"Sharing the money, sharing the money, hahaha."

The elder started notifying each household as soon as he returned to the village.

This family sold three and got 87 bucks, that family sold four and got 126 bucks.

When everyone came, they brought some change, and the elder gave it to them, leaving them with the change.

It’s not that the elder was taking kickbacks, everyone agreed that each family would give 1% to cover the elder’s gas, food, and water when he delivered goods to them.

The village products weren’t worth much, making even a hundred bucks a trip was good, so the elder’s share wasn’t much.

Now the villagers are mostly old people, as the young folks have mostly moved to the cities. The ambitious ones have jobs, and those who didn’t study well are doing labor. They definitely don’t stay in the village.

Those who came out to greet the elder were mostly in their fifties and sixties, surprised at how much each person got.

"Brother Zhao, didn’t we agree on 12 bucks a kilo? How come we got so much? The heaviest one from my family was just 1.7 kilos, isn’t that 17 bucks a kilo?"

Old Zhao laughed, "This time, we met a young and generous boss who paid 30 bucks each; I figured you couldn’t find that price even with a lantern, so I agreed right away."

The elder’s words caused quite a stir.

"Even the 1.5-kilo ones from my family were sold for 30 bucks each?"

"Is this boss really that generous? Could it be a scam?"

"Zhao, brother, is this money counterfeit? Did you check carefully?"

At these words, Old Zhao’s heart "thumped," and he inwardly cursed, "Damn!"

In his excitement, he hadn’t really paid much attention to this detail!

He quickly pulled out a bill, carefully feeling the texture near the collar, and held it to the setting sun to check the watermark, confirming there were no issues.

Yet he still felt uncertain and hurriedly said, "Let’s go, let’s go, follow me to the village chief’s house; he has a cash-checking machine."

A group of around twenty hurried and bustled into the village chief’s home.

The village chief ran each bill through the machine three times to confirm there were absolutely no problems, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Then, happily, they distributed the money among themselves at the village chief’s house.

As they were leaving, the elder said, "Once you go back, prepare the hawthorn, mountain mushrooms, and wild chicken eggs. Leave them at my doorstep tomorrow morning; the boss still wants them. He’ll also need fresh vegetables the day after tomorrow; I’ll find out exactly what and tell you tomorrow."

Old Zhao’s words delighted the old folks.

It’s rare to meet such a generous boss, and he wants more; they need to sell even more goods!

"The hawthorn trees at my place just ripened; I’ll pick them first thing in the morning and bring them to you."

"I’ve dried the mountain mushrooms; they taste just right when stewed now. I’ll pack it all up for tomorrow."

"I just collected over 10 kilos of free-range chicken eggs at home. I’ll bring them along tomorrow."

Old Zhao said, "Okay, the prices are all agreed upon; it’s more than half the price those traders offer. No matter how much there is, sell it. You definitely won’t lose out."

Then, turning to the village chief, he said, "Chief, I’ll take the cash-checking machine tomorrow."

The village chief nodded, saying, better safe than sorry; even if Old Zhao hadn’t mentioned it, he would have insisted on bringing it.

"I’ll let Feifei accompany you tomorrow; she’s a college student, she might be able to help a bit."

Feifei is the village chief’s daughter, on summer break at home.

After finalizing everything, all the villagers cheerfully went home, just waiting to sell their mountain produce for a good price the next day.

...

Gao finally descended the mountain today.

Though he wasn’t relying on fish farming for income, making a profit for the first time made him very happy.

Being happy naturally made him want to eat well, and with Wang’s presence, there was no need to search elsewhere for good food.

Leading another muscular man, Gao headed straight for the whitewater rafting at High Crossing.

"Today you’re in for a treat; where Wang is, there’s always good food that you might not find even if you scour across Jiangnan and Jiangbei."

Gao enthusiastically introduced to Brother Hua.

Both were fitness enthusiasts and often collaborated on various challenges later; they were very good friends.

Hua, having spent a lot of time in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, had heard of Wang Fan’s reputation but hadn’t tried his cooking. Curious, he asked Gao, "I’ve heard of his name, but I’ve never tasted it. Surely it can’t be better than the feast you treated me to in Shanghai?"

Gao knew which meal he was referring to, nothing else could compare except the one at Peace Restaurant.

Though it wasn’t cheap; the two of them spent over 3,000 yuan.

Gao seriously replied, "It’s definitely better than that meal. The ingredients in that meal were excellent, but the chef’s skills were definitely no match for Wang. You’ll know when you taste it."

Hua, intrigued by his words, felt it was a bit absurd to have to go rafting just to have a meal.

However, the extreme rafting truly lived up to the word "extreme." Gao felt as if he could see God waving at him.

Riding an inflatable boat rushing down the rapid streams, it differed from usual peaceful rafting. The river roared, splashing giant white lotus blooms.

The inflatable boat zigzagged through the river, sometimes caught in a whirlpool, sometimes thrown into the air, with Gao’s heart pounding accordingly.

Every bump and jolt made him feel like the world was spinning madly. His large hands tightly gripped the handles of the inflatable boat, fearing he’d see his great-grandmother if he let go.

Meanwhile, Hua remained composed, steady as Mount Tai, his facial expression barely changing.

As a former pilot, such minor events were as natural as eating and drinking for him.

Gao felt like he was about to die if he hadn’t seen the sign for beggar chicken priced at 70 yuan each.

Perhaps it was the thought of food that revived his spirits, filling him with vigor instantly.

By that point, they reached calm waters. Generally, people would have water fights here, but since Wang arrived, fewer participated in this activity.

Gao, feeling relaxed after removing his gear, jogged to Wang Fan’s stall.

"Brother Wang, it was quite a task to enjoy your cooking; I almost lost my life. You must pick me two fat ones."

Wang Fan, surprised to hear his voice, looked over and indeed saw Gao, smiling as he said, "That might be tricky; they’re all covered in mud, I can’t tell which ones are fat."

Hua was quite interested and glanced at the RV behind Wang Fan, and the sign hanging on it.

Besides the 70-yuan beggar chicken, there was a 90-yuan meal set.

"Boss Wang, this price doesn’t seem all that cheap, does it?"