In this era, ginseng is still a rare and precious commodity.
Many people have never even seen ginseng.
Li Xiangdong gave each of them two ginseng roots and two red ginseng roots, saying, "Take them back to make wine, or give them away as gifts!"
In addition, each person also received two jin of hazelnuts, two jin of pine nuts, five jin of pecans, and one jin of hazel mushrooms.
Guo Yuxi picked up his ginseng, examined it from all angles for a while, and asked in confusion, "Second Brother, is this ginseng? Why does it look a bit like a wilted white radish?"
Zhao Xiaojun nodded vigorously, "It does look somewhat like him, but the kind that hasn't grown up yet!"
After all, white radishes that are properly grown in vegetable plots are thick and large, like a child's tender little arm.
Li Xiangjie was always quick-witted. He snatched the ginseng from Guo Yuxi's hand and put it in his own box. "Let's trade. Tonight I'll have my dad send your family a basket of white radishes!"
Guo Yuxi hurriedly snatched the ginseng back from her hand. "Are you kidding me? Do you really think I'm a fool?"
Li Xiangjie then set his sights on the ginseng from Li Guoqing and Zhao Xiaojun, saying, "Which of you two will trade? I'll offer two baskets of white radishes!"
...
In autumn, during this harvest season, the fields of every village are a scene of prosperity and flourishing.
The medicinal herbs on more than 100 mu of land in Lijiapo need to be dug up, the ripe corn on several hundred mu of land needs to be harvested, and the watermelons intercropped in the cornfields also need to be picked in batches. There are simply not enough people to handle the task.
After discussing with the village committee members, Li Jin decided to recruit one hundred day laborers.
A day laborer earns 1.5 yuan per day, works eight hours a day, and is paid daily. Lunch is provided.
This is a great job!
After all, the production teams have been disbanded and families have been divided up. Many households have at most seven or eight mu of land, and the corn in the fields has long been harvested.
Besides making maltose, there were no other job opportunities to earn money at that time, but making maltose didn't require that many people.
So when the news of Lee Ka Po recruiting day laborers was released, many people came to apply.
Many people even asked their relatives and friends to intercede on their behalf, hoping to secure a spot in advance.
Within two or three days, all the day laborers were in place.
morning.
The eastern sky was tinged with red, and the wisps of clouds on the horizon were also dyed crimson, with gold edges.
Vegetable patches, ponds, trees, fields, and crops are all bathed in reddish sunlight, creating a beautiful pastoral scene.
Wisps of smoke rose from the neat new residential area of Lijiapo, and outside the gates were persimmon trees hanging like little lanterns and bright red hawthorn trees.
The weather was getting a bit chilly, and the grass was covered with glistening dewdrops.
After the adults finished eating, they put on the long trousers and coats they wore when working, and headed to the fields with shovels, hoes, sickles, baskets, and bamboo baskets in their hands.
Some people picked goji berries, some dug up Cistanche deserticola, Angelica dahurica, Adenophora stricta, and Astragalus membranaceus, some picked corn, and some picked watermelons.
Everywhere was filled with laughter and joy, a truly lively scene.
The children couldn't do much work, so they would jump and play in the fields. When they had played enough, they would bring the adults some cool boiled water with added sugar to quench their thirst.
In autumn, the fields are full of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. They are not as agile as they are in summer, and sometimes they lie motionless on the stems of wild grass.
The children each took a tin can and went to catch grasshoppers and katydids.
Grasshoppers come in various colors, including grayish-brown, which are relatively small, and a larger variety with a bright green body, red thighs, and transparent wings that shimmer with iridescent colors in the sunlight.
When catching grasshoppers, first aim carefully, then tiptoe over, pounce quickly, cover the grasshopper with both hands, and then slowly take it out, using a long blade of grass to pierce the grasshopper's saddle.
If you keep catching them like this, you can soon string them together and take them home. You can then remove the wings from the grasshoppers and either deep-fry them or roast them.
Grasshoppers are usually found in soybean fields. If you get close, you can hear their incessant chirping.
Unlike catching grasshoppers, you can't scoop up katydids directly with your palm, because they jump high and run away before you can even grab them.
When catching it, you should extend your palm in front of the cricket before reaching down to scoop it up. This way, the cricket will jump forward and land directly in your hand.
Male katydids love to chirp and are easy to catch. They are translucent green all over and have a particularly beautiful appearance. Their chirping is continuous, clear and melodious. Many children put katydids in cages woven from sorghum stalks, along with cabbage leaves and water, and they can keep them alive for more than ten days.
In the past, there were skilled people who could keep crickets alive all the way through winter.
On an autumn night, listening to the chirping of crickets by the bedside, one can soon drift into a sweet dream.
The female katydid's belly is full of seeds, making her plump and large. She hides under the thick leaves of the soybean, and because she doesn't chirp, she is not easy to spot or catch.
Female crickets are also edible. They can be fried in oil until they turn a