Xiao Heng was young, but had long legs. He walked over in a few quick steps and asked, "What did you dig up?"
Little Fu Bao said, "I don't know, but I think it's a treasure!"
Niu Da and Niu Yaba also came over. Seeing the roots of something sprouting outside, though they were thin, they were still visible. "Let me dig it up and take a look!"
Niu Baolan stopped eating the pastries in her hand and stared expectantly at the hoe in her father's hand. She didn't know how much time had passed, but Niu Da was sweating profusely as he dug, and the thing only revealed a little thicker root, and then a few more roots gradually appeared.
Little Fu Bao suddenly realized that this might be ginseng, and quickly said, "Daddy, don't dig it up! Don't damage it! Let's dig it up with our hands!"
"Daddy, Daddy, there's some here too, there's some here too!" Little Fu Bao ran to the ditch and pointed to a pile of weeds.
Niu Da and Niu Yaba followed, saying, "Isn't this grass?"
Little Fu Bao said, "Daddy, this leaf is exactly the same as the one I just dug up. Daddy really has it!"
Niu Cuihua carefully dug for a long time before she could finally see it clearly. She exclaimed excitedly, "Dad, Dad, it really is ginseng!"
The group carefully dug out the ginseng. The ginseng was not very big, but it had long and many roots.
Niu Da, being from a farming family, heard his daughters say it was indeed ginseng. He picked it up and examined it. He knew quite a bit about tree rings, and ginseng also had rings. Looking at the ginseng in his hand, he was slightly surprised.
"This ginseng is at least three hundred years old."
A century-old ginseng is already a relatively rare variety.
Little Fu Bao tilted his adorable head and said, "Daddy, if ginseng can grow in this field, does that mean we can grow ginseng here too?"
Although Jiangzhou is located in the south, it is a place where the north and south meet, with both southern and northern climates in some areas.
Niu Da exclaimed as if struck by a sudden enlightenment, "Yes! But wouldn't this kind of ginseng be different from growing vegetables?"
"We can just plant the ginseng root directly in the soil!" Xiao Fubao said quite seriously.
Niu laughed: "Although I don't know how to cultivate seeds, I've seen your mother cultivate them before. Ginseng shouldn't be grown like this! If it could be grown like this, it wouldn't be so expensive!"
Little Fu Bao hung his head dejectedly and said, "You can't grow ginseng like this!"
Niu Cuihua said, "I read in a book that plants are produced by the combination of female and male pollen. Why don't we wrap up these stems, leaves and flowers and see if Mom has any ideas!"
Xiao Heng cleaned up all the remaining ginseng roots in the soil and wrapped them in a small piece of cloth that he usually used to wipe Xiao Fubao's mouth.
Niu Cuihua led the children back home. Chen Yu looked at the ginseng that had been dug up and said with some surprise:
"Was this really dug out from that plot of land behind the mountain?"
Niu Cuihua said, "They were dug out from those two plots of land behind the mountain. Fifth Sister discovered them! Fifth Sister also said that since ginseng can grow in those plots of land behind the mountain, it must be able to grow ginseng there too!"
"This is truly good fortune!" "But this kind of ginseng probably won't work. There's only one plant; it can't be used to cultivate seeds! Besides, I've never heard of anyone successfully growing ginseng before." "It seems that cultivating ginseng seedlings is different from cultivating ordinary seeds!"
Little Fu Bao smiled with her bright, clear eyes and said, "Mommy, it will succeed! It will succeed! There are more in the ground! There are more! I just saw that there are leaves growing on another patch of ground that look just like these leaves! Daddy and Uncle Dumb are digging them up!"
Niu Da and Niu Yaba didn't return until midnight. As soon as Niu Da entered the house, he gave Niu Yaba the remaining ginseng roots that he had wrapped up, and also gave him two strings of cash.
The mute cow, holding the ginseng root and two strings of cash, trembled slightly. He quickly pushed the items to Niu Da, shaking them with one hand, making a "woo woo woo" sound.
He gestured with his hands, saying, "You said I only wanted thirty coins, not this much."
Niu Dadao: "What's our relationship? Just take it. Take this ginseng back and give it to your wife to nourish her body. It has the effect of regulating qi and improving eyesight. Who knows, after she takes it, her eyesight might get better!"
"My second brother is going to take an exam with your eldest son tomorrow. Please give this money to the child for his travel expenses!"
All male students in Niushan Village were required to participate in the provincial examination.
The day before the exam, Chen Yu prepared paper, ink, brushes and inkstones for Niu Yong and Xiao Heng. Although Xiao Heng had only been enrolled for a year, the scholar Niu said that Xiao Heng was extremely talented and should take the exam together.
Shen Yu had no son, but she doted on and loved this adopted son very much.
Chen Yu packed writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, two jars of braised meat, four or five sets of clothes, a pair of shoes, and three bushels of rice. The examinees would need to cook for themselves in the examination hall. "You can use your uncle's pots and pans, and return them to them when you're done. You can also buy a chamber pot and some toilet paper there."
To ensure Xiao Heng and Niu Yong ate well, Chen Yu even sent them the remaining Imperial Rouge Rice from her home.
The ceremony was simple.
Since Xue Huaimin would provide them with blankets and makeshift beds, they didn't need to bring so much stuff.
Both small and large exams last for three days. To prevent cheating, even grains of rice had to be magnified with an abacus for inspection. Eating, drinking, and relieving oneself all had to be done in the examination room. They were confined for three days until the exams were over.
Shen Yu was cultivating ginseng seeds at home when she said, "Honey, both of our children are gone now, and I miss them terribly!"
Niu Da was hoeing two empty rows of land in the backyard when he said, "I miss them too! But thankfully it's only for a few days. I heard that the provincial and palace examinations will be held for several months!"
"yes!"
“Honey, I’m thinking, that lady ordered so many pickles, we’re probably too busy to handle it all right now. Why don’t we hire some more people to help with the pickling?”
Shen Yu used to worry that her unique recipe for pickled vegetables would be learned, but now she doesn't care anymore. She said:
"We have no choice but to hire people! But what if someone learns our techniques?"
"Doing business is not so easy. Every family has its own unique flavor. The ultimate secret must be in our own hands. Moreover, the people we recruit must be under a ten-year contract of life and death. Even if they learn it by then, our shops will probably have already spread all over the country. Why would we care about these things?"
Upon reflection, Chen Yu realized that this was indeed the case.
Besides the selection and proportions of ingredients, the most important thing about her family's pickles is the sauce she makes. Although she doesn't know why it's different from others', it's just that it's different.
"Honey, what do you think is a reasonable amount of money we should pay them per month?" Chen Yu asked. She had never worked for anyone before, so she didn't know the prices.
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