Chapter 252: Everything is Ready

Li Shiwei brightened up immediately upon hearing there was a chance. He looked at Lin Heng and asked, “Then what do you think I should plant?”

Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, “Ginseng, Panax Notoginseng[1], Angelica Sinensis[2], Astragalus[3], or Forsythia would all work.”

These were all precious traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. With high future market demand, planting them was a guaranteed way to avoid losing money.

Li Shiwei nodded, then added, “I’m afraid the seeds are quite expensive, aren’t they?”

“Naturally. The seeds for these precious herbs aren’t cheap,” Lin Heng agreed with a nod.

“I’ll go talk it over with my dad then,” Li Shiwei said after a moment’s thought.

Lin Heng glanced at him and continued planting his Forsythia. He was in charge of scattering the seeds while several workers turned the soil. In just over half an hour, the half-acre of Forsythia was finished.

On the other side, the forage grass was being planted just as quickly. They used the trenching method, digging vertical furrows from top to bottom, scattering the seeds inside, and then pushing soil over to cover them.

By ten o’clock, the forage planting was complete. The group stopped and looked at Lin Heng, waiting for him to assign the next task.

Lin Heng thought for a bit, then looked at everyone and said, “Take your hoes and follow my dad to the apple orchard. I’ll head back to get the seeds for the Astragalus and turmeric. Once we plant those today, we’ll be done.”

“Everyone, follow me,” Father Lin called out.

Father Lin led the group toward the apple orchard.

Lin Heng asked Lin Hai and Li Shiwei to go back with him to carry the seeds. The turmeric consisted of rhizomes, and at over two hundred pounds, he couldn’t carry it all himself.

Carrying the supplies to the apple orchard at Yellow Willow Slope, Lin Heng inspected the apple saplings. As expected, most had sprouted green buds; they had basically all survived.

“Don’t plant too close to the apple trees,” Lin Heng instructed. “While you’re at it, weed around the saplings and mound some soil up.”

After giving the orders, Lin Heng led the team to work. The apple trees were spaced three to four meters apart, so planting some medicinal herbs in between was no problem at all.

There weren’t many Astragalus or turmeric seeds, so with over twenty people working, they finished in just over an hour.

With that, all the medicinal herbs he had bought were in the ground. Lin Heng felt a sense of relief; now, all they needed was a good spring rain.

It wasn’t even noon yet when they finished. Lin Heng directed the group to continue weeding the apple saplings and mounding soil around their bases.

Having the village workers help with this saved his parents from having to dig slowly on their own later.

In the afternoon, Lin Heng didn’t send them back to the construction site to pave the road. Instead, he had them help weed and loosen the soil around the grapevines and Kiwi Fruit saplings.

Not only did it not rain today, but the sun was out. It was as if the rain from yesterday morning had just been a joke from the heavens.

When they wrapped up for the day, Lin Heng saw Li Shiwei dazed in thought. He walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “How did the talk with your dad go?”

Li Shiwei shook his head. “My dad says the seeds are too expensive, and we aren’t sure if we can make money later. The little bit of savings we have is for building a house, so we can’t do it for now.”

Lin Heng understood. His uncle wasn’t wrong; it wasn’t easy for farmers to earn money, so they didn’t dare to invest lightly.

Besides, Lin Heng guessed that even if Li Shiwei’s father agreed, Li Shiwei’s wife wouldn’t. She had wanted to build a new house to live in for a long time.

Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, “How about this? Next year, I’ll pay for your Ginseng or Panax Notoginseng seeds. We’ll sign a contract stating that you must sell the harvested herbs to me at a fixed price.”

“For example, Panax Notoginseng is currently fifty-two cents per pound. I’ll set your price at seventy cents. No matter what the market price is when they’re harvested, you must sell them to me for seventy cents. What do you think?”

Lin Heng looked at him and explained it one more time.

Li Shiwei was stunned for a moment, then asked curiously, “How would you make any money then?”

“Just tell me if you’re willing or not,” Lin Heng asked with a smile. Naturally, he would profit from the price difference.

