Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

Jingshi is a mountain city in southern China, situated in the transition zone between the Huangshan and Huaiyu Mountains and the Poyang Lake Plain. Its terrain is high on all sides and low in the middle, resembling a basin. The area is characterized by undulating mountains. To the northeast lies the Huangshan Mountains, surrounded by towering peaks and steep slopes; to the southeast is the northern slope of Huaiyu Mountains, with undulating ridges, generally ranging from 250 to 400 meters in altitude, with the highest peak, Wugujian, reaching 1618 meters.

In some mountains in Jiang Province, at altitudes of 2000-3000 meters, there is a suitable geographical environment for ginseng to grow. Later news reports indicated that a nearly 100-pound "Asian ginseng" was discovered in a certain place in Jiang Province.

Master Liu once said that when he was a child, he and his grandfather were picking herbs on Nanshan Mountain when they unexpectedly discovered a wild "Asian ginseng" - kudzu root. It took them almost a day to carry it home. This kudzu root had already transformed into human form and weighed 98.4 jin (44.2 catties).

Although large areas of wild Codonopsis pilosula have been found in some parts of Giang Province, such as the Grand Canyon, this is not the same as wild ginseng. And while wild kudzu root from Giang Province is known as "Asian ginseng," it is a different plant from wild ginseng.

Wild ginseng is mainly distributed in the Changbai Mountain area, but the climate and geographical conditions of Jingshi are not suitable for its growth. Therefore, the possibility of finding wild ginseng in Jingshi is extremely low.

Huai'an thought to herself that a low probability didn't mean it was completely impossible. She gazed at the ginseng roots in her hand and fell into deep thought...

As soon as Saturday arrived, Shi Huai'an dragged Gu Jingxing out for a hike! The fewer people who knew about the ginseng digging, the better, mainly to fool his parents and find an excuse to bring the sewing machine home so they wouldn't suspect anything. Gu Jingxing was the perfect partner, very tight-lipped, and blindly protective of his little sister. Whether helping to cover up the lie or going along with it, he would never betray her—that was what Huai'an valued most!

Shi Huai'an carried a schoolbag with Fatty Orange sitting inside, while Gu Jingxing pedaled his bicycle. They set off happily towards Nanshan, laughing and chatting all the way.

As they walked through the bustling, crowded streets, Chung Han-che was idly hanging out with Liu Hui, a petty hoodlum.

Zhong Hanzhe inadvertently caught a glimpse of Shi Huai'an sitting comfortably in the back seat of Gu Jingxing's car as he passed by. Instantly, Zhong Hanzhe's originally fair and handsome face turned incredibly gloomy, like the sky before a storm, frighteningly dark. Seeing this, Liu Hui, standing beside him, felt a tightness in his chest and became even more cautious.

Liu Hui dropped out of school after fifth grade and has been idle ever since, spending his days loitering on the streets with a group of equally lazy hooligans. He had even clashed with Zhong Hanzhe a few times before, but each time he ended up losing. Therefore, Liu Hui dared not be the slightest bit negligent in the face of Zhong Hanzhe's grim expression.

Today, Zhong Hanzhe approached Liu Hui, saying he wanted to discuss making money together. This immediately piqued Liu Hui's interest, as he had always longed to make money but was unwilling to work hard and lacked connections.

Zhong Hanzhe took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitated emotions, and then slowly said, "I have a way to make money that I can share with you. However, there's a prerequisite: you have to follow my instructions. After all, I still have to go to school, so you'll have to handle the actual operations. If we really manage to open up this money-making path, we'll split the profits fifty-fifty. Of course, if you think that's unfair or you're unwilling to do it, then there's no need for us to continue talking." After saying this, Zhong Hanzhe stared intently at Liu Hui, waiting for his response.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hui's previously dull eyes instantly lit up, and he became excited. Almost without thinking, he took a few steps forward and stared intently at Zhong Hanzhe, asking, "Oh my, what's the method? Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me quickly!"

Zhong Hanzhe calmly looked at Liu Hui, who was looking anxious, and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips as he said, "Hehe, you have to agree to one condition before I can tell you the inside story. And I have to make it clear beforehand that if this works out, I will definitely not treat you unfairly. But if you accidentally leak the news and ruin my plans, then don't blame me for turning against you without mercy."

After hearing this, Liu Hui hesitated for a moment, wondering to himself whether the plan was reliable or not. However, thinking about the possibility of making a lot of money, he gritted his teeth and decided to take the gamble. So he said, "Okay, a 50/50 split, right? Is it really that good? Okay, I agree."

