But things were different now. He had the backing of the Shennong Arts, and if there were any precious, aged herbs out there, he would definitely be able to recognize them.
To say the least, if he could find a century-old ginseng or ganoderma in the mountains, he could sell it for a fortune—and most likely have plenty left over.
After all, there were plenty of rich people nowadays. When people got rich, their biggest fear was dying before they could spend all their money.
Because of this, they placed an immense value on their health.
No matter whether those precious herbs could genuinely help them prolong their lives, they were always willing to spend heavily.
Just as he reached the head of the village, he was intercepted by the pretty widow, Xiangxiu.
Xiangxiu looked at Lin Xiaolong with an angry huff. "Xiaolong, how can you go back on your word?"
"Sister, I'm sorry. I was busy treating my parents yesterday afternoon and completely forgot about your matter."
Reminded by Xiangxiu, Lin Xiaolong finally remembered his promise to help her fix the glass on her courtyard wall.
"Then where are you off to now?" Xiangxiu asked.
If Lin Xiaolong had come to help her this afternoon, she wouldn't have been angry, but the way he looked, he was clearly just passing by.
"I'm going into the mountains to gather herbs." Lin Xiaolong felt a bit awkward, as if he had let Xiangxiu down.
"Then when are you going to fix my glass?" Xiangxiu asked irritably.
Lin Xiaolong rubbed his nose. "Forget it, I won't go gathering herbs. I'll fix it for you first."
"That's more like it." Xiangxiu's face instantly broke into a smile. "Come on, I've already prepared watermelon for you. Have some watermelon before you get to work. I've got all the other materials ready for you."
Once inside the courtyard, Xiangxiu brought out the watermelon that had been chilled in the cellar and cut a few slices for Lin Xiaolong.
Lin Xiaolong didn't stand on ceremony. After eating a few slices of melon, he got to work.
It was nothing complicated—just mixing cement and sand together, shoveling it onto the wall top, and embedding the broken glass shards into it. That would finish the job.
The old Lin Xiaolong had been foolish and could never have done this kind of work.
The present Lin Xiaolong was strong, robust, and sharp-witted, so this sort of work was a breeze for him.
What was more, the pretty widow Xiangxiu was right there helping him, occasionally wiping the sweat from his brow with her fragrant handkerchief, which only made Lin Xiaolong work with even greater enthusiasm.
Right in the middle of their work, Liu Erhu swaggered in with two local thugs.
Seeing that it was actually Lin Xiaolong helping Xiangxiu fix the glass on her wall, Liu Erhu sneered. "Xiangxiu, who are you trying to keep out?"
"Wild dogs," Xiangxiu shot back, giving Liu Erhu a sidelong glare.
Hearing this, Lin Xiaolong couldn't help laughing. Sister Xiangxiu's description was too vivid.
"Brat, what are you laughing at? This is already the second day. There are less than six days left out of that one hundred and fifty thousand. If you can't pay it back by then, your family's homestead will be mine."
Whenever Liu Erhu saw Lin Xiaolong now, he wished he could cripple him.
This little punk wasn't an idiot anymore; first he ruined things between him and Xiangxiu and beat him up, and then the next day at noon, he beat up him and several of his underlings right outside his house, causing him to lose all his face.
If it weren't for the sake of getting his hands on their homestead and sending Xiaoxue to work as a hostess in his karaoke lounge, he would have found someone to cripple him that very night.
And now this punk was actually helping Xiangxiu fix the glass on her wall—wasn't this directed right at him?
What a court-death-seeking piece of trash.
"Don't worry, I won't be a single penny short on the money I owe you. As for having designs on my family's homestead, you can give up on that idea," Lin Xiaolong said bluntly.
"Fine, then I'll just wait for your one hundred and fifty thousand."
Liu Erhu let out a cold snort and left with his men.
Actually, he desperately wanted to thoroughly teach Lin Xiaolong a lesson right in front of Xiangxiu.
