They're All Done For!

Liu Su'e then said:

"So the water we usually drink is made by soaking this stuff?"

I feel much more energetic now. Before, I was always sleepy and would get tired easily even after doing a little work.

Now, after drinking the water infused with this stuff, I don't feel tired at all.

After Liu Su'e left, Little Ginseng said angrily, "Wanwan, I almost got stewed by your mother! How scary!"

Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly and said:

"The wine is ready; didn't we open a jar today?"

The taste is pretty good. How about I bring it into the woods for you later?

This wine is too big; Zhou Wanwan is genuinely worried that the Little Ginseng won't be able to lift it.

While taking a bath, Little Ginseng said, "No need, just give it to the Donkey Friend. Donkey Friend 'll listen to me and deliver it into the mountains."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Tonight I'm going to find out where the Songhua stone veins are."

The Little Ginseng looked at her and said, "I'll find out about this. Are you planning to blow up the mine?"

Zhou Wanwan's face darkened. "Why would I go and blow up a mine? Besides, I don't even know how to make gunpowder, okay?"

Little Ginseng looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "Gunpowder? What is gunpowder? I've never heard of it."

Zhou Wanwan looked at it and said, "You don't know what gunpowder is? Then this Great Xia Kingdom is quite backward."

Zhou Wanwan looked at it and said:

Gunpowder is made by mixing saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in a certain proportion. These three things look ordinary, but when mixed together and ignited, they can unleash tremendous power.

In my country, they had long since mastered the use of this stuff. In large quantities, they could level a mountain, let alone destroy living people.

The Little Ginseng ginseng was dumbfounded. "Are you kidding me? Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal can have such great power?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "However, I don't know the exact proportions, but if the proportions are correct, the gunpowder will be extremely powerful."

The Little Ginseng's eyes lit up. "Then... let's just buy gunpowder and blast the Songhua stones, shall we?"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "This method is not bad. Let's go prepare the raw materials now!"

Saltpeter and sulfur were readily available, since nobody knew these things could be used to make something extremely powerful.

Looking at the saltpeter and sulfur on the two carts, Liu Xiuyuan couldn't help but sigh, "Young master, didn't we buy too much? What's the use of all this stuff?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said, "No, no, no, let's collect a little more."

They went to another pharmacy and bought all the saltpeter and sulfur there before driving their carriage back home.

Zhou Qingyan couldn't help but cough and said:

"Little sister, what's the use of these things?"

I just overheard you telling the boss that if they had any stock, we'd want more. What would we need these things for? Are they medicinal herbs?

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "It's a secret."

The carriage hurried home, and just as it reached the valley, it heard the snakeberry plant ahead whisper, "They're all finished!"

The cudweed beside him said, "How come it's over already?"

Snakeberry whispered:

"I was hiding by the crevice in the rocks when I saw several people dressed in black sneaking past, muttering to themselves."

They said they would push down the boulders above and crush them all to death!

These people are too vicious; they probably won't escape their fate today!

Zhou Wanwan suddenly spoke up, "Shall we rest here for a bit?"

Liu Xiuyuan frowned and said, "Master, let's go back soon! Anyway, it's a carriage, we'll be home in no time."

All three carriages were equipped with carriages, and the outside was entirely covered with cotton cloth. They were all wrapped in old cotton cloth, so most people couldn't really see what was inside the carriages.

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said, "No, let's rest here and do as I say."

Liu Xiuyuan stopped talking and drove the carriage into the nearby woods. Zhou Wanwan led more than twenty people up the mountain.

Liu Dalang said softly, "Wanwan, have you discovered something?"

Zhou Wanwan snorted coldly, "There's a group of people on the mountain who want us dead. I'm going to go see who they are. Let's go, let's go up the mountain first!"

Zhou Wanwan led them directly to the mountaintop, where they heard a masked man say, "Zhou Fuyu, why haven't those guys arrived yet?"

Zhou Fuyu said in a low voice, "What's the rush? I saw them drive out in three carriages today. They'll definitely come back Manman; they must have bought grain."

The masked man laughed:

"We're not in a hurry. I'm really curious, how did your mother become such an accurate fortune teller?"

They said our leader was in trouble, and this time he actually almost got killed.

Fortunately, he listened to what your mother said and carried a bronze mirror on his person, which saved his life.

Zhou Fuyu said with a grin:

"My mother is famous throughout the surrounding area; whatever she says is always right."

She had previously mentioned a locust plague, and now you've seen it, haven't you?"

"Oh dear! Luckily we listened to you, our village is now Manman with food. That shaman is truly amazing."

Old Madam Zhou made a living by telling fortunes, and this Zhou Chong was the leader of Eagle's Beak Stronghold.

He was broad-shouldered and burly, with a scar running from his brow bone to his jaw on his wide face, which added to his fierce appearance. He was known in the martial arts world as Scarface.

In his previous life, Zhou Chong was shot in the left chest by a government arrow while intercepting a corrupt official's stolen silver. He fell into a pool of blood and didn't last half an hour.

In this lifetime, she specially asked someone to lead the way, crossed two mountains to find Eagle's Beak Stronghold, and waited outside the village gate for three days and three nights before she finally saw Zhou Chong.

At first, Zhou Chong thought it was just a crazy old woman talking nonsense, but he couldn't help but feel that Old Madam Zhou's words were sincere.

Remembering that he had indeed heard rumors recently that government officials were loitering in the area, he postponed his trip down the mountain with some skepticism.

Unexpectedly, his men encountered an ambush by government troops in the mountains, and all twenty-odd of them were killed.

Zhou Chong, who had escaped death, was both shocked and frightened. He regarded Old Madam Zhou as a living goddess descended to earth, invited her into the village, and treated her as an honored guest.

She not only ordered her men to load all the best grains, cured meats, and cloth from the village onto Old Madam Zhou's cart.

They also brought out a wooden box, and when they opened it, they found a full five hundred taels of silver, each one a shiny piece of official silver.

Zhou Chong clasped his hands in a fist salute, his tone extremely respectful:

"Grandma Fairy, if it weren't for your guidance, I, Zhou Chong, would have been a wandering ghost long ago!"

Please accept this small gift. From now on, Eagle's Beak Stronghold will be your support. If you need anything, just send someone to deliver the message!

Old Madam Zhou smiled faintly and said:

"I only know a little bit about it, but we have some connection."

By the way, there will be a drought soon, so you'd better prepare plenty of food.