Chapter 1451 - 729: New Mission_2
"These herbs are too precious, buying them would cost a lot of money. But I’ve been traveling all over, and my money is almost spent. I can save them, but buying herbs, I’m truly powerless."
Lin Beichen told everyone about this; he really had the heart but lacked the means.
"It seems those people aren’t destined for your treatment."
The fake monk could only say with regret. Having found a way to save them, but it required precious herbs, and they couldn’t help it, because they were injured while gathering yams to exchange for money.
Everything in the world relies on money.
Lin Beichen had no money, but someone among them did, like Liu Baoguo, who had many valuable artifacts at home.
Just selling one randomly could get enough money to purchase the herbs to save these people.
Lin Beichen looked at Liu Baoguo: "You need to know that these people are like this now, all because they were gathering yams for you. Are you willing to atone for your mistakes, and spend money to buy precious herbs for their treatment?"
Liu Baoguo felt very uncomfortable seeing so many people die or get injured because of him.
Thinking of himself as a businessman, whose pursuit of profit disregarded everything, he felt he had no humanity.
He quickly expressed: "I am willing to atone for what I have done."
Lin Beichen made a list, writing down all the herbs needed, along with their prices.
Seeing the figures on the list, Liu Baoguo felt it was a bit much. If he were just a businessman, he wouldn’t be able to accept it for a moment. But fortunately, he had collected many artifacts; selling a few would bring enough money to buy these herbs.
He didn’t have to worry about becoming impoverished after buying these.
He took the list and left.
Just then, Lin Beichen suddenly remembered the old man’s previous instructions.
The old man once said that he helped find where the monk was, but there was a condition; Lin Beichen had to accept the monk as a disciple.
At that time, Lin Beichen did not understand the monk, thought he was a swindler with poor character, and accepting him as a disciple would damage his reputation. So he didn’t immediately agree, just said he would consider it.
But now, Lin Beichen understood the monk’s good intentions. His actions were actually to retaliate against Liu Baoguo because Liu Baoguo had done too many wicked things. Furthermore, the monk took meticulous care of these bedridden people, fully displaying his good character.
Thus, Lin Beichen asked, "Are you willing to become my disciple?"
The fake monk never imagined Lin Beichen would make such a request; he was stunned for a moment, then pinched his thigh, felt a jolt of pain, and confirmed he wasn’t dreaming; Lin Beichen’s words were real.
If he could become Lin Beichen’s disciple, that’s naturally a dream come true. He had always been alone, drifting in this world.
But if he really became Lin Beichen’s disciple, what about these sick people? They couldn’t do without his care.
Lin Beichen saw his concern and said, "I will definitely cure these sick people. You saw that I’ve already asked Liu Baoguo to buy precious herbs for them. Furthermore, I will have Liu Baoguo pay for his mistakes and give them appropriate compensation. You can be assured now."
The fake monk was overjoyed upon hearing this. All his thoughts were for these sick people; if Lin Beichen could truly deliver what he promised, cure them and arrange compensation, their future would be better, and he wouldn’t have to constantly worry about them.
"Okay, as long as you complete these tasks, I will willingly become your disciple. My greatest wish is to see them recover and live in days not so hard, at least able to eat and dress well."
He asks for nothing else, just wishes these people can eat and wear well, no longer risking their lives to sell high-priced yams.
"Saving them is just a matter of time, they will definitely recover, you can be assured of that," Lin Beichen promised.
He had decided from the start to save these people; otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked Liu Baoguo to buy precious herbs before even proposing to take the monk as a disciple.
Even if the monk didn’t agree to be his disciple, he would cure these people and make the most of those precious herbs. However, afterward, he wouldn’t have Liu Baoguo compensate these people since Liu Baoguo had already spent money to buy these precious herbs as redemption.
Next, Lin Beichen suggested to look at the herbs the monk had been decocting for them in recent days.
The monk then explained each herb to Lin Beichen.
"Although these herbs can’t completely cure them, it can be said by accident that I found a common herb that can suppress this neurotoxin from plants. Throughout these days, I’ve been decocting this medicine for them to drink, suppressing the spread of toxins in their bodies."
Without this herb, their toxins would have erupted, causing them to die suddenly, and they would never have waited for Lin Beichen and the others to discover all this here.
Liu Baoguo had been purchasing yams for years and knew where to buy these precious herbs. In a short time, he had bought all the herbs and hurried back to the hut.
"Here, I bought all these herbs back. I’m afraid it’s not enough, so I bought a bit more of each. If it’s not enough, let me know, and I’ll go buy more."
Lin Beichen took the herbs and handed them to Yang Yiyi, asking her to help decoct the medicine and instructing her when to add each herb. If all these herbs were boiled together, the longer they were boiled, the more the efficacy would dissipate with the steam; by then, they wouldn’t be as effective.
Yang Yiyi firmly memorized Lin Beichen’s words.
Meanwhile, Zhou Dazhuang was tasked with accompanying Liu Baoguo to visit households throughout the village, compiling a list of families who either had deaths or illnesses ever since acquiring iron flowers.
Lin Beichen had urged Liu Baoguo to do this; initially, Liu Baoguo was unwilling, so Lin Beichen gave him a lengthy lecture.
After Lin Beichen’s guidance, Liu Baoguo realized just how severe his past mistakes were.
During the compilation of these matters, it was initially apparent that Liu Baoguo was quite proactive.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
However, some bumps were encountered along the way. Families who had once sold iron flowers to Liu Baoguo, upon seeing him, thought he was there to further lower the yam purchase price. Remembering family deaths from collecting toxic yams, they immediately burned with anger, shouting about teaching Liu Baoguo a lesson.
Liu Baoguo, seeing this, quickly hid behind Zhou Dazhuang. He had promised Lin Beichen that if any conflicts arose during the process, he wouldn’t retaliate or use profane language, so he was left to meekly endure their outbursts.
After all, he truly had made previous mistakes.
"Sir, please don’t be angry; Liu Baoguo has deeply recognized his mistake, and he’s here now to list names for subsequent compensation," Zhou Dazhuang hurriedly explained.
Upon hearing this, the old man’s anger gradually subsided. Receiving compensation, of course, was good news, but he still looked at Liu Baoguo with hostility.
To ensure the survey went smoothly, Zhou Dazhuang decided to take the old man along for the survey. Having lived here for many years, the old man knew a lot of people; with him explaining the situation to everyone, the resistance wasn’t as pronounced, and many willingly shared the number of casualties in their homes.
Two days later, the list was compiled, and Lin Beichen successfully treated all the sick.
Looking at the names on the list, Lin Beichen’s heart was in pain. Liu Baoguo had unwittingly harmed so many people for his own profit.
Even though he compensated these people, their heartfelt resentment was not easily overcome.
To prevent Liu Baoguo from becoming a pariah, Lin Beichen decided to talk to the old village chief, plan a public meeting, allowing Liu Baoguo to apologize to everyone in hopes of receiving forgiveness from the villagers.
After learning the old village chief’s address, he went for a visit. Upon arriving at the old village chief’s house, Lin Beichen discovered that he was the very person who had previously instigated the fake monk.
Moreover, the old village chief seemed to have anticipated their arrival, already having slaughtered chickens for preparation to host them.
Before, the old village chief had accurately stated Lin Beichen’s mission; Lin Beichen knew then that he was no ordinary person, therefore he showed great respect to the old village chief.