Chapter 11 Chapter 11 (Xiao Xiu) "No, just...
"It's just a trap. I can set ten with my eyes closed!" Wang Jiangang took out a bamboo stick from somewhere and used it to pick his teeth. He put his right foot on the chair and shook his leg.
"During the militia training, I led a group of people to kill a 300-jin wild boar!" He spit everywhere, "If you don't believe me, ask Uncle Cheng."
Cheng Cunzhi was deeply impressed by this incident. Wang Jiangang made things more cumbersome than helpful throughout the whole process and almost let the wild boar go. In the end, the credit went to him alone.
Everyone just gave him a few perfunctory compliments, but no one paid much attention to his deeds.
Wang Jiangang wanted to catch wild boars, but he didn't know how much he was worth. Wild boar meat is not cheap, and it can be sold for three yuan per pound on the black market.
In some places, poaching of wild boars is strictly prohibited. His father is the team leader, so he is not afraid. If he catches anyone, he will say that he is getting rid of a pest for the people.
Wang Jiangang wiped the grease from his mouth and found an excuse to leave.
Chen Ying and Cheng Lei did not help with cooking and were assigned to clean the table and wash the dishes.
Cheng Xin opened the lid of the casserole and stirred the mushroom and chicken soup. A few plump bamboo fungi floated on the milky white soup. The mushroom soup exuded a faint fragrance. She scooped half a spoonful, blew away the heat and tasted it.
"Have a bowl of mushroom chicken soup before you leave. The soup is delicious."
Her words were obviously a greeting to Geng Yunye.
Chen Ying, who was standing in front of the stove washing dishes, curled her lips in dissatisfaction. Cheng Xin only knew how to entertain outsiders when she had delicious food, and her cousin was invisible. She had been at the Cheng family for so many days, and whenever Geng Yunye came to the house, she would eat delicious fish and meat.
Xu Fengxia poked her head in from the kitchen door and said, "Send a bowl to your uncle's house later. All the meat dishes we made today are wasted. Wang Jiangang is really a piece of shit."
Chen Ying tried her best to reduce her presence.
Geng Yunye comforted her: "Auntie, in fact, the mushrooms we eat are more nutritious than the meat on the table."
Xu Fengxia walked in and asked curiously, "How can mushrooms be more expensive than meat?"
Geng Yunye said: "The nutritional value of mushrooms is higher than that of meat. Moreover, mushrooms can only be picked in certain seasons, so they are more precious. A pound of pork costs 80 cents, a pheasant costs four yuan, and a wild rabbit can be sold for two yuan at most, but a pound of dried bamboo fungus can be sold for fifteen yuan."
Xu Fengxia raised her voice: "What?! Fifteen dollars! Is this gold or mushrooms!"
Cheng Xin couldn't help but widen her eyes. The bamboo fungus in the pot was so precious? !
She immediately felt extremely regretful and wished she had kept all the bamboo fungus.
Geng Yunye's next words calmed everyone down: "It takes ten kilograms of fresh bamboo fungus to produce one kilogram of dried bamboo fungus. Moreover, bamboo fungus can nourish qi and yin, moisten the lungs and relieve coughs, so it is suitable for nourishing Uncle Cheng's body."
Everyone calmed down. It was not easy to find 10 kilograms of fresh bamboo fungus, no wonder it was sold at such a high price. And since it was to replenish Cheng's father's body, it would be best if the mushrooms picked from the mountain at home could play a role.
Geng Yunye mentioned the prices of several other mushrooms. "I went to the provincial capital to visit a friend a few days ago, and happened to hear the purchase price of mushrooms. In a small place like ours, mushrooms are not valuable, but the bigger the city, the more valuable they are. For example, red mushrooms, an average one can be sold for two yuan, and a good one can be sold for three and a half yuan."
"Porcini mushrooms are sliced and dried and sold for 1.2 yuan, and chanterelles are sold for 50 cents. In some places, farmers can earn 3 yuan a day just by picking chanterelles."
Cheng Cunzhi muttered to himself, "That's ninety yuan a month."
This was the first time that Xu Fengxia realized that her family’s private mountain was a gold mine.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go up the mountain and pick mushrooms!"
Cheng's father and mother were so overwhelmed with joy that Cheng Xin had no choice but to pour cold water on them to calm them down: "Mom, all the mushrooms on the mountain are rotten."
