Chapter 105 of 108 Urban New Farmers: Investigation Completed! Time to Leave the Mountain!
The secret passage is very long, sloping downwards for about a hundred meters. Fortunately, the stone path beneath our feet has been carved out into steps, making it much easier to walk. However, the further we go, the lower the temperature becomes; by the time we reach our destination, the temperature will probably be minus forty degrees Celsius! Ice buds are already visible everywhere.
Zhang Guodong was shivering a little, but luckily Elder Yi reminded him. He put on his thickest clothes. Elder Yi, wearing a thick sheepskin coat, also put on his snow-climbing gear. Now, these were no longer a burden, but rather a proper part of the outfit.
A chilling aura washed over the two of them. Zhang Guodong heard a faint sound of water and heard a surge of spiritual energy soaring into the sky!
This is indeed the place where Master Yi described as producing purple jade and sand!
Only in such a place could the spiritual energy be so concentrated, reaching hundreds of times that of the outside world! It is even more concentrated than the innermost area, hundreds of times more concentrated than the area beneath the mountains and rivers of Peach Blossom Spring!
It's finally over!
"The purple light shone on the purple jade sand under the firelight. It was clearly visible, but unfortunately, it was all at the bottom of the river. The water temperature was even lower there." The firelight illuminated a pool of clear water, and ripples appeared, indicating that the water here was flowing, from an underground river. Although the current was extremely slow, it couldn't wash away anything of significant weight. The purple light permeated the water. Without many torches, the cave was eerily brightened with a pure purple glow.
"Ah, this is all purple sand? How many kilograms are there underneath?!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong looked down and felt as if he were in a dream. Under such intense purple light, how much purple jade sand must there be? I'm afraid the ten kilograms of purple jade sand that Elder Yi collected wouldn't even be one-thousandth of what's here.
Leaving aside how it was formed, Zhang Guodong knew that the Purple Jade Sand, capable of being used in alchemy, was an extremely precious substance. Calling it a rare treasure wouldn't be an exaggeration. But now, he'd suddenly seen a vast expanse of it!
"Where does this underground river lead to, Elder Yi?" Zhang Guodong's eyes lit up with envy; he even considered jumping in to dig some out. But the biting cold reminded him that staying in there for even a short time could freeze someone to death! It was too dangerous!
It's so tempting to see something you can't have!
Annoying!
Extremely irritable!
"The underground river's exit is ten kilometers away. However, my grandfather, my father, and I have all explored that exit, and there wasn't a trace of purple jade sand there. Only this vortex produced the purple jade sand," Elder Yi said with a slight smile. He had come here with his father for the first time and had never seen so many wondrous treasures before, just like Zhang Guodong's frustrated expression.
But after doing it a few more times, you'll calm down a bit.
"Ten kilometers?" Zhang Guodong was stunned. That's too far!
"The purple jade sand that my grandfather and father collected was on these steps. It must have been left over after the water level receded. All of these have been collected. Any more would have to be put into the water!" Old Yi said, pointing to the protrusions.
There's nothing there now, not even a trace of purple light reflected; it's clearly been collected very little.
"Let's go. The pound of purple jade sand I gave you can be used for thousands of alchemy sessions. When you need it again, come back and explore. Dig up as much as you need. These wonders of heaven and earth are rare, and every little bit used is a little bit less!" After Zhang Guodong had looked around for a while, Elder Yi suggested leaving.
The purpose of this trip was to have Zhang Guodong familiarize himself with the route. Now that the objective has been achieved, it's time to go back.
Zhang Guodong was reluctant to part with the meat that was almost in his mouth but couldn't eat it. However, he thought about it and realized that only he and Elder Yi knew about the wonders of this place. If they needed it later, or if the conditions were right, they could always come back and dig it up.
Let's go back to the village first.
Just as Zhang Guodong and Yi Laoyi were recognizing the path to Ziyu Cave, people were also active in Shiya Village. Li Ningguang secretly led Wang Zhen and Liu Dewang up Shiya Mountain and back to the cave.
