The car bumped along the country road for over ten minutes before arriving at a plantation enclosed by a wire fence.

The plantation was vast. In the distance, one could see neat rows of greenhouses and sprawling green forests covering the hillsides.

The group got out of the car, and Old Zhang led the other two directly into the nearest greenhouse.

Inside the greenhouse, row after row of tender green seedlings were thriving. Their leaves were a vibrant green, bursting with life.

Li Xu crouched down, picked up a seedling, and sniffed it.

The fragrance was faint, with a hint of grassiness, and completely lacked the unique, mellow richness of Agarwood.

"How much is one of these seedlings?" Li Xu asked.

"A high-quality grafted seedling like this goes for at least five or six hundred on the market right now."

Old Zhang explained, "Don’t underestimate it because it’s small. This is a good sapling with the potential to become a real Money Tree. But these things grow slowly. It takes three years just to get as thick as the mouth of a bowl, and if you want it to produce resin, you’re looking at ten years, minimum."

"Come on, I’ll take you to see the mature trees."

They passed through the greenhouse area and came to a large grove of agarwood trees on the hillside.

The trees here were noticeably thicker, their lush canopies blotting out the sun.

Old Zhang casually patted a trunk as wide as a bowl. "This is a tree that’s about ten years old, an Agarwood tree. We just made the first incision on it this year—that is, we wounded it artificially to make it start producing resin. In another seven or eight years, it’ll be ready to produce agarwood."

"How much would this one sell for?" Li Xu asked.

"If we sold this tree right now, it would go for a little over twenty thousand."

Old Zhang explained, "Wild Agarwood trees are a Class II nationally protected species now, so you can’t touch them. Almost everything circulating on the market is artificially cultivated like this. We handle species introduction, seedling cultivation, and resin induction. Our techniques are mature now, so we’re basically self-sufficient."

Li Xu nodded, observing his surroundings as they walked.

’It really is a long process.’

A seedling needs ten years to mature. After it’s wounded, you have to wait another seven or eight years for it to produce the resin.

’That’s nearly twenty years gone by.’

Even the lowest-quality Agarwood wouldn’t be presentable without maturing for at least twenty years.

They continued walking toward the back of the hill.

Old Zhang had leased the entire small hill, and it was all planned out meticulously.

"Dr. Li, take a look. We made the cut for this resin two years ago."

Old Zhang pointed to a large tree over thirty centimeters in diameter.

Near the base of the trunk, a section of bark had been artificially stripped away, revealing the wood beneath.

The wound was covered in a layer of dark brown resin, and some areas had even begun to form a crust.

To prevent it from being washed out by rain or getting infected by bacteria, the wound had also been carefully wrapped in plastic film.

This was the most natural—and also the most painful—part of the Agarwood formation process.

To heal itself, the tree secretes resin to envelop the wound. Over time, the decaying wood transforms into something miraculous, eventually hardening into Agarwood—a substance more precious than gold.

"So when the time comes, you just cut it off and sell it?"

Li Xu bent down for a sniff. The fragrance was still very faint; the resin content was clearly insufficient.

Old Zhang smiled and shook his head. "No, we sell the Agarwood right here, under the tree."

"What do you mean?" Li Xu was puzzled. "You close the deal on the spot?"

"That’s right."

Old Zhang sighed. "The market is flooded with fakes these days. Oil-soaking, high-pressure oil injection, painting on resin lines... the tricks are endless. A lot of crooked merchants use worthless rotten wood, treat it with chemicals, and pass it off as expensive Agarwood."

At this, Old Zhang’s face filled with disgust. "Agarwood has become popular in recent years. The price went up, and people’s hearts turned black. That fake stuff has no medicinal value, it’s acrid when you burn it, and it can even be carcinogenic. It’s completely ruined the reputation for those of us who produce it legitimately."

"So I came up with a simple-minded solution: sell the Agarwood at the tree. When a customer comes, they pick the tree, they pick the piece of resin, and I cut it for them right then and there. They watch the Agarwood come off the tree with their own eyes and take it away, bark, wood, and all. They can clean it themselves when they get home."

After hearing this, it dawned on Li Xu, and he couldn’t help but admire Old Zhang’s wisdom.

’It might be a simple-minded solution, but it was also the most effective anti-counterfeiting measure.’

’Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon.’

"Sigh. It was a last resort."

Old Zhang let out a long sigh.

The three of them chatted as they strolled, eventually touring the entire plantation.

Li Xu now had a good grasp of the situation.

Although Old Zhang’s Agarwood operation was large, it had only been around for about a decade.

The oldest trees on the plantation only produced basic Agarwood, the so-called "entry-level" grade.

’Truly great things need time to mature.’

After finishing the tour, they returned to the village.

Li Xu asked, "Old Zhang, you’ve been in the Agarwood business for over a decade, both collecting and growing. You must have some good stuff stashed away, right?"

Hearing this, Old Zhang laughed heartily. "Dr. Li, you have a sharp eye! You’re right. I’ve sold a lot over the years, but I’ve also secretly held on to a few prized possessions."

"Dr. Li, let me take you to my ’treasure room.’ I’ve got some truly great things in there."

Old Zhang led the two of them to the fourth floor.

As the heavy security door was slowly pushed open, a rich fragrance instantly washed over them.

This fragrance was completely different from the light, fresh scent from downstairs. It was mellow and deep, as if carrying the weight of ages.

A single breath was enough to make one feel utterly refreshed and serene, as if transported to a Zen garden in an ancient temple.

It was a room of over sixty square meters with no windows. All four walls had been treated to maintain a constant temperature and humidity.

Lining the walls were rows of custom-made mahogany display cabinets, while several exquisite curio shelves stood in the center of the room.

Pieces of Agarwood, large and small and in all manner of shapes, were arranged artfully throughout the entire room.

The moment Li Xu stepped inside, his gaze was drawn to a peculiar object on a curio shelf near the entrance.

It was a root carving, about seventy or eighty centimeters tall, with an overall grayish-white color. It was clearly the weathered root of an old Agarwood tree.

It twisted and coiled like a molting azure dragon, exuding a desolate beauty.

As he stepped closer for a better look, Li Xu was taken aback.

He saw that the interior of the withered root was not solid. Instead, it was riddled with a dense network of holes of all sizes.

The holes wound and twisted, interconnecting with one another like countless miniature mazes.

And along the edges of these holes, layers of dark brown resin had solidified, glistening faintly under the spotlights.

"Is this... Insect Eye Fragrance?" Li Xu asked in amazement.

Seeing that Li Xu recognized it at a glance, Old Zhang gave him a thumbs-up. "Dr. Li, you’ve got a great eye! I acquired this from deep in the mountains years ago. The tree was already dead by then, with only the root left. I could tell it was old, at least a hundred years. Even though the core had been hollowed out by insects and ants, it turned into a blessing in disguise, creating this natural wonder."

Li Xu nodded and reached out to gently stroke the rough bark, marveling at the uncanny workmanship of nature.

’This clearly wasn’t the work of just one type of insect.’

Judging by the size and orientation of the holes, at least several, perhaps even more than a dozen, different kinds of insects had once made their home inside.

They had bred and thrived in here, gnawing away at the wood, while the tree, in a desperate bid for survival, secreted resin to cover its wounds and drive out the invaders.

In the end, the tree died and the insects left, but they left behind this crystallized product of countless life-and-death struggles.