The ink-colored mist was boundless, the smoke curling gently.
Tonight, the Ginseng Collection Manor at the foot of Longkang Mountain was particularly lively. At noon, the ginseng pickers returned from the mountain fully loaded.
They not only collected a basketful of wild ginsengs aged a hundred years but also numerous other herbs like polygonatum and kudzu root, fully meeting this year's quota.
Just as fishermen must pay fees to the fishery for stall space, berthing, and renting boats, mountain dwellers are no different.
In large estates like this, medicine gatherers, woodcutters, and even hunters are required to "pay their share".
This includes but is not limited to medicinal herbs, charcoal, and animal pelts.
Of course, they can also settle it with silver.
Every month, the manor also offers generous bounties for rare items unattainable by ordinary people, such as treasured plants or demon pills, to entice swordsmen into the mountains.
