Xu Errui went to pay respects at the graves of his father and grandparents, while Jiang Zhi and Qiaoyun stayed home tidying up the everlasting lamps and longevity lamps that the two families would light that evening.
On New Year's Eve, the lights must be kept burning all night to pray for a prosperous, smooth, and healthy year for the whole family.
Lamp oil is usually rapeseed oil. The oil we have at home is the same oil we used to get in the medical shed. We didn't even have enough to eat, so we couldn't bear to use it.
Jiang Zhi decided to use tung oil.
Tung oil needs to be pressed at a specialized oil mill or purchased. Given their current circumstances, they cannot afford to go to an oil mill, but there is another way to solve this problem: boiling it in water.
Extracting tung oil by boiling in water is a rare method, and Jiang Zhi only occasionally came across this information.
First, dry the shelled tung kernels in the sun and grind them into powder. Then, put them into a copper pot, add water, and boil them over high heat. When the oil in the tung residue floats to the surface, gently pour off the oil. Finally, boil the oil-water mixture again until the water evaporates, leaving only the oil.
However, this method had a very low oil yield and was long obsolete; Jiang Zhi was only using it temporarily as a stopgap measure.
We would peel the tung seeds we collected in early winter and boil them to make oil. After two days of boiling, we produced a bamboo tube full of oil, enough for two families to burn for one night.
Pour tung oil into an earthenware bowl, then place two rush wicks inside, and an ever-burning lamp is made.
Li Laoshi was also helping out at the same time. Watching Jiang Zhi magically produce a large roll of rush pith, he began to wonder: How much money could so many rush piths fetch? And where did these rush piths come from? He wondered if Jiang's sister-in-law would tell him if he asked.
Rush is an everyday necessity; every household needs it for lighting lamps.
Seeing Li Laoshi scratching his head anxiously beside her, Jiang Zhi knew he wanted to learn.
Knowledge in this era is passed down orally. If you want to acquire more skills, you need to pass them down from father to son or from master to apprentice. They are not easily taught.
The loss of technical skills and the resulting stagnation have also slowed down social development.
However, technical skills cannot be taught casually; character is very important.
Although Li Laoshi was a scoundrel who was involved in nine out of ten places, he had never made any major mistakes and had even helped out in some ways, teaching others a few things to make a living.
However, before teaching Li Laoshi, there is one more thing that needs to be clarified.
"Li Laoshi, where did you get all that glutinous rice and pork?"
Things are hard to find now, and Zhang Juntou's medical shed certainly won't give it to her. Jiang Zhi doesn't believe she can borrow money from Zhang Juntou.
Li Laoshi scratched his head: "I borrowed money from the clinic and bought it in town!"
Jiang Zhi's face darkened: "If you lie to me again, I won't keep you on the mountain anymore. I can also ask Zhang Juntou about it."
Upon hearing that he was to ask Zhang Juntou, Li Laoshi immediately became honest: "I said, Sister-in-law Jiang, don't be angry! I did sell the medicine you mentioned, but I didn't give it to those outsiders... I just told them to dig up the Vitex negundo roots and boil them into water themselves."
Jiang Zhi had previously taught him about the herb "Painted Face Asarum" to treat the sick among refugees, but now he had sold it without giving it to anyone. Afraid of being accused of greed, he kept it a secret.
Jiang Zhi was speechless. This Li Laoshi was really dishonest, but she didn't say anything. At least Li Laoshi had people dig up the yellow thorns and didn't keep them all for himself.
Seeing that Sister Jiang didn't blame him, Li Laoshi perked up: "Those asarum herbs are actually bought by pharmacies. I dug for three days and searched all the ditches on both sides of the official road. Hehe, I sent them to the pharmacy and they gave me three qian of silver."
Li Laoshi's lips twitched as he spoke. This embroidered face was much more expensive than the horsetail he had found before. It would have been enough to last him two months if he had exchanged it for the mixed grain flour he used to buy.
Jiang Zhi calculated that three qian of silver was roughly three hundred wen, which was not cheap even in modern times, so it was reasonable.
Three taels of silver!
