Days passed, and the Dragonback Village became livelier.
It had only been eight or nine days since the start of construction, and the plantation had begun to take shape. It was set to be completed in a couple more days.
Tang Hao could see its progress every single day. In recent days, upon seeing that the plantation was almost done, he started discussing with the village committee about recruiting interested people in the village to help him cultivate the plants.
Growing medicinal herbs was no easy matter, as it required way more attention than planting rice in a paddy field.
A large number of villagers immediately came to register as soon as the news started spreading.
After screening the participants, thirty people were selected to start cultivating.
The training was handed over to the professional herb farmers hired by Liu Dajun since Tang Hao had his hand full with other matters.
He had to attend to the ginseng and lingzhi mushroom plantation every day.
Additionally, he had set up a maze formation near the plantation so humans and wild animals could not enter. If they did, they would entranced and end up walking right out of the area.
Furthermore, he had established even more plantations. There were three of each for the ginseng and lingzhi mushroom, so the total of plantations had gone up to six.
In the future, he was planning to open up more plantations to meet his cultivation needs.
It had been a month since he transcended to the medium period of the State of Qi Channeling. Recently, he had fully absorbed the spirit stone and successfully transcended to the late period of the State of Qi Channeling.
During the late period, the requirement for the spiritual essence was even higher. A bottle of Liquid of Spiritual Condensation showed minimal effect now, so, at his current pace, it would take several years to achieve the complete State of Qi Channeling.
Only by consuming certain varieties of ginseng and lingzhi mushroom and taking more Liquid of Spiritual Condensation could he hope to quickly improve his cultivation performance.
At the same time, he was also enhancing the formula for his weight-loss potion. He had been adding some aromatic herbs to the potions to improve its taste.
As for the packaging design and trademarks, those could be handed over to Liu Dajun in the future.
Moreover, he had begun to try to design an Artifact to be used for safeguarding a large-scale production plant.
The crafting of an Artifact required the selection of materials, refining, casting, and finally, the portraying of its seal.
In terms of material selection, Tang Hao had chosen metallic materials.
According to the ancient method, bronze forging was the lowest level of material refinement. It was not generally available in many places, but there was an abundance of them in the counterfeit cultural relic circles.
After contacting Elder Ma, he was able to find such a workshop.
After putting much thought into it, he decided to design it the shape of a large jar. It was a particularly crude-looking one, so it would not be too eye-catching.
He received the goods the day after the order was placed.
The jar was half the height of a person. It looked effortless and gruff, and was really ugly. Even so, it was precisely how Tang Hao intended it to look.
After that, he drew on a talisman seal on the wall and the bottom of the jar.
Finally, a piece of jade was embedded on the jar’s bottom.
Jades were known to be spiritual objects which could store spiritual Qi to a certain extent. The Qi gathering formation he drew on the jar would be able to pull in spiritual Qi and congregate it on this jade.
Of course, this type of Qi gathering formation was weaker. However, it could at least meet the requirements needed to stimulate the medicinal power in the herbal ingredients.
Hence, a Qi gathering jar was ready for usage. In the future, potions would be prepared by placing herbs into the jar to be left to brew for some time. It would save him the process of producing them one at a time like he had previously done.
If the results were satisfactory, he just needed to craft more jars in the future for it to be possible to meet demand.
Once he was done with the jar, Tang Hao was itching to test it out. The results he got turned out to be satisfactory. It took the herbs about half a day to brew, taking an even shorter time if a magical spring was added.
Tang Hao heaved a sigh of relief at this moment. He could quickly achieve large-scale production in the future with this Qi gathering jar.
Once the plantation started to run and got on the right track, he would be ready to build a factory.
He proceeded to inform Liu Dajun and the others of this news. They were excited to hear this and started to get busy.
A few days later, the plantation was finally completed.
There was no grand opening ceremony, and the base was immediately opened and began running. Tang Hao brought along the herb farmers to various spots to spread the seeds and herb seedlings.
Of course, Tang Hao had prepared the leyline gathering formation on the plantation ground on the night before.
The medicinal herbs planted on the grounds would grow faster and be harvested sooner with the irrigation from the spiritual Qi.
Tang Hao felt contented and pleased upon seeing that everything was on the right track.
On the same day, Tang Hao returned from the deep mountain. He saw Yan’er standing at the junction in front of him from afar, and she was looking at him.
“Big Bro Hao!”
As soon as she saw Tang Hao, she trotted straight toward him. There was a clear and bright smile on her charming face.
“What’s up? Why are you so cheerful?” Tang Hao asked, slightly taken aback.
“Big Bro Hao, I’m going back to school tomorrow!” Yan’er replied.
Tang Hao was stunned, and then remembered that it was going to be September soon. Therefore, it was time for schools to reopen.
“That’s good! Remember to study hard. As you already know, the third year of high school is the most critical period,” Tang Hao said.
“I know! I know!”
Yan’er chuckled lightly.
“Oh right, Big Bro Hao! What are you doing tomorrow? Can you send me to school?”
Tang Hao was stunned again, and his expression became somewhat dazed.
Yan’er was going to No.1 high school as well. As for him, he had never set a foot near that place since his expulsion. It had almost been a year and a half since that incident!
Even though he had been kicked out of school, he still had some lingering attachment toward No.1 high school.
It was a good idea. He could also take this opportunity to go and visit.
He quickly agreed to her request after considering it.
“Sure! What time tomorrow?” Tang Hao asked.
Yan’er cheered and jumped in joy. Then, she said, “Great! Anytime is fine, Big Bro Hao. It could be in the morning or afternoon.”
Tang Hao pondered and replied, “Then, I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning! But, I don’t have a fancy car, only a three-wheeled motorcycle. So, don’t complain about it.”
“Any car is fine as long as Big Bro Hao’s the one sending me. I’ll even sit on a tractor,” Yan’er said in a serious tone.
Tang Hao chuckled at her statement.
The next morning, Tang Hao rode his three-wheeled motorcycle to the entrance of Yan’er’s house.
“Yan’er, remember to be good at school, study hard, and don’t disappoint your Big Bro Hao,” Zhang Hongfang repeatedly warned Yan’er as she sent her off.
“I got it, ma! You’ve repeated it a hundred times!”
Yan’er mumbled.
At this moment, she was wearing a school uniform that had white and blue stitching. The style was very ordinary, but it looked particularly beautiful on her. She appeared extra youthful and pretty.
Her long black hair was tied up into a ponytail in a simple yet refreshing look.
Even Tang Hao’s eyes brightened up when he saw her.
She did not fall short in the appearance department if compared to Liu Bingyao, it was just that their temperaments were different. One was fresh and youthful, while the other one was ethereal.
As for their figure, Liu Bingyao was still slightly better, but Yan’er was not so bad herself. In a year’s time, she would probably obtain graceful curves as well.
“Lil Hao, I’m handing over my darling daughter to you now!” Zhang Hongfang smiled at Tang Hao.
“Mom, what are you talking about!” Yan’er blushed embarrassedly.
“Ha! He’s at an unmarried lady’s house, what are you so embarrassed about?” Zhang Hongfang said teasingly.
“I told you, mom. Big Bro Hao has someone he likes already!”
“That’s nothing. Lil Hao’s still young. It’s too early for him to get married. So, you still have a chance!” Zhang Hongfang whispered.
“You’re really something, mom. I’m done talking to you.”
Yan’er got even more embarrassed. She lowered her head and walked straight toward Tang Hao.