CHAPTER 7: A VISIT TO THE MOUNTAINS

As someone who still had more than a week before schools officially opens, Krystal decided to make some money since she will be busy once school starts.

The map she had bought from the mall showed a lot of places where she could get some herbs that she could sell and eat but the problem was that she didn’t have much knowledge when it comes to that topic.

So Krystal visited the bookstore, ever since she connected with the system, she had never taken anything from the bookstore. She was hoping that she could at least get a book for free since she didn’t have any crystals she could use to buy any books.

When she walked into the bookstore, it was just a small room with a few shelves and among the books on the shelves she found a book she wanted. She picked up a catalogue first and read what was inside. She was allowed to pick two books for free and the rest she had to buy.

Since a miracle was happening to her, she decided to take her time in order to pick two books that could help her in money making. She chose the herbs and flower introduction book; she believes that she could do well with it.

As for the second book, she decided to wait until next time. She had so many books to read at the moment and adding another one, will just be a waste. After picking up the book, Krystal left the mall and showed up in her study once more.

Krystal dedicated that day to reading the book she had taken from the bookstore, researched through the internet on things that she didn’t understand and searched for viable markets where she could sell the herbs once she has them.

After her intensive search, Krystal decided to visit the nearest place on marked on the map. So the following day, Krystal bought a plane ticket for her first destination. The flight was for an hour; she took a taxi that dropped her a kilometer before the mountain.

The good thing about the, mountain was anyone could climb it as long as you can protect yourself when times comes. A lot of strange things always happen at night anyway.

For this journey, Krystal had prepared herself well. She had packed some food, water and drinks that she could take during the time she was searching for her riches. She had also bought some shovels and baskets for this particular endeavor.

She ate some of the food as she climbed the mountain, following the direction of where the marked positions of the mountain where. It took her two hours to find a place which was all green. She smiled as she looked at what she was looking at.

She could identify a number of herbs that she had seen in the book she had been currently reading. To think that she had seen a number of these herbs and just ignore them, she felt a deep pang in her heart. Even her village where she was raised before leaving for town and Delia, the former Krystal had even uprooted some of them for fun.

If she had known that she was wasting money, would she have been that wasteful? Krystal shook her head and began to work. She had already changed into overalls, took out a small hoe and a basket.

Krystal was busy, uprooting the herbs with their roots and placing them into the baskets she had bought. This continued for hours, she only stopped when she ate or drink something to quench her thirst.

This continued for three days as she was busy visiting every marked place of the mountain, collecting every herb and exotic flowers that she saw. Since no one was picking them, then she might as well do them a favor and take them.

On the last day, she hit the jackpot, to think that she could dig up a mature ginseng root. Krystal was very elated, she placed it safely among other herbs in her warehouse. She had really got a huge harvest this time, she didn’t really regretted living in the mountain for three days without climbing down.

She washed up using the water from the spring well she had found; when she was clean she changed her clothes and left the mountain with a smile on her face. She was so tired but she knew that without any pain there will be no gain.

Krystal decided to go to a different city to sell the herbs and flowers she had got from the mountain. If she were to sell them in her own city, she was afraid that she may meet people she wasn’t interested to meet.

Krystal decided to go to Frey, a city she had not been in for years now. After arriving she took a taxi to a hotel where she booked a standard room. She cleaned herself up and went to bed, her body was aching from all the working and she wasn’t having some good rest while staying in the mountain.

The following day Krystal visited the traditional medicine market and brought just some samples to test her luck. After visiting a number of shops and hearing some nasty prices, she was about to return back to the hotel to rest but she met someone interesting.

She knew this person from her previous life, he was an apprentice of a crazy old man who was so into the way of medicine. When the apprentice saw what she was selling, he was so excited that he took her to see the old man. Seeing a familiar face, she felt very teary but it wasn’t time for any reunion.

It was good if she could stay away from him, she didn’t want anything to happen to him. He had helped her multiple times when she was hurt; he was just a good man.

“I heard that you have some special herbs with you, can I see them?” the old man asked as he looked at her suspiciously.

She understood that he was skeptic; after all she looked very young to be going around selling herbs. Krystal smiled at the man and passed the basket that had the herbs she had taken out when she visited the market.

“This is only a sample, please take a look.”

She watched as the old man scrutinized the herbs before a smile appeared on his face. It was always rare to see the man satisfied with anything and yet here he was smiling.

“Where did you get these herbs?”

“I found them in a mountain. Are you interested in buying them?”

“Yes, I am. I will buy all that you have and if you have more in the future, then bring them here as well,” the old man said with a smile.

When she heard that she was happy, having a loyal customer was good. She didn’t have to worry about selling any of the herbs she will have in the future and since she already knows the old man then all was well.

“I need to go and bring the rest to you later in the day,” she spoke with a gentle smile on her face.

The two spoke about the quantity that she had at the moment and after telling him about the ginseng, he was elated that he couldn’t wait to see it.

Krystal left the mansion alone and wandered around for a while before she took out the baskets of the herbs. She hired a truck that came to pick her up at the designated location.

She returned back to the mansion and when the old man saw the basket, his face lit up. He looked like a child who was seeing his favorite toys.

She was surprised that the herbs she had collected during the past three days had earned her roughly four million alone and the ginseng root alone which was fifty years old fetched a total of one and half million. This trip was worth it and t think that this job didn’t need her to make her hands dirty, she saw that everything was definitely okay.

The money was transferred to her bank account and now her bank account had a total of over six million dollars without the money that she still had in her warehouse. After completing the deal, she exchanged contact details with the old man and promised to come back when she has more stock.

What she didn’t realize was the fact that the old man looked sullen when she left. The old man was reminded of that poor girl called M who died in prison a year ago. Despite her dangerous job, she was really a nice child that just needed some attention and love.

The mannerism of the young girl reminded him a lot of her; they behaved in a same way that he almost got fooled. There wasn’t such nonsense as reincarnation or rebirth in this world. As a scientist and doctor, he believed in facts and not myths. He shook his head and returned his attention to the herbs he had just bought.

They had come at the right time, he was in the middle of researching a drug and it needed a lot of materials. To think that the young girl knew how to maintain the vitality of herbs at her young age, she could become a doctor if she wanted. He was going to ask her the next time that she comes. He had a feeling that she wasn’t a local and she was hiding a lot of things but who didn’t have any secrets?