22: Chapter 22 Money-Making Machine

Returning to Liushu Ao, Xia Shaoxin began working hard.

Each time, he could only produce ten miasma-repelling pills and over twenty seven gu detox pills.

The demand for qi and blood pills was related to the conversion of Poisonous Insects; one Advanced Poisonous Insect required one pill.

Besides that, a large amount of insect-repellent powder was also needed.

Preparing these items took at least ten days, ten days to enter the mountains, and after returning, converting the Poisonous Insects and processing them into dried goods meant a month had passed.

Using small bamboo cages for live creatures and paper bags for dried goods, he stuffed five full sacks, placed them into his Storage Pouch, and arrived once again at Zhang Yan's villa.

At a secluded side gate, he first released the sacks, then knocked on Zhang Yan's door.

A servant hurried off to notify Zhang Yan, while Xia Shaoxin opened the sacks in the hall and arranged the bamboo cages one by one.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yan arrived together with Liu Xinglong.

Upon seeing him, the two stared blankly at the dazzling array of bamboo cages on the ground, instantly stunned.

"Brother Xia, you haven't rounded up all the Poisonous Insects in Dawu Mountain, have you?" Zhang Yan's voice trembled.

Liu Xinglong leaned in to inspect the bamboo cages; they were all relatively valuable Poisonous Insects, mostly worth over five thousand coins. Xia Shaoxin couldn't even be bothered with Poisonous Insects worth only a few hundred coins.

"It is already the end of summer, and most Bug Catchers have left the mountains. Could it be that the Poisonous Insects of Dawu Mountain are truly endless, impossible to catch them all?" Liu Xinglong asked with a look of sincere inquiry.

Zhang Yan said decisively, "Impossible. Dawu Mountain is equivalent to a hunting ground; how can you go hunting every day and still yield results? Otherwise, why would the Sect restrict the number of Bug Catchers!"

Liu Xinglong realized something, straightened his face, and said, "Lad from the Xia family, you might have a special Physique, or perhaps you've discovered a place where Poisonous Insects gather in Dawu Mountain, but they need time to grow, right? You alone have caught the volume of ten people; I fear this will affect next year's harvest."

Zhang Yan pleaded, "Brother Xia, let's not be so hasty, okay? Next year, the year after, spread it out, would that be alright?"

Xia Shaoxin snorted, "What, are you afraid when you see money?"

Liu Xinglong was silent for a moment, then shook his head seriously, "Lad from the Xia family, don't say that. In the Gu Bureau, we believe in long-term gains. In just one summer, you've gathered over a million coins' worth of goods. Money is a good thing, but it burns the hands!"

Xia Shaoxin was a bit impatient, "The goods are already out, just take a look for me."

The two had no choice but to squat down and carefully evaluate each Poisonous Insect.

Zhang Yan's servants, one with an abacus and the other with paper and pen, followed behind to record.

The total came to 1,130,000 coins.

It had already exceeded one thousand taels of silver.

The faces of both men turned a bit green, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

"Are you really afraid of getting rich?" Xia Shaoxin mocked.

Zhang Yan wiped his forehead and said sullenly, "I've worked in the Gu Bureau for ten years, and the total turnover doesn't even amount to what these past two months have brought."

Xia Shaoxin didn't want to waste words and asked bluntly, "Did you bring the silver notes?"

Zhang Yan pulled a stack of silver notes from his bosom.

"I've already sent out your previous shipment, but the payment hasn't arrived yet. Hearing you were coming today, I scraped together seven hundred taels from the Gu Bureau."

Xia Shaoxin took them without counting, saying indifferently, "Give it to me all at once next time."

Liu Xinglong frowned and said, "Let's stop here for this year; don't go into the mountains again."

"You can start now, help me look for reliable wealthy merchants outside; you don't need to wait for all my money to arrive before you start."

"Oh, we are already working on it," Liu Xinglong said lightly.

Xia Shaoxin handed the silver notes back to Zhang Yan, "This counts as a deposit."

