"Hmm... Doctor Yu Qi, we understand perfectly." Nurse Shin Teng responded, wearing a mischievous, knowing smile.
Ignoring the nurse’s teasing, Yu Qi and Long Hui walked away from the camp. Long Hui led her directly to the orchard. Once the farm ca into her sight, Yu Qi froze in shock.
"This..." Yu Qi looked at the dark earth beneath the trees. "This is blessed soil." She stated.
Blessed soil occurred when a plot of land was empowered by a cultivator. It was the result of pouring spiritual Qi directly into the earth, much like the lake water in her Space, Sere. It made the land incredibly fertile, allowing anything planted in such soil to flourish far beyond natural limits.
However, while lake water poured into ordinary soil would eventually be absorbed and depleted by the plants, requiring constant reapplication, blessed soil was entirely different. Because the spiritual Qi was so abundant, it created a self-sustaining cycle that might not disappear for hundreds of years.
"Who on earth could have blessed the soil here?" Yu Qi wondered aloud, her mind racing rapidly with possibilities.
"I don’t know. I highly doubt the villagers know anything about the true nature of this land." Long Hui stated calmly.
"Soone very kind must have blessed this soil to help them." Yu Qi mused thoughtfully.
"That’s right. With soil like this, the village should be incredibly prosperous. But this village..." Long Hui let his words trail off aningfully.
He did not have to finish the sentence for Yu Qi to understand. Despite having "blessed" land that produced superior fruit, the village was still struggling with poor roads and low funds. Sothing was very wrong.
Yu Qi looked around the dark orchard, her eyes narrowing slightly as she processed the sheer value of the land beneath her feet.
"With soil this rich in spiritual Qi, the kiwis should be classified as top-tier organic produce, if not dicinal grade. They should be selling for ten tis the normal market price." Yu Qi made the remark thoughtfully.
"Exactly. The man that I spoke with earlier ntioned that the market has not been good lately, and they cannot even afford to pave the entrance road. For a village sitting on a literal gold mine, that simply does not add up." Long Hui said, his voice dropping to a low whisper.
"Sothing wrong is definitely going on here. Soone is intercepting the profits, or the villagers are being lied to about the true value of their harvest." Yu Qi concluded.
They were about to head back when they suddenly heard sothing. They exchanged glances imdiately. This sound... it was the deep rumble of a heavy engine in the distance. It was not the slow, chugging sound of the villagers’ old tractors. This was the powerful sound of a high-end comrcial truck.
"A truck? At this hour?" Yu Qi whispered softly.
Both of them quickly decided to hide and observe the situation quietly. A large refrigerated transport truck was parked near a side path that bypassed the main muddy road. It slowly ca to a stop.
Two n stepped down from the truck.
They walked toward soone waiting nearby. Yu Qi and Long Hui quickly recognized that person. It was the village chief, Su Longuo. The two n exchanged greetings with Su Longuo.
"Chief Su, here is the paynt for this month’s ’waste removal’ and the ’service fee’ for the transport." One of the n said while handing over a thick envelope.
Su Longuo accepted the envelope. Even though it was thick, it was still nowhere near equivalent to the true value of the kiwis.
"But the villagers... they are asking why the price of the fruit dropped again. They see the trucks leaving full while their cupboards remain empty." Su Longuo ntioned this concern to the two n.
"Tell them it’s the global market, Su. Don’t get greedy. Without us, these kiwis would just rot on the branch. No one else is brave enough to drive these mountain roads, right?" One of them sneered coldly.
Yu Qi and Long Hui listened carefully to the conversation.
"They are intimidating him. They’re buying the ’blessed’ fruit for pennies and selling it as luxury goods in the city." Yu Qi felt a surge of anger rising inside her.
"Look at the logo on the truck," Long Hui noted quietly, his eyes sharp as he pointed his finger toward the truck.
The logo featured a stylized golden leaf. That mark belonged to Golden Harvest Exports, a company Yu Qi recognized from her business dealings in the city. They were known for selling "exclusive" produce, but their sourcing was always a closely guarded secret.
"The villagers are suffering because of these scumbags." Yu Qi gritted her teeth angrily.
"We can’t move yet. We need to find out who is at the top of Golden Harvest. If we just stop this truck now, the villagers will be the ones who suffer the retaliation." Long Hui stated calmly.
"Let’s return first." Yu Qi said quietly.
"Hmm..." Long Hui nodded in agreent.
They quietly left the area. Those two n and Su Longuo had no idea that their transaction had been secretly watched by two silent figures.
....
The next morning, Yu Qi woke up earlier than usual. Everyone was still sleeping. She wanted to do so morning exercise. When she stepped out of the house, she saw that Long Hui was also coming out.
"Morning jogging?" Long Hui asked with a smile.
"Hmm..." Yu Qi nodded.
So both of them went jogging together. As they were jogging through the village, they noticed so of the villagers had already woken up and were getting ready to start their work for the day.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that ans it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shaless author, ZerahNeko***
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