allonlinenovel Chapter 404 Far water cannot quench near thirst
Chapter 404 Far water cannot quench near thirst
The bearded man tossed aside the slippery fish in his hand, ran over to the scarred man, and looked at him with admiration in his eyes.
"Boss, you guys are amazing! What a great harvest today! We're not only going to have a feast, but we're also getting to eat meat! I love meat the most! Shall we go hunting again tomorrow?"
After saying that, his eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered something, so he quietly whispered it to the boss.
"Boss, that little girl is really something. She even knows about ginseng. When we were picking mushrooms, she dug up a ginseng. According to her, it's at least a hundred years old and will definitely fetch a good price."
Scarface raised an eyebrow, immediately becoming interested.
He had never quite believed the little girl's claim that she could lead everyone in planting medicinal herbs, but now that she had even dug up ginseng during a mushroom picking trip, he was immediately reassured.
It seems that the little girl's family is truly hiding their true abilities; they are not ordinary farmers.
Now he had to keep a close eye on this money tree; he couldn't let her get away.
He patted the bearded man on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Beard, our good days are coming." He seemed to be in a good mood.
He waved his hand, signaling his brothers to put down the game they had hunted. There were quite a few pheasants and rabbits, as well as a deer. His brothers behind him did not dare to slack off and immediately began to prepare the game, some skinning the animals, some plucking the feathers, and some gutting them.
Fortunately, the bearded man had already arranged for someone to wash the pots and boil water, which came in handy now.
Everyone worked together, starting a fire to grill meat and fish, cooking mushroom and fish soup, stir-frying bamboo shoots with meat, stir-frying mushrooms with meat...
An hour later, the meat was roasted, the vegetables were stir-fried, and the mushroom and fish soup was cooked. Everyone gathered around in several groups, eating with gusto, their hands and mouths covered in oil.
Scarface used a dagger to cut off a piece of wild boar meat, handed it to Lin Xiaotang, and then sat down next to her.
"Little girl, you're quite something. If it weren't for your idea to let everyone go out hunting, fishing, and mushroom gathering, all of us, about a hundred people, would have gone hungry by noon. But... is this the solution to the food problem you mentioned?"
Lin Xiaotang smiled awkwardly and said, "Distant water can't quench immediate thirst. Even if I ask my father to write a letter and arrange for someone to send grain over, it will take four or five days. Besides, even if we send several cartloads of grain over with our hundred or so people, it won't last more than a few days."
"With so many of us, the food we produce with our own hands tastes better and gives us a greater sense of accomplishment, don't you think?"
Scarface pursed his lips, but had to admit that he felt a real sense of accomplishment eating such a sumptuous meal after returning from a hunt; he wouldn't dare to eat so freely even after robbing someone of valuables.
"Even if what you say makes sense, we brothers can't go hunting, fishing, and mushroom picking every day. What if it rains?"
Lin Xiaotang took out a ginseng from her bosom and handed it to Scarface like a precious treasure.
To be honest, this ginseng could fetch a lot of money, and she was really reluctant to give it to these bandits. Fortunately, her family had been in business for several years and had plenty of money. If this had happened when they first left Guihua Village, this ginseng would have been the lifeblood of her family. She would have fought to the death with anyone who tried to take it from her.
Now that she's been captured by Scarface and brought up the mountain, she's hoping to persuade him to cooperate with her in cultivating medicinal herbs. She might as well just give him the ginseng.
"Tomorrow, we won't go hunting. Instead, we'll sell ginseng. That will buy a lot of grain. If we hunt regularly from now on, combined with the food we bring back, we can eat for a while. As long as we survive one season, grow a season's worth of medicinal herbs, and exchange them for silver, our group won't need to rob anymore, and we won't need to hunt anymore. However..."
The smile on Scarface's face vanished instantly, and he frowned as he asked, "But what?"
Lin Xiaotang rubbed her nose, her eyes holding a somewhat ambiguous expression.
"We need to be careful with the money we earn from the medicinal herbs we grow. We can't spend it like you used to when you robbed people and indulged in lavish meals and drinks, or... or gambling and whoring. Even mountains of gold and silver can't withstand spending like that, don't you think?"
Scarface nodded. He didn't like those things, but he had a case on his hands and his men were growing in number. He couldn't go back to living the life of an ordinary person, so he had to lead his men to hide and go into hiding. He didn't indulge in eating, drinking, gambling, or whoring. His only hobby was drinking good wine.
"I will discipline my men to quit gambling and prostitution. We can improve our food and drink by hunting. As long as we can solve the food problem, we can plant medicinal herbs depending on the situation. If the harvest is good, we have plenty of people, and we can plant all over the mountains. In the end, won't just one mountain be generating money?"
Lin Xiaotang smiled and nodded in agreement, "Of course! There's strength in numbers. We can grow medicinal herbs on not just one mountain, but on several nearby mountains where no one has cultivated the land. The profits will be very considerable!"
Scarface was eager to try, but the smile on his face quickly disappeared.
"Most of the brothers on this mountain are rough men. Only Huo Qi is literate, but he is just a scholar and doesn't know how to do business. It sounds simple, but it will definitely not be easy to actually do it. Besides... besides, the brothers' identities are not suitable for them to show their faces."
Lin Xiaotang patted her chest and said, "I'm here for you. You've seen it for yourself today. I can even dig up ginseng. Planting medicinal herbs is a piece of cake for me. As for the sales after the harvest, you don't need to worry. I have connections."
Scarface was suspicious as he watched Lin Xiaotang being overly enthusiastic, as if she had come voluntarily rather than been forced up the mountain.
"Little girl, aren't you afraid of me?"
Lin Xiaotang grinned, "At first I was naturally scared, but last night you, a bandit leader, condescended to guard my door, so I wasn't scared anymore. I think you may look scary, but you're actually quite righteous. Besides, I didn't witness you killing or setting fires with my own eyes, so how can I judge you based on your reputation? However, I do know that you did try to kidnap the Xue family's young master for ransom."
After saying that, she suddenly realized that she had blurted it out, so she quickly covered her mouth and shook her head in a conciliatory manner.
"I...I...I've forgotten. I've forgotten everything from before. It never happened. None of it ever happened."
Scarface had a dark and sullen face. After a long while, he suddenly laughed, making even the scar on his face look ferocious.
“Little girl, don’t try to play tricks on me. You stay here and help me find ways to make money. I won’t treat you badly. But if you try to run away and report to the authorities, you won’t get away with it.”
Lin Xiaotang shook her head vigorously, "No, no, no, I will never run away and report to the authorities. I have a way to make money, and I will teach you slowly. We can cooperate. You provide the manpower and labor, and I will get medicinal herb seeds, provide ideas and connections, teach scholars to do accounting, and select suitable people to help manage the people below and take care of the medicinal fields. You will give me a share, how about that?"