Chapter 44

At 5 a.m., five or six men bundled up in thick cotton coats and wearing heavy hats crouched across the street from Qian Jianing’s house, staring longingly at the front door. These hardworking men were restaurant owners who had firmly taken their positions in front of Qian Xiaomi’s shop, waiting for the vegetable delivery man to arrive.

“Do you think the old man is coming soon?” a skinny man named Cheng Sanhai shivered and tucked his neck into his coat as he looked up at the still dark sky, feeling a pang of bleakness.

“I’m not sure about that,” replied another man named Li Daguang with a sigh. “My sister-in-law lives on this street—she says sometimes the old man comes in the morning, sometimes mid-morning, and there were even a few times in the afternoon.”

“So does he come every day?” Cheng Sanhai asked.

Li Daguang shook his head. “Sometimes it’s daily, sometimes every three or five days.”

Everyone was dumbfounded at this. “So we’re just going to wait here like idiots? In this freezing weather, we’ll be in the hospital before the day is out. This is ridiculous.”

“Well, what do you suggest then?” Li Daguang snapped a little. “If we don’t wait here, how else are we going to get our hands on those health-preserving vegetables? You think I enjoy freezing out here?”

“We can’t just sit around though,” said Wu Yubin, the chubbiest of them, starting to lose patience. “We need to think of a different approach.”

“There is one way,” Li Daguang sneered. “You could just knock on Qian Jianing’s door and ask her where she buys her vegetables. Think she’ll tell you?”

Just as this little makeshift group was about to start quarreling, Cheng Sanhai quickly stepped in to mediate. “Don’t fight, don’t fight. Look—we’re already here, so let’s just wait and see. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch him.”

The others glanced at one another and stayed silent, but the brewing argument subsided.

By 6 a.m., people started forming a line in front of Qian Xiaomi’s shop. It was like a signal had been triggered—more and more people began to arrive, and within ten minutes the line stretched over a hundred meters long.

“Why do you think her business is so good?” Wu Yubin asked, his eyes green with envy. “My place never has so many customers in a single day.”

“Once we get those health-preserving vegetables, everything will change. Loads of people come here just for those veggies. And our prices won’t be that high—we’ll offer good quality at a fair rate. People will definitely come to eat,” Li Daguang said, breathing into his palms and rubbing them together. “But we need to agree—once we get the veggies, we set a unified price. No undercutting each other.”

“Absolutely,” Cheng Sanhai agreed immediately. “We need to stay united—if we fall apart ourselves, how can we possibly compete with Qian Xiaomi’s shop?” The others nodded, perked up, and turned their attention back to the door across the street.

Three hours later, the last few diners exited the restaurant. Wu Yubin was slumped against the wall, sitting on the ground with vacant eyes fixed on the pavement.

“Are we still waiting?” Cheng Sanhai asked, tired and hungry, his head starting to feel fuzzy. “I think I’m getting a headache.”

Li Daguang was also wavering, feeling like he was about to wet himself if he held it in any longer.

Ding-ling-ling—suddenly, a string of bells rang out, and a three-wheeled cart appeared in the street. Yet strangely, no one had noticed it before, as if it had always been there.

The tricycle stopped in front of Qian Xiaomi’s shop. A white-bearded elderly man climbed down the front and shouted in a loud and spirited voice, “Qian Xiaomi, open up! Your veggies are here!”

The few men slumped on the ground suddenly snapped back to attention. One by one, they scrambled to their feet and dashed across the road, surrounding the delivery man.

“Sir, we’ve been waiting for you!”

“Where do you live, sir?”

“How much are your vegetables?”

“Come by my restaurant—you and I have a big deal to talk about.”

…

Qian Jianing opened the courtyard gate, scratched her head in confusion as she saw Mountain God completely surrounded, and asked, “Grandpa Shan, what’s going on with all these people?”

“No idea,” Mountain God replied cheerfully. “Looks like they all know me, but I don’t remember having that many nephews.”

