Chapter 32: Isatis Root
Ying Kongtu could not see who the person making the wish was. He could only roughly sense that it was a middle-aged man.
It was rare to have a believer. Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan exchanged a glance.
The two of them decided to go down the mountain right away and take a look.
“Let’s go, Jingwei. Quickly.” Ying Kongtu carried the back basket and called to the wolf cub following behind him.
“Awoo—” The wolf cub howled, happily jumping up on its two front legs and squeezing over to Ying Kongtu’s side.
Wen Zhongshan was even bumped by it and could only follow behind the person and wolf.
The two people and one wolf went down the mountain and reached the roadside.
Without needing Ying Kongtu to call it, the wolf cub lightly jumped onto the back bed of the three-wheeler.
It even knew to shift aside and make room for Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan to put down their baskets.
Ying Kongtu looked at its self-aware movement and rubbed its big head.
The wolf cub had not shed yet. Most of its fur was still baby fur, soft and fluffy, with an exceptional feel.
Once it shed and its fur became harder, it would no longer feel as nice to touch, but it would become a majestic wolf.
Ying Kongtu closed the tailgate of the vehicle bed and went to the driver’s seat. When he looked, Wen Zhongshan had also consciously sat down on the small stool beside the driver’s seat.
Wen Zhongshan was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. His chest muscles were clearly visible.
Sitting on the small stool, his head was almost touching the rain canopy overhead. Combined with his strong, sharply defined features, even the surrounding atmosphere seemed different.
Ying Kongtu had the illusion that he, too, was a majestic wolf.
However, once this little farm three-wheeler started moving later, not only would he be unable to sit upright, he would also have to hold the handle above him to keep his balance on the narrow seat.
A smile appeared in Ying Kongtu’s eyes.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.”
“I clearly saw your eyes curve.”
“That’s your imagination.” Ying Kongtu swung his long leg over to the driver’s seat and urged Wen Zhongshan, “Hold on tight. I’m starting the vehicle.”
Wen Zhongshan listened and held on to the handle, only to see the smile on Ying Kongtu’s face become even more obvious.
Wen Zhongshan: “?”
Ying Kongtu twisted the throttle and drove out, giving Wen Zhongshan no chance to ask.
The farm tricycle drove from the outer ring road into the county, then circled onto the main road by the river.
Ying Kongtu drove very quickly.
By the time they reached the riverside, the person worshipping the god was packing up and had not yet left.
Ying Kongtu recognized that familiar figure at a glance.
—It was Yue Chengji.
It was actually Yue Chengji.
Ying Kongtu instantly had the feeling of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Yue Chengji had come to worship the mountain god, hoping that selling his mountain would go smoothly.
And Ying Kongtu was practically his only customer.
Whether his mountain sale went smoothly or not basically depended on Ying Kongtu.
Whether in practical terms or in mystical terms, the one he needed to ask was Ying Kongtu.
This coincidence was rather extraordinary.
Ying Kongtu watched Yue Chengji from afar and did not go over to disturb him.
However, after returning home, Ying Kongtu invited Xing Chang over for tea and asked about Yue Chengji’s situation.
Xing Chang drank his tea. “Qianchongcui Mountain’s situation is basically just like that. I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“It isn’t the mountain’s situation. It’s Yue Chengji’s family situation.” Ying Kongtu also drank tea and said, “I feel like he’s a little anxious about selling the mountain. Logically speaking, if life is going smoothly, then sell the mountain if he can, and manage it himself if he can’t. He wouldn’t be especially anxious.”
Much less anxious enough to worship a god.
Xing Chang froze for a moment. “I really don’t know about that. Wait, I’ll ask my mom.”
Xing Chang made a call on the spot.
His mother indeed knew and spoke quickly and directly.
Xing Chang turned to Ying Kongtu and said, “Found out. Yue Chengji mainly went into investments.”
“For the past ten-plus years, he’s invested in quite a few orchards one after another, and he even opened a fresh fruit shop with someone. They say he invested more than three million, and he still owes money to relatives and friends.”
“Recently, a friend pressed him to repay the debt, even went to his house to demand payment, and they had a quarrel. It got pretty ugly.”
