Chapter 36: The Cultivation Base

The ginseng cultivation base of Xiaowu Village was located north of the village, enclosed by wire fencing. An iron gate stood at the entrance, bearing a sign with black characters on a white background that read: "Xiaowu Village Ginseng Cultivation Base."

Peering through the wire fence, no one was in sight; only two newly built red brick houses stood in front of a pine forest.

Why would they choose such a place!

Fan Lihua reached inside the iron gate, pulled the latch to open it, and then stepped inside, turning back to re-latch the gate. She walked along a path about a meter wide toward the red brick houses. Both sides of the path consisted of freshly turned soil covered with a layer of leaf mold, emitting an indescribable scent under the sunlight.

Covering her nose and mouth with one hand, Fan Lihua looked around as she walked. The ginseng cultivation base was much larger than she had imagined, and the speed of its construction exceeded her comprehension. The villagers had been whispering that "the fairy maiden accomplishes the work of two," marveling that within just three days, with the support of the village cadres, the ginseng cultivation base had been successfully established and looked quite impressive. It had drawn villagers flocking to the village committee office to sign up for work at the base. More than a hundred villagers had applied, but in the end, Li Taohua selected only twelve—making the selection process almost as competitive as the imperial examinations.

Li Tian'er was inside the red brick house explaining cultivation techniques to the twelve villagers when she heard a tap on the window glass. Turning her head, she caught sight of Fan Lihua's face pressed against the pane.

It was difficult to see the interior clearly from the outside, so Fan Lihua had pressed her face directly to the glass to finally catch a glimpse of her daughter-in-law, Li Taohua. She waved and motioned for Li Taohua to come outside.

"Let's wrap up the lecture for today. Tomorrow I'll bring the seeds back, and everyone can begin learning how to breed them. Once the seedlings are successfully cultivated, you can all start tending the plots you've chosen."

Li Tian'er prepared to step outside to see Fan Lihua. At that moment, Elder Sister-in-law Chen, who was sitting in the corner of the room, raised her hand and stood up.

"I heard someone say last night that growing ginseng takes at least three to four years to harvest. Who can wait that long? It takes far too much time. If you want to grow premium ginseng and sell it at a high price, you have to wait seven or eight years for it to grow fully developed roots and tendrils..."

"Ah, does it really take that long?"

Elder Sister-in-law Chen's words sparked a commotion in the room.

Everyone had come here hoping for spring planting and autumn harvesting to make a fortune. They had to pay a contracting fee upon signing up, and some had even begged and borrowed money from relatives and friends just to secure a spot. Hearing now that it would take three or four years to turn a profit, they inevitably began to lose their nerve.

"Faerie Taohua, is what Sister Chen saying true? If it takes that long to make money, I can't do this anymore."

Li Tian'er had specifically chosen impoverished households to work at the cultivation base, hoping, of course, to help them shake off poverty and achieve prosperity sooner. She had thought she made the policies and expected timelines clear, but she hadn't expected that a single remark from someone else would shake everyone's resolve.

Under normal circumstances, growing ginseng indeed required three or four years to harvest, but her ginseng seeds came from the Fortune Base; she was confident of a much faster harvest. However, she could not voice this aloud, nor was she willing to make empty guarantees to the villagers.

No business in this world could guarantee pure profit without risk. Those willing to follow her lead would naturally see favorable results.

Li Tian'er remained silent in deep thought, but the women could no longer sit still. Someone was the first to propose backing out and requesting a refund, suggesting that their efforts over the past two days be written off as voluntary labor. A second and third person immediately chimed in with the same sentiment.

"Very well. Those who do not wish to continue can register their names now, and tomorrow I will discuss with the village committee to arrange your refunds. However, I must state clearly: those who withdraw today will never again be eligible to join the ginseng cultivation team."

Li Tian'er's original intention was to cultivate a core group of primary growers, uplift a first batch of struggling families, and then expand the operation across Xiaowu Village on a large scale. This was the conclusion she had reached after repeated discussions with the village cadres.

