39: a bolt from the blue

“Dong dong ~ Is Physician Jiang home?”

A patient came to the door, and Jiang Hanwen rolled out of bed, sighing softly at the empty wine jar: “Old Shang, goodbye.”

The past cannot be chased, and the future cannot be moved.

A person can only live in the present.

The gloom in his eyes dissipated, and Jiang Hanwen called out: “Coming!”

Days passed in a flash, and six days went by.

On the afternoon of the sixth day, Jiang Hanwen arrived at the Council Hall’s side courtyard, a place he hadn’t visited in three years.

The door wasn’t closed; a gentle push opened it.

Du Qingfu leaned back in a rocking chair, his eyes closed.

Fallen leaves connected on the ground, rustling as the wind blew them across the surface.

Withered yellowish-brown weeds in the corner drooped to the ground, their stiff leaves scraping against the earth and grinding against stones.

Opposite the rocking chair, there was no one, just an empty space.

Jiang Hanwen entered the room, took a broom, swept away the fallen leaves, and pulled out all the withered grass, bringing some tidiness to the messy courtyard.

“Old Du, let’s go erect a monument for Old Shang together,” Jiang Hanwen said, standing before Du Qingfu and extending his hand.

Du Qingfu opened his eyes in a daze, and seeing it was Jiang Hanwen, his stiff eyeballs rotated, gaining a hint of vitality.

“Alright.”

Taking Jiang Hanwen’s hand, Du Qingfu slowly rose from the chair.

People’s hearts are unfathomable; at his age, he couldn't possibly make new friends.

His only friend died content, and he should have congratulated him, but leaving him alone in this world wasn't fair.

“Physician Jiang.”

“Brother Jiang.”

“Senior...”

As the two walked westward, most people greeted Jiang Hanwen.

Many newcomers didn't know the true creator of the Medicine Field.

Du Qingfu walking with Jiang Hanwen looked like an old butler, following closely.

The two arrived before a pyramid-shaped earthen grave, with a square pit dug half a meter in front of it.

On the ground nearby lay a clean snowflake-white stone, with the three characters 'Shang Zian' carved in the center of its surface, and below that, the words 'First Physician of the Medicine Field'.

Du Qingfu and Jiang Hanwen straightened the stone monument and poured gray fixing cement on both sides.

Paper money rustled as it burned, the firelight casting a reddish glow on both their faces.

When the paper money finished burning, black ashes were carried by the wind, flying everywhere.

Du Qingfu spoke stiffly, asking in a hoarse voice: “What’s buried in the grave, clothes?”

“Those medical books he gave me.”

The old friend’s past, using himself to find Acupoints, flashed before his eyes, and Du Qingfu grinned, laughing: “Buried well!” Du Qingfu suddenly clapped.

His old friend’s latter half of life, dedicated to atonement, perhaps being a Physician was his happiest time.

“He died, and it’s easy for him; he just walks away.

What about you? What do you plan to do in the future?”

Du Qingfu straightened his body, his gloom completely dissipated, and his eyes regained their shrewdness, staring at Jiang Hanwen.

“When it’s time to erect your monument, I’ll bury both of you old men together,” Jiang Hanwen said with a smile, not at all afraid of offending the old man before him.

“Bury my ass! I can live another thirty years; just don’t let me, a white-haired man, bury a black-haired one!” Du Qingfu glared at Jiang Hanwen, annoyed.

To be cursed at and cared for by someone is a good thing.

“Do you really not want to take over the Medicine Field?” Du Qingfu asked.

Jiang Hanwen nodded: “The Medicine Field is a mess; my personality isn’t suitable, so let them fight it out.”

“What kind of personality? Ruthless?” Du Qingfu patted Jiang Hanwen’s shoulder: “You can deceive everyone, but you can’t deceive yourself.

Zhuang Xian talked to me a while ago; you’re not yet forty, in your prime, and should get married.”

“Do I have any other choice?” Jiang Hanwen frowned. Marrying into the Zhuang family was impossible; he wasn’t livestock to be bred on schedule.