Li Daguang almost knelt down in exasperation at the old man’s nonsense. He quickly motioned for the others to fall back and straightforwardly stated his purpose. “Sir, a few of us run restaurants. We’d like to order your vegetables. Let’s talk prices.”

“Yes, exactly. We want to work with you long term,” Wu Yubin chimed in. “You’ve got quite a number of restaurants here all wanting in—you’ve got to give us the best possible price!”

“But we need our veggies early every day. You have to deliver in the morning—none of this afternoon business,” Cheng Sanhai said, offering his conditions.

Mountain God smiled at them. Just when Li Daguang thought the old man was about to agree, two words came out of his mouth: “Not selling.”

“Wait… what did you say?” The restaurant owners, who had just been smugly basking in the thought of outshining Qian Jianing, all froze. For a moment, they couldn’t even process what he’d just said.

“I said I’m not selling,” Mountain God pushed a few aside to open the back of the tricycle, then turned to wave at Qian Jianing. “Come grab your stuff.”

“Got it!” Qian Jianing ran over, picked up three crates of vegetables, and carried them into the shop.

Li Daguang had only ever heard of health-preserving vegetables but had never actually seen them before. When the compartment opened, everyone craned their necks to take a look. Inside were stacks of transparent boxes clearly gleaming with fresh produce: bright red tomatoes, glossy green cucumbers, jade-like leafy greens—some even still had tiny dew drops on them. In the middle of winter, even wilted greens from a cellar are hard to come by, let alone anything this fresh.

“Sir, we truly sincerely want to buy your vegetables,” Li Daguang quickly changed his tone, smiling as he handed Mountain God a cigarette. “Just name your price. Whatever you ask, we’ll take it.”

Mountain God took the cigarette, sniffed it under his nose with disdain, and tossed it back. “No price—I’m not selling.”

“But, why won’t you sell?” Li Daguang was baffled. In all his years of buying produce, this was the first time he’d met someone who refused to make money.

Wu Yubin pointed at Qian Jianing, gritting his teeth. “Then why do you sell to her? Just ’cause she’s pretty?”

Mountain God glanced at Qian Jianing, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum in delight. “Now that he mentions it, I hadn’t noticed before—young Qian’s getting more and more beautiful. What’ve you been eating lately?”

Qian Jianing, carrying another three crates, smiled brightly. “Food Elder has been stopping by for card games recently. During his breaks, he’s taught me some herbal dishes for beauty and wellness.”

“You’re really blessed,” Mountain God said enviously. “If I ever get a break from deliveries, I’m bringing my mahjong set to crash your place for a meal.”

Li Daguang and the others watched this old and young pair chat casually as if they weren’t even there. They started to panic. Cheng Sanhai squeezed in front of Mountain God, blocking his view of Qian Jianing. “Listen, just tell us where your vegetable field is. You don’t need to deliver—we’ll haul it ourselves.”

“Even if you do, I’m still not selling,” Mountain God’s beard twitched as he looked at them impatiently. “I already said ‘not selling’—why so many questions?”

Li Daguang was fuming but kept his composure and asked as politely as he could, “Then what would make you sell?”

Mountain God stroked his beard and smiled. “Only if you find a way to purchase through the right channel.”

“Purchase channel?” The men looked at each other, clearly confused. “Isn’t dealing directly with you the channel?”

Mountain God shook his head. “I only deliver vegetables. Whoever gets them gets the delivery.”

“Damn it, after all this trouble, you’re just the delivery guy?” Wu Yubin cursed and returned to his arrogant tone. “Fine, then I’ll talk to your boss. Take us to him.”

Mountain God chuckled meaningfully. “Haven’t seen the boss in tens of thousands of years—figure it out yourselves.”

“What’s with this old man! Trying to talk nice and you just blow us off?” Wu Yubin flew into a rage and reached out to grab Mountain God’s collar and gave it a tug…

Nothing budged!

Wu Yubin froze, tried again with force, but the white-bearded old man stood firm like a rock, beaming at him. “You’re a big guy—how come you’ve got no strength at all?” He shook his head in disappointment and flicked a finger lightly at Wu Yubin’s wrist.

