Chapter 1697
A Touch of Red in the Grass
After pondering for a long time, Wang An finally sighed and said:
"Back then, Da Jiugang told me that there should be a four-leaf shrub in this old village. It grew from the small shrub that they didn't lift back then. If you calculate it, that four-leaf shrub should be over fifty years old."
After a pause, Wang Ancai continued:
"If you ask me, let's not bother looking for this fourth-grade leaf seedling. It's only worth a thousand or eight hundred yuan anyway. Let's go back, pack our things, and go to another old village."
Although Wang An wasn't afraid of the riddled corpse, having such a thing hovering around in front of him was really unsettling and awkward; in short, he felt very uncomfortable.
To be honest, it's only because Wang An and his group weren't professional ginseng diggers that this happened. If they were, they would normally turn around and head back down the mountain upon seeing this, because in the eyes of ginseng diggers, this situation is an ominous sign!
After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli looked at Wang Li, then at Huang Zhong who was still vomiting violently, and nodded, saying:
"Brother-in-law, it's up to you. I'll do whatever you say."
Wang Li glanced at the corpse, his lips twitched, and he said:
"Yeah, Fourth Brother, I think you're right. Let's go check out the next old place. This place feels eerie to me."
When he finished speaking, Wang Li looked around.
Wang An glared at Wang Li and said irritably:
"What's so weird about it? Where did all this weirdness come from? It's just a dead person. Haven't you ever seen a dead person before? Damn it, you better remember this from now on: don't spout nonsense in the old town."
When a legitimate ginseng-digging gang enters the mountains, especially one led by an older generation of ginseng diggers, there are many rules. One of these rules is that all gang members must not speak carelessly once they enter the mountains, and even during normal communication, their words must be very brief.
Furthermore, many normal conversational phrases have been changed. For example, smoking is called "taking fire," eating is called "taking food," going back to rest is called "taking a house," and snakes can no longer be called snakes, but "money strings." Although speaking like this is awkward, it's all for good luck and for things to go smoothly. Speaking carelessly will really get you beaten up.
The reason why we can't speak carelessly is quite simple.
There is a saying that ginseng has a spirit and can sense human emotions, so if you talk nonsense, the ginseng will sense it and run away in advance.
Another theory is that speaking carelessly will displease the Mountain God, thus preventing the ginseng gang from finding large quantities of ginseng.
Of course, these are all rather mystical explanations. The truth is that talking nonsense annoys people and can prevent them from properly seeking ginseng.
Although Wang An is not a rule-abiding person, he does not want to deliberately break the rules.
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li immediately became obedient, lowered his head and said, "I understand, Fourth Brother."
Wang An ignored Wang Li, glanced down at Huang Zhong who was still pretending to vomit, and didn't ask for his opinion again. He tugged at Xiao Bai, then patted Huang Zhong's shoulder and said:
"Alright, stop throwing up, let's go."
After saying that, Wang An led the way up the slope, because once they reached the top and crossed a ravine, they would be able to vaguely see the location of the tent.
Seeing Wang An leave so decisively, Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and Huang Zhong quickly followed.
And so, the four of them stopped wading through the old path and, leading Little White and Little Black, headed back.
After walking a few steps, Mu Xueli suddenly quickened her pace to catch up with Wang An, and asked with a face full of curiosity:
"Brother-in-law, what was that person you were supporting when he was hung up there?"
Wang An glanced at Mu Xueli and said indifferently:
"Your question is unnecessary. How would I know what I'm supporting?"
Mu Xueli said to herself:
"I heard that the ginseng gang punishes traitors and those who murder their comrades by stripping them naked and hanging them on trees to be bitten by mosquitoes, and then they die of thirst."
Wang An had naturally heard this theory before, but he didn't speculate in that direction. Mainly because the man was already dead, infested with maggots, and no one knew who had hanged him, so in Wang An's view, considering these things was pointless.
After Mu Xueli finished speaking, Wang An nodded and said noncommittally:
"Hmm, that should be it."
But then Mu Xueli spoke again:
"Fourth Brother, if this person also supports being hung up for this reason, then wouldn't their ginseng gang have gotten a huge amount of stuff?"
Wang An nodded again, seemingly unconcerned, and said:
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Why bother thinking about this useless stuff? Let's hurry back and pack our things."
As the saying goes, "wealth moves people's hearts." In this remote mountain village, especially in an old hamlet, for someone to be hung up and starve to death, the situation is most likely just as Mu Xueli guessed.
Regardless, Wang An had no interest in continuing the research; staying away from this troublesome place was definitely the right thing to do.
However, there is an old saying that goes, "If you plant flowers with care, they may not bloom; if you plant willows without care, they may thrive." As soon as Wang An finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of red in the grass out of the corner of his eye.
Instinctively, Wang An stopped in his tracks, and immediately behind him came Mu Xueli's exclamation of "Oh my!"
It turned out that Wang An's sudden stop caught Mu Xueli, who was following behind him, off guard, and she bumped directly into Wang An's back.
Immediately afterwards, Mu Xueli asked:
"What's wrong, brother-in-law? Why aren't you leaving?"
Wang An didn't answer Mu Xueli's question. Instead, he stared intently at the red figure, and then uttered two words:
"wooden club".
That's right, Wang An saw a ginseng root.
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li and Huang Zhong were still in a daze, but Mu Xueli, after a moment of surprise, immediately shouted:
"What grade of leaf?"
Mu Xueli's words surprised Wang An, mainly because when Wang An shouted "club" earlier, he wasn't actually calling for a mountain; he had just subconsciously uttered the word after confirming that the red substance was indeed ginseng.
Unexpectedly, Mu Xueli thought Wang An was calling out to the mountain, and he actually responded to the call.
However, Wang An immediately realized what was happening, rolled his eyes at Mu Xueli, and then looked at the four branches surrounding the red patch, saying softly:
"Four-grade leaf".
Mu Xueli asked loudly again:
How many seedlings?
Wang An rolled his eyes at Mu Xueli again, then frowned at Mu Xueli, signaling him to keep his voice down.
Then, after looking around the area around the red patch and not finding any other red, he paused for two or three seconds before saying:
"They're everywhere!"
After saying this, Wang An glared fiercely at Mu Xueli, but said nothing more. (End of Chapter)