Funiu Mountain, named for its resemblance to a crouching ox, was the most fertile mountain range near Qingyuan County. It abounded with precious medicinal herbs, but also harbored countless hidden dangers.
Along the edge of the mountainous region, generations of accumulation had formed fertile black humus soil in certain areas. The land was perfect for cultivating medicinal herbs, and the Yishui River meandered nearby, providing an abundant water source.
The Li Family controlled nearly half of this black soil, cultivating various medicinal herbs and even precious medicines. It was one of the main sources of wealth that made them the richest in the region.
Led by a Steward from the Li Family’s internal affairs, Chen Yuan arrived at the largest and most fertile medicinal field under the family’s jurisdiction.
Of course, he wasn’t qualified to guard this particular field yet; it was personally overseen by an expert from the Li Family whose strength matched Fan Dajiang’s.
As one of the four great families, the Li Family not only retained a group of formidable Tributors but also boasted a powerful younger generation of their own bloodline, who managed the family’s various core industries.
The man guarding this medicinal field was named Li Song. Looking much younger than Fan Dajiang, he likely still had room to advance his martial arts.
"General Manager, this is the newly assigned guard for the medicinal field. His name is Chen Yuan, and he has achieved minor success in Skin Refining," the internal affairs Steward introduced briefly.
Chen Yuan cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Chen Yuan. A pleasure to meet you, General Manager Li."
Li Song didn’t even raise an eyebrow, replying coolly, "Chen Yuan, is it? Follow me."
Just like that, Chen Yuan was handed over to Li Song. He followed behind him toward his assigned post.
They traversed the dense forest for about fifteen minutes before finally reaching his station. It seemed the Li Family’s medicinal fields were adapted to the terrain and quite scattered. No wonder they needed so much manpower.
Looking around, the Medicinal Garden covered about an acre of land. It was surrounded by iron fences, making it impossible for ordinary wild beasts to break in.
Several people were already busy at work in the field. After all, medicinal herbs didn’t just grow on their own once planted; they needed Medicinal Farmers to tend to them.
Additionally, someone was practicing martial arts in the clearing outside the Medicinal Garden, their punches and kicks generating fierce gusts of wind.
Catching sight of Li Song from the corner of his eye, the man immediately stopped and jogged over to greet him respectfully. "Subordinate Zhang Hong greets you, General Manager Li."
At the same time, his gaze sized up Chen Yuan.
Li Song nodded faintly and asked, "How is the Medicinal Garden lately? Have any mutated beasts attacked?"
Large patches of medicinal herbs were fatally attractive to mutated beasts. Therefore, before worrying about other families attacking their medicinal gardens, their main defenses were set up against wild beasts and mutated beasts—with the latter posing a far greater threat.
Zhang Hong shook his head. "The Medicinal Garden has been growing well recently. There have been no mutated beasts. Only a few wild animals came sniffing around, but we chased them all away."
Li Song hummed in acknowledgement and didn’t ask further. He turned to Chen Yuan.
"From now on, you will be stationed here. It operates on a three-shift rotation. You and Zhang Hong will take the middle shift, from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Your only task is to guard the Medicinal Garden well.
"At the end of every month, someone will come to inspect the condition of the Medicinal Garden. If negligence leads to excessive losses, the cost will be deducted from your monthly wages. Zhang Hong will explain the details regarding the loss quota to you."
Chen Yuan nodded. "I understand."
"Good. Follow Zhang Hong to familiarize yourself with the various duties. Arrive here on time tomorrow at 3:00 PM for your shift." Li Song didn’t elaborate further and left immediately after giving his orders.
Chen Yuan looked at Zhang Hong and slightly cupped his hands. "Brother Zhang, please look after me from now on."
It seemed this would be his partner going forward. He hoped the man was easy to get along with.
Zhang Hong smiled. "You’re too polite, Brother Chen. We should help each other out. Come, let me show you the specifics of the Medicinal Garden."
Chen Yuan nodded and followed Zhang Hong into the Medicinal Garden.
Besides the two of them acting as guards, four Medicinal Farmers were responsible for tending to the garden.
This particular Medicinal Garden primarily grew various herbs for refining the Blood Qi Pill, totaling seven different types.
