Chapter 152 What are the little red fruits?

Time flies, and a month has passed quickly.

Gu Yan and Li Wanqing were also preparing to leave the mountain and go back.

"Wife, the Rehmannia root will be almost done after drying for another day. The Schisandra chinensis is already dry, I have packed it up.

The astragalus and angelica will take another two days, but the Chinese yam and wild yam can be stored after drying for another afternoon." Gu Yan moved out all the herbs that needed to be dried early in the morning.

Now the entrance of their cave and the nearby hillside are full of drying medicinal herbs.

Li Wanqing has finished preparing the medicine, and now she just needs to wait for the herbs to dry before putting them away.

"Okay, I estimate that this batch of herbs can be sold for about one hundred taels of silver. Although it's not much, it's enough for us to spend for a few months.

The main reason is that there are no precious medicinal herbs this time, only common ones that are older." Li Wanqing sat on the kang, holding the child.

"That's a lot. One hundred taels a month is a lot no matter where you put it.

Besides, there are only three of us in our family, so our expenses are low and it’s enough for us.” Gu Yan said very contentedly.

"Well, I'm pregnant and have to give birth this year so I can't do anything. Next year we'll come back earlier and try to dig more. We can at least sell a few hundred taels of silver a year.

Our lives will definitely not be a problem, and we don’t need to buy food or meat except pork.

We can grow our own vegetables, so the cost is really not that much," said Li Wanqing.

"Well, but wife, we still have to save money. I want my son to go to school in a few years.

I asked around and found out that if you just want to learn a few words, it's not expensive and you only need to go to school for two years.

However, if you want to continue studying and take the exams for the scholar and the juren, the cost will be very high.

Especially if you fail the exam once or twice, the tuition and travel expenses for the exam will be quite high.

So I want to make preparations now while my son is still young." Gu Yan said something he had been thinking about for a long time.

"I have to let my son study, but you don't have to worry. I have a lot of valuable medicinal herbs in my space, not to mention the ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum.

There were two boxes of gold and silver in the space, enough for my son's studies.

But what you said makes sense. We must save money to be prepared for any eventuality, right?

But there's no need to worry in advance, at worst we can just sell a ginseng plant when the time comes," said Li Wanqing.

…

The couple was chatting in the house when they heard Zhao Cuifang's voice outside: "Third brother, third sister-in-law, we are here to help you."

Li Wanqing and Gu Yan looked at each other. Well, there will be no peace today.

Ever since they started drying the herbs, Gu Chuan and Zhao Cuifang came to report every day. They said they were there to help, but everyone knew their real purpose: they were there to steal their skills.

However, Gu Chuan only came for half a day before being persuaded by Gu Yan to go back, as now was a good time for hunting.

Hunters who have no land or fields hope to hunt more prey at this time to exchange for money so that they can buy rice and flour for the winter.

However, Gu Chuan did not come, but Zhao Cuifang refused to listen and came every day.

She says she's here to help, but what kind of help can she provide with a belly that's more than six months pregnant?

But since the other person came over with a smile on his face, Li Wanqing couldn't turn him away with a stern face.

Li Wanqing could only helplessly greet: "Cuifang, come in quickly! I already said I don't need your help.

Your third brother can handle this matter alone."

"Well, I'm just bored at home, so I came over here and chat with you, my third sister-in-law." Cuifang walked in with a smile on her face, her belly bulging.

Gu Yan felt uncomfortable staying in the same room with his brother's wife, so he said goodbye and left.

"Wife, I'm going out for a walk to see if I can hunt a pheasant, a rabbit or something. You guys stay here." Gu Yan took the hunting tools and left.

"Third sister-in-law, shall I go and look through all the herbs? It will be quicker this way." Zhao Cuifang had actually been looking at the hillside for a long time.

However, those medicinal herbs were prepared by Li Wanqing, and most of them were roots and rhizomes. Zhao Cuifang had no idea what these herbs looked like originally.

So, he could only come in and hope to ask Li Wanqing under the pretext of turning over and drying the medicinal herbs.

"No, just sit down and have a rest. How can I ask a pregnant woman like you to do any work? Come, eat some dried fruits." Li Wanqing brought walnuts and hazelnuts.

It was indeed not easy for Zhao Cuifang to carry a big belly. If she hadn't wanted to learn from him, she wouldn't have come here.

But it seemed useless to come over, as she didn't recognize any of these sliced ​​herbs.

She had tried asking indirectly and directly, but her third sister-in-law just smiled and ignored her.

She really had no other choice, but she was unwilling to give up like this.

"Third sister-in-law, what is that little red fruit drying outside? Is it also a medicinal herb?" Zhao Cuifang asked, glancing at Li Wanqing's expression.

Among so many medicinal herbs, Zhao Cuifang had only seen this one elsewhere.

Li Wanqing knew immediately that she was talking about Schisandra chinensis, but there were not many of them in the mountains, and if she only had one, she wouldn't be able to sell it at a good price.

The most important thing is that this thing is heavy and the unit price is cheap. A large sack of it can only be sold for two or three taels of silver.

It should be a lot, but there is a problem: Schisandra chinensis is heavy.

Because Li Wanqing had space, she could transport all the medicinal herbs without any difficulty.

What about Schisandra chinensis? They're plentiful in the mountains and easy to pick, so that's why I picked them.

But Gu Chuan and the others are different. They don’t have any external plug-ins, so it is a difficult problem to transport the Schisandra chinensis out.

A large sack is only two or three taels of silver, it's totally not worth it.

So Li Wanqing answered readily: "Well, this is Schisandra chinensis, which is also a medicinal herb."

Zhao Cuifang saw that Li Wanqing answered, unlike the previous few days when she always interrupted and answered again.

He immediately took advantage of the situation and asked, "What about the round one? What is that?"

"I'm telling you, but you don't know either. Okay, let's not talk about that anymore. You're going to give birth in a few months. Are the quilt and other things ready?" Li Wanqing said.

When Zhao Cuifang saw that Li Wanqing changed the subject again, she knew that her third sister-in-law probably wouldn't tell her.

But it’s okay, I still got something out of it. At least I learned that this small red fruit is called Schisandra chinensis, and it is also a medicinal herb.

There are a lot of these things in the mountains. Let Gu Chuan go pick them tomorrow.

Thinking about making money soon, Zhao Cuifang put on a smile again: "My mother-in-law said she would make a small quilt and diapers for me, and my eldest sister-in-law also has some old ones.

I just made a few small mattresses, but I didn't have any fabric, so I took apart one of Gu Chuan's old clothes and made two small mattresses."

Zhao Cuifang looked at the small mattress beneath Xuanxuan with envy after she finished speaking. The implication was that she wanted Li Wanqing to take the initiative to ask for some scraps of cloth.

She came frequently and saw that Li Wanqing had a lot of scraps of cloth.

Li Wanqing saw it and understood what she meant, but she didn't want to spoil her, so she said lightly: "It's fine to use the old one. Children's skin is tender."