The Peasant Wife: The Prime Minister's Beloved

Chen Xi rushed to the village chief's house anxiously and knocked gently on the old wooden door.

A moment later, it was Guo who answered the door with a playful smile on her face.

"Oh, what kind of good wind direction is it today to bring our little celebrity from Xianghe Village to this humble abode?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in Guo's words.

Chen Xi was not affected by Guo's words, and directly and decisively stated his purpose: "Is the village chief at home? I need to discuss something urgent with him."

Upon hearing this, Guo simply said, "Gaoping, someone is looking for you."

He turned around and went back to the house, completely ignoring the fact that Chen Xi was still standing outside the door, his back seemed to carry a hint of displeasure and indifference.

Soon, accompanied by continuous yawning, Xu Gaoping appeared in front of the door with a sleepy look on his face. After seeing Chen Xi, he instantly suppressed his impatience and replaced it with a warm smile: "Oh, it turns out to be Chen Xi. You came to my house so early. Is there something urgent?"

Chen Xi took a deep breath and said bluntly: "I came here to discuss with you the livelihood and wealth growth strategy of Xianghe Village."

The words "make money" seemed to have magic power, which made Xu Gaoping's eyes light up immediately. He quickly welcomed Chen Xi into the house and his attitude became extremely enthusiastic.

However, seeing Chen Xi remained silent, Xu Gaoping could no longer suppress his curiosity and expectation. He couldn't wait to ask, "What is the specific plan for the way to make money you mentioned?"

Chen Xi then slowly spoke: "My idea is this. Tomorrow morning, you can arrange for the villagers to go up the mountain to collect mushrooms and fungus, but the Chen family does not need to participate. I am willing to purchase them at the price of three cents per pound, and each household is limited to 50 pounds. Perhaps the villagers don't know that these mountain products are not only easy to preserve after being dried, but also more valuable, and can bring long-term economic benefits to the village."

"You mean, besides the Chen family, all other villagers in the village have the opportunity to participate in this activity?"

There was a hint of disbelief and expectation in Xu Gaoping's words. He stared at the other person closely, as if trying to find a definite answer from the other person's eyes.

"That's right. Except for the Chen family, all other villagers are welcome to join. But please remember, the amount collected by each family must not exceed 50 kilograms, so as to avoid over-exploitation of resources." The other party answered promptly.

"Okay, okay, no problem!" Xu Gaoping promised repeatedly, and the stone in his heart fell to the ground instantly, fearing that this sudden opportunity would disappear without a trace in the next moment.

"Then it's settled. We'll gather at the entrance of the village tomorrow morning and go into the mountains together."

After saying this, Chen Xi turned and left in Xu Gaoping's eyes full of gratitude and expectation, his steps steady and resolute.

Watching Chen Xi's figure walking away, Xu Gaoping felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

Recalling the difficult decision announced at the town's emergency meeting yesterday.

In addition to the original fixed grain tax, each household was required to contribute an additional one or two taels of silver to support the frequent disaster relief in various places.

Nowadays, the country is in a precarious situation. Displaced refugees can be seen everywhere, and the cries of hunger echo in the barren fields.

Despite repeated funding of aid, this little help is but a drop in the bucket for the vast disaster area, and ultimately the burden has to be passed on to ordinary people who are already overwhelmed.

Just when Xu Gaoping was at a loss, thinking about how to explain this sudden extra burden to the villagers who worked hard in the village, Chen Xi's proposal solved a big problem for him.

In this era of material scarcity, one or two taels of silver meant the savings of a year's hard work for an ordinary family, and it was the sum of a family's living expenses for several months.

The method of increasing income proposed by Chen Xi gave the villagers hope in their difficult times.

Thinking of this, Xu Gaoping couldn't help but start to plan. He planned to ask his wife to go to the mountains to pick wild mushrooms tomorrow, so as to at least supplement the family income.

No matter how careful I was in other aspects of my daily life, my meager salary was still not enough to meet the growing expenses of my family.

After leaving the Wu family, Chen Xi headed directly to the town.

In fact, according to the original plan, she didn't have to come in person today, but she was worried that the hot-tempered elder sister from yesterday would come to cause trouble again, so she came here specially to check the situation and get rid of the precious ginseng in her hand.

When Wanyu saw Chen Xi coming uninvited, a bright smile immediately broke out on her face and she walked forward enthusiastically.

I was wondering in my heart, if he was not a patient seeking treatment today, why did he come to visit me?

When Chen Xi explained his purpose, Wanyu's admiration for this young doctor deepened even more.

In such troubled times, it is truly rare to have a doctor who cares so wholeheartedly about his patients.

"Shopkeeper, could you please take a look at this ginseng and appraise it for me? How much is it worth?"

Chen Xi carefully and gently handed the rare ginseng to Wanyu, his eyes full of anticipation.

Wanyu took the ginseng with both hands, holding it as if it were a rare treasure. She turned it left and right, examining it over and over again, with an unconcealable look of surprise in her eyes.

"Oh, this is such a high-quality ginseng, full of flesh, with clear texture and golden color. How did you have the good fortune to find such a good product? This is a tonic, and it is undoubtedly a great choice for nourishing the body."

Seeing Wanyu so amazed, Chen Xi couldn't help but secretly rejoice in his heart, and estimated that this deal would make him a lot of money.

"Boss, we are all straightforward people. Since you said this is a rare and high-quality product, what is your price in mind? Let's be straightforward and give a realistic price."

Wanyu pondered for a moment, a look of consideration revealed between her brows.

"How about this? This is not the first time we have cooperated. Based on this trust, I am willing to pay eighty taels of silver. This kind of ginseng is exactly what my store needs. What do you think?"

Chen Xi knew very well that there was still some room for negotiation in Wanyu's words, but considering her reputation in the clinic and her daily practice, she didn't want to lose the big picture for the small and ruin the long-term cooperative relationship.

After weighing the pros and cons, although eighty taels was not the highest price, she was quite satisfied. After all, her original intention was not greed.

"Okay, the shopkeeper is so straightforward, deal."

After the transaction was completed, Wanyu ordered the medicine boy beside her to quickly get the silver note and give it to Chen Xi. She herself was overjoyed. She stroked the ginseng with both hands and slowly walked upstairs. It seemed that she had already planned how to make the most of this treasure.

Chen Xi took the heavy banknote, put it away carefully, and sat back at the consultation table, but his mind turned to other things.