Then he reunited with Zhang Hu's army and returned to Daping Village.

When they got home, Zhang Hulan gave Zhang Hujun and Li Zhang Dahua's clothes to them.

Li was embarrassed, "Big sister, I'm spending your money again..."

"Oh, sister-in-law, don't be polite to me. Money can be earned again after it is spent. Our family should live a harmonious and lively life."

After Xiang Chunhua returned home, she returned the silver to Zhang Hulan. After working for a few months, the couple was able to come up with five taels of silver.

Zhang Hulan did not accept it, but that did not mean she did not want the five taels of silver.

She asked Xiang Chunhua to pay her back later, as Zhang Xiaobing would be going to school after the New Year and would have to spend a lot of money.

In the afternoon, Zhang Hulan took the clothes of Luo Changqi and the other two, as well as some melon seeds and peanuts. The five veterans all took them with a smile.

"Uncles, please try the clothes to see if they fit. I bought them based on my estimation. If they don't fit, I'll exchange them."

The five of them tried on the clothes and they all fit them well.

Huang Zhong said: "I'm sorry to have let my niece spend so much money!"

"Uncle Huang, you are too polite. I will have to trouble you with many things in the future. You uncles, please don't be polite to me."

"Okay, we won't be polite with you."

The five people were very happy because no one had ever bought them clothes before and few people had ever cared about them so much.

Luo Changqi asked, "Niece, when do you plan to let those who work take a holiday?"

Zhang Hulan said, "Let's work until the 25th. Leave a few days to prepare for the New Year. It should be almost done."

"What about after the New Year? When will the work start?"

"Let's go on the eighth day of the first lunar month. It's a more auspicious day."

Zhang Hulan paused for a moment and said, "Uncle Luo, you can tell the villagers to ask their elders or children to dig lotus roots and sell them to me. I will buy them for one cent and two kilograms. But I will only buy the spores of the lotus roots. I don't want any."

Huang Zhong asked: "Why did you collect that thing? Although it can be eaten, it is not very delicious."

Zhang Hulan said, "I'll buy it and plant it. In the future, most of the wasteland I reclaim will be used to plant lotus roots."

Zhang Hulan didn't wait for Huang Zhong to ask again, she explained: "This lotus root is very useful.

I'm going to raise pigs in the future. If I raise too many, I won't have enough grass to feed them.

The stems of the lotus roots can be used to feed pigs, and they can also be ground into powder and made into vermicelli to sell.

The residue left after powdering can be fed to pigs, chickens and ducks, or fermented and used as fertilizer.”

The five people were all surprised, "That thing can be used to make vermicelli?"

Zhang Hulan nodded, "Of course, and there are quite a few."

Luo Changqi said: "According to what you said, this lotus root is really a good thing. It is full of treasures and there is no waste at all."

"Yes. We will raise a lot of pigs, chickens and ducks in the future. It is impossible to feed livestock with grains, and it is not enough to feed them only with rice bran.

The main thing is that the yield of this lotus root is very high. When I was digging lotus roots, I noticed that some lotus roots could yield two or three kilograms from one plant.

If the crops are grown well, I estimate that one acre can produce three to four thousand kilograms of lotus roots."

Zhang Hulan didn't mention another use for the lotus root, which is that it can be used to make wine, and the yield is very high, but she can't say it now.

Not to mention making wine, the fact that lotus roots can be used to make vermicelli already surprised Luo Changqi and the others.

"One acre can produce three or four thousand kilograms?"

Zhang Hulan didn't say anything definitive. "It should be about the same. Those plants on the mountain can grow so well even without any fertilizer. If they are well taken care of, the yield will definitely be higher. Another point is that there are no diseases or insect pests. I have dug so many plants on the mountain, but I have never seen any insects."

Luo Changqi and his team had also dug up lotus roots before. After a few recollections, they did not seem to have found any worms growing on the lotus roots...

Zhang Hulan chatted with Luo Changqi and others for a while. Luo Changqi told Zhang Hulan not to worry and that he would tell the villagers who were working on the work about the dried lotus roots.

Zhang Hulan went to the new house again and found that it was not very cold here in winter, so building a house in winter would not be affected. As long as it did not snow or freeze, they would work every day.

The foundation is almost ready. It will be just in time for the New Year and we can start building the walls next year.

The newly built house is not only larger in area but also has different requirements. It will take at least three or four months to complete construction next year.

Anyway, now that she has a house to live in, Zhang Hulan is not in a hurry...