“They’re back, they’re back!”

When the onlookers saw the ox cart returning to the village, the crowd instantly became restless, though they tried to keep quiet. Everyone was worried they might miss out on this chance to make money, and also afraid that if too many people found out, the opportunity would be gone.

But when they saw the fresh eucommia bark still on the cart, their hearts skipped a beat. 

Did they fail to sell it?

However, when they compared it with the others—whose carrying poles were all empty—and noticed that the ox cart held four or five large iron pots, and everyone around it was visibly beaming, they couldn’t hold back their curiosity.

What exactly happened? It looked like they had made money, but they still seemed to be holding something back.

“Let’s go to the ancestral hall. The Clan Head and Third Great-Uncle are both there.”

Without even having the time to drop off the iron pots at home, Li Xiandong’s group was pushed toward the ancestral hall by the crowd.

“Grandfather, Clan Head, we’re back,” Li Deyou was the first to speak.

“Come on, come on, Deyou, don’t waste time, how did it go?” someone from the crowd who knew Li Deyou well shouted eagerly.

Third Great-Uncle glared at his grandson, who had grown older but not wiser, and said, “What’s the rush? Xiandong, your family was the first to discover the eucommia tree. You tell us what happened.”

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Li Xiandong.

Since the family division, this was the second time he had become the center of attention. The first was when they moved into their new home and everyone looked on with envy. The second was now, with everyone watching in anticipation.

He felt both proud and nervous. He glanced at Li Xiaohan, who remained silent. With Third Great-Uncle still staring at him, Li Xiandong suddenly felt his heartbeat speed up in just the span of a tea’s time.

After a moment, he finally mustered the courage to speak. “Third Great-Uncle, Clan Head, our Xiaohan stumbled upon those eucommia trees by chance. When we went to Renhetang this time, the fresh bark sold for 40 wen per jin, and the processed bark went for 140 wen per jin.”

The moment he said that, it was like a clap of thunder struck the crowd. Everyone burst out in astonishment.

“Quiet down,” the clan head called for order, then asked the question everyone wanted answered. “Xiandong, what do you mean by ‘processed eucommia bark’? Explain it to everyone.”

Hearing that, pride filled Li Xiandong’s face. “Clan head, this processing method was something the doctor told us during our last visit. At first, I didn’t think it would work since this isn’t our line of work. But Xiaohan, she’s bold, careful, and quick with her hands. She followed the doctor’s instructions and figured it out on her own.”

At first, people thought his earlier comment about Xiaohan discovering the trees by chance was just a casual remark, but now they finally looked seriously at the girl who had been quietly standing nearby.

Li Xiaohan didn’t mind the stares. What bothered her more was that her father still couldn’t grasp the main point. She gave him a subtle signal to continue.

But Li Xiandong, thinking he was already done, just stopped talking.

Li Xiaohan, who originally wanted to help train her father’s speaking skills, had no choice but to step in. “After some trial and error at home, we found that two jin of fresh eucommia bark can be processed into about one jin of dried bark.  At today’s prices, that means we can earn an extra 60 wen. However, the final price still depends on the quality of the processed bark. Different quality means different prices.”

“Only eucommia trees over ten years old are suitable for medicine. One tree can yield about 40 jin of fresh bark, which becomes 20 jin of dried bark after processing. That adds up to an extra 1,200 wen. After subtracting the cost of refined salt, labor, firewood, and the chance of burning the bark during frying, overall, it’s still a profitable business. That’s why we brought the fresh bark back to process it ourselves before selling.”

The crowd was stunned into silence by this detailed and precise calculation.

1,200 wen!

Even after deducting firewood costs, that profit was close to one tael of silver.

This girl, Li Xiaohan, really knew how to make money!

Everyone turned to look at Li Xiaohan, their gazes filled with eagerness and admiration.

With such high profits, even the Clan Head and Third Great-Uncle couldn’t sit still. “Ahem, Xiaohan…”

The clan head felt awkward. He hadn’t been confident about whether processing the bark would work, and never imagined the price difference would be so big, so he hadn’t brought it up earlier.

Now, this exclusive method… asking her to teach it publicly? It made his heart ache.

