MMB Chapter 35 Family Fortune Greatly Increased
Chapter 35 Family Fortune Greatly Increased
After two consecutive days of overcast skies, the harvest of winter wheat in "Wantou" is finally coming to an end.
Xu Chunsheng leaned on his hoe handle, looked up at the sky, and saw a large patch of dark clouds moving in their direction. The wind was also more humid than usual.
He looked at his mother and eldest sister, in front of them were piles and piles of Ophiopogon japonicus.
Xu Chunsheng walked towards them with a smile: "Mom, Sister, it looks like it's going to rain. Don't cut the 'heads' of the Ophiopogon japonicus yet; take them back to pick."
With one hand holding scissors and the other gripping the root of the wheat stalk, Xu's mother replied without turning her head, "Yes, Hua'er, go and shake the soil off the ones over there that haven't been shaken off yet, I'll shred these."
"Why!"
The older sister agreed, but didn't stop working.
When picking Ophiopogon japonicus, use scissors to cut horizontally along the rootstock, one bunch at a time, just be careful not to damage the roots.
Not only do you cut off the medicinal root, but you also have to cut off the root hairs.
This is also one of the reasons why Xu's mother and eldest sister cut the paper slowly.
In addition, it is important to avoid tearing Ophiopogon japonicus by hand, because the medicinal roots, fibrous roots, and stems of Ophiopogon japonicus are tightly connected, and it is easy to tear or break the Ophiopogon japonicus seeds by hand.
Torn Ophiopogon japonicus tends to become "oily" (turns black and oozes oil), making it less valuable.
……
Before long, the wind picked up and raindrops began to fall.
In spring, whenever it rains in the mountains, it feels like winter has returned, and when the wind blows, you can't help but shiver.
"There's only a small plot of land left. Let's stop digging and come back when the rain stops."
Xu Chunsheng wiped his hands on the leaves of the Ophiopogon japonicus. He himself felt cold, let alone his parents and sister.
When it first started raining, the family saw that there wasn't much left, so they thought they should work harder to dig up what was left.
But the rain just kept getting heavier, and it didn't feel like a light drizzle in spring at all.
The whole family is soaked to the bone, and even the soles of their shoes are covered in thick mud, making it impossible for them to work.
After packing the dug-up ophiopogon japonicus into baskets, Xu Chunsheng and his family braved the rain to return home.
"Phew, the rain is so heavy."
Xu Chunsheng put down his basket, stomped his feet under the eaves, and then spread the Ophiopogon japonicus from the basket on the ground to prevent it from spoiling.
Xu Chunsheng changed his clothes, took an umbrella from home, and went to the school to pick up his younger sister.
The umbrella was bought by Xu Chunsheng in town before, just to make it easier for his younger sister to go to school.
Because it rained heavily after school, and Yaomei ran home in the rain, she developed a fever for several days, so Xu Chunsheng went to buy an umbrella.
Gushan Primary School.
Seeing that the rain showed no signs of stopping, Tang Changping took out his umbrella and gave it to Xu Yaomei and Xiao Wei, intending for Xiao Wei to take Xu Yaomei home and then Xiao Wei would go back by himself with the umbrella.
When Xu Chunsheng arrived at the school gate, he saw two children arguing about who should hold the umbrella: "I'm a boy, I'm stronger, so I should do it."
"I'm taller than you, so I should do it."
……
Xu Chunsheng, holding an umbrella, looked at the two noisy children and said, "You two are quite diligent, both wanting to hold the umbrella."
Hearing the sound, Xu Yaomei stopped arguing with Xiaowei and ran to Xu Chunsheng's umbrella: "Brother! You came to pick me up. You are the best, best brother."
Xu Chunsheng reached out and wiped a few raindrops from Xu Yaomei's head, saying indulgently, "You're so good with words."
Then she turned to Xiaowei and asked, "Have you finished harvesting your Ophiopogon japonicus?"
"Not yet, but it will be soon."
Xiaowei is very clear about the harvest of his Ophiopogon japonicus.
Because he helps his mother harvest ophiopogon japonicus every day after school.
Xu Chunsheng nodded after hearing this.
