Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

"This...this is..." Sun Shouzhen stared intently at the purplish-red herb in his hand.

The old man held the thick, heavy object in both hands, his ten thin, dry fingers trembling uncontrollably. The medicine-cutting knife next to the millstone was knocked to the ground by his elbow, falling with a dull thud.

He didn't bother picking up the knife, nor did he care that the herbs were still covered in the yellow sand of Northwest China. He stretched out his thumb and pinched off a small fragment from the purplish-red scales. The old man, with a devout expression, carefully put the fragment into his mouth.

The moment he tasted it, an extremely potent medicinal aroma shot straight to his head, rushing down his esophagus and into his internal organs. Sun Shouzhen's wrinkled old face flushed bright red, and he jumped up from the wooden bench, his movements more agile than a twenty-year-old.

"Cistanche deserticola! This is top-grade Cistanche deserticola!" The old man's voice rose to a high pitch, splitting in the night wind, startling the veterans in the courtyard who were engrossed in drinking meat soup, causing them to stop eating.

Gu Changfeng turned his head, holding the large bowl, and raised an eyebrow.

Ya Ya sat on a small stool, stuffed a White Rabbit milk candy into her mouth, and swung her two short legs in the air.

"Grandpa Sun, I dug this thing out of a sand pit in the desert. Look how thick and long it is. Tomorrow, take a kitchen knife and chop it up, then make some meat soup in our big iron pots. It'll smell delicious." The little girl said nonchalantly.

These few herbs were wild grasses she had uprooted in the desert. After throwing them into her 200-square-meter personal space, the spiritual spring water in the pool, combined with the mutated purple grass, caused them to grow into this grotesque shape in just a few days. She took them out simply because they smelled like meat.

Upon hearing this, Sun Shouzhen was so angry that he jumped up and down repeatedly.

"You spendthrift! You little spendthrift!" The old man clutched the large Cistanche deserticola tightly to his chest, as if protecting his lifeblood. "Using it to make pork rib soup? You're using the emperor's seal to crack walnuts!"

Lin Wanrou wiped her hands clean by the stove and walked over curiously. She had been learning to read and memorize pharmacology from Sun Shouzhen in Xiahe Village, and in recent years she had thoroughly mastered half of the "Qing Nang Jing" (a classic text on traditional Chinese medicine). She could recognize common medicinal herbs at a glance.

But she couldn't match the thing Sun Shouzhen was holding in his arms to her own after looking at it for a long time.

"Master, is this really Cistanche deserticola from the desert? Medical books say that Cistanche deserticola tonifies kidney yang and nourishes essence and blood, but how can it grow this big and be purplish-red in color?" Lin Wanrou leaned closer to smell it, and the domineering medicinal fragrance made her feel warm all over her body after just one whiff.

"The book says it's an ordinary item! Good heavens, I've lived most of my life and I've only ever seen a few words about it in the old files of the Imperial Medical Academy."

Sun Shouzhen was so excited that he kept spinning around in the courtyard.

"Ordinary Cistanche deserticola grows deep in the desert, and at most it's as thick as a baby's arm. Look at this! It's thicker than an adult man's calf! The scales and markings on its surface have all turned purplish-gold. How many years must it have absorbed the essence of the sun and moon underground? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's hundreds or even thousands of years old!"

The old man hugged the remaining two sticks to his chest as if they were treasures, his voice growing louder and louder as he spoke.

"Wanrou! This isn't just any ordinary tonic! It's a life-saving elixir from a celestial being! As long as there's still a breath left, take a piece the size of a fingernail, boil it in water, and add some old ginseng to keep the patient alive. It's a miracle cure that can bring the dead back to life and heal bones. No matter how depleted your internal organs are, it can bring them all back to normal!"

Sun Shouzhen sat down on the spot, clutching the medicine, his eyes red-rimmed. With these few top-grade Cistanche deserticola plants, plus the few life-threatening prescriptions from that half of the "Qing Nang Jing" (a classic Chinese medicine text), he could say he had reached the ceiling of traditional Chinese medicine in his lifetime.

Jiang Guo, who had been standing on the steps, stopped using his abacus. He pulled off the white towel hanging around his neck and wiped his hands. His shrewd eyes were fixed on the herbs in Sun Shouzhen's arms, and the abacus beads in his mind began to spin wildly.

"Old Sun, according to you, is this thing really that miraculous?" Jiang Guo stepped down the stairs and posed the question clearly, "If it were used in medicinal cuisine to treat the chronic injuries or financial deficits of those retired officials in Beijing, how confident are you that it would be effective?"

Sun Shouzhen glared at him: "Ten out of ten! As long as he's not about to die, I can guarantee he'll be able to get out of bed and practice military boxing the next day after I give him a bowl of soup!"

Jiang Guo clapped his hands, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "Aunt Lin, our chance to make a fortune has arrived!"

Lin Wanrou's eyes lit up; she knew Jiang Guo's clever mind all too well.