Jiang Zhi thought of the small pieces of silver that the little wild boar had previously scavenged from Li Laoshi. Now she had to keep a close eye on Peiqi, otherwise he would steal from other people's pockets again.
Jiang Zhi then asked how there was meat for sale in town and how many pharmacies had opened.
Li Laoshi said, "There is only one butcher shop, but two clinics are open, and there aren't many people in the town."
He recounted the whole story in detail.
The town of Lihua suffered greatly from the chaos of war, with shops and wealthy households being looted and the town still not even a tenth of its former glory after six months.
In fact, Xujia Village suffered an undeserved disaster; rebel soldiers usually target wealthy households and towns and counties.
Even if there are soldiers in remote villages, they will not linger. As soon as there is any commotion, the villagers will help the old and the young to hide in the nearby mountains, so the loss of property is not much.
However, they were also very careful, prohibiting outsiders from entering or leaving for more than half a year, until the government issued an order and they began to move around.
Xujia Village suffered a great disaster because it was located right next to the official road. The villagers who did not leave were taken hostage, and their houses were destroyed by fire. However, this misfortune turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it was chosen as the site for a medical tent.
Now, shops are gradually opening in the town, including pharmacies and butcher shops.
Thinking about his first time having a New Year's Eve dinner with someone, Li Laoshi frantically searched for medicine for three days.
Braving the cold wind, they worked from dawn till dusk, traversing every ditch and canal within a radius of several miles, digging out medicinal herbs to deliver to the clinic in exchange for money.
I managed to buy a pound of meat on the last day at the butcher shop, and then went to the grain store to buy two pounds of glutinous rice.
Li Laoshi rubbed his hands and said, "I bought it with the money I had for the medicine. I didn't borrow it from Zhang Juntou, because he wouldn't lend it to me."
"Sister Jiang, I didn't mean to lie to you, I just... I just didn't want you to know these medicines could sell for so much money! If you knew, you would definitely ask for your money back."
Jiang Zhi remained silent once again.
Li Laoshi is a man with some opportunistic and cunning ways. He is constantly testing the limits of morality and is seen by the world as a negative example of being greedy, lazy, incompetent, and petty.
Now he's afraid that he'll find out the medicine can be sold for money, and he wants to keep it a secret.
Although this person is not likable, he is also someone you can't bring yourself to dislike.
In this life, we drift like duckweed, going with the flow, only wanting to make ourselves more comfortable.
When people are poor, their ambitions are short-lived; when a horse is thin, its mane is long. When people are short of money, everyone is meticulous and petty.
Although Li Laoshi's scheming was unethical, he was just trying to make money by selling medicine to maintain appearances, without harming anyone else's interests, so it wasn't a big mistake.
"Juncus is a weed found along the water's edge. It needs to be harvested in summer and autumn, but it's no longer available!"
Jiang Zhi took out a slender, soft, slightly yellow grass stem and began to explain to Li Laoshi.
Juncus effusus is truly one of the most common plants, capable of growing near warm waters anywhere in the world.
Juncus effusus, also known as wild rush, is a diuretic and calming herb. For mouth ulcers and sore throats, grind dried juncus effusus into powder and apply it to the affected area.
The pith of the rush stem, that is, the "pulp" after removing the outer skin, is easy to find. The only technical challenge is how to extract the pith.
"You only need to boil the grass stems in water to peel off the outer skin and take out the pith inside."
Li Laoshi listened with a beaming smile, overjoyed. He had found another way to exchange for bread, and hunger could be kept at bay once again.
After saying this, Jiang Zhi casually added, "If a child cries and can't sleep at night when he sees a light, it's because of excessive internal heat, which causes mouth ulcers. You can pick the whole plant, boil it in water, and drink it."
Li Laoshi was greatly shocked: "Sister-in-law Jiang, you know so much!"
It's a wild grass that can be found everywhere by the water; it can be used in household chores and also has medicinal properties.
Jiang Zhi also wanted to say that rush pith can be used to weave mattresses and pillows, using a method similar to grass weaving. Moreover, rush pith naturally has a calming and soothing effect, and can also help with sleep.
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