But he didn't dare. Lin Xiaolong's fighting skills were formidable, and he was afraid that instead of dealing with Lin Xiaolong, he would end up getting beaten up by him all over again.
That would be even more humiliating.
"Xiaolong, did you really agree to give this bastard one hundred and fifty thousand in a week?" Xiangxiu asked, her jaw dropping in astonishment.
"Sister Xiangxiu, don't worry, I have a way," Lin Xiaolong smiled.
"Oh my, you really are something. One hundred and fifty thousand in a week—are you trying to fly to the heavens?" Xiangxiu was completely speechless, not knowing what else to say.
Lin Xiaolong smiled and went back to work.
"I still have a couple of thousand yuan I've saved up. You can take it later," Xiangxiu said.
"No need, I'll figure something out myself," Lin Xiaolong said.
"You really are impossible. Why are you standing on ceremony with me? It's not like you don't have to pay it back," Xiangxiu said, giving Lin Xiaolong a light slap.
"It's not a question of whether I'll pay it back or not, it's just that I really don't need it."
As they spoke, Lin Xiaolong quickly finished fixing all the glass.
It took him less than two hours.
Xiangxiu hadn't expected Lin Xiaolong to work so efficiently, so she hurriedly cut the remaining watermelon for him to eat.
After finishing it, Lin Xiaolong saw that it was still early and decided to head into the mountains to gather herbs.
"Xiaolong, I'm coming with you to lend a hand."
"Sister Xiangxiu, you'd better not. It's very hot in the mountains, and there are mosquitoes and bugs. Someone as pretty as you shouldn't get bitten all over your face," Lin Xiaolong smiled.
"Are you doing this on purpose? Am I really that delicate?"
Without a word of refusal, Xiangxiu changed into a more agile outfit and followed right behind Lin Xiaolong.
Knowing that Xiangxiu just wanted to spend some time alone with him, Lin Xiaolong didn't turn her down.
The moment the two of them set off, two figures crept out to follow them from behind.
They were none other than Liu Erhu's two lacklings, Er Lai and Baldy Three.
Liu Erhu wanted the two of them to catch Lin Xiaolong and Xiangxiu in a compromising position so he could force Xiangxiu to submit.
However, as soon as the two men started trailing them, Lin Xiaolong spotted them.
Feigning ignorance, Lin Xiaolong chatted and laughed with Xiangxiu as they headed into the mountains.
"Xiaolong, are you trying to find those precious herbs to sell for money so you can pay off your debt?" Xiangxiu asked as they walked.
"Sister, you're so smart. How else could I find another way?"
"But this kind of method is too unreliable. Those precious herbs depend entirely on luck. Maybe you'll run into one the first time, or maybe you won't find one in your whole life. It's pretty much like buying a lottery ticket," Xiangxiu said, somewhat speechless.
"Don't worry, my luck has been pretty good lately."
"Let's not talk about that for now. I saw a huge beehive when I went into the mountains a few days ago—bigger than a washbasin. If we could get that down and sell the honey, it should be worth a pretty penny," Xiangxiu said.
Lin Xiaolong's eyes lit up. "Where is it? Take me there."
Chapter 12: Harvesting the Honeycomb
Precious and rare herbs required effort to search for.
Yet this beehive, larger than a washbasin, was ready-made.
Others wouldn't dare poke a hornet's nest, but that didn't mean he, Lin Xiaolong, wouldn't dare either.
"It's by a cliff in the mountains. I took a look last time—it's full of those venomous mountain hornets. I was too scared to make a move. If you really get swarmed by mountain hornets, you could easily be stung to death," Xiangxiu said with a look of fear.
"Don't worry, Sister Xiangxiu. With me here, you won't get stung," Lin Xiaolong smiled.
"You have a way?" Xiangxiu asked happily.
Lin Xiaolong chuckled. "This mountain man has his own clever tricks."
