Chapter Two: Misfortunes Never Come Singly for Struggle Team Two

Liu Weidong was stunned.

The Great Green Mountain produced wild ginseng every year, though mostly of the lower-grade variety. Even so, it still sold for quite a bit of money.

But looking at his wife’s proud face, his heart felt like it was being cut with a knife.

If only he hadn’t been so useless in his previous life, would his wife have risked her life climbing the Eagle’s Beak rock to gather herbs?

“Did you climb the Eagle’s Beak just to find ginseng? Which is more important, life or money?”

Lou Yanru’s pride vanished when she saw Liu Weidong’s anger; she pouted.

“Father is ill, and we’re drowning in poverty. After a year of hard work, we barely earn a few coins. If I don’t go up the mountain to gather herbs, how will we survive?”

Liu Weidong’s nose tingled, and his eyes reddened.

The Struggle Second Team was located in the mountains, where even in good years, it was hard to make ends meet. Last year’s disaster left them rationless by June. They had hoped this year would be better, but fate had other plans...

“Don’t cry, my dear. From now on, I’ll never let you suffer again. I’ll work hard to make money, send you to college, and show your mother that you’re the happiest woman in Binjiang.”

Curled up under the raincoat, Lou Yanru suddenly felt that her man was different.

Before, though he was kind to her, he was uneducated and would never have spoken of college or making big money.

“Weidong, I’m happy you’re thinking this way. Even though my mother has been rehabilitated, my father is still undergoing reform labor at Red Star Farm. With my background, I can’t even pass the political review for the college entrance exam…”

“Your father will be cleared in two months.”

Liu Weidong blurted out the words and immediately regretted it.

In the previous life, Lou Nan, her father-in-law, was indeed rehabilitated in August, but by then Lou Yanru was already in trouble. It was only through the newspapers that Liu Weidong learned of Lou Nan’s restoration.

“What did you say? How do you know my father is going to be rehabilitated? Are you crazy from the injury?”

Lou Yanru anxiously touched Liu Weidong’s forehead.

“I’m just guessing. Didn’t your mother get rehabilitated? I’ll ask Uncle Jianguo later if he can help you transfer to a private teacher position. I heard private teachers get extra points on the college entrance exam this year.”

A twinge of sadness gripped Lou Yanru’s heart.

She had thought about college—it was her only chance to escape rural life.

But even if she could get the quota despite her background, what about Liu Weidong and his father? Could she really leave them behind?

“Don’t fool around. Our commune’s quotas for private teachers are all controlled by the Revolutionary Committee. To get a quota, you have to get past Li Baotian. Don’t you know what kind of person Li Baotian is?

“If we manage to harvest wild ginseng and cure your father’s illness, I’ll be overjoyed. But right now, we can’t even afford enough food—how can we dream of college?”

Liu Weidong glanced at the vivid red ginseng seeds on the rock and then at his wife beside him. His resolve to defy fate grew stronger.

The downpour lasted for two full hours before easing. The sky, still thick with dark clouds, seemed to crack open, letting a ray of sunlight pour through, illuminating the bright red ginseng seeds on the rock, making them glow with festive cheer.

Looking around, Liu Weidong grabbed a fallen tree trunk and placed it over the ditch.

“Are you going to gather them now? The water in the ditch hasn’t receded; it’s too dangerous.”

Lou Yanru grabbed Liu Weidong’s arm.

“What’s there to fear? Fortune favors the bold.”

Liu Weidong took his wife’s herb basket and hoe, then edged forward along the log, with the muddy torrent rushing beneath.

Lou Yanru held her breath, her heart pounding in her throat.

Fortunately, there was no mishap. Liu Weidong successfully crossed the deep ditch and began climbing the Eagle’s Beak rock using both hands and feet.

“Weidong, there’s a rope in the basket. Tie yourself to that pine tree before you start digging…”

Lou Yanru nervously called from the opposite side of the ravine.

Without needing her reminder, Liu Weidong had already spotted the bright red ginseng seeds nestled in the crevice beside the Eagle’s Beak rock.

First, he secured himself with the rope, then started clearing the weeds with his hoe.

As the weeds were cleared, Liu Weidong’s heart pounded wildly.

There was one six-leaf plant, one five-leaf, and two four-leaf plants. Seeing them clustered so close, they were likely mother and seedling ginseng.

