88 Cutting Fungus
◎Someone wants to evade taxes? !◎
Liu Dazhuang, who was standing by, was stunned and murmured, "Night Breath Fragrance..."
He suddenly slapped his head, his face showing joy: "Isn't it just the 'tea leaves' that were dried last year?"
Ye Yunzhao was startled by his action and was still stunned. Madam Cuihua, who was half leaning on the bed, had a more lively look in her eyes than usual. She chuckled and said jokingly:
"He's always like this, Master, don't blame him."
Although the words he uttered were reproachful, his eyes and eyebrows only showed anger.
Ye Yunzhao was shaken by the unspeakable atmosphere between the two of them, and felt a little dazed.
"County Magistrate Ye, take a look. Is this it?"
Liu Dazhuang's urgent words pulled her out of her thoughts. Ye Yunzhao came back to her senses and looked down at the pottery jar. The unique cool aroma of mint slowly diffused. "That's right. I've been very busy these past two days. When I have some free time in a few days, I will teach you how to make more food with this."
Speaking of affairs, a hint of joy appeared on Ye Yunzhao's face.
Madam Cuihua was always clever. She rolled her eyes and asked with some surprise, "Could it be that someone's growing of woven mushrooms is ready to be picked?"
Ye Yunzhao, overjoyed, nodded hurriedly: "Yes!"
*
It is naturally a happy event that the first batch of mushrooms have grown well, but there are always some careless people who can do some puzzling things.
Well, some of the aunts and uncles who had previously followed Aunt Wang in growing the baize mushrooms have gotten into trouble again! Seeing their own baize mushrooms growing tall and plump, they're afraid they'll miss out on selling them, so they've pulled them out early and sold them to Yuezhou City without the knowledge of the county government!
It was Aunt Wang who told Ye Yunzhao about this matter in person. She was furious at the time and for the first time pointed at everyone and started scolding them:
"The county magistrate has already instructed us that when the mushrooms are ready to be picked, we will come and teach you how to do it. How dare you act on your own? I see you're not trying to sell them for money, but rather to sell them secretly and avoid paying the county mushroom tax!"
After hearing this, the aunts, uncles, and cousins all looked embarrassed. Aunt Wang, standing with them, was also furious and said, "You are really reckless! Is that what you really think?"
She originally spoke tentatively, but the guilty and nervous looks of the people in front of her actually confirmed Ye Yunzhao's words.
Aunt Wang closed her eyes tightly and scolded, "How can there be such heartless people like you in Xixiang! Wasn't the mushroom tax agreed upon long ago? Besides, this is for paving the cobblestone roads in our village!"
Ye Yunzhao snorted coldly, winked at Liu Mazi, and said in a tone of warning, "Mushroom tax must be paid. If anyone tries to take advantage of this again, they will be imprisoned for tax evasion! They will be severely punished!"
These words were spoken with such force that the onlookers were startled by Ye Yunzhao's expression. She had always been kind and easygoing, sometimes showing a cold face over someone's misdeeds, but she was still kind. But today, she was so fierce and unyielding that it was rare. Even Aunt Wang, who was her good friend, was frightened.
Liu Mazi moved quickly and soon walked out of the room with a string of copper coins in his hand: "County Magistrate Ye, this is the mushroom tax they should pay."
Ye Yunzhao waved his hand, telling him to return the money to the county government office. He turned to the crowd and said, "I know that in previous years, when you went to the mountains to pick mushrooms, you usually pulled them up by the roots... But you absolutely cannot do that to the woven mushrooms grown in the mushroom shed. If you pull them up by the roots, you can only pick them once this year. If you leave the roots and take good care of them, you can harvest at least three times..."
Before she finished speaking, a group of people started whispering to each other:
"What! Three times!"
"So much! That means I can make three times the money!"
"Oh my God! If we uproot it, won't it be..."
The few people who had just been standing by with their heads down were about to kneel down in haste: "County Magistrate Ye, what about our mushroom shed..."
"It's our fault for picking mushrooms without permission. We just ask County Magistrate Ye to give us a chance to survive and save our mushroom shed!"
The intact woven mushrooms are naturally more expensive than the cut ones. Ye Yunzhao was unwilling to help them. If he helped them this time, he was afraid that more people would pick the mushrooms without permission next time.
She glanced sideways and said, "It's no use begging me. I have no way to make amends. You've made a lot of money this time. Every failure is a lesson learned. Plant again next year. Don't miss out on this opportunity."
Aunt Wang also echoed this. Xia Hua asked, "County Magistrate Ye, several families have mushrooms growing well, and everyone is eager to learn how to pick them. Please teach us!"
Ye Yunzhao put away the coldness on his face, put on a faint smile, and said: "Okay, thank you for sending a meticulous person from each family. Let's gather at Aunt Wang's house in half a quarter of an hour. I will demonstrate it to everyone!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the people around her immediately scattered, and Ye Yunzhao and Aunt Wang walked towards her house together.
