(Friendly reminder, the second half of the previous chapter is new content.)
Yanjia Village.
Xiaoya's mother was talking to her family in the main room.
"My sister-in-law said it herself. She passed by Jiaojiao's house and was called in by Jiaojiao. The two aunts who came from the provincial capital said they wanted to do something to make use of their remaining energy. Or maybe my sister-in-law is a capable person. She chatted with them for a long time in a formal manner. Now, after we go back and harvest the crops in our private plots, we should stop growing crops and grow medicinal herbs!"
"What if we don't grow crops and have no food to eat?" asked the eldest brother.
"Two aunts from the provincial capital said they could find a way to solve the food problem. But that's only for our brigade. I don't know if it works for other brigades."
Sister-in-law Wang Yan counted on her fingers and muttered to herself.
"Sister-in-law, what are you doing?" Sister-in-law Li Qiu asked curiously.
Wang Yan calculated for a long time before replying, "Let's do the math! I just calculated our family's food situation over the past few years. We haven't had a famine in recent years. One reason is that the grain yields have increased. In previous years, after paying the public tax, an acre of land would only yield 50 to 60 kilograms of grain. Now, an acre of land can yield more than 200 kilograms. In addition, we plant an acre of sweet potatoes, which yields about 800 to 900 or 1,000 kilograms per acre. Add to that corn, pumpkins, mountain chestnuts, kudzu root, potatoes, and other crops, and not only have we avoided famine, we even have a surplus. Last year, several sacks of sweet potatoes rotted in the cellar. Weren't you heartbroken?"
The family nodded.
"Let me calculate carefully. We have one and a half acres of private land. We can plant sweet potatoes on half an acre and plant medicinal herbs on the remaining acre. We can go to the mountains more often. We still have money, right? We can exchange it for some food. We won't starve."
The family nodded again.
"Chunhua, how long do you think it will take to grow those medicinal herbs before they can be sold?" the eldest brother asked Xiaoya's mother.
"I heard from Xinghong that Doctor Qin has also considered this issue and specifically picked out valuable, fast-growing medicinal herbs to plant. I've never heard of things like Dendrobium officinale and Ganoderma lucidum. Anyway, they're expensive, grow fast, and can be sold in a year. That's roughly what he meant."
"Does everyone in your team plant it?" asked the younger brother.
"Plant! A few families hadn't decided yet, but seeing everyone else planting, they all decided to do it too. I heard the team leader do the math for us. If we grow well, we can grow enough grain in just one year to cover the cost of several years!"
"Of course we can plant it!" The eldest brother decided, "Mom and Dad, let's plant it too!"
Old Lady Yan asked one last time, "Was it Jiaojiao who brought it up?"
Chunhua smiled and said, "Although it wasn't Jiaojiao who brought it up, it was Jiaojiao who asked my sister-in-law to discuss it. Also, Jiaojiao said she would be in charge of the seeds for these medicinal herbs..."
"Grow it!" Before her daughter could finish, Old Lady Yan made her decision. People from the provincial capital had seen the world, but for Old Lady Yan, nothing was as reassuring as the word "Jingjiao"!
Chunhua said happily, "Mom is really smart! Then you have to be prepared! She's already started preparing food! This will be done quickly. I guess the nearby brigades will follow suit and plant crops!"
After chatting about this, Wang Yan asked with a smile: "How is it? Was my introduction correct?"
Chunhua smiled and said, "More than that! Xinghong is so capable! Her family situation delayed her for so many years. To be honest, my mother-in-law had some thoughts in her mind. And now, after only a few months of marriage, she's already done something so drastic! My mother-in-law is walking with such a swagger lately!"
Wang Yan couldn't help but puff out her chest because her niece was so proud of her. "Or I should say that good things should be kept within the family. Even though there's a generational difference, as long as the person is good, we won't care about it. Hahahaha!"
"That's different. They call you aunt. But to me, you're still my sister-in-law, hahaha!" Chunhua laughed.
Not to mention that everyone in Old Lady Yan's family was excited, but Yan Xiumei also came back a hundred meters away from their home to deliver the news.
Yan Xiumei's two younger sisters were married, and her younger brother had just gotten married a year ago. The only people left at home were Aunt Yan, Yan Dong, and Yan Dong's wife, Huang Erqin.
When Huang Erqin saw her elder sister-in-law coming, she stood in the yard and greeted her with a smile.
Yan Xiumei hurriedly walked into the house holding Xiaohua.
"This is the situation, Mom, Xiaodong, you guys can do whatever you want."
My younger brother is already married, and Yan Xiumei can no longer make decisions on her own as she did in the past. She can only let them decide for themselves.
"Sister, I'm not saying anything, but we don't have much private land, only eight mu. If we use it to grow medicinal herbs, what will we eat?" Huang Erqin asked.
"So I say, let you decide for yourselves. If you want to use it to grow medicinal herbs, you have to store grain in advance!"
"Sister, do you grow it at home?" Huang Erqin asked.
Yan Xiumei's mother-in-law is the most stubborn. Once she makes up her mind, no one can change it.
Yan Xiumei heard the hidden meaning in her sister-in-law's words, and her face turned a little unhappy: "Whether to plant or not is your own business, don't involve others."
Huang Erqin was about to speak when Aunt Yan gave her a glare: "If you don't know, then keep quiet. If your eldest sister hadn't been so smart and found out the news early on, and if she hadn't been so capable, do you think we would be where we are today?"
After her mother-in-law spoke, Huang Erqin had to swallow what she wanted to say, but she secretly complained in her heart, if your family was not like this today, do you think I, Huang Erqin, would marry your useless son?
Aunt Yan patted her daughter's hand and said, "Xiumei, I know. I have my own opinion on this matter. Don't be too tough on your family. They don't have to worry about food and clothing anyway. If they are willing, that's great. If they are not willing, they will not starve to death. Don't argue with your mother-in-law and others because of this!"
Yan Xiumei's face still looked bad. Sister Xinghong had told her about this as soon as it came out. But her in-laws were all cowards, afraid of this and that. If it weren't for their ancestors' hard work and accumulation of wealth, they would have starved to death!
But she couldn't tell this to her mother, so as to avoid her worrying in vain.
"When you have time, go talk to Xiuhua and Xiuli." After saying this, Yan Xiumei pulled her daughter away.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Let's eat first!" Aunt Yan held Xiaohua's hand and said, "Hua, grandma has made something delicious for you!"
Xiaohua opened her big eyes and looked at her mother.
Yan Xiumei touched her daughter's face and refused Aunt Yan: "Mom, I have something else to do. I will come to eat next time."
Her family didn't agree with her growing medicinal herbs, but she couldn't just sit there and watch such a great opportunity and not fight for it! She was going to go find Sister Xinghong to see if there was any solution.
Aunt Yan watched her daughter and granddaughter leave in a hurry and could only sigh at their backs.
She turned around, glanced at her daughter-in-law, and gave her a fierce look.
Aunt Yan went home, put all the food and drinks into the cupboard and locked it, without even eating, and hurried to the homes of her other two daughters.
When Huang Erqin went to the kitchen to prepare food, she found that all the food had been locked up by her mother-in-law.
"That damn old woman!"
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