Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

Several wild boars sniffed around, and only returned to the field in twos and threes after confirming there was no danger.

Zhao Lei held his breath, raised his gun, and aimed. "Ready, listen for my shot..."

Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened!

Bang... Bang... Bang!!

Suddenly, a series of chaotic gunshots rang out simultaneously from all around.

Let alone wild boars, Zhao Lei and the others were all startled.

"Damn! Who fired the shot?"

"The gunshots came from somewhere else, not from us."

"Oh no! The wild boar is startled and about to run away!"

The wild boar, which had just returned to the farmland, was startled again. It squealed and turned to flee into the dense forest, disappearing completely in the blink of an eye...

Upon seeing this, Zhao Lei let out a long sigh.

Harmful!

"Damn it!"

Qin Bowen also suddenly stood up, grabbed a flashlight, and shone it in the direction of the gunshot.

Wow!

A beam of white light swept across a grove of low trees a hundred meters away, illuminating seven or eight figures.

The leader, hands on his hips, peered this way; it was none other than Zhao Chenghu!

"Damn it, it's Zhao Chenghu again!"

Qin Bowen flew into a rage and was about to charge forward with his hunting rifle in hand.

Zhao Lei grabbed his arm: "Bowen, don't be impulsive."

Qin Bowen stamped his foot in frustration: "Brother-in-law, didn't you see? Zhao Chenghu and his gang did it on purpose. They couldn't catch any wild boar themselves, so they came here specifically to ruin our good time."

Even with his good temper, Qin Dashan muttered to himself, "These sons of bitches!"

Looking at the empty farmland, Wang Zongbao's initial joy turned into frustration: "Damn it! The wild boars we finally managed to get back, they've all scared them away."

Zhao Lei stared at Zhao Chenghu's figure in the distance, his eyes filled with resentment.

Zhao Chenghu, having just suffered a setback, dared not make a move, so he resorted to these underhanded and disgusting tricks.

There's no way to harvest these crops tonight.

"Damn! Let's call it a day."

Zhao Lei turned around and said, "Bowen, Dashan, and Gou Dan, you three carry the wild boar back to the oxcart and tie it up. Wait for me to come back."

Qin Dashan was taken aback: "Lei Zi, what are you going to do?"

Zhao Lei pulled out a machete from his waist: "I'll go check out the woods where those wild boars went. The low-lying, damp soil there is churned up badly, like a regular den for wild boars."

I'll sneak in and scout ahead. If I can find where they're hiding, I'll take them out tomorrow night!

Qin Bowen hurriedly said, "Brother-in-law, I'll go with you."

"No need, you stay and help move the pigs. I can be quicker on my own."

After saying that, Zhao Lei picked up his machete and strode towards the woods where the wild boar had disappeared.

The woods were dimly lit, with dense foliage overhead blocking out most of the moonlight.

The soil underfoot was soft and damp, making a squelching sound when you stepped on it.

Zhao Lei slowed his pace, holding a flashlight in one hand and gripping a machete tightly in the other, carefully scanning the ground.

The wild boars had just fled in fright, leaving fresh and clear footprints in the damp mud, stretching deep into the forest.

He followed the hoofprints for about ten minutes. The terrain ahead became increasingly low-lying, with a thick layer of decaying leaves that could almost sink up to his ankles when stepped on.

The air began to fill with a strong, earthy smell, mixed with the stench of decaying vegetation.

"Based on the habits of wild boars, this is very likely near their den."

Zhao Lei looked down and examined it carefully.

The soil here was found to be turned upside down and in disarray, with large patches of decaying leaves being lifted up to reveal the dark brown, damp soil underneath.

This is clearly an area where wild boars frequently come to forage.

He was squatting down to look at the direction of the hoofprints when his right foot suddenly sank down and stepped on something hard.

Zhao Lei bent down and brushed aside the rotten leaves and mud at his feet. When he shone his flashlight down, an oval-shaped root was revealed in the mud.