“Jackpot… six-leaf…”

Liu Weidong grinned broadly, shouting out into the mountains.

“What are you shouting for? There’s a root in the basket. Be careful not to break it.”

Lou Yanru’s face lit up with joy.

Sure enough, the basket held deer bone sticks and red cords tied to large coins.

“Where did you get these ginseng tools? Didn’t your mother teach you traditional Chinese medicine and how to gather ginseng?”

“These were given to me by Uncle Guan. Didn’t you forget he was an old ginseng expert? Hurry up and work.”

Liu Weidong responded with a grunt, quickly clearing an area and began using the deer bone stick to dig into the soil.

Wild ginseng was valuable but troublesome to dig up. The roots were tangled and intertwined with tree roots. It took Liu Weidong over an hour to expose most of the ginseng rhizome—it was indeed a mother plant with seedlings.

Every part of wild ginseng was precious. Liu Weidong tied the ginseng leaves and seeds with red cords and didn’t dare to pick the flower heads.

He wrapped the six-leaf and five-leaf mother and seedling separately in moss, while placing the two four-leaf plants directly into the basket. By the time they finished harvesting, the rain had stopped.

Crossing the ditch again on the tree trunk, Liu Weidong handed the herb basket to Lou Yanru and cheerfully began stripping bark from a birch tree with a machete.

“These ginseng roots are pretty intact. Were you a gang leader in your past life?”

Lou Yanru teased with a smile while organizing the ginseng.

Liu Weidong laughed. “I was so busy learning from Dazhai in the past years, I forgot this mountain is full of treasures. Honey, what do you plan to do with the ginseng?”

“One four-leaf plant will be used to treat father’s illness; I’ll sell a small one to pay off the famine debt. The mother and seedling ginseng will be handed over to the production team. Our team is already out of grain; Uncle Jianguo can trade these two for quite a bit of food.”

Liu Weidong grinned. “Wouldn’t it be better to give the mother and seedling ginseng to your mother? That way she won’t keep forcing you to divorce me.”

“Annoying. Do you really think my mother looks down on the poor?”

“Well, I don’t want to hand over the ginseng to the commune either. It will be very useful. The tens of yuan famine debt I owe is nothing; I have ways to get grain even if the village lacks it. Tomorrow I’ll head to the city to find a way.”

“You? You’ve barely been to the city. What way do you have? Should I ask my mother?”

“I don’t want to owe your mother any favors. Let’s hurry down the mountain. If we delay any longer, my father will be worried.”

Coming down from the Great Green Mountain, both Liu Weidong and Lou Yanru were shocked.

The once lush green cornfields were now piled with mud, branches, and weeds. The stalks were leaning in all directions, and it looked like a total crop failure.

“Last year’s frost, this year’s mudslide—how will our production team survive?”

Lou Yanru sighed deeply.

“My dear, this is the hardship of depending on the weather. To get rich in the countryside, we must diversify; only then can we prosper and live well.”

Liu Weidong spoke not just to comfort Lou Yanru, but because he already had plans in mind.

In his past life, he had ventured far and wide, thriving in chemical engineering, water plants, and e-commerce platforms.

He already had a plan to dig his first pot of gold.

He remembered that the Binjiang Oil and Fat Chemical Plant had spent a fortune buying foreign polymer reaction equipment. He knew how to design such equipment and also had the formula for processing castor oil.

If he could sell this to the oil plant, well...

As they trudged back along the muddy path, the devastation at the mountain’s base was even more alarming. Suddenly, Lou Yanru pointed ahead and shouted.

“Weidong, look! There are many people on the riverbank. Is the dam about to break?”

Liu Weidong handed over the herb basket to his wife and sprinted toward the embankment.

The South Great River sat higher than the Struggle Second Team. If the dam broke, the entire team would be submerged.

He had just climbed the dam when he saw Wang Jianguo standing under the red flag.

“Where have you been, boy? Hurry back and get a vehicle to evacuate the people. If the dam breaks, it’ll be too late to evacuate.”

The South Great River, originally only a few dozen meters wide, now stretched endlessly. The distant cornfields were barely visible above the water.

Wang Jianguo’s face tightened like a walnut shell.

Last year’s frost had consumed the team’s grain reserves, and this sudden flood only worsened the already dire situation.

Wang Jianguo’s thoughts were no longer just on flood control and rescue but also on what the team members would eat after the disaster…