Peerless Little Immortal Doctor

"They're all wild, that's for sure, but there's so much of it that transportation is a bit of a problem." Now there was another issue at hand, as Osmanthus Village had no road access at all, and vehicles could only reach the entrance of Shanyan Village; this was truly a headache.

"If there's this much at a time, you can call me, and I'll send a vehicle to pick it up. Where do you live?"

"I'm in Osmanthus Village."

"Osmanthus Village! That place still doesn't have roads, so..." Liu Lanxin started in surprise, as Osmanthus Village was, relative to Pinglan Town, probably the poorest village. She hadn't expected Xia Liu to be from Osmanthus Village.

"How about this, I'll transport the goods to Shanyan Village when the time comes; that way, the vehicle can reach it."

"Hmm, that works, but you have to make sure there's this much every time."

"Of course!" Xia Liu grinned, as with Liu Lanxin's support, he could save a lot of manpower and time.

This time, he had brought a total of sixty jin of Atractylodes, and Liu Lanxin settled the bill at thirty-five yuan per jin.

Xia Liu also bought many common herbs in the shop, and in the end, Liu Lanxin transferred a total of one thousand eight hundred yuan into his card.

After receiving the money, Xia Liu had nothing more to add and headed straight home with his basket on his back.

The struggles he encountered today preoccupied his thoughts all the way home.

To get rich, build roads first; if vehicles cannot even get into the village, how can there be talk of getting rich?

It was about two miles from Osmanthus Village to Shanyan Village, not very far, and one hundred thousand yuan should suffice to carve out a dirt and stone road.

The difficulty lay with Shanyan Village. Even if the road was built, you still had to go through Shanyan Village, and given Li Hao's nasty temperament, after being taught a lesson by Xia Liu, who knows what kind of revenge he might seek. So, passing through Shanyan Village wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Standing on the mountaintop, Xia Liu suddenly had an inspired thought: split the mountain!

In fact, if measured in a straight line, Osmanthus Village was at most five kilometers from the town, but two towering mountains blocked the way, forcing one to detour through Shanyan Village.

If those two mountains could be dealt with, the journey to the town would be halved.

But this idea was a bit ambitious. Splitting a mountain would require a huge amount of financial resources. Not to mention more, it would probably cost millions. For now, he could only think about it and still needed to go through Shanyan Village.

Upon his return to Osmanthus Village, Xia Liu was met with enthusiastic cheers from his fellow villagers. The news of him curing Zhang Qing of poisoning had spread to everyone. Now, if they didn't foster good relations with him, the consequences could be dire if they were bitten by a venomous snake in the future.

"Everyone quiet down a bit, Xia Liu has just come back and who knows how many days he can stay."

In the midst of the excited crowd, a middle-aged man suddenly spoke.

It wasn't unreasonable for him to think that way, after all, the young people in the village had gone out to work, and they only stayed home for the days around New Year's.

The villagers all fell silent; while it was true that Xia Liu was capable, he couldn't possibly stay in the village for life.

"Haha, everyone can rest assured about that; I'll be staying in the village from now on and won't be going out anymore," Xia Liu knew what the villagers were worried about and immediately laughed.

"Ah! That's really great!"

"I need to go back and tell my child's father about this; our village has a doctor now!"

...

Xia Liu's words caused quite a stir. For years, the villagers had suffered from poverty and difficulties in getting medical care. Now that Xia Liu could cure poison, that was more impressive than a hospital.

"Everyone, listen to me for a moment, I have a way to make money, do you all have time?" Seizing the opportunity, Xia Liu shared the plan in his heart.

On his way back, he thought about it all the way. There was a huge amount of Atractylodes in the mountains, which he alone might not be able to dig up in half a year, and to meet the large quantities that Liu Lanxin talked about, many people would have to harvest it.

This was also an opportunity, an opportunity that could drive the economy of Osmanthus Village.

Upon hearing Xia Liu's words, everyone looked at him with excitement. Who wouldn't want to make money, especially since they were poor enough, they knew the importance of money more than others.

"Those who are interested, go back and spread the word. Each family can only send one person, preferably a man, to my house tomorrow morning. Once we have enough people, I'll explain this money-making matter to everyone." Seeing that most of the people present were women, Xia Liu didn't rush to explain.

The women in the village were like a network; once the news got out, everyone in the village would soon know. It just depended on how many people would believe in him.

After hearing Xia Liu say this, the villagers' enthusiasm waned a bit, but they still took note, after all, there was money to be made.

When he returned home, Zhang Xiaoxue had already prepared dinner, and after they had eaten, Zhang Qing came over carrying a chicken.

Zhang Qing looked more spirited today than yesterday, and she had even put on a bit of makeup. With her fair skin, she didn't resemble a woman from the village at all.

"Doctor Xia Liu, since you didn't take my consultation fee, the only thing I can do is bring something to thank you," Zhang Qing said her intentions as soon as she entered.

"Sister-in-law, why be so polite..." Knowing Zhang Qing's intentions, Zhang Xiaoxue felt bittersweet. While Xia Liu was away, the two of them had become confidantes, and Zhang Qing had helped her so much. Seeing this, she felt a bit awkward.

"Yes, sister-in-law, it's all in the past now. If you need help in the future, just come to me, and I won't refuse..."

"Wasn't it last night that you asked for help? Why didn't you go..." Zhang Qing mumbled softly, barely audible to Zhang Xiaoxue, but Xia Liu heard it clearly.

...

Xia Liu couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He had just said he wouldn't refuse, and now he got splendidly facelapped, really...

"Heh, actually I heard from the people in the village that Doctor Xia Liu has a way to make money, so I wanted to give it a try."

"Ah, Brother Xia Liu, what have you done?"

"Cough cough, well, it's like this, I found a field of Kaempferia galanga in the mountains, so..." Xia Liu then started to explain to the two women.

"Fifteen yuan per catty!" Hearing the final price, both women were simultaneously surprised.

Xia Liu smiled wryly. He knew saying it like that would shock people. If he mentioned thirty-five yuan per catty, who the hell would believe him? Maybe no one would even go to the mountains.

"Yes, as long as it's harvested properly, you can definitely get fifteen per catty. But in an eight-hour day, at most you might only be able to pick about ten catties," Xia Liu said earnestly.

"Wow! I want to go!" Both women exclaimed excitedly at the same time.

They had seen Kaempferia galanga before, but it wasn't common. They really didn't know that the stuff actually commanded such a terrifying price, and they became excited at the thought.

In a day, one could harvest about ten catties, which was one hundred and fifty yuan. That's four thousand five hundred yuan a month, which was more than the salary of some city workers.

Xia Liu smiled slightly. It depended on how many people would come tomorrow. After talking a while longer, he took Zhang Qing back home, as it was dangerous for a woman to walk alone at night.

"Doctor Xia Liu, thank you for giving me this opportunity," Zhang Qing said, thanking Xia Liu again after reaching her home.

"It's nothing, I should be getting back. Remember to have breakfast tomorrow; you need the energy." Xia Liu was somewhat puzzled; logically speaking, Zhang Qing shouldn't be short on money. According to Xiaoxue, her husband sent her a lot of money every month. Why would she be short of cash?

"Why don't you come in and sit for a bit before going back..." As Xia Liu was about to leave, Zhang Qing stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and then placed it on her chest...