Chapter 12

After bringing Ding Qi to Qixia Town, Ding Shan quickly completed the relevant procedures with the person in charge of the medicinal garden.

Ding Shan's status was no longer what it used to be, and the person in charge of the medicinal garden, who was responsible for the outer gate, naturally treated Ding Shan with great respect, making the procedures much faster.

The person in charge of the Qixia Town medicinal garden was an old man in his fifties or sixties, slightly hunched, with gray hair and a thin, frail appearance. The old man's surname was Zhao, and Ding Shan asked Ding Qi to respectfully address him as Manager Zhao.

During the conversation with Manager Zhao, Ding Shan naturally asked Manager Zhao to take good care of Ding Qi in the future.

Ding Shan's status far exceeded that of Manager Zhao, and his request as a new rising star of the sect was naturally met with repeated agreement, without any dare to offend.

Ding Shan stayed with Manager Zhao until the afternoon, and after instructing Ding Qi to listen to Manager Zhao obediently, he left as evening approached.

After respectfully seeing Ding Shan off and watching him leave far away, Manager Zhao turned to look at Ding Qi.

Manager Zhao spent most of the day talking with Ding Shan, and although half a day had passed, Ding Qi had not had much contact with Manager Zhao. To Ding Qi, Manager Zhao was still a complete stranger. He had just arrived in a strange place, and his heart was already uneasy. Being scrutinized by Manager Zhao made Ding Qi even more nervous.

Just as Ding Qi felt uncomfortable under Manager Zhao's gaze, Manager Zhao said, "It's your first day, and it's already late. Why don't you rest for today? We can talk about other things tomorrow."

Without waiting for Ding Qi's response, Manager Zhao walked out of the room and headed outside, apparently to show him where he would be staying.

Ding Qi, after a moment of hesitation, quickly followed behind Manager Zhao and looked around the medicinal garden, trying to familiarize himself with the place where he would be working in the future.

The medicinal garden was not far away, and Ding Qi could see it as soon as he stepped out of the room. The garden was not very large, roughly half an acre in size. This half-acre garden was clearly divided into several sections, each planted with different medicinal herbs. Whether it was the season for the herbs to mature or not, a strong herbal scent wafted from the garden, making Ding Qi unconsciously take a deep breath, feeling quite comfortable.

Behind the medicinal garden was a sparse forest.

The forest extended into the distant mountains, looking dark and gloomy. Due to the dim light, Ding Qi could not see clearly beyond a certain point.

A sparse fence separated the medicinal garden from the forest and also enclosed the house where Manager Zhao lived, forming a living area.

He turned back and could see the outline of Qixia Town, which made this remote medicinal garden not completely devoid of human presence.

From the conversation between Manager Zhao and Ding Shan during the day, Ding Qi learned more about the medicinal garden.

Although the medicinal garden was in Qixia Town, it was actually quite far from the town center. Qixia Town was originally a town formed near Qixia Mountain, and the medicinal garden was in a remote part of the town, very close to the foot of Qixia Mountain.

The medicinal garden was built at the foot of the mountain rather than in the town center because the area at the foot of the mountain was more suitable for the growth of medicinal herbs. If it were built in the town center, although it would be more convenient for living, it would not be suitable for the growth of the herbs.

Manager Zhao led Ding Qi around the medicinal garden and walked east. There, there were a few houses similar to the one where Manager Zhao lived. Ding Qi guessed that these should be the houses where he would be staying.

Sure enough, when the two reached the houses, Manager Zhao pointed to them and said to Ding Qi, "There are a few houses here. Choose one you like and move in. Anyway, there are only the two of us in this medicinal garden. I live in the house on the west side, and you can arrange these houses as you like."

The Qingyun Sect always assigned one person in charge and one assistant to manage this property. The personnel of the Qingyun Sect had been frequently adjusted recently.

Manager Zhao had only been assigned here in the past one or two months. Now that Ding Qi had arrived, it meant that all the people responsible for this property were in place.

When introducing the houses to Ding Qi, Manager Zhao's expression was quite cold. He did not seem to want to talk much beyond the necessary explanations.

