Chapter 102

That night, ten young men followed Li Banfeng and Ma Wu toward the New Land.

Along the way, ten people carried ten sacks of stinky fish.

These were the dead fish Li Banfeng bought from the market last night, tied in bags, placed under the sun, and stewed for a day. Facing the wind, they could stink for over ten meters.

The ten young men didn't have an easy walk. A big guy with dark skin had walked less than two miles, and his face was already pale from the smell.

"These two are going to the New Land to fish for peaches, right? Otherwise, why bring such stinky fish?"

Another handsome young man in blue nodded and said: "Looking at the season, they should be fishing for peaches, but they can't do this job; they won't earn any money at all!"

A thin young man in a yellow shirt said: "Why do you care if they earn money or not? As long as we earn money, that's fine. We'll settle the price with them in a moment. Picking peaches must be at the market rate, otherwise, we won't do it."

Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao, one of the most common prey in the New Land of Lanyang Village.

Ma Wu was indeed taking them to fish for peaches on this trip.

Everyone walked to the southernmost end of the village. There were no houses here, and occasionally a few tents could be seen.

Many people didn't even have tents and just slept on the ground.

At the edge of the New Land, it's hard to say what might come out. Sleeping soundly tonight, by the next morning, there might not even be a corpse left.

These people had basically lost hope of survival. Having something to eat was already a great blessing. Living next to the New Land was because there was really no other place to sleep; they couldn't even snatch a spot under the bridge.

Everyone left the village and entered a forest.

This forest didn't look special; it just had lush branches and leaves. Everyone walked to the center of the forest, and under Ma Wu's command, five young men opened the ten sacks of stinky fish and placed them on the ground.

Twelve people took their places; ten young men guarded the windward slope, and Li Banfeng and Ma Wu guarded the leeward slope.

Ma Wu kept comforting Li Banfeng: "Brother Li, the peach tree must come from the leeward slope. We have to watch here, so we can give them orders in a moment."

Li Banfeng's face was pale: "Don't talk; if you talk again, I'll vomit."

"Brother Li, it's not that bad, right? I think it smells okay!"

"If you talk again, I'll vomit on you."

It wasn't that Li Banfeng was being pretentious; he had a special sense of smell. Being in the leeward position, the smell of stinky fish poured into his nostrils, almost killing Li Banfeng.

By 4:30 in the morning, dawn was approaching, and the forest finally showed signs of movement.

Squeak~ creak creak creak~

Something was moving between the trees.

Li Banfeng quietly put on the thread-pulling earrings and activated the technique of Insightful Spiritual Sound to listen to the other party's voice.

Squeak~

A sharp cry shook Li Banfeng's eardrums with severe pain. After calming down, Li Banfeng heard a roar beneath the sharp cry.

"Fragrant, so fragrant~"

Fragrant?

Li Banfeng really wanted to discuss this with the other party.

Swish~

The leaves rustled.

Ma Wu reminded everyone to be prepared.

An Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao tree was approaching them. In the foul stench, Li Banfeng had already vaguely smelled the fragrance of peach blossoms.

Cluck cluck cluck~

The sound of tree bark rubbing was endless. A "giant python" with a diameter of over one meter was slowly moving under the tree.

If it were someone's first time in the New Land of Lanyang Village, seeing such a thick python, they would definitely be scared out of their wits.

But quite a few of these young men had done the business of fishing for peaches; they knew this wasn't a python; this was the root of the Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao tree.

This tree root seemed to be the peach tree's nose; it was probing for smells everywhere.

When it passed Li Banfeng, the tree root had no reaction; a second-level residential cultivator was automatically ignored.

When it passed Ma Wu, the tree root reacted.

It climbed up the branches, came to Ma Wu's side, and dense root hairs slowly grew on Ma Wu's body.

Sweat broke out on Ma Wu's face.

He was very afraid. Although he had experience fishing for peaches, having experience didn't mean accidents wouldn't happen.

The Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao tree was a tree, without much spiritual wisdom, but its combat power wasn't low. If the root hairs entangled Ma Wu, for a Joy Cultivator who hadn't reached a level, it would be an appetizer for the peach tree.

After waiting for a moment, the root hairs stopped entangling Ma Wu and rushed toward the pile of stinky fish under the tree.

The peach tree knew there was a person nearby, but this person's attraction couldn't compare to the stinky fish.

A thick root hair plunged into the pile of stinky fish and sucked frantically.

The thread-pulling earrings continuously emitted the peach tree's cries: "Fragrant, so fragrant!"

Before long, several more root hairs plunged into the pile of stinky fish, and the pile of stinky fish was shrinking at a visible speed.

Seeing the time was ripe, Ma Wu led everyone to follow the root hairs and found the peach tree hidden nearby.

This peach tree was big enough for three people to embrace; a wooden house could easily be built on the huge crown.

Under the tree were exposed roots; dense tree roots extended outward, already beyond the range of normal human sight.

This tree had just arrived in this forest.

Li Banfeng was very curious: how could such a big tree move in such a lush forest?

Now was not the time to think about these things; everyone's time was extremely tight.

Twelve people, each carrying a cloth bag, took advantage of the peach tree eating the stinky fish and jumped onto the peach tree at the fastest speed.

Above the crown, under the peach leaves, fist-sized Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao were their target.

The peach tree trembled suddenly, like a person who suddenly had a few fleas on them, somewhat uncomfortable.

Two young men almost fell under the tree and were pulled up by Li Banfeng and Ma Wu.

Fishing for peaches, the more manpower, the better; not only is the efficiency of picking peaches high, but there is also mutual care between each other.

You must not fall down; falling into the root hairs, a living person would be eaten to the bone in the blink of an eye.

The peach tree quickly calmed down, no longer paying attention to these few fleas on its body, and concentrated on eating the stinky fish.

Now is the best time to pick peaches; the movements must be fast. Before the peach tree eats all the stinky fish, how many peaches they can pick depends on their ability.

Li Banfeng was the fastest; not only were his hands fast, but his feet were also fast. A traveling cultivator could move freely between the branches. Before long, he had picked two full bags of peaches.

Others' movements weren't that fast; every peach had to be picked carefully. Those who were unsteady had to rely on the people around them to support them and pull them.

Everyone barely picked enough for one bag, and the peach tree had already eaten over seventy percent of the pile of stinky fish.

Ma Wu looked at the stinky fish and shouted: "Retreat!"

Everyone packed their bags and left the peach tree quickly.

It would be too late if they didn't leave.

The Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao has a mixed diet; it loves stinky fish the most, but it doesn't mind eating something else.

Everyone left the forest at an extremely fast speed. Halfway there, Li Banfeng stood on a treetop and glanced at the location of the peach tree.

The peach tree had disappeared; I don't know how it disappeared, as if it had never come.

Was this peach tree planted by a Cultivator of Farming, or did it cultivate itself?

This matter is unknown.

Tonight's hunt ended; they were lucky to encounter an Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao tree.

What if they didn't encounter one?

Then this trip would be in vain; the wages for hiring people had to be paid, and the stinky fish could barely be kept until tomorrow night. This business would be considered a loss.

Everyone returned to Lanyang Village. On the way, they met someone selling breakfast. Ma Wu bought fried dough sticks and oil cakes and distributed them to everyone.

Seeing Ma Wu and the others leave, the breakfast seller hurriedly closed his stall and sent a message to the Song family's chief steward, Tang Tianjin.

Tang Tianjin received the news and immediately told the head of the Song family—Song Jiasen.

Buying breakfast, such a small matter, must he tell the head of the family?

Breakfast is not a big deal; the point is the peaches.

"Old Master, that Fifth Young Master of the Ma family took people to hunt in the New Land."

In Lanyang Village, hunting is one of the most important sources of income for villagers.

