Chapter 317: A Problem with the Ironwire Grass

Chapter 317 -318: A Problem with the Ironwire Grass

Perhaps what Li Yang and Zhou Jianlin said was reasonable. He couldn’t very well just kick them out now. With a bitter smile, he said to Li Yang and Zhou Jianlin, “Boss Zhou, we’ve been working together for some years, right? Would I really do this to you? To put it simply, we don’t have any Ironthread Grass left. I have no way to supply it.”

“What?” Zhou Jianlin had never expected such an outcome. “How can you be out of Ironthread Grass? I know you don’t have a large stock, but you’ve always had some. How could you suddenly have none?”

“They died from a sickness!” Chen Quan said, looking utterly dejected. “We have no idea what’s going on. All the Ironthread Grass our families worked so hard to transplant from the cliffs is dead. The ones that haven’t died yet are close to it. There’s nothing we can do.”

“What about the ones on the cliffs?”

“It’s the same with them…” Chen Quan shook his head and sighed. “If we had Ironthread Grass, why wouldn’t we work with you? We’ve been partners for so long. My hands are truly tied.”

Zhou Jianlin was speechless for a long moment.

‘If that’s really the case, then I guess there’s no way for us to work together anymore.’

“Can you take me to see them?” Li Yang suddenly asked. “I’m a doctor. Maybe I can take a look at your Ironthread Grass?”

“You’re a doctor, so you can treat grass?” Chen Quan said irritably. “I’ve been growing this stuff for seven or eight years. We can’t solve the problem ourselves, so how could you?”

“Just let me try,” Li Yang said with a smile. “I may be a doctor, but I also know a lot about herbs. I’m quite well-versed on the subject. You lose nothing by letting me take a look. And if I can really do it, if I can save your Ironthread Grass, wouldn’t that be a win-win for everyone?”

His words left them speechless.

“Alright, how about this…” Chen Quan thought for a moment before speaking. “Only our three families know about this place. I have to ask for their opinions. If they agree, then I agree. If they don’t, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Of course!” Li Yang beamed. “Then it’s a deal. You go get them, and we’ll all go take a look.”

“Okay, wait for me here. I’ll be right back.”

Chen Quan quickly hurried away.

A full half-hour later, Chen Quan returned with two other middle-aged men.

From the looks on their faces, they were clearly not very willing.

“Let me be clear about a few things,” one of the men said, stepping forward to address them seriously. “I don’t care about anything else, but when we get there, no funny business. And… you can’t tell anyone about the location. We had a hell of a time finding that place. No one else in the village knows about it, and it’s perfect for growing our Ironthread Grass. If other people find out, I’m worried they’ll come steal it from us.”

“You have my word,” Li Yang said earnestly. “We’re here seeking an herb, not to cause trouble. You can rest assured on that.”

“Exactly, exactly…” Zhou Jianlin added with a smile. “We just came here hoping you’d work with us again. We’re not interested in anything else. That’s how we all make money, right?”

The three men nodded in unison.

And so, the group of five, led by Chen Quan, headed toward Qishan Mountain.

It was already nighttime, and they walked under the cover of darkness.

After walking for about two hours, they finally arrived at the cultivation site.

Flicking on their flashlights, they saw that there was indeed Ironthread Grass growing there. It was planted rather haphazardly on the ground, but there were clear signs of digging.

However, the Ironthread Grass all looked sickly and wilted, on the verge of death.

“This is what it’s like…” Chen Quan said with a bitter laugh, pointing at the Ironthread Grass. “You think we don’t want to work with you? We’re desperate to work with you, but there’s nothing we can do! We don’t have any grass, so how can we partner with you? These past few days, we’ve tried all sorts of methods, trying to see if we could fix the Ironthread Grass here, but we’ve exhausted every option and nothing’s worked. They’ve either died or are about to…”

“What happened?” Zhou Jianlin looked dumbfounded. “How did things turn out like this when they were perfectly fine before? Something’s not right about this!”

“Something’s not right…” Li Yang also noticed something was amiss. These things seemed to be… poisoned!

‘That’s right. From his perspective, the Ironthread Grass looked like it had been poisoned.’

‘How could this have happened?’

Li Yang frowned.

“We don’t know either…” Chen Quan said, his voice full of grievance. “We’ve been managing this for many years, and the Ironthread Grass had finally stabilized here. We were thinking we could harvest it from time to time and live out the rest of our lives comfortably relying on it. But now, with this, all our years of hard work have gone down the drain. And most of the Ironthread Grass on the cliffs is gone too. Tell me, what are we supposed to do?”

This was truly a massive pain in the ass.