Ying Kongtu understood. “He wants to sell off part of his assets, exchange them for cash, and clear some of his debts.”
Xing Chang said, “That’s what I think too. In recent years, you’re probably the only one who looks interested in mountain forests. If he misses you, that mountain might rot in his hands.”
“Eighty yuan per year per mu is too expensive. It’s far higher than the market price.”
Xing Chang understood clearly. “He probably deliberately called out a high price and is waiting for you to bargain.”
Ying Kongtu shook his head.
With such a high asking price, under normal circumstances, people would not even bother to come take a look. How could they bargain?
Ying Kongtu said, “Let’s wait a while longer. I truly don’t have money on hand right now.”
Xing Chang said, “All right. I’ll keep asking around and also keep an eye on Qianchongcui Mountain’s situation to see if anyone else wants to buy it.”
After Xing Chang left, Wen Zhongshan and Ying Kongtu continued drinking tea.
That evening, they had just fried a pot of chinquapins.
The chinquapins were fragrant and floury, with the natural sweetness of nuts.
Eating them plain was a little dry and hard, but eating them slowly with tea made them absolutely wonderful.
Wen Zhongshan asked, “When you said just now that you have no money on hand and want to wait a while—are you planning to plant something?”
“I knew I couldn’t hide it from you.” Ying Kongtu admitted it frankly. “Earlier, I wanted to plant something on the mountain. After thinking for a while, I have some ideas now.”
“What do you want to plant?”
“Isatis root.” [1]
Wen Zhongshan had thought it would be some kind of fungus, like shiitake mushrooms.
After all, Ying Kongtu had planted wood ear mushrooms before, and there were ready-made dead trees on the mountain.
Winter shiitake mushrooms fetched a good price and had a strong fragrance.
With Ying Kongtu’s ability, planting shiitake mushrooms would definitely earn him a sum.
Ying Kongtu knew what Wen Zhongshan was thinking as soon as he saw his expression.
Ying Kongtu explained, “When I planted wood ear mushrooms before, the mycelium already absorbed quite a bit of nutrition from the dead wood. The remaining deadwood should be left for the other creatures in the mountain.”
A mountain god never drained the pond to catch all the fish.
“Have you planted isatis root before?”
“I planted it a few hundred years ago.” Ying Kongtu smiled, his expression revealing nostalgia. “One year, an epidemic broke out nearby. Merchants from other places brought northern isatis root to sell. I saw that the conditions were suitable, so I planted some.”
“Then there should be no problem. The varieties of isatis root now are better and easier to grow.”
“That’s what I think too. I looked it up some time ago. Several varieties of isatis root nowadays are resistant to cold and drought, and they’re very suited to mountain environments.”
Ying Kongtu had not only looked them up, he had also followed several major isatis root merchants.
Ji isatis root and Jin isatis root were both very good. Ying Kongtu estimated that if he grew them, their quality would at least reach top grade.
“Just in time, there are fewer things to do in autumn and winter. If I plant one crop of isatis root, it should be about right.”
“One crop of isatis root takes two to three months?”
“Yes. At two months, the leaves can be harvested and sold. Recently, the price of indigo daqingye is quite good. By three months, the roots can be dug up.”
Ying Kongtu had chosen isatis root also because it was best suited for mountain growth and preferred sandy soil.
The soil on most of the mountains under his name was not considered fertile, and its condition had not been adjusted to its best state.
The conditions were still somewhat lacking for growing other crops, but growing isatis root was quite good.
Ying Kongtu had always acted quickly.
Since he wanted to plant isatis root, he immediately bought isatis root seeds, along with a pile of sheep manure, chicken manure, and soil.
All kinds of purchased supplies were piled at the foot of the mountain, forming several small hills.
Wen Zhongshan asked, “Which day are you planting? I’ll come help.”
“In the next two days. Wait for me a little. I still need to get a ‘secret weapon.’” Ying Kongtu said mysteriously.
Question marks almost appeared above Wen Zhongshan’s head.
Seeing him like this, Ying Kongtu smiled. “Do you want to go with me?”
