Chapter 53.2

She took the seeds and stalks back, tilled the ground in front of the cottage, planting each seed 20 centimeters apart and covering them with three to four centimeters of soil. She used her special ability to water the soil, and the seedlings were expected to sprout within three days.

Just after finishing the planting, Qin Ao returned with 10,000 fish fingerlings, including 8,000 blackfish. Jiang Ruan mentioned they could grow to two or three pounds in six months, though it remained unclear how she intended to feed them.

“Is this the medicinal herb you said could feed chickens, ducks, and fish?” Qin Ao noticed the green leaves and stalks emitted a faint fragrance.

Jiang Ruan replied, “Yes, this is the seed from our exclusive formula, though one is missing. I wonder who took it.”

…

“Such a valuable thing, and one went missing?”

Qin Ao was alarmed. “What if the person who took it uses the seeds to grow their own?”

Jiang Ruan remained calm. “Do you think it’s that simple? I need to cultivate a batch of seeds every year. The one they took may have medicinal properties but can’t produce viable seeds. I just want to find out who took it.”

Qin Ao was relieved to hear that. “If the stolen plant can’t produce seeds, they’ll likely come back to cause trouble when they find out. We should be on our guard.”

“Yes, don’t spread the word. Let the thief think they’ve succeeded, so we can avoid some troubles this season.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead. Any guesses on who it might be?”

“It’s hard to say, it could be someone from the village or someone familiar with my formula. There are quite a few suspects. We’ll just wait and see.”

After watering the seedling plot, Jiang Ruan and Qin Ao went to release the fish fingerlings into the lake in the hillside hollow and then let the chicken and ducklings roam in the mountain.

A few days earlier, they had enlisted some villagers to set up green mesh fences around five large areas to prevent the poultry from escaping. Three of these areas were for chickens, and two for ducks. The duck pens were by the lake, with one side left open to the water, allowing the fish and ducks to coexist.

With the fish fingerlings and poultry settled, Jiang Ruan dried the 20-plus sacred herb plants, chopped them with a blade, ground them with a stone roller, and roasted them before mixing the herbs into the chicken, duck, and fish feed. The batch would last until the next crop was ready.

Qin Ao arranged for the villagers to build a small single-room extension by the kitchen, saying he needed to stay there until the poultry was ready for market.

The small room was completed, and the sacred herb seedlings in the nursery had sprouted with a 100% germination rate. Each fruit yielded 35 to 40 seeds, resulting in 980 seedlings from the 26 fruits.

With spring’s arrival, the seedlings grew quickly, reaching about half a meter in height in two weeks. After transplanting, Jiang Ruan planted half an acre near the house, creating a lush green field with a natural, faint fragrance.

Qin Ao fed the poultry, and the chicks and ducklings, nourished with feed containing the sacred herb, were growing rapidly. In just two weeks, they had gained over half a pound, indicating that in two to three more months, a batch could be ready for market.

…

The newly planted sacred herb field attracted many curious villagers. Though the fragrance was subtle, it was invigorating.

Jiang Ruan, concerned someone might be tempted to steal or damage the crop, explained that this batch was not for seed production but for harvesting as medicinal herbs.

If the trial planting succeeded, it could be expanded throughout the village, with the herbs collected to boost everyone’s income.

Jiang Ruan added, “The seeds must be cultivated by me personally. If you don’t believe me, I’ll share a portion of the fruits with you to try. Any plants grown from them will be no better than weeds and won’t have any fragrance. So, don’t even think about stealing the seedlings; wait until after I harvest to start a new batch.”

Some villagers had indeed considered taking a seedling to grow and collect seeds, but upon hearing that only Jiang Ruan could cultivate them, they gave up the idea.

It was like farming, without seeds, one couldn’t sustain a crop, and stealing would bring shame from the entire village.

The villagers all agreed, “That’s great, we’ll wait for the distribution.”

A villager named Yan Mancang was loitering near the edge of the field. Seizing the moment when there were many people around, he reached out to pinch a leaf from a seedling.

“Yan Mancang, do you want to cut off the entire village’s income?”

Zhou Chengzhong noticed him immediately and sternly rebuked him, exaggerating the severity. “If anyone drives little Jiang away and ruins the village’s earnings, none of us will forgive them.”

…

Zhou Chengzhong was far-sighted. If the herb truly had such miraculous properties, then as long as Jiang Ruan stayed, every household in the village could earn a supplementary income from helping her plant it.

But if Jiang Ruan left, no one in the village would be able to make extra money.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Zhou Chengzhong convened the village committee and the production team leaders, instructing them to hold meetings with their teams. He emphasized not driving away the large-scale planter for short-term gains but instead working together to protect the village’s shared interests.

The selected production team leaders were all honest and reliable people. They went door-to-door to explain, ensuring no one would touch Jiang Ruan’s batch of seedlings for short-sighted gains.

After arranging these measures, Zhou Chengzhong went to speak with Jiang Ruan. He said, “Yan Mancang used to be from Chengjia Village. After the villages merged and later separated, his house ended up on the border, so he was assigned to Dawang Village. I’ve always suspected he might be working for Chengjia Village. I saw him heading there just now, so be cautious. He isn’t a bad person at heart, though, and likely wouldn’t do anything truly harmful.”

With hundreds of people in Dawang Village, there was no guarantee everyone would be upright and honest.

Jiang Ruan decided to get two wolfdogs to guard the property. Zhou Chengzhong helped her find some, and by noon, she had two little black puppies.