"Search carefully around here. If you find any rare trees, let me know!" Li Ningguang instructed the two. "Dewang, if you find a treasure, I'll give you an extra 100,000. The original conditions remain unchanged. Remember, if you conceal anything..."
He still didn't trust Liu Dewang.
Their destinations clashed with those of Li Hongbo and the others. Even if Liu Dewang was foolish, he knew that if Li Ningguang went to find the green fruit tree he had dug up last time, that tree must be very valuable, and he couldn't help but have selfish thoughts.
Liu Dewang was indeed dissatisfied, but Li Ningguang was now his boss. "You eat the meat, I'll just have some soup, okay?" This led to him becoming mentally lazy, occasionally kicking a stone.
He was wondering if he should wait until he had to dig again later? The moment this thought crossed his mind, Li Ningguang gave him a cold, sinister warning.
Liu Dewang shuddered, then mustered his strength and decided to go ahead and search. The original offer was 50,000. If they added another 100,000, that would be 150,000. That's not a small amount!
"Don't worry, boss, you can eat the meat and I'll just have some soup, hehe!" Liu Dewang said.
Li Ningguang nodded in satisfaction.
The three searched an area several hundred meters around the cave, but the results were far beyond Li Ningguang's "expectations."
"How could there be no chicken eggs?" Li Ningguang roared.
The two groups collided and an accident occurred in the middle. Naturally, no one had searched the surrounding area. He thought that this was the area where the green fruit trees should be. He decided to take advantage of Li Hongbo and the others' quiet time to find them first.
But this smug "prediction" was met with a cruel reality.
Those three green fruit trees only appeared in this world by chance, and there is no fourth one here!
Even if experts were to investigate later, it would be impossible. The only possible source, which Zhang Guodong took away, is those amber stones encased in the rock strata!
Even if seeds remain, they are still inside the amber.
Undeterred, they expanded the search area again. But the result was the same: no more green fruit trees remained!
Li Ning, after grumbling for a long time, looked at the trembling Liu Dewang and angrily wondered where this guy had gotten his hands on this dog shit. He actually searched for crucian carp in such a deep cave!
Everyone has suffered so much, only to have come all this way for nothing.
"Alright, let's wait until Wenqiang is feeling better before we leave the mountain!" Li Ningguang, his face dark with anger, calmed down and decided to leave. This trip into the mountains had yielded absolutely nothing and he'd almost lost his life!
Or rather, Zhang Guodong should be the biggest winner of this trip into the mountains!
Not only did they collect over two hundred kinds of medicinal materials, but they also discovered the legendary alchemy technique! Of course, no one else knew about these things.
Li Ningguang and his two companions had just left the mountain when Abashiri Ichiro and Zhang Guodong followed. The two groups didn't encounter each other.
rise.
During the following week in Shiya Village, Zhang Guodong didn't sit idle. He learned medicine preparation from Elder Yi while also studying pharmacology. Although the time was short, Zhang Guodong still learned some common diseases and pathologies.
Furthermore, Zhang Guodong and Xiaohu became close friends and would occasionally go to the fields to help plant some crops. At this time, the weather was slightly cold, making it suitable only for planting some slightly cold-resistant crops.
As for his talent for farming, he is quite talented and has learned a lot of experience and skills. It was novel at first, but it became rather boring after a while.
However, many villagers were sowing seeds while the ground was still moist, so Zhang Guodong felt embarrassed to stop. He persisted for three days, helping the Yi family turn the soil over, sowing the seeds, and then applying farmyard manure. Of course, Zhang Guodong didn't need to do anything with the manure; Xiao Hu did it all himself.
Zhang Guodong learned that Shiya Village, though flat, had abundant rainfall in some years, resulting in relatively high yields. Planting just three rows of land was enough to feed a family for a year and a half! Moreover, every household here raised pigs and sheep. They also grew their own sheep, cattle, poultry, vegetables, and wild vegetables, making them mostly self-sufficient!
