Chapter 55 - 56: Xia Lian’s Gratitude

Chapter 55: Chapter 56: Xia Lian’s Gratitude

It was already past four in the afternoon when Li Yang got home. Without a second thought, he wrote out a large notice at the health clinic.

It had one key point: buying herbs!

That’s right, Li Yang was buying herbs. He’d buy any top-quality herbs that were brought to him, and he was offering a good price.

Soon, a number of villagers had gathered around.

"Xiaoyang, are you buying these herbs to sell?" a villager asked.

"That’s right. I’ve already made a deal with the herb merchants in the city. As long as I have medicinal herbs, they’ll buy them—fresh or dried, it doesn’t matter," Li Yang explained.

"But we don’t have any herbs around here, do we?" another person asked.

"Nonsense!" someone in the crowd shouted. "Of course we have herbs! Daqing Mountain has plenty of them. It’s just that after the logging ban, the paths became hard to walk, so no one goes to gather them anymore."

Li Yang clapped his hands. "Exactly! There are lots of herbs there. I went to gather some last time. If you’re willing, you can go there to pick them. But I have to say, I only want the absolute best, top-quality herbs. I don’t want the ordinary ones, and you shouldn’t pick those anyway. Let them grow bigger before harvesting them, okay? As long as they’re top-tier, I’ll buy however much you have, and the price will definitely be good."

"Alright!" Some people were already eager to get started.

In a poor mountain village like this, any extra path to make money was a path worth taking. It was better than having nothing at all.

"After you’ve picked the herbs, you need to wash them clean. If you want to sell them fresh, just wash them and bring them to me. If you want to sell them dried, you’ll have to dry them yourselves," Li Yang reminded them again. "Remember, I only want the best of the best."

The villagers all nodded. The more impatient ones were already heading home to grab their baskets and go up the mountain to gather herbs.

"Can I go gather herbs too?" Just as the crowd was dispersing, he saw Xia Lian walk over, holding Xiaomu.

"Aunt Lian, what are you talking about!" Li Yang pulled up a chair for her and got two pieces of candy for Xiaomu. "Aren’t you supposed to be managing the mushroom house for me?"

"But isn’t your mushroom house still not ready yet?" Xia Lian said. "I can use this free time to go gather some herbs."

"You’d better not!" Li Yang shook his head. "Why would you go gathering herbs? Aunt Lian, your skin is so fair and delicate. It would be a shame if you got scratched."

"How would you know my skin is fair and delicate?" Xia Lian gave him a playful look. "Have you been watching me bathe?"

"You’re framing me!" Li Yang shot to his feet. "Aunt Lian, you can’t just say things like that! You’re ruining my reputation."

"I was just kidding. Why are you getting so worked up? You haven’t actually seen me, have you?" Xia Lian watched him with suspicion.

"Nonsense!" Li Yang’s confidence faltered internally, but his face was a mask of righteousness. "How could I possibly peek at you while you’re bathing..."

’I actually have seen her. Back then, I thought she was a goddess.’

’Of course, that was quite a few years ago.’

"Let me ask you something. You’ve helped me so much, how do you want me to thank you? How about coming to my place for dinner tonight?" Xia Lian asked.

Li Yang glanced at her. "Aunt Lian, that... might not be a good idea."

"What’s not good about inviting you for a meal?" Xia Lian said, annoyed. "Where is your mind going? You paid off my debt, gave me a job, and even bought formula for Xiaomu. People who know the situation would say you’re a good man, but those who don’t might think you’re trying to keep me as your mistress! What’s wrong with me treating you to one meal?"

’That actually makes a lot of sense,’ Li Yang thought.

He gave a dry laugh and said, "Yes, yes... Alright then. I’ll come over for dinner tonight."

"Then it’s a date!" With that, Xia Lian picked up Xiaomu and walked away with a sway of her hips.

Her swaying gait was really quite alluring.

After watching her leave, Li Yang had no mind for work.

He decided to just close up shop and go check on the bulbils of his wild onions.

But when he got back and looked, he was stunned.

He saw that the wild onions had already sprouted small, tender shoots.

"My god..." Li Yang touched his forehead. "So it has this function too, haha! I’m going to be rich!"

Looking at the tender shoots sprouting from the wild onions, Li Yang was overjoyed.

It had only been a day, and they had already sprouted.

Without a doubt, he would soon be able to supply Hidden Dragon Manor with fresh wild onions.

By then, he’d have another huge source of income.

Li Yang was thrilled at the thought.

That evening, Li Yang arrived at Xia Lian’s home.

As soon as he walked in the door, he was greeted by the fragrant aroma of cooking.

Everyone in the village knew that Xia Lian was a good cook.

"You’re here... The food is almost ready. Sit down and eat!" Xia Lian said, bringing out the dishes.

"Where’s Xiaomu?" Li Yang asked.

"He’s asleep!" Xia Lian said. "He refused to go to bed. I just barely got him to sleep a moment ago. I’m exhausted."

Li Yang nodded. It was certainly difficult for a single woman to raise a child like that.

The meal was over quickly. While Xia Lian was washing the dishes, Li Yang said he should be going.

"Don’t go yet. I want to ask you something," Xia Lian called out to him.

"Ask me something?" Li Yang sat back down and asked, a little puzzled.

Xia Lian shot him a coquettish glance. "Am I not allowed to ask you things?"

"Fine, fine..." Li Yang’s heart skipped a beat.

’Aunt Lian, you shouldn’t just give people looks like that. It’s incredibly attractive.’

"I wanted to ask if you could... check my body to see if there’s anything wrong." Xia Lian hesitated before speaking. "You know, it took many years after I got married before I had Xiaomu. Could you take a look and see... if I can still have children?"

Li Yang was stunned. He never imagined this was what she wanted.

"Auntie..." Li Yang’s lips felt a little dry. "I can’t tell just by looking at you like this."

"Do I need to take off my clothes?" Xia Lian was very direct. "Come on, let’s go into the bedroom."

Hearing this, a thrill shot through Li Yang’s entire body.