In three years, the price of Panax Notoginseng would be close to one yuan. Buying it back at seventy cents would yield a significant profit.

“Of course I’m willing. I wouldn’t lose anything at all,” Li Shiwei nodded.

Lin Heng nodded and said, “Then it’s a deal. I’ll arrange it for you next year. It’s too late to plant this year anyway.”

“I get it. You think Panax Notoginseng will be worth more than seventy cents in a few years, right? But if it ends up being cheaper than seventy cents, won’t you lose money?”

Li Shiwei quickly figured it out and walked over to speak.

“If I lose money, then it just means my judgment was poor,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

The price increase for these items was inevitable. Even the butterfly effect of his rebirth would be unlikely to change that.

After a few more words, Lin Heng turned to head back. When he returned to the house, Xiulan was cleaning vegetables, and Tian Yan had finished work and come over to teach Xiao Xia how to draw.

She knew some simple line drawings, which were perfect for Xiao Xia to learn.

“Is the work at the construction site almost finished?”

Xiulan brought Lin Heng a glass of water and asked.

Lin Heng took a sip and nodded. “Yes, all the medicinal herbs and forage seeds are planted now. I even had people help with the weeding today. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, we’ll finish paving the road over by Red Peak Mountain and be done.”

“Then I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. It’s better to get it all done at once to avoid more trouble,” Xiulan said with a nod.

She was still looking forward to going on a spring outing with Lin Heng.

“Yeah, I hope it doesn’t.”

Lin Heng nodded, hoping the heavens would do him a favor.

“Brother Lin, want to play a game of chess?”

A moment later, Lin Hai came running over after his shower, holding a chessboard and smiling.

Lin Heng glanced at him and shook his head with a smile. “That’s obviously just a polite gesture. I wouldn’t dare disturb your elegant mood.”

Tian Yan looked up from nearby. “Listen to you. I’m still relying on you, Big Boss Lin. I come over every day to borrow your books; how would I dare compete with you?”

Lin Hai also laughed. “Brother Lin, come play a couple of rounds. Tian Yan and I play all the time; this little bit of time won’t matter.”

“I’m just joking. I’m going to take the dog for a walk. You guys go ahead and play.”

Lin Heng shook his head, unchained Xiongba, and took him out for a stroll.

“Woof! Woof!”

Xiongba frolicked ahead, barking occasionally.

Lin Heng walked through the woods on the back mountain, observing the signs of spring.

The oak trees were sprouting green buds, and the rapeseed flowers in the village were in full bloom. Spring had truly arrived.

He was somewhat impatient to go for a spring walk in the mountains and experience the breath of the season.

At this hour of dusk, it wasn’t very clear in the woods, and he didn’t find any traces of animals.

The man and dog played for half an hour before turning back.

By the time they returned home, Mother Lin had already prepared the meal, and everyone was called over to eat together.

The next day was already March 25th. When he woke up in the morning and didn’t hear the sound of rain, Lin Heng happily gave his wife a hug.

“It’s not raining again, that’s wonderful,” he said excitedly.

Xiulan was originally quite groggy, but Lin Heng shook her wide awake.

“Be gentle, you’re hurting me,” Xiulan said with a pout.

“Still, it’s good that it’s not raining. In a bit, I’ll go with Mom and Sister-in-law to pull some wild garlic and pick some ferns.”

Xiulan stretched and grabbed onto Lin Heng to sit up.

“If you’re sleepy, sleep a while longer. I’ll handle the chores,” Lin Heng looked at her and smiled.

“Really? Then I’m not getting up,” Xiulan said, blinking.

“Of course.”

Lin Heng nodded, tucked her back into bed, and got dressed.

He was starting to enjoy the morning chill; it made one feel refreshed and full of energy.

He exercised a bit longer today. When he went to the back hill to milk the cows, he saw Mother Lin was already there.

“Where’s Xiulan?” Mother Lin asked curiously. Usually, it was Xiulan who came to milk the cows.

“I let her rest, I’ll do the milking,” Lin Heng said.

“Oh, how rare. You’ve learned how to dote on your wife.”

