After the patient left, Xiao Fei walked closer.
“Doctor Huang, I still owe you for the medicine from before. Today I’ve brought some rice to settle the debt, how about it?”
Doctor Huang glanced at the sacks on the ground.
“Of course, no problem. It was 500 wen in total, you didn’t need to bring this much grain. This sack alone must be over 50 jin.”
Xiao Fei chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
“The current grain prices are inflated. They raise them just to rip off the poor, and you wouldn’t buy expensive grain at a time like this. You saved my life, so I can’t pay you back based on today’s prices.”
Doctor Huang didn’t refuse. He hadn’t expected Xiao Fei to be able to repay the debt when he saved him, only charging him the cost price of the medicinal ingredients.
“Young man, you see things very clearly!”
“You flatter me, Doctor Huang.”
Xiao Fei cupped his fists and asked, “May I ask, are ginseng prices always this expensive?”
“Heh! Not necessarily. The age and quality of each ginseng plant vary, and so do the prices. Ginseng needs to grow for at least three years to be barely usable in medicine. Ginseng of that age might be worth a few hundred wen at most. The older it is, the more expensive it becomes.”
Hearing this, Xiao Fei had an idea. The grain he had planted in his space was now more than enough to eat, but grain was bulky, and selling a large sack would be too conspicuous. It would be better to plant ginseng. If he cultivated it for a longer period, selling just one plant would be enough for his expenses for a long time. Moreover, the economic returns from growing ginseng should be much higher than from grain.
“Doctor Huang, do you have any ginseng seeds for sale?”
“I do have some, only a dozen or so. They aren’t worth much anyway, so I’ll give them to you if you want them.”
Doctor Huang had a good impression of Xiao Fei, finding him honest and grateful. He had also just repaid his debt with over 50 jin of grain. Since these seeds were picked from purchased ginseng seedlings, they had no cost, so it was a good deed to give them away.
“Thank you very much, Doctor Huang.”
Xiao Fei quickly thanked him, took the small paper packet handed to him by Doctor Huang, said his thanks again, and then left the Renxin Hall.
On the way home, Xiao Fei was constantly calculating. If all the dozen or so ginseng seeds in his hand survived, with the ten-fold time flow in his space, he would only need to endure for another year to possess over a dozen ten-year-old ginseng plants. Based on the information he had gathered, a ten-year-old ginseng plant could sell for at least three to four taels of silver. By then, he should be able to truly escape poverty and go find his second sister. Thinking of this, the excitement he had felt moments ago dimmed. Although he was a transmigrator, the memories and emotions of the body he had merged with were equivalent to having two sets of memories, both belonging to him.
With these thoughts in his mind, he unknowingly returned to the refugee camp.
“Stop!”
A sudden shout interrupted Xiao Fei’s thoughts. He looked up to see Li Da Er Duo leading a group of people blocking his path. It was Li Da Er Duo again. He had first stolen the two strings of money his second sister earned from selling herself, and then he had robbed him of his rabbit, causing him to die once. Now he was bothering him again. Anger surged within Xiao Fei, but he didn’t show any of this impotent rage. There were five people on the other side. If he could avoid conflict, he would still choose to do so. Without a sure chance of winning, there was no need to fight for dominance in the refugee camp and risk losing his life. Behind Li Da Er Duo and his group, an old man was peeking out, the same old man who had previously traded the “Chang Chun Gong” with Xiao Fei.
“Hand over all the grain you’ve hidden!” Li Da Er Duo roared, his sharp knife constantly waving as a threat.
“Good sirs, you must have misunderstood. I don’t have any grain. I haven’t eaten in three days.” Xiao Fei still wanted to bluff his way through. When he was stronger, or perhaps hired some reliable thugs, he could seek revenge then.