In addition, the most fertile area of the garden was planted with a precious herb called the Stone Scale Flower. When refined into medicine, it had the effect of tempering the skin membrane. It functioned similarly to the horns on the heads of precious fish known as Horned Pompanos.
It was arguably the most valuable part of this Medicinal Garden.
Zhang Hong smiled and said,
"Brother Chen, guarding the Medicinal Garden is a lucrative job. Not only is it quite leisurely, but there are also monthly benefits to collect.
"Take our Field Number Six, for example. Every month, we can receive a Skin Strengthening Pill refined from the Stone Scale Flower. Since you’ve come here right after achieving minor success in Skin Refining, Brother Chen, I presume you must have the backing of a benefactor?"
Chen Yuan smiled. He knew Zhang Hong was probing into his background, so he didn’t hide it. "I was fortunate enough to be appreciated by Tributor Fan, who gave me this opportunity."
Hearing this, Zhang Hong understood. He then changed the subject and spoke slowly,
"Brother Chen, regarding the monthly loss quota, do you have any thoughts on the matter?"
Chen Yuan felt a slight chill in his heart but maintained a calm expression. "Naturally, I will strictly fulfill my duties and minimize the losses in the Medicinal Garden."
He caught Zhang Hong’s hidden meaning; the man was testing whether he had any ulterior motives regarding the allowed loss quota. After all, if the quota wasn’t exceeded by the end of the month, one could easily pull some strings to pocket the surplus. However, Chen Yuan didn’t know what Zhang Hong was truly planning yet, so he dared not speak carelessly.
Zhang Hong’s expression didn’t change much. He smiled faintly. "Brother Chen is quite an honest and loyal person. That is very good."
The duties of guarding the Medicinal Garden were simple. After understanding the specific situation of the garden, Chen Yuan left.
At the entrance of the Medicinal Garden, Zhang Hong watched Chen Yuan’s retreating back, lost in thought. He thought it would be unwise to act rashly before figuring out the man’s bottom line. He just hoped this Chen Yuan was someone who knew how to read the room.
Returning to the Huo Courtyard, Chen Yuan spread his legs and began his stance training. His blood and qi quickly circulated, and under his conscious control, he continuously tempered his skin membrane.
After completing a few sets, he was sweating profusely. He leaned against the wall and started chugging down Body-Strengthening Soup.
Now that he was wealthier, he couldn’t even be bothered to drink water. He replaced it all with Body-Strengthening Soup; he had to aggressively nourish his blood and qi.
These past few days, Chen Yuan would always see Sun Chengjie and Xue Anping training diligently in the courtyard. It seemed that with the four-month deadline fast approaching, they were both pushing themselves to the limit.
Before long, Sun Chengjie also reached his limit. Panting heavily, he walked toward Chen Yuan.
However, unlike his usual overly familiar demeanor, he looked somewhat embarrassed this time, hesitating to speak.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan smiled. "Brother Sun, if you have something on your mind, please feel free to say it."
He could already faintly guess what it was about. With the final deadline approaching, what else could it be?
Sun Chengjie took a deep breath and bowed.
"Brother Chen, to tell you the truth, I’d like to borrow three maces of silver to buy a Blood Qi Pill for my final preparations to break through the bottleneck. If I fail, even if I have to go back home and farm, I will definitely repay you."
Sure enough, even a hero could be stumped by a single penny.
Chen Yuan nodded. "Brother Sun, I can lend you these three maces of silver. I wish you success in breaking through. If things don’t go as planned, there’s no need to rush to repay me. We can talk about it whenever you have spare money on hand."
He could still afford three maces of silver, and he was willing to lend it to this friend he had known for a few months. But he wouldn’t lend more. It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but rather that he feared burdening Sun Chengjie further if his breakthrough failed.
After all, his money didn’t just fall from the sky either.
Sun Chengjie breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Brother Chen."
With this Blood Qi Pill, he finally felt a bit more confident. He was incredibly grateful for Chen Yuan’s timely help in his hour of need.
As they were talking, they saw Xue Anping walking toward them, wearing the exact same embarrassed expression that Sun Chengjie had just shown.
Chen Yuan’s mouth twitched. He wondered if this guy was also here to borrow money.