Chapter 70: Surely Not a Treasure Map?
"Qing Juan, my feelings... do you understand them?"
"Yes."
"That’s good. You have to be good and listen to me."
"Yes, Fushan. I’ll listen to whatever you say."
Outside, under the window, Chen Danou couldn’t help but feel a little smug. ’My son is so impressive, he really knows how to coax a woman into being obedient.’
Just as she was thinking this, Liang Fushan came out of the room with Tan Qingjuan. When Tan Qingjuan saw Chen Danou waiting under the window, her face instantly turned beet red. She was afraid that everything she and Liang Fushan had been doing in the room had been overheard.
Liang Fushan was also a little awkward. He said, "Mom, what are you doing here?"
"I heard someone came looking for you, so I came over to see." Chen Danou showed no embarrassment at being caught. She sized up Tan Qingjuan and couldn’t help but frown slightly. ’This girl is just too unattractive. In all my years, I’ve never seen anyone so plain. My son has terrible taste.’
As she thought this, a look of displeasure appeared on Chen Danou’s face. Tan Qingjuan’s face was already burning with shame, and when she saw the obvious disapproval in Chen Danou’s gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She remembered Liang Fushan had told her before that his family didn’t like educated youth, and she instinctively glanced at him.
Liang Fushan quickly said to Chen Danou, "Mom, this is a friend of mine. I’ll walk her out."
With that, he quickly sent Tan Qingjuan off, whispering a reminder for her to keep things secret.
Tan Qingjuan felt that Liang Fushan had poured his heart out to her, so she shyly agreed.
After Tan Qingjuan left, Chen Danou could no longer hold back her thoughts. She pulled Liang Fushan back into his room and said, "Fushan, what are you trying to do? Whose daughter is that? She’s so unattractive, what do you see in her? You’re not actually planning to marry her, are you?"
Chen Danou’s head started to ache. ’First one, then the other. Never mind Su Qing with that big scar on her face; she can’t be much to look at. But this girl... Goodness me, she’s just plain ugly. Is this really my son? How can he not tell the difference between beautiful and ugly?’
"Mom, you’re overthinking it," Liang Fushan said in a low voice. "I have my own plans. Just don’t worry about it."
"I shouldn’t worry about it?" Chen Danou glared at Liang Fushan. "Then are you going to go to the Old Su Family to propose the marriage yourself?"
Liang Fushan immediately forced a smile. "Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong. Don’t worry, I don’t care about her at all. She’s the one who threw herself at me, and it’s not like I could just refuse, right? Relax, I know what I’m doing."
"Fine, as long as you know what you’re doing." Chen Danou thought for a moment. In any case, her son wasn’t the one losing out. But she still had to give him a warning. "Then you’d better keep her happy. Don’t let her turn around and bite you in the back."
"Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control. Just hurry up and help me with the marriage proposal to the Old Su Family, okay?"
"Fine, fine, fine."
Su Qing was completely unaware of the Liang Family’s intentions. She had no idea that even after she had rejected the matchmaker they sent, the Liang Family was still planning to go through the Old Su Family. She had finished her work quickly today, completing her share early, so she decided to go into the mountains to look for herbs. For one, she needed to heal the scar on her face as soon as possible. After all, she cared about her appearance and didn’t want to live with this scar forever. For another, she planned to earn some money with the herbs.
It had to be said, Baihua Mountain was truly rich in resources. Since she had plenty of time today, Su Qing ventured a little deeper into the mountains. Soon, following her herbal guide, she found several types of medicinal herbs. They weren’t particularly rare, but the quantity was decent. Most notably, she found a patch of Chinese yams.
With no one else around, Su Qing could use her Wood Ability without restraint. She manipulated a climbing vine, using it just like an earthworm. Soon, the entire patch of yams was churned out of the ground by the vine. With a wave of her hand, Su Qing collected them into her space.
As she continued deeper into the mountains, she caught a few wild pheasants and rabbits, and even snagged a large, lone wild boar.
"Hm?"
After storing the large wild boar in her space, Su Qing scanned her surroundings. Her sharp eyes spotted a small cluster of bright red beads on a small slope not far ahead.
’This is... ginseng!’
Su Qing was instantly overjoyed. This was the first time she had ever found ginseng on Baihua Mountain. She immediately ran over excitedly and gently pushed aside the surrounding weeds and vines. Sure enough, she hadn’t been mistaken—it was ginseng!
Su Qing quickly took out her herbal guide and carefully checked it against the plant.
That was it. The flower, fruit, and leaves all matched the description of ginseng. Su Qing was thrilled. This time, she didn’t dare to be as rough as she was when digging up the yams. Instead, she meticulously controlled the climbing vine, gently loosening the soil around the ginseng. Then, bit by bit, she nudged the ginseng out of the earth, not damaging a single root hair from start to finish.
Looking at the ginseng now free from the soil, Su Qing excitedly and carefully cupped it in her hands. The moment she touched the ginseng, she knew—it was eighty-six years old. According to Mr. Gong, this was already considered a very good find.
Su Qing gleefully stored the ginseng in her space. ’Mmm, this will sell for a good price. My personal stash is about to get a little bigger.’
Just as she was about to stand up and leave, Su Qing suddenly heard voices from the bottom of the slope.
It was two men.
"Hey, when do you think Brother Ming is gonna take us out of these mountains? We’ve been stuck here for so long... Every day it’s just staring at trees and grass, or digging holes. It’s so damn boring. I’m about to die of boredom. We don’t even see another soul."
"Screw you, am I not a person? You see me every day."
"Tch, what’s so good about looking at a smelly man like you? I want to see some pretty girls, alright?"
The two men seemed to be squatting at the base of the slope, talking. Su Qing stayed put and quietly extended a climbing vine toward them. She then saw a tall man and a short man squatting on the ground, smoking and chatting idly.
The one who had complained about being bored was the tall one.
"You want to see pretty girls? So do I." The short man chuckled. "If you’ve got the guts, go tell Brother Ming. Tell him we should hurry down the mountain to find some pretty girls. You dare?"
"Tch, you think I’m an idiot? If I say that, Brother Ming will chew me out, and you guys will just stand there and laugh at me?" The tall man rolled his eyes. "I’m not that stupid."
"Then stop complaining here," the short man said. "You should just prepare to be in the mountains for the long haul. I reckon Brother Ming won’t let us leave until we dig something up."
"Holy crap, this mountain is huge. If we can’t find it in a lifetime, does that mean we have to stay in these mountains for the rest of our lives?"
"Heh, that’s not impossible. Unless the Young Master is willing to hand over the map."
"Hey, do you think the Young Master even has the map?"
Hearing this, Su Qing raised an eyebrow.
’A map?’
’It couldn’t be a treasure map, could it?’