Wu Yubin recoiled as if burned, wailing like a stuck pig.

Mountain God casually picked at his ear. “Whoa, that was loud. Gave me a fright.”

Qian Jianing doubled over laughing. “Grandpa Shan, at least try to act a little scared when you say that. Your performance needs work.”

Mountain God glanced side-eyed at the howling Wu Yubin on the curb, gripping his wrist, and said listlessly, “These people are no fun. I don’t like acting with them.”

Qian Jianing came over and carried out the last few crates from the tricycle. Mountain God shut the gate, turned, and was ready to leave.

But Li Daguang, who had waited in the cold all morning just to buy vegetables, wasn’t about to give up so easily. He grabbed Mountain God’s arm with a pleading expression, “Sir, please don’t be upset. Wu Yubin was out of line—don’t take it to heart. Please be generous and don’t hold it against him.”

Cheng Sanhai tried to smooth things over from the side: “Sir, these vegetables are vital to us. Whether our restaurants survive depends on whether we can buy them. Please, have mercy, and show us the way—how exactly can we buy your vegetables?”

The Mountain God stroked his beard and replied, “What I said before wasn’t to deceive you. As long as you can find a place where the vegetables can be purchased, I’ll deliver them to you.” Then he turned and sat on his tricycle, casting a cheerful glance their way. “Good luck to you all.”

When Cheng Sanhai saw the old man ride off on his tricycle after saying that, he looked helplessly at Li Daguang. “Brother Li, what do we do?”

Li Daguang gritted his teeth. “We follow him. We’ll trail him all the way to wherever he grows the vegetables and buy them directly. Easy.”

Hearing this, the group hurried to chase after the tricycle. It was unclear whether the old man was intentionally leading them or not, but he rode slowly ahead, as if afraid they might lose sight of him.

They chased him from East First Street all the way north, from the bustling city blocks into desolate suburbs. Someone like Wu Yubin, who was rather plump, had already given up, completely exhausted. The remaining few were weak-kneed with fatigue, leaning on their knees and gasping for breath as they watched the tricycle grow smaller in the distance.

Cheng Sanhai sat down on the ground in frustration, his face full of gloom. “What is this nonsense? Vegetables are meant to be sold, right? Why all this mysterious talk about purchase channels—it’s absurd!”

Li Daguang rested on the ground for a bit and eventually recovered. He stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. “Say what you will, but his vegetables are really good. If he agrees to supply us in the long term, we can definitely make a good profit.”

Hearing this, Cheng Sanhai cooled down a bit too. “My big brother has a car—I’ll borrow it. I refuse to believe that with a car we still can’t find where he grows his vegetables.”

The next morning, Li Daguang and Cheng Sanhai, along with two other restaurant owners, sat in their car staring at the front door of Qian Xiaomi’s Shop across the street. Compared to yesterday, today was much more comfortable. Though the interior of the car wasn’t exactly warm, at least they weren’t exposed to the wind.

This time, the old man delivering vegetables came somewhat earlier. Qian Xiaomi’s Shop hadn’t even opened when his tricycle appeared on the street and stopped in front of the shop.

Before he could knock on the door, it opened by itself. Shopkeeper Qian Jianing came out smiling and greeted him cheerfully. “Grandpa Shan, I made pork bone broth noodles using the ingredients you delivered. Want to come in and have a bowl?”

“Sure. I’ll have a bowl to fill me up. You carry the vegetables in yourself. I’m going in for noodles.” The Mountain God said this as he shuffled into the courtyard.

Seeing this exchange, Cheng Sanhai couldn’t help turning to Li Daguang. “Brother Li, do you think they’re related? The folks who deliver meat and vegetables to my shop sure don’t dare treat me like a boss the way she treats him.”

Li Daguang frowned and said nothing, stuffing a cigarette into his mouth in frustration.

The Mountain God ate two bowls of pork bone broth noodles before wandering back out. He sat on his tricycle and smiled at the people in the car, then rode off slowly.

Cheng Sanhai started the car and quickly gave chase, but before they could even drive out of the street, they’d already lost track of the old man.

“Where did he go?” Cheng Sanhai was dumbfounded. He drove around the block a couple of times, but saw no sign of the old man.

“No idea…” The others were equally bewildered. It was like they’d just blinked and he vanished. Too weird.

Li Daguang gritted his back teeth in frustration. “We’ll come back tomorrow!”

By the third day, only Li Daguang and Cheng Sanhai returned, this time on a motorcycle. Li Daguang carefully tailed the old man’s tricycle on his motorbike. When the old man turned left at a street corner, just as Li Daguang tried to follow, a bus suddenly cut off his view. In the mere five seconds it took for the bus to pass, he had lost sight of the old man once again.

Furious, Cheng Sanhai jumped off the back seat of the motorbike. “I give up! To hell with it! Damn it, I refuse to believe I can’t run a restaurant without his damn vegetables!”

Li Daguang said nothing, watching Cheng Sanhai’s retreating back.

As the year drew to a close, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qian Jianing had been working nonstop from early morning to late at night. Orders for her wellness meal sets had surged, and she barely had enough vegetables each day. That morning, after getting out of bed and getting dressed, she immediately placed an order on Xiantao.com, then quickly put on a hat and went to open the door for Grandpa Shan.

“Business has been good lately,” the Mountain God said cheerfully. “Your seasoning this time is excellent—authentic flavor.”

Qian Jianing smiled as she carried out three crates of vegetables. “That shop had just gotten a fresh batch of seasonings. If you like them, I’ll keep buying from there.”

“Sounds good, buy more of those. I really like that flavor.”

Li Daguang, seeing the two of them chatting happily while unloading vegetables, rolled up his sleeves to help too. He prided himself on being persistent and quick-witted. He figured if confronting the old man head-on didn’t work, he’d try a softer approach. No way a stubborn old mule like him couldn’t be persuaded eventually.

Qian Jianing gave Li Daguang a surprised glance when she saw him following behind, carrying crates one by one. After she put down the last crate, Li Daguang suddenly slipped into the back of the tricycle, sitting there with a resolve: he wouldn’t leave no matter what. The Mountain God chuckled and closed the tricycle gate, waving at Qian Jianing. “Don’t worry about it. Since he’s on my trike, I’ll take him to my place as a guest.”

Inside the tricycle, Li Daguang smirked with satisfaction. He didn’t believe there was a bone he couldn’t gnaw through, given his resolve.

The tricycle gently jostled along. Having gotten up at four a.m. several days in a row, Li Daguang was barely hanging on. The steady motion lulled him, and he soon dozed off.

He had a long dream. When he opened his eyes again, it took him a moment to realize where he was. Sitting up and looking around, he was confused. How did he end up on a mountain? Wasn’t he supposed to be going to the old man’s house to buy vegetables? Why had he been dumped here?

He stood up and looked around—there wasn’t a soul in sight. The only thing nearby was a solitary Mountain God Temple perched halfway up the mountain.

Furious, Li Daguang kicked a rock. “Damn it! That old geezer dared trick me—he better hope I don’t catch him!”

Not recognizing the paths around him, he cursed under his breath while picking a random direction to head downhill. But before he could go far, his foot suddenly slipped, and he tumbled headlong into a muddy pit formed by melted snow, ending up with a mouthful of mud.

Back in the Mountain God Temple, the old man sitting loftily on the altar rolled his eyes with pride: “Hmph, serves you right for cursing me!”

***

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qian Jianing went to visit Teacher Sun with some health records. Lately, the mood in Teacher Sun’s home had been heavy. Her husband, Chang Yunian, had taken a long leave from work to take care of Sun Yingzi. Their son, Chang Qing, had stopped his usual mischief and now diligently stayed home doing homework or reading to his mother.

