Madam Feng was equally excited. As soon as the village head left, she picked up the medicinal herbs in the basket and marveled at them, asking questions left and right.
Chen Tong and Chen Ning talked back and forth, leaving Madam Feng stunned. These two children were well-educated; they spoke so eloquently that she couldn't understand a word they said.
However, this also ignited Feng's enthusiasm for learning, and he vowed to listen carefully to Cheng Yue's speech later.
Both her sons and daughters-in-law have jobs and can earn money, and even her eldest grandson earns over a hundred coins a month. As an elder, she can't fall behind!
As they were talking, the village head returned, followed by a large group of people.
Cheng Yue glanced at it and exclaimed, "Wow, it seems that apart from the people who helped build her house, the whole village has come out of their way."
Indeed, making money is the best way to motivate people!
Surprisingly, Li Manying was also there. This person would rather lie down than sit, and rather sit than stand. How could such a lazy person actually move?
It seems that he has indeed been provoked into acting abnormally by Chen Ping.
When Li Manying saw Cheng Yue staring at her, she shrank her neck as much as possible, fearing that she would be driven away.
The village head followed Cheng Yue's gaze and looked over, feeling somewhat helpless. Although Li Manying hadn't caused trouble for a long time, she still had a grudge against Cheng Yue.
He could only whisper, "Cheng Yue, I was going to find Zhang the Sloppy, but I didn't expect her to come along..."
Cheng Yue knew that in this kind of situation, the village head would not abandon anyone, nor would he ignore Zhang Lata for Li Manying's sake.
She had already settled her old and new scores with Li Manying, so naturally she wouldn't target her. "Uncle Village Head, it's alright, let her come, don't worry about her!"
Gathering herbs isn't like picking up pebbles on the ground, where you can just pick them up anywhere. You need to search carefully and dig hard, and you might not find anything even after half a day. It's hard work, and it depends on whether she can endure the hardship.
The village head nodded. Seeing Li Manying reminded him of Zhao Shi and Chen Ping. He had called everyone in the village, but he hadn't called their family.
When the two found out, they not only didn't react, but kept asking how much money they could make from collecting herbs.
The village head ignored them completely.
They've already lost their jobs, yet they're still all talk and no action, complaining about this and that. They're like someone who can't even catch a hot meal!
From now on, if anything happens in the village, don't tell them. Just let them live off their savings and fend for themselves!
The entire village crowded at the entrance of the village head's house. For the first time, they didn't chatter; instead, they all looked at Cheng Yue in tacit agreement.
Cheng Yue didn't keep everyone in suspense and said directly, "Uncle Village Head has already told everyone what happened, so I won't go into details."
"Now that everyone's here, I'll teach you about medicinal herbs. Please gather around, otherwise you won't be able to see them clearly."
As soon as Cheng Yue finished speaking, everyone surrounded her, trapping her in the middle. However, there were so many people that those on the outermost edge couldn't see inside at all and had to stand on tiptoe with great effort.
Seeing this, the village head immediately began to give instructions: "Children, come to the front; adults, stand at the back. Taller people, please be mindful and go to the back. Those in the front, please bend down a bit!"
Everyone started moving. Cheng Yue wanted to laugh when she saw this scene. It was all too familiar. When she was in school, whenever there was something that needed to be done and someone had to line up, the teacher would always direct them like this.
Once everyone had settled in their positions, Cheng Yue picked up the basket of medicinal herbs and began to speak, "Actually, everyone has definitely seen these medicinal herbs before..."
Cheng Yue explained each medicinal herb one by one, from its name to how it was harvested.
The villagers listened very attentively, their eyes practically glued to the medicinal herbs, trying their best to see clearly so as not to pick the wrong ones.
Finally, Cheng Yue added, "These dried goji berries cost thirty coins per pound. I'll tell you the prices of the other varieties I'm picking after I ask the pharmacy."
"What? Thirty coins a pound?"
"Mom! Did I hear that right?!"
Upon hearing the price, the villagers' eyes widened in disbelief.
Thirty coins a pound, one pound of this is enough to buy two pieces of meat!
Even the village head was astonished, "Cheng Yue, can this really sell for thirty coins a pound?"
Cheng Yue nodded and smiled, "It's true. Also, prickly ash is three coins a pound, and dandelion is five coins a pound. However, prickly ash can only be harvested in autumn, and dandelion can only be harvested next spring."
After Cheng Yue finished speaking, everyone looked at her strangely. "Huh? You can sell this for money? I found the prickly ash trees annoying, so I cut down all the ones along the edge of the field. Ugh, I'm so angry!"
"Who isn't! It's all our fault for being so ignorant. If we had known that dandelions could be sold for money, we wouldn't have eaten them. My broken mouth isn't worth that much money!"
The more they talked, the more they regretted it, wishing they could slap themselves. They had really mistaken medicinal herbs for weeds. Once they cut them down, they couldn't bring them back, and once they had eaten them, they couldn't spit them out!
The village head said sternly, "You didn't know, so what's there to be angry or regretful about? Now that you know, why don't you thank Cheng Yue? If it weren't for her, you'd still be pretending to be blind!"
Not only the villagers, but he also cut off countless thorny thorns.
However, I didn't know that before, so I just had it removed. It's not like it won't grow back, so there's nothing to be angry about.
The villagers immediately stopped cursing at them and quickly thanked Cheng Yue.
Even if the village head didn't say anything, the villagers were grateful to Cheng Yue. After all, it wasn't her obligation to tell them about the herb gathering; it was a favor, so how could they not be grateful?
Cheng Yue could tell that everyone was genuinely grateful to her, and then smiled and said, "You don't need to be like this. We live in the same village, and I want everyone to be well too."
However, there's one crucial point: if everyone wants to harvest medicinal herbs every year, they must cherish all kinds of herbs. Those that should have their roots preserved should have their roots preserved, and those that are only for picking fruit should never be cut down.
Sustainable development is the key!
Everyone nodded solemnly, repeatedly stating, "Absolutely! This is our livelihood; who would risk their own?"
"Yes! We would never do such a thing. If I see him doing it, I'll beat him to death!"
"Exactly, let's see who dares to have bad intentions!"
Knowing the importance of this matter, the village headman said, "Everyone must supervise each other. Anyone who does something improper and damages the medicinal herbs will never be allowed to go up the mountain again! They will have nothing to do with any good things that happen in the village in the future!"
The mountain is so big that it's impossible to send someone to keep an eye on it. The best thing to do is to let everyone supervise each other. If more people make mistakes, fewer people will be able to gather herbs, which will be more beneficial to those who stay.
People naturally tend to focus on those around them.
It must be said, a village head is a village head.
The village head said so, and the villagers thought so too. Anyone who ruined their chance to make money would not be spared!
Those with clever minds dared not have any wicked thoughts, otherwise, not only would the herb-gathering plan fall through, but all their future good plans would also be ruined, and they couldn't afford to pay such a price.
With someone as capable as Cheng Yue in the village, as long as you are honest and obedient, you will definitely be able to live a good life.
They may not know much, but they're not crazy. They all know who to cling to.
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