“Yes.” Wen Zhongshan agreed without hesitation.
So, on an autumn day with clear skies and crisp air, Ying Kongtu brought Wen Zhongshan up Ai Mountain.
“It’s where we scooped fish roe last time,” Ying Kongtu said. “We’re going to scoop some lake mud to mix with the seeds. We’ll also dredge the lake while we’re at it.”
The lake on Ai Mountain was a snow mountain lake.
Comparatively speaking, there was not as much silt at the bottom as in ordinary lakes.
But it was a wild lake, and it had not been dredged for several hundred years. A thick layer of silt had still accumulated at the bottom.
Ying Kongtu had noticed it the last few times. The lake’s waterline had risen quite a bit.
If it were not dredged, then in a few years, when snowmelt from the mountains became abundant, the lake water would overflow directly.
There were not many water sources on the mountain, and lake water was very precious.
If it went too long without dredging, the lake would not be able to hold that much water. Not only would the living space of the organisms inside shrink, but a large amount of lake water would be wasted all at once, which would also be unfavorable for the growth of nearby plants.
Moreover, once there was less lake water, animals coming over to drink during droughts would also face greater difficulty.
Ai Mountain was not currently under Ying Kongtu’s name.
Even if it were under his name, human laws and regulations would not require him to clear the silt from the bottom of the lake.
However, as a mountain god, dredging the lake was also one of the duties required to manage the mountain forest.
“Just in time, planting isatis root requires fertilizer, so it kills two birds with one stone.”
“And,” Ying Kongtu quietly told Wen Zhongshan, “when my divine power was at its peak, Ai Mountain was under my name. It was nourished for a long time, so the lake mud is better than ordinary mud and carries faint divine power.”
“Now, mixing the lake mud with the seeds and scattering it on other mountains will help the other mountain forests recover their condition more quickly.”
Ai Mountain was especially high, but the lake itself was not very deep. The deepest part was only about ten meters. However, hiring people to dredge it would still be very difficult.
Ying Kongtu did not hire anyone. Instead, he made a special digging ladle and planned to bring Wen Zhongshan along to slowly dig out the silt at the bottom of the lake bit by bit.
The weather was getting colder. When they got up early and went to Ai Mountain, white mist surrounded the mountain.
Ying Kongtu inhaled a breath of icy air. “So refreshing.”
Wen Zhongshan nodded in agreement. “One breath, and even the ears and eyes feel clear.”
Ying Kongtu dragged the wooden boat out of the silt. “Let’s start.”
The two of them were non-humans, and their strength was far greater than that of ordinary people.
Even though the mud-scooping ladle had a long wooden handle and was strenuous to operate, they still easily dug up the silt from the lake bottom.
The silt at the bottom of the lake was different from ordinary silt.
It was extremely fine, almost like batter.
Once it was scooped up, the black silt shimmered with tiny specks of light under the sun.
It looked uniquely beautiful.
“This is the result of water plants at the bottom of the lake rotting and mixing with the silt. There should also be some fish manure mixed in, from the same kind of fish whose roe we ate last time.”
“Water plants and fish manure?” Wen Zhongshan crouched down and looked closely. “So that’s why it’s so fertile?”
“Yes. If used alone as fertilizer, it would even be a little too fertile. Mixed with other fertilizers and used as a base for seeds, it should be just about right.”
Wen Zhongshan examined the silt and could not help saying, “With isatis root grown so carefully, how good will the medicinal effect be?”
“It will definitely be very good.” Ying Kongtu said cheerfully, “When the time comes, I’ll find a good buyer and won’t waste the medicinal power of this batch of isatis root.”
Ying Kongtu turned back and said to Wen Zhongshan, “Of course, for isatis root grown this carefully, I’ll definitely sell it for a high price too. By then, I’ll have the money to contract the mountain.”
Footnotes:
[1] Isatis root, commonly known in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as Ban Lan Gen (from Isatis indigotica), is a dried root used to clear heat, detoxify, and soothe sore throats. It is widely used for colds, influenza, and antiviral purposes, supported by in vitro studies showing antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity
