The Li family's restaurant was a little smaller, but the hall was full. The waiter at the counter smiled at the two of them and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my two guests. We have no breakfast left. We have rice fish that was just served today. It's been stewed in sweet and sour sauce and cooked over low heat. What would you like to order?"

He just treated them as people who came to have dinner, and even though he saw that the two of them were dressed simply, he didn't show any disrespect at all, which made Gu Fengyan feel a little embarrassed.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but we are not here to eat. We have just brought a batch of fresh spring bamboo shoots from the mountains, and we would like to ask if your store will accept them. There are about twenty kilograms." Gu Fengyan bowed to the waiter and said with a smile.

The waiter's surname was Tian. He was a handsome, amiable man. He patiently understood the purpose of the two people's visit, and his expression did not change much. "I see. I can't make the decision on this matter. Please wait here for a moment. I will go ask the shopkeeper and the chef in the kitchen."

Brother Tian lifted the curtain of the back hall and came out again after a while. Behind him followed two middle-aged men, one in a green silk shirt, gentle and elegant; the other with broad shoulders and a round waist, wearing an apron and holding a large spoon in his hand.

"I'm Mr. Li from Dongfulou. I heard from Brother Tian that you two have goods to sell?" said the middle-aged man in green clothes.

Huo Duan opened the sack, revealing the tips of the spring bamboo shoots inside. "Look, Shopkeeper Li. These were picked by my wife and I from the mountain yesterday."

Shopkeeper Li never cared about the ingredients, so he asked the chef in charge of the kitchen to come and take a look. "Old Zhao, take a look... Why didn't you even put down the spoon? How can you let the customers see you like this?"

Master Zhao laughed, took a look into his pocket, and said timidly, "Well, it's quite fresh and rare... What do you think, Madam?"

These two were originally husband and wife.

Boss Li frowned, "It's not easy to bring it from far away. If you say it's fresh, then keep it. Mr. Zhang is going to celebrate his 70th birthday tomorrow, so it's a good opportunity to use it... I guess he has never seen this kind of food before."

He smiled and said to the two of them, "Please wait a moment. I'll ask the waiter to get the money. If you have any mountain products in the future, please feel free to send them to our store. We will take them all."

Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan agreed with a smile, and this business trip was extremely smooth.

Brother Tian took out money and gave it to the two of them... Twenty kilograms of spring bamboo shoots, a total of two hundred coins, plus the previous one hundred and twenty-five coins, the total profit today was three hundred and twenty-five coins!

Gu Fengyan counted as he walked, like a money-grubber. It was the first time he had actually made money with his own hands.

Huo Duan was the same, but what made him even happier was that just as he received the 325 coins, the system made a "beep" sound -

"Your task progress has reached 0.5 per ten thousand. Please keep working hard!" He read out the system prompt in confusion.

Gu Fengyan heard it and clapped him wildly in surprise, "0.5 of a million! You only need 9,999.5 of a million to go home, President Huo!"

"Alas..." Huo Duan twitched his lips, "Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine point five of ten thousand, that will take forever. But thank you, Mr. Gu. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have this ten thousandth of a cent."

Gu Fengyan comforted him, "Don't worry, I promised to help you and there must be a way, just trust me..."

Huo Duan nodded with a sad face.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Gu Fengyan looked around, "It's already this late, let's go find something to eat, and then buy something for Dad, and then we can go back."

Three hundred coins were not a lot of money, so he had to spend it frugally, but he could not save on necessary things. The day before yesterday, he saw that the heels of Huo's father's shoes were all worn out, and he didn't even have a good pair... And Huo Duan's inner clothes, the coarse cloth rubbed his whole body with red marks, and he must have been really uncomfortable.

The two of them ordered two bowls of plain noodles from a nearby stall. The vegetables were crispy and tender, and the noodles were chewy. When you are hungry, everything tastes delicious.

