Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 37: Gifting the Land

In the early morning, Tang Mountain was bathed in sunlight. Although it didn’t have a Golden Summit, it was still quite beautiful.

Li Xu walked along the gravel path to the stretch of barren land at the northeastern foot of the mountain.

The soil underfoot was a deep brown, mixed with fine mineral particles, and had a unique texture.

He squatted down, grabbed a handful of dirt, and rubbed it between his palms. The soil was loose and fertile, and he could faintly smell a metallic tang—this must be the soil rich in special minerals mentioned in the report.

It wasn’t just the soil; the groundwater and magnetic field would also subtly influence plant growth.

Otherwise, he could have just dug up the soil and planted everything in his own yard.

’This is the place.’

Li Xu took a handful of Daohuaxiang No. 2 rice seeds from his bag and carefully scattered them in an open patch of overgrown weeds.

He didn’t till the soil or make any markings. He just casually scattered the seeds among the naturally growing weeds, as if sowing wildflowers.

This method had two advantages:

First, it wouldn’t attract attention. If anyone passed by, they would just assume it was wild rice growing naturally and wouldn’t bother to clear it out.

Second, it saved him a lot of trouble. Otherwise, planting half a mu of rice by himself without any tools would take all day and he still wouldn’t finish.

After scattering the seeds, Li Xu gently kicked some dirt over them with his foot, burying them slightly to prevent birds from pecking them away.

The whole process was simple and quick, finished in less than an hour.

’Now, it’s all up to fate.’

He dusted the dirt off his hands and looked at this piece of land, which would soon give birth to a miracle, his heart filled with anticipation.

Normally, growing rice requires cultivating seedlings first. Once the seedlings reach a certain size, they are transplanted into the paddies.

But Li Xu’s main profession was a doctor; he didn’t have the time or energy for such intensive farming.

Therefore, directly sowing the seeds was the most convenient method.

’It’s fine if the yield is a little lower.’

In any case, it would be more than a wild rice harvest.

As for a paddy field... the land here was low-lying, with the remnants of an underground hot spring seeping out enough moisture for the rice seeds to grow.

After he finished sowing, Li Xu decided to take advantage of the early hour and explore other parts of the mountain.

Tang Mountain wasn’t high, but its vegetation was dense and the paths were rugged.

He climbed up a faint trail, occasionally spotting wild rabbits darting out of the bushes and hearing birdsong echoing through the woods.

When he reached halfway up the mountain, he discovered a dried-up spring—water stains remained in the cracks of the rock, but there was no longer any flow.

The surrounding ground was grayish-white, clearly formed by long-term mineral deposits.

’Is this the hot spring mentioned in the report?’

Li Xu squatted down and touched the rock’s surface.

It was cold to the touch, with no warmth at all. The spring had clearly dried up completely.

He shook his head and continued wandering elsewhere.

...

At the foot of the mountain, an SUV and a pickup truck were parked on the side of the road.

Ding Kaifang got out of the car with several men who looked like engineers. They were unloading surveying equipment from the pickup and discussing something.

"The hot spring’s water vein is completely cut off. It’s impossible for any more water to well up," an older expert said, shaking his head.

Ding Kaifang said, unwilling to give up, "Check it one more time. If it really won’t work, then we’ll abandon the development."

"Alright."

The experts shouldered their instruments and began taking measurements.

「Half an hour later.」

The data was compiled.

After analyzing it, the older expert said, "President Ding, we’ve confirmed the water vein is severed. The spring water is flowing into fissures in the soil and can’t reach the surface. There’s no way to fix it through engineering."

"Sigh!"

Ding Kaifang sighed. "Fine. Thank you for your hard work. Let’s go back..."

As he was speaking, he saw someone walking down from the mountain.

The figure was familiar.

He took a closer look. "Huh? Doctor Li?"

He hurried over and asked in surprise, "Doctor Li, what are you doing here? Are you here to hike?"

Tang Mountain was remote, its paths winding, and it had no constructed stairs or facilities.

