Journey to the West: The Immortal Clan Begins by Feeding Monkeys at Five Elements Mountain

Chapter 15 A small profit

Three days after the steel fork was forged, Liu Family Village sent people to collect it.

Two servants arrived, dressed plainly, with dull expressions, and walked without making a sound.

The two of them were quite decisive. They silently circled the steel fork, tested its weight and feel, and then put down a heavy money bag.

Together they lifted the half-zhang steel fork out and walked away silently along the mountain path.

Once the figures disappeared into the distant mountains, Tang the blacksmith bent down and fished out a small money bag from the side of the furnace.

I dusted it off and placed it next to the big bag.

That was the deposit paid by the Liu family.

Two money bags lay side by side on the ground, gleaming silver and dazzlingly white.

Tang the blacksmith simply sat cross-legged on the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, rubbed the calluses on his rough hands, and began to tally the accounts.

"The total is one hundred and fifty taels."

He kept his head down, not even lifting his eyelids.

"After deducting the cost of sixty taels for pig iron and charcoal, ninety taels are left. Brother, you've done a great job this time, so I won't give you empty promises; I'll give you twenty percent."

As he spoke, he pulled out eighteen taels from the pile of money and pushed it in front of Jiang Yi.

This gift is quite substantial in the village.

For ordinary laborers, earning a hundred or eighty coins a day is considered a blessing.

But this time Jiang Yi was no ordinary man. With a single swing of his arm, he delivered hundreds of blows, equivalent to the strength of three strong laborers.

Jiang Yi exchanged a few polite words, but he knew in his heart that Tang the blacksmith had really earned a good deal this time, so he didn't refuse any more, and the money was indeed in his pocket.

"If you have another job like this, Brother Tang, don't forget to call me."

He laughed and said something, then dusted off his knees and turned to hurry home.

On this trip, without going up mountains or venturing into danger, he earned eighteen taels of silver simply by relying on his own strength.

If they were toiling in the fields, it would probably take them two or three years to collect this much.

Jiang Yi glanced down at the cloth bag at his waist, raised his hand and patted it lightly, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes.

These days, artisans with solid skills do live a more respectable life than farmers.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that such a big job might only come around once every three to five years, so I wasn't so proud of myself.

He turned back home, showed the silver to Xiulian, and put it back in the same old place, storing it securely.

After catching my breath, my feet were still warm, so I decided to go out again and head to Dr. Li's pharmacy.

Li Langzhong was dozing off when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw it was him, but didn't ask any questions.

"It's the same medicine as last time, but this time the heat needs to be lower and the medicine should be milder, not too strong."

Jiang Yi spoke succinctly, and Physician Li simply stroked his beard and nodded in agreement.

There was still some medicine left over from last time, and it was all wrapped up in no time.

Before leaving, Jiang Yi casually asked one more question:

"Do you have a recipe for a medicinal bath that can be used on infants?"

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

His youngest daughter, Jiang Xi, had been practicing breathing exercises with her mother since she was in the womb.

In terms of innate talent and aptitude, he is probably the most solid among the next generation of the Jiang family.

Upon hearing this, Physician Li stroked his beard and smiled, but shook his head.

"I've heard of that before, but my skills aren't good enough to replicate it."

Then he sighed again:
"Besides, all medicines have some degree of toxicity. Medicines that can be used on infants under one year old without causing any harm are naturally not cheap."

"Don't even think about it if you don't have tens or hundreds of taels of silver."

Jiang Yi nodded, not at all disappointed, as if he had expected it.

He casually added another old ginseng to the shelf, paid for it along with the medicine packet, and then turned and left.

With a slingshot over his shoulder and the wind beneath his feet, he returned home and immediately started brewing medicine.

The soup pot simmered for two hours, filling the entire room with the aroma of herbs.

As usual, it was divided into two buckets, one for the two boys to use for making bubbles, and the other to be kept in their own bedroom.

This time, the two brothers squatted in the same bucket, which was a bit crowded, but it was also quite lively.

Jiang Ming was sweating profusely from soaking in the water, and still wanted to ask a few more questions, but Jiang Yi shut him up with a single sentence, so he had no choice but to remain silent.