“Impossible, I smelled cooked rice outside your straw hut yesterday.” The old man hiding behind Li Da Er Duo couldn’t help but jump out and say. He had been secretly watching Xiao Fei during this time, knowing that Xiao Fei was almost always in his straw hut but always smelled cooked rice wafting from inside. The old man had wanted to get more bracken from Xiao Fei but had never had the chance. Being old and frail, he knew he couldn’t win in a direct confrontation. Today, taking advantage of Xiao Fei’s trip to Qingyang Town, he sneaked into Xiao Fei’s straw hut but found nothing. The old man didn’t want to give up, so he tipped off Li Da Er Duo. If Li Da Er Duo got the meat, he could at least get some soup.
“My good sirs, you must have been deceived by him. This old scoundrel is very wicked. Last time, I finally got two wild vegetables, and this old man tricked me out of them with a useless old book.” Xiao Fei said, preparing to repeat his trick and start undressing. However, the same method used too often had no effect. This time, Xiao Fei stripped himself bare, but he still couldn’t fool Li Da Er Duo.
“I don’t believe you!” Li Da Er Duo glanced at Xiao Fei’s well-proportioned and plump body, which had gained at least ten jin of weight since he last saw him. At this time of year, everyone in the refugee camp was skin and bones from hunger, yet Xiao Fei had gained weight. Who would believe him if he said he had no grain?
“You must have hidden the grain!”
“Hurry up and take us to it, or don’t blame me for being rude!” One of Li Da Er Duo’s followers said, walking towards Xiao Fei, holding a knife towards him with one hand and reaching for his wrist with the other.
Xiao Fei narrowed his eyes, his mind rapidly weighing the pros and cons, with various countermeasures flashing through his mind. Since avoidance was impossible, it was a case of the brave winning when paths cross, and finding strength in desperation. At critical moments, one must have the courage to fight to the death. Excluding the old man who had no combat ability, Li Da Er Duo had brought five people this time, each with a knife, and they had now formed a circle, surrounding him. If he were to fight them head-on, in the chaos, a single stab could leave him dead or severely injured, which was very dangerous. But if he didn’t resist now, once he was subdued by Li Da Er Duo and his group, he would have no chance to resist again. He would be the meat on the chopping block, his life in Li Da Er Duo’s hands.
Fighting five at once! He’d go for it! He had been in many brawls in his previous life, fighting two or three people at a time, and he knew a few tricks. When facing a larger number of opponents alone, one must never stand still. One needs to keep moving and absolutely avoid being surrounded and having one’s space restricted. This way, although the opponents are many, only one enemy needs to be dealt with at any given time. Another point is to appear fierce, which can intimidate some less courageous opponents. Unless they are specially trained soldiers, a larger number of people is just a mob. In his previous life, he had personally witnessed a very honest young man, alone with a cleaver, take down a group of thugs, killing three on the spot, seriously injuring four, and lightly injuring five or six, while he himself remained unharmed and then turned himself in.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in just a second or two. At this moment, Li Da Er Duo’s follower had already reached out to grab him. Xiao Fei did not retreat. Instead, with a swift movement, he swung his left柴刀 (chái dāo - firewood cleaver) towards the man’s knife-wielding hand. For the person who dared to make the first move, it was best to strike as hard as possible. At the same time, he thrust the black knife in his right hand directly into the man’s chest or abdomen…
“Thump!” Xiao Fei’s hand could clearly feel the resistance as the tip of the knife broke through the skin, pierced through muscle and fascia, and the hollowness as it entered the abdominal cavity. He twisted the knife slightly, then quickly pulled it out diagonally and retreated, turning to flee in the direction behind him. A gaunt middle-aged man behind him had not expected Xiao Fei to act so decisively and had not yet recovered from the sudden turn of events. Xiao Fei was already in front of him, chopping at the gaunt man’s knife-wielding arm, then unhesitatingly rushing past him. In a flash, he had injured two people and successfully broken out of the encirclement of five.
After breaking through, Xiao Fei did not immediately flee. Instead, he turned and held his knife, confronting Li Da Er Duo and his group. If he ran, these people would surely chase after him, leading to endless trouble. To deal with these kinds of thugs, it was best to be even more ruthless than them. One’s actions must be decisive and brutal to intimidate them and eliminate future trouble.