Divine Level Witch Doctor

After leaving the dilapidated temple, Ying Ji was no longer in the mood for sightseeing. She went along with the group to a few more spots to take some pictures before starting to rush everyone to leave.

Deng Chang was a bit puzzled. ”Ying Ji, are you not feeling well or something?” he asked. ”Before we came, you were the one rushing us to get going. Why are you in such a hurry to leave now that we’re here?”

Yang Li, Wu Mei, and the others chimed in, ”The scenery here is beautiful. Let’s take more pictures before we leave.”

Little did they know, Ying Ji’s reason for coming here had nothing to do with sightseeing or taking photos.

Of course, Ying Ji wasn’t about to tell them the truth, so she made an excuse. ”I was just thinking, we still have to go to the hospital to visit Feng Ming today. If we stay any longer, it might be dark by the time we get back. How could we visit him then?”

Her words convinced the group. They all nodded in agreement with her proposal and started walking toward the village entrance.

Zhao Yuan escorted them all the way to their car, a gesture of hospitality that deeply moved Deng Chang and the others. However, they had no idea that Zhao Yuan’s main reason for doing so was to keep an eye on Ying Ji, preventing her from trying anything as she left. After all, he still couldn’t determine if she was friend or foe.

After watching Ying Ji and the others get into the car and disappear down the rugged mountain road, Zhao Yuan finally turned and headed home.

About an hour later, he had another visitor.

Seeing the person who had appeared in his courtyard, Zhao Yuan was a bit surprised. ”Huang Jie? What are you doing here?”

The visitor was none other than Huang Jie, the man who had driven him home before. At this moment, he was hauling two large sacks on his shoulders. He set them down before answering, ”President Fang sent me. He told me to deliver the herb seeds you wanted. I’ve also brought the two medicinal herb cultivation experts he hired.”

Huang Jie stepped aside, gestured to the two middle-aged men behind him, and made the introductions. ”President Zhao, this is Expert Li, and this is Expert Meng.”

The slightly older of the two spoke up. ”Hello, President Zhao. My surname is Li, and my given name is Tao.”

The other man immediately followed suit. ”My name is Meng Dahua.”

As they introduced themselves, both were secretly sizing Zhao Yuan up.

When Fang Yi hired them, he had only mentioned that a friend intended to establish a medicinal herb plantation and needed them for technical guidance. They never imagined the boss would be so young.

”Brother Fang is really efficient. I only asked for his help yesterday, and he’s already gotten it done.” Zhao Yuan was delighted. He told Zhao Ling to bring out some stools, inviting the three men to sit for a while in the courtyard. He himself went to the village committee to use their broadcast system to call the villagers for a meeting in his yard.

In a place where shouting was the primary means of communication, the broadcast system was the most convenient way to gather everyone.

Watching Zhao Yuan leave, the two experts couldn’t resist huddling together to mutter amongst themselves.

”Brother Li, this Boss Zhao is so young... Do you think he’s reliable?” Meng Dahua asked in a low voice, his tone dripping with skepticism.

Li Tao replied, ”I don’t know if he’s reliable, but the money we’re getting is real. Since we’ve already been paid, we shouldn’t worry about other things. Let’s just focus on doing our job right.”

When Fang Yi hired the two experts, he had paid several months of their salary in advance on Zhao Yuan’s behalf. After all, who would be willing to come and suffer in a remote mountain village without a little something to sweeten the deal first?

”That’s true.” Meng Dahua nodded, feeling much more at ease.

Villagers flocked to the Zhao family home from all directions. Soon, the courtyard was packed solid, with more people crowding around the outside.

Zhao Yuan raised his voice to introduce them. ”These two are Expert Li and Expert Meng. They will teach you all how to care for the medicinal herbs. Today is just a brief introduction. Starting tomorrow, they will be holding classes on the village’s drying-ground. I hope everyone will go listen and learn.”

Li Tao and Meng Dahua waved to the villagers as a greeting.

After the introductions, Zhao Yuan took out bags of pre-packaged herb seeds from the two large burlap sacks. Each package had the name written and a picture drawn on it, so there was little chance of mixing them up.

Zhao Yuan distributed these packets of seeds to the villagers in the courtyard, then said, ”Follow me up the mountain, and I’ll show you where these seeds need to be planted. Once you’re there, organize yourselves into groups and get them in the ground.”

”Alright!”

”No problem!”

The villagers readily agreed. They had never grown medicinal herbs before and knew only to follow Zhao Yuan’s instructions. But Li Tao and Meng Dahua, the two herb cultivation experts, both frowned.

On the way over, they had already inspected the herb seeds in the burlap sacks and had been puzzled at the time, because there were nearly a hundred different varieties.

Logically, when establishing a medicinal herb plantation, you would select a few, or perhaps a dozen, suitable varieties based on the local soil, climate, sunlight, and water quality. To see someone like Zhao Yuan bring in nearly a hundred different types was practically unheard of!

One had to understand that different herbs have different environmental needs—some are even polar opposites! Planting herbs with conflicting requirements in the same location was nothing short of a farce. And that wasn’t even mentioning that it was the dead of winter. You could count the number of herbs that could be planted in these conditions on one hand! Yet here was Zhao Yuan, about to sow all of them... It would be a damn miracle if any of them sprouted!

The two men hastily tried to dissuade him, but Zhao Yuan neither listened nor offered an explanation. He just smiled and said, ”It’s fine. Just do as I say. The seeds won’t freeze to death.”

Their persuasion having failed, the two could only give up. What else could they do? Zhao Yuan was the boss.

In their hearts, however, they had already labeled Zhao Yuan ’arrogant’ and ’a know-it-all poser.’ ’We heard you were a medical student,’ they grumbled internally. ’We figured you’d know at least a little something about cultivating medicinal herbs, but it turns out you’re just pretending... And you have the gall to boast that they won’t freeze to death? Hmph! It’d be a miracle if they didn’t! Fine, don’t listen to our advice. You’ll live to regret this!’

Zhao Yuan asked the old village chief to help arrange lodging for Li Tao and Meng Dahua. He then led the villagers up the mountain to sow the seeds, staying busy until nightfall before returning. All the seeds had been sown, each in a specific area according to Zhao Yuan’s instructions.

The Five Elements Array hidden on the mountainside would automatically adjust the environment within each zone to suit the needs of the different herbs, thereby achieving optimal results. This was the miracle of the cultivation techniques passed down by Wu Peng, and the reason Zhao Yuan dared to plant nearly a hundred varieties of herbs in the same place.

「The next day」

After lunch, Zhao Yuan said his goodbyes to his parents and the villagers, preparing to return to Rongcheng City.

School was starting again tomorrow. Although he was reluctant to leave, he had to go. Thankfully, winter break wasn’t far off, and it wouldn’t be long before he could come back again.

Zhao Ling went with him, as she had an evening study session to attend that night.

After coming down the mountain, Zhao Yuan dropped Zhao Ling off at her school, reminding her to study hard before he left.

Zhao Ling had just turned to walk into the school when a voice called out from behind her, ”Well, well, Zhao Ling. Look at you, wearing new clothes! Did the sun rise in the west today?”