Li Xiaohan looked up closely. There were yellow-brown seeds among the branches and leaves, so she said, “Father, look—there are yellow-brown seeds between the branches. That means this is a eucommia tree that’s bloomed and borne fruit after ten years.”

“That’s right. Only after it blooms can it produce seeds,” Li Xiandong grinned.

The two of them were speaking so mysteriously that everyone except Madam Wang was completely confused.

Moreover, it seemed like Xiaohan was even more familiar with this money-making method.

Li Deyou, who was straightforward by nature, asked directly, “Brother Xiandong, what are you two talking about? Aren’t we cutting wood to make furniture? What difference does it make whether it bloomed or not?”

Li Xiandong thought for a moment and replied, “Deyou, I told you earlier that if you helped me chop wood for a day, I’d tell you a way to make money.”

“But I can’t just tell you directly. I really am short on money. So pay close attention and watch carefully,” he said with some difficulty.

Li Deyou and the others exchanged confused looks, not understanding what was going on.

“Father, come here. I’ll first peel off the lower layer of bark. Then we’ll cut down the tree,” Li Xiaohan had already walked over to the eucommia tree and was thinking about where to make the first cut.

Sometimes there’s no need for too many words. Just taking action is enough.

Li Xiandong and Madam Wang quickly gathered around.

The first strip of bark was cut by Li Xiaohan. Back at the medicine hall, both Li Xiandong and Madam Wang had already noticed that Doctor Zhang had highly approved of that piece of bark.

Also, when it came to preparing eucommia bark, Li Xiaohan seemed to understand the process more clearly.

Naturally, the two of them began following her lead.

Li Xiaohan carefully cleared the soil around the tree’s roots, then used a hatchet to make a circular cut around the base. She made another cut six feet above that, then sliced vertically between the two, and slowly pushed the bark off with the blade…

“Look, the bark comes off in one whole sheet like this. The inside is smooth and undamaged, and the edges are neat. That’s the best kind,” she said. But she hesitated and added, “Though I suppose imperfect ones might still be usable, they probably wouldn’t sell as well.”

“That won’t do,” Li Xiandong and Madam Wang shook their heads in unison.

If the quality isn’t good, the price drops. Losing money because of poor technique was basically like taking money out of your own pocket and throwing it into the river.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

The two of them watched Xiaohan’s every move carefully and followed her step-by-step instructions on how to strip the bark. They were terrified of damaging it and selling it for less.

The three members of the Li family operated as if no one else was around, and gradually, the onlookers like Li Deyou began to sense that something was strange.

Especially Li Xinhua, the son of the clan head. He clearly knew how much silver Li Xiandong received when he split off from the main family. But the house Li Xiandong built clearly exceeded that amount. Still, money matters weren’t something you could ask about openly.

Now it all made sense—this must be where that extra money came from.

At that thought, Li Xinhua sighed internally. Uncle Xiandong was really a decent man.

Sometimes, smart people really do overthink.

Li Xinhua was smart, but the others weren’t fools either. Slowly, they began to feel excited. Their hearts burned with anticipation.

Once Li Xiandong and the others finished stripping the bark from the lower section, they chopped down the whole tree. After peeling off all the bark, they left the trunk behind and took only the bark with them. That confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

Then Li Xiaohan took out a cloth bag and carefully began collecting the eucommia seeds.

Seeing this, Li Xiandong and Madam Wang were reminded of the Sanqi seeds and quickly stepped forward to help.

Everyone in the Li family farmed, so they naturally knew the importance of seeds for cultivation. They now took this even more seriously.

They’d heard that the Old Madam Zhang used to plant eucommia by digging up small trees from deep in the mountains or using cuttings. They never imagined it could be propagated by seeds.

Finally, under Li Xiaohan’s direction, everyone cut strong branches of eucommia about the length of an arm and stuck them in the ground in a circle around the cut-down tree. Normally, branch cuttings were done in the transition between spring and summer. It was already late September now, so the timing wasn’t ideal. But they would do their best and leave the rest to fate.

Her actions made Li Xinhao narrow his eyes in thought. His opinion of this younger cousin rose even higher.

She didn’t drain the pond to catch all the fish, nor did she burn the forest just to hunt. Most people only cared about the short term. But this cousin, even when no one was watching, still made sure to leave something behind.

If Li Xiaohan knew what he was thinking, she’d definitely say he was overthinking it.

What she did wasn’t anything profound. It was just the result of thousands of years of education and values. For her, it was simply second nature—not something worth elevating to that level.

Because they had imagined the whole process so smoothly in their heads, when searching for the next tree, Li Guiqian, Li Deyou, Li Xinhua, and the others all displayed an extreme amount of enthusiasm. They fully engaged their mind—trying to learn by observing, helping out…

Finally, after they cut-down the second tree, following the unspoken rule of seniority, 47-year-old Li Guiqian cautiously turned to his 13-year-old niece, Li Xiaohan, and said, “Xiaohan, how about… letting your Uncle Guiqian give it a try? I promise, I’ll be very careful.”

Behind him, Li Deyou could barely hold himself back.

