Chapter 2519 Generous
There were dozens of sparsely growing medicinal herbs on a piece of land next to the vegetable plot. Many of them were dying, and some were as thin and long as refugees who had no food to eat, and it seemed that a gust of wind would break them.
This would not be a big deal, but her sisters-in-law are too diligent. If it had grown some weeds or something, it would at least cover it up, or it would show that she did not plant it so carefully, which led to this situation. But there is not a single weed on it, and it is very well maintained.
And because it was winter, the Zhou family built a shed to enclose these plots of land. The roof and the four sides were covered with thatch for heating. There were still unharvested cabbages in the vegetable fields next to it. Even in such a cold day, they were not dead and looked quite energetic.
In contrast, the herbs here are wilted and look like they won’t live long.
Shopkeeper Zheng looked around and saw that the thatched hut was dimly lit. He nodded and said, "Doctor Zhou is right. It might be because it's winter."
Manbao nodded repeatedly, yes, that's the reason.
Manager Zheng said, "How about this? Jishitang is willing to dedicate two acres of land to research with Doctor Zhou on how to grow this medicinal herb."
Manbao glanced at him and said, "Two mu of land is not enough for what? How about this? My family provides the land and the people, and you are responsible for finding various living medicinal herbs?"
Is Manbao short of land now?
The thing she had the most was land. Not to mention the vast tracts of official land, even the two plots of land her father gave her as a dowry were quite a lot.
It is very convenient to use it to grow herbs, but it is not easy to find people to grow them.
She doesn't even lack seeds now. All the herbs included can be purchased and cultivated through points and the encyclopedia.
However, she will lack points. Well, not now, but she will definitely lack points in the future. Therefore, Manbao urgently needs plants that have not been included. Of course, herbs are best.
Let the encyclopedia cultivate it for a few years. Once they have figured out how to grow it, they can just follow their instructions, which will save a lot of research costs.
Manbao, who has been planting experimental rice seeds for several years but still hasn't grown the rice he wants, knows that plant cultivation is not that simple.
After thinking for a moment, Manager Zheng asked, "How do we calculate the harvest?"
Man Bao readily agreed, "I will give you a free copy of any fresh herbs sent through Jishidiang that I can develop into seeds for in the future, and I will also teach you how to sow them for free."
Manager Zheng looked at Manbao in astonishment, paused for a moment, and asked, "Doctor Zhou, would you like to think about this?"
Anyway, with the encyclopedia leading the way, they only need to make slight adjustments afterwards and figure it out in a year or two. The cost is not very high, so Manbao agreed very quickly.
Moreover, Jishidiang had paid a lot. She had collected living herbs or seeds that could be collected from various medicine dealers in Jishidiang before, but those who were willing to bring herbs were either herbal farmers near the capital, or medicine dealers who had something to ask of her.
Therefore, there are actually not many herbs included in Jishidiang, and the cost is high.
She is not good at doing this kind of thing, so only Jishidiang, who has extensive connections, can do it.
However, the shopkeeper Zheng felt that Zhou Man had a kind heart and was moved by their friendship. So he did not sign a contract with Zhou Man, but directly made a verbal agreement, "Okay, I will have people start looking for seeds of various herbs when I get back."
Manbao immediately said, "I'll give you a list later. The herbs on the list are the ones I already have seeds for. You can just take the rest."
She paused and continued, "Actually, I think there are still many, many more herbs in this world, but they are just not yet known to the world. Otherwise, the Shennong Herbal Classic in the Han Dynasty only had 239 species, but after hundreds of years, people later discovered 730 species. This shows that there are still many herbs in this world that can be used as medicine that we still don't know about."
Manager Zheng's heart moved and he looked at her, "So..."
Manbao said seriously, "So why not tell the herbalists and farmers that if they come across plants in the wild that have never been used as medicine, or plants they have never seen before, they should send them to Beijing along with the herbal medicine."
Manager Zheng was shocked. "Doctor Zhou, you're not trying to do the same as Shennong, tasting hundreds of herbs, are you? That's impossible. Plants that doctors haven't seen could be highly poisonous. If you're not careful..."
"I know," Manbao said, "Am I that kind of careless person? Don't worry, I cherish my life very much." She would first include it in the encyclopedia, and then she would study it again after they figured it out. Well, her research would only confirm the encyclopedia's conclusion.
But Zheng Da, the shopkeeper, looked at her with suspicion. He had always thought Zhou Man was a very courageous person. A less courageous person would not have reached her current position.
The two of them looked at the wilted herbs and made a rough agreement before walking out of the thatched house.
After walking out more than ten steps, Manager Zheng turned back and finally understood why they had not noticed this corner and this thatched house when they came to the garden to relax.
It turns out that this corner is blocked by flowering trees that are taller than people. Well, mostly plum trees and peach trees.
But at this time the peach trees were bare, while the plum trees were in bud.
The thatched hut behind him was also very low. He had to lower his head slightly when he entered it just now. After all, it was not for people to live in, but for keeping vegetables and grass warm. The thatched hut stood quietly in the back, not at all conspicuous or obtrusive.
Seeing Manager Zheng looking around, Manbao became proud. "This is what my mother-in-law arranged. How about it? It looks nice, doesn't it? Even if someone sees this thatched house, it still looks very rustic in this yard. Originally, my mother-in-law wanted to build an open thatched cottage on the other side of the pavilion, but my grandmother and my parents rejected it."
What Old Lady Liu meant was that if they built another thatched cottage, part of the garden land would be taken up, and then the big garden would look a bit cramped and unsightly.
But Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian thought that if they wanted to build a thatched cottage, they could just go back to the countryside and choose any place to build it. Why build it at home?
So Zheng's plan fell through, but Manbao and Baishan discussed it privately and felt that the thatched cottage was more attractive than the open pavilion. At one point they wanted to demolish the open pavilion and replace it with the thatched cottage, but they did not dare to say it in public in front of Old Zhou and Qian.
Even Mrs. Liu wouldn't agree.
Although the thatched cottage seems simpler than the open pavilion, it needs maintenance every year and consumes more energy. It is not comparable to this open pavilion that has been here originally.
Manbao felt sorry for it, so he said to the shopkeeper Zheng: "You don't know, my mother-in-law is very talented in decorating these. If you like it, I can give you the thatched cottage we drew, and you can build one at home."
Well, from now on I can go and play with my apprentices often. If I don’t have one at home, it’s okay if someone else has one.
Manager Zheng ignored her.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Well, there are only two updates today and tomorrow, and then I will celebrate the New Year. I will make up for the missed updates after the New Year. See you tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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