The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

The next morning, when Shopkeeper Cao opened the door to Yifengtang, he was shocked to see Ru Yue waiting at the door. "Hey, Miss Meng, what's wrong? Why are you waiting here so early in the morning?"

Meng Ruyue dragged Shopkeeper Cao into the store and headed straight for the back hall. Seeing no one inside, she pulled Shopkeeper Cao aside and asked, "Shopkeeper Cao, tell me the truth. Did you hide something from me that day?"

Shopkeeper Cao was completely baffled by Ru Yue's questions. Seeing her serious expression, he knew something serious must have happened. He was so frightened that his face turned pale. He asked tremblingly, "Miss Meng, what exactly happened? Please tell me clearly. Don't scare me!"

Seeing that he truly didn't understand, Ru Yue let him go. She poured herself a cup of tea at the table and drank it in one gulp. She took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking in a hoarse voice, "When you told me about the Resurrection Grass that day, I took it seriously. I prepared for a day and then went into the mountains. After three days and two nights of walking, I finally found the grass after a tremendous effort."

"Ah! You really found it? That's great!" Shopkeeper Cao said in surprise.

Ru Yue glared at Shopkeeper Cao with a look that said, "You've tricked me!", which frightened him again. "But the problem lies with this grass. I carefully picked it when I got it, thinking I'd made a fortune. I even went to great lengths to climb up and down the cliff. But when I got to the bottom, I found it was just a dead grass."

Ru Yue took out the grass and handed it to Shopkeeper Cao, "But before it was picked, it was clearly a grass like leek, with leaves that were light green on one side and dark green on the other, and petals that were red on one side and white on the other; the fruits were also different colors, but, but..." Ru Yue's face turned pale, and she didn't know whether she was scared or angry.

Shopkeeper Cao finally understood Ru Yue's intention and hurriedly explained, "Miss, you've truly wronged me. I only heard what the person who came looking for medicine said, and I thought I'd tell you since you were always going into the mountains. I never imagined something like this would happen."

"You really don't know?" Ru Yue confirmed again.

"I really didn't know. Lying to you will make me die a miserable death." Shopkeeper Cao swore an oath to prove his innocence.

"Then do you think this grass can be exchanged for money and reward?" Ru Yue asked nervously.

"Don't worry, young lady. They've left someone at the Yuelai Inn in town. I'll go and ask around. I'll let you know if I have any news."

"Okay, that's perfect. I'll go back to the village and wait for your news." Ru Yue said goodbye to Manager Cao and left Yifengtang with the dry grass.

Ru Yue did not rush back to the village. She wandered around the town and bought a lot of food before returning home leisurely.

Before she even got home, she ran into He Erkui's wife. Ru Yue hurried over and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you here to look for me?"

"That's right. I made a few sets of clothes and sent them to you so that you would have something to change into. Anping said you went to town, so I thought of coming over later and letting you try them all on. If they don't fit, I'll alter them." Erkui's wife said naggingly.

"It's still early to make lunch. If you're free, come back with me and we can try it together."

"Okay, then let's go back quickly." Erkui's wife urged hurriedly.

Erkui's wife's craftsmanship was truly amazing. All four of them were dressed in new clothes from head to toe, and they fit perfectly in size. They were all very happy, and Ru Yue hurriedly paid sixty cents.

In the afternoon, Ru Yue and Chu Ning'an brought a pack of tea, two packs of snacks, and a piece of pork to Meng Jianshan's house as a thank-you gift. They were chatting about yesterday's events, talking about how unkind the Meng family were, when An Ping ran over to Ru Yue, breathless, "Sister, a lot of people came from town. They said they have something urgent to talk to you about."

"What happened? Why are there people coming to town?" Meng Jianshan's wife, Jiang, was startled. "Dad, go with the kids and make sure they don't get bullied."

Patriarch Meng also stood up and wanted to follow.

"Uncle, grandpa is fine. I've been going into the mountains to collect herbs and set traps. This morning I went to town to see if anyone had placed an order, but he wasn't there. I guess he heard about it and came looking for me." Ru Yue explained hurriedly, "Don't worry, you two elders. If there's anything, I'll let Anping come find you."

Ru Yue thought that it might be Manager Cao who had found out the truth of the matter and came to find her, so she said goodbye to the headman and his family and hurried back home.