Meanwhile, Yan Mancang, feeling guilty, went to the village chief’s house in Chengjia Village. He repeated what Jiang Ruan had said, adding, “Uncle Cheng, Jiang Ruan isn’t a fool. She’s very sharp. The seeds of the Shencao Flower can only be cultivated by her. Taking the seedlings won’t be useful.”

Village Chief Cheng chuckled, “And you believe her? For now, they’re just seedlings. There’s no rush. Once the flowers bear fruit, you can figure out a way to get some.”

Yan Mancang felt uneasy. “Zhou Chengzhong did say that whoever causes the village to lose out on secondary income will be expelled.”

Village Chief Cheng reassured him, “If that happens, you can come to Chengjia Village. I refuse to believe our village can’t compete with Dawang Village. Xia is washing clothes in the backyard, go and see her.”

Yan Mancang blushed and went to the backyard, where he saw the girl he admired. He greeted her shyly and sat down quietly on a grindstone.

Cheng Wanxia put down the clothes and sat beside him, smiling. “My dad gave you a hard time again, didn’t he?”

Yan Mancang shook his head, then nodded. “I just don’t think stealing is right.”

Cheng Wanxia sighed and tried to persuade him. “You want to marry me, but you can’t afford the 800 yuan bride price, can’t build a house, or provide the ‘three major items.’ Now my dad is giving you a chance. If you can bring a few seeds as a bride price, you can marry me. Then, we can develop a sideline business with Shencao Flowers here in Chengjia Village, and the villagers will accept you. If Dawang Village doesn’t work out, my dad will grant you land here so we can settle down.”

After a while, Yan Mancang left, and Cheng Wanxia went back inside to speak to her father. “Dad, you promised to marry me off to someone in the city. Why are you deceiving Yan Mancang? He’s a decent guy, and I feel sorry for him.”

Village Chief Cheng dismissed her concerns, saying, “Even engagements can be broken. Once we get the seeds, you won’t have to deal with him anymore. A businessman in the city has already said that if our village can cultivate the flowers, they’ll set up a factory here. This is about the prosperity of Chengjia Village.”

Without delay, he had his nephew drive a tractor to the city to report on the latest developments to the businessman.

Meanwhile, Zhong Wenwen’s mother had a Shencao Flower before the New Year, dug from the hillside that Jiang Ruan had leased. People from Chengjia Village, fearing wolves, only managed to collect this one plant, which didn’t grow well once potted. Now, with Jiang Ruan’s seedling transplanting underway, it had just started bearing fruit.

Zhong Wenwen’s mother, Chang Linyan, had long suspected that Jiang Ruan wasn’t just raising chickens and ducks with the thirty-year lease on the hillside. The true secret lay in this medicinal Shencao Flower, which was the key ingredient in her secret recipe.

According to Chengjia Village’s chief, Jiang Ruan had said that while the second-generation seedlings had medicinal properties, their fruits couldn’t produce viable seeds. Chang Linyan decided to verify this herself by attempting to cultivate the seeds.

She called Zhong Wenwen home to ask if there was a Shencao Flower in Qin Yan’s dorm room.

“Didn’t you mention that Qin Yan’s girlfriend gave him an unidentified potted plant? It should be bearing fruit by now. Go and get it for me.”

Zhong Wenwen instinctively hesitated, thinking it was inappropriate to steal from the boys’ dorm. “Mom, I can’t get into the boys’ dormitory.”

“Then find a way.”

Pointing at the potted plant, Chang Linyan said, “This Shencao Flower is the reason Jiang Ruan is so fearless. The herb has enormous value. If we can cultivate it on a large scale, it would allow us to develop many products. I must obtain it to restore our family’s reputation as a traditional Chinese medicine household.”

Meanwhile, Shen Tianming suddenly collapsed in his dorm, convulsing. Earlier that day, he’d been in a fight at a ‘Two Sisters Sauerkraut Fish’ restaurant near the school, and after being separated, he returned to his dorm only to fall down, foaming at the mouth—symptoms consistent with poisoning.

The neighboring dormitory was in chaos, with some students calling for a teacher, others dialing the police and an ambulance.

Qin Yan took a quick look and realized that, given the severity, Shen Tianming wouldn’t survive until the ambulance arrived.

Jiang Ruan had told Qin Yan that she didn’t care whether someone was good or bad, she would simply respond to their actions. But the things Jiang Ruan did were often what only good people would consider.

Qin Yan had promised Han Changfeng he wouldn’t lead Jiang Ruan astray and had resolved to be a less “bad” person this time around.

Looking at the fruit-bearing Shencao Flower that Jiang Ruan had given him for emergencies, Qin Yan reluctantly decided to use it. He crushed the fruit, ground the seeds and leaves into a paste, mixed it with water, and forced the liquid down Shen Tianming’s throat.

Most of the mixture spilled, which Qin Yan regretted as a waste of precious medicine. Whether it would work depended on Shen Tianming’s fate.

Before the situation grew chaotic, Qin Yan quickly dug up the remaining stems from the pot, then followed the ambulance to the hospital to see what would happen.

The commotion in the boys’ dorm had drawn a crowd, including concerned female students.

Zhong Wenwen arrived at Qin Yan’s dormitory, where she found his roommate still shaken. “I heard someone got poisoned. Is that true?”

“That was next door,” his roommate replied. “You’d better check there; we don’t know much.”

Zhong Wenwen glanced quickly around the room, noticing that the pot on the windowsill was now empty—no sign of the Shencao Flower.