In less than five minutes, except for An Changlin's mother, all the other farmers had finished registering their names and cleared out.

Holding the roster, Li Tian'er felt like laughing. The scene from three days ago, where everyone had scrambled desperately to sign up, seemed utterly ironic now.

"Auntie An, are you staying?"

Li Tian'er worried that An Changlin's mother might be illiterate and unable to write her name, which was why she hadn't come forward to register.

"Changlin told me I must support you. He said you're bound to make this endeavor a success and that working alongside you will bring in money."

After saying this, An Changlin's mother smacked her lips slightly, as if eager to convey her son's exact tone of voice with utmost precision.

Because his marriage engagement with He Feng had fallen through, An Changlin felt too embarrassed to show his face around Village Chief He after returning to the village.

Village Chief He, however, held no grudge over personal matters and wanted to put An Changlin in charge of security for the ginseng cultivation base. Xie Dayong had also expressed interest in heading the security, but Village Chief He had not agreed. An Changlin had yet to give a definitive answer, and the village chief hadn't approached anyone else in the meantime.

"Taohua, are you all off work so early today?"

Fan Lihua had waited outside the window for a while without seeing Li Taohua come out, and the women leaving the house walked past her toward the outside world as if she were invisible. Sensing something amiss, Fan Lihua hurried into the red brick house once the doorway was clear.

"Oh, Sister Chen is here! Taohua was just teaching us some techniques. I don't know many characters and didn't take notes, so Changlin is definitely going to scold me when I get back. Next time, I should just let him come and learn from Taohua."

An Changlin's mother greeted Fan Lihua with a smile.

Fan Lihua nodded and chuckled, waiting for Li Tian'er to explain the situation. The village women who had treated her like their own mother just two days ago were now treating her completely like air; this was definitely a bad sign.

"They didn't want to continue, so I'm going to do it myself."

"Taohua, our family is going to do it too."

An Changlin's mother quickly chimed in, and Li Tian'er nodded with a smile.

"What on earth is going on?"

Fan Lihua grew nervous. Before Li Tian'er could speak, An Changlin's mother gave a rough summary of what had just happened. Fan Lihua grew even more anxious, terrified that her daughter-in-law would not be able to handle such a large piece of land all by herself. If they lost money, Chen Yunchao would surely have to cover the losses, and it might turn into a bottomless pit. Having lived for the better part of her life, she had never once heard of anyone getting rich through farming.

It wasn't until she walked back home from the ginseng plantation that Fan Lihua remembered her original purpose in running off to find her daughter-in-law. By then, however, Li Tian'er had already laid eyes on Chen Haichao. Chen Haichao looked much better than when Fan Lihua had left the house; the skin on his face bore only a few dark marks, with not a trace left of the areas that had previously broken down and ulcerated.

"Taohua, why don't we just drop this cultivation farm? How can you possibly manage all by yourself!"

Fan Lihua hadn't enjoyed her dinner, and as soon as she finished eating, she went back to Li Tian'er's room to talk.

"I'll work with my sister-in-law."

Fan Haichao spoke as he pushed the door open, not realizing Chen Haichao was right behind him. Fearing his phrasing might be easily misunderstood, he immediately added that he would go work at the ginseng cultivation base. Having been through this illness, he had figured things out: no matter how vast the outside world might be, staying home was the only place that truly felt secure.

If he had gone out to work in the city all by himself this time, he probably wouldn't have survived; he might have died on some street corner without a soul notifying his family.

The next day, Chen Haichao accompanied Li Tian'er to the ginseng cultivation base. Li Tian'er went to the village committee office to pay the full contracting fee. She and Village Chief He signed a pledge stating that within one year, she would successfully build the ginseng cultivation base, generate profits, renovate the classrooms for the village primary school, and issue monthly living subsidies to elderly villagers over the age of sixty.