Before reaching home, Ru Yue saw that the courtyard was full of people. To be exact, it was Shopkeeper Cao who led a group of people and surrounded two elderly people, one fat and one thin, waiting there. Ru Yue and Chu Ning'an quickened their pace and rushed over.

"Where have you been busy, Miss Meng?" Shopkeeper Cao greeted Ru Yue and winked at her.

"Manager Cao is here. A few days ago, I went into the mountains and asked the elders of the tribe to help look after my younger brother and sister-in-law. Today, when I'm free, I sent some gifts to express my gratitude." Ru Yue thought about the purpose of these people's visit and led the conversation to that.

As expected, the fat old man with a benevolent face walked up to Ru Yue and asked, "Little girl, can you really pick that magical herb? Can you take it out and show it to me?"

Ru Yue looked at the fat old man and then at Manager Cao.

"This is Mr. Qin who offered a reward for the herb. Please bring the herb here." Shopkeeper Cao introduced.

Ru Yue nodded in agreement and quickly walked towards the straw hut. She took the dry grass and handed it over, but she didn't expect that it was taken over by another thin old man with a bit of immortal air.

The old man looked at the hay over and over for a long time, then asked Ru Yue, "Little girl, what did it look like before you picked it? Would you like to tell me in detail?"

Ru Yue looked at the skinny old man and felt that he was the one who had the final say among these people. She quickly calmed down and answered carefully, "I saw this grass on a cliff with a cold pond waterfall. I don't know how high I climbed at the time, but I saw two leek-like grasses growing on the side near the waterfall. One had light green leaves like snow, and the other had dark green like ink. One had bright red petals like blood, and the other had petals like jade-white like solidified fat. The tips of the leaves held two dewdrop-like fruits, one gold and one silver. They felt half icy and piercing to the touch, and half as warm as jade. I thought I would just pull one down anyway, but I didn't expect it to be like this on the ground."

"You mean there's one tree you haven't picked yet?" the thin old man asked in surprise.

"Yeah, didn't they say you'd get one hundred gold for one tree? What's the point of picking two?" Ru Yue pretended to be stupid.

"That's great, Mr. Qin, this is really God's blessing!" The thin old man suddenly looked grateful, and the fat old man was also very surprised.

"Little girl, are you willing to go and pick the remaining plant? I will give you one hundred gold." The fat old man said directly to Ru Yue without any extra words.

Ru Yue looked at the fat old man, then at her younger brother and sister-in-law, and finally shook her head and said, "You all have seen the situation in my family, and I won't hide it from you. I originally wanted to exchange the grass for money to improve my family's financial situation and support my younger brother and sister-in-law, but the grass I exchanged my life for is just so-so." Ru Yue stretched out her hand wrapped like a rice dumpling, pointed at the grass and said angrily, "I don't want to go. Although money is good, you have to have a life to spend it. I hope you can forgive me."

"Just go, girl. This time, as long as you bring back the grass, I will give you a reward." The fat old man said in a good-tempered manner.

"This is the grass, you didn't give me any reward?" Ru Yue said innocently, "If you pick the same grass next time, I still won't get any reward."

"I'll bring you two things this time. As long as you do as I say, the grass won't change." The thin old man also started to persuade.

"Thank you two elders for your consideration. I really can't go. You don't want Cao Cai now that he is back, so why should I go again? I know I am poor and my life is worthless, but you can see that I still have younger brothers and sisters to support. I really can't afford to die!" Ru Yue looked pitiful.

"Please don't make things difficult for my family, Ru Yue. She almost died when she fell off a cliff while gathering herbs. Please just take pity on her and don't make things difficult for her." Chu Ning'an understood Ru Yue's intentions and refused. "You said it yourself, this is the spiritual herb. We won't be greedy. We'll just take the reward money."

The two children also understood and cried, refusing to let their sister go into the mountains to collect spiritual herbs again.

There was a sudden commotion at the gate of the courtyard, as if these people were bullying a few children. Gradually, more villagers gathered around and pointed at them, which made the two old men even more embarrassed, but they could do nothing about it.

The two old men looked at each other, saw the determination to win in each other's eyes, and nodded to each other.

"Little girl, can you please spare me a moment to talk?" the fat old man said to Ru Yue.