If it came to that, he would just have to take his father and have Xiao Bu Dian escape underground.

“Alas.”

Du Qingfu saw the retreat in Jiang Hanwen’s eyes and looked at him with concern.

“The Medicine Field is my life’s work; I can’t trust it to any of them.”

After a long silence, Jiang Hanwen looked up: “If Elder Du, you can live another thirty years, I’ll take this position.”

“You said it!” Du Qingfu’s face flushed with excitement.

“A gentleman’s word is his bond.”

“Good!”

Du Qingfu firmly grasped Jiang Hanwen’s hand and placed a Jade Slip into his palm.

“This is the Spirit Rain Technique. From now on, you are the master of the Medicine Field, and I will manage it for you for thirty years.”

Having said that, fearing Jiang Hanwen might go back on his word, a burst of vibrant Spiritual Qi attached to his body, and Du Qingfu disappeared from sight in a few flashes, his speed astonishing.

Jiang Hanwen clutched the Jade Slip. The first Cultivation Technique and the first Spell he ever encountered were both given by Elder Du.

This Medicine Field was the other party’s life’s work; he had to protect it.

But before he could sort out the Medicine Field, he had to get rid of Zhuang Bai.

That bastard who sold him out was not worthy of enjoying the benefits he brought.

In the dim night, Jiang Hanwen opened an old wooden chest, and under a pile of books, he found a thin volume about winemaking.

The last page recorded three winemaking recipes, all of which he had researched in his free time.

Rewriting two recipes on the first page, Jiang Hanwen wrote furiously, detailing the prototype and operation of a wine shop specializing in selling wine... Twenty days later, on the eve of the new round of steward selections for the Medicine Field.

Third Miss returned to the Zhuang family with her three-year-old daughter.

Upon entering the Zhuang family, Zhuang Minjie, holding her daughter, did not go to see her parents first but went straight to the Medicine Field to find Luo Maocai, and it was unknown what they discussed that night.

The next day, the steward selection began.

In the Medicine Field, almost all the medicine farmers were present to witness the grand event.

A total of five steward positions and one Elder position were to be selected.

The first round involved each family presenting their harvest and guaranteeing that they could maintain this level for the next five years.

The second round was a one-on-one challenge where participants asked each other questions to stump their opponents.

From morning to noon, out of the fifty participants, only eleven remained.

In the stands, Wu Qinghe, Zhuang Bai, Zhuang Minjie, Zhuang Xiao, and the current family head Zhuang Xian were prominently seated.

Zhuang Bai looked at the winners of the two rounds, a smug smile playing on his lips.

Out of the eleven people, six were on his side.

He and Zhuang Xiao shared the same father but not the same mother.

In Cultivation, the other had outpaced him, which was why he had no choice but to go to the Medicine Field.

Now, both sides were at the seventh level of Mortal Transformation, on the same starting line.

If he could remove his brother’s henchmen, when their father ascended to power in the future, he might have a chance to succeed as the next family head.

Zhuang Xiao didn’t even look at his younger brother but turned to his cousin next to him.

“How has Zhang Ge’s side been recently?”

Zhuang Minjie raised her delicate eyebrows, stating calmly: “Not bad. The old man is trying hard to see if he can be promoted.”

Zhuang Xiao said meaningfully: “With all of you gone, it’s not easy to guard the family.”

“That Luo Maocai is a talent, very sensible.

Brother, your judgment is good; I gave him thirty percent of the profit.” Zhuang Minjie smiled, her luscious red lips shimmering with colorful light, very alluring.

“Thirty percent, that’s quite a lot,” Zhuang Xiao nodded.

In the third round, each participant was “interviewed” before everyone to determine their ranking and qualifications.

Soon, all interviews were completed.

Zhuang Xian signed his name on the list.

From then on, the new stewards and Elder were chosen, and for five years, as long as no major mistakes were made, everyone’s position would remain unchanged.

When the list was passed down, Zhuang Bai’s face turned pale the moment he saw it, like a bolt of lightning striking him from head to toe.