Along the way, Ye Yunzhao asked and Aunt Wang answered that after being busy for the past few days, she finally had time to continue to deal with the matter of weaving the hat mushrooms.
Soon, dozens of people crowded Aunt Wang's house. Xia Hua was smart. She divided the people in the yard into groups of ten people each, and went into the mushroom shed in batches in an orderly manner.
Ye Yunzhao took out a sachet from her bosom and pulled out a small knife as long as her middle finger. Only one corner of the blade was sharpened. She had asked Hu Er to make this for her a few days ago. It looked very delicate.
"I bought this blade from Hu Er for three cents. If you want it, just go there when you have time." Ye Yunzhao said with a smile, "If you don't want to spend money, you can sharpen the kitchen knife at home and it will work."
The ten people standing in the warm mushroom shed all laughed out loud, but their eyes were fixed on her actions.
Ye Yunzhao first pointed to the woven mushrooms on the mushroom rack and asked, "Does anyone know what kind of woven mushrooms to cut?"
"I want a big one!" a man said somewhat rashly.
"Not bad, is there anything else?" Ye Yunzhao asked again.
The summer flower that grew in the front said, "The light-colored one."
"Exactly." Ye Yunzhao pointed at the tricholoma and explained in detail, "These brown-black ones can still grow, and these light brown ones are already mature. Look carefully, the brown-black ones are often much shorter than the light brown ones."
"Besides size and color, there's one more thing to pay attention to." Ye Yunzhao paused and waved at them, motioning for them to come closer. "The light brown cap of the sedge mushroom has many wrinkles. When these wrinkles are fully opened, it's truly mature. This kind of sedge mushroom tastes the best and commands the highest price. Do you understand?"
Everyone's eyes lit up and they nodded obediently.
Aunt Wang looked at the mature weaving mushrooms in her garden and couldn't help asking, "County Magistrate Ye, please teach us how to harvest them. I can't keep things to myself and I'm really anxious!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a group of people burst into laughter, but their eyes and brows could not hide their anticipation.
Ye Yunzhao raised the corner of his mouth: "Okay! Then I won't nag anymore."
She picked up the special knife and quickly cut the mushroom stem, and the plump and pleasing braided hat mushroom fell into her palm.
"Hurry up and the cut will be neat." Ye Yunzhao handed over the woven mushroom in his hand. "You all know that the stem of the mushroom is hollow, so be sure to clean your hands and wipe them dry before cutting. If water or soil gets inside, it will have a strange smell within a day. Not only will you not be able to sell it for a good price, you'll probably end up wasting money on it!"
Hearing this, some people said in disbelief: "It's so serious!"
Ye Yunzhao nodded and said earnestly, "I will never lie to you. If anyone doesn't believe me..."
Aunt Wang was immediately horrified and said, "Believe it! Believe it! I'll go wash it right away!"
"No hurry, no hurry." Ye Yunzhao smiled and pointed to the small piece of mushroom stem left on the mushroom rack. "The most important thing is to leave about half a centimeter of mushroom stem. Not more, not less. If you leave too much, you won't be able to sell it at a good price. If you leave too little, it will affect the growth of the next batch."
Every word she spoke was sincere, and everyone looked ready for action.
Because these people wanted to try their hands in Aunt Wang's mushroom shed, Ye Yunzhao had just finished telling them to wash their hands when she urged them to go out and wash and wipe their hands. She had to carefully check each finger one by one, and she would not stop until all ten fingers were clean. As she did this, she kept muttering:
"You better be careful. If you damage my treasure, I will tear down your mushroom shed!"
Someone laughed and said, "Aunt Wang, why are you so aggressive? They're just a few woven mushrooms..."
Aunt Wang glared at him, "I'm a bitch! So what? They're just a few weaving mushrooms! Every one of them is my lifeblood!"
Xia Hua smiled and said, "Don't worry, Aunt Wang. I will cut it very carefully and there will be no mistakes!"
The people behind her chimed in with a laugh, "We do the same. If you damage it, you can cut my house as you please!"
As they talked and laughed, Aunt Wang's tense heart finally relaxed a little. She nodded and let them go back into the mushroom shed.
Seeing them come in, Ye Yunzhao asked, "Who wants to try first?"
"No hurry, no hurry!" Aunt Wang changed the subject: "First, check if their hands are clean. If not, we'll have to go outside and wash them again!"
Ye Yunzhao was very satisfied with her being so cautious. The more cautious she was, the less likely she would make mistakes. If she didn't make mistakes, she could make more money. The more money she made, the more mushroom tax she would pay. The more tax she paid, the closer she would be to her small goal of paving stone roads throughout the county... In short, she wanted to be very happy at the moment.
Ye Yunzhao, in a cheerful mood, cooperated very well in checking everyone's fingers. Under Aunt Wang's curious gaze, he nodded with satisfaction: "Excellent! Very clean!"
After hearing this, Aunt Wang finally breathed a sigh of relief, but in just a moment, her heart was lifted up again -
Because Ye Yunzhao asked with a smile: "Auntie Wang, why don't you come first?"
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