Zhang Yan silently took back the silver notes he had just taken out.

The notes still retained Zhang Yan's scent; there was not a trace of Xia Shaoxin's scent on them.

Xia Shaoxin glanced at the bamboo cages on the ground and said coldly, "I will go one last time. Wait for me in a month. Farewell!"

Ignoring Liu Xinglong's attempts to stop him, he strode away.

...

After preparing at home for a few days, he charged into Dawu Mountain without hesitation.

People are just like that; if they don't have that thought, they can still live quietly.

But once a strong desire arises, one doesn't want to go on living like that for even a single day.

Xia Shaoxin's desire to leave Liushu Ao and leave Li Family Hollow was so intense.

Although Xia Shaoxin was born and raised in Liushu Ao, he had never felt any sense of warmth for his hometown.

From childhood to adulthood, the villagers always looked at him with strange expressions.

They envied his relatively comfortable living conditions, despised his family, and despised the fate of his entire household.

Yet, one couldn't say the villagers were malicious.

For so many years, he hadn't had any conflicts with the villagers; everyone was always polite when they met, but it was limited to just greeting each other on the road.

They never invited him over, and they never visited his home.

This strange relationship hadn't been much of an issue when his parents were still alive, but when he lived with his grandfather, he felt increasingly lonely.

Now living alone, he felt abandoned by the world.

Therefore, he felt not the slightest bit of attachment to the life of a Bug Catcher.

Since he needed to scrape together three thousand taels, then he would do it!

It was now near the end of summer, and even the small stream by the side of Liushu Ao had long since swollen into a river two zhang wide, which had not yet receded.

That there was no flooding was a blessing for the villagers.

There was plenty of rain this spring, and the farmers were jubilant.

The summer brought even more rain, leaving the farmers worried.

After the rain stopped, the dog days of summer arrived, and the farmers still had to weed, which was miserable.

When Bug Catchers entered Dawu Mountain, the trees blocked out the sky and sun, so they didn't get scorched, but the Yin Qi, dampness, and miasma were not things ordinary people could endure.

Even with medicine that could neutralize the toxic miasma, was the medicine pleasant to take?

Xia Shaoxin felt a fire pent up in his heart, a nameless fire.

Weak as a candle flame, yet it could burn the heavens!

How many times had he entered Dawu Mountain alone this year? The previous times were fine, but this time, he finally felt incomparably lonely and desolate.

Last year, he still had his grandfather; they faced dangers together, protected each other, and chatted and laughed. This year, how desolate it was.

He talked to himself every day, but the only things that answered him were insects spitting venom.

This life as a Bug Catcher was truly something he couldn't stand for even one more day.

Liu Xinglong was right; the outskirts of Dawu Mountain had been cleared once by hundreds of Bug Catcher households, and the number of Poisonous Insects of sufficient weight was small.

Xia Shaoxin caught insects directly in the area near the barrier.

The Poisonous Insects inside the barrier, twisted by the Formation, were terrifying and not something a single Bug Catcher could handle.

Perhaps in the future, once he became a Qi Refiner, he would dare to enter deeper.

But, once one is a Qi Refiner, why would they come here?

Another month passed, and Xia Shaoxin had collected even more Poisonous Insects; combined with the converted ones, his Storage Pouch could no longer hold them.

He traveled by night, pushing a cart to Zhang Yan's villa outside the city.

When he reached the gate of the villa, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Zhang Yan's men immediately entered the city, while Xia Shaoxin took a nap in the main hall.

He waited until Zhang Yan finished roll call and the people from the Gu Bureau had dispersed, then he and Liu Xinglong quietly left the city one after another, seeing even more extravagant goods.

Everything went smoothly; three thousand taels, he had enough!

Xia Shaoxin solemnly returned the three thousand taels of silver notes to Liu Xinglong.

"Sir, can my matter be handled?"

"No problem, wait for my good news."

"How long will it take to be handled?"

"At least a few months, perhaps half a year."

Liu Xinglong was extremely sincere, and Xia Shaoxin let out a long sigh of relief.