And Lanyang Village is the Song family's territory. To hunt in the New Land, you have to greet the Song family in advance, and the things you hunt have to be sold through the Song family.

Ma Wu didn't greet the Song family before going hunting; this matter is considered an offense to the Song family.

Song Jiasen drank a cup of tea, ate a piece of pastry, and asked: "What did he hunt?"

"Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao, hired ten people, fished back over ten bags."

Song Jiasen pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly: "What is he hunting peaches for? This business isn't something he can do; he can't earn money."

The steward said: "Old Master, we don't care if he earns money or not, but he didn't follow the rules; he went to pick peaches without greeting us. He doesn't take us seriously."

Song Jiasen laughed and said: "A few days ago, Ma Junyang had no money for rent and lived in a shed. These past few days, he got some money from somewhere and moved into a small building.

This young master from a wealthy family just can't endure hardship. The place he lives is better, but after paying the rent, I guess he won't be able to live much longer.

Let him take these few peaches; when he comes to us to sell the goods, give him money at the market rate. He'll know this business can't earn money, and he won't do it again in the future."

"Old Master, the Ma family has many connections in the city. Although Ma Wu was kicked out of the house, his foundation hasn't been completely broken. If he doesn't come to us to sell the goods, what should we do?"

Song Jiasen picked up the teacup, took another sip, and said indifferently: "Then we can't tolerate him. If he doesn't come to us to sell the goods, he won't be able to take even one peach out of Lanyang Village."

……

Ma Wu took everyone back to their residence, each carrying a bag, and weighed them one by one.

One jin of peaches, Ma Wu gave one hundred yuan. Picking peaches in the New Land of Lanyang Village is at this market rate.

Some were fast, picking fifty jin, earning five thousand yuan.

Some were slow, picking ten jin, earning one thousand yuan.

Over ten bags of peaches, a total of over three hundred and eighty jin, excluding Li Banfeng and Ma Wu's, a total of over thirty thousand yuan was given out.

What are these peaches used for?

The pulp of the Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao is an auxiliary material for refining elixirs, and the peach pit is a top-quality medicinal material.

How much money can these peaches sell for?

According to the price the Song family buys them, one hundred yuan per jin.

This matter is funny: buying at one hundred yuan per jin, selling at one hundred yuan per jin; Ma Wu didn't earn money on this business trip.

Not only did he not earn money, but he also lost money.

Buying stinky fish costs money!

In Lanyang Village, the only one who earns money by picking peaches is the Song family, because selling peaches to the city is five hundred yuan per jin, a five-fold profiteering.

But can Ma Wu take the peaches out?

No.

The Song family couldn't watch Ma Wu carry over ten bags of peaches out of the village; this is equivalent to cutting off the Song family's wealth and slapping the Song family in the face.

Then what is Ma Wu trying to achieve by doing this business?

The handsome young man in blue asked: "Two bosses, you aren't thinking of selling the peaches to the Song family again, are you? I'll remind you two, this won't earn any money."

Ma Wu laughed: "Boss Song is my friend; you can't earn it, but I'm different."

The young man didn't dare to ask more, and everyone took their money and left one after another.

Only two people were left in the wooden hut. Li Banfeng fetched water, and Ma Wu soaked the peaches.

After soaking for over an hour, seven or eight hundred worms floated on the water surface.

Earth Tu Tu Yu Tao have high sugar content and are very easy to attract worms.

Ma Wu picked out over fifty spotted green worms from the seven or eight hundred worms and handed them to Li Banfeng.

"This worm is called Tiger Head Louse. Brother Li, be sure to keep it safe."

Li Banfeng collected the green worms and went to the market to buy fish.

Ma Wu took the peaches and went to find the Song family to sell the goods.

PS: Banfeng has the technique of Hundred Flavors Linglong; the lethality of stinky fish is really great.

Master of Pro successfully promoted to lv2. Thanks to all the readers for your support along the way.

(End of chapter)