RBNTW Ch 28

Chen Jiu knew how difficult it was to deal with Lan Shi and her daughter, so he nodded immediately, grateful, “Thank you, but the medicine and supplements…”

 

They must be very expensive. Over the years, the money he earned from weaving baskets and embroidery had been taken by Lan Shi. He only had his New Year’s money given by his father, and Qian Yun had tricked him out of a lot of that too.

 

Now, he had just over a hundred coins. How could he afford anything?

 

“Don’t worry about it. I found quite a few useful herbs in the mountains today. I’ll sell the ones we don’t need tomorrow and use the money to buy more medicine. That should be enough.”

 

Chen Jiu sighed in relief and said, “Please keep track of the medicines and expenses. I’ll pay you back once I have enough saved.”

 

Although they were now tied together by the space, he didn’t want to owe any favors.

 

“We’ll see.” Zhao Chen didn’t say yes or no. Looking at the rabbits in the cage, he said, “If you like them, you can take them home to raise.”

 

Chen Jiu quickly shook his head, “No need, thank you.”

 

Zhao Chen treating his illness was already a great favor. He had nothing to repay him with, so how could he take Zhao Chen’s things?

 

Zhao Chen didn’t push, saying, “If you want to see them, you can come into the space anytime. I don’t plan to move them outside for now.”

 

Chen’s house wasn’t safe, and neither was Zhao’s.

 

If he raised the rabbits in the straw hut, the Zhao family would likely take them within two days.

 

He could get them back, but he disliked trouble. Since there was a way to avoid it, he would certainly choose to avoid it.

 

Chen Jiu nodded and thanked him again.

 

Zhao Chen noticed that although Chen Jiu was still reserved, the gloom between his brows had mostly disappeared upon learning his illness could be cured. This made Zhao Chen satisfied.

 

He thought for a moment and brought up a topic that would likely interest Chen Jiu, “I asked the system. After the soil in the space is adequately watered, the plants mature at half the usual time. If we use spirit spring water, they mature even faster. What do you like to eat? I’ll plant it for you later.”

 

As expected, Chen Jiu’s eyes lit up, and he instinctively looked at the space marketplace.

 

His weak body prevented him from eating many things, but according to Zhao Chen, he could eat most of the things in the space marketplace. Naturally, he wanted to try.

 

However, remembering the seeds costing ten taels of silver per small bag in the marketplace, he felt discouraged.

 

Seeing this, Zhao Chen couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t worry about the money. I had good luck today and found many precious herbs in the mountains. Selling them will be enough to buy seeds to plant on this three-acre land.”

 

As he spoke, he walked to the cage, picked up the basket, and showed it to Chen Jiu.

 

Chen Jiu looked down and was stunned.

 

In his previous life, after Qian Yun gained favor with a noble, he frequently sent items to the Qian family. Gradually, Chen Jiu became knowledgeable and recognized some of the items in the basket.

 

Ginseng and Lingzhi mushroom.

 

Even putting aside the Lingzhi, the wild ginseng alone, looking like it was over fifty years old, could fetch dozens to hundreds of taels of silver!

 

With a bit of luck, even more wasn’t out of the question!

 

How did Zhao Chen find such precious items?

 

Zhao Chen saw his expression and could guess that he recognized the value of some of the herbs. Slightly surprised but not thinking too much of it, he explained, “I left early this morning and walked along the mountain paths. I planned to gather some herbs to sell for a bit of silver and unexpectedly found a lot of good stuff. Maybe because there are many wild animals and it’s dangerous deep in the mountains, people rarely venture there, so I had an easier time.”

 

The mountains beyond where he had searched for food yesterday stretched into an endless forest, with rugged paths overgrown with wild grass and frequent wild animal sightings.

 

Ordinary villagers typically only gathered firewood on the outskirts of the forest, rarely daring to go deeper, leaving many wild herbs uncollected but often trampled by animals.

 

Hearing that Zhao Chen had ventured into the deep mountains, Chen Jiu was alarmed, “How could you go to such a dangerous place? There are wolves and tigers in there!”

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