Li Zhengguo felt his body momentarily lose balance before righting itself, like a car starting up.
Then the scenery before his eyes rapidly receded, the wind whistling past his ears, akin to the feeling of riding in a convertible.
Tian Jing glanced at him from the side, seeing that his complexion was fine, she accelerated further. She then observed the unicycle in the large net bag; thankfully, it showed no signs of strain.
Li Zhengguo sensed the increase in speed. In a blink, they passed the Lishen production team, in another, the brigade headquarters. In an instant, they were past the commune, and in a flash, they stopped a few miles from the county town.
He lunged forward, nearly falling to the ground.
Fortunately, he was still holding onto the net bag, preventing him from face-planting, but he heard a giggle.
He released the net bag, quickly maneuvered around the unicycle, and hugged the mischievous little person. "Little troublemaker, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Yes, who told you your surprised expression was so amusing?"
The little person in his arms tilted their head back, laughing at him, which melted his heart. "Sweetie."
Tian Jing raised her hand to block his descending lips. "We're too close to the county town, and there are too many people on the road."
The enchanted Li Zhengguo snapped back to reality. Reluctantly, he released the person in his embrace. This era had its drawbacks; even a couple had to walk one behind the other. "When we get back, will you take me to the deep mountains, okay?"
"Okay."
With a move of Tian Jing's ability, the large net bag tore open from the top of the unicycle. With another pull, the net bag turned into gray-brown dust that settled on the ground.
Li Zhengguo's eyes lit up. "This is a good helper for doing bad things, and afterward, it's convenient for destroying evidence."
"Heh heh, there are many more functions I haven't told you about. Push the cart, and we'll talk as we walk. I'll tell you one by one about the strengths and weaknesses of each ability."
These few miles felt too short for Li Zhengguo. He hadn't heard enough before they arrived. "That jar, do you want to take it back to Ku Mountain? The back mountain of Zhangshan Village will be contracted out after the land is distributed to households."
"Then let's take it to the dense forest in Ku Mountain."
"Sweetie, after this plant is sold, don't sell anymore. If you really need money, use those gold bars. Everything you accelerate the growth of carries special energy and will be discovered by those with intentions."
"And the goji berries and wild vegetables, only accelerate them once. Don't plant the seeds after accelerating them again. The taste from multiple accelerations will arouse suspicion."
"Even for my mission, I wouldn't want that. If you're exposed, you'll belong to the state. Are you willing?"
"Don't you want to use this opportunity to climb the ranks?" Tian Jing knew the choice this person would make, but she still wanted to hear it from his own mouth.
"No. After this mission is completed, I'll officially retire. I want to accompany you to the ends of the earth."
"Are you planning to live off me?"
"Mmm, my stomach is not good, I just like living off you."
"Then after I avenge her, we'll go back to Ku Mountain. I like Ku Mountain."
Sweetie agreed!
Li Zhengguo grinned with excitement. "Good."
...
For the past ten days or so, Ouyang Lei had been deliberately waiting in the black market. He felt that given how generous that auntie was with the money for rice and flour for Xiao Hu, the six hundred yuan shouldn't last long.
He had gone to the city with that ginseng, and it sold for four hundred yuan. The buyer even said that if he got another one like it, he'd pay an extra two hundred yuan. He didn't dare to keep this money to himself; he had to explain it clearly to the auntie.
Today, as the market was about to close, he thought he wouldn't see the auntie, but then Xiao Hu ran over in a hurry. "Boss, boss, the auntie is here."
"I'm coming."
Ouyang Lei immediately got up. "Hurry and get the rice and flour ready, prepare more. This time, the money is on me."
He had earned an extra two hundred yuan and felt a bit guilty. He also worried that returning the money might displease the auntie, so he simply told Xiao Hu to prepare the rice and flour, considering it his treat.
"Yes."
Xiao Hu ran away as soon as he saw her, which confused Tian Jing.
By the time she and Li Zhengguo entered the market, they saw Ouyang Lei waiting at the edge of the market, waving at them upon seeing them.
The two exchanged glances and walked over.
"Brother Lei."
Li Zhengguo's address startled Ouyang Lei. "No, don't call me that. Just call me Ouyang Lei."
He had already understood. The auntie had been won over by this man, and the atmosphere between them was so sweet it was sickening.
"The rules can't be broken. You must call me Brother Lei, otherwise, if your subordinates find out and come looking for trouble, it will be difficult for me to deal with them one by one."
Tian Jing disagreed. She only wanted to live a simple life quietly in the remote mountain village of Ku Mountain, not to become a target for these people of the martial world.
"Alright then, I'll call you Brother Lei." Since the auntie had spoken, Ouyang Lei could only agree.
"Brother Lei."
Tian Jing's "Brother Lei" almost made Ouyang Lei trip. "Auntie, you absolutely cannot call me that."
"Why not? I just don't want to be treated specially, I don't want people to know I'm different."
A peculiar habit of an expert?
Ouyang Lei had heard that many experts had retired into civilian life, making them indistinguishable. "Then, I'll accept this 'brother'?"
"If you're not my brother, do you want to be my uncle? Though your age is suitable."
"Brother is better, brother is better. Being a brother is good." The auntie was in a good mood today and was willing to joke with him, so he continued. "Sister, what good things did you bring today?"
Li Zhengguo put down the bamboo basket on his back, lifted the lid, and removed the dry grass, revealing two colorful pheasants. "Two pheasants and six rabbits. Can Brother Lei handle this?"
"Definitely. This is nothing. Do you have anything else?"
Ouyang Lei asked Tian Jing, as she also had a bamboo basket on her back.
"Did you sell that one?" Tian Jing looked at Ouyang Lei's shining eyes.
"Mmm, one thousand one hundred. The buyer said if there's more, he'll pay another two hundred."
"Who is the buyer?" Li Zhengguo asked.
"Huimin Pharmacy in the city. I sell all the medicinal herbs I collect there," Ouyang Lei replied honestly.
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo. Seeing him nod, she then took down her bamboo basket.
"This time, if it's not one thousand five hundred yuan plus three hundred yuan in coupons, I won't sell. Whether you sell more or less is irrelevant to me; I only encountered these two ginseng plants by chance."
"In the future, even if you offer ten thousand yuan, it won't be available. This kind of ginseng is rare and can't be found easily. You were tricked by that pharmacy. The effect of this ginseng cannot be determined by its rings alone. Last time, if I hadn't been in urgent need of money, I wouldn't have sold it to you at market price."
Ouyang Lei was stunned. "What's different about this ginseng?"
"Ginseng that has been guarded by a tiger, what do you think is different? If it weren't for me, these two ginseng plants would never have seen the light of day."
Tian Jing said this while handing Ouyang Lei a roll of leaves.
As soon as Ouyang Lei opened the leaf roll, he understood why the auntie was asking for one thousand eight hundred yuan.
This ginseng plant was clearly over fifty years old and considerably larger. If, according to the pharmacy's offer, they paid an extra two hundred yuan for ginseng of the same quality, then this one, exceeding fifty years and representing a significant leap in grade, would easily fetch over two thousand yuan.
"Sister, you really only want one thousand five, uh, no, one thousand eight hundred yuan?"