Online dating backfired? A wealthy heir begged me to continue lying to him.

In the field that Brother Zhang was guarding, withered yellow leaves lay flat on the ground, with only a thin, dry stem standing on the soil, thin and withered.

Mixed in withered grass and fallen leaves all over the mountain, it was impossible to tell what it was.

But Brother Zhang reverently took out a red rope with copper coins tied to both ends, and then tied the red rope to the ginseng stem.

Then carefully hold the red rope and place the copper coins at both ends on the rope stick stuck in the ground.

Lu Shuangshuang slowly squatted down, her eyes sparkling.

"Is this what they mean by tying up the ginseng to prevent it from running away?"

Brother Zhang explained with a smile, "This is to prevent us from accidentally stepping on it while operating it."

Lu Shuangshuang's face immediately fell.

"Oh, I see."

Brother Zhang said, "That was just superstitious talk; it shouldn't be taken seriously."

Lu Shuangshuang, however, didn't think so. "Actually, I don't want to know the truth at all."

Su Ruan didn't want to know the truth.

How fascinating are those stories tinged with mystery!

Once the truth is stripped away, all that remains is the cold, hard reality.

It's like tying a ginseng root with a red string to prevent it from running away—what an interesting analogy, but in reality, it's just a very conspicuous marker.

All the fairy tales and legends of mountain spirits and monsters have been shattered!

Brother Zhang laughed heartily.

"Alright, let me reintroduce it to you. This is a club lock, specially designed to lock up clubs so they don't sneak away unnoticed."

"Also, we can't call it ginseng. If we say ginseng, it will know we're talking about it and will sneak away. We call it a club."

"Lock the club with a club lock, and the club won't be able to escape."

"Next, we should thank the mountain god for his gifts."

With that, Brother Zhang took the lead and knelt down towards the depths of the forest.

"Old Mountain God, thank you for bestowing this club. Please lift it gently, lest you hurt its beard."

Brother Zhang knelt very formally, which stumped Lu Shuangshuang.

This is quite a spectacle, but does she have to kneel down too?

If she doesn't kneel, will the mountain god not give her the club?

When going into the mountains to collect herbs, the biggest hope is to find a medicinal herb called "bang chu" (棒抉), but what if that offends the mountain god...?

While hesitating for a moment, Brother Zhang had already finished worshipping the mountain god and stood up.

"Next, we need to clear away the decaying leaves around the plant and keep an eye on the small seedlings of *Echinochloa crus-galli* and *Echinochloa chinensis*."

"This one doesn't look small, there must be a clump around it. Once you find it, tie it with a red string to prevent it from running away."

Shuangshuang was originally listening attentively, translating Zhang Ge's words, but then she started to laugh.

"The words 'ran away' still sound better."

Brother Zhang laughed, "No way."

"If they run away, then we'll lose the club."

Lu Shuangshuang chuckled as well.

"It's tied with a red rope, it can't run away."

Everyone laughed.

Everyone was careful where they were stepping, afraid of trampling on the ginseng seedlings.

Brother Zhang carefully cleaned up the decaying leaves around him, scraping the soil surface clean.

"Now it's time to lift the club."

"This is a delicate task."

"Not a single hair can be broken."

Brother Zhang took out a deer bone pick from his pocket and started picking at the soil about 30 or 40 centimeters away from the head of the reed.

Little by little, circle by circle, it shrinks inward.

Peel away the loose soil from the ginseng roots one by one.

Gently cut the obstructing grass and tree roots with scissors, ensuring that each root remains intact.

The dug-out roots were carefully covered with the original topsoil.

In short, it is a very meticulous project.

Lu Shuangshuang, watching from the side, couldn't help but hold her breath.

They were afraid that if they made any noise, they would disturb Brother Zhang and ruin this perfect work of art.

"Let's go find Xiao Miao," Wen Yubai suggested.

Lu Shuangshuang nodded repeatedly.

Although carrying a mallet is a beautiful sight, it's also tiring.

Su Ruan also had the same idea.

Brother Zhang smiled and agreed, "With Mr. Wen here, there shouldn't be any problem."

Lu Yanci didn't understand anything, but he followed Su Ruan closely.

So what if Wen Yubai is knowledgeable?

His daughter, Ruanruan, is also incredibly talented.

Wen Yubai, however, walked towards Su Ruan.

"Junior sister, do you have any knowledge about the search for spiritual materials in your memory?"

Su Ruan shook her head.

The relevant memory images have not yet been accessed.

"But I recognize medicinal herbs and have memorized ancient books."

It means that they have all the theoretical knowledge, but no practical experience.

"Then, junior sister, you'll come with me," Wen Yubai said.

You keep calling me "Junior Sister"!

I asked you to come along!

Lu Yanci huffed and puffed.

But he wouldn't stop Su Ruan.

Su Ruan didn't see anything wrong with it and readily agreed.

"it is good."

Wen Yubai turned around and looked around.

"The humus layer here varies in thickness. Which gentle, shady slope do you think is the best place for ginseng to take root?"

Su Ruan's gaze began to wander around, and she even walked to several places to carefully examine the soil conditions.

Taking into account the distribution of tree shade, light, and the surrounding moss, several areas were pointed out.

"These spots should have a chance of taking root."

Ginseng is rare not only because it is extremely picky about its growing environment, but also because its entire life cycle, starting from the seed, is full of challenges.

First, the ginseng seeds fell to the ground.

Once the ginseng seeds fall to the ground, they are easily eaten by mountain rats and birds. Even if they fall in places where survival is easy, they rarely have the chance to develop into seedlings.

Even if they sprout, the seedlings are very fragile.

Drought, waterlogging, insect infestation, trampling by wild boars, insufficient shade from large trees in the forest, or excessive sunlight can easily cause them to wither and die.

Of ten ginseng seeds, only a very few will successfully grow to be several years old.

Not to mention that it often takes ten, several decades, or even a hundred years.

Any deviation along the way will lead to failure.

Su Ruan was able to determine which plots of land were likely to grow ginseng based on the information she knew, but whether there were actually ginseng plants still needed to be investigated on-site.

Wen Yubai nodded approvingly.

In front of Su Ruan, the coldness on his face had long since faded.

"As expected of the junior sister personally taken in by Master."

"Then let's go there and look for it first."

Wen Yubai pointed to the nearest spot.

"it is good."

Lu Shuangshuang didn't understand anything; she just wanted to join in the fun, so she excitedly followed along.

Lu Yanci followed behind, his gaze sweeping over the ground.

Ahead, Wen Yubai and Su Ruan were examining the roots and stems in the pile of decaying leaves.

They identified each rootstock individually, trying to figure out what kind of plant it originally belonged to.

He spoke so eloquently that Su Ruan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Lu Yanci looked at them and saw that they were just some withered plants.

Lu Shuangshuang listened attentively while personally verifying the information from the side.

However, so far, Wen Yubai and Su Ruan have not found a single ginseng plant, so Lu Shuangshuang has no reference and has only learned a bunch of random things.

The first piece of land was stripped bare, but nothing was found.

"Let's split up and search separately. If we all crowd together, we might crush the real ginseng stems."

Lu Shuangshuang didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Although she still didn't know what the ginseng stem looked like.

Lu Yanci quietly chose a piece of land for himself.

He remembered all the places Su Ruan mentioned.

When he got there, he realized that the separation Wen Yubai mentioned only meant separating him from Lu Shuangshuang.