Seeing that Liu Hui had agreed, Zhong Hanzhe nodded in satisfaction and continued to explain, "You don't need to doubt me. I still have to go to school, and I simply don't have that much time to manage these matters. But you're different. You're idle all day anyway, and you have a group of brothers under your command. If it weren't for your loyalty, I wouldn't have asked you for help."

He paused, looked intently at Liu Hui, and continued, "I recently discovered that there's a group of kids in our alley who collect coal cinders every day to sell. They can get about three cents a pound. You should know about this, right?"

Liu Hui suddenly realized: "You mean this? Of course I know. Some kids in the alley also collect it to exchange for money to supplement their families' income. If no one buys it, they can burn the coal ash for heating in winter. But it's too much trouble, dirty and tiring. You can't collect much even after a whole day, and you have to compete with other people. It's quite troublesome. You're not asking me to do this, are you? I won't do this. It's too tiring. You treat me like a brother and trust me, so I won't ruin your plans."

Zhong Hanzhe said, "I asked around and found out that you can sell it yourself without the middleman for 12 cents a pound, but you can't sell too little each time."

Liu Hui's eyes widened: "Really? Such a big difference? If I pick them up and sell them, I still have to give you 50%? I'd only get 5 cents a pound then, buddy. It's not that I don't think it's a good idea, it's just too tiring. If I pick up 10 pounds, my back will break."

Zhong Hanzhe patiently explained, "You don't need to pick them up yourself. You can gather these people together and buy their coal slag for three cents or three and a half cents, then sell it in bulk to make a profit. I can help you on weekends, but you'll have to keep an eye on the collection during the week."

Liu Hui was overjoyed: "Dude, you're really smart to have thought of this. But we don't have the capital to make the acquisition. My pocket money isn't enough either."

Zhong Hanzhe thought that such tricks were nothing in later generations, but business opportunities had to be discovered by oneself. He said, "It's okay. You can set the price at three and a half cents first, attract them to weigh the coal slag they collected and give it to you on credit. After we sell it, we will give them the money according to the bill. You can charge less in the first week. I estimate we can negotiate down to 11 cents per pound. But this kind of thing must be kept secret. I have a cart at home. I will take the cart and go with you to sell it on the weekend."

"Oh dear, will we get arrested for doing this? Would this be considered speculation?" Liu Hui rubbed his hands together excitedly, but a hint of worry showed in his eyes. His voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating his uncertainty.

Seeing this, Zhong Hanzhe patted Liu Hui on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We're only thirteen years old, still minors! Even if something really happens, at most we'll just get a warning. But we have to be careful. First, when you buy things, make sure to find people you know well and tell them beforehand to agree on a story. Tell them that because they're young, we're helping them sell these things purely out of kindness, saying our families are poor and can't afford tuition, and we're doing this to earn money for our studies. If the supervision is strict, then stop immediately and don't make it too obvious. Also, make sure they don't tell anyone about this, otherwise it will implicate their parents, and then they definitely won't dare to say anything. Of course, if we're unlucky enough to get caught, then none of us are allowed to betray each other. Just say we wanted to earn some tuition money, understand?"

Liu Hui nodded repeatedly. He knew that Zhong Hanzhe was smart and ruthless. He was both a little afraid of Zhong Hanzhe and admired him. Zhong Hanzhe had been the leader of this group of kids since he was a child and knew them very well. The reason he chose Liu Hui was because although he was a coward and not very smart, he was loyal and valued friendship and would not betray his friends.

In his previous life, Liu Hui was arrested in the 1970s for exchanging cloth coupons on the black market. In order not to betray his friends, he took the blame for speculation and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Without a doubt, Zhong Hanzhe never considered taking any risks. After all, for him, making a living by running around with those underage kids and earning ten or twenty yuan a month was enough. This way, he could not only support himself but also save a little money in case of unforeseen circumstances.

You see, he's been reborn and returned to this world! Having experienced a life-or-death experience, he understands the cruelty and ruthlessness of the law of the jungle perfectly. Therefore, no matter what, he must carefully avoid all potential risks and ensure a stable life in this complex and unpredictable world. Only in this way can he truly control the reins of his own destiny and remain unaffected by external storms.