Sun Yingzi herself didn’t feel particularly unwell other than occasional abdominal pain. Otherwise, she felt no different from a normal person. But her family didn’t see it that way—they treated her like fragile porcelain, handling her with extreme care.

Qian Jianing brought a jar of medicinal stew and some apples and tomatoes she had purchased from Xiantao.com. After washing her hands, she poured the stew into a bowl and set it on the dining table. “Teacher, how have you been feeling lately?”

“I’m feeling okay,” Teacher Sun replied, taking a spoonful of the stew. She looked at Qian Jianing in admiration. “Jianing, you’re really good at cooking. This medicinal stew is delicious.”

Qian Jianing smiled bashfully. “I think I have a knack for cooking. If you like it, I’ll bring more next time.”

Seeing her student showing such concern, Teacher Sun felt her hard years of teaching had paid off. Surely this was all thanks to good karma.

While Teacher Sun ate, Qian Jianing discreetly activated her Heavenly Eye. Although she had mentally prepared herself, seeing her lively teacher transform into a skeleton still made her shudder involuntarily.

“What’s wrong?” the skeleton lifted its skull and asked in confusion, even reaching out to touch her head.

Qian Jianing resisted her urge to flinch, quickly refocusing her vision to block out the skeletal form. Instantly, Teacher Sun’s internal organs became clearly visible. Looking at the organs wrapped in human skin, and recalling the skeletal form from before, Qian Jianing couldn’t say which sight was more disturbing.

Her gaze rested on Teacher Sun’s two tumors. Although she didn’t know how big they had initially been, visually, the condition didn’t appear to have improved.

She deactivated the Heavenly Eye with intent and rubbed her eyes. “Teacher, let’s check your pulse.”

As she expected, the pulse reading confirmed that the medication over the past ten days had at best stopped the disease from worsening, without making any real improvement. Still, for Teacher Sun, stable condition was already the best news.

Qian Jianing pondered for a moment, then adjusted the previous prescription slightly and handed it to Chang Yunian. “Uncle Chang, this is the second phase of the treatment. The process for decocting the medicine remains the same. Also, make sure Teacher has the apples and tomatoes I brought—getting enough vitamins will help her body.”

Chang Yunian nodded vigorously. “I’ll make sure she has them every day.”

Qian Jianing sat with Teacher Sun for a while before taking her leave. She had quite a bit to do today—she had to accompany Li Wanzhen in the morning to look at some storefronts, and by noon, she needed to meet Fatty Zhang at Zibo City Hotel to exchange culinary skills.

The storefront that Qian Jianing had her eye on was part of a newly built commercial street, constructed by the government. Located in the very center of Zibo City, the street came with comprehensive supporting infrastructure provided by the government, which meant the prices weren’t cheap. This made many people hesitant, afraid they’d lose money if they bought too high.

Qian Jianing knew that, although a few thousand yuan seemed expensive now, this street would become prosperous after the New Year. The price of the storefronts would more than double by then. In her memory, this street had always been the busiest area in Zibo City. Even five years later, when various shopping malls had sprung up, this street—thanks to the Zibo City Mall at its eastern end—still maintained immense popularity. Twenty years later, the most luxurious and high-end mall in Zibo City was built right next to the existing mall, once again pushing the price of the surrounding storefronts to new heights.

Since the New Year was near, the marketing center for the commercial spaces wasn’t busy; only two staff members were killing time with newspapers.

“Hello, we’re here to buy a storefront.” Qian Jianing entered with Qian Guosheng and Li Wanzhen and asked directly, “How much is it per square meter now?”

“Three hundred and thirty-one per square meter,” one of the female sales staff put down her newspaper and walked over. “The smallest is 30 square meters, the largest is 100 square meters.”

Qian Jianing immediately asked, “Can we view the storefronts now? I need to see the locations before deciding.”

The saleswoman pulled out some keys from a drawer and led them out while saying, “They don’t differ much. Two were just sold yesterday, both in the middle section.”

