Clearing out the first batch of corn stalks was done almost without delay, as the second batch of seedlings, already a foot tall, needed to be transplanted immediately.
Then came the planting of sweet potato vines and cotton seedlings. Under the increasingly scorching sun, the entire Xujia Village worked in different plots of land from morning till night.
Meanwhile, the warehouse built by Jiang Zhi was finally completed in a rush.
In addition to using the spacious main house as a storage room, several other rooms were built separately next to it.
Li Laoshi has found a place to stay, but he has to take on the responsibility of guarding the warehouse.
Now, the herbs that Xia Xiucai had received were being sorted and piled up.
Li Laoshi patted his chest and assured everyone that he would take good care of the medicinal herbs; he was truly satisfied with his current life.
Jiang Zhi gave him one tael of silver, which included the five coins that the little wild boar had stolen, as well as two sets of clothes.
With food, drink, shelter, and money to spend, Li Laoshi was happy every day: he had finally achieved a life where someone would support him.
They bring their own food and share it with others, without even having to wash the dishes.
As time went by, the Huo family sent word: mosquito coils were selling very well!
Although this was within Jiang Zhi's expectations, she couldn't help but feel happy inside.
Selling finished products is where the money truly belongs to you, rather than selling tender corn.
No matter how you farm, it's impossible to get rich through agriculture.
Jiang Zhi did the math. Despite the recent success of selling green grains and the constant running around the village, it was quite a spectacle.
After settling everything down, and deducting all wages and food, he actually had less than three taels of silver left in his pocket.
The risks and responsibilities involved are enormous. If the weather is good, everything will be fine, but if there is no rain for ten days or half a month, everything will be lost.
Even in modern times, few who invest in agriculture can actually make a living off it.
Xiaoman's rabbits were adopted by several families, and they agreed to return a pair of adult rabbits at the end of the year after the baby rabbits gave birth.
One party gets rabbit seedlings for free, while the other party harvests rabbits at the end of the year; both parties are satisfied.
After news of the Huo family arrived, the work in the fields was once again handed over to Tian Gui and the others.
Given their previous trust and the benefits of this grain distribution, the two men were completely convinced by Jiang Zhi.
Other villagers also began to follow suit, both openly and secretly, and if others ate meat, they had to drink soup too.
Even cotton, which is usually disliked by everyone, was planted in large areas because Village Chief Jiang planted it.
Errui and Xiaoman returned to the mountain, and the two families began to work hard to make mosquito coils.
Grinding herbs and charcoal powder were dirty jobs, so to avoid making the house dirty, everything was done in the woods.
It's cool and well-ventilated here, which will prevent Qiaoyun from sneezing all the time.
Apart from the two children, Nini and Caixia, even Grandma Xiaoman put down her hemp rope and joined in to help.
Xu Dazhu had already ground a lot of charcoal powder these past few days, and sifted it extremely finely. With Xiaoman and Errui joining in, all the medicinal powder, charcoal powder, and starch were soon ready.
Knead the dough with water and then roll it into strips.
To save effort in processing, Jiangzhi replaced the small bamboo tubes with large bamboo tubes.
Instead of squeezing them one by one by hand, levers are used to press them down.
A person sits on a long bar, using their weight like pressing noodles, and a long, wet mud is squeezed out from a small hole.
Someone else took over, cutting and slicing, completing the task quickly like flowing water.
With all eight adults involved, the output was naturally substantial. In just one day, the specially made wooden frames were filled with coils of mosquito coils.
This time, we didn't use small rattan baskets because there were simply too many of them. Instead, we wrapped them in white paper stamped with the character "Jiang".
Since the news came from the Huo family, Jiang Zhi ordered paper from a paper shop in Pear Blossom Town, and had her own seal made at a seal shop. She also had patterns engraved on the seal to indicate the type of fragrance.
