frightfiction Chapter 35 Planting Ginseng
Chapter 35 Planting Ginseng
After Hu Zi and the others left, only Meng Bochang and Meng Fuqing remained in the simple room.
Meng Bochang found it strange and asked her, "Didn't you say you didn't want to be his apprentice? Why did you come along?"
Meng Fuqing glanced at him, even more puzzled, "Grandpa Village Chief, of course I'm here to ask for payment."
Meng Bochang choked. He was used to seeing the scene in the village where one side wanted to give to the other and the other side would refuse in every way. He never thought that someone would be so open as to directly ask for it.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi immediately looked up and glared angrily at Meng Fuqing. How could his apprentice be inferior to a few ginseng seeds?
"What do you need ginseng seeds for? Do you want to grow ginseng instead?"
"Yes, plant ginseng."
The two elderly people in the house looked at each other in bewilderment. Zheng Yi said speechlessly, "Let's not even talk about whether it will survive. Are you going to plant it now and then dig it up when you're halfway to the ground?"
"You don't need to worry about that. You probably won't be able to see it when I dig it up."
Zheng Yi was furious again. He only said that because he was too proud to give ginseng. This girl had been making him angry all the way here!
He limped off the bed to find ginseng seeds for Meng Fuqing, but Meng Fuqing stopped him, saying, "You tell me where you put them, I'll find them myself. Otherwise, Grandpa Village Chief will think I'm bullying an old man."
Meng Bochang, who was listening from the side, kept rubbing his forehead. He thought that Qingya's decision not to become his old friend's apprentice was very wise and would help his old friend live a long life.
Zheng Yi snorted, "Go check outside to see if there's anything there?"
The courtyard was filled with various herbs drying in the sun, and Meng Fuqing searched for quite a while before finding them.
She went inside to say goodbye to the two elderly people, but the old man surnamed Zheng ignored her coldly. The village chief led her out of the yard.
"That's just how Grandpa Zheng is. He's getting more and more senile as he gets older. He just told me that if you want to learn how to process medicinal herbs, just come to him. You can get a much higher price for them when you sell them."
Meng Fuqing nodded, "Thank you, Grandpa Village Chief. I won't stand on ceremony with Doctor Zheng."
Meng Bochang: "..." That's already quite impolite.
Meng Fuqing turned to leave, but then suddenly asked, "Grandpa Village Chief, was Linlang the first to discover Doctor Zheng's disappearance? Is someone in her family sick?"
Meng Bochang shook his head. "Doctor Zheng's house is located on high ground. You can see it from Linlang's house. Last night, Linlang noticed that Doctor Zheng's house was dark. She came to check again this morning and felt something was wrong, so she came to find me. It's thanks to her thoughtfulness and also thanks to you for rescuing her on the mountain. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy to find someone in such a big mountain."
That made sense, so Meng Fuqing didn't ask any further questions: "I see. The old man is getting old, so it's better if he doesn't always go to the deep mountains."
After saying goodbye to the village chief, he returned home to find that the Sun family had already delivered the promised seven bushels of grain to his house.
Since Shan Qiyu had already accepted the unground wheat and sorghum, Meng Fuqing didn't investigate further.
After dinner, Shan Qiyu took Meng Ranran and Meng Ali to sleep with her, and secretly told Meng Fuqing that she didn't want anyone to disturb Meng Fuqing's conversation with the Fairy Goddess.
This suited Meng Fuqing's wishes perfectly. She found a large enough container in her space, planted a ginseng seed in it, and continuously supplied it with wood-type supernatural power until the entire village fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Meng Fuqing packed the herbs he had collected over the past few days into a basket and boarded the oxcart from the village chief's house to go to town.
After saying goodbye to Meng Ranran and Meng Ali who had followed her, she stared at Dr. Zheng, who was also sitting in the car.
The driver was Meng Bochang's second son, Meng Wenbai, and Meng Bochang and his second granddaughter, Meng Wan'er, were also in the car.
Looking at the old man and the child, Meng Bochang couldn't help but rub his forehead. Meng Wan'er stared curiously at Meng Fuqing, wanting to talk to her but not daring to break the silence in the car.