Qian Jianing was secretly pleased. People always assumed that the middle was the best, but that wasn’t true. In fact, in the future, the most bustling part of the street would be its eastern end, and even the western side would outperform the middle. A small commodities market was eventually established here, which, due to its quality and low prices, became a paradise for students and office workers shopping for clothes and accessories.

Qian Jianing had a clear objective and didn’t waste time with small talk. She headed straight for the easternmost section and pointed toward a few shops in the northeast direction. “Have these been sold?”

“Not yet. The one at the far east end is the largest, at 100 square meters. The one just west of it is 80 square meters, and the third one is 50 square meters.” The shop sizes weren’t standardized—they seemed to have been built quite haphazardly.

Qian Jianing turned and asked Li Wanzhen, “Mom, which one do you like?”

Li Wanzhen hesitated and said, “I think these are all too big. We really don’t need a large space to sell marinated meat. We wouldn’t even need a 30-square-meter shop. Jianing, these shops are really expensive. I can’t even afford a 30-square-meter one. Maybe we should look elsewhere?”

Qian Jianing knew exactly how much money Li Wanzhen had. She pulled her aside and spoke softly, “It’s okay, we can take out a loan. Just use what we have for the down payment, and pay the rest monthly.”

Li Wanzhen still held traditional views and got anxious without cash in hand. She sounded uncertain, “But what if something happens and we don’t have money on hand?”

Qian Jianing jumped in, “You make over a hundred a day. What’s there to worry about?” Fearing her mom wouldn’t be tough enough, she added forcefully, “You’ve saved up so much—what if Dad softens and hands it all over to Grandma or Uncle again? Better to invest in a storefront. Then no one can get their hands on it, even if they’re jealous.”

Li Wanzhen gritted her teeth, “Let’s buy. Spend it all. I won’t give them a single penny.”

Qian Jianing smiled instantly, “That’s the spirit—you’re truly wise.”

Li Wanzhen smiled proudly and gave Qian Guosheng a fierce glare.

The perennial scapegoat Qian Guosheng was bewildered: “…” I didn’t even say anything—why am I getting the evil eye again?

Qian Jianing walked over to the sales rep. “I read in the paper that we can take out a loan for these shops. Is that true?”

The saleswoman immediately perked up, excitedly replying, “Yes, you can make a 30 percent down payment and pay the rest in monthly installments.” This kind of loan was still a new concept in Zibo City. Most people had heard you had to pay interest monthly, and if you couldn’t keep up, the property would be repossessed. Many felt it was too risky to try.

Qian Jianing calculated that Li Wanzhen’s money could cover the down payments for a 50-square-meter and a 30-square-meter shop. As for her own savings—she had only ten thousand yuan left after buying property in the Imperial Capital. Fortunately, she had made a considerable amount over the past month. After a quick tally, she made up her mind: “I want the north-facing 100-square-meter and 80-square-meter shops on the easternmost end. My mom will take the third one, 50 square meters, and the westernmost, 30 square meters. We’ll go with a loan. Can you give me a discount?”

The saleswoman was stunned. “Are you sure? That’s tens of thousands of yuan!”

Qian Jianing smiled. “Yes, I’m sure. So what’s the biggest discount you can give me?”

The saleswoman blushed with excitement, “Ten percent off!”

Holding the heavy purchase agreement, Li Wanzhen felt both joyful and anxious. “All the money we made is tied up in this now—you really think we won’t lose money?”

Qian Jianing smiled, linking arms with her. “Of course not. If you’d left it in the bank, you’d be losing for sure. After ten years, this money wouldn’t even be enough to buy a toilet, let alone a shop.”

Li Wanzhen sighed in relief. “Alright, I’ll just listen to my daughter. My daughter’s never wrong. Hey, Jianing, don’t you think we should celebrate? We did something huge today.”

“We definitely should!” Qian Jianing laughed, pulling them toward Zibo City Hotel. “Come on, I’m taking you out for a big meal.”

The big spender Liu Junyue was currently standing at the entrance of the hotel, peering anxiously. “Why isn’t Boss Qian here yet?”