Upon closer inspection, the skin is rough and wrinkled, appearing grayish-brown and about the size of an adult's palm.

Zhao Lei reached out and pried it out, then held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand.

He held the flashlight up to examine it closely.

The rhizome is plump with fine ring patterns on the surface, and one end still has dried stem scars.

Zhao Lei's pupils contracted.

He recognizes this thing!

When I was a child, I went hunting in the mountains with my grandfather. He specifically pointed it out to me, saying it was a highly nutritious natural medicinal herb.

Gastrodia elata!

Wild Gastrodia elata!

Zhao Lei's heart skipped a beat.

Squat down and carefully dig away the surrounding decaying leaves and soil with a machete.

The more they dug, the more alarmed they became. Underneath this patch of muddy ground, there were countless oval tubers of varying sizes, clustered together in groups of at least twenty or thirty.

Zhao Lei grinned and laughed out loud.

"Wow, there are so many wild gastrodia elata?"

Wild boars like to root around in the wet, rotten leaf litter, and Gastrodia elata happens to thrive in this kind of deep, humus-rich soil.

"The wild boar dug up the ground, which inadvertently brought the gastrodia elata buried deep inside to the shallows, allowing me to stumble upon a great bargain!"

"This is worth much more than wild boar meat!"

Zhao Lei looked up and around. The flashlight beam swept across a radius of several dozen steps, revealing traces of wild boars digging up the ground everywhere.

Zhao Lei picked up a machete and began to dig along the area where the wild boar had dug.

Every time you peel back a handful of rotten leaves, you're sure to find one or two Gastrodia elata tubers underneath, all of uniform size and in excellent condition.

He dug with increasing enthusiasm, having long forgotten about chasing wild boars, and focused all his attention on this patch of wild gastrodia elata.

The eastern horizon was faintly turning white; dawn was approaching.

With a gentle pry from the mud, a plump Gastrodia elata rolled out from the tip of the knife.

Zhao Lei dug with increasing vigor, panting heavily but not bothering to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, the pile of gastrodia elata in front of me had shrunk into a small heap, weighing at least thirty or forty pounds.

He crawled forward a dozen more steps to make sure there were no more tubers left within a radius of several dozen feet before finally straightening up.

Zhao Lei looked down at the pile of grayish-brown gastrodia tubers in front of him, then grinned as he leaned on his machete.

"What a windfall!"

In the 21st century, wild Gastrodia elata can sell for several hundred yuan per kilogram in the medicinal herb market.

In this day and age, it's an even rarer commodity. Traditional Chinese medicine shops and supply and marketing cooperatives are scrambling to buy it, and it can sell for at least twenty yuan per kilogram.

Factory workers in the city only earn twenty or thirty yuan a month, but this pound of gastrodia elata is worth a month's wages for them.

Zhao Lei estimated that the pile in front of him weighed at least forty or fifty pounds.

"It's time to go back!"

By this time, it was already broad daylight, and birds were chirping all over the woods.

Zhao Lei carried the bag and walked back along the same route.

From afar, one could see the oxcart already prepared under the old mulberry tree.

Qin Dashan was checking the tightness of the rope, Qin Bowen was squatting on the cart shaft eating a dry biscuit, and Wang Zongbao was leaning against a tree stump yawning.

The three people turned around at the same time upon hearing footsteps.

Qin Dashan looked Zhao Lei up and down: "Leizi, why are you only coming back now? We've been waiting for you for ages."

Qin Bowen jumped off the cart, his eyes immediately fixed on the large bag Zhao Lei was carrying on his shoulder. Curious, he leaned closer and asked, "Brother-in-law, what are you carrying?"

Zhao Lei walked to the oxcart and unloaded the bags onto the cart.

The bag was half open, revealing roots covered in soil inside. They were all different sizes and shapes, and at first glance, they looked like a pile of large pieces of ginger.

Wang Zongbao also came over and peered in for a while: "Brother Lei, we've been waiting for you here for ages. Didn't you go hunting? What did you bring back in that bag?"