The door of the brigade's house was being pounded on loudly.

The dinner table fell silent instantly.

The smile on the brigade leader's face gradually disappeared. He got up, went to open the door, looked at the people outside, and said with a stern face, "Are you ever going to stop? Half of the villagers disagree. What can I do? You can smash my door to pieces, but it won't do any good."

Four men stood at the door, their clothes tattered and their slippers with the soles coming undone.

“But you’re the brigade leader, who else can we turn to besides you?” one of the men said dejectedly. “We just want to get back 100 yuan to keep our families fed. We paid 500 yuan in rent back then, and it hasn’t even been ten years!”

Hearing the commotion, Su Yan walked over and asked, "Captain, what is a dry mountain?"

She had never heard of that word before.

The brigade leader, looking worried, said, "Our Lijia Ping village has always been located near mountains. There are two hills behind the village, and everything we plant there dies. These few stubborn folks just wouldn't listen. Eight years ago, they spent 500 yuan to rent those two hills for 80 years. The first year they planted fruit trees, and they died. The second year they planted vegetables, and those died too. They tried planting them repeatedly for eight years, but they got nothing and ended up with a mountain of debt. They can't even afford to eat. Now they're coming to me wanting to get 100 yuan back, and they want the 80-year lease on those two dry hills to be void. But it's not that easy. That money was already distributed among the villagers eight years ago. How can they agree to give it back to you?"

Nothing could grow on the two dry mountains, and the villagers all thought it was because of the heavy yin energy, so they all avoided them. But there were some who didn't believe in such superstitions.

“When the previous brigade leader was still in charge, he led the villagers to plant fruit trees. He took great care of the saplings in the mountains every day, but they still died. With this precedent, why did you still want to rent them? Aren’t you just asking for trouble?” the brigade leader sighed.

All four of them were on the verge of tears.

"Captain, we really know we were wrong. We owe several hundred yuan in debt. We can go without food, but the children and the elderly can't go without food."

"We don't want to be like this if we can't take it anymore, so please help us."

“The children in my family are malnourished and are so thin they’re just skin and bones. I’ll take pity on the children and ask the villagers to put in a good word for them.”

All four families have children, and they are only a few years old, which is a time when they need nutrition.

Earning money is hard these days, and once it's in your pocket, how many people are willing to take it out again? Especially since so much time has passed.

But an idea popped into Su Yan's mind.

If she plants all the medicinal herbs she needs in large quantities, she won't have to go out to buy them if the mountain is developed in the future.

Especially for those who make braised food, it's indispensable.

In addition, she will be making medicinal cuisine in the future.

After thinking for a moment, she hesitated and said, "Could you take me to see the dry mountain?"

The atmosphere immediately fell silent after those words were spoken.

Lin Xiuli frowned and said, "Ayan, that dry mountain is really dry, it's no joke, don't get involved."

Grandma Li and Grandpa Li also knew about the situation on that hill.

However, Su Yan was not a reckless person and always acted with discretion, so they remained silent.

Su Yan nodded, "I know, I'll make a decision after I see what the situation is."

The captain was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Alright, I'll take you on a tour. You four just wait here."

"I'll go take a look too." Jiang Jingxing stood up and said, "My workplace also has a dry mountain, I'll see if I can be of any help."

So the three of them went to the dry mountain together.

It takes more than ten minutes to walk there.

Because of the evil influence of the dry mountain, no one wants to live in the houses at the end of Lijiapin Village anymore. Except for some people with limited means, everyone else has found new land to build houses.

Therefore, the area around the dry mountain is very desolate.

Su Yan took a look.

The two hilltops are almost touching, with a distance of about ten meters between them.

The mountain was full of saplings, but their leaves were all dried up and they were completely dead.

Moreover, the saplings are all of good quality.

The captain looked on with great regret, saying, "What a pity to waste such a promising talent."

If you planted it at home, it would definitely survive; it's a waste that it's being used here.

"Su Yan, you've seen what a sight it is. Let's just forget about it and not waste this money," the captain advised.

Su Yan remained silent.

She observed for a few minutes before finally asking, "Were these two hills always like this?"

"That's not it." The captain smoothed things out before saying, "I heard from the previous captain that the reason these hills became dry was because the Japanese set fire to the village. These two hills burned for three whole nights, and after that, nothing grew."

"Then let's change the soil," Su Yan said.

The brigade leader was stunned. “Replace the soil? Wouldn’t that mean moving the mountain flat? That would be a huge undertaking. If you want to grow something, there are other hills in the village. Just rent one. There’s no need to rent this one. It’s a waste of money.”

Before Su Yan could explain, Jiang Jingxing said, "No need to level it, just flatten the road on the mountain and then bring soil from elsewhere to plant it."

"That's exactly what I meant, and since they only charge a hundred yuan, I can save a lot," Su Yan said with a smile. "Of course, if it doesn't grow, I'll just consider it a lesson learned."

"You! Hey!" The captain didn't know what to say.

Su Yan said, "I know you don't want me to take over, but a few hundred yuan is just a small amount for me right now. Let's take a gamble. If I survive, great; if I don't, it's okay. That way, you won't be caught in the middle."

She didn't do it to help those people; it was entirely for the sake of having a continuous supply of medicinal herbs.

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