Zhang Guodong brought some wild vegetables and sweet potatoes with him. The crops from the mountains are of high quality and purely organic; it's hard to find good quality ones outside.
But he seemed to have brought a lot of things with him, and Zhang Guodong really had to rack his brains to solve the problem.
Medicinal herbs? Apart from Elder Yi and Xiao Hu, no one knew that he had brought hundreds of medicinal herbs. You should know that some of these herbs are not small grasses, but rather over a foot tall. One travel bag alone could not hold them all, and the factor of preventing them from withering must be taken into account before they are taken out of the mountains. As a result, Zhang Guodong had an extra large bag filled with some withered grass and leaves.
He gave away most of the things in the bag he brought into the mountains as gifts to the children, leaving a lot of space.
After a week, several seriously injured people were able to get out of bed, but they needed someone to help them get out of the mountains. The old man in the inner robe's medicinal herbs played a significant role in this.
Li Hongbo, who only had superficial injuries, was able to get out of bed on the third day, though his face was wrapped up tightly. Every day, he would go to the small hill with a cell phone signal to make phone calls, muttering something unintelligible. Surprisingly, he somehow managed to gain Bai Jiawei's forgiveness by saying something to her.
This puzzled Zhang Guodong.
However, this is your business. Since you don't care, why should I? Bai Jiawei's intentional or unintentional approach to Zhang Guodong only made Zhang Guodong look down on her.
The time to leave the mountain had finally come. Bai Jiawei packed her things and went to find Zhang Guodong.
Zhang Guodong stayed here for about a month. He felt the trip was worthwhile, but now he had to leave and felt a little lost. However, after leaving the mountain, he had many things to do. He needed to find and collect the jade essence, and he also had to attend his elder brother's wedding. In addition, the aquatic products in Peach Blossom Spring had grown again in the past half month, which also needed to be processed and organized.
"Zhang Guodong, do you look down on me?" Bai Jiawei suddenly asked Zhang Guodong in Xiaohu's room, looking very serious.
"That's strange," Zhang Guodong looked at her in surprise, wondering what she meant. "Looking for him?"
"Where do you begin?" Zhang Guodong asked.
"I knew Li Hongbo was despicable, but there was a reason I let him go. He found connections and pleaded for him, so I couldn't refuse," Bai Jiawei said to herself, tears streaming down her face.
The situation of the two was quite surprising and astonishing.
Zhang Guodong quickly replied, "Why are you telling me? I have no problem with you, of course. I'd be happy to help if you need it!"
“You can’t beat him,” Bai Jiawei said.
Can't win? Ha, what kind of official is a vice president of a provincial association? If he has powerful backers, he wouldn't be holding these idle positions, right? In Zhang Guodong's understanding, most people with connections are in prestigious departments.
"Fine, even if I can't beat you, what can I do if the person involved doesn't pursue the matter?" Zhang Guodong said, spreading his hands.
"Give me your phone number?" Bai Jiawei was silent for a moment, then wiped away her tears and, unusually, asked for Zhang Guodong's phone number. The topic shifted!
"Aren't you afraid your fiancé will be jealous?" Zhang Guodong exclaimed dramatically. He knew from their interactions that Bai Jiawei had a fiancé and was rumored to be getting married soon.
Bai Jiawei rolled her eyes at Zhang Guodong and then chuckled: "Can't we just be friends?"
First update! Monthly votes reached Zhang. *Sigh*. Got the target. Putting pressure on the Heavenly Dao again, haha. But an extra update is inevitable; at least 10,000 words today!
Also, let's make a last-minute agreement: if all the monthly tickets arrive by 7 PM tonight! Four monthly tickets will get me an extra chapter, making it 13,000 words. How about that? Those of you with monthly tickets, please send them! Even those who are a bit lazy, please check your accounts and send them if you have any. I'm working incredibly hard, so please encourage me! Thank you!
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