Several more days passed in the blink of an eye.
Tang Hao stuck to his usual daily routine. Every day he cultivated his qi, concocted potions, then studied the skills of talisman-making and plantation. Every other day, he traveled to Dragonrock Village to check on the progress of the roadworks.
The days were uneventful, but the time was well-spent.
With Sis Xiangyi around, the days were even romantic.
The student gathering was already some time in the past, though he could still feel the after-effects. Many of his ex-classmates invited him for a meal, though Tang Hao declined them all.
Li Fei was recommended to President Li. President Li owned a large-scale shoe factory that produced several popular brands in the country. President Li was satisfied with Li Fei and his father’s performance.
Li Fei was an honest and diligent young man, not to mention that he was quick to learn new skills. President Li appreciated him, while his father was a down-to-earth man who was willing to work hard.
President Li hired them immediately. Li Fei became a secretary, while his father became a workshop supervisor.
Because of that, Li Fei’s father insisted on inviting Tang Hao over to their house for dinner to thank him properly. He had nothing but praises for Tang Hao, which caused him to blush intensely.
As for Liu Jiawei and Zhang Qi, according to Captain Zhou, the two had admitted guilt and would be submitted for inspection. Liu Jiawei was guilty of attempted rape and should be sentenced to prison for three years or so. Zhang Qi was an accomplice and thus received a lighter sentence, but would still be put away for several years.
Tang Hao was rather satisfied with the judgment.
He heard rumors that rapists usually suffered inside prisons. Furthermore, Liu Jiawei was a handsome boy with fair and tender skin. He should be quite popularly received there, though he spared a moment of silence for his butt.
In a couple more days, good news came from Dragonrock Village. The roadworks were finally completed.
Tang Hao immediately departed for Dragonrock Village as soon as he received the news.
The potholed, crooked mountainous path had become a wide and flat asphalt road. The atmosphere became totally different, as though it was leading to a prosperous town.
The asphalt road directly connected the main road to the village, across the bridge that went over the stream.
Tang Hao was immediately greeted warmly by the villagers when he arrived.
Shi Xuenong, the village elder, was also there to greet him.
“Thanks to you, Lil Hao, that the village is graced with this road! Thank you so much!” The village elder tightly grasped Tang Hao’s hands without letting go. His face displayed immense gratitude.
“Haha, look at my Lil Hao! He’s grown up to be such a fine young man!” His uncle laughed heartily with pride.
The villagers looked on with admiration. “Grandpa Jianyun is so lucky to be blessed with a good grandson!” They exclaimed.
“A proper road is the first step to prosperity. Now that we have taken the first step, the village will soar to greater heights!” Tang Hao said.
“What a good speech, Lil Hao!” The village elder became more emotional. He still had not let go of Tang Hao’s hands.
“Right, that’s a good speech!” The villagers all expressed assent. Some even started clapping.
A group of middle-aged women looked at him with admiration.
“Oh, this Lil Hao isn’t too bad! Look at him, he’s handsome and shows promise. If my daughter were a few years younger, I’d match them together.”
“Pah! Would Lil Hao be interested in that wild child of your family? Lil Hao is such a good kid, he must already be married. Even if he isn’t, Shi Xuefeng’s daughter should be first in line!”
Tang Hao exchanged pleasantries with the villagers for a while before excusing himself to visit his maternal grandparents.
His maternal grandparents had taken many health care potions in the meantime. Their bodies became stronger and their complexions became better. They seemed to be in good spirits.
Tang Hao brought them many bottles of health care potions.
“Lil Hao! You’ve done another good deed for the village! If Caifeng in heaven knows about what you did, she will be very happy.” Tears welled in Grandma’s eyes as she looked at Tang Hao and reminisced upon her daughter.
Grandpa felt melancholy and his eyes reddened.
After chatting with Grandpa and Grandma for a while, Tang Hao went to Yan’er’s house.
“You’re here, Lil Hao!” Zhang Hongfang greeted him passionately from afar.
Yan’er came out of the house when he reached the front entrance.
Yan’er bashfully stood in front of the door. She was dressed plainly without frills, though that did not hide her beauty.
Her skin was fair and flawless. Her features were pretty, and without any make-up, she looked pure. A gentle smile adorned her face.
She looked so charming under the bright sun.
“You’re here, Brother Hao!” She shouted sweetly.
Her smile was beautiful. Her big eyes were slightly narrowed like crescent moons.
“Yup! I’m here to look at the completed asphalt road,” Tang Hao said while smiling. “Right, how are your studies?”
Yan’er had been self-studying at home to catch up on her missed lessons.
“It’s going fine. I’ve been studying on my own all this while, so it won’t take too long to catch up when I return to school,” Yan’er replied.
“Great!” Tang Hao smiled.
“Come in and sit down, Brother Hao!” Yan’er said somewhat bashfully.
After sitting in the house for a while, Tang Hao went into the mountains.
The land for the plantation had been planned and the paperwork had been approved. Ever since the roadworks were finished that morning, workers had been busily transporting materials and beginning construction.
Tang Hao was satisfied with the bustling scene.
The construction project was rather simple and did not need much time because piling was not needed. According to Liu Dajun, they should be finished within half a month at their current efficiency.
Tang Hao had reserved the entire mountain range for his plantation business. Medicinal herbs could be planted in the mountains or the valleys. The area was divided into different plots.
After a brief survey, Tang Hao ran deep into the mountains toward the magical spring.
He circled the area around the magical spring and found a good plot of land for planting ginseng, while lingzhi could be planted next to the spring.
Ginseng and lingzhi had many uses. They are essential components in many potions and elixirs.
Of course, the ginseng and lingzhi would need to be grown in the wild and not artificially cultivated.
Tang Hao’s plantation methods could be considered as artificial cultivation, though with his methods, the product was wildly different and achieved a similar potency to wild-grown herbs.
The plantation requirements for lingzhi were not as strict as that of ginseng. Ginseng thrived in low temperatures. They were in the southern part of the country, which was not a suitable place to grow ginseng.
Tang Hao naturally had a solution for that.
He had already prepared a set of jade talismans and laid down a freezing ice formation. The area would turn cold which made it suitable for ginseng cultivation.
He drew a circle in the valley, then dug meter-deep holes at regular intervals around its perimeter and planted the jade talismans inside.
When the task was complete, Tang Hao could sense the temperature in the area drop.
Then, he retrieved a hoe, plowed the area and sprinkled water from the magical spring.
He then dug small holes and buried a ginseng seedling in each of the holes.
Two or three hours passed since he started the task. The sky was turning dark.
Tang Hao then went next to the magical spring and set up the lingzhi plantation before leaving.
The area was deep in the mountains and hardly anyone went there. He was not afraid that someone might discover his secret, though he planned to lay down a maze formation in the future so that normal people would not be able to access it.