Chapter 12: A Fish Leaping Over the Dragon, But Gaining No Bright Future

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

“Five kinds of herbs, including the antidote herb?”

Yes! Okay. I’ve got a new job!

He had to hurry and think of what other four herbs he should plant within the next 10 days. He already had two herbs in mind, so he just needed two more.

Without the sealwort, he could use some of the ancient spring water for the other herbs. The leftovers would then be mixed to water the surrounding trees. The trees were watered for some time and so, they grew up seemingly against the rules of nature. It was autumn, but the leaves were still green.

“The chestnuts are mature; I should pick them!”

Wang Yao finished his work on the hill and then went down to the village to run some errands. He went to the village committee to discuss with the party secretary of the county about the contracting of Nanshan hill. They signed the contract and Wang Yao went to the bank in town to transfer his money.

“Uncle Li, this is 400 thousand yuan.” Wang Yao gave the transfer receipt to Wang Jianli in front of several village party secretaries.

“Work hard!” Wang Jianli smiled and took the receipt.

“Thank you.” Wang Yao said his goodbyes then he rode to town on his motorbike. He had to go look at the seeds and strains of different Chinese medicinal herbs.

“He managed to get a loan of 400 thousand yuan that fast?” one of the committee secretaries asked.

“It’s not all loans. Didn’t someone go to the hill to buy his herbs yesterday?”

“The two-acres of sealwort was worth that much?” another committee secretary commented.

Wang Yao was afraid that none of them would believe that his sealwort could be sold at a price of nearly 400 thousand yuan. He and his family could not say it out loud either since others would be jealous. Someone could lose their sensibility and make some trouble for them.

“Anyways, he will give 20 thousand yuan to the village every year from next year, which is included in the contract. For this, we should support him. Besides, we are in the same village, it will be good for our village when he does well!” Finally, Wang Jianli made the conclusion.

After that night, Wang Jianli came to realize that he and the villagers were wrong about Wang Yao. That young man was open-minded and sophisticated. He should not be taken for a fool.

He was young, but he had the courage that others could not compare to. His eyes were determined since he knew his future. Such a young guy like him should be called smart rather than foolish.

Wang Yao ignored the opinions of the village committee secretaries at the moment. In fact, he never cared about their opinions; he even rode to Lian Shan county on his motorbike.

He then went to the supplier who provided him with plants and seeds last time to find several seeds that he had thought of before: ginseng, matrimony vine, radix gentianae, adenophora stricta and radix sileris.

“Hey kid, what are you buying these seeds for?” The seed-seller was a fiftyish old man. It was his first time seeing someone buy seeds of these kinds of herbs, so he could not help but ask curiously.

“For planting!” Wang Yao smiled.

“In an herbal field?” The man asked again.

“Yes.”

“It might not be successful. The requirement of the soil of these five seeds are different and the growth habits are different too. Buddy, you should listen to me. You should choose one suitable herb to plant if you really want to plant Chinese medicinal herbs. Big mouthfuls often choke.” The man supplying the seeds persuaded him kindly.

“I’ll just have to try and see which ones are suitable,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

“Okay.” The man listened and picked out the seeds. “It is good to try them out because these seeds are so cheap.”

Wang Yao bought the seeds then he went back home.

“Ah? Are you Wang Yao?” An Audi A4 rolled up and stopped in front of Wang Yao. The window was rolled down and there was a handsome, fashionable young man in the driver’s seat. He seemed to be the same age as Wang Yao.

“You are…Yang Ming?” Wang Yao stared at the young man for a while before realizing that the young man in the car was his high school classmate.

“Yes. We have not seen each other for years. When did you come back?”

“After graduation.”

“Oh? Where do you work?” Yang Ming asked with a smile.

“I’m a farmer at home.” Wang Yao smiled.

“Are you kidding me? I remember that you had been a student at a famous university!” Yang Ming did not believe Wang Yao obviously.

“Really. I’m not lying to you. I just came to buy some seeds. And you?” Wang Yao showed the herb seeds in his hand.

“Just average, in the Bureau of Education.” Although he said it casually, he looked so proud at that moment.

Wang Yao remembered clearly that some classmates did not study seriously. They just copied or made up answers for the exams. However, they could still go to college, even with their bad test scores on the college entrance examination. Although the colleges were not famous, the students were from powerful families.

Yang Ming was the representative of these classmates. His father was a director of a bureau with great power, that’s why he already had such a nice car and good income at his age.

“It is a good place. Government-affiliated institutions—a secure job!”

Wang Yao would have been annoyed and reluctant in the past. Both of them were the same age, but Yang Ming was most likely to be admitted by such institutions because of his powerful background while Wang Yao would find it more difficult because of his common family. It was the cruel reality of society. Connections mattered more than one’s own abilities. But Wang Yao had a magic system now, so he did not have to think about it.

“Give me your phone number—we should hang out sometime,” Yang Ming said.

“Okay!” They exchanged phone numbers and talked for a while. Then, they said goodbye and went on their way.

“Graduate of a famous university, huh—so what? Hum!” Yang Ming sneered to himself.

During their time at school, all teachers always praised Wang Yao as a top student. It was said that the college entrance examination was a dragon gate and a fish would become the dragon when it passed the gate and have a promising future. However, today it seemed to be that the fish may not have a promising future even though it passed the gate; it could drop back to the pond and become a leach!

Back in the village, Wang Yao went up to the hill. He needed to plant these five seeds and they could not be simply planted together.

The matrimony vine should be planted on a slope and the ginseng should be planted under the trees. Radix gentianae, adenophora stricta and radix sileris should be planted in the herbal field.

Wang Yao walked around the house and thought of a good plan. The mission given to him by the system said that he had to plant five kinds of herbs, so technically it was okay even if only one survived.