The next morning, just as the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Li Yichang and An Er drove a horse-drawn carriage, carrying several baskets of fresh green vegetables, and left Blackfish Village.
After Xu Jinhuan got up and had breakfast with Li Xiaoxiao, he was about to continue his cultivation when he heard someone knocking on the door.
"Enter."
A short while later, the person who knocked opened the door and came in.
"Jin Huan, let me take your measurements so this leather jacket doesn't fit you," the plump auntie said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Xu Jinhuan stood up and asked the plump aunt to take her measurements with a ruler.
The plump auntie carefully measured the measurements while chatting and laughing with Xu Jinhuan.
"After everyone came to Blackfish Village, they seemed to have a goal and worked extra hard. I just finished eating today and saw those men carrying axes to chop firewood."
The women, too, upon hearing that the men were going to the army camp, all worked incredibly fast; at this rate, they could finish sewing almost everything tonight.
Xu Jinhuan nodded upon hearing this, "Auntie, I trust you to do things. From now on, you will be in charge of them. You can report any good performances to me, and you can also tell me if you encounter any difficulties."
The plump aunt nodded in surprise, her face full of excitement.
Xu Jinhuan then explained a few more things to Aunt Bai Pang, and after saying this, Aunt Bai Pang left.
Xu Jinhuan left the house and looked south, wondering to himself how the seeds he had planted were bearing fruit...
I hope I won't let her down.
As Xu Jinhuan thought this, she walked out of the courtyard and headed towards Xie Guangbai's room.
Thanks to his frail body and superb medical skills, Xie Guangbai successfully avoided the hard work of chopping wood. He was now leisurely drinking tea and reading a medical book in his hand.
Hearing a knock at the door, he called out, "There's someone inside, come in."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jinhuan opened the door and quickly walked inside.
"Master? What brings you here? Please have a seat." Xie Guangbai said respectfully after bowing.
After sitting down, Xu Jinhuan replied with a smile, "Naturally, it's the northwest wind."
Xie Guangbai was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and asked, "Master, did you come here this time with a task for Guangbai to complete?"
Xu Jinhuan nodded and handed the incomplete alchemical text she had scavenged from that shady old Taoist priest to Xie Guangbai.
"Take a look at these prescriptions."
Xie Guangbai looked at the alchemical book in Xu Jinhuan's hand and noticed that it had obvious burn marks. He took it with a puzzled expression and examined it carefully.
Not long after, he looked up in astonishment.
"Master, where did you get this? The combination of various herbs inside looks absurd; Guangbai has never heard of it before."
Xu Jinhuan pondered for a moment and said, "The pill formulas in this book should all be genuine. Among them, the Marrow Cleansing Pill and the Body Tempering Pill are the most needed right now. You can also try making the others."
Upon receiving Xu Jinhuan's reply, Xie Guangbai was overjoyed. He had some guesses in his mind that the alchemical book might have come from heaven, or even from Laozi!
"Thank you for the book, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to prepare these two kinds of pills!" Xie Guangbai said respectfully.
Xu Jinhuan offered Xie Guangbai a few more words of encouragement, and seeing that his attention was mostly drawn to the cinnabar book, she smiled and left.
Xu Jinhuan then went back inside and continued cultivating the fused faith power.
Before you knew it, it was getting dark.
When Xu Jinhuan finished practicing and opened his eyes, he saw Li Xiaoxiao quietly looking in the direction of the door, as if she was waiting for someone.
"Xiaoxiao, has your brother not returned yet?"
Li Xiaoxiao nodded obediently, "Neither my brother nor Second Brother An came back."
Xu Jinhuan got off the kang (a heated brick bed), patted Li Xiaoxiao's head, and said softly, "Xiaoxiao, don't worry too much. Although An Er's kung fu is not the best in the martial arts world, it is still one of the best."
Ordinary petty thieves can't do anything to him; he'll definitely bring your brother back safely.
Li Xiaoxiao nodded seriously, "I believe in Brother An's strength."
No sooner had the two finished speaking than they heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar, followed by the voices of two men.
"Boss, we're back!" An Er knocked on the door and shouted loudly.
Xu Jinhuan shook his head helplessly. How come he never noticed that this guy had such a loud voice before?
"Hurry up and come in!"
An Er opened the door with a carefree attitude, smiled and bowed to Xu Jinhuan, "Boss, good news! We've closed a big deal!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jinhuan looked at the more reliable Li Yichang, wanting to hear what he had to say.
After feeling Xu Jinhuan's gaze, Li Yichang respectfully replied,
"Boss, we took those vegetables to two nearby counties. We visited the richest families in each county. The steward of one family was particularly delighted when he saw the vegetables."
He wanted to directly sign a contract with us, asking us to supply two baskets of these vegetables every day during the winter, for which he was willing to pay two taels of silver.
Li Yichang paused here, then continued, "We inquired and found that winter vegetables are indeed expensive; two taels of silver is a good price."
However, since we haven't received your approval, boss, we haven't given that manager a definitive answer. We just said we need to discuss it further and will let him know the result tomorrow.
Xu Jinhuan nodded upon hearing this, and asked with a smile, "You all ate those vegetables yesterday, did you notice anything special about them?"
Li Yichang and An Er exchanged a glance, a hint of confusion flashing in their eyes.
Li Xiaoxiao glanced helplessly at her brother; he really was like a wild boar that couldn't handle fine food.
"Yesterday's vegetables were not only delicious, but they also seemed to have a calming and sleep-inducing effect. I slept very soundly after eating them, and I feel more energetic than usual today."
Upon hearing this, Li Yichang pondered it carefully. It seemed to be true, just as his sister had said. He had slept exceptionally well the previous night, thinking it was because they had finally reached their destination. It turned out that the vegetables were the reason.
Xu Jinhuan patted Li Xiaoxiao's head approvingly, "Our vegetables are no ordinary vegetables. Once you've tasted them, you'll never forget them. Have you done everything I asked you to do?"
Li Yichang nodded upon hearing this, "Yes, we did. We sent each family enough vegetables to make one dish."
After answering these questions, he immediately understood what his boss meant. It turned out that his boss had already planned how to sell it.
Xu Jinhuan said with a smile, "Tomorrow, take two more baskets of vegetables and sell them at the door of that rich man's house."
Only one basket is sold in each county town, and each household is limited to one portion, priced at one tael of silver per portion of vegetables.
These words startled Li Yichang and An Er for a moment. One tael of silver for a serving of vegetables—that price was truly expensive!
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