Er Gou, life in the countryside is so carefree!

The first rays of sunlight in the morning pierced through the thin mist and shone on the ridges of the fields in Xiushui Village.

The 120 mu of new vegetable fields, nourished by a night of refreshing rain, were so green they were almost black, and so robust they were frightening.

"Click."

Li Mei was wearing a pink cotton pajama set, her hair was casually pinned up with a hair clip, she was wearing slippers, and she was squatting on the ground, holding a vernier caliper in her hand, gesturing at a newly grown cucumber.

If it were her first time seeing this scene, she would definitely scream and say it's unbelievable.

But now?

As the technical director of Yuntian Hotel, and someone who had been hanging out with Chen Ergou for so long, she was already used to the miracles he would occasionally pull off.

Li Mei pushed up her black-rimmed glasses, calmly recording data while chewing on half a freshly broken cucumber, muttering indistinctly:

"Hmm, the growth cycle has been shortened by three hundred times, and the taste... is more juicy, with a slight sweet aftertaste."

She didn't even lift her head, and said to Chen Ergou, who had just stretched and walked out of the field:

"Ergou, at this rate of growth, we'll have to hire a mechanized harvesting team. Otherwise, we simply can't harvest it all by hand."

Chen Ergou, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, looked at Li Mei, who remained calm and spouted only data, and pouted in disappointment before leaning closer.

"Meizi, that's so lame. When you see such a miracle, shouldn't you scream and jump into my arms shouting 'Ergou, you're so awesome!'?"

Li Mei stood up, glared at him, but her ears turned slightly red:

"Save your breath. Ever since I met you, Newton has been turning in his grave. Even if I saw a gourd-shaped gourd grow out of this ground, I would only ask you whether you want it steamed or braised."

She held the half-eaten cucumber to Chen Ergou's mouth:

"Try it, the collagen in this batch of melons is extremely active. It's perfect for making skincare products. As long as the extraction process is up to par, 'Longzi Skincare' will definitely be a hit."

Chen Ergou took a bite out of her hand, but didn't let go, and then gently sucked on Li Mei's fingertip.

"ah!"

Li Mei recoiled as if electrocuted, her face instantly turning bright red, like a ripe tomato. She glared at him reproachfully.

"You... you're being a pervert so early in the morning! We're still in the fields!"

"What's wrong with the fields? I'm the one who cultivates these fields. Let's see who dares to interfere."

Chen Ergou chuckled and took a step forward, forcing Li Mei to retreat to the edge of the field.

"Meizi, you're running to the fields in your pajamas this early in the morning. Aren't you afraid of exposing yourself? I'm a normal, virile man."

Li Mei looked down and realized that the neckline of her loose pajamas was indeed a bit low. She quickly covered her chest and hurriedly pushed Chen Ergou away.

"You rascal! I'm not going to argue with you anymore! Now that the raw materials are here, I'm going back to the lab to extract the essence. President Su's been pressuring me; the press conference is in the next few days, I need to get ready!"

After saying that, as if she were being chased by wolves, she grabbed her notebook and half a cucumber and ran towards the distant greenhouse laboratory.

Looking at Li Mei's slightly disheveled yet energetic back, Chen Ergou's smile deepened.

"This girl is a workaholic too."

After Li Mei left, there was a tremor in the haystack.

Immediately afterwards, a long leg clad in tight black leather pants appeared.

The black snake, with its head covered in tangled grass, looking haggard and its eyes bloodshot, crawled out.

At this moment, her once-proud tight leather outfit was covered in grass clippings and mud, and she looked utterly disheveled. She was nowhere near the image of a top assassin.

She spent the whole night guarding the field and eavesdropping on what was happening around her, suffering immense physical and mental torment.

"Chen Ergou..."

The black snake gritted its teeth, its voice hoarse:

"Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them! Haven't you humiliated me enough? If you have the guts, then kill me!"

"Kill you? What a waste."

Chen Ergou walked up to her and looked down at this once arrogant female assassin.