Mother Lin was as snide as ever.

“I dote on my wife every day, okay?”

Lin Heng didn’t argue with his mother and turned to look at the young nanny goat.

The belly of this little goat he bought last year was already quite large. According to his father, there was a high probability she was pregnant.

This goat was very gentle, and it didn’t resist when Lin Heng stroked it.

After Mother Lin finished milking, she watched him and said, “Son, there’s been quite a lot of milk lately, more than we can drink. Do you think it would work to boil off the water and make it into milk powder?”

“I want to make some milk powder to take up to your grandmother to help her nourish her body.”

Lin Heng glanced at his mother and nodded. “Of course you can, but you’ll have to keep stirring it with a spatula. It’s very tiring.”

Homemade milk powder certainly couldn’t compare to modern production processes, but there was no problem with drinking it.

The method was also very simple: just keep boiling it until the water evaporated and it turned into milk solids, then crush and grind it into powder.

“That’s fine. How tiring can stirring a spatula be?” After saying that, Mother Lin took the milk and left, ready to give it a try.

Lin Heng shook his head and squatted down to milk the goat.

Aside from drinking it, milk could be used to make many delicacies. It was just that the mountain folk didn’t understand this. He planned to try some recipes once he had some free time.

If his mother wanted to try, he would let her. The older generation couldn’t stand to see anything go to waste. If there was milk left over every day that wasn’t milked, they felt like they were losing money.

He had also seen his father sending the extra milk to his grandmother before, and he hadn’t said anything about it.

Although he really disliked that grandmother who helped the Eldest Uncle’s family bully his own, to his father, she was still his mother after all, and there was still a lot of affection there.

During New Year’s or festivals, his father would always go and send some food. Lin Heng didn’t stop him. Regardless, they weren’t lacking that little bit of stuff, and it didn’t matter if his father fulfilled his filial duties.

Now that he was here, the Eldest Uncle’s family could forget about stirring up any more trouble.

After finishing the milking, Lin Heng turned and went home. He heated up the milk, poured a cup for himself, and then poured another for Xiulan, carrying it into the room.

“Thanks, hubby~”

Xiulan said softly as she took the milk.

“Do you want some cookies?” Lin Heng took out some cookies and asked.

“You eat them, I won’t.” Xiulan smiled and shook her head, then picked up the milk and started drinking.

Lin Heng ate a few cookies and slowly sipped his milk.

“Cough~”

For some reason, Xiulan suddenly choked. With a jerk of her hand, some milk flowed from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto her high chest and running all the way down to her stomach.

Lin Heng was a bit dazed by the sight. Xiulan was only wearing a bra, and this scene was far too impactful. Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly handed her some tissues.

“Are you okay?” Lin Heng asked, looking at her.

“I’m fine, my throat just suddenly got itchy and I coughed, which made me choke,” Xiulan shook her head.

Lin Heng said with a smile, “If I hadn’t seen that you were actually uncomfortable, I would have suspected you were trying to tempt me.”

Xiulan looked down and quickly understood what Lin Heng meant. Her pretty face flushed red, and she glared at him. “I really want to hit you. What is your head thinking about all day?”

Lin Heng chuckled. “Do you want me to help you handle that? I guarantee I’ll lick it all clean.”

Lin Heng’s words left Xiulan dazed for a moment as images flashed through her mind. She quickly took a tissue to wipe away the milk herself and said with mock anger, “In your dreams! Get yourself to the construction site already.”

Lin Heng gave a loud laugh, stood up, and went out, driving his tricycle to the construction site.

Most of the villagers had already arrived. While signing in, someone asked, “Lin Heng, is today the last day?”

“Yes, once we finish the road hardening today, we’ll be done. I’ll pay out the wages directly this afternoon.” Lin Heng nodded. He wasn’t the type of person to withhold wages.

“That’s great!”

“Boss Lin really is a good man, he never delays our pay.”

“Doing business like this, he’s sure to make a fortune.”

As soon as they heard they would be paid in the afternoon, everyone became excited, and words of flattery were endless.

