Hermit in the Mountains

"Brother Gu, we're here."

A deep, middle-aged man's voice came from outside the wooden house.

As soon as he finished speaking, two figures appeared at the doorway.

One of them was Yang Dashan, and next to him was an old man with white hair, a hunchback, a weathered face, and a pipe slung over his waist.

The old man is Yang Mancang, the 65-year-old patriarch of Xiahe Village.

When Gu Changsheng saw the two appear at the door, he slowly stood up and responded, "Uncle Mancang, Brother Yang, please come in and sit down to chat."

Yang Mancang was ten years younger than Zhang Yuanfu, but his physical functions were much more aged than Zhang Yuanfu's.

The former spends their whole life toiling in the fields, doing manual labor, and doesn't know anything about health preservation, so their physical functions deteriorate faster;

The latter has spent his entire life working with herbs, has family-inherited health preservation methods, and consumes precious health-preserving soups, thus maintaining optimal bodily functions.

Gu Changsheng thought about his own previous condition. His physical function was even worse than that of Old Master Yang, otherwise he wouldn't have died suddenly at the age of 30.

Nobody knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first!

All we can do is live each day to the fullest!

Yang Mancang looked Gu Changsheng up and down. "Gu boy, your energy level is much better than it was a few months ago."

"Are you fully recovered?"

He still vividly remembered Gu Changsheng's appearance from a few months ago: bald, pale-faced, weak, and extremely thin, with dark circles under his eyes that rivaled those of a panda.

After hearing about Gu Changsheng's background, he had just been discharged from the hospital after a serious illness and needed a quiet place to recuperate, so he came to Zhongnan Mountain.

Except for matters related to the collective interests of the village, he would help whenever he could, and introduced his honest nephew to Gu Changsheng.

In the first month after he arrived, he instructed his nephew Yang Dashan to frequently visit Gu Changsheng in the mountains and ask if he needed any help.

Since Gu Changsheng went into the mountains, he had basically not seen him. This was mainly because Gu Changsheng had not come down the mountain either. He only heard from his nephew that Gu Changsheng was recovering well. Knowing that Gu Changsheng did not like to socialize with outsiders, he did not go up the mountain to disturb him.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Mancang. I'm all better now." Gu Changsheng could feel Old Master Yang's concern.

He pointed to the cushions on either side of the stove, "Let's sit down and talk."

Yang Mancang had something to discuss on the mountain today, so he didn't chat much and naturally sat down on the ground.

Yang Dashan, who was standing next to him, sat down as well.

After Gu Changsheng sat down, he handed over the water that had been poured on the wooden table with both hands, saying, "Have a glass of water to soothe your throat."

"I didn't prepare any tea, so I can only serve you boiled water. Please forgive me!"

He never liked drinking tea, and after going into the mountains, he was so busy with his cultivation that he forgot about such a trivial matter as tea.

Yang Dashan and the villagers who came up the mountain to help all drank boiled water; he was used to serving people boiled water or cooled boiled water.

Yang Mancang and the other man took a sip of warm water and put down their cups. Their minds were preoccupied with Gu Changsheng's plan to contract a mountain, and they didn't notice why the water temperature was just right.

Yang Mancang put down his water glass and habitually took out his pipe from his waist and put it in his mouth.

"Uncle..." Yang Dashan gestured with his eyes when he saw his uncle craving cigarettes again.

Yang Mancang looked apologetic and took the pipe out of his mouth. "Sorry, Gu Wazi, the smoke isn't good for you."

"Uncle Mancang, I'm fine now, do as you please," Gu Changsheng replied with a smile.

Yang Mancang tucked his pipe back into his belt, his expression turning serious as he got to the point, "Kid, I heard from Dashanwa that you're going to rent this mountain?"

"Yes—" Gu Changsheng nodded.

Yang Mancang learned from his nephew that Gu Changsheng had gone to Chang'an City the day before to purchase hundreds of thousands of flowers, plants, and Chinese herbal medicine seeds.

