Peerless Fine Medicine

Many people in this village have the surname Niu, so Li Banfeng thought it was Niujia Village.

Later I learned that the village was called Pancake Village, with more than 100 households and more than 500 people.

In Third Ridge, they are one of the few villages where people still have food to eat.

The fact that we can still have food despite the Insect Plague is mainly due to three conditions.

The first condition is that it can be planted.

Li Banfeng met their Farming Cultivator, a man in his forties named Niu Jingchuan. He cultivated many special seeds that could be sown in the dead of winter and harvested that same month.

Li Banfeng was very surprised. "If you plant it this way, wouldn't you be able to produce twelve harvests a year?"

"That won't do!" Niu Jingchuan shook his head. "This is for Fast Crop Seeds. If you plant it a few times, the soil will be ruined."

Fast Crop Seeds are typically planted only twice, and the soil needs to rest for a year (allowing the land to recover).

The soil at Third Ridge is fertile, yielding a maximum of three crops a year, and next year the soil will need to be nurtured for another year.

Niu Jingchuan didn't say anything more. He went into the field and inspected each and every crop.

This Farming Cultivator is the foundation that has allowed Pancake Village to persevere to this day.

But having capital is not enough; you also need to be able to hold onto it.

The second condition is that they can defend it, and the people of Pancake Village really can defend it!

The autumn harvest was completely wiped out by mosquitoes, so the Farming Cultivator immediately began planting Fast Crop Seeds.

Mosquitoes started attacking the crops as soon as they began to sprout, and the first crop, Fast Crop Seeds, yielded less than 20% of the harvest.

When the second crop Fast Crop Seeds, the villagers had gained experience. They used smoke and pesticides, and after the grain headed out, the entire village, young and old, watched over it day and night, thus saving half of the grain.

After the grain was harvested, it was sent directly to the cellar. People were stationed at the cellar entrance in shifts to check it every hour. If they saw any mosquitoes, they would kill them. No one would come out until all the mosquitoes were killed!

This is the attitude of living!

The third condition is that one must know how to distribute grain.

The method of distributing grain was very simple: go door to door, calculate according to the number of people, and give each person only two days' worth of grain. Do not store it at home, otherwise it will all be eaten by mosquitoes.

The method is simple, but its execution is not so simple.

If you know the person distributing the grain, you'll definitely want a bigger share.

If one person gets a larger share, the others will also want a larger share.

If there are too many people like this, someone will suffer.

If too many people suffer losses, some might stop waiting for the grain to be distributed and start grabbing it instead.

The Pancake Village put a lot of effort into distributing the grain, with each household sending one person to be responsible for bagging it.

After the bags were filled, no one was allowed to take them away, nor were they allowed to leave the granary. All the grain was piled up at the entrance of the granary, and another person in the family was to come and get it.

Take as many bags of rice as there are people in your family. If there are family members who need Food Cultivator, there will be an extra allocation.

These rice bags were made by the whole village together. They all look the same, so no one can tell which bag belongs to whom. You just pick whichever one you like.

Cheating methods still exist, such as making a mark on the grain.

However, cheating is difficult and has serious consequences; once caught, one will be expelled from the village.

With the food distributed fairly and the people united, Pancake Village should have been able to survive the Insect Plague.

But an accident happened a few days ago.

A thief from outside the village came to steal grain. He was so skilled that he even fooled the village guards.

It wouldn't have been a problem if he had stolen a little grain, but this thief was so unethical that he didn't close the granary door, and mosquitoes got in and ruined most of the grain.

With no other option, we had to plant a third crop of Farming Cultivator- Fast Crop Seeds.

There are five days left until the harvest, and the ears of grain will soon be heading.

The number of mosquitoes in the vicinity is increasing, and the effectiveness of various poisons is decreasing.

Niu Jingchuan was very nervous; he had already spotted mosquitoes near the crops.

The appearance of even a single mosquito could mean a complete crop failure, rendering all previous efforts futile.

If this crop of grain cannot be preserved, Pancake Village will starve, the villagers will die of starvation, or they will turn into cannibalistic monsters and eventually become like other deserted villages.

Li Banfeng watched the various colors of smoke drifting in the farmland, the mosquitoes hovering in the smoke, and listened to Niu Fuzhi recount the events in the village.