With Xiangxiu leading the way, the two of them quickly arrived at the foot of that cliff.
The cliff was a full thirty-something meters high, and the hornet's nest was located about twenty meters up.
The location was chosen exceptionally well. Given the steepness and danger of the cliff, absolutely no one would dare climb up to harvest this huge beehive.
Looking at the massive beehive, which was nearly a meter in diameter, Lin Xiaolong felt overjoyed.
Even from below, one could see that the hive had a golden hue, and some of the honey was actually spilling out.
If they could harvest this, selling it for a few thousand yuan would be an absolute breeze.
After all, this was a completely natural, pollution-free mountain hornet's nest. The honey inside was far more valuable than that of artificially farmed bees.
Noticing someone constantly peering up from below, the mountain hornets overhead grew alert, as if ready to launch an attack on the intruders at any moment.
"Xiaolong, to get it down, we have to wear thick clothes to protect ourselves from stings," Xiangxiu said, tugging at Lin Xiaolong's hand.
When villagers harvested beehives without professional equipment, they could only resort to such clumsy methods.
Unfortunately, in the dead of summer, there was no way the two of them could wear thick clothes—their upper bodies were both clad in short sleeves.
"Don't worry, I have a way."
As he spoke, Lin Xiaolong casually glanced at Er Lai and Baldy Three, who were hiding in the tall grass not far away.
Then, he pulled Xiangxiu's hand. "Come on, Sister, let's go take a look over there."
With that, the two of them detoured behind a large boulder to the side.
Er Lai and Baldy Three were hiding in the patch of wild artemisia grass, and their bodies were covered in tiger mosquitoes. In no time at all, several large, itchy welts rose on their hands and faces.
"Damn it, I'm getting bitten to death." Er Lai almost raised his hand to swat them, but Baldy Three grabbed him just in time.
"Don't alert the enemy. Brother Tiger was worried these two might pull something in the mountains—there's no way they won't get eaten alive by mosquitoes," Baldy Three whispered as he jumped out of the grass and followed.
"Not necessarily. Anywhere with a breeze will do."
"Heh, true. At a critical moment, who has time to care about mosquito bites?"
The two wretched fellows trailed behind, preparing to make their move at the crucial moment.
Lin Feng pulled Xiangxiu behind the boulder, made a wide loop, and came back around via a different path.
Then, he began searching the ground for something.
"Xiaolong, what are you looking for?" Xiangxiu asked with a puzzled expression.
"Nature relies on the harmony of Yin and Yang. Wherever there are poisonous creatures, there are miraculous antidotes. What I'm looking for is right here," Lin Xiaolong explained while searching diligently.
Hearing Lin Xiaolong mention the harmony of Yin and Yang, Xiangxiu instantly blushed.
You brat, you actually know about the harmony of Yin and Yang too? How come you're acting like a blockhead and don't understand what people mean?
I thought you were going to lead me off to do something else just now, making me nervous for nothing.
"Sister, I found it."
Lin Xiaolong squatted down excitedly beside a rock not far from the base of the cliff. Growing along the edge of the rock were clusters of dark green plants with thick leaves, looking as though droplets of sap were about to drip from them.
"What is this?" Xiangxiu squatted down as well.
"This is a plant that even mountain hornets dare not approach. The scent of the liquid inside will make mountain hornets flee in terror."
As he spoke, Lin Xiaolong began plucking the leaves of these plants. Then, squeezing them hard with his hands, streams of dark green liquid oozed out between his fingers. He immediately smeared the liquid all over his body.
In no time at all, he was covered from head to toe in this liquid, turning dark green himself.
A peculiar, indescribable scent began to permeate the air.
"Sister, you need to do this too, otherwise the mountain hornets will only attack you," Lin Xiaolong said, and began applying the dark green liquid to Xiangxiu as well.
Of course, he only helped her apply it to her exposed arms, neck, and face.
As for other areas, Xiangxiu would simply have to do it herself.