It was a purely wild mountain.

Very few city residents ever came here.

"President Ding?"

Li Xu was also surprised, not expecting to run into an acquaintance here.

He came up with an excuse: "The quality of Chinese medicinal herbs on the market is a serious problem these days. I was looking for a clean place to grow some herbs myself, and I thought the soil here looked good."

Ding Kaifang’s eyes lit up. "You’re going to grow medicinal herbs?"

He turned to look at the barren mountain and suddenly had an idea. "Doctor Li, this land belongs to our Ding Group. If you need it, you can use it free of charge!"

Li Xu said in surprise, "This is your land? How could I do that? If I’m growing herbs here, how will you use it?"

"We discovered a hot spring here last year, so we bought the land," Ding Kaifang explained with a wry smile. "We were planning to develop a hot spring resort. But early this year, the spring stopped flowing. After a detailed survey, we found the geothermal vein had been severed. The land has no development value for us anymore."

"I see. That’s a real shame."

Li Xu said sympathetically.

"You saved Duoduo, and we were struggling to find a way to repay you!" Ding Kaifang said sincerely. "I’ll have someone prepare a contract as soon as I get back. A ten-year free-use agreement. After it expires, if the Group has no other development plans, you can continue to use it!"

"This..."

’My duty as a doctor was to treat patients; it was a fair exchange.’

If the other party had offered him extra money, he would have refused.

But this land...

He really needed it.

"Thank you very much, President Ding."

After a moment of thought, Li Xu accepted the offer.

"Haha, Doctor Li, don’t be so formal. We’re the ones who should be thanking you."

’Repaying Li Xu’s kindness with a piece of land the Group wasn’t using...’

Ding Kaifang also felt he was getting a great deal.

Besides, in his opinion, Li Xu’s medical skills were extraordinary.

Building a good relationship with such a highly skilled doctor...

...could be life-saving someday.

"Doctor Li, what kind of medicinal herbs are you planning to plant? Do you need me to send people to prepare the land?" Ding Kaifang asked curiously.

"Not for now," Li Xu politely declined. "I’ll start with a small-scale trial. We can talk again once I’ve decided on the varieties."

He didn’t want anyone to know he was planting rice, and he especially didn’t want to draw attention to that patch of special soil.

"Alright. If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask."

Ding Kaifang said, "Doctor Li, when are you leaving? Would you like a ride with us?"

"No, thank you. I still have other things to do."

"Alright then, we’ll be on our way."

Ding Kaifang left with his men.

Li Xu looked back at Tang Mountain.

It still felt a little surreal.

’This mountain and the large plot of land at its foot will be mine for the next ten years?’

He couldn’t help but marvel at how rich and powerful the Ding Group was.

They just gave away a piece of land like it was nothing.

Of course, that was also because it had no development value for them.

For Li Xu, however, its value was immense.

’I’ll keep planting rice on that patch, and I can’t let the rest of the land go to waste. I’ll plant medicinal herbs on it.’

Li Xu planned in his mind.

On the one hand, planting herbs elsewhere would prevent the land from being wasted.

On the other hand, it could camouflage the uniqueness of the rice patch.

There was just one problem.

The place was too remote, and it was outside the city.

If it wasn’t properly looked after,

it could be damaged by birds, beasts, or even people.

’Do I have to hire someone specifically to watch over it?’

’Who would I even hire?’

’Wangjia Gou isn’t far from here, is it?’

Li Xu opened the map on his phone and saw that Wangjia Gou was just on the other side of Tang Mountain.

It was three kilometers away as the crow flies.

’I’ve got it.’

An idea sparked in Li Xu’s mind.

Wang the Third from Wangjia Gou grew the medicinal herb Daqing Leaf.

He had experience growing herbs.

If Li Xu hired him to help look after this land, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Besides, Li Xu also wanted to visit Wangjia Gou to see if the plot where Wang the Third grew Daqing Leaf could still produce the kind of herb capable of treating the influenza virus.