"The Rouxintang clinic in Nanluoguxiang is quite famous now, with queues stretching from one end of the alley to the other every day," Jiang Guo said eloquently, analyzing the situation clearly. "But it's still a small shop. The main hall is filled with all sorts of people, including high-ranking officials, powerful figures, and their families. They're not just after medical treatment; they also want face and prestige."

Ya Ya pricked up her ears and crunched the candy in her mouth: "Jiang Guo, you want to make big money off rich people?"

"That's right!" Jiang Guo nodded, turning to Lin Wanrou, "Aunt Lin, you now have these few top-grade Cistanche deserticola plants that can bring the dead back to life. These are the treasures of the shop. It would be too beneath us to just put them in Nanluoguxiang and sell them like a communal dish. We need to find a different approach."

Gu Changfeng quickly shoveled the noodles and meat into his large bowl and strode over. He casually scooped up Ya Ya and placed her on his broad shoulder, listening with great interest to Jiang Guo and his wife discussing business. He was a rough and rugged man; he was good at fighting and killing enemies, but when it came to making money through business, he left everything to his wife.

"What kind of game should we play? Young Master Jiang, what do you think?" Lin Wanrou looked at Jiang Guo with a smile, though she had already planned it out several times in her mind.

"Open a top-of-the-line private medicinal cuisine restaurant! Take the hunger route!" Jiang Guo said each word clearly, his thinking extremely sharp. "We need to find a big, impressive place. Get a few excellent private rooms, furnished with rosewood and huanghuali tables and chairs. No matter how many people line up each day, only serve three tables! Set the prices sky-high; the more expensive, the better they'll think the food is."

After hearing this, Lin Wanrou slapped her thigh with delight and rubbed her hands vigorously on her coarse cloth apron.

"Jiang Guo, you and Aunt Lin are thinking the same thing. I've been thinking about this for the past few days." Lin Wanrou looked up, her eyes revealing the capable spirit of a strong woman. "With just this little bit of space in Nanluoguxiang, at best we can only be a well-known old traditional Chinese medicine shop. If we're going to do it, we have to put our sign in the most prominent place in Beijing!"

Sun Shouzhen put the Cistanche deserticola into a moisture-proof tin box, locked it, and then interjected, "Girl, the most conspicuous places in the capital are not easy to find. The mansions in good locations that are also quiet are all left behind by princes and nobles in the early years. The government controls them very strictly, and even if you have money, you may not be able to buy them."

"Leave this to me!" Jiang Guo patted his thin chest, full of confidence. "Aunt Lin, I inquired about it a few days ago. East of Wangfujing Back Street, there's a former Qing Dynasty prince's mansion, a large three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). It has a back garden, artificial hill, and pond, and it's very spacious. It used to be occupied by a rough and uncultured unit as a warehouse, but they just moved out recently. The housing management office is planning to sell it off."

"A large courtyard next to Wangfujing?" Lin Wanrou gasped. That's the most prime location in Beijing. Opening a shop there would instantly elevate its status.

"The location is great, but the price must be astronomical." Gu Changfeng stroked his stubble. "Although our family has made a lot of money in the past six months, it might be a bit tight to swallow up a mansion like this all at once."

Lin Wanrou gritted her teeth: "If I don't have enough money, I'll borrow it. Or I'll go to the black market and buy two prescriptions from the 'Qing Nang Jing'. It's rare to find something like this here; once it's gone, it's gone forever."

When Ya Ya, who was sitting on Gu Changfeng's shoulders, heard that they were short of money, she secretly patted the tactical vest in her pocket.

Her 200-square-meter space was completely crammed with over seventy large camphor wood chests. When she raided the White Fox spy headquarters and various black market bosses' hideouts, the large and small silver dollars, silver dollars, and cash she seized could form a small mountain next to the Purple Grassland.

Money? Meng Yaya is so poor now that all she has left is money.

Isn't there still that get-out-of-jail-free card that my godfather Lei Zhentian just issued outside? With that official document in hand, who in the housing management office would dare not give me face?

"Mom! We don't need to borrow money, and we don't need to sell medicine!" Ya Ya waved her chubby little hand proudly. "Tomorrow I'll take you to buy a big house! Anyone who dares to try and take it from us, I'll have Niu Dan beat them up!"

Niu Dan, who was dozing off beside the hand pump, suddenly opened his eyes when he heard his name called. He grabbed the gleaming cast iron boning knife, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"Anyone who dares to steal the boss's house, I'll chop him up!" Niu Dan's voice was hoarse and vicious.

Lin Wanrou couldn't help but laugh as she looked at the two clowns. She knew her daughter was very capable and must have many other good things hidden away.

"Alright! The business must be expanded!" Lin Wanrou waved her hand, making the final decision. She looked around the courtyard.

"Tomorrow morning, Changfeng, you go to the compound to report. The veteran brothers go back to the barracks to rest. Grandpa Sun stays at home. Jiang Guo leads the way, Niu Dan carries the knife, and Ya Ya stays close to me. The four of us will head straight to Wangfujing to look at houses!"