Great! Since his father and grandfather were from an older generation, he would be next in line.

By the end of the day, Li Xiandong’s group had stripped bark from five trees. By then, their movements had become skilled. It didn’t take even half an hour to peel one tree.

What took up most of their time was finding trees that were old enough.

Seeing that the sun was about to set—and knowing how dangerous the forest became at night—they reluctantly quickened their pace and headed down the mountain.

When they returned to Li Xiandong’s house, although everyone had been working hard for most of the day and only ate a few flatbreads that Li Xiaohan’s family had brought, they all felt a kind of indescribable excitement. It was as if their eyes were glowing as they looked at Li Xiandong’s family.

Li Xiaohan tugged on Li Xiandong’s sleeve. That finally snapped him out of his thoughts. He paused, then began, “Ahem, like I mentioned earlier, since everyone helped me out today, I’ll tell you all a way to make some money. I think by now, you’ve probably guessed. It’s this tree—the one we call the false mulberry tree. Renhetang calls it the eucommia tree. Its bark can be used in medicine. Renhetang buys it for 40 wen per jin.”

Heavens.

So it was true. They hadn’t guessed wrong—this tree bark could actually be sold for money.

And bark is heavy. Even the smallest tree today gave nearly 20 jin of bark. That’s 800 wen.

Eight hundred wen. All year long, after working the fields and tightening their belts, they would only manage to save a few strings of coins.

Building a four-room mud-brick house only cost around four strings of coins. And today, they had earned enough for a whole house.

Li Deyou was so shocked he started to stammer. “B-Brother Xiandong, is this really true? Will they keep buying it?”

“It’s true. But whether they’ll keep buying, I can’t say for sure,” Li Xiandong replied plainly. The group exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Li Xiaohan sighed and took over the conversation.

“Uncle Deyou, and everyone, whether Renhetang will continue to buy or not, I can’t say. But for now, they definitely are. However, remember—it must be bark from trees over ten years old. We already showed you today how to tell, and you’ve learned it.”

“Also, the medicine hall buys processed eucommia bark. It needs to be washed clean, cut into pieces, soaked in salt water, and then stir-fried until dry. High-quality bark can be sold for up to 150 wen per jin.”

“This method is a bit complicated to explain in one go. We only learned it because the staff at the medicine hall demonstrated it to us. We’re planning to give it a try too. You can also go learn it at the medicine hall.”

One hundred fifty wen per jin!

Even though it’s dried bark, it’s still heavy. Just imagine how much money a single tree’s bark could bring in.

Everyone was so happy they felt a bit dizzy.

They couldn’t believe such a big opportunity to make money had landed right in their laps.

Li Xinhua, who was well-read and the designated future clan head, tried his best to stay composed. 

“Xiaohan-meimei, how confident are you about processing the bark? Do you think we can learn it?”

During the time they had been helping build Li Xiandong’s house, Li Xinhua had been quietly observing and listening. Among the family, the one with the most skillful hands, the sharpest mind, and the most ideas—was this cousin of his.

“I’d say I’m about fifty percent confident. I can’t speak for others. Everyone learns differently,” Li Xiaohan said, giving a conservative answer. In truth, with her past-life experience, her confidence was more like ninety percent. But that wasn’t something she needed to say out loud.

After she finished, she thought for a moment, then said to Li Xinhua, “Brother Xinhua, wait a bit. Father, open the door for me. I’ll show them the dried eucommia bark we bought from the medicine hall.”

“Alright.”

Li Xiandong opened the door. Everyone simply carried their baskets inside and carefully placed them down. Of course they were careful—those weren’t just pieces of bark, they were bundles of money.

Li Xiaohan took out the eucommia bark and opened it for everyone to see.

Li Xinhua and the others leaned in. Sure enough, it was a section of tree bark. The processed version looked much more refined, but still bore resemblance to the bark they had stripped earlier.

After they had a look, Li Xiaohan broke off one piece and split it into smaller pieces to share.

“Here. We didn’t buy a lot, but you can each take a piece back and use it as a sample. Tomorrow, you can head into the mountains and start collecting eucommia bark yourselves.”

Since she was trying to win them over, Li Xiaohan made sure to show genuine goodwill. Acting stingy or reluctant would have been foolish.

As for whether they’d really go up the mountain tomorrow—ha, when it came to making money, she never underestimated anyone’s motivation.

And regardless of whether their home forest had eucommia trees or not, they would definitely head for the wild first. Only after stripping the wild trees would they turn to their own family plots.

Like she said before—trees on your own land are yours no matter what. But wild trees are first-come, first-served.

“Ah, this is great.”

 Everyone carefully accepted the dried bark.

“Then… Brother Xiandong, Xiaohan, Sister-in-law, Uncle—we’ll head up the mountain to strip bark tomorrow. We’ll go home now!”

They all spoke at once, too excited to wait their turn.

“Alright, go ahead.”

As soon as Li Xiandong finished speaking, the group scattered—half walking, half running—disappearing down the path.

This was a big money-making opportunity. They had to hurry home and discuss it with their families.