He reached out, pinched Black Snake's ash-covered chin, and forced her to raise her head:

"Originally, I wanted you to watch over the greenhouse for me here. But after thinking about it, I realized that your hands are meant for killing; using them to pull weeds is a waste of your talents."

"What do you want to do?" Black Snake looked at him warily, instinctively shrinking back.

"I'm going to let you go back."

Chen Ergou made a startling statement.

"What?!" Black Snake's eyes widened in disbelief. "You...you've lost your mind? Aren't you afraid I'll go back and bring even more people to kill you?"

"Fear? That word doesn't exist in my dictionary, Chen Ergou."

Chen Ergou released his grip and pulled out a black pill he had casually rolled out earlier from his pocket:

"Eat it."

"What...what is this?" The black snake looked at the dark, indistinct thing and felt a chill run down its spine.

"This is called the 'Heart-Eating Gu'."

Chen Ergou continued spouting nonsense without batting an eye:

"It was made with my unique internal energy. If you eat it and dare to have any disloyal thoughts, or fail to return to me on time to get the antidote, every full moon night you will feel as if a million worms are biting your heart, and you will eventually bleed from all seven orifices and die."

Black Snake looked at the pill. Although the name sounded like something out of a martial arts novel, she had witnessed Chen Ergou's "immortal arts" and acupoint striking skills with her own eyes last night, and she had no doubt about the abilities of this reclusive master.

Faced with the threat of death, she had no choice.

She took the pill with trembling hands, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and swallowed it.

After swallowing the pill, Chen Ergou had a thought, and that wisp of true energy circulated within the black snake's body, making her feel a cool sensation in her dantian.

"It really is a curse!" The black snake's face turned deathly pale, utterly despairing.

"very good."

Chen Ergou nodded in satisfaction, then patted her shoulder three times, releasing some of her pressure points.

"Now, your internal energy has recovered to 30%. That's enough for you to go back and report."

"Go back and tell Zhao Tianba that your mission failed and I was seriously injured. You must continue to infiltrate the Zhao family. If they have any new plans against me, such as hiring an assassin organization or plotting anything, you must report to me immediately."

Chen Ergou's eyes were icy as he stared into the black snake's eyes:

"Did you understand?"

Black Snake felt the internal energy flowing again within her body. Although it was only 30%, it gave her a sense of security.

Looking at the unfathomable man before her, the last vestige of resistance in her heart was completely extinguished.

This man is not only incredibly strong in combat, but also extremely cunning. For the Zhao family to fight him is simply suicide.

And now her life is in someone else's hands, so she can only accept her fate.

"I understand... I understand."

The black snake lowered its head, its voice submissive, all traces of its previous arrogance gone.

"I will keep an eye on the Zhao family father and son's every move."

"Alright, get lost."

Chen Ergou waved his hand, as if shooing away flies:

"Remember, don't even think about finding someone to cure this poison. No one in the world can cure this curse except me. Also, next time you come to see me, don't wear that leather jacket; it makes you look like a pervert."

Black Snake blushed, glared at him with shame and indignation, but dared not say anything.

She took a deep breath, channeled her remaining inner strength, and with a sway of her body, though not as agile as when she arrived, she quickly disappeared into the reeds in the morning mist.

Watching the black snake's departing figure, Chen Ergou's smile deepened.

"Zhao Tai, I've planted a time bomb next to you. I wonder what your expression will be when it explodes?"

"and……"

Chen Ergou stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought:

"It seems that there is some ancient martial arts force behind the Zhao family. Keeping this black snake around will allow us to follow the clues and wipe out these hidden dangers all at once."

After dealing with this little incident, Chen Ergou stretched and looked at the abundant raw materials scattered on the ground, feeling great.

"Next up is the launch of 'Longzi Skincare Products'."

"Sister-in-law, is breakfast ready? I want five big meat buns! I used up too much energy last night, I need to replenish myself!"

Chen Ergou hummed a little tune, his hands behind his back, and slowly walked home.

……