Xu Fengxia felt very sad when she thought about how so much money had disappeared.
"Uncle and aunt, there are still many treasures in the mountains. As long as they are edible wild vegetables, fruits and mushrooms, they can be sold in the commune. The price is just slightly lower than in the county and provincial capital."
Cheng Cunzhi feels the same way: "I used to pick kiwis, wild hawthorns, wild persimmons and wild walnuts from the mountains and sell them. People in the city love to eat them."
Geng Yunye and the Cheng family discussed the matter without hiding from outsiders. Chen Ying held the dirty bowl in her hand, looking thoughtful.
She only had 80 cents left out of her two yuan savings. It was inconvenient to do anything in the countryside without a source of income. The Cheng family would definitely not give her money, and Wang Jiangang, the stingy guy, would never spend money on her. She could only find a way out on her own.
Since the mountain is full of treasures, she also wants to go and check it out.
Before leaving, Geng Yunye personally instructed Cheng Xin on how to handle the mushrooms. Chen Ying hid in Cheng Lei's bedroom and listened to everything under the window.
Geng Yunye seemed to look up at the window frame of Cheng Lei's house inadvertently, with an intriguing expression.
Wang Jiangang hummed all the way home, and his mother scolded him as soon as he entered the door, "Where were you during dinner time? The corn tortillas are hard."
There were three tortillas on the eight-immortals table, but Wang Jiangang didn't even look at them.
He has a big appetite, and usually he eats his fill first before others in the family eat the leftover tortillas.
"I've eaten, don't worry about me." He was in a good mood.
The captain's wife complained dissatisfiedly: "Which family did you go to eat at this time? Did they want your father to help them with something again? All you do is owe favors to your father outside. How high is your father's official position?"
Wang Jiangang was impatient: "Don't worry about it! It's just a meal. My father is an official after all. He manages hundreds of people. He treats me to a meal because he respects them."
The captain sat in front of the eight-immortal table with a sullen face, "You are ignorant and do nothing but hang out all day long. Let's see what you will do when we are gone!"
Wang Jiangang walked into the room with a smile on his face: "Dad, look at what you said, your son is not that useless. I just thought of a way to make money, and this time it's a serious matter! I want to organize a youth assault team to open up wasteland and collect mountain products to generate income for the commune. Please approve a note and stamp the official seal, and I will take care of the rest."
"Mountain products? Can you find a way to buy them?"
The captain was skeptical. He took a puff of his pipe and tapped it on the stool with an expressionless face.
Wang Jiangang rubbed his palms and was eager to try: "No need for you to worry, just wait for me to come back with the money!"
The old couple looked at each other, and the captain's wife spoke up for her son: "Why don't we let Jiangang try?"
The team leader finally decided to help his son. If he could really help the team members make money, he wouldn't have to lose face and go door to door to beg for votes for him.
With the support of his father, Wang Jiangang gathered his friends at the old bachelor's house that evening. The four men discussed the issue in the leaky woodshed.
"When the time comes, the young men in our brigade will be catching pheasants and rabbits. We can take the opportunity to catch wild boars. It's settled."
Someone rolled his eyes and said, "Let's talk about this first. How do we divide the money?"
Wang Jiangang said unconcernedly, "I'll take 40%, and you can split the rest equally."
Wang Jiangang vowed that he could make money, and it was only through his father's connections that he was able to go hunting in the mountains. The other three looked at each other and agreed.
Zhang Laizi was still a little uneasy: "We don't have any weapons. Two people in our team were killed by wild boars a few years ago."
"Look at you, you coward. You're not afraid of anything!" Wang Jiangang kicked over the empty wine bottle at his feet. "Tomorrow I'll take the approval to borrow the homemade hunting rifle in the warehouse. It would be best if I could find a sow with piglets. It's more valuable if I could catch the whole litter!"
Wang Jiangang was fearless at this time, and his eyes were full of desire to catch the wild boar.
The next day, Chen Ying stood at the threshold of the captain's house early in the morning.
She comes over to watch TV every day and everyone is used to it.
A member passing by teased her: "Sister Yingying is here to watch TV again?"
Chen Ying curled her lips and said, "Brother Jiangang said there was a new agricultural policy on the news this morning. I'll take a look."
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