Finally, Meng Fuqing asked, "Dr. Zheng went to the county town to see the doctor about the injury?"
"Buy medicine."
"Oh."
The car fell silent again.
Finally, the senior doctor couldn't hold back any longer and asked Meng Fuqing, "What have you thought about what happened before?"
Meng Fuqing shook his head, "You've got the wrong person. I gather herbs to sell for money; I can't do things like saving lives."
Zheng Yi scolded her: "Vulgar! Utterly vulgar!"
Meng Fuqing, unusually good-natured, said, "If you really want to take on a disciple, I'll give you my sister as your disciple."
If there's a bargain, why not take advantage of it?
Zheng Yi was about to glare again when Meng Bochang stopped him in time.
"Ranran is a good girl. She has learned a lot about herbs from her sister, and her age is just right. Why don't you take a look and decide?"
Zheng Yi paused for a moment. He had figured it out. This young girl was very opinionated and wouldn't easily change her mind once she made a decision.
He waved his hand at Meng Fuqing, "Next time you bring your sister to my house, let this old man see her first."
Meng Fuqing readily agreed.
The two elderly people in the car were talking about other things, and Meng Fuqing sat on the side listening. Only then did he learn that the village chief was going to the county government office in the county town.
Her eyelids twitched; she sensed that something was amiss.
Then the village chief frowned and said, "The death of Master Lin in town is suspicious. The Lin family is related to the county magistrate. I'm worried that it might be because of a feud between Qing and the Lin family."
Doctor Zheng was severely behind on the times and hadn't heard anything about the Lin family. He hurriedly asked, "What's the Lin family steward doing in our village? Is he just bored?"
Meng Bochang and his granddaughter exchanged a glance, then looked at Meng Fuqing.
Meng Fuqing sat motionless, not even lifting his eyelids.
Zheng Yi asked in bewilderment, "Why are you all looking at her?"
Meng Wenbai, who was driving, was oblivious to the subtle atmosphere in the car. Being a straightforward person, he heard Doctor Zheng ask and immediately said loudly, "It's all because of that grandson Meng Shaoyuan. He sold Qingya to the Lin family for fifteen taels of silver. The Lin family's steward came to our village to take her away, but Qingya chased him away!"
Zheng Yi looked at Meng Bochang in surprise, and Meng Bochang nodded.
"You heartless beast! Good riddance!" Zheng Yi, who had been half-lying in the car, sat up abruptly in a fit of excitement.
Meng Bochang's brow twitched, he coughed lightly, changed the subject, and said to Meng Fuqing, "Qing girl, don't worry, maybe I'm overthinking it. The Lin family has been the local tyrant in our town for so many years, and they've offended quite a few people. We can't just call everyone who has a grudge against them in for questioning."
Meng Fuqing nodded: "Grandpa Village Chief knows my family's situation all too well. We're lucky if we can live a decent life. How could we possibly have the ability to offend the wealthy man in town? Besides, we didn't know I had been sold before the Lin family came."
If the officials in the county inquire about this matter, I hope the village chief will put in a good word for my family. Thank you in advance.
"Didn't you drive them away?" Zheng Yi's lips twitched. This is what they call not daring to mess with someone?
Meng Fuqing glanced at him, and Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat; he had a bad feeling. Sure enough, what he heard Meng Fuqing say next was...
"If it were Doctor Zheng who was sold, he would probably fight those people even with a broken leg. My family only owed them money, which we have already paid back. What did we do to offend them?"
Everyone fell silent, and the car became quiet again.
Zheng Yi wiped his face, belatedly realizing how miserable his future would be if he took on such a disciple.
Meng Wan'er looked at Meng Fuqing with admiration. She was like a quail in front of her elders, but Meng Fuqing dared to make jokes about them without them feeling offended. That was amazing!
She got along well with Meng Linlang. She had heard Meng Linlang complain to her before, and although she felt some sympathy for Meng Fuqing having such a father, she couldn't bring herself to like him.
She had heard a lot about Meng Fuqing from her family these past few days, which piqued her curiosity. Upon meeting her this time, her opinion of her changed completely.