Chapter 2: One Bottle of Water, Two Acres of Herbal Fields

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“I should bring some water for my parents to try.”

He filled up a bottle with the ancient spring water, leaving just a little bit of water left in the kettle.

“What should I do with the rest of the water? How about watering herbs?” Wang Yao thought out loud.

He poured the water into the tank of a water sprayer. Then, he took the bucket from earlier to the dam in the low-lying areas of the hillside to mix with river water. He sprayed the outside of the herbs.

He hoped that it would be effective! Among the herbs in the field was a plant called sealwort. It was named sealwort because it could absorb the most nutrients from the soil and the air. The roots grew up casually as tender ginger and its leaves were large and pointed at the tips. The leaves also resembled that of bamboo leaves and the flowers were white. The stem was straight and upright—both the root and stem could be used medicinally.

Sealwort was an herbal medicine that could be planted anywhere. The planting method for sealwort had been refined and the market demand was high, so the price was steadily increasing. Thus, Wang Yao chose this herb as the test subject.

In fact, sealwort was easy to plant, but it was only easy for those who knew how to do it. Some could grow 20 thousand on, at least, one acre of land in just two or three years. Wang Yao, however, had lost more than 30 thousand sealworts on several acres of land in these past three years.

The amount of money he lost would be much higher if the cost of contracting the hill was included.

“I hope I’ll lose less money this year,” he murmured as he watered.

New mission received. Check the taskbar for details.

At this moment, the mechanical voice spoke again.

“Mission, what kind of mission?”

Wang Yao clicked the system after seeing that he had one mission in the taskbar.

Mission: Harvest 3000 kilograms of fresh sealwort per acre.

Reward: One pack of herb seeds.

Punishment for failure: The ancient spring kettle will be taken away.

“3000 kilograms? How is that possible!?” Wang Yao was astonished at that moment.

According to the information that he knew, the average productivity of dry sealwort in each acre was 300-400 kilograms. The productivity could be higher if there were more than 400 kilograms, however, 4 kilograms of fresh sealwort could only produce 1 kilogram of dry sealwort. According to the percentage, if the amount of fresh sealwort exceeded 2000 kilograms then that was considered very fruitful. This could only be done by a master and good soil. There’s no way that Wang Yao could produce 300 kilograms of dry sealwort on such a barren slope as Nanshan hill. That was simply impossible!

Wang Yao walked around the herbal field after he finished watering them. He removed some weeds and tested the humidity of soil, then he went back to his room to record the information. Using his cellphone, Wang Yao tried to search online for a method of harvesting sealwort in a short amount of time.

It was already the end of August; the harvest season for sealwort was fast approaching. Wang Yao thought it impossible to be able to produce 3000 kilograms’ worth of herbs in such a short amount of time.

He spent half a day searching for a solution but found nothing feasible. The answers on the internet suggested rational fertilization and the strengthening of herbal field management. There was even one unreliable answer that said that a special hormone could cause plants to grow rapidly within little to no time at all.

“There’s no solution!”

Wang Yao got a notification that his phone’s battery was low and stopped searching. He then scratched his head helplessly.

“I gotta keep thinking of a way!”

He marked down some reliable methods and then packed his things. He was preparing to leave the hill and so locked the door. He looked out onto the fields and saw something spectacular.

Huh? Why did the leaves suddenly become so green!

Wang Yao went to the herbal field and surprisingly, he found that the leaves of the sealwort plants seemed to be much greener.

“Am I going crazy?”

“San Xian, you have to keep your eyes on the herbal field,” Wang Yao said to the dog.

Woof, woof! San Xian replied as if he could get his meaning.

Wang Yao left the hill and went back to home. Zhang Xiuying, Wang Yao’s mother stopped cooking and asked her son to listen to her pleas. She wanted him to give up several acres of his herbal field and go find a job in town; then he should bring home a daughter-in-law for them.

“Mom, the sealwort that I have planted is almost in the harvest season, so it would be a pity to give them up now. I will go talk with Uncle Li about the contraction of the hill when I finish the harvest in the fall,” said Wang Yao.

He did not want to give up his dream and he was even more determined to continue planting herbs after receiving the mysterious pharmacist system.

He even wanted to be healthier and stronger than before. As for his parents, he had to stall for time. He believed that his parents would change their minds when he starting raking in profit from the herbs.

“Okay, don’t forget.”

Zhang Xiuying agreed with her son so she did not push him any further.

“Got it. Ah, Mom, you should try some of this water that I brought you. Have a sip,” Wang Yao said.

“It’s just water, what’s so special about it?”

“It’s sweet and it is better than the spring water on the hill. Just try some.”

He put down the bottle filled with ancient spring water when he finished speaking. Wang Yao went back to his room and looked over his herbal documents. He was still looking for a way to quickly improve the harvest time of his herbs.

Zhang Xiuying began to feel a little thirsty as she was busy in the kitchen, so she poured herself some water from the bottle left by her son. She drank it and she found that the water was indeed sweet. It was really good, so she decided to drink some more.

“This water really is sweet.”

Wang Yao’s father, Wang Feng Hua, came in from outside for a while. Zhang Xiuying finished cooking and she, her husband, her daughter and son all had a meal together.

“Drink it, your son brought this water.”

Zhang Xiuying poured out a cup of water for her husband. Wang Feng Hua, who was tanned, said nothing as he took the cup in his hand. The spring water was sweet and clear and he felt refreshed after he drank it. His tiredness of working for the whole day had been reduced.

“Refreshing.”

It was just one word, but Wang Yao knew that that one word was rare as his father was not a talkative man.

“Yao, where did you get this water from?” Zhang Xiuying asked.

“A classmate gave it to me. He said that it’s pollution-free water.”

Wang Yao had thought of a different explanation. He could not tell his parents that he gained a magic pharmacy system that rewarded him with a mysterious ancient spring kettle.

“Dad, Mom, I’ll go into town tomorrow.”

“Yes. You should get there early.” Zhang Xiuying was happy to hear it.

“Okay,” Wang Fenghua answered as he drunk all the water in the cup.

Wang Yao was not going into town to look for a job, but rather to visit a nearby family who also planted herbs. He wanted to learn from their experiences and see whether they had good planting methods or not. He was also going to try to find biological fertilizer to promote the growth of sealwort. Certainly, he wouldn’t say that he went out to study the planting of herbs since his parents would be unhappy.

Just then, there was a squeaking noise from the outside door. There was a girl when the door was opened. She was very beautiful—she seemed to be in her late twenties and had a slim figure.

“Dad, Mom, Yao, are you okay?” she asked as she rushed into the room.

“Sis, why are you here?”

This woman was the sister of Wang Yao, Wang Ru. She was one year older than him; she worked for the agricultural bureau in town.