Wang Xiaoqiang didn't refuse either.

Arriving at the Gathering Guest Tower, Tang Guowei booked a private room, ordered dishes, and called for wine, while Tang Mingyuan and Wang Xiaoqiang chatted. When asked what he came to the county town for, Wang Xiaoqiang didn't hide anything and said he wanted to buy some ornamental fish.

"Ornamental fish, huh!" Tang Mingyuan seemed very excited upon hearing this and said, "If you don't mind, I'll accompany you after we eat. I've been wanting to buy a few to keep for fun as well!"

"Haha, that's really great. I don't know much about ornamental fish, having you with me will definitely keep me from getting ripped off..." Xiaoqiang happily said.

The dishes Tang Guowei ordered were the top-grade offerings of the Gathering Guest Tower, and they were accompanied by Moutai wine. When the dishes and wine were served, Wang Xiaoqiang frowned and said, "This is too extravagant; if it's always this costly, I wouldn't dare come again in the future..."

In fact, the meal was indeed quite expensive, costing around two to three thousand.

However, Tang Mingyuan said, "Hey, Little Qiang, I know you're a generous guy, but we can afford this table of drinks. Don't worry about the money, let's have a drink..."

Wang Xiaoqiang had just treated Tang Guowei's illness, having worked hard for a while without charging a dime; even the feast felt inadequate compensation for Wang Xiaoqiang, so why would Tang regret it?

After being well-fed and tipsy, Tang Mingyuan accompanied Wang Xiaoqiang to the county town's flower, bird, insect, and fish market to buy ornamental fish.

After driving through an antique gatehouse, they arrived. Though quieter in the afternoon, people were still coming and going incessantly. Upon entering, they heard various bird calls – some crisp or ethereal, some mimicking human speech, or sounding like laughter. This wasn't just a world of ornamental fish but also a world of birds and, of course, a sea of flowers.

Xia Guifang had no interest in birds; he was here for the ornamental fish. So after parking the car, the two headed straight for the ornamental fish section.

In the row of shops inside, small tropical fish in glass tanks, like peacocks, Marys, moonlights, arrowtails, guppies, Lili, pearl gouramis, Dutch phoenixes, African phoenixes, tiger barbs, red crosses, zebras, traffic lights, treasure lanterns, red-nosed scissors, black lanterns, glass cats, upside-down cats, kissing gouramis, and small angel fish, among others, were on display.

There were also large fish like colorful fish and blood parrots, offering a complete variety.

Since his goal was for observation, Wang Xiaoqiang didn't consider the economic value and chose based on personal preference. In the end, he selected six koi, six moonlight fish, and six colorful fish, and called it a day.

Wang Xiaoqiang also bought some fish feed.

Old Tang picked two treasure lanterns, a zebra, and then, without fuss, paid for the fish. Accompanying Wang Xiaoqiang to browse was indeed for this purpose; achieving his goal, he was very happy, as after all, owing someone too much doesn't sit well inside.

The amount wasn't substantial, and Wang Xiaoqiang didn't refuse. The shopkeeper packed the fish chosen by both into glass tanks and then carried them to the car. Wang Xiaoqiang first dropped Tang Mingyuan off at home, bid farewell, and took the ornamental fish he selected to the pond in front of the villa, carefully introduced them to the pond, and quietly observed for a while.

The intermingling red and white of the koi, the pale red of the moonlight fish, and the colorful fish's splendor were strikingly beautiful, each having its own unique charm.

Wang Xiaoqiang had never kept ornamental fish before and knew nothing about it. He scattered some of the purchased feed into the pond, and then dipped his hands in, infusing some life-affirming Binding Spirit Qi.

After lingering by the pond for a while, Wang Xiaoqiang headed to the Old Village Committee Courtyard. It was the mid-afternoon, and the four puppy siblings were lazily napping on the ground, having grown knee-high and looking quite sturdy. Now that they were weaned, their parents, Old Yellow Dog and Big Spotted Dog, were no longer closely following them.

Wang Xiaoqiang noticed that Old Yellow Dog and Big Spotted Dog weren't napping but were being affectionate together. Old Yellow Dog still appeared energetic and vigorous, mounting Big Spotted Dog from time to time. Big Spotted Dog, seeing her owner, acted shy and played hard to get with Old Yellow Dog.

Seeing his master arrive, Old Yellow Dog ceased his amorous pursuit with Big Spotted Dog, and both dogs approached Wang Xiaoqiang, wagging their tails in welcome.

