After leaving the County School, Chen Changsheng hurried over to the County Magistrate’s Office. This time, he sought out Zhang San, practically dragging him by force to a nearby teahouse.
Once the tea was brewed and fine pastries were served, Chen Changsheng smoothly steered their casual conversation to a new topic.
"Brother Zhang! I’m planning to buy some Mountain Ginseng Seeds. Do you know which shop is the most reliable?"
Hearing this, Zhang San took a sip of his tea, looking somewhat suspicious.
"Brother Chen, you’re planning to grow Mountain Ginseng?
"That’s an incredibly expensive medicinal herb, second only to Spiritual Medicine! What’s more, no Human will even want it unless it’s been grown for at least ten years!"
Chen Changsheng felt a slight warmth in his heart. After all, the other Human was genuinely looking out for him and offering earnest advice.
However, he certainly wasn’t going to tell the truth. He rubbed his hands together and let out a dry chuckle.
"Brother Zhang, you see, I own a whole mountain now. It feels like a waste if I don’t plant something on it, and Mountain Ginseng is just right!"
Zhang San frowned slightly, deciding to try and dissuade him one more time.
"Brother Chen, although Mountain Ginseng isn’t Spiritual Medicine, it’s still quite expensive. Once outside Humans catch wind of this, the day it matures will be the day bandits come raiding!"
Mountain Ginseng wasn’t Spiritual Medicine, but if planted on a scale of several thousand stalks, a single ten-year-old Mountain Ginseng was worth one tael of silver. The sheer total value would inevitably invite greed.
Zhang San hadn’t spelled it out completely, but his warning was clear enough for Chen Changsheng to understand.
He was worried that when the time came, the Noble Families and Sects would disguise themselves as bandits and slaughter their way into the small Chen Family Village. If that happened, they could easily lose both Human lives and wealth.
Chen Changsheng thanked him with utmost sincerity. "Thank you, Brother Zhang! I only plan on planting thirty or forty stalks to prepare for the four children in my family!
"However, some other Humans in the clan want to plant a little bit too. Our entire village is only planning to plant three or four hundred stalks in total!"
Zhang San smiled upon hearing this. To be honest, true bandits wouldn’t even bat an eye at something worth three or four Hundred taels. He promptly set down his teacup and began explaining.
"The shop selling the best seeds in the county is undoubtedly the one owned by Medicine King Valley, but their goods are also the most expensive!
"Next is Eight Directions Tower. It’s a property of the Eight Directions Trading Company; their seeds are guaranteed to be authentic, and the prices are reasonable.
"Lastly, there’s the Rare Treasures Pavilion, opened by the Court... Uh, I won’t even comment on them!"
It was a very subtle remark, and Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
He thought, "Even in another world, the Humans working in the Government Office all talk in the exact same tone!"
Still, this information was already more than enough. Chen Changsheng cupped his hands in thanks.
"Many thanks, Brother Zhang! Save some time for me at noon—we haven’t gotten together in a long while!"
Zhang San nodded, and after chatting for a bit longer, the two Humans left the teahouse.
Now that he had Zhang San’s guidance, Chen Changsheng didn’t dilly-dally any longer. He returned to his own house in the county seat, changed into a different set of clothes, and used his True Qi to slightly alter his facial muscles before heading straight out to Eight Directions Tower.
But to Chen Changsheng, this wasn’t an issue at all. He was only using the Mountain Ginseng as a cover for the Red Blood Ginseng and other Spiritual Medicine anyway!
As long as more than half of them survived, that would be enough. Otherwise, creating too much of a spectacle right from the start wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.
Eight Directions Tower was a trading company, yet it was also much more than just a trading company.
Across the hundreds of thousands of miles of the Great Yan Dynasty, there wasn’t a single county seat that lacked an Eight Directions Tower. It was said that they could be found in Lingnan, the Western Regions, the Northern Desert, the East Sea, and even in places further beyond.
Eight Directions Tower handled goods from all over, acting as a bank, issuing silver banknotes, and dealing in intelligence...
As long as money could buy it, they had it.
Stepping into the massive lobby that was several zhang high, Chen Changsheng quickly followed the directional signs, ascended to the third floor, and found what he was looking for.
After purchasing four hundred Mountain Ginseng Seeds valued at twenty taels of silver, Chen Changsheng tucked the small bag into his robes and hurried over to the Medicine King Valley shop.
Whether it was Eight Directions Tower, Medicine King Valley, or Rare Treasures Pavilion, they were all located in the central district of the Great Fog County seat, right next to the County Magistrate’s Office.
After walking two hundred zhang, Chen Changsheng entered the Medicine King Valley shop.
