Chapter 010 Excited Villagers

All of this came too suddenly, leaving Xia Liu dumbfounded.

Looking at the shy expression on Zhang Qing's face, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and quickly retracted his hand.

"Sister-in-law, you should rest early, or you won't be able to get up tomorrow," Xia Liu said, and then he left, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Watching Xia Liu's fleeing figures, Zhang Qing chuckled.

After returning home, just like usual, Xia Liu kept watch for Zhang Xiaoxue. Remembering the scene from before, and hearing the rustling sound of running water, he quickly started the Five Elements Mantra. If things really pushed him to the brink, he was ready to throw caution to the wind.

The night passed without incident, and the next morning, like usual, Xia Liu finished his cultivation and went to the courtyard to practice boxing. Zhang Xiaoxue also got up very early, remembering Xia Liu's words from the previous night about making money—how could she be absent?

But what saddened her was that Xia Liu actually wouldn't let her go up the mountain, saying it was too dangerous.

What completely dispelled Zhang Xiaoxue's thoughts were Xia Liu's words: "It's enough that I'm at home; you just enjoy being the lady of the house."

After sensing someone's arrival, he went outside and saw ten villagers chatting merrily.

They had all heard the news yesterday—that there was a way to make money with Xia Liu. Others might not believe it, but they did, especially after Xia Liu had cured Zhang Qing's poisoning; they trusted Xia Liu unreservedly.

In the crowd, Zhang Qing was also there, carrying a bamboo basket on her back and wearing a hat, standing with two other women, looking exceptionally beautiful.

Looking at the seven men and three women before him, Xia Liu couldn't help but sigh; it seemed that most people in the village still didn't believe in him.

With fifty households in Osmanthus Village, only ten had come. The rest were probably still watching, since nobody wanted to toil in vain.

After giving Zhang Xiaoxue some instructions, Xia Liu, carrying a bamboo basket, led the group into the mountain.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at their destination.

"The place to make money is here! Everyone knows this plant, Kaempferia galanga..." After reaching the hill, Xia Liu picked an Atractylodes and started explaining it to the villagers, repeating the price of Kaempferia galanga several times.

"Wow! Fifteen yuan per jin! How much can we make in a day!"

"Just as Zhang Qing said, fifteen yuan per jin!"

"Xia Liu, quickly tell us what we need to watch out for!"

...

After learning the price of Atractylodes, everyone was excited. They were now realizing just how lucky they were, glad they hadn't just waited like the others, or they would have missed out on a significant opportunity.

Xia Liu understood their feelings and quickly explained what they needed to pay attention to and the proper way to harvest.

The reason he could pick sixty jin before was due to special circumstances; a normal person, even with twenty-four hours in a day, could at most harvest twenty to thirty jin.

Moreover, after nightfall, it was unsafe to stay in the mountains. There were many wild animals, and if it weren't for so many people being together, Xia Liu would have been worried about their safety.

Once everyone had begun to harvest, Xia Liu nodded in satisfaction, gave a few more instructions, and then left—not out of the mountain, but further into its interior.

The hill they were on was relatively close to Osmanthus Village. If they picked all the Atractylodes, the money-making would stop, so he had to find a way to ensure a constant stream of income.

Unfortunately, on this trip, he didn't find any significant discoveries, though he picked a few rare medicinal herbs he came across.

At noon, he summoned everyone to go back for lunch. Even if they didn't want to, they had to go; they weren't far, and working on an empty stomach was not good.

In the afternoon, everyone went with Xia Liu again, only returning at five o'clock, each face brimming with joy.

Although it was their first day, they all had a bountiful harvest. One middle-aged man had picked fifteen jin! That was over two hundred yuan.

The harvest for others was also good, as they were normally working the land. Harvesting and handling Atractylodes came naturally to them, and even the one who picked the least had gathered more than nine jin, and of course, that person was Zhang Qing.

After returning home, Xia Liu had Zhang Xiaoxue weigh the harvest for everyone and record the amounts in the notebook. He then made arrangements for tomorrow's work and let everyone go home, saying the payment would have to wait until he could get the money from the town the next day.

As for this matter, everyone trusted Xia Liu. The quantities were accounted for, the money could be collected the next day, and even if it couldn't, helping Xia Liu for one more day was no problem.

Looking at the more than one hundred thirty jin of Atractylodes, Xia Liu nodded in satisfaction. As long as the first group of villagers got their money, more would undoubtedly come later.

After bundling up ten hemp sacks, Xia Liu went to cook. Once everything was settled, the two of them ate dinner cozily.

"Brother Xia Liu, I feel like a boss's wife. This isn't a dream, right?" After finishing the meal, Zhang Xiaoxue looked at the amounts of Atractylodes on the notebook and couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

Today they had harvested more than one hundred thirty jin, and at thirty-five yuan per jin, that was over four thousand yuan!

Even after giving the villagers fifteen yuan per jin, they still had over two thousand left, and that was just one day's earnings.

If there were more people, the day's earnings would be much more, and the villagers' incomes would significantly increase as well—this was definitely a symbol of wealth?

"Heh heh, my village flower shop owner, do you want to go to town with me tomorrow?"

"I won't go tomorrow; I still need to help Brother Xia Liu register the numbers and answer questions for the villagers." Called this way by Xia Liu, Zhang Xiaoxue's ears grew hot, and her whole face turned red.

Xia Liu nodded; she really had a good head on her shoulders. Today, after the villagers went back and talked about the matter in the village, many would definitely come tomorrow to inquire. With Zhang Xiaoxue providing answers and him returning with the money, the number of villagers coming to dig Atractylodes would surely increase.

The next morning, to ease the villagers' worries for a bit longer, Xia Liu set out for town early.

He felt a bit puzzled when passing through Shanyan Village. Since Li Hao was taught a lesson by him, he had disappeared for a few days now, which was rather suspicious.

But he didn't pay too much attention to it. Whatever tricks the guy had, Xia Liu could handle them all. What mattered was to quickly go to the bank and get the money.

After Xia Liu entered the bank, an unexpected detail caught his eye.

There were three people standing in front of the ATM, a woman in the middle with two tall men by her side.

Seen from the back, the woman's figure was definitely of fairy level. Even a few meters away, one could still be drawn in by an indescribably pleasant scent.

What was most out of the ordinary was the dress of the two men, which clearly didn't match the woman's, and they were very close while withdrawing money.

The next second, Xia Liu saw something under the man's shirt—it was a dagger...