If one were to judge solely by his attitude towards Ding Qi, one might think that Manager Zhao had some prejudice against him, leading to speculation that Ding Qi might have inadvertently offended him somewhere.

However, Ding Qi was not worried about this.

Through his observations over the day, he found that Manager Zhao, who was in charge of the medicinal garden, was just a rather cold and quiet person who did not like to talk much. Although he always treated Ding Qi coldly, he actually took good care of him. For example, he personally led Ding Qi to see the houses and generously let him choose.

"Probably because of Uncle's face," Ding Qi muttered to himself.

As for why the old man was so considerate towards him, Ding Qi could only think of this reason.

Speaking of which, Ding Qi found the old man's cold and quiet nature quite to his liking.

He himself was not a talkative person, and if Manager Zhao were a chatterbox, Ding Qi would really find it hard to cope.

Seeing that Manager Zhao was not going to say more, Ding Qi followed his instructions and walked towards the houses in front of him. These houses were basically the same, with simple living utensils and a bed in the room facing the door. All that was needed was for someone to move in and arrange the things according to their needs.

Seeing that there was nothing much to choose from among the houses, Ding Qi randomly picked one that was well-ventilated and sunny.

Seeing that Ding Qi had chosen a house and started to settle in, Manager Zhao gave him a few more instructions and then left.

There were not many things in the house, and Ding Qi quickly finished settling in. By then, it was already completely dark.

Lying on the bed he had just arranged, Ding Qi looked out the window at the dark night sky. He knew that from now on, he would really have to leave home and live alone. Unlike most children, Ding Qi did not feel much fear of the unfamiliar, but rather was full of anticipation for his new life.

Looking at the moon that appeared outside the window and planning his new life, drowsiness soon overcame him, and he fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.

In the following days, Manager Zhao did not rush to teach Ding Qi how to take care of the medicinal garden but took him around the entire town to familiarize him with the place where he would be living.

Just as Ding Qi had expected, although Manager Zhao was a very quiet person, he was quite considerate. During the days they walked around Qixia Town, he did not forget to point out important things and told Ding Qi seriously.

Many important things were mentioned multiple times to ensure that Ding Qi would not forget.

Although Manager Zhao had not been in Qixia Town for long, due to the Qingyun Sect's long-term operations in Qixia Town, he was very familiar with the place. Each time the outer gate personnel changed, the necessary information was passed on to the next person to help them quickly familiarize themselves with the situation in Qixia Town.

When Manager Zhao took over the medicinal garden, he had already learned the general situation of Qixia Town from the previous manager, and with the knowledge gained over the past one or two months, he was very familiar with Qixia Town.

In the past few days, under Manager Zhao's guidance, Ding Qi gained a deeper understanding of the entire town.

Qixia Town, as the largest town near the entire mountain range, played a crucial role in connecting Qixia Mountain and the outside cities. Although Qixia Mountain did not have much in terms of production, it did have some mountain goods, timber, herbs, mountain delicacies, and animal furs, all of which were transported through Qixia Town to the outside. Due to the frequent flow of goods, although it was just a town, it was very prosperous.

Even though it could not compare to a city like Liangcheng, Qixia Town had all the various shops and taverns that a city would have.

What Manager Zhao wanted Ding Qi to familiarize himself with were the shops and other places he would need to interact with for his life and the care of the medicinal garden. At the same time, Ding Qi learned that, in addition to the medicinal garden he would be taking care of, the Qingyun Sect had another property in the town.

It was the largest tavern in Qixia Town, called "Tongfu Inn."

As a property of the Qingyun Sect, the meals for both Ding Qi and Manager Zhao were provided by this tavern. In the past few days, Manager Zhao had taken him to the tavern every day, allowing Ding Qi to become familiar with the people there.

The tavern was not particularly remarkable, similar to the taverns he had seen in Liangcheng. The only thing that surprised Ding Qi was that the person in charge of the tavern was a female innkeeper.

In both Liangcheng and Qixia Town, from his experience, the owners of places like taverns were usually men. The innkeeper, Ms. Tong, who managed the tavern, surprised Ding Qi, who had never seen a female innkeeper before.