He still had no intention of slowly haggling or making small talk with any Human. He had only two goals for this trip: buy what he needed, and keep his identity hidden.
By speaking less, he could greatly reduce the chances of exposing who he was.
Pointing at three types of Spirit Medicine Seeds in the display counter—Celestial Cyan Grass, Red Blood Ginseng, and Blood Coagulation Flower—he spoke in a low, hoarse voice.
"Nine Red Blood Ginseng Seeds, fifteen Celestial Cyan Grass Seeds, and sixty Blood Coagulation Flower seeds!"
Hearing this, the old man behind the counter began fetching the seeds while quoting the prices.
"One Red Blood Ginseng Seed goes for fifty-two taels, one Celestial Cyan Grass Seed for twenty-one taels, and one Blood Coagulation Flower seed for four taels. Let’s call it an even one thousand taels of silver!"
Chen Changsheng took out nine hundred and eighty taels and handed them over without saying a word.
After inspecting the silver, the old man smilingly packed the three types of seeds into separate small bags. He then took out three cultivation manuals and handed everything to Chen Changsheng.
"My good sir, as you suggested, we’ll waive the twenty taels of silver. We have a deal!
"Our shop also sells fertilizer specifically formulated for Spiritual Medicine. Would you like to buy some?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head, took the three small bags, stuffed them into his robes, and turned to leave.
He continuously changed his route through the streets and alleys of the county seat. It wasn’t until a full hour had passed that Chen Changsheng finally reverted to his true appearance and arrived near the County Magistrate’s Office to wait for Zhang San.
They drank until the sun began to set in the west. After a thoroughly intoxicated Zhang San stumbled away, Chen Changsheng hurried back to his courtyard, retrieved his warhorse, and rode straight for the Chen Family Village.
Amidst the continuous drizzle of spring rain, the night was pitch black, so dark he couldn’t see his own fingers in front of his face.
Chen Changsheng appeared in a medicinal garden near the backyard, filled with anticipation as he planted a single Mountain Ginseng Seed.
How exactly was the Spiritual Fertilizer supposed to be used? Did it actually work? Chen Changsheng had decided to test it out using a Mountain Ginseng Seed!
One quarter of an hour, two quarters, three quarters...
Even when the sky gradually brightened and the east turned pale white, the seed still showed no reaction whatsoever.
Helpless, Chen Changsheng could only return to his room, pull the covers over his head, and sleep.
BANG BANG BANG!
The door was violently pounded on, startling a groggy Chen Changsheng awake.
He got up to open the door and found Clan Leader Chen Xuan, Chen Fusheng, Chen Shuisheng, Chen Chusheng, Chen Changfeng, and Chen Changqing all standing outside, while his eldest maid was bustling about brewing tea.
Chen Changsheng knew that everyone in the village had definitely heard about his return last night, but he hadn’t expected these guys to be so impatient. He rubbed his face vigorously with his hands before finally speaking.
"Clan Leader, everyone, take a seat for a moment. I’m going to go wash my face!"
Chen Fusheng was already burning with anxiety. He reached out to block the doorway and spoke with a cheeky grin.
"Third Brother, did you manage to buy the Red Blood Ginseng Seeds?"
Chen Changsheng rolled his eyes, slapped his arm away, and replied in annoyance.
"I spent one thousand taels and bought all the ones I mentioned! We’ll plant the Mountain Ginseng first!"
"Hiss..."
"Whoa..."
"Ha..."
The few Humans let out a series of strange, incomprehensible noises before gleefully scurrying off to the living room to drink their tea.
A short while later, Chen Fang was invited over by the Clan Leader.
Chen Fang had once worked in the Court’s medicinal garden in Great Fog County for twenty years. Although it was just an ordinary garden, he was the only one in the village who truly understood how to tend to one.
With all the Humans assisting, Chen Fang muttered continuously to himself as he planted the Mountain Ginseng Seeds one by one.
"Chang Sheng! The Southern Slope of Yellow Earth Mountain faces Chaoyang, and you went and cleared all the Wood. This won’t do!
"Plant the Mountain Ginseng spaced one zhang apart. Later on, you’ll need to fill the gaps with common medicinal herbs like Qi-Boosting Fruit and Qi and Blood Trees. This way, there will be herbs half a zhang tall to provide shade, and the fertility they require will be different from the Mountain Ginseng’s!
"Mountain Ginseng doesn’t need to be watered every day. During spring and autumn, once every three days is enough, just a single scoop of water per stalk!
"In Xia Tian, water them once a day!
"Before it freezes in winter, you must cover the Mountain Ginseng with straw!"