The next day, Chen Laosi and Chen Laowu pushed a cart with Chen Kai and Xiao Tian up the mountain to shovel leaves and compost the mud.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Chen Laosi couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Tian! Can these rotten leaves really be used for composting?"
Although he didn't know how to compost, he had seen that people at home usually just piled the manure in a pit.
Xiao Tian said, "These rotten leaves will make great fertilizer after they decompose. Oh, and Fourth Uncle! We should also use the soil under the leaves; that's fertilizer too."
"Okay!" Chen Laosi and Chen Laowu responded upon hearing Xiaotian's words.
Seeing the two men's disbelieving looks, Chen Kai said helplessly, "Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, don't you believe me? Xiao Tian and I saw this in a book. These things really can fertilize the land. Hurry up and dig them up. In the future, when our land yields more grain than other people's, they'll be scrambling to dig them up!"
Chen Laosi said, "Alright, let's get started!"
Time passed quickly, and Chen Laosi and Chen Laowu dug several large pits. Following Chen Kai and Xiao Tian's instructions, they threw in all the necessary items. After finishing, they left it for the time being and would check on it again later.
Chen Kai and Xiao Tian started thinking about how to make money again.
Chen Kai told Xiao Tian about modern dried flowers. Unlike fresh flowers, dried flowers don't wither easily. If left untouched, dried flowers can last for one or two years. Chen Kai thought this could be used to make money, and Xiao Tian agreed.
Then the two went to find Old Man Chen, wanting him to invest in their dried flower business, but Old Man Chen felt that flowers and plants were everywhere and wouldn't make much money, so he refused to give them any money.
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Since they don't believe that dried flowers can make money, then we'll make them ourselves and make our own money."
They had to hand over 80% of their earnings to their families, and only the remainder could be divided equally.
Xiao Tian frowned and said, "We don't have much money left either. And how long would it take the two of us to finish picking flowers?"
Chen Kai smiled and said, "We can ask our fourth and fifth brothers, as well as a few nephews and nieces, to invest in us. As for picking flowers, we can ask the village children to help us pick flowers and then give them some candy as payment."
Other families in the village wouldn't give their children much money, maybe a penny or two to buy candy, unlike their family. Old Man Chen would give the children money and wasn't worried about them spending it recklessly.
However, the Chen family children were used to being frugal. In the past, their elders would occasionally give them a penny or two, or they would save up a few pennies from selling herbs, occasionally buying a penny's worth of candy. Now that they had money, they wouldn't spend it recklessly; at most, they would buy some candy to satisfy their cravings.
Xiao Tian asked worriedly, "Are dried flowers easy to imitate? Won't others see how well we sell them and start selling dried flowers too?"
Chen Kai said, "You don't need to worry about that. There are no machines available now, so we can only use traditional methods to make dried flowers, and the traditional methods for making dried flowers are not so easy."
"It would be very difficult for others to imitate us. In a short period of time, no one will be able to imitate us as well. If the production method is not right, it will definitely not be as good as us. If you want to make it the same as us, it will require a lot of manpower and resources, which is not worth the effort."
"The simplest way to make dried flowers is to hang the selected fresh flowers upside down in a dry, warm, and well-ventilated environment and wait for a week. The dried flowers will then be ready. However, this method is suitable for use in long periods of sunny weather. If it is long periods of rainy weather, the high humidity will cause the flowers to mold."
"The specific method is to hang the flowers upside down, while making sure to stagger the flowers to maintain their shape and avoid collisions and deformation. You can roughly judge whether the drying is complete based on the shape of the flowers."
"When making dried flowers, do not place them in damp or dark environments, as dampness will affect the drying process. Place the flowers in a well-ventilated, dark place, avoiding direct sunlight as much as possible. Also, place them in a sheltered spot to prevent the dried flowers from being blown out of shape, which would affect their appearance and make them harder to sell."
"Moreover, some flowers in nature will slowly turn into dried flowers and exist in nature for a long time. Such as daisies and rainbow chrysanthemums."
"Some flowers will fade slowly after drying, but they are still very beautiful. If you want to dye them, I have also learned about some plants that can be used as dyes. We can look for them and see if we can dye the dried flowers."
Xiao Tian was shocked after listening to Chen Kai's introduction on making dried flowers. He was surprised that there were so many intricacies involved in making dried flowers.
Just then, Daya and Erya returned from cutting grass. Xiaotian looked at the pig feed and medicinal herbs in their baskets and asked, "Daya! How much can you sell the herbs you cut for in town now?"
Da Ya said, "The prices offered by the pharmacies in town are very low right now. Three catties of dried herbs can only be exchanged for one coin. After a while, there will be more herbs on the mountain, and the prices offered by the pharmacies will be even lower."
Chen Kai and Xiao Tian looked at Da Ya and the others in surprise. Da Ya and the others also had to work every day, but they couldn't cut much grass, and after it was dried, there was even less. They couldn't earn much money in a month.
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Da Ya! Don't bother harvesting the herbs this year. I'll keep these at home for myself. Your uncle has a way to make money. Would you like to invest?"
Daya asked hesitantly, "Uncle, we can't possibly use all these herbs!"
When Er Ya heard Chen Kai mention a way to make money, she immediately asked excitedly, "Uncle, what kind of way is it?"
After they received their share of money last time, they bought new hair accessories and headbands, which made the other girls in the village very envious. They still had some money saved up, occasionally buying some candy to eat. Although they wanted to make money, they didn't have any connections and could only sell herbs as before.
Chen Kai said, "We want to buy flowers!"
When Da Ya heard that they wanted to buy flowers, she frowned and said, "Uncle, you don't make money selling flowers. There are many people selling flowers in town, and you can buy a lot of flowers for just one coin."
Xiao Tian said, "We're selling dried flowers, which are different from what they sell. Dried flowers can last a long time."
Er Ya asked in surprise, "Can these dried flowers really last a long time?"
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Of course! We plan to use sugar to hire the village children to pick flowers. You can help us spread the word."
"Okay! We'll go out and promote it right away." Da Ya and the others happily replied upon hearing Chen Kai's affirmative answer.
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