moment, Da Chun's family was already starting to dream about a better future. They were planning to buy a large house in the county, living the kind of life they had always dreamed of—rich and comfortable.

After all, that thousand taels of silver was likely more than they could ever earn in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei was still struggling to make ends meet.

On this trip to the mountains, he had prepared thoroughly. His first goal was to find ginseng, and second, to gather more fish mint.

When he arrived at the Mountain God Temple, everything seemed familiar, but after searching around the temple, he found nothing.

Chen Xiaobei gritted his teeth and decided to keep going.

Da Chun managed to go up, so why couldn't he?

As he followed the path above the temple, the road became increasingly rough. In some places, he had to use both hands and feet to climb.

After walking for a while, Chen Xiaobei began to feel that something was off.

Yes, there were many signs of broken stones along the way.

And there were also patches of grass trampled by many feet.

By all accounts, Da Chun alone couldn't have made all these marks.

This meant that other people had gone up the mountain, and there were likely more than one.

Below the Mountain God Temple, the path was not obvious, but here, the traces were clear.

After walking for five or six miles, he saw a large patch of dense forest on the right.

There was a barely noticeable path leading into the forest, with a steep cliff on one side and a sheer drop on the other.

Crossing it would definitely test one's courage.

But for Chen Xiaobei, who grew up in the countryside, this kind of challenge didn't scare him.

However, when he arrived, he was somewhat disheartened. There were plenty of plants in the dense forest, but none of them were what he was looking for—just common weeds usually found at the foot of the mountain.

Just as he was about to give up, he faintly sensed a pleasant fragrance.

The scent was coming from deeper within the forest, and he was sure it was the aroma of a plant.

Chen Xiaobei followed the scent deeper into the forest. The further he walked, the more strange it felt.

The trees became fewer, and gradually the ground was free of weeds, only a few tall trees remaining.

As he continued, several large rocks blocked his path, leaving only a small gap.

This gap was about a yard wide and several yards deep. Through it, he could easily see the area on the other side.

It was lush and green, filled with various low plants, but not a single large tree.

How strange, this side had all the trees, while the other side was all grass.

Chen Xiaobei broke off a branch, tapping the weeds along the path as he walked further in.

What he saw ahead shocked him.

As soon as he entered, he spotted two ginseng plants in the surrounding weeds. The red markings were unmistakable, and they looked quite mature.

Wow, is this a welcome gift for me? Chen Xiaobei became excited.

He continued on for another half-mile and saw something else that thrilled him even more.

Lingzhi mushrooms.

When he was young, a few families in the village had tried to grow these, and he even visited the plantation with the adults, so he had some memory of them.

There weren't just a few Lingzhi mushrooms here—there was a whole patch, easily dozens or even a hundred.

Wow, I really found a treasure!

Chen Xiaobei picked the two biggest mushrooms and put them aside.

Two ginseng plants, two Lingzhi mushrooms—this trip had been totally worthwhile.

Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew, and a dark cloud swiftly moved toward him, instantly blocking out the sunlight.

Chen Xiaobei realized something was wrong and quickly turned to run.

Sure enough, before he could reach the forest, the rain began to pour down.

Luckily, he thought to himself, he hadn't ventured too deep.

Well, since the weather wasn't on his side, he decided to head back and gather some fish mint instead.