With the price of Ophiopogon japonicus now soaring, more and more people will surely be paying attention to it.
Xiaowei's family consists of an orphan and a widow. After listening to his advice, they planted Ophiopogon japonicus. This time, the price of Ophiopogon japonicus has risen, so they can earn some money and their lives will be better.
Now that Xiaowei says his family's Ophiopogon japonicus harvest is almost complete, Xu Chunsheng feels a little more at ease for Xiaowei's family.
Xu Chunsheng was worried that in a few days, when everyone knew that the price of Ophiopogon japonicus had increased, there would be envious people who would try to sabotage the plantations that everyone had worked so hard to grow for a year.
Therefore, he is now in a hurry to bring all the Ophiopogon japonicus home, dry it quickly, and sell it as soon as possible.
But the following days were always cloudy and rainy, and his family could only dig up the remaining parts of the "bend" when the rain stopped.
However, the continuous rain made drying the Ophiopogon japonicus a big problem. The air humidity in the mountainous area is already high, and with the rainy weather, even if it is laid flat to dry indoors, it is easy to get moldy.
So Xu Chunsheng's family built a separate earthen kang (heated brick bed) in the kitchen, lit charcoal underneath, and kept an eye on it to prevent it from burning. They also put a wooden frame on top, placed the Ophiopogon japonicus in a winnowing basket, and baked it at a low temperature to slowly dehydrate it.
In addition, someone needs to turn it over constantly to prevent the Ophiopogon japonicus from bursting or turning yellow. After all the Ophiopogon japonicus has been baked at a low temperature, it can be dried indoors without worrying about it spoiling. Occasionally, when there is sunshine, it can be taken out to dry.
In this way, in less than half a month, all the harvested Ophiopogon japonicus had been dried. Xu Chunsheng weighed it and found it weighed over 230 jin.
Xu Chunsheng also found a time to call Li Dalai to collect the goods, so that he wouldn't have to worry about the Ophiopogon japonicus being stuck in his hands and unable to be sold.
"I have over 200 jin of dried Ophiopogon japonicus at home. When can you come and collect it?"
"Tomorrow! I'll come tomorrow. The market is tight right now, it's already 28. But to be honest, I don't have that much money right now. I can only pay you two thousand first, and I'll bring the rest next time."
Xu Chunsheng was somewhat surprised when he heard the price.
He knew he had made the right bet.
The next day, Xu Chunsheng waited for Li Da in town. As soon as they met, Li Da anxiously asked Xu Chunsheng:
"Those other people you mentioned last time, have they sold their items yet? Could you keep an eye out for them for me?"
Xu Chunsheng then pulled Li Da to sit down on a stone slab to the side: "Boss Li, I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush."
"How can I not be in a hurry?"
"I've been waiting for this day to soar to the heavens!"
Li Da didn't sit down. He kept tugging at his clothes, then wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand. He said to Xu Chunsheng, "Everyone outside is going crazy for it. I won't lie to you. I'll buy it for one yuan more than the market price. Help me buy the rest too."
"Then it's settled."
"Come home with me, and I'll give you everything in the house, and everything I take from the future."
Xu Chunsheng didn't have any channels to sell his goods. The town's supply and marketing cooperative also accepted them, but Xu Chunsheng had asked around and found that the price was far lower than what Li Da offered. In addition, he had indeed made an agreement with Li Da to sell him two mu of his Ophiopogon japonicus, so he immediately agreed.
Li Da's smile immediately brightened again: "Great, that's a good idea!"
Afterwards, Xu Chunsheng took Li Da to his home to dry Ophiopogon japonicus. In front of his family, he took out all the dried Ophiopogon japonicus he already had and received more than two thousand yuan in cash from Li Da.
Xu Chunsheng wasn't worried that Li Da wouldn't give him the rest of the money. As long as Li Da still wanted to collect the remaining Ophiopogon japonicus from his family, he wouldn't run away.
When Li Da handed Xu Chunsheng two thousand yuan, Xu's father, mother, and eldest sister all stared wide-eyed at the stack of money, then turned to look at Li Da who had given the money.