Huo Duan ordered another bowl, and when Gu Fengyan was full he watched him eat. When they passed by a stall selling steamed buns, he bought a few more to take with him.

The plain noodles cost twenty-four cents, six steamed buns cost eighteen cents, and he also bought a pair of shoes for Huo's father, a new set of underwear for him and Huo Duan, and a few pounds of corn and flour... In the end, he had fifty cents left.

Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan arrived at the door of their home before dark, and happened to meet Huo's father walking back from the field with a backpack on his back. The backpack was full of goose food, which was chopped up to feed the old hens at home.

"Dad!" Gu Fengyan called from a distance. Huo Duan ran over, took the backpack and carried it himself.

Gu Fengyan also gave the things to Huo Duan, and helped Huo's father back, "Just leave this matter to me and Brother Duan, it's almost dark, and your eyesight is not good..."

"I can't sit still. It's boring to be alone without you." Father Huo saw that the two of them were empty-handed and asked with a smile, "Have you sold all your stuff?"

Gu Fengyan responded with a smile, and after entering the courtyard, he took out the shoes he bought for Father Huo, "Thanks to Father's help, Brother Duan and I bought you a pair of shoes. Try them on. I see that the soles of these shoes are soft and comfortable to wear."

"My shoes are still in good condition. Why buy these? I can save the money and buy you something else later..." Father Huo took the shoes and held them in his hands, at a loss.

I've lived for most of my life, but this is the first time I've used such a good thing.

Gu Fengyan said, "Money is earned to be spent. If it is lost, it can be earned again. Don't worry, father."

"Yes, Dad, just give it a try..." Huo Duan also chimed in.

Father Huo then smiled and said, "Brother Yan, what you said makes sense. It's hard for you to be so filial. I will accept it."

Gu Fengyan took out the remaining fifty cents and wanted to give them to Huo's father, but Huo's father refused to accept it, saying that it was the money they earned and they should keep it. He even took out fifty cents from the room and gave it to Gu Fengyan.

It can be considered as a family relationship.

A total of one hundred coins, the financial power of the Huo family was in the hands of Gu Fengyan.

If I save a little more, it will be enough capital to start a business.

At night, Huo Duan put on a skin-friendly inner garment for the first time. Gu Fengyan also applied some simple ointment made from herbs collected from the mountains on him. It felt cool and comfortable all over.

"How do you know even medicinal herbs? Did you do this before?" Huo Duan put on his clothes, held the basin of water and waited for Gu Fengyan to wash his hands, and asked casually.

"That's about right," Gu Fengyan soaked her jade-like fingers in the water, her dark green fingers spreading out, "There are a lot of medicinal herbs in the village, so what's the use of knowing them? I only know the simple preparation methods, and I have no idea about anything a little more difficult."

The preparation of Chinese herbal medicine is a science. The slightest mistake will cause the medicinal properties to be lost, and even the toxicity cannot be removed, which may result in death.

Huo Duan handed him a handkerchief and asked him to wipe his hands. "Doctor Liang at the entrance of the village knows how to prepare it. He basically collects all the herbs from the mountains himself... Do you want to start a herbal medicine business?"

Considering the shortage of medicinal materials in the county pharmacy and the villagers turning a blind eye to them, this was an opportunity for them.

"Mr. Huo guessed right," Gu Fengyan wiped his hands, "but we need to have a certain economic foundation before we can do this business with Dr. Liang. Let's try our best."

Huo Duan understood what Gu Fengyan meant. Doctor Liang’s annual income was no less than ten taels of silver. If he wanted to drive him under his control, how could he do so without some capital?

"That makes sense," Huo Duan murmured, "We also need to buy more things for the house, and we still owe ten taels of silver, so we need money for all these things..."

He winked and smiled at Gu Fengyan, "However, the most important thing is to sleep. I think it's getting late, so go to bed early, Mr. Huo. Money can be earned if you work hard. After all, we are people with business acumen!"

