Upon seeing the river clams, the children put down their pitiful crabs and began collecting the clam shells.
Clean, intact, looking beautiful, and in different shapes.
Laughing and joking around, even some older children came over to pick up the items. This joyful atmosphere made the villagers who were "performing corvée labor" smile.
So when they were picking up stones, they would casually toss pretty clam shells aside and wait for the children to come and get them.
I couldn't help but wonder: Are we here to have fun or to work?
Nini, Caixia, and Leizi had only been collecting river clam shells for half a day when they started to get hungry again, so Jiangzhi and Hexiang took the three children to town to buy food.
Five people each had a bowl of wontons, and after they finished eating, they took a stroll around the street.
When passing by Wang's timber shop, Lei Zi ran in to look for his uncle, and Jiang Zhi had to stop and wait for him.
Inside the shop, the eldest son of the Wang family saw Jiang Zhi standing outside and quickly put on a fawning smile: "Village Chief Jiang, come in and rest a bit, have some tea!"
Jiang Zhi had just eaten and was neither thirsty nor hungry, so there was no need for her to go into the shop.
Old Wang brought over another wooden box: "Village Chief Jiang, this is a newly made box. The carvings on it are very fashionable in the city. Give it to the two children to play with!"
He then brought out a wooden box about a foot tall, perfect for storing banknotes and gold and silver jewelry.
Jiang Zhi initially didn't want it, but suddenly stopped and asked, "Boss Wang, do you have any boxes smaller than this?"
Old Wang quickly took out a few smaller ones: "Are these suitable?"
These boxes are indeed small, only about the size of a palm, about three inches, or about ten centimeters high.
Jiang Zhi was very satisfied: "Take two of the big ones and five of the small ones."
With the New Year approaching, she wanted to give these small wooden boxes to He Xiang, Nini, and Cai Xia, and the large wooden boxes to Qiao Yun and Chun Feng.
Chunfeng and Qiaoyun both have their own wardrobes now, but they don't have small jewelry boxes.
Ms. Tan now lives in her own room, and she uses a wardrobe to store her clothes, which contains her seasonal clothes from both large and small brands.
Although Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang were servants, they had no personal freedom and always had their own secrets. These little things were their little space.
Old Wang hadn't expected so many at once, and quickly said, "We don't have enough, so we have to work overtime to make more. Is Village Chief Jiang in a hurry to use them?"
Jiang Zhi, who had only made the decision on a whim, shook her head and said, "No rush, just make it and deliver it before New Year's Eve! You can pay the total amount when you deliver it!" With that, she took Caixia's hand and headed to the other end of the street.
"Okay!"
Boss Wang is now completely convinced and compliant.
At Huo Family Herbal Hall, Jiang Zhi bought some medicinal herbs she needed and also told Manager Huo about the news of Miss Huo the Second.
Miss Huo, a herbal medicine dealer, has been away for more than half a year. The news she sent back was that she led a caravan through the war zone to the capital, where they were selling all kinds of granules and tablets!
The victims of war are mostly ordinary people who need to protect their land to survive. For some businesses, social disorder is also an opportunity to make money.
Jiang Zhi exclaimed, "Miss Huo is truly a heroine among women!"
Miss Huo is out there promoting products and securing orders, while she herself is in the back producing them. It looks like she'll be working on a new drug next year.
Ah, it's so great to have a capable partner! You can just lie low and win!
After buying several kinds of medicinal herbs, Jiang Zhi gave Er Rui some instructions, then took the child and a bag of small river clam shells she had collected, and followed the stone transport convoy back to the village.
Everything can be used as medicine, and river mussel shells are no exception. Take the shells, wash them, scrape off the black skin, grind them into powder or calcine them into ash for use.
For internal use, it is prepared as pills or powders; for external use, it is prepared as a dry paste or applied topically.
An ancient remedy for treating eczema on the toes involves applying dried clam powder. (From *Shouyu Shenfang*)
For treating carbuncles and boils that are red and swollen with pointed tips: apply a mixture of vinegar and clam ash; replace the dressing when dry. (From *Qianjin Fang*)
However, Jiangzhi does not need clam shells for medicine; she only uses them as containers.
Qiaoyun was also puzzled when she saw her mother-in-law return with a basket of pretty little stones and clam shells.
Jiang Zhi poured out the clam shells and instructed Tan Shi, "Sister-in-law Tan, wash these clam shells clean again, boil them in a pot, and then let them dry."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Tan took the basket and left.
Jiang Zhi then took the packet of medicine into a specially prepared room.
Here are some essential oils and alcohol, which were distilled on the mountain and then transported down.
Apart from Jiang Zhi, Qiao Yun, and Er Rui, even Tan Shi He Xiang was not allowed to enter.
Qiaoyun followed her in: "Mother, what are you planning to do?"
Jiang Zhi said, "I've always wanted to do skincare, but I never really felt like it!"
Qiaoyun looked confused: "What skincare product? Is it a balm?"
Jiang Zhi nodded: "Yes, it's about making a skin-protecting ointment!"
In modern times, she didn't like makeup, and she always slacked off when she said she would make some skincare products for herself.
But to Qiaoyun's ears, it was clear that her mother-in-law used to be so tired from farm work that she didn't have time to care about her chapped skin on her hands and feet.
Women in ancient times used a wide variety of cosmetics, the most common of which were perfumes, face creams, and lip balms.
The raw materials for making these three ointments can be roughly divided into two parts: one is the base, which in ancient times commonly used sesame oil and beeswax, as well as animal fats such as beef marrow and lard;
Secondly, various aromatic plants, such as agastache, patchouli, and clove.
The basic method of preparation, simply put, is to soak the spices in oil, and sometimes heat them by means of "steaming" or "boiling" to allow more of the aromatic substances in the spices to seep into the oil.
After obtaining the fragrant oil, beeswax is added to form a paste, or natural cinnabar, artemisia annua, etc. are added to create different colors.
There are generally two types of foundation.
One type is lead powder, which is made by grinding white lead. It has a fine texture and a pure white color, but because it contains toxicity, long-term use is detrimental to health.
One type is rice noodles, which are made from rice and are a natural material. The downside is that they fall apart easily when you move them.
In addition, there are some special foundations, such as "Butterfly Welcoming Powder" made with fine millet and spices from the Western Regions, and "Jade Maiden Peach Blossom Powder" made with ingredients such as motherwort ash, gypsum, talc, and clam powder.
(The above information is from the internet!)
To prevent skin whitening products from containing lead powder, Jiang Zhi plans to make her own traditional Chinese medicine skincare product.
Chinese herbs such as Asarum, Polygonatum odoratum, Magnolia biondii, Aconitum carmichaelii, Dioscorea opposita, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Angelica dahurica, Astragalus membranaceus, and Trichosanthes kirilowii are ground into coarse granules and then soaked in alcohol overnight.
The next day, a jar of untouched lard was brought out. This was lard that He Fangshi had rendered from the pork fat used to slaughter pigs and stored away.
Slowly melt the lard in a clean earthenware pot, then pour all the herbs soaked in alcohol, along with the alcohol, into the lard.
The remaining process involves simmering the medicine in lard, which requires boiling and cooling it seven times.
When the lard in the pot boils, it needs to be removed and allowed to cool and solidify. Then it should be put back on the fire and boiled again. This process should be repeated seven times.
During this hot-and-cold process, the medicinal properties of the herbs are fully released, and the alcohol used to soak the herbs evaporates completely, so it will not irritate the skin.
After the final boil, Jiang Zhi used a fine cloth to filter out the dregs.
Then, spoonful by spoonful, put the lard, which has turned a light yellow color, into the boiled clam shells.
Fill both shells with the oil, and once the oil has slightly solidified and come together, a perfect clam shell oil is ready.
But pretending to be one by one was exhausting for her; by the end, her back ached, her eyes were blurry.
Jiang Zhi held a small clam shell in her hand, feeling regretful: "It's a pity it's not a sea clam."
The small river mussels are small and have thin shells; a person with a thick finger can easily hollow one out by digging hard.
The only advantage is that it's easy to carry and has no cost. In just two days, the villagers helped her collect half a basketful.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com