But for the clan’s benefit, he still hoped Li Xiaohan would teach them… His face turned red with embarrassment.

“Clan head, I understand. We’re all members of the Li Clan. Just have each household send one auntie to learn from me, and I’ll teach them all together. But whether they can actually learn it or not, I can’t guarantee. I’m still young, and I haven’t mastered everything at the stove yet.”

Li Xiaohan had no intention of hiding the method.

First, it was clear the medicine hall intended to spread this method. If they could teach her, they could teach others. It was just a matter of time. After all, there are plenty of clever people out there.

Second, since this is a world where clans hold great influence, this method isn’t like the eucommia trees in the mountains—if you get more, I get less. Since that’s the case, why wouldn’t she try to be a good person and build a better image for herself within the clan?

Li Xiaohan was able to understand this so quickly largely because she was still influenced by the way of thinking from her previous life. In that era, information was everywhere. If you wanted to learn something, there were all kinds of tutorials online. Unlike now, where even learning to fry small fish to improve daily life made the women incredibly happy.

Knowledge must be passed on continuously for it to be truly inherited. That was the greatest gift that era gave Li Xiaohan.

“Xiaohan, good, good child,” the clan head said emotionally. Although this skill could only be learned by the women, the one who first figured it out in the Li family was none other than young Li Xiaohan. As a grown man, even if they were from the same clan, it wasn’t appropriate to gather around a 13-year-old girl. “Let your aunts pay you some tuition. They’ll follow you for a day and learn. If they can’t pick it up, they can only blame their own foolishness.”

There would be no such thing as endlessly teaching someone who just couldn’t get it. Teaching someone so unskilled and slow was just too exhausting.

“Yes, yes, anyone who’s too slow and can’t learn properly, just ignore them. You’re still young, so don’t worry about it,” a clansman added, and the onlookers all agreed.

“So, Xiandong, Xiaohan, when should we start?” someone asked. The crowd had already heard from the clan head earlier that in order to learn this, they had to work a full day at Li Xiandong’s home for free.

The whole morning had already passed, and some people had started calculating in their minds. Waiting another day would mean another day lost to earn money. How could they let that go to waste?

Everyone was growing anxious, eager to head out right away.

“We haven’t even put our things down yet, and we haven’t eaten either. Let’s eat first. Half an hour after the meal, everyone can come over,” Li Xiaohan said. She absolutely wouldn’t let this get in the way of having a proper meal.

Don’t forget, Doctor Zhang said she was undernourished and too short for her age.

Being short was something she really couldn’t accept.

“Yes, yes, of course. Xiaohan, you go home and put your things away. We’ll get ready too.”

Some quick-witted people even helped lift the fresh eucommia bark that Li Xiaohan’s family had brought back.

“Oh right, ask the aunts to bring a kitchen knife and a straw brush when they come to my house,” Li Xiaohan reminded them.

“Got it, we’ll remember.” Everyone nodded eagerly.

Li Xiandong and Li Xiaohan were sent back home, and by then, Madam Wang had just returned from the fields after hearing the news.

“We sold over two taels’ worth of eucommia and bought half a string of copper coins’ worth of refined salt. Here, you keep the rest of the money. Let’s hurry and cook something. We still need to go up the mountain after we eat,” Li Xiandong said as he handed over the leftover money to his wife.

Madam Wang wiped her hands hard on her clothes before reaching out to take the silver. Her eyes were glowing with joy, and a big smile spread across her face. “Alright!”

After quickly hiding the silver, Madam Wang moved fast in preparing the meal. Meanwhile, some of the faster clan members had already arrived at the Li household.

“Xiandong, Xiaohan, don’t worry. Take your time eating. We’ll wait,” someone said, feeling a little embarrassed seeing that the family was still having their meal. But going back home? That wasn’t going to happen.

Someone else offered warmly, “Xiandong, where’s your chopping knife? Bring it out, we’ll sharpen it for you. That way, once you finish eating, you’ll save the trouble.”

“Xiaohan, do we need to wash the eucommia bark before stir-frying later? I’ll go fetch water and fill up the jars first.”

“Yes, yes, that’s the right way. Let’s get everything ready first. I’ll help too.”