"These medicines were delivered by the Peddler. We know the Peddler, but we don't know you, so we fought with you at the village entrance."

The Peddler was truly our benefactor! His medicine was incredibly effective at first, but now it's becoming less and less effective. Yet, we'll never forget his kindness; he's such a good man.

Are you sent by the Peddler? Say something!

Even if you're uneducated, you still have some refinement; surely Peddler would recognize you, right?

Li Banfeng was stunned.

Peddler delivers medicine to the Pancake Village?

Isn't Peddler a businessman?

Perhaps his identity isn't so simple?

While Li Banfeng was still pondering, Niu Fuzhi said from the side, "I've been talking for so long, where's your medicine? Hurry up and take it out and use it!"

Li Banfeng was about to take out two packets of over-the-counter medicine, but after looking around, he shook his head.

"Medication cannot be administered here."

"Why?" Niu Fuzhi asked, puzzled.

Li Banfeng said, "I'm afraid of attracting mosquitoes."

Niu Fuzhi frowned and said, "We need mosquito repellent, why did you give us mosquito-attracting medicine? You're obviously illiterate."

Li Banfeng frowned. "You're the one who never went to school!"

Niu Fuzhi puffed out his chest and said, "I never went to school."

There's no way to explain it to him.

Li Banfeng selected a location 300 meters away from the farmland to apply the pesticide. Following the instructions on the prescription, Li Banfeng asked Niu Fuzhi to prepare a large pot and some firewood.

"Are you going to boil this medicine into a soup? Are you planning to feed it to the mosquitoes? We usually use smoke to fumigate them."

"You've never been to school, yet you make so many demands. Hurry up and get the things here!"

Before long, Niu Fuzhi arrived carrying a large pot, and Li Banfeng added water to boil the medicine.

The water boiled, and a packet of medicine was poured in, releasing its aroma.

Niu Fuzhi sniffed the medicine and joked, "You know what, it smells pretty fresh. Can a person take this medicine? I'll try a bite..."

Buzz!

Before he could finish speaking, a huge swarm of mosquitoes gathered around, some rushing directly into the soup pot, others hovering around it.

Niu Fuzhi shouted, "You bastard, you really are a menace! You actually attracted mosquitoes!"

Niu Fuzhi was cursing, while Niu Jingchuan, Farming Cultivator was working in the field, laughed.

The mosquitoes that were originally lingering in the rice paddies have all left.

Looking in the direction the mosquitoes were flying, they were all heading towards Li Banfeng.

Mosquitoes gathered from all directions, forming a swarm that surrounded Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng calmly stirred the soup pot with a spoon, watching the mosquitoes fall to the ground one by one around him.

Yao Lao's medicine can both attract and kill mosquitoes.

As soon as they smell the slightest odor, mosquitoes will fly over, and upon touching even a little bit of the steam rising from the medicine pot, they will instantly die.

Niu Jingchuan walked closer, his face beaming with joy, and said, "This medicine is truly effective!"

Niu Fuzhi was a little scared. "This medicine can kill so many mosquitoes, it can also kill people, right?"

To be honest, Li Banfeng was also a little worried.

But the Wine Gourd reminded him, "Before leaving, Yao Lao said that this medicine wouldn't harm anyone."

Did Yao Lao ever say something like that?

I should have said that.

Yao Lao would never use medicine to harm people.

The mosquitoes near the medicine pot were piled up in a thick layer. One dose of medicine could be boiled for a day and a night. Li Banfeng boiled it for two hours, Niu Fuzhi found someone to come and take over for him.

"My benefactor, please come to my house for a meal first."

Eating again?

Didn't we just eat?

But Li Banfeng was indeed hungry.

This meal Pancake Village's specialty, flatbread.

After having a meal at Old Cow's house, the hostess was a little unhappy, but she didn't say anything.

After finishing his meal, Li Banfeng checked the effects of the medicine.

Even after walking more than two miles from where the medicine was being brewed, Li Banfeng could still see many mosquitoes flying towards the pot.

If you walk another three miles, you can hardly see any mosquitoes in this area; they've all been attracted away by the medicinal fragrance.

After walking a little further, the mosquitoes reappeared.

The aroma of medicine doesn't reach here.

Li Banfeng used his Hundred Flavors Exquisite skills to carefully distinguish the smells, and indeed there was no longer any medicinal smell in the air.

