064 Another Interview! (Please Vote for Me!!)

“How am I not keeping my word? We’ll set out in a little while!” At this moment, Chen Anquan gazed toward the distant Ao Bei Mountain.

Mist and clouds wreathed Ao Bei Mountain, shrouding nearly two-thirds of its mass and lending it an air of profound mystery.

“Juanjuan, doesn’t it seem like there’s more mist on Ao Bei Mountain today than usual?”

“Huh?” Startled by Chen Anquan’s sudden remark, Chen Juanjuan turned to look at the mountain behind them. “What’s so strange about that? Ao Bei Mountain’s the tallest peak around here—it’s always shrouded in mist. Nothing unusual about it.”

Her eyes shifted thoughtfully for a moment before she smiled at Chen Anquan. “Are there a lot of medicinal herbs on Ao Bei Mountain?”

“What makes you ask that?” Chen Anran was a bit surprised. Of all things, why would she bring that up?

He had trekked over all the mountains near Ao Bei Village. In terms of medicinal plants, Ao Bei Mountain wasn’t the richest among the neighboring peaks, but the rehmannia at its summit and the polygonatum around it were not only abundant but of excellent quality.

Even the aged rehmannia halfway up the slope, once processed, met the export standards for Fusang and Chao countries. Both nations were major consumers of Chinese herbal medicine and favored the high-quality herbs from Huaxia. In contrast, the efficacy of domestic herbs was generally inferior, worlds apart from those exported to Fusang and Chao.

And the enormous, centuries-old rehmannia at the summit? Those were truly priceless treasures.

There was still some of the summit rehmannia from the last harvest stored at Chen Anquan’s home. He was loath to sell it, saving it instead for his own cultivation.

Boss Kuang Quan, who ran the local pharmaceutical factory, had offered fifty yuan per pound for Chen’s ordinary prepared rehmannia—the kind that required four rounds of steaming and sun-drying. As for the high-quality summit roots, if he were to process them using the nine-steam, nine-dry method, he could probably fetch a hundred yuan per pound.

“Today, we’ll go gather herbs on that mountain over there,” Chen Anquan said, raising his hand to point at a peak to his left.

“Over there?” Juanjuan was clearly reluctant. She glanced back at Ao Bei Mountain. “I want to gather herbs on Ao Bei Mountain!”

“That’s out of the question. The terrain there is far too dangerous.”

Ao Bei Mountain’s silhouette resembled a farmer bent over his work. Its western slopes were especially steep, with an average gradient of seventy degrees—so daunting that even locals avoided climbing it without good reason.

Of course, Chen Anquan had another reason for refusing to take Juanjuan up Ao Bei Mountain: he didn’t want her to discover the abundance of premium rehmannia at the summit.

“But I want to climb Ao Bei Mountain! My grandmother used to tell me there were tigers up there when I was a child. I want to see if that’s true—and with your martial skills, I’m not afraid at all!”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll turn into a tiger myself and eat you?” Chen Anquan teased.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Juanjuan huffed, standing before him with her tiny fists raised, challenging, “Just try it!”

“All right then!” Chen Anquan was in no mood to argue further. So she wanted to climb Ao Bei Mountain? He’d take her once, let her see for herself what ‘barren mountains and treacherous waters’ really meant. By then, she’d be begging to turn back—there was no way they’d even reach the summit, or perhaps not even halfway.

“You lazybones, still in bed so late! You must have skipped breakfast. Come eat at my house!” With that, Juanjuan seized his wrist, unconcerned about propriety, and dragged him toward her home.

“Wait, wait! I haven’t brushed my teeth yet!”

Juanjuan, previously so fierce, stopped in her tracks and looked at Chen Anquan with a sheepish smile. “I forgot! Go brush your teeth and wash up, then come have breakfast at my place. My mom’s already made it!”

Without waiting for his answer, she dashed off toward her house like a carefree little girl.

Chen Anquan watched her leave, her spirits high.

Just after she left, he noticed an SUV slowly approaching from a distance—heading for the basketball court, to be precise.

His memory served him well: it was the work vehicle from the county television station.

So Zhao Xuan was coming!

Chen Anquan remained where he was, not hurrying to wash up. He had a hunch this visit had something to do with him. After all, he’d performed quite the good deed yesterday, and word of it had spread through the neighboring villages.

Soon, the SUV pulled up at the basketball court.

The doors opened, and out stepped a man carrying a video camera, a short-haired woman, and Zhao Xuan, her hair in a bun.

Zhao Xuan held a microphone, spotted Chen Anquan nearby, and smiled as she beckoned him over. “Chen Anquan, good, you’re home.”

“Is this interview about me?”

“We’re here to interview you, of course,” the short-haired woman beside Zhao Xuan said with a smile.

Chen Anquan didn’t recognize her, but she was clearly a colleague from the station. “All right, give me a moment.”

He headed back inside and made his way to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he stepped outside again.

The three from the television station stood by the door, not venturing in.

When he emerged, Zhao Xuan asked, “You live here, Chen Anquan?”

“Yes. It’s cool in summer and warm in winter—I don’t even need to turn on the air conditioner.”

He wasn’t lying. Earthen houses were naturally comfortable, though modern people found them too plain and unsightly. Most families in Ao Bei Village had already built large Western-style homes—some could even be called villas.

Changing the subject, Zhao Xuan said softly, “Your act of bravery yesterday is a point of pride for Yicheng County. Our station is here especially to interview you. We hope you’ll cooperate.”

She spoke with great courtesy, clearly worried he might refuse.

Chen Anquan scratched his head and glanced at Zhao Xuan, then looked off toward Juanjuan’s house.

“Could I have breakfast first? You’re welcome to join me.”

“Ah?” Zhao Xuan looked at her colleagues, a faint smile on her face. “We’ve already eaten.”

Chen Anran gave an apologetic smile. “But I haven’t.”

It was already nine in the morning. For people in Zhao Xuan’s line of work, the day started at eight, and with an hour’s drive, it was just right to arrive at nine. Breakfast, of course, would have been settled before setting out.