7: Drug gang exploitation

Chen Linsheng returned home with his haul.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw his sister-in-law sitting in the courtyard mending clothes.

When Su Wan saw him return, she quickly stood up to greet him. Chen Linsheng handed her the bag containing the snake meat.

"Sister-in-law, I got lucky in the mountains. We can have an extra dish for lunch."

Su Wan nodded, took the heavy bag, and went to the kitchen. Curious, she opened it and saw a pile of large, thick snake meat. Its weight and quality suggested it was no ordinary small snake.

Her hand trembled in fright, and she cried out, "Ah!"

Chen Linsheng, who was organizing the herbs in his basket inside the house, felt his heart tighten when he heard the sound. He immediately stood up and quickly walked toward the kitchen.

Almost simultaneously, Su Wan ran out of the kitchen with a look of panic. The two nearly collided in the narrow doorway.

"A Sheng!" Su Wan grabbed his arm, forgetting all etiquette. Her hands urgently searched his arms, chest, and back, her voice tinged with a sob. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? This... this snake..."

Chen Linsheng felt a warmth in his heart. He held his sister-in-law's frantic hands and said, feigning ease, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'm fine."

"This was a true windfall. I saw a large python fighting a fierce tiger in the mountains. Both were severely injured. I hid far away and only dared to approach after they died, and that’s when I salvaged some meat."

Hearing this, Su Wan stopped moving.

She wasn't foolish; the smooth, clean cuts on the snake meat were clearly made by a sharp blade, showing no signs of being torn by a wild beast.

But since Chen Linsheng was unharmed, Su Wan had no choice but to swallow her questions.

"It's good that you're fine. A Sheng, in the future... please be careful in everything you do. Don't be careless."

"Yes, I know, sister-in-law." Chen Linsheng nodded solemnly.

Understanding each other without words, neither mentioned the true origin of the snake meat again. Su Wan went into the kitchen to cook, while Chen Linsheng returned to the house and retrieved the wooden box containing the Spirit Medicine.

Opening the lid, the Spiritual Plant lay quietly inside.

The crimson fruit shone with brilliant luster, and its unique fragrance, even when blocked by the wooden box, still slowly drifted out, refreshing the mind and spirit.

"The crimson blood fruit, a Low Grade Spiritual Plant, is warm and mild. It possesses the effects of supplementing Qi and blood, strengthening the Foundation, reinforcing the origin and cultivating the source, and prolonging life by dispelling illness."

Information about this Spiritual Plant instantly flashed through Chen Linsheng's mind.

This was certainly not something Chen Linsheng had personally seen, but knowledge granted to him by his Herb Gathering skill, which had already reached Minor Achievement.

[Skill: Herb Gathering (Minor Achievement)]

[Progress: (280/800)]

[Divine Effect: Profound Medicine Recognition, Expert Gathering Hands, Scent Tracking. Can recognize all herbs and gather them without damage; can locate medicinal materials based on faint medicinal fragrance.]

It was thanks to this Minor Achievement Herb Gathering skill that he was able to keep the Spiritual Plant intact, without damaging its medicinal efficacy.

Chen Linsheng estimated that the value of this Spiritual Plant was greater than that of commonly gathered Spirit Medicine.

"However... sister-in-law is right, I must be careful in everything. This Spiritual Plant must absolutely not be easily exposed."

There is no shortage of buyers for such precious treasures. Chen Linsheng could not expose it directly, lest it bring disaster upon him.

Thinking of this, he lifted the bed board and hid the wooden box in a concealed compartment, covering it properly with miscellaneous items.

At that moment, a rich aroma of meat drifted out from the kitchen.

"Dinner time, A Sheng!"

"Coming!"

...After the meal, Chen Linsheng took the herbs he had carefully dried over the past few days, left the village, and headed toward the market controlled by the Medicine Gang in Qinghe County.

The Medicine Gang was a recently established power, standing alongside the Hunter Gang and the Fishermen's Gang, controlling most of the herb acquisition and trade around Qinghe County.

This market was a trading center forcibly established by the Medicine Gang, and its rules were simple yet tyrannical.

Anyone who made a living gathering herbs within the boundaries of Qinghe County was forbidden from bypassing this location for private transactions.

Chen Linsheng had heard that an herb gatherer who didn't believe in evil tried to sell his medicinal materials directly to the Hundred Herbs Hall in the county town. The next day, he was found with broken legs and thrown into the river, a clear indication of their lawlessness.

Arriving at the outskirts of the market, he, like several other sallow and emaciated herb gatherers, was stopped by Medicine Gang members at the entrance.

"Entrance fee, ten copper coins." The gatekeeper stretched out his hand lazily.

Chen Linsheng silently counted out ten copper coins and handed them over, feeling a slight pang in his heart as he watched them fall into the man's hand.

Before even seeing a single buyer, a portion of his hard-earned money was gone.

Walking into this so-called market, he realized it was just a piece of riverside land crudely fenced off and utterly chaotic.

He quietly walked around, and his heart gradually sank.

The management here was chaotic, but the informants were numerous.

Gang members wearing wooden plaques with the character “Medicine” on their waists were strolling everywhere, their gazes sweeping over every stall owner and piece of merchandise like hawks. Some even casually took items from the stalls.

It was completely a makeshift, shoddy operation.

'Fortunately...'

A thin layer of sweat broke out on Chen Linsheng's back. He was extremely grateful that he hadn't impulsively brought the Spiritual Plant with him.

Taking out such a treasure here would be like a child carrying gold through a busy market; he would likely lose both his wealth and his life before even exiting the market gate.

He suppressed his emotions and went to the only pharmacy in the market directly operated by the Medicine Gang, where he sold all the ordinary herbs he had brought.

The shopkeeper carelessly fiddled with his abacus and quoted a heavily suppressed price.

"Seven hundred copper coins total."

Chen Linsheng's lips moved slightly, but in the end, he silently accepted the small string of copper coins.

The money had barely reached his hand when the man who had collected the entrance fee swaggered back, smiling broadly as he held out his hand: "Done with the transaction? Old rule: we take a 30% cut of the profit—210 copper coins."

Watching the other man naturally take nearly a third of the money, Chen Linsheng lowered his eyelids, concealing the surging anger in his eyes, his knuckles turning slightly white as he clenched his fists.

In the end, only 490 copper coins remained in his possession.

Clenching the money that had shrunk by more than half, he first went to the blacksmith's shop.

His old kindling knife had been damaged in several places during his fight with the giant python and needed to be replaced.

He spent nearly 300 copper coins to exchange it for a new, heavy, and sharp kindling knife. Only the coldness of the handle in his hand brought him a sense of security.

Next, he used the remaining money to purchase some coarse rice.

A person cannot live on meat alone.

Having completed all this, he carried his meager grain and new kindling knife, and, just as when he arrived, silently left the market—a place filled with exploitation and danger—blending in with the other numb-faced herb gatherers, and started on his way home.