In the blink of an eye, both of them had turned into green monsters.
Xiangxiu looked at Lin Xiaolong, then at herself, and couldn't help laughing. "Will this really work?"
"Trust me, it definitely will."
Lin Xiaolong took Xiangxiu's hand and walked right up to the base of the beehive.
As they reached the bottom of the hive, true to his word, as if catching a scent they simply could not tolerate, the mountain hornets began flying away frantically in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, not a single mountain hornet remained on the beehive.
However, these mountain hornets didn't fly far; they hovered and circled at a distance where they could tolerate the strange odor. Sensing that someone was interested in their maternal nest, they grew extremely agitated.
"No time to lose, let's do it now."
Lin Xiaolong took a long rope out of the bamboo basket strapped to his back, swung it a few times below, and with a swift *whoosh*, tossed it up to a large tree growing near the top of the cliff.
The rope wrapped around the tree trunk a few times before holding firm.
Lin Xiaolong tested it and found it could easily support his weight.
He then grabbed the rope and began climbing rapidly up the face of the cliff.
"Xiaolong, be careful!"
Xiangxiu never expected Lin Xiaolong to be so ferocious, scaling the cliff as fast as an ape. She was so frightened that she covered her mouth, too terrified to even draw a full breath.
Lin Xiaolong had already reached the first stage of the Longyang Formula; climbing such a low cliff with the aid of a rope was naturally child's play for him.
A dozen seconds later, he reached the vicinity of the beehive.
Then, gripping the rope with one hand, he pulled a chopping knife from his bamboo basket with the other and began hacking at the base of the beehive.
He managed his strength well, and when the time was right, he gave the hive a hard yank, pulling it right off and placing it into the bamboo basket he wore on his back.
Even with his preparation, however, he was still startled by the sheer weight of the hive.
He almost slipped and fell by accident.
If he had crashed to the ground and smashed to pieces, it wouldn't have been worth anything.
Clinging to the rope, Lin Xiaolong slid rapidly back down.
At that moment, Xiangxiu let out a long breath of relief. "Xiaolong, you're done?"
A problem she had thought was harder than ascending to the heavens had been resolved so effortlessly by Lin Xiaolong. It was simply incredible.
"Done. Let's get out of here quick," Lin Xiaolong smiled.
"Xiaolong, you are just too amazing. Sister admires you so much—you're wonderful!" Xiangxiu couldn't help exclaiming.
Not far away, Er Lai and Baldy Three, who were still searching everywhere for the two of them, heard Xiangxiu's shout. They exchanged glances and immediately sprinted toward the sound.
Damn it.
Calling him wonderful already? It looked like Brother Tiger's worries had turned out to be true.
Hearing the footsteps of the two men, Lin Xiaolong grabbed Xiangxiu and bolted.
At the same time, the mountain hornets not far away saw that their maternal nest had been chopped down and taken away. Driven mad, they swarmed after the two of them.
Yet, they didn't dare catch up completely, because they simply couldn't stand that stench.
Just then, Er Lai and Baldy Three rushed into view.
*Buzz—!*
A pitch-black swarm of mountain hornets surged straight toward the two men.
Chapter 13: Jaw-Dropping Shock
Hindered by the scent of that plant, the mountain hornets dared not lay a claw on Lin Xiaolong and Xiangxiu.
Now that Er Lai and Baldy Three had suddenly appeared, who else were the mountain hornets going to take their revenge on if not them?
Instantly, a dark, dense cloud of mountain hornets completely enveloped Er Lai and Baldy Three.
Not long after Lin Xiaolong and Xiangxiu had walked away, the desperate, miserable screams of Er Lai and Baldy Three echoed from behind them.
"What's going on?" Xiangxiu hadn't paid attention to those two at all. Hearing the shrieks from behind, she immediately asked Lin Xiaolong with a worried expression.
She was an extremely kind-hearted woman; if someone else got stung by mountain hornets because of her and Xiaolong, her conscience wouldn't allow it.
"As soon as we entered the mountains, Liu Erhu's underlings, Er Lai and Baldy Three, started trailing us. I guess since the mountain hornets didn't dare do anything to us, they picked a fight with them instead," Lin Xiaolong said with a smile.
"Ah? Then they really are having terrible luck." Hearing that it was Erhu's underlings, Xiangxiu instantly covered her mouth and giggled musically.
If anyone else had been implicated by her, Xiangxiu would have felt guilty toward them.
But Liu Erhu's lacklings were a completely different story.
There was only one phrase that described them.
They deserved it!
Since the two of them had managed to get such a huge wild beehive today, getting it back home safely was the most important thing.
Lin Xiaolong moved at a fast pace. Whenever Xiangxiu couldn't keep up, Lin Xiaolong would simply take her hand and walk with her.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at Xiangxiu's house.
"Sister Xiangxiu, what should we do with this beehive?"
Even though Lin Xiaolong was the one who had harvested it, he still wanted to consult Xiangxiu's opinion. After all, it was Xiangxiu who had led him to this large beehive in the first place.
"This treasure was harvested by you, so of course it's yours," Xiangxiu said.
Lin Xiaolong shook his head. "Sister Xiangxiu, I wouldn't have found it without you."
Knowing that Lin Xiaolong would never keep it entirely for himself, Xiangxiu said, "Then you decide what to do with it."
"My idea is that both of our families keep a little bit for ourselves to eat normally. After all, wild mountain bee honey is hard to buy even with money. As for the rest, I'll take it to town to sell, and we'll split the money fifty-fifty."
"Splitting it fifty-fifty won't do. Let's do an eighty-twenty split—twenty for me and eighty for you. Otherwise, I won't take any of it," Xiangxiu said firmly.
"But..." Lin Xiaolong tried to argue.
"There are no buts. That's how it is, or I won't take a single bit."
"Alright then."
Lin Xiaolong had no choice but to agree.
Lin Xiaolong first cut off a piece of the honeycomb for Xiangxiu, and then took the remaining large honeycomb back home.
When his parents and younger sister saw that Lin Xiaolong had actually brought back such a massive wild beehive, they were all startled, but also extremely happy.
Lin Xiaolong cut off another piece of honeycomb roughly the same size as Xiangxiu's and put the rest away.
Early the next morning, instead of heading straight to the county town to sell the wild beehive, Lin Xiaolong went to the cherry orchard.
He wanted to check and see if there were any changes to the cherry tree that had been nourished by the drop of spiritual liquid yesterday.
He hadn't held out much hope, but upon reaching the cherry tree, Lin Xiaolong was instantly struck dumb with shock at the scene before him.
Was this still his family's cherry tree?
The cherries that had only been slightly reddish yesterday had now turned a deep, purplish-red color, and their size seemed to have grown by a full circle compared to before.
The cherries from his own family had already been growing quite well thanks to his sister's careful tending.
Now, however, they had grown as large as plums.
To put it simply, in all the years Lin Xiaolong had lived, he had never seen cherries so enormous and so utterly tempting.
He just wondered how they tasted.
Unable to wait any longer, Lin Xiaolong picked one and popped it into his mouth.
The moment he took a bite, a rich fragrance burst forth, and a sweetness comparable to wild honey instantly flooded his entire mouth.
The cherry flesh was tender yet bouncy, creating an explosive flavor experience on the palate.
Good heavens!
This was far too delicious!
Lin Xiaolong almost jumped for joy.
At this time of year, cherries hadn't hit the market yet.
If these cherries were taken out to sell—even though the price might not compare to the greenhouse cherries from a month or so earlier—
selling them for forty or fifty yuan a pound should pose no problem at all.
Gazing at the tree full of cherries, Lin Xiaolong sprinted back toward the house.
"Xiaoxue, hurry up and come outside!"