“Let’s get to work,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

The morning’s work consisted of setting up the forms – ten-centimeter-high wooden boards, as the concrete ground would only be that thick.

The ground had already been leveled, so setting up the forms was effortless, and everything was finished by ten o’clock.

While everyone was setting up the forms, Lin Heng didn’t stay idle either. He had people help him bury two wooden poles to pull the electrical wires from the Fish Pond’s main gate over to the warehouse.

Then he ran the wiring inside the building, connecting switches, sockets, and light bulbs.

On the other side, the mixer had already started up. Stones, sand, and cement were poured inside. For road hardening, stones were naturally the primary ingredient.

Once the mixing was done, they used modified wooden carts to push it over and dump it on the ground. After Liu Haigui and the other skilled workers used tools to vibrate and compact the concrete, they used long wooden slats to level and smooth it out.

Lin Heng finished with the wiring and came out to find it was already noon. He saw that everyone had finished more than half the work and hadn’t stopped to rest.

“Why haven’t you gone to eat yet?”

Lin Heng walked over and asked.

“We’re getting paid this afternoon, and there isn’t much work left. Everyone figured we might as well work a bit of overtime to finish it off. It’s not that tiring, and it saves us the trouble of changing clothes,” Liu Haigui said with a smile.

“That works too.” Lin Heng nodded, then called a few people to go with him to the nearby mountain stream to build a small reservoir.

The work there wasn’t difficult. They just needed to dig out the silt from the pool and widen the sides to make it easier to pump water later.

By three in the afternoon, the hardening work was complete. Looking down from above, every part inside the fence except for the pond had been paved with cement.

On the outermost side of the pond near the road, there was a ring of iron fencing two and a half meters high. Lin Heng had specifically ordered a door frame to be built and installed a large gate made of welded steel pipes. After all, the main entrance faced the highway, so they couldn’t use thorn bushes for cover.

With this setup, the original two-meter wall combined with the iron fence made it nearly impossible for anyone to climb over.

There was a welder in town, and between the materials and the steel pipes, it had cost a total of fifty yuan.

“Alright, let’s head back. Go straight to my house to settle your wages.”

Lin Heng closed the gate and spoke with a sense of accomplishment.

It had been almost a year since his rebirth, and his first major money-making project was finally built. Now, he only needed to release the shrimp fry to begin farming, and he would be able to harvest by autumn.

Hearing this, everyone followed Lin Heng back with beaming faces.

Back inside, Lin Heng took out the ledger and did the math. It had been exactly thirty-two days since they started. Two of those days were rained out, leaving exactly thirty working days.

Except for the carpenter Liang Gui, who finished his part in ten days, everyone else had worked the full thirty.

Twenty ordinary workers at eighty cents a day for thirty days came to 24 yuan each, totaling 480 yuan for the group.

His father, Third Uncle, and the others who helped with management earned one yuan per day. That was 30 yuan per person, totaling 180 yuan for the six of them.

Six masons earned one yuan and thirty cents a day, which came to 39 yuan each for thirty days, totaling 234 yuan.

Finally, adding Carpenter Liang’s 15 yuan, the total amount to be paid in wages was 909 yuan.

In this era, that was a massive expense, equivalent to what an average farmer would earn in four or five years.

Once the calculations were finished, Lin Heng called out, “Everyone, come line up to get your wages.”

He had already gone to town to withdraw the cash. He used the 5,500 yuan from his savings account rather than taking from the 25,000 yuan hidden in the family’s secret storage area.

(End of Chapter)

[1] Panax Notoginseng: Also known as Sanqi (三七). A highly valued medicinal root in TCM used to stop bleeding and improve circulation. Its market price historically experienced significant volatility in the late 20th century.

[2] Angelica Sinensis: Commonly known as Danggui (当归), this ‘female ginseng’ is a staple of Chinese medicine used for blood health. Its name is a homophone for ‘should return’, often used in classical poetry to signal longing for home.

[3] Astragalus: Known as Huangqi (黄芪), it is one of the most fundamental herbs in TCM for tonifying ‘Qi’ (vital energy) and strengthening the immune system.