Yao Lao's medicine is indeed powerful; within a radius of five miles, all mosquitoes will be attracted to the vicinity of the medicine pot and poisoned to death.

This creates a protective shield that can safeguard the grain of Pancake Village.

The ears of grain will sprout within five days, and the harvest will be completed within three days. Threshing and storing the grain will also take several days. Leaving them a dozen or so packets of medicine powder should be enough.

This means that Pancake Village is saved.

Li Banfeng also wanted to see if there were any other villages where people were still living, living like human beings.

There must be more.

If they could arrive a little earlier, perhaps one more village could survive.

He was about to hand over the medicine to Niu Fuzhi, but then he thought about it again and felt that this was not right.

We've made it through this time, but what about next time?

As long as these mosquitoes don't disappear, Pancake Village will forever struggle on the brink of survival.

There is only one way to save Pancake Village: give them the prescription.

But the prescription was meant for Pan Dehai.

Wouldn't handing it over to these villagers go against Yao Lao's original intention?

Moreover, this prescription is so toxic. If it were given to an ordinary person and they modified the prescription, wouldn't they use it for evil purposes?

Just as he was pondering this, Niu Fuzhi caught up with him. "My benefactor, where are you going? It's almost lunchtime, hurry up and come to our house for dinner!"

Is it lunchtime again?

Li Banfeng followed Niu Fuzhi into the house.

Niu Fuzhi's wife was counting the grains of rice as they went into the pot. She grabbed a handful more into the basin, hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed a little more back.

The family only had enough food for two days. This was the third meal Li Banfeng had eaten here, and the woman of the house felt sorry for him.

"What the hell are you doing!" Niu Fuzhi scolded his wife. "Our benefactor is here, why are you being so stingy!"

The daughter-in-law bit her lip and grabbed two more handfuls of rice to put into the pot.

Niu Fuzhi crawled into the cellar, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a jar of wine.

"My Benefactor, please don't be offended. We don't have any good wine here; it's homemade."

This year we suffered a disaster, and this was all the wine we brewed. We had planned to drink it during the New Year, Benefactor, here you can try some today.

Li Banfeng felt a sharp pain in his chest.

It hurts terribly.

He wasn't poisoned, nor was he injured; he just felt guilty.

He wants to hand over the prescription, and he wants it right now.

Niu Fuzhi poured the wine. "My Benefactor, what's wrong? Why aren't you drinking?"

"If you don't like this wine, I'll go out and find some better wine tomorrow. I heard there's still some wine in Mitang Village. My wife has a bracelet; I'll pawn it and get some wine for my Benefactor!"

Li Banfeng felt another pang of pain in his chest.

"Have a bowl first, you try it!" Niu Fuzhi raised the wine bowl.

Li Banfeng picked up the wine bowl and took a big gulp.

The liquor was very strong and spicy, making Li Banfeng feel hot all over.

Niu Fuzhi then called to his wife, "Take that piece of cured pork and stew it for our Benefactor!"

The woman couldn't help but reply, "There's only this one piece left, and the child doesn't even want to eat it."

Niu Fuzhi retorted angrily, "What are you saying? I told you to start stewing it, so just start stewing it!"

The woman of the house dared not utter a sound.

Li Banfeng was speechless.

Niu Fuzhi took another sip of wine and said to Li Banfeng, "My Benefactor, I know your medicine is special. Could you give us two more packets?"

We won't take your money for nothing; we'll pay for it. We... we'll give you everything we can.

"My Benefactor, I beg you, I'll kowtow to you!"

As he spoke, Niu Fuzhi was about to kneel down.

Li Banfeng took a deep breath and said, "Stand up! No kneeling!"

Niu Fuzhi said, "I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "Even if you're sincere, you're not allowed to kneel. Old Pan, come out here. Don't ruin this honest man."

Niu Fuzhi asked in astonishment, "What did you say? Who is Lao Pan?"

Li Banfeng said, "Niu Fuzhi, you have good fortune and ambition. A person like you shouldn't kneel. This time, Lao Pan forced you to kneel. Never kneel again."

Old Pan is here. Tell your wife to put away the cured pork; don't give it to him. You find somewhere to hide for a while; I want to talk to Old Pan.

PS: Pan Dehai has arrived.