Chapter 23: She Actually Became a Rich Woman
Deep within the dense forest, who knows how much wealth is hidden.
Cheng Wanwan didn't go to the lotus pond; instead, she turned and walked towards the dense forest.
The mall provided directions, leading her to an ancient, weathered tree. Beneath its layers of broad leaves grew a wild ginseng.
She took out a small shovel and dug out a white ginseng root that looked like a radish from the soft soil. It was a hundred-year-old ginseng with many roots, and it felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds when she held it in her hand.
[Ding! A natural, wild, century-old ginseng, valued at 120,000 coins. Want to sell?]
【yes! 】
Cheng Wanwan's heart pounded wildly.
120,000 cash is equivalent to 120 taels of silver.
In this era, very few people had assets exceeding one hundred taels of silver, and she unexpectedly became a wealthy woman.
She exchanged the copper coins for silver notes worth one hundred taels and fifteen taels of silver at the mall, and the rest for copper coins.
Even so, her fanny pack was bulging, making it a little uncomfortable for her to walk.
Cheng Wanwan calmed herself down, bought a rabbit in the mall, and then carried the rabbit to the crowd, saying with a smile, "I'm lucky, I actually caught a rabbit. You guys are busy, I'll take the rabbit back first."
Those digging for jade shoots were drooling with envy. Even sitting by the roadside, they could catch a rabbit. Sister-in-law Zhao's luck was simply too good.
Zhao Erwang, who was not far away, had already quietly moved over. He nudged Sidan and said, "Can you bring out a piece of rabbit meat for me to try later?"
Before Zhao Sidan could speak, Zhao Sanniu snorted, "Why didn't you share the big chunks of fat meat with us when you had them before?"
“Exactly!” Zhao Sidan nodded vigorously. “Brother Erwang, you’re stingy, and so am I.”
Zhao Erwang glared angrily: "That happened years ago, how do you still remember? I'm not petty anymore, look!"
He pulled a chestnut out of his pocket. "Here, have one for you. Remember to give me a piece when we eat rabbit meat later."
Zhao Sidan said with great disdain, "It's not as good as my mother's cooking, I don't want it!"
Zhao Erwang was almost crying with anger: "You just don't want to give me rabbit meat, Zhao Sidan, you're so stingy, I'm never playing with you again!"
After saying that, tears streamed down her face.
When Zhao Er heard him cry, he slapped him on the back of the head: "Cry, cry, all you know how to do is cry. If you're so capable, go and catch a rabbit yourself."
Zhao Erwang immediately stopped crying: "Then I'll go catch a rabbit right now!"
"Stop right there," Old Zhao snapped irritably. "Go after you've finished digging up the jade shoots. Stop making excuses to slack off."
At noon, the village sent several women up the mountain to deliver cornbread, and each household brought cornbread, wild vegetable porridge, and mixed grain cakes.
Cheng Wanwan was among them. Not wanting to stand out too much, she specially asked Wu Huiniang to make buckwheat buns and send them over, one for each of the four boys.
After a large group of people sat in the field and filled their stomachs to about 40-50% full, they planned to rest for 15 minutes before continuing to work. Just then, Zhao Dawang, who was running around in the field, let out a scream.
"Dad, come save me! I'm sinking!"
Zhao Er walked over, grumbling, "When will you ever shut up? I'm exhausted and I still have to take care of you. You're almost getting married, can't you be a little more sensible?!"
Zhao Dawang said matter-of-factly, "Ergou hasn't even gotten married yet, so how could it be my turn?"
Cheng Wanwan didn't take these words seriously at first, but when she turned around, she saw that Zhao Ergou's face was unusually flushed.
This kid is clever and cunning; he rarely has that kind of expression. Could it be that he has someone in his heart?
She couldn't help but twitch her lips. Her second son was only sixteen. When she was sixteen, she was in high school, struggling with studying and exams every day... Well, her eldest son was only eighteen, and he was going to be a father in a few months.
People in ancient times fell in love early, married early, had children early, and... died early.
"Ahem!" Zhao Ergou coughed, changing the subject, "The mud here is dry and hard, how did Dawang get stuck? I'll go take a look!"
He got up and ran away, afraid that Cheng Wanwan would ask too many questions.
Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, Cheng Wanwan turned to her eldest son and asked, "Dashan, do you know what's going on with the second son?"
Zhao Dashan looked completely bewildered, scratched the back of his head, and shook his head: "I don't know."
Zhao Sanniu thought about it for a while, but couldn't come up with a solution.
Zhao Sidan blinked: "Mom, I know. Second Brother asked me before if I wanted a sister-in-law, and he said he would take me to see her."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
Er Gou is such a rascal, already thinking about getting married at such a young age.
However, Er Gou is quite responsible; if he likes someone, he wants to marry her.
She was in her early twenties then, and had a crush on a boy in the next class, but she didn't dare to confess. She wasted her life until she was thirty-three, and never met that only person she had a crush on during her youth again. Now, thinking back, she still feels a little regretful.
After resting, everyone continued working.
Zhao Ergou led Cheng Wanwan to the muddy area on the side and whispered, "When Dawang sank in just now, I found that the soil here is particularly soft. I dug it up and saw that there are also jade shoots in the mud. Moreover, the jade shoots here are bigger and thicker than those over there. Let's dig here."
Cheng Wanwan squatted down and touched the soil, immediately sensing that it had a high water content.
It hadn't rained for over a month, and all the ponds and rivers had dried up. The sun-baked soil had hardened and clumped together. This place was like an oasis in the desert, with many weeds growing around it.
However, this place is deep in the forest, so it's not unusual for it to be overgrown with weeds, and not many people care.
Cheng Wanwan studied geography in high school and had some basic understanding of this subject. She made a preliminary deduction that there should be a water source underground here.
If a water source is found, even if it doesn't rain, the drought can be alleviated, and the land won't be completely barren.
However, the vegetation covers an area of about two hundred square meters, making it impossible to determine the exact location of the core water source, and therefore impossible to dig it up for irrigation... Let her think carefully about what method to use to determine the precise location of the groundwater.
After noon, the villagers gradually discovered the soft, wet mud, making the digging of jade shoots much easier. Moreover, the jade shoots in the moist mud grew thicker and stronger. Originally estimated at 2,000 jin, at least 3,000 jin were dug up in the end, and every household had a grain reserve.
After digging four or five acres of land, it was already past midnight.
No one in the village felt tired at all. They helped each other transport the jade bamboo shoots back home. Only when the morning glow appeared on the horizon did the people of Dahe Village finally fall asleep, exhausted.
Cheng Wanwan estimated that her four sons had dug up over a hundred catties of jade bamboo shoots. Fortunately, there was a cellar at home, so the jade bamboo shoots wrapped in mud could be stored in the cellar for at least a month.
As the sun gradually rose in the morning, Wu Huiniang prepared food in the kitchen: stewed rabbit meat with bamboo shoots, plus white flour and wild vegetable pancakes. The sumptuous breakfast was placed on the wooden table.
The four calves, drawn by the aroma, forgot all about catching up on their sleep and sat down at the table with their eyes still half-closed.
Just as Zhao Sanniu was about to pick up his chopsticks, Cheng Wanwan clapped her hands and said, "Wait a minute, first serve a bowl to your grandpa and grandma."
Zhao Sidan blinked and said, "Mom, you're so good to Grandpa and Grandma."
“Because your grandparents are your father’s parents, they are your elders.” Cheng Wanwan took the opportunity to educate him, “Your father died on the battlefield, sacrificing his life for the country, so of course I have to take care of his parents in place of your father.”
Zhao Sidan nodded vigorously: "I will take care of my mother from now on!"
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