A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 17: The Choice

Huang Laocai lay shirtless on the bed, his back crisscrossed with deep gashes. The flesh was torn open, looking terrifying.

Each time the black-clad attacker caught up, he had slashed with his blade.

Now Huang Laocai’s face was deathly pale. His wife, concubine, sons, daughters—his entire family—surrounded the bed, weeping.

“D*mn it, I’m not dead yet… aiyo…”

“Master!”

“Master, hang in there, the doctor will be here soon!”

Huang Laocai turned to look at Ergouzi.

Ergouzi had run all night and was now completely exhausted, leaning against the door to rest.

Because he had someone on his back at the time, aside from getting soaked in hot urine, he was otherwise unscathed.

But right now, his heart was uneasy. He worried that Huang Laocai might go back on his word—after all, it was three mu of land, worth 60 taels of silver.

Besides, Huang Laocai was half-dead. Saving him only counted as half the job done.

What if Huang Laocai died before he could transfer the land?

Ergouzi was full of doubt, torn between hope and fear.

“Ergou, you saved my life. The three mu of land at the stone hollow is yours now.”

Finally, Huang Laocai gave his answer. Ergouzi jumped up with joy.

“Thank you! Thank you, Master!”

From this day on, he was no longer just a tenant farmer—he was a landowner.

With his own land, he could do whatever he wanted—no more paying rent, no more fear of repossession. He could even build a tile-roofed house there.

“Aiyo…”

Whether it was physical pain or heartache, Huang Laocai groaned for a while.

“You saved my life, so three mu of land is nothing!”

“I’ll even throw in another big gift.”

As he spoke, he looked at his sons and daughters, and finally fixed his gaze on the second daughter.

“I’ll give you two choices. You can pick one.”

“One, you marry my second daughter. She’ll bring twenty mu of good farmland as dowry.”

“Dad…”

Upon hearing this, the second daughter blushed and lowered her head, sneaking glances at Ergouzi.

Ergouzi was also flustered, his face turning red. He looked down and secretly peeked at the second daughter.

Their eyes met midair and quickly darted away.

Ergouzi’s heart pounded. Just yesterday, she was the unattainable village beauty, and today, she might become his wife—with twenty mu of farmland in tow.

He couldn’t help but wonder—what could the second option be to even compare with this?

“The second option is: I’ll sell you the entire Shekou Mountain for 800 taels of silver.”

“You don’t need to pay it all at once. Just repay 40 taels a year for 20 years.”

“You may choose only one of the two.”

After he finished speaking, the entire Huang family turned their eyes to Ergouzi, waiting for his choice.

Ergouzi felt torn—he wanted both.

Marrying the most desirable girl in Shexi Village and receiving twenty mu of farmland as dowry meant wealth and status. He’d be the richest man’s son-in-law and walk around the village like a king.

In the past, that would have been his highest aspiration—to live like Huang Laocai.

But this recent trip to the county had shown him a bigger world.

Even someone as wealthy as Huang Laocai had to pay taxes honestly, get beaten by yamen guards and still apologize.

When faced with King Zhao, he had to smile and offer silver without complaint.

When attacked by that shadowy figure, he would’ve died if Ergouzi hadn’t intervened.

Ergouzi looked at the second daughter again, his eyes more resolute now.

Round face, round waist, round hips—there wasn’t a second like her in all of Shexi Village.

The second daughter, under his steady gaze, lowered her head until her neck turned red, nervously fidgeting with her clothes. She braced herself for the final moment.

Ergouzi stared at her a while longer, then reluctantly looked away and slowly spoke.

“I’ll buy Shekou Mountain!”

“You! You…”

The second daughter stomped her foot hard, covered her face, and ran out of the room.

Huang Laocai glanced at her sulking departure but said nothing.

“Alright. From today, Shekou Mountain is yours. But you must repay 40 taels of silver every year—no more, no less. You may not repay early.”

“Aiyo… it hurts!”

“If you fail to repay the 40 taels by year-end, I’ll take the mountain back.”

“When I’ve recovered, we’ll go to the county office together to draft the contract…”

...

Ergouzi stumbled out of Huang Laocai’s house, still dazed by the unexpected joy.

He couldn’t understand why Huang Laocai would make such a strange deal.

It made sense that he’d allow repayment in installments—after all, Ergouzi was poor and couldn’t produce 800 taels at once.

But why insist on exact payments each year and no early repayment? That was baffling.

He felt a little guilty toward the second daughter. Hopefully, she wouldn’t resent him and could find a good match elsewhere.

His mind wandered, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the foot of Shekou Mountain.

Looking up at the rocky, barren hillside before him, he was overwhelmed with the joy of owning an entire mountain.

From now on, he was a landowner too.

Though the place was full of rocks, had little soil, and lacked water, it had one advantage—seclusion. No one would bother him here.

He used to worry about farming here, but now that it was his, he could fence off parts and keep outsiders away.

On his first day back, he moved large stones to block the only path up the mountain.

From now on, access to Shekou Mountain would require climbing.

That wouldn’t be a problem—he was strong and nimble.

He planned to build a big house on the mountain and cultivate all usable land.

He would grow food, rare medicinal herbs, and tasty fruit trees.

He’d raise chickens, ducks, and geese. The last time he’d had a chicken leg was when he was five, on his birthday.

Too bad he couldn’t raise fish on the mountain. Fish was delicious too.

At that moment, Ergouzi was brimming with energy. He grabbed a hoe and began clearing land.

Currently, only the three mu at the stone hollow were cultivable. It had rice and some yaojitui wild vegetables growing.

This time, he’d bought three types of medicinal herb seeds in the county—Cistanche, ginseng, and polygonatum. He needed to clear new plots to plant them.

If they grew successfully, he planned to expand their cultivation.

Grain was great and easy to sell, but too bulky. He couldn’t eat that much, and hauling sacks around was a pain.

Right now, he still had over 100 sheng of rice in the gourd—he couldn’t finish it even if he ate four meals a day.

He’d have to turn it into Peiyuan Gutben Pills and sell it slowly.

He now had brute strength—perfect for land clearing. A 100-pound stone? He could lift and toss it with both arms.

Tree roots and weeds? A few strokes with the hoe, and they were out.

Within days, he had cleared three fen of land.

He planted ginseng, polygonatum, and Cistanche—one fen for each. Then he watered them with water from the gourd.

After just a day or two, the ginseng and polygonatum had already sprouted.

Only the Cistanche plot showed no signs of life.

In the following days, Ergouzi kept up his training and monitored the herbs closely.

Ginseng and polygonatum were growing well, but the Cistanche remained lifeless.

Maybe that old man had tricked him. Or maybe he was planting it wrong.

He had never grown medicinal herbs before and didn’t know the first thing about it—he was relying solely on the magical gourd.

All he could do was water them daily. The ginseng and polygonatum were growing fast. But still, no sign of the Cistanche.

Looks like the Cistanche crop had failed.