Chapter 3

Seeing the desolate market, Wang Haiming thought he had come to the wrong place. There were only a few people fiddling with the sparse saplings. Wang Haiming decided to take a look around before deciding which fruit saplings to buy.

"Wang Haiming, Wang Haiming, over here." Before Wang Haiming had even completed a lap, he heard someone calling him. Seeing it was Li Quan, Wang Haiming couldn't help but feel delighted, wondering how he could have forgotten him. To tell the truth, their acquaintance was quite unique. Wang Haiming was waiting for a bus in Shandu Town but couldn't get one. Meanwhile, Li Quan's car, not far away, had stalled and wouldn't start. In the end, Wang Haiming got into Li Quan's car on the condition that he help push it to start. Later, during casual conversation, they discovered that Li Quan was in the fruit sapling business.

"How's business?" "Don't even talk about it, I'm almost living on thin air." In front of a friend, Li Quan didn't bother to maintain his image. Two years ago, the government encouraged planting more fruit trees, but didn't help farmers find markets. As a result, many fruits couldn't be sold and rotted on the branches, causing severe losses. Now, many fruit farmers have cut down their trees and planted other crops. So, even with continuous price drops, there are no takers for fruit saplings this year.

"Hey, that's not right, you little guy, aren't you thinking of buying fruit saplings?" "Hehe, you guessed it. I have a large piece of land back home and plan to plant some fruit trees." "Pfft, tell me, how many do you need? Big brother will give them to you." Li Quan's carefree and boastful demeanor made Wang Haiming want to kick him.

"Are you really giving them to me?" "What's the fuss, it's just a few saplings. With our decades-long friendship, mentioning money would be hurtful." Seeing Li Quan's tendency to exaggerate, Wang Haiming secretly gave him the middle finger. "Alright, in recognition of your sincerity, I'll take ten thousand plants." Hearing this, Li Quan, who was drinking tea, spat it out, almost choking to death.

"Ten thousand, you must be joking. Do you think they're firewood? Even if they were, you couldn't burn them all. Seriously, how many do you need? The quality is guaranteed, all good varieties." "Introduce them to me then. Apples, grapes, pears, apricots, persimmons, walnuts, hawthorns..."

"Stop, stop." Looking at Li Quan's eloquent speech, Wang Haiming felt like hitting him. For three hours, from fruit saplings to fruits, to food, to food safety, to national policies, Wang Haiming's head was spinning. He hurriedly grabbed an apple from the fruit plate and stuffed it into Li Quan's mouth. "Hehe, sorry, I got carried away." Li Quan gave a dry laugh and asked about the specific numbers.

"Apples, peaches, pears, persimmons, let's start with these four, 2000 of each." "Sigh, not enough funds. Running a farm isn't easy. I haven't even started, and I've already spent 80,000 yuan." Wang Haiming added, "By the way, mature trees are fine too. Make sure to deliver them tomorrow." This made Li Quan call him fussy. "Who's fussy?"

Seeing it was already dark and the last bus hadn't arrived, Wang Haiming couldn't help but curse Li Quan. "Hey, Haiming, I heard you quit your job. What's up? Did Zhao Gao give you a hard time? I'll teach him a lesson." Seeing his close friend Li Tian (Fat Li) showing his unique concern, Wang Haiming laughed. "No need to trouble you, Li Chief. I quit on my own, planning to start a farm." "Alright, stop teasing me. Chief? All I do is attend banquets and sit in the office, boring to death. Hey, what did you say? A farm? What good stuff do you have? Speak up." "You wish. With your ball-like figure, you should be careful not to turn into a ball. The farm is just starting, with only sand, black soil, and wild grass. What do you want to eat?"

"Damn, I knew you had no good intentions. But remember, when the products come out, don't forget to notify me. Hey, do you remember Chu Xiong? Yes, what about him? Do you know what he's doing now? Driving an excavator, who would have thought? He must be making good money. And he has a son now. He didn't go to college but is determined to get his son into college." Fat Li's words triggered Wang Haiming's memories.

The two prides of Shandu Town, Wang Haiming and Chu Xiong, were admitted to the city's experimental high school with the top two scores in the city. Unfortunately, both came from very poor families and didn't go to college. "Alright, let's stop there." Wang Haiming noticed a fire not far away, likely a car accident, and without hesitation, rushed over.

Seeing the crowd gathered in layers, with no one offering help, Wang Haiming felt a mix of sorrow and helplessness. Despite the situation, he pushed through the crowd.

It turned out to be a collision between an Audi and a small truck. The truck was not badly damaged, but the driver was missing. The Audi was in bad shape, with the driver slumped over the steering wheel, a large pool of fresh blood, and unknown survival status. In the back seat were an old man and a little girl. The old man was on the ground, breathing heavily and pale, likely protecting the little girl, who was crying and calling for her grandfather.

What to do? After calling an ambulance, Wang Haiming felt a bit at a loss, his mind racing with medical knowledge. To say he knew traditional Chinese medicine, even his family didn't know. As a child, Wang Haiming was quite mischievous, often going to Jiulong Mountain to pick wild fruits. Once, he met an old Taoist who asked, "Do you want to learn medicine?" "No," Wang Haiming replied without hesitation. As a child, he disliked studying, let alone traditional Chinese medicine. After learning Wang Haiming's name, the old Taoist further enticed him, offering a piece of candy for reciting an article. In the poor countryside, especially in Wang Haiming's village, this was a big deal. Under the old Taoist's persuasion, Wang Haiming studied traditional Chinese medicine for ten years, though not for the candy. Unfortunately, he had only treated minor illnesses like colds, feeling unsure. The old man's face was gray and purple, his expression indifferent, and his complexion dark red. It seemed to be a sudden heart attack.

Right, there's Chenlu, the powerful remedy. I must have been too busy to remember. Little girl, don't cry, I'll save your grandfather. Seeing Wang Haiming's determined stance, the crowd 'kindly' warned him.

"Boy, don't be so good-hearted. Be careful the old man wakes up and attaches himself to you." "Yeah, he's not your grandfather, why should you care?" "Stupid, idiot."

Wang Haiming ignored them. Although he disliked the old Taoist, he remembered one phrase: "A doctor's heart is like a parent's." Now, Wang Haiming could勉强 be considered a doctor.

He secretly gave the old man a few drops of Chenlu and started massaging his chest. Chenlu was indeed powerful; soon, the old man's breathing stabilized, and his complexion turned rosy. Wang Haiming then rescued the driver, giving him a few drops of Chenlu and bandaging him up. Seeing the situation under control and the bus arriving, Wang Haiming was about to run away but was stopped by a dark figure.