Qi Han was annoyed. He was talking to his father, and his elder and second sisters-in-law asked why they were butting in. They just kept silent when they saw their mother. They were so rude.
Seeing his father Qi Hai's weathered face furrowed into a 川 shape, Qi Han knew that he was worried about the family's finances, but he still had to give him gifts.
He said, "Wu Yong's sister is the county lieutenant's concubine."
Qi Hai pondered that if the third brother could rely on Wu Yong to get to know the county lieutenant, and then gain the appreciation of the county magistrate, and get to know people in official circles in advance, his future career would be more secure.
I heard that the county magistrate came from the capital.
Qi Hai asked, "What do you want to give as a gift, and how much silver do you need?"
Qi Han was delighted: "Wu Yong is good at drinking. I have found a wine brewing master who lives in seclusion in the city. I am going to spend five taels of silver to buy a pot of osmanthus wine as a gift."
"What, five taels?!" Second sister-in-law exclaimed in surprise, "We don't have that much money at home. You still have to go to the provincial capital to take the provincial and imperial examinations next year. Food, drinks, and travel expenses will all cost a fortune."
The eldest sister-in-law also said: "We have to give gifts to Mr. for Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year. It's not that we don't agree, but it's really too much trouble."
Don't you know how to earn money? Can't you hear it? Is it to get the county magistrate? Women are short-sighted and don't understand his lofty ambitions. There are four women in the family and a student. It's not that they can't support him. He is already frugal enough.
Qi Han didn't dare say anything that would offend them, for fear that they would not give him money. His eldest sister-in-law embroidered at home, and his second sister-in-law helped in the kitchen at weddings and funerals. They both earned more every month than his eldest and second brothers. The family was able to be exempted from corvee labor this year thanks to the money they earned.
Yun Qiao's eyes rolled around. She didn't know if the same thing had happened in her previous life, but her family must have a solution, so there was no need for her to worry.
Liu frowned and looked at Yun Qiao, who looked nonchalant. "Yun, our family is in trouble now. You should take out your dowry first."
Mrs. Qi Da and Mrs. Qi Er looked at each other. Over the years, their dowry money had been almost spent under various circumstances, and now it finally came to the Yun family.
Yun Qiao was stunned, but she reacted quickly: "If Brother Han needs the money, I definitely won't hide it. It's just the dowry money, right? I would have taken it out even if mother didn't ask."
Finally, Yun Qiao took out one tael of silver from her dowry, plus four taels from the public treasury, and Qi Han went out for a day to buy a bottle of osmanthus wine.
At night, Yun Qiao was lost in thought as she stared at the sweet-scented osmanthus wine on the table. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she nearly kicked over the stool: "Is the man selling sweet-scented osmanthus wine called Lao Kangtou?"
Qi Han looked at her: "How do you know?"
"I seem to have heard his name at the market. He's quite famous."
This is of course a lie.
In fact, it was my sister who had won the favor of Old Kangtou in her previous life and was given the skill of brewing chrysanthemum wine. For this purpose, my sister planted a large number of chrysanthemums. I even mocked her at that time, but I didn't expect that she would brew chrysanthemum wine and sell it in autumn. The chrysanthemum wine she brewed was clearer and more mellow than the ones sold on the market, and she made a lot of money from it.
Yun Qiao was extremely upset. How could he have forgotten about it?
That’s not right. Among so many people, why did Lao Kangtou give the recipe only to my sister?
"Did something happen when you went there?" Seeing Qi Han's suspicion, her eyes flickered: "I saw that your shoes were wet when you came home."
"You're quite observant." Qi Han's opinion of her changed slightly, and he said, "Old Kangtou's grain cart fell into the water. We arrived late, and the cart had already been pulled up. I pushed it, and that's why my shoes and socks got wet by the water on the grain."
"Didn't Old Kangtou say anything?"
Qi Han stared at her closely: "It's only one tael cheaper. Do you want to get your dowry money back?"
"No, no," Yun Qiao quickly denied, feeling a mixture of emotions. How could her sister have such a good opportunity in her past life, but now it was her turn, she had nothing? No, she had to think of a way.
At night, the love affair ended hastily. Yun Qiao tossed and turned in bed, feeling extremely irritated by the snoring in his ears. The next day, he secretly went to Xiaodu Village before dawn.
Another month passed, and Yun Yuan showed symptoms of pregnancy. She stayed at home doing nothing all day, and even the work in the ear shed was forcibly taken over by Qi Sheng.
Because of the continuous inoculation of mother strains, there were more and more mushroom sticks in the ear shed, and the white fungus was harvested one after another. The two went from joy at the beginning to numbness later.
In order to dry the white fungus, Qi Sheng specially built a one-meter-high oven, burning firewood in the middle and separating the two sides with walls. The smoke would not penetrate into the white fungus, but the temperature would rise. It is specially used when the weather is bad.
Tremella can be harvested until September. Every time the family stockpiles 30 kilograms of dried goods, they have to sell them out for a while. This cycle repeats itself. By October, Yun Yuan has nearly 10,000 taels of silver in his account, and there are 200 to 300 kilograms of dried Tremella at home.
Qi Sheng was cautious not to sell it in nearby towns, but went to other provincial capitals, specifically looking for wealthy officials. The shortest period was two days, and the longest was five days. During this period, Yun Yuan harvested the white fungus herself, and no one in the village noticed anything unusual.
By October, the Tremella cultivation came to an end. Yun Yuan could have cultivated other mushrooms, but she was pregnant now, the family had enough money, and Qi Sheng had to take the exam next year, so she simply gave up.
Next year she will cultivate morels and oyster mushrooms. She wants to cultivate all the mushrooms that can be cultivated and for which species can be found. She has planned her route for this life, and she wants to be the king of mushrooms.
Something happened in the village during this period.
Yun Qiao was visited by people from Old Kangtou's family.
The reason was that she would run to the place where Old Kangtou lived alone before dawn every day to show her courtesy, sweeping the floor and cooking, and she could not be driven away. Old Kangtou was angry and ashamed. At first, he was afraid that the matter would be spread out and his reputation would be ruined, so he concealed it. Later, he was so annoyed that he asked his descendants to come forward to help solve the problem.
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