Gu Fengyan agreed very much. He threw the handkerchief to Huo Duan, tilted his head and moved his arms, creaking, "Oh, I'm really tired today. Mr. Huo, can you help me spread the quilt?"

He smiled like a squinting fox, very sweetly.

"So you're treating me like a maid." Huo Duan joked.

His hands did not stop for a moment. He diligently spread out the quilt, told Gu Fengyan to go to bed first, and then took the wooden basin to pour water. He turned off the light when he came back.

That night, I wore comfortable underwear, lay in a warm bed, and had a good sleep.

…

Father Huo had already entrusted all household affairs to the couple, so he did not dare to sleep in and got up at dawn.

There are still plans for today. The corn and wheat planted in the fields have almost sprouted, and the soil needs to be loosened. Gu Fengyan also plans to harvest another wave of spring bamboo shoots from the back mountain.

Early in the morning, the two of them went up the hill after breakfast. Huo Duan went down to the field to loosen the soil and weed, while Gu Fengyan went up the mountain to harvest spring bamboo shoots and wild vegetables.

No one was willing to come to the back mountain. In addition to thirty kilograms of spring bamboo shoots, Gu Fengyan also collected some medicinal herbs and wild vegetables. Lunch at home was still waiting for him to prepare, so he did not dare to delay any longer and went down the mountain.

Huo Duan was still busy in the fields. Gu Fengyan washed his hands and began to prepare lunch. He skinned the rabbit he caught the day before, washed it, chopped it into small pieces, and added wild ginger and onions to remove the fishy smell.

Father Huo was old and had bad teeth, so Gu Fengyan added wild gastrodia elata to the meat and stewed it until it was soft and melted in the mouth. After the meat was finished, the soup base could be used to blanch wild vegetables... It was a good meal with steamed white rice.

The three of them were very satisfied with the meal, and Huo's father even sighed that Yan Ge'er was really the lucky star of their Huo family.

After the meal, Huo's father took care of the dishes, while Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan prepared the wild vegetables and herbs they had collected.

Angelica dahurica, thistle, white striata, motherwort… Gu Fengyan picked herbs that were easy to prepare, and only needed to be dried and fried. Huo Duan used palm leaves to tie the wild vegetables into small bundles, and Gu Fengyan washed and sliced ​​the herbs, drying those that needed to be dried and frying those that needed to be fried.

"Oh, are these medicinal herbs? Brother Yan knows these?" Father Huo looked at the two people busying around and came over to take a look.

Gu Fengyan put the sliced ​​and chopped small thistles into the dustpan and said with a smile, "My family used to run a pharmacy, so I know a little bit... But father, there are so many medicinal herbs in our village, why doesn't anyone harvest them and sell them for money?"

Father Huo picked up a white hyacinth, helped to break off the roots and threw them into clean water. "How could there be none? Every year, people in the village collect herbs and sell them to the county, but unfortunately they don't know how to process them, or if they don't process them well, people won't buy them. In the end, it takes a lot of effort but little money. Who is willing to do this?"

It turned out that there was a problem with the processing technology. Doctor Liang was a kind-hearted doctor and he would never have thought of making huge profits from using life-saving medicine.

Gu Fengyan groaned, "So that's how it is."

From this perspective, Doctor Liang is the only person in the village who knows how to prepare medicinal materials, and Gu Fengyan becomes more eager to recruit him.

"Dad, go and have a rest. The two of us are enough here." Huo Duan gathered the bundled wild vegetables together and watered them.

Seeing the two people doing this, although Huo's father didn't believe that they could make a lot of money from this medicinal herb, he didn't want to dampen their confidence, so he simply took the chopped goose food and went to feed the chickens.

After hearing what Huo's father said, people would not buy it if the food was not prepared well, Gu Fengyan paid more attention to the cooking temperature... The lights in the Huo family's courtyard were on all night.