After settling in, Jiang Yi returned to his bedroom and casually bolted the door shut.

The couple exchanged a glance and immediately understood that now was the perfect time to strengthen their bodies.

Before long, the effects of the medicine wore off, and both rooms became noisy.

The next day, as dawn broke, all four members of the family were full of energy. Xiulian, in particular, looked as if she had been covered in morning dew; the fatigue from her postpartum period had vanished, and she walked with a brisk, energetic stride.

If it weren't for the fact that she was already a mother of three, her neighbors might mistake her for a newlywed.

Jiang Yi also inquired about Li Langzhong's details yesterday.

This medicinal bath is mild and gentle, making it ideal for building a strong foundation and nourishing the spirit.

While frequent soaking may not produce immediate and remarkable effects, its advantage lies in its long-lasting and profound effects.

Once every two weeks, this is the most righteous method.

A packet of medicine costs 500 coins, and it's used twice a month. Even including the cost of ginseng and chicken soup, it only costs a little over one tael of silver.

In the past, we might have had to think twice.

Now that Jiang Yi has some money to spare, he was straightforward and immediately ordered a six-month supply of medicine.

After breakfast, Jiang Yi went out as usual.

I plan to walk along the edge of the field to check on the growth of the wheat seedlings.

Some dew fell last night, and when the sun shines on them, the tips of the leaves still glisten.

But before they had gone far, their pace suddenly slowed down.

The atmosphere in the village is very strange.

It was unusually quiet; even the roosters crowed softly, and the dogs didn't bark.

Jiang Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he casually grabbed a passing man and asked him a question.

The other person lowered their voice and replied with only five words:

"Something happened on the mountain."

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that several young men who had gone hunting in the mountains had fallen into the trap.

One died, and two were injured.

Jiang Yi recognized these men; they were all well-known "veterans" in the village.

Having spent years traversing mountains and forests, I've seen it all.

Even if they were to encounter ordinary tigers, leopards, jackals, or wolves, with their skills, they should be able to escape unscathed, if not kill them.

This time, however, three were lost, which is really strange.

Jiang Yi paused, no longer caring about what was happening in the fields.

He turned around, went back into the house, changed into a plain gray dress, and then went to the house where the incident had occurred.

At the entrance, white mourning clothes were already hung up, swaying gently in the wind.

There were people inside and outside the courtyard, some helping out, others quietly serving tea and water. They were busy, but it wasn't chaotic.

They spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid of startling something.

Jiang Yi didn't squeeze in; he just stood there quietly.

Without even opening my mouth, I could hear the low murmurs of conversation all around me.

Hearing one sentence after another, he pieced together the gist of it.

It is said that when those men went hunting in the mountains, they saw a large wild ox in the distance, plump and strong, with its hooves swaying in the wind.

Several seasoned veterans' eyes lit up, and they immediately recognized it as a windfall.

The bison were fierce and fought for most of the hour before finally managing to trap them, and it seemed like they were about to succeed.

Suddenly, with a rustling sound, a tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead leaped out of the forest, followed by a large black bear.

Seeing this, the group knew they couldn't save the ox, so they simply gave up and accepted their fate, thinking that if the tiger and bear fought to the death, they might be able to salvage the situation.

But the strange thing is precisely this place.

The tiger and the bear didn't even glance at the ox; they turned around and charged straight at the man.

This scene... few have ever seen it before.

Normally, in the mountains, no matter if it's a tiger, bear, or wolf, people would give way if they saw a lot of people.

Now it's like they've set their sights on a few of them, determined to bite them to death and chase them relentlessly.

The group fought and retreated, managing to hold off the enemy for a while, but not for long.

Even though they were used to fighting in the mountains, one of them was killed and two others were injured before they finally scrambled down the mountain.

Strangely enough, the group rolled all the way to the mountain pass in front of Liangjie Village.

The tiger and bear suddenly stopped, ceased their pursuit, and turned away.

Otherwise, it's likely that more than one person would have perished this time.

(End of this chapter)