After familiarizing himself with the situation in Qixia Town, Manager Zhao began to teach him about taking care of the medicinal garden.

That day, following Manager Zhao's instructions, Ding Qi walked towards Manager Zhao's house. In the past few days, he had been to Manager Zhao's house many times and was already very familiar with it.

The day before, when they returned from the town, Manager Zhao had told Ding Qi that he would start teaching him about taking care of the medicinal garden from that day.

Thinking about how he would start learning how to take care of the medicinal garden from that day, Ding Qi felt a bit nervous, but he still calmed himself down and, as usual, walked to the door of Manager Zhao's house, knocked, and waited outside.

"Come in," Manager Zhao's voice came from inside the door.

Pushing the door open, Ding Qi saw Manager Zhao sitting in a large chair at the table, with a thick ledger-like book on the table.

Although Manager Zhao's house looked similar to Ding Qi's from the outside, the interior was much more richly decorated, far surpassing the few living items in Ding Qi's house. The intricately patterned furniture was arranged neatly, giving the house a lively atmosphere.

On both sides of the room, there were several ink paintings with a lot of character. On the other side, there was a medium-sized bookshelf. Although there were not many books on it, it added a touch of elegance to the room.

After entering the room, Ding Qi's attention was drawn to the ledger on the table. He had never seen this ledger before when he had been in Manager Zhao's house. Now, seeing Manager Zhao place it on the table so formally, Ding Qi suspected that it was related to his purpose for coming.

"You're a smart kid," Manager Zhao said with a smile, seeing Ding Qi thoughtfully looking at the ledger.

He then continued, "I already told you yesterday why I called you here. You've already familiarized yourself with the situation in Qixia Town. Now, it's time to teach you how to take care of the medicinal garden. This book is actually related to your work."

Saying this, Manager Zhao picked up the book from the table and flipped through it.

"It's a book," Ding Qi realized.

Ding Qi, who had mistaken the item on the table for a ledger, now understood that he had been wrong.

Although Ding Qi was curious about the relationship between taking care of the medicinal garden and this book, he knew that Manager Zhao would explain it to him, so he did not ask and just stood there quietly, waiting for Manager Zhao to continue.

"I remember you can read, right?" Manager Zhao said after flipping through a few pages and putting the book back on the table.

"I learned to read in the village," Ding Qi nodded honestly.

Seeing Ding Qi nod, Manager Zhao said with satisfaction, "If that's the case, it will be easier. Read this book first."

Saying this, Manager Zhao handed the book to him.

Taking the book, Ding Qi read it carefully. He read the first few pages carefully and then quickly flipped through the rest, getting a general idea of its content. He also understood why Manager Zhao had said the book was related to his work.

To Ding Qi, the item in his hands was more like a notebook than a book. From the different handwriting on the notebook, it was clear that more than one person had recorded information in it.

Seeing the understanding expression on Ding Qi's face, Manager Zhao put down his teacup and said, "It seems you understand why I gave you this. As long as you can memorize the content of this book, taking care of the medicinal garden will not be a problem."

The notebook contained knowledge about the growth habits of various herbs. With this knowledge, as long as he followed the methods recorded in the book, there would be no issues in taking care of the medicinal garden.

Ding Qi nodded and then asked with some doubt, "Do I need to memorize all the content in this book?"

The content of the notebook was quite extensive, and it would not be easy to memorize everything. Moreover, Ding Qi knew that the number of herbs currently planted in the medicinal garden was far less than what was recorded in the notebook.

Manager Zhao shook his head and said, "The content in this book is a summary by the previous managers of the medicinal garden. You only need to memorize the growth habits and care methods of the herbs we have in our garden. The rest, you don't need to memorize."

After giving Ding Qi a few more instructions and emphasizing the importance of memorizing the content of the notebook, Manager Zhao let him leave.

On his way back to his own house, Ding Qi looked down at the notebook in his hands, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

"The medicinal garden only has less than ten types of herbs. I only need to memorize the necessary content, which is a very easy task for me. Uncle said that taking care of the medicinal garden is not a hard job, and he was right," Ding Qi thought, feeling much more relaxed.