Zhou Dazhu is just like his parents, both of them are useless.
It was almost ten o'clock when the train arrived at the station, and An Caicai dragged her feet back home.
When she entered, An Zhiyuan was sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading a newspaper. When he saw her come back, he frowned and looked up: "Where have you been so late at night? You smell like a country girl."
There was a hint of disgust in his tone, and the newspaper in his hand shook, as if he was deliberately taking out his anger on it.
An Caicai was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that she had not told her father in detail about going to the countryside.
She put down her bag, sat on the sofa and said, "I went to the medicinal material base that Uncle Zhang introduced. What's wrong, Dad?"
As she spoke, she kicked off her shoes and rubbed her feet on the floor, looking nonchalant.
When An Zhiyuan heard "Uncle Zhang", his brows relaxed a little. He put down the newspaper and squinted at her: "Oh, that thing that Old Man Zhang mentioned. I thought you had gone somewhere wild."
He paused, then asked, "How's that place? Don't let it be some country folk messing around with it, wasting your time."
"Dad, what you said is too unreasonable!"
An Caicai became anxious when she heard this. "The quality of the medicinal materials in that base is excellent. All the pharmacies in the city are scrambling to get them!"
She sat up straight from the sofa, her eyes sparkling. "That Chen Changyuan is about my age, but the bupleurum he grows is more authentic than the ones you import from abroad, and the price is half the price!"
An Zhiyuan took a sip of tea and asked indifferently, "Oh? Does this kid have this ability?"
Although there was still a hint of disbelief in his tone, his attitude softened a bit when he recalled Uncle Zhang's recommendation when they were drinking that day.
He glanced at his daughter's excitement when she talked about Chen Changyuan, frowned, and tapped his fingers on the teacup.
"If his base expands and he builds a processing plant, our business will also benefit from it!"
An Caicai rambled on, "Don't you always complain that foreign products are too expensive? This is a perfect opportunity!"
"Hmph, that sounds nice."
An Zhiyuan put down his cup and said, "What kind of future can a country boy have? I don't understand Uncle Zhang's mouth."
Having said that, the confidence is clearly insufficient.
"Believe it or not."
An Caicai curled her lips and said, "Anyway, I think Chen Changyuan is reliable. He has made his mark through hard work."
She yawned and said, "I'm so sleepy. I'm going to sleep first."
After saying that, he staggered back to his room.
An Zhiyuan sat there alone, staring at the teacup in a daze.
On this side, Chen Changyuan returned to the village, and it was already dark and pitch dark.
He pushed open the door and saw Fang Suxia sitting by the kang mending clothes. Seeing him come back, she quickly put down her needle and thread and said, "Why are you back so late? The food is cold. I'll heat it up for you."
Her voice was soft, but it didn't sound as hoarse as before.
Chen Changyuan waved his hand: "No, Mom, I'm not hungry."
He sat down on the edge of the kang, took off his shoes and shook off the mud, his mind still spinning about the transport team.
Fang Suxia didn't hear clearly, so she turned around and asked, "What?"
Chen Changyuan quickly grinned: "Nothing, I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep."
He crawled into bed and closed his eyes, but his mind was filled with the account books of the medicinal materials base and An Caicai's smiling face. He tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
"Mom, I'm back!"
As soon as Chen Changyuan entered the room, he shouted, "I'm starving!"
"Oh, this kid!"
Fang Suxia quickly put down her work and said, "Wait, I'll serve you right away!"
Chen Changyuan threw off his coat, sat down, and let out a breath.
The aroma of herbs mixed with the smell of firewood in the house penetrated my nose, and my shoulders finally relaxed.
“You, you!”
Fang Suxia brought over some steaming hot cornmeal and slipped him a pickled radish. "You've been working like crazy all day, you'll be exhausted sooner or later!"
"Hiss—hot, hot, hot!"
Chen Changyuan snored, smoke pouring out of his mouth. "Mom, I have something to tell you! An Caicai has taken a fancy to our medicinal herbs today, and those people from the city will be here soon! Our life is going to be turned upside down!"
Fang Suxia's eyes wrinkled with laughter, but she kept muttering, "As long as you're safe, as long as you're safe! Those city people are so cunning, you better be careful!"
She lowered her head and started fiddling with needle and thread again, her hands shaking violently.
Chen Changyuan glanced at his mother and sighed inwardly.
My body is not in good condition now. I need to earn money to treat my illness quickly. Otherwise, what’s the point of living again?
"Mom, I'm done eating. Go pack the herbs! We have to go into town tomorrow!"
"Hey, you—"
Before Fang Suxia could finish her words, her son had already slipped away.
She shook her head and continued to mend the torn cotton jacket.
Moonlight filled the yard, and Chen Changyuan was squatting in front of a pile of medicinal herbs, busying himself.
The third batch of goods is almost ready. The roots of Bupleurum are strong and the fragrance of Angelica is overwhelming.
He picked up a plant of Dendrobium officinale and thought happily: This thing can be sold for hundreds of dollars!
"Xiaoyuan, staying up late again?"
Old Yuantou came over with a cane, smiling.
"Uncle Yuan! Are you still not sleeping so late? Be careful not to fall!"
Chen Changyuan quickly supported him.
"I can't sleep!"
The old man came closer to look at the herbs and nodded repeatedly, "Your craftsmanship is impeccable! You must bring honor to our village tomorrow and don't let the city people look down on you!"
Chen Changyuan snorted and laughed. "It doesn't matter if it's a face or not. I just want to make more money. I have to sell this batch of goods to the county exchange meeting, otherwise it will be a waste if it just piles up here."
He paused, then muttered softly, "I'm afraid that old fox Wang Fugui will trip me up again."
Old Yuan narrowed his eyes and patted him on the shoulder: "Just keep in mind what you're doing. That smiling tiger may look kind, but he's actually quite malicious. This time when you go to the county, you should bring a few more helpers with you to make sure they don't take advantage of you."
Chen Changyuan nodded and said nothing more.
The two chatted for a few more words about medicinal herbs before Old Yuantou staggered back home.
The night wind blew, and the yard was so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard, but Chen Changyuan didn't feel sleepy at all.
He packed up the last few bundles of Bupleurum and looked up at the sky - tomorrow would be a big day.
In a blink of an eye, a week passed.
During these seven days, Chen Changyuan and several helpers from the village worked as hard as if their lives depended on it, and managed to collect all the third batch of medicinal materials.
Even the old master could not find fault with the quality of Bupleurum and Angelica, and the seedlings of Dendrobium officinale grew very lively, as if they had been holding back their energy in the soil, waiting to glow and give off heat.
He gets up before dawn every day and goes home after dark. He is so tired that he can't even lift his arms, but when he thinks of the exchange meeting in the county, his eyes become angry.
That evening, Lao Yuantou came again, holding a rag bag that was bulging with stuff.
Chen Changyuan was squatting on the ground counting the herbs. Seeing him coming, he looked up and asked, "Uncle, what are you doing?"
"I got you some dry food to eat on the way to the county tomorrow."
The old man stuffed the cloth bag into his hands and grinned, "You kid, you're so busy that you don't even have time to eat. Shouldn't I prepare something for you?"
Chen Changyuan took the package, opened it and saw that there were a few hard steamed buns and a small piece of bacon inside.
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