He understood that Gu Changsheng was not short of money, but he didn't want the other party to waste money and end up losing everything.

Gu Changsheng is an orphan with no way out and no one to rely on.

We still need to remind them that they can't rent to Gu Changsheng against their conscience.

He still wanted to remind Gu Changsheng, since this mountain was seven or eight mountains away from the village. If they wanted to grow ordinary Chinese herbs, it would be inconvenient to transport the medicine, and the mountain was short of water.

"Son, you know the location of this mountain. The water source needs to go to the foot of the mountain, and the roads in and out are narrow and inconvenient for transportation. If you want to plant common Chinese medicinal herbs, the investment will be huge and the returns will be very small."

"This mountain has never been rented out. It's too far from the village and has been left to grow wild. Nobody knows if the soil is suitable for growing Chinese medicinal herbs."

Gu Changsheng nodded occasionally in response to the other person's words, "Uncle, I understand."

"I don't plan to sell the Chinese herbs directly. Instead, I intend to grow them myself, process them into pills, and then sell them. This way, the price can be several times higher."

"The pills are small and easy to store, so one person can carry them down the mountain to sell them."

"It's not just about planting medicinal herbs; we also grow golden bamboo, golden-inlaid jade bamboo, and agarwood trees."

"Golden Thunder Bamboo and Golden Inlaid Jade Bamboo, once properly cultivated, are very valuable, whether made into various handicrafts or wild bonsai."

"High-quality agarwood produced by the agarwood tree is so expensive that it costs thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan per gram and the supply still cannot meet the demand."

"I've made all the plans, so I'm not going to lose out no matter what."

"I'll be living here long-term from now on, and my savings will eventually run out, so I need a stable source of income."

These were all well-planned methods that Gu Changsheng used to conceal his identity.

When Yang Mancang and his nephew heard Gu Changsheng's detailed plan—what to plant, how to sell, and multiple ways to generate income—they were deeply moved.

The uncle and nephew were stunned, their eyes filled with shock.

They were thinking of ordinary Chinese herbal medicines that cost tens of yuan per kilogram, but Gu Changsheng planned to take the high-end route, selling a small bottle of pills for thousands or tens of thousands of yuan.

When the two heard that a gram of agarwood cost tens of thousands of yuan, they gasped for breath. Their first reaction was disbelief that a gram of wood could cost tens of thousands of yuan.

They had heard of wild ginseng that sold for tens of thousands of yuan per gram, even though it was a century old.

The two realized why they were stuck in the mountain village: because they lacked knowledge, had a narrow perspective, and lacked courage.

Yang Mancang put aside his worries and said, "Kid, since you've made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

"The mountain land belongs to the village collective. As for the rent, I need to go back and convene a general meeting of the villagers to discuss and agree on a uniform rent before I can give you an answer."

"If some villagers disagree, the contract may not be able to be signed. But you don't need to worry about that. This mountain has been abandoned for who knows how many years. No one will object to it bringing income to the village."

"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Mancang." Gu Changsheng had rented mountain land once before and knew a little about how the leasing of collective land required a village-wide meeting to vote and sign the agreement.

Contracting a mountain might be more troublesome, as it would likely require reporting to the township level.

"You can contact me by phone once you've agreed on a rent range. As long as the rent is within my expectations, even if it's a little higher, it's fine."

Yang Mancang patted his chest and assured him, "With your assurance, kid, I'll convene a village meeting at noon and give you an answer today."

After the formalities were over, the three of them sat and chatted casually for about ten minutes before Yang Mancang and his nephew said their goodbyes and left.

Gu Changsheng and Da Huang escorted the uncle and nephew to the bottom of the mountain before returning to the wooden house.

Back in the living room, Gu Changsheng sat cross-legged, closed his eyes to rest, and began to plan the mountain planting project in his mind.