Ru Yue glanced at Chu Ning'an, and the two of them opened the wooden door and invited the two old men into the courtyard.

"Little girl, let's be frank. We are determined to get this magical herb. The one you brought back has lost its medicinal effect due to improper placement, so we have to trouble you to pick another one." The fat old man didn't beat around the bush.

"Old man, you speak the truth. I won't hide anything. This grass will be like this no matter who picks it. You two should have thought of it a long time ago. I did it according to your requirements, but there was such a mistake. Logically, the medicine has lost its efficacy. It's reasonable for you not to want it. I have nothing to say, but this is what I paid for with my life. I don't want to take the risk again." Ru Yue said the most honest words but she was able to judge people's hearts. After all, whoever is impatient will lose.

"Little girl, if you agree to help us pick the other grass, I will give you the reward for this one first. When you find the other grass, we will definitely give you the other reward with both hands. We will never go back on our word. What do you think?" The fat old man said it directly without hesitation.

"That's not necessary," Chu Ning'an said, pretending to refuse. "Ru Yue is right. No matter how good the money is, you need to be alive to spend it."

"Old man, please don't do it. It's as if we are deliberately taking advantage of you two. I am really scared. You only see the wounds on my hands. I have countless scratches and bruises on my body. Money is useful, but you only have one life. Otherwise, you should think of other ways." In her previous life, Ru Yue was an iron lady who was adept at business. Her flexibility in negotiation in the business world was definitely not comparable to others, although the methods of this fat old man also showed a bit of sophistication.

"Little girl, just do us a favor. A very important person in my family has contracted an incurable disease, and that herb is absolutely necessary to cure him. We are indeed waiting for that herb to save him. As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. You two should just do a good deed today and help this old man." The fat old man took out a silver note worth one thousand taels and handed it over.

Ru Yue and Chu Ning'an looked at each other, understood each other's meaning, and took the banknote reluctantly. "Since the old man said so, we will go into the mountain again. But you have seen the grass. If we leave the cliff..." Ru Yue said embarrassedly.

The thin old man didn't answer, but shouted to the outside of the door: "Ada, bring the things in."

A short, stocky boy came in, carrying a large package. He bowed to the two old men and said, "Master, I've placed your things on the bed."

Without waiting for the old man to answer, he put down the package and turned to walk out.

The thin old man opened the package, revealing two jade boxes, one red and one white. He said to Ru Yue and the others, "After picking this grass, separate it immediately. The light green half should be placed in the white cold jade box to preserve its cold properties, and the dark green half should be placed in the red blazing jade box to maintain its heat. This grass must be used as medicine within a hundred days of picking, otherwise it will lose all its efficacy. So, you two must hurry back after picking the grass. We need to take it to the capital to use as medicine."

Ru Yue and Chu Ning'an both nodded in agreement.

"Saving lives is like putting out a fire. After you two pick the herbs, you can send them directly to Lanyue Villa in the north of the town. We will be waiting for you there. You can hand over the money and the herbs at the same time." The fat old man explained the follow-up matters.

"Old man, the last time we went into the mountains, we wasted time searching along the way, so it took us five days to return. This time, we are familiar with the route, so we should be back in four days. We will set off tomorrow, and you two can bring someone to pick it up in four days. This will be safer and faster. What do you think?"

The two old men nodded in agreement, and the matter was settled.

Before leaving, the fat old man suddenly walked up to Chu Ning'an and looked at him carefully for a long time, then said, "You look so familiar, little brother. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Chu Ning'an was secretly shocked but remained calm on the surface. He smiled and replied, "The old man must have recognized the wrong person. I am just a country boy. How could I recognize a wealthy old man like you?"

The fat old man still frowned and thought carefully, "Have you ever been to the capital?"

Chu Ning'an smiled and shook his head.

"Why does he look so familiar? Where have I seen him before?" The fat old man thought like a madman, and he became confused.

The thin old man couldn't bear it any longer and tried to persuade him, "The world is vast and there are many similar people. Why do you have to be confused by this?" He pulled him out of the yard.

"Mr. Shen, you see this young man everywhere, but can such appearance and bearing be cultivated in the mountains?" The fat old man's eyes were sharp and he pointed out the key point at once.

Chu Ning'an listened from afar and became uneasy. All of this fell into Ru Yue's eyes.