Two days later, the arsonist was still not found, but rumors were spreading throughout Tianping Village.

"I heard that the money borrowed from Tianlong Village wasn't lost! It's still with Village Chief Niu!"

"Thank God, thank goodness we didn't lose the silver, otherwise our village wouldn't be able to pay it back even if we sold everything we own!"

"Aunt Wen, you must have forgotten that our village mortgaged its land to Tianlong Village. If they can't pay back the money, they'll have to use the land as collateral!"

Tianping Village.

Four women who were sewing shoe soles sat together on small stools, talking about the rumors they had heard.

After looking around, Erniu's mother whispered, "That's not what I heard."

The remaining three women, hearing that there were things they didn't know, quickly crowded around to listen to the gossip.

"Tell me what happened right now!"

Erniu's mother said, "You can't spread this around like this. I only heard it from someone else!"

The three women were curious, and Erniu's mother nodded in agreement to everything she said.

"Okay, okay, hurry up and tell me, I need to go back to my room to cook for the baby later!"

"That's right, that's right, we'll never tell anyone who we are!"

Once Erniu's mother received the assurance, she felt relieved and told everything she knew.

"I heard that the village chief's house was burned down by himself!"

As soon as Erniu's mother spoke, the three women widened their eyes and gasped, as if they had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

"Burn down your own house? Only a fool would do that!" Aunt Wen couldn't understand why the village chief's family would do such a thing.

“I think it’s probably true!” said the stubborn cowwoman. “The village chief first burned down his own house, then told us that all our money was gone, and that the land would naturally belong to Tianlong Village, and that his family had kept all the money.”

As soon as the stubborn old woman spoke, the other women agreed that she was right.

Otherwise, with so much time having passed and the land almost dug, why haven't they bought the vegetable seeds yet?

They say the money is still there, but nobody has seen it!

In the end, they might even have to pay for the seeds themselves!

Thinking about it carefully, the stubborn cowwoman felt that she was probably right!

Erniu's mother glared at the stubborn Niu's mother and said, "Sister-in-law, you can say these things in front of us. If word gets out, the village chief might deal with you."

The stubborn old woman didn't care and said, "If you haven't done anything wrong, why are you afraid of what people will say? Prove it to us, that's no big deal. We're not unreasonable people."

Having said that, she was unwilling to stay there any longer and spoke to these inflexible women.

He picked up his little stool, wiggled his hips, and walked into his yard.

Then, with a bang, he slammed the courtyard gate shut, startling the women still outside.

The news of the women's gossip somehow spread.

Not only Tianping Village, but also several surrounding villages knew about it.

In just one day, Lu Qiqi also heard the news in Tianxin Village.

When Zhao Xiaodong was about to tell Lu Qiqi, she was processing the resurrection grass with Doctor Luo.

The resurrection herb has dried out quite a bit of moisture and is ready to be processed.

Doctor Luo put the resurrection herb into an iron pot, heated it, and stir-fried it to remove excess moisture.

Like tea leaves, the resurrection plant can only be stir-fried by hand, not with utensils, so as not to damage its roots and stems.

Dr. Luo spends many years collecting herbs in the mountains, so his hands are rough. He stirs up the resurrection plant in an iron pot without feeling the heat at all.

When the leaf sheaths of the resurrection plant open, white fragments fall off.

Doctor Luo touched the bramble in his hand, which had become a little softer, and said, "It's ready to be taken out of the pot."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi took a flat bamboo winnowing basket to hold the brambles of the resurrection grass.

To prepare the resurrection plant, the open leaf sheaths need to be thoroughly cleaned; it can only be rubbed on a winnowing basket.

The pressure applied during the kneading process is also very important; it cannot be too heavy, as this will damage the roots and stems, nor can it be too light, as this will not remove the leaf sheaths completely.

It looks like a craft that requires skill.

Doctor Luo asked, "Girl, do you know how?"

The resurrection herb is naturally precious. If one does not know how to process it, one can only use it to cook mutton soup, just like on the day one returned from the cliff. It is like using gold as a stone.

Lu Qiqi blinked and said, "Is Doctor Luo trying to test me?"

Dr. Luo nodded, and Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Then I'll give it a try. If I don't do it well, you can't be upset."

After Lu Qiqi finished speaking, Doctor Luo felt a slight pang of heartache. If this girl really didn't know how, such a good thing would be wasted.

Just like when he was teaching, Dr. Luo kept a straight face, showing no emotion.

Lu Qiqi placed her hand on the bramble and rubbed it with the strength of her palm to remove the excess leaf sheaths.

Then, he went out of the kitchen and into the yard to clean up the white debris.

"Alright." Lu Qiqi took the winnowing basket back to the kitchen and handed it in to Doctor Luo.

Doctor Luo looked at the bramble and praised it generously, "Not bad, you're quite skillful, unlike that yellow-skinned one, who's as stupid as a pig!"

The "yellow skin" that Doctor Luo mentioned was indeed Doctor Huang. Ever since he returned from being trapped on the cliff, he had been calling Doctor Huang that.

That's why he didn't let Doctor Huang touch the precious resurrection herb.

It took the two of them a long time to bake the resurrection herb.

Next comes the processing of the resurrection herb, a crucial step in the process.

That is to make Dendrobium officinale.

The resurrection plant has another name: 'Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail'.

The resurrection herb needs to be wrapped around a thin bamboo strip with rope.

This step is extremely crucial and requires skilled craftsmen to produce it well; otherwise, the quality will be poor and the value will be slightly lower.

Lu Qiqi worked quickly and soon wrapped two-thirds of the resurrection grass around her.

As if he hadn't had enough, Dr. Luo looked at the resurrection plants in the winnowing basket, all strung together, and a sense of loss lingered in his heart.

We were still not satisfied.

Once the resurrection grass is wrapped around it, all that's left is to wait for its shape to solidify, and then you're all done.

The prepared resurrection herb has a robust root that resembles a proud dragon's head.

Its tail is slender, resembling a graceful phoenix tail.

"Alright," Dr. Luo looked up and gestured, "that kid has been peering out the window for far too long."

Lu Qiqi looked up and saw Zhao Xiaodong.

Before stir-frying the resurrection herb, Lu Qiqi saw Zhao Xiaodong and asked him to sit and wait in the main room.

Unexpectedly, he insisted on peering into the kitchen through the window, claiming he wouldn't disturb Lu Qiqi.

Lu Qiqi washed her hands in the kitchen and came out. Zhao Xiaodong also returned to the main room.

"Tell me, what do you want?"

Lu Qiqi sat down and poured herself and Zhao Xiaodong a bowl of tea.

Zhao Xiaodong accepted the tea with both hands and said, "You asked me to keep an eye on Tianping Village, and in just two days, the wind has started to change again."

Just as Lu Qiqi had predicted, rumors began to circulate again among the people of Tianping Village.

"They say that Village Chief Niu embezzled public funds by burning down his own house!"