After delivering a large basket of mosquito coils to Baicaotang in Lihua Town, Manager Huo opened a pack, smelled it, and laughed, "Village Chief Jiang's mosquito coils sell very well in the city, and the price is reasonable. Even families with a little more money can afford them."
This is the third time it's been delivered, and the old shopkeeper mentions it every time.
This old man is very considerate of the poor. Perhaps because the price of tender corn was so frightening before, he is now repeatedly asking that the price of mosquito coils not be set too high.
They also promised that Jiang Zhi would buy medicine at Baicaotang at cost price in the future.
Actually, Old Manager Huo was overthinking it.
Young corn is a seasonal food, a one-time transaction, so it naturally has to be sold at a high price.
Jiang Zhi never intended to make exorbitant profits from everyday household items like mosquito coils.
However, the price of fresh goods cannot be too low, especially since the Huo family also takes a cut. The price is two coins per plate, no less.
This price was a win-win situation for everyone, and with the Huo family's promotion, sales were excellent.
After Baicaotang put the 500 coils of mosquito coils into the warehouse, Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and could finally rest.
To meet the deadline, both families are now doing farm work in the mornings and evenings, and spending the rest of their time making mosquito coils.
Today they delivered the third batch of mosquito coils. I'll also buy some fresh meat and fish in town to take back with me.
The weather was rather muggy, making Jiang Zhi feel irritable.
"Errui, go buy some meat and brown sugar, and also pick out two fish from over there!"
Jiang Zhi didn't want to move, so she sat on the shady stone steps and ordered Xu Errui to go buy things.
Xu Errui responded and went to the butcher shop and the fish stall.
On the street corner, a young woman was looking around furtively.
Wang Xiaoju, carrying a vegetable basket, stared at Jiang Zhi's retreating figure with a complicated expression.
She already knew that the current village chief of Xujia Village was Granny Jiang, and she also knew that everyone in Xujia Village wanted to build houses.
Previously, Genbao wanted to take over the timber business for Jiang Pozi's house repair, but he was scolded away by his mother-in-law and brother-in-law and hasn't spoken to anyone in the village for more than a month.
A few days ago, her brother said that it was fine for Granny Jiang to stop selling timber, but so many families in Xujia Village would need to repair their houses and make furniture in the future, so these businesses couldn't be abandoned.
If Genbao can't go back and save the couple, he'll have to drive them away.
Thinking back to what she had heard a few days ago—that every family in Xujia Village was now able to eat, and that some people were even planning to buy timber to repair their houses—Wang Xiaoju felt a surge of emotions.
The food at my parents' house is terrible! Now my husband and I are just free servants, caught in a dilemma – whether to stay or leave!
Xu Errui bought meat and fish, and also bought some seasonings from the grocery store. He then went home with his mother, paying no attention to Wang Xiaoju.
Back on the mountain, the two families had a wonderful meal together, and one-year-old Caixia and Nini wore new clothes again.
In the evening, the children were left in the care of the men, and the three women went to bathe in the ditch.
From the time they started making mosquito coils, Chunfeng and Qiaoyun were summoned by Jiangzhi to bathe here.
In Bavaria, women living near the water would go swimming in the river on summer evenings.
The sky was full of stars, fireflies danced in the air, and Chunfeng and Qiaoyun chatted and laughed softly as they washed away the day's dust and fatigue with cool water.
Peppa Pig was quietly rooting in the soil not far away. She had a big meal today, and now she was just rooting in the soil to digest her food.
Jiang Zhi was washing herbs by the water. These were centella asiatica herbs she had picked along the way back, and she was preparing them to make face masks for everyone.
In the warm and humid south, this small grass that grows everywhere along the edges of fields and houses is known in modern times as "plant collagen," which helps improve the skin's own barrier repair ability and is a top-grade product for removing acne spots and anti-aging.
Centella asiatica, also known as Leonurus japonicus, Moneywort, Horse Hoof Grass, and Ground Ivy, has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, aiding digestion and soothing the stomach, and treating sores, boils, and carbuncles.
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