After finishing his business with Liu Hui, Zhong Hanzhe was brimming with confidence, but then he thought of Gu Jingxing—what an utterly detestable fellow! Just seeing his face felt like a million ants were crawling all over his mind; he was truly an eyesore! And this guy was always oblivious to Huai'an's feelings, like a persistent ghost, utterly unbearable! How could this continue? No, he absolutely couldn't just sit and wait to die; he had to find a way to teach him a lesson, show him what he was made of, so he'd know his place and stay far away from Huai'an from now on! Otherwise, even if Gu Jingxing joined the army two years later, he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of his harassment and pestering.

However, let's leave aside what Zhong Hanzhe was thinking.

Meanwhile, Huai'an and Gu Jingxing took advantage of the clear and pleasant weather to go hiking in the mountains. The air on the mountain was incredibly fresh, making them feel relaxed and refreshed; the surrounding trees were lush and verdant. There, they saw Duo Duo, the chubby orange cat, running and leaping happily among the grass, sometimes chasing a nimble little rabbit, sometimes pouncing on the chirping birds, having a wonderful time!

When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, Huai'an's eyes lit up with a sudden idea. She said loudly to Gu Jingxing, "Brother Jingxing, how about we grill something to eat? Go and gather some firewood." Gu Jingxing, unsuspecting, readily agreed and led Pangju and Duoduo deeper into the forest.

Seeing Gu Jingxing walk away, Huai'an quickly found a quiet, secluded, and shady corner. She took out a small, exquisite iron rake from her personal storage space and swiftly and skillfully began digging a pit. In no time, she had dug one or two shallow holes. Then, she carefully took out three small ginseng roots she had prepared beforehand, gently buried them in the holes, and covered them with some fine sand and soil. After everything was arranged properly, Huai'an clapped her hands in satisfaction.

Just then, Gu Jingxing returned carrying a large bundle of firewood. Before he even got close, Huai'an excitedly shouted, "Oh my, Brother Jingxing, come and see! I actually found ginseng!" Her voice was full of surprise and excitement, as if it were truly an unexpected joy.

Gu Jingxing came running over, staring wide-eyed for a long while before exclaiming in surprise, "We've never heard of anyone digging up ginseng around here! What incredible luck did you have?" He frowned, his face full of suspicion, and said, "Where are the leaves and those red berries? I read in a book that the part of ginseng above ground should be small red berries..."

Hearing this, Huai'an pretended to be very suspicious, looking left and right and muttering to himself, but quickly interrupted him: "Maybe it was eaten by those wild rabbits. When I found it, this place was already trampled into a mess."

However, Huai'an didn't seem to care about Gu Jingxing's reaction, and then started muttering to herself, "I plan to sell one of the ginseng roots so I can buy my mother a sewing machine; I'll give another one to Master Liu as a thank-you gift; and the last one will be for my parents to make tea. What do you think of my plan?"

Seeing Huai'an's excited expression, Gu Jingxing didn't say anything more, but just smiled and replied, "Alright, when we get home we'll have Master Liu appraise it properly and see how much it's worth. But don't get your hopes up too high, what if we've mistaken it for something else, and it's not ginseng at all?"

Hehe... Huai'an chuckled as he carefully put the ginseng into his schoolbag, then he and Gu Jingxing built a makeshift stove. Like magic, they pulled out corn and sweet potatoes from their schoolbags to roast. Huai'an gave Fatty Orange Duo a wink, and Duo immediately understood. A moment later, Duo returned with a pheasant in its beak. This startled Gu Jingxing, who hugged Fatty Orange tightly, excitedly shouting, "What kind of magical cat is this? This is a dog! I've never heard of a cat catching chickens!"

Huai'an chuckled and said, "That's because you're ignorant. My Duoduo isn't just any cat; it's the King of Cats."

Duo Duo licked its paws and meowed. Gu Jingxing found a muddy spot and covered the pheasant in mud. He dug a hole near the fire and buried the mud-covered pheasant inside. Then he added firewood and roasted it.

Huai'an deliberately sighed and said, "Duoduo, if we could catch a few more chickens, we could make chicken soup for Mom. Wild pheasant soup must be very nourishing, right?"

Duo Duo immediately understood and disappeared into the woods without looking back.

Gu Jingxing joked, "Haha, did it really understand?"

Huai'an winked at him mischievously, and after a while, Duoduo really did throw another pheasant over, which shocked Gu Jingxing.

Huai'an burst into laughter, exclaiming, "I was so stupid to worry about eating meat. If I had known it could be done this way, I would have brought Duoduo to the mountains to catch chickens more often."

The chubby orange cat, exhausted from carrying another chicken, collapsed on the ground, meowing, "So tired!"

Gu Jingxing thought he was hallucinating. He shook his head, looked around, and felt that nothing was real...