Zhang Dadan saw his father discussing all the work at the factory with such detail, as if he knew everything by heart. This greatly comforted him. With this kind of managerial experience, his father wouldn’t be flustered when he beca the village chief.
Wang Cuifen chatted idly on the street for a while, basked in a multitude of flattery, before returning ho satisfied.
When she got ho, it was already past eleven o’clock. Curious, Wang Cuifen glanced over at the father and son duo and then hurried off to cook.
After lunch, Zhang Dadan greeted his parents, grabbed a herb basket, picked up a shovel, and headed for the back mountain.
Passing through the middle of the village, a few elderly n and won who were squatting on the ground and eating saw him with his herb basket and asked with concern, "Dadan, what treasure is up the mountain again?"
Zhang Dadan was puzzled by the question. What were these old folks thinking all day? Treasure on the mountain? How co he didn’t know?
Pausing for a mont, he realized that they probably thought he was going to dig for ginseng again because of the herb basket.
Zhang Dadan smiled wryly and just spouted nonsense: "Going to dig for mushrooms... mushrooms..."
After Zhang Dadan left, the group of old folks beca jubilant: Digging for mushrooms? Who would believe that he’s digging for mushrooms in broad daylight!
Zhang Dadan must have found so ginseng or Lingzhi up the mountain and was going to make a fortune all by himself. How could they let him have it all?
Zhang Dadan did go up the mountain to dig for herbs, but he was only after so common herbs, nothing like ginseng or Lingzhi.
Upon reaching the mountain, Zhang Dadan rested for a while before proceeding deeper into the forest with his herb basket.
But he hadn’t walked a few hundred ters away from the chicken farm when he spotted several old n approaching with herb baskets.
"Dadan, wait for us... wait for us..." Although they had lived in Anping Village for most of their lives, they wouldn’t dare enter the deep mountains alone.
As they drew closer, Zhang Dadan explained, "Uncles, I really am not hunting for treasure. Following won’t help!"
The old n with mouths full of yellow teeth chuckled, "We know... we know... We’re just bored and ca along for the fun..."
Hearing this, Zhang Dadan almost toppled over. For the fun? Who would believe that they ca up the mountain just for fun during midday?
The mountain was full of venomous insects and wild beasts, and these people were well past their pri. If sothing happened, Zhang Dadan couldn’t bear the responsibility.
But the old folks were adamant; they wanted to follow Zhang Dadan into the mountain. They wouldn’t let him get rich alone - even a sip of the soup would do!
Seeing their determination, Zhang Dadan couldn’t lose his temper; after all, they were his elders.
With no other choice, Zhang Dadan relented, guiding them around the mountainside.
These elders, averaging around sixty years old, although free of major illnesses, had bodies that were no longer what they used to be. It wasn’t long before they were aching all over.
Noticing their physical exhaustion, Zhang Dadan stopped, bent over, and shouted into the deep woods.
The elders sat down on a large rock, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, and curiously asked, "Dadan, what are you doing?"
Zhang Dadan smirked mischievously and replied, "Too tired, just shouting to catch my breath..."
Shouting to catch his breath? Wouldn’t shouting make him even more tired? This kid Zhang Dadan sure was foolish!
As they sneered at Zhang Dadan, they suddenly heard a wolf howl from the woods. Yes! A wolf!
Looking toward the sound, they saw a gray wolf standing on a nearby rock, baring its teeth and staring intently.
"Wolf... wolf... that’s a wolf..." several elders shouted in panic, their voices overlapping.
Zhang Dadan pretended to be surprised and then calmly said, "Everyone, don’t be afraid. Let’s slowly back away. It shouldn’t chase us..."
Before Zhang Dadan could finish, the elders bolted towards the foot of the mountain, running faster than young n.
Zhang Dadan had to quicken his pace, carefully keeping an eye on them, soothing, "Slow down... be careful not to trip..."
The elders sprinted all the way back to the chicken farm. Seeing that the wolf hadn’t followed, they finally stopped to catch their breaths.
"Damn! There really are wolves on this mountain... Thank goodness... I ran fast!" one of them panted, relieved.
Another timid old man, resting a hand on his shoulder, advised, "Stop talking! We better get down the mountain now! We could get snatched by wolves any minute..."
Hearing this, Zhang Dadan chid in, "Exactly! I heard these wolves are very aggressive. You better hurry down the mountain!"
Everyone agreed, "Yes... yes... yes... let’s go down... let’s hurry down..."
The elders supported each other as they descended, but after a few steps, they noticed that Zhang Dadan wasn’t planning to leave.
Concerned, an elder turned back and said, "Dadan, aren’t you leaving? There are wolves on the mountain. Don’t be reckless!"
Zhang Dadan feigned helplessness and pointed towards his chicken farm, sighing, "I’m afraid too! But my chickens are still on the mountain!"
Upon hearing this, they chuckled bitterly, shaking their heads, filled with sympathy. It seed Zhang Dadan’s wealth wasn’t easily earned either!
Once they left, Zhang Dadan continued deeper into the mountain to gather so dicinal herbs for making ointnt for Wu Dabao.
But his primary reason for going up the mountain wasn’t to gather herbs for ointnt. It was to make talismans, just in case.
After gathering the required herbs in the deep mountain, Zhang Dadan returned to the chicken farm, entered a thatched hut, and took out a sack from under the bed.
The sack contained a brush, vermillion, and a thick stack of yellow paper, essential materials for making talismans.
He locked the door from inside and then began channeling the spiritual power within him to the brush tip, following the secrets from the Longevity Scripture to craft the talismans.
With his current cultivation, he could only make ordinary Yellow-grade Talismans, and even those had a low success rate.
Out of more than ten Evil Exorcism Talismans he crafted, only four were usable, achieving a success rate of just about forty percent.
At this point, most of Zhang Dadan’s spiritual power was depleted. If he continued, he would only produce useless defective products.
But Zhang Dadan planned to scout the town tonight, and without a few Spirit Talismans for protection, he felt quite uneasy.
With no other choice, Zhang Dadan recited a spell to enter the Jade Token and drank a few sips of Spiritual Spring Water, leaning against the Chicken Blood Stone to resu cultivating.
This ti, Zhang Dadan entered the Jade Token not to rapidly improve his cultivation but rely to replenish his spiritual power.
After about half an hour, he felt his spiritual power fully restored.
With his spiritual power replenished, Zhang Dadan left the Jade Token and returned to the thatched hut, ready to continue making Spirit Talismans. However, he heard his father calling him.
Alard, Zhang Dadan quickly tidied up the talisman papers, adjusted his clothes, and opened the door.
As soon as he stepped out, he was surrounded by his father and several cousins, who reproached him, "Dadan, don’t you have any sense? These chickens may be important, but not more important than your life!"
Before Zhang Dadan could reply, his mother rushed over and scolded him, "You little bastard! You know there are wolves on the mountain, yet you stay here courting death?"
Seeing the massive scene unfolding, Zhang Dadan realized how foolish his previous cunning plan had been.
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