Despite Miao Village being located in the mountains, the households weren"t as poor as imagined by the outside world. Most of the houses were well renovated, and many of them had brand new stickers on their windows for the holiday season.
With the first person stepping out of the village into the colorful world, they would also bring others out with them. They might not be cultured, but they"re able to make a living as laborers. They can also save up money and send them back to their families.
Thus, there was an awkward situation in Miao Village, since most households would only have the elderly, women, and children with better financial conditions. On the contrary, those that never stepped out of the village could barely get through their days.
While treating the patients with Big-Foot Diseases, Su Tao had already gained an understanding of Miao Village. It"s currently in an awkward situation where transportation wasn"t developed. On the contrary, the other villages had roads developed, and their standards of living were also higher.
"The neighboring Jintian Village has a Stone Factory, and their profits are pretty decent. So there were many from our village that went over to work. Although Miao Village also has the materials, our transportation isn"t developed, and those business proprietors aren"t willing to develop it." Miao Zhongtian vexed his troubles as he continued, "I"ve gone to the town hundreds of times, trying to get a road developed in the village. However, my words carry no weight, and I couldn"t get the application done without any relations."
Although it was mentioned as neighboring, there was a distance of over ten-odd kilometers with a huge mountain that separated them. If you wanted wealth, you would need the roads built. Any places that wanted to develop would require transportation as the foundation. Otherwise, all your resources were held up, and you couldn"t bring them to the outside world.
Shaking his head, Su Tao sighed, "Second Uncle, it"s a bad idea to use built roads just for a Stone Factory."
While Miao Zhongtian tugged his hands together, he glanced at Su Tao with curiosity. "Why?"
Pointing towards the mountain, Su Tao smiled. "What"s over there?"
"Those are just old trees. A few people came to investigate them a few years ago, but they"re not any precious species. So they"re not worth anything." Miao Zhongtian sighed.
In Miao Zhongtian"s eyes, there were only stones aside from trees in the mountain.
Su Tao sighed. The extinction of wild herbs was also indirectly related to these unknowledgeable villagers. "The mountain itself is a food chain. Not only are there trees, but there are also all sorts of animals, along with extinct medicinal herbs. Truth be told, this trip of mine to Miao Village is to investigate the nearby mountains to see if they"re worth my investment."
"Investment?" Miao Zhongtian"s eyes instantly lit up. He had been yearning for someone to invest and develop Miao Village. With someone developing Miao Village, the villagers would also be able to earn money. Take the Jintian Village as an example, the Village Chief there was a shareholder in the factory, and he would look arrogant whenever there was a meeting in the town. Miao Zhongtian wasn"t a priest, and he, too, wished that he could act so lofty one day.
Naturally, his wish was unrealistic, since Miao Village was too remote, and it would be hard for any investment to see profits. So who would be willing to suffer a loss?
Rubbing his hands, Miao Zhongtian looked a little nervous. He had already built the foundation of trust for Su Tao. After all, the latter had used his actions to prove that he"s a kindhearted person.
"Yeah, but my investment isn"t the same as the neighboring villages. I won"t cut down trees on the mountain or topple it with dynamite, but protect it." Su Tao smiled.
"Protect it? You"re not going to develop it? Then how will it earn money?" Although Miao Zhongtian had been watching the news and the agriculture channel to learn about how villages could earn money, he couldn"t figure out Su Tao"s plans.
"The mountain itself is a treasure. So protecting and excavating equates to an endless flow of treasures." Su Tao did not go in-depth with his explanation.
Suddenly, Miao Zhongtian was at a loss, before he smiled. "How surprising. Let"s go. We"ll go back to my house and get my wife to cook a few dishes. We"ll talk while we eat."
The two of them took half an hour to return home. Miao Zhongtian first made a check in the kitchen before ordering his wife to add a few dishes. However, his wife grumbled a little but immediately went silent after Miao Zhongtian reprimanded her. The village and cities were drastically different, where women had to listen to their man, especially when guests were around. On the other hand, women would be more pampered in the cities.
Sichuan food was generally spicy, and there were quite a few spices added into the dishes. It was something that Liu Jianwei, who lived in Nanyue, couldn"t get used to. Despite his robust figure, he was drenched in sweat and he would hiss from the spice. However, he couldn"t stop his chopsticks.
It was mainly because the ingredients used in the dishes were extraordinary. Aside from wild boars, there were a lot of wild delicacies, such as bamboo pith spare ribs soup. Bamboo pith was known as the Empress of Fungus, with a refres.h.i.+ng taste, and it could also help with balancing the blood pressure.
Su Tao also couldn"t hold back and drank a few more bowls of the soup. Xiao Jingjing smiled when she saw this scene. "How rare for Master to enjoy his food to this degree."
In her impression, Su Tao was someone who ate very little, since filling your stomach a little more than half was a traditional way of maintaining health.
"I"m enjoying the taste of nature." Su Tao smiled.
Miao Zhongtian immediately smiled. "For villagers like us, we"re not lacking this stuff the most."
Nodding his head, Su Tao commented, "You can definitely earn a stable income if there"s a proper channel to sell these ingredients."
As they drank the rice wine that Miao Zhongtian brewed himself, it was already dark when Miao Zhongtian"s wife came in. "The husband"s family of Lihua is here!"
Looking at Fan Lihua, Miao Zhongtian inwardly sighed, since this was a troublesome matter. Fan Lihua left the village to seek medical treatment for her daughter, and she had undergone a drastic change herself. Even her dressing seemed like someone from the city. On the other hand, Miao Yurong was a good-for-nothing and was known in the village for being trash. There was already the feeling of a toad with a swan in his relations.h.i.+p with Fan Lihua, not to mention that they"re more incompatible now.
There was an old woman following behind Miao Yurong. When Miao Yurong saw Fan Lihua, he immediately ordered, "Follow me back home!"
"I"m not going home. That"s not my home!" Fan Lihua shook her head with her eyes turning red.
When the old woman heard her, she suddenly roared and pounced forth and grabbed ahold of Fan Lihua"s hair. "You s.l.u.t. You"re ambitious now that you"ve gone out? You"ve left for half a year, and you still refuse to come home now?! Are you trying to embarra.s.s my family?!"
However, Fan Lihua could only constantly move backward as she cowered into a corner. Even if she had used her hand to block that old woman, her hair was in a mess.
That old woman was still cursing, "For a money-losing girl, the family has lost so much money. I asked you to bear a son with my son, and you"re unwilling. My family line will end with you!"
Illiterate people held prejudice against women, and it was no wonder that Fan Lihua wasn"t willing to return to this place; it was a nightmare for her.
Liu Jianwei immediately stood up and dragged the old woman by the collar, then he tossed her to the side. That old woman"s feet were instantly lifted from the ground and she sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
Seeing his mother being beaten, Miao Yurong instantly became furious and he pulled out a chopper knife from his waist and charged towards Liu Jianwei.
However, Liu Jianwei didn"t even cast a glance at him and lashed out a kick. Instantly, Miao Yurong felt the chopper knife flying from his hand as Liu Jianwei shoved him and executed a backspin kick on the knife. After the chopper knife spun in the air, it was pinned on the wall with the edge touching Miao Yurong"s scalp. Liu Jianwei had already held back, or Miao Yurong would"ve lost his life now.
Miao Zhongtian was also in a difficult spot. Miao Yurong was someone from the village, so they"re practically blood-related. On the other hand, Su Tao and his company weren"t from the village.
After weighing the pros and cons, Miao Zhongtian persuaded, "Yurong, take your mother back. Lihua is staying here tonight, so we"ll deal with this matter tomorrow!"
Puffing his chest, Miao Yurong glared at Su Tao and Liu Jianwei. "I won"t be bullied by you foreigners. You guys watch out!"
When the two of them left, Xiao Jingjing supported Fan Lihua and arranged her clothes and hair while Miao Zhongtian gave a wry smile. "Things are complicated now. Yurong has a cousin, who is a supervisor in Jintian Village"s Stone Factory. He must have gone to look for his cousin to take revenge on you."
Liu Jianwei snorted, "Bunch of village trash, I"m not afraid even if they bring a group over!"
He was speaking the truth, but Su Tao knitted his brows, since this matter had blown up. He was here to investigate the environment of the mountain, so he didn"t want any trouble. However, whatever comes, let it come. Fan Lihua was now an employee of the Three Flavour Hall, so he naturally had to take responsibility for his employees. Thus, he comforted, "Second Uncle, don"t worry about it. If someone comes looking for trouble, we won"t implicate you in it."
On the other hand, Miao Zhongtian instantly became unhappy, so he slapped his chest. "Physician Su, I won"t let anyone bully you lot for the sake of your kindness today as long as I"m still breathing."
Upon hearing those words, Su Tao instantly felt that Miao Zhongtian was a reasonable man, which was no wonder why everyone in Miao Village would listen to him.
When Miao Yurong returned home, his fury grew the more he thought about it and he took the cooking wine in the kitchen and took big gulps.
On the other hand, his mother was crying and grumbled, "You useless man, you can"t even watch over your wife. Now that she"s gone, this family is finished!"
As Miao Yurong drank the cheap wine, the alcohol went to his head and he smashed the bottle on the ground and roared, "I swear that I"m not a man if I do not take my revenge!"
Seeing Miao Yurong running out, his mother chased after him and yelled, "Where are you going?"
"I"m going to look for my cousin to stick out for me!" Miao Yurong shrugged his shoulders and disappeared into the night.