I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Who is it?

"I am Zhao Zi'an."

"Oh! It's Ziyasu!"

Li Gui opened the door. "Come in, come in and sit down!"

Li Gui's wife also came out of the house to greet them.

The news of such a big event that happened in the village that afternoon had already spread far and wide.

The sickly scholar from the Zhao family dealt with that scoundrel, Butcher Wang.

"Uncle Gui, Auntie."

"Sit down, please sit down!"

Li Gui moved a stool over and poured Zhao Zi'an a bowl of water.

"Zi'an, what brings you here so late?"

"Uncle Gui, I'll make this quick. My sister-in-law and I are moving to town tomorrow."

Li Gui and his wife were both stunned.

Should we move to town?

Who doesn't know what kind of family the Zhao family is?

The Zhao family lived a poor life, relying on Li Suqin's needlework and a few acres of meager land.

How do I get to stay in town?

"Going to town is good; you'll see more in town! What about the houses and fields in the village?"

That's what he cares about most.

"I'd like to ask you to rent out the house, as well as the five mu of paddy fields and three mu of dry land at home."

Li Gui's eyes lit up; this was a great deal!

The Zhao family's house is a bit old, but it's in a good location.

Those few acres of paddy fields are top-quality land; if he rents them out, he, as the middleman, can make a lot of money.

"Zi'an, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you left in such a hurry. It'll be hard to find tenants right away. Besides, these days, nobody has any spare money, so I'm afraid we won't be able to raise the rent..."

Zhao Zian spoke only after Li Gui finished speaking.

"A house costs two taels of silver per year. Paddy fields cost one tael per mu per year. Dry land costs five hundred cash per mu per year."

"Let's sign a five-year lease."

"What?!"

Li Gui's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

This price is a full 30% higher than the market price!

"Zi'an, your price... is too high! No one will rent it! Really, I'm not lying to you!"

Zhao Zian looked at him.

"Uncle Gui, you'll definitely find the tenant."

"I believe you can collect the rent, Uncle Gui."

This kid's words have a hidden meaning!

"As for the price..."

Zhao Zian paused for a moment.

"I think it's very fair."

He pulled out a piece of paper, a writing brush, and an inkpad from his pocket.

"Uncle Gui, this is the lease agreement. I wrote it before I came. There are three copies. It's very clear on it that you should send the rent to Jishetang in the south of the city after the autumn harvest each year and give it to me."

"After the deal is done, 10% of the annual rent will be your hard-earned reward, Uncle Gui."

One-tenth?!

According to the price quoted by Zhao Zian, the total annual rent is seven taels and five mace of silver.

One-tenth of that is seven hundred and fifty coins!

"Don't worry, Zian! I'll handle this perfectly for you!"

"That's good."

Zhao Zian signed his name at the end of all three lease agreements, dipped his finger in ink, and pressed it down.

"Uncle Gui, it's your turn."

Li Gui took the pen and also drew his mark and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Zhao Zian put away two of them.

"Uncle Gui, please keep this safe."

"It's getting late, I'll head back now."

Li Gui plopped back down on the bench, her back soaked with cold sweat.

"Damn it, what's wrong with this kid...?"

His wife picked up the shoe sole with trembling hands.

Li Gui wiped the cold sweat from her face.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Quickly find a way to rent out the house and land! The price should be what he asked for!"

"It's so expensive, who would rent it?"

"You don't know anything!"

"Since he dares to ask for this price, someone must be willing to rent it! We'll just do as he says!"

......

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Zhao Zian and Li Suqin didn't have much; they only had one slightly worn bundle.

"Sister-in-law, let's go."

After walking for nearly an hour, we arrived in town.

Zhao Zian led her into an alley.

"arrive."

Zhao Zian took out a brass key from his pocket.

The door opened.

The courtyard is not large, with a few green bamboos planted in the corner.

The east and west sides are side rooms, and the doors and windows have all been newly replaced.

"This will be our home from now on," Zhao Zi'an said, putting the bundle into the east wing. "Sister-in-law, you'll stay in this room."

He then pointed to the west wing: "I live in that room."

Zhao Zian took out a few more pieces of silver from his pocket.

"Here's some money, sister-in-law. Use it to buy some rice, noodles, and vegetables. I'm going to work."

……

Zhao Zian went around to the grain and oil shop and ordered fifty catties of rice, twenty catties of wheat flour, and a small bucket of vegetable oil.

He asked the shop to deliver it to his new home that afternoon.

"Oh! Dr. Zhao, you've finally arrived!"

Accountant Sun came out from behind the counter.

"Accountant Sun".

Zhao Zian nodded calmly.

"You've come at just the right time!"

"The shopkeeper kept saying this morning that if you come, you must go to the backyard and take a look. The new batch of medicinal herbs just arrived and are still fresh!"

Zhao Zian followed Sun, the accountant, inside.

The two arrived at the backyard.

Several workers unloaded the medicinal herbs from the cart.

A man was directing his men to work.

"You all better watch out! These are all precious items transported from the capital. If they get even the slightest bit damaged, you couldn't afford to pay for them even if you sold them!"

Sun, the accountant, went to greet them.

"Brother Liu, busy?"

"Hey, Accountant Sun, what brings you to the backyard today?"

Sun, the accountant, pointed to Zhao Zian and introduced him.

"Brother Liu, let me introduce you. This is Doctor Zhao. The shopkeeper specially invited him to help inspect this batch of new medicine."

"A miracle doctor?"

Liu San sized up Zhao Zi'an.

"Since it's the shopkeeper's order, then let's take a look."

"The goods are all there, don't delay our work."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them.

Accountant Sun looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Miracle doctor, please don't mind him. Brother Liu is just like that. He's not a bad person."

Zhao Zian remained noncommittal.

He walked up to the pile of sacks and untied one of them.

It's just ordinary Solomon's Seal.

The age is acceptable, but the workmanship is somewhat rough, and there is still a lot of mud on it.

He then untied another burlap sack.

It's angelica root. The quality is so-so.

I looked at several bags, and they were all ordinary medicinal herbs, neither good nor bad.

Liu San glanced at Zhao Zi'an out of the corner of his eye.

Hmph, all pretentious.

Zhao Zian stopped on a burlap sack.

A faint spiritual energy seeped out.

He untied the burlap sack.

It was filled with a bunch of random plants.

Zhao Zian's gaze was fixed on one of the plants.

The plant was about a foot tall, with slender leaves that resembled orchids, and was entirely emerald green.

But at the junction of the leaf veins, there are tiny, bright red spots the size of rice grains.

Hidden Jade Grass!

First-grade Spiritual Grade!

It can strengthen the foundation and nourish the vital energy, and cleanse the mortal body. It is the most important auxiliary ingredient in the refining of the Foundation Building Pill!

This herb grows in places where spiritual energy gathers, and if it is not preserved in a jade box after being picked...

Its spiritual energy will dissipate in three days, making it no different from ordinary grass.

The bag was open, and its spiritual energy was dissipating.

In two days at most, it will become just another ordinary weed, indistinguishable even to the gods.

He held the grass up to his eyes.

"Accountant Sun, I'll take this."

Accountant Sun was taken aback.

A... weed?

The leaves resemble orchids, and their appearance is quite unique.