Besides Sun Yuan'er, who had previously borrowed money from Qiu Yan, Zhao Laotou's niece-in-law and grandniece-in-law also came.
Even Zhao Zheng and Zhao Jun came.
They stopped working today and, out of curiosity, came to see what Qiu Yan was up to.
But once they arrived and confirmed that Qiu Yan wanted to plant medicinal herbs, they were all more surprised than the last.
When Zhao Zheng saw Gu Qian, his eyes became dull and lost their luster.
Why is he here again?
Gu Qian also saw Zhao Zheng, and the two men locked eyes, sparks flying.
Zhao Zheng approached Qiu Yan, his gaze softening. "Xiao Yan, how have you been lately?"
Qiu Yan replied calmly, "It's alright."
Zhao Jun's gaze remained fixed on Gu Qian, trying to guess the man's background.
Seeing that Zhao Zheng looked dejected, he pulled him away.
With the village chief's guarantee, the villagers all wanted to earn some extra money in the village, so they surrounded Qiu Yan and the others, chattering and offering their services.
"Qiu Yan, I'm quick and efficient, and I'll never slack off."
“Qiu Yan, we live in the same alley, can you take care of her?”
"..."
Qiu Yan glanced at everyone and then waved her hand to stop them from talking. "Fellow villagers, I don't need so many people right now."
After Qiu Yan finished speaking, the villagers looked at each other.
Zhao Shan suggested, "How about this, one person from each of your households should come out."
After he said that, all the heads of households who were not working outside stepped forward.
When the men were not at home, some women stepped forward.
Qiu Yan then selected some healthy, strong young men and women from among them.
She politely declined offers from those who were too young or too old.
Among those who were politely declined, Liu, the niece-in-law of Old Zhao, stepped forward.
“Qiu Yan, my son went into the mountains a couple of days ago and unfortunately broke his leg. Now, my husband has developed an eye ailment, and my daughter-in-law has to breastfeed. I…”
When Liu said this, she clearly lacked confidence, as most of the people who came with her were younger than her.
Qiu Yan looked at the woman, who was in her fifties and had tear stains in the corners of her eyes, making her look rather pitiful.
Recalling the original owner's memories, she recognized the person and said, "Okay, Grandma Liu, you can stay."
Upon hearing that she could make money, Liu was overjoyed and immediately bowed to Qiu Yan, who helped her up with both hands.
She relaxed and walked to Xiao Liu's side.
Xiao Liu was Zhao Laotou's granddaughter-in-law and Liu's maternal niece.
At this point, some people expressed their dissatisfaction with Qiu Yan's actions.
A woman pointed at Liu and said with dissatisfaction:
"Qiu Yan, I'm younger and stronger than her, why do you use her instead of me?"
Liu kept her head low, afraid that Qiu Yan would say something she didn't believe, and tried her best to remain invisible.
Qiu Yan glanced at the woman indifferently, "Zhao Langzhong is practically my mentor, so it's only right that I take care of his family."
The woman who was speaking changed her expression. When she saw the village chief giving her an unfriendly look, she awkwardly shut her mouth.
Because of Qiu Yan's words, the village chief and some villagers had different opinions about her.
The village chief thought to himself, "Qiu Yan is such a kind-hearted girl; she knows how to repay kindness."
Upon hearing this, Liu realized that it was because of Old Man Zhao and Qiu Yan that she had used her. She thought to herself that she should treat the old man better from now on.
Xiao Liu had the same idea.
Gu Qian listened to Qiu Yan's conversation with the villagers from afar, his eyes filled with a broad smile.
She was just a peasant girl, but her temperament was extraordinary.
Qiu Yan first instructed the workers to clear the land, with the village chief in charge.
During the land reclamation period, Qiu Yan began cultivating medicinal herbs... Salvia miltiorrhiza, Indigo root, Sophora flavescens...
Some need to be soaked in advance, while others need to be grown as seedlings.
Two days later, the wasteland was all ready.
During the planting season on the wasteland, Qiu Yan also collected some wood ash and farmyard manure from various households to fertilize the fields.
When it was time to plant, Qiu Yan called over Old Man Zhao.
When Old Zhao heard that Qiu Yan wanted to grow medicinal herbs, his eyes curved into crescent shapes.
He walked into the crowd with his cane and watched them plant herbs. In a daze, he seemed to smell the fragrance of herbs.
Qiu Yan originally wanted Old Zhao to guide the villagers, but to her surprise, he joined in himself, happily sowing medicinal seeds.
"This kind of herb is like growing crops; you have to be careful and attentive. You must do things carefully and not be flustered."
Old Zhao had never actually grown medicinal herbs himself.
Gu Qian also came to help with the planting. He and Qiu Yan worked together very well, one sowing the seeds and the other digging holes to cover them.
Gu Qian thought of the soldiers in the camp who were often attacked by the enemy and injured, some even losing their lives because of minor injuries, so he said to Qiu Yan, "Yan Yan, the army needs medicine for wounds, so you should plant more."
Qiu Yan smiled and nodded, "Yes, we'll plant them from now on."
The villagers were all very curious about Qiu Yan's planting of medicinal herbs. As ordinary people, they didn't even know what medicinal herbs looked like, let alone how to plant them.
Liu asked Qiu Yan from afar, "Qiu Yan, did you harvest all these medicinal herbs from our mountains?"
Qiu Yan replied with a smile, "Some are, some aren't."
The pharmacy only sells seeds that can be used in medicine, so Qiu Yan doesn't have many seeds.
Over the next month, she planned to go to the mountains and forests to collect more medicinal herbs, so that even if she couldn't plant them now, she could plant them next spring.
During this period, any surplus land can be planted with other crops.
“If it’s profitable, I’ll plant some next year too,” Liu said.
After Liu finished speaking, many people echoed his words.
They all knew that herbs were more valuable than crops.
Let's skip this year; the fields have already been planted with corn and millet.
If the planting fails, not only will they still have to pay taxes, but they will also have nothing to eat the following year.
But Qiu Yan thought differently, "You can plant them now too."
Liu shook her head, "Our fields are all planted with corn now, there's simply no extra land." The corn seedlings have already sprouted quite a bit.
"You can intercrop Salvia miltiorrhiza, Prunella vulgaris, Angelica dahurica, Aster tataricus, etc. in the cornfield."
Not only Liu, but all the villagers around her were tempted when they heard Qiu Yan say that the place could be used for two purposes.
Liu: "But we don't have any medicinal herbs."
"Didn't you just ask? You can find medicinal plants in the mountains. I'll dig up a few plants in a few days and let you identify them."
"Thank you very much, Qiu Yan." Liu was truly grateful to Qiu Yan.
You're too kind.
As Qiu Yan spoke, her hands continued to move.
Gu Qian didn't feel tired, but the hot weather made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Listening to Qiu Yan's earnest explanations to the villagers and seeing her busy and focused demeanor, he felt that she knew everything.
The way she focused on her work always made him lose himself in thought.
She is clearly a peasant girl, but she doesn't look like one at all.
Qiu Yan noticed that Gu Qian kept staring at her and looking back.
Such a man, standing among a group of ordinary farmers, would seem out of place.
"Gu Qian, is this your first time doing farm work?"
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