Seeing that the four puppies no longer needed the big dogs' care, Wang Xiaoqiang told them they must take on work. The task assigned to the Big Spotted Dog was guarding the fish pond and Yam Field. Old Yellow Dog's task was to look after the Vegetable Base and the orchard, as the vegetables were ready to harvest and were quite valuable, costing tens of dollars per pound.

Since there would be no one guarding these two places at night, only Old Yellow Dog could be relied upon. Hence, Wang Xiaoqiang spoke with a solemn tone.

After receiving Wang Xiaoqiang's instructions, the Old Yellow Dog wagged its tail and let out a customary whimper. Hearing that familiar sound, Little Qiang knew it had grasped his meaning.

Considering the importance of the two dogs' mission, Wang Xiaoqiang then infused them with some Spiritual Energy.

He then went upstairs to check on the growth of the two orchids, also infusing them with some Spiritual Energy.

After returning home for dinner, Wang Xiaoqiang went back to the villa. Unable to sleep, he began to browse the internet for information about Maca.

Without searching, he had no idea, but once he typed "Maca" into Baidu's search, to his surprise, millions of related results came up. The thing Wang Xiaoqiang knew nothing about turned out to be so popular. From this information, he learned that Maca was the term used by his countrymen, though it seemed to be spelled differently, as "Maca".

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't consider these details important, what mattered to him were the cultivation techniques. However, most of the search results were about health products derived from Maca, which were touted impressively.

It seemed this herb was better than the Wild Mountain Ginseng from Changbai Mountain, better than bird's nests, Lingzhi, and Cordyceps sinensis; it was primarily valuable for boosting the immune system, fighting fatigue, and enhancing men's sexual function and fertility.

These were not Wang Xiaoqiang's main concerns, because he did not have any issues with his male functions, which had been proven with Li Xianghong. Every time, the fierce-like-a-tiger Li Xianghong would surrender, and he himself felt no sign of fatigue even after doing it four or five times.

What Wang Xiaoqiang was interested in were the economic value and cultivation techniques of Maca.

After some research, Wang Xiaoqiang found that growing Maca wouldn't be easy because it demanded a very specific and harsh growing environment:

First, Maca required a special environment and climate. It needed altitudes above 4,000 meters, harsh climates yet fertile lands, with temperature differences of over 60 degrees. Such places were rare in the world.

The second condition was that even in those few lands where it could grow, after harvesting Maca, the soil needed to rest for over seven years to recover its fertility; otherwise, it would become barren.

Wang Xiaoqiang thought the second condition wasn't a problem, as he had the Five Elements Spirit Spring to supply the essence of the land, so he had no worries in that regard. The first condition, however, was difficult to fulfill.

Were there any mountain peaks above 4,000 meters nearby?

Wang Xiaoqiang gave it some thought and finally set his sights on the Great Green Mountain.

Great Green Mountain was quite tall, although Wang Xiaoqiang was not sure about the exact height. All he knew was that standing at the base, one could not see the summit because it was enshrouded in mist and clouds.

Wang Xiaoqiang's plan was to try and see if he could grow Maca at the peak of Great Green Mountain.

Although Maca required strict environmental conditions for growth, it was relatively easy to survive. It could still live without meeting these conditions but its nutritional contents would be greatly reduced.

With the Five Elements Spirit Spring at his disposal, Wang Xiaoqiang did not need to consider this issue. In fact, he was essentially selling Spiritual Energy through a rather valuable method!

Now that Xia Guifang and her team were handling company matters, and Xia Mi was doing the outside sales, Wang Xiaoqiang became a hands-off manager. He had free time, so he thought he might as well treat it as a bit of fun!

Once he had this plan in mind, Wang Xiaoqiang started to search online for Maca seeds. Maca in Peru came in five colors: black, red, multicolored, yellow, and white, with black Maca being the premium variety, accounting for only 5% of the yield and requiring strict selection.

The red Maca roots were next, while the yellow and white ones commonly cultivated in Peru with chemical fertilizers were the kinds used for extraction. Besides Peru, there were introductions of Maca cultivation in other South American countries like Uruguay and Brazil. Back in mainland China, Yunnan, Tibet, Taiwan, and other regions had also begun introducing and mass-producing Maca.

Wang Xiaoqiang found that the picturesque Jiuzhaigou Valley in Yunnan had black and yellow Maca seeds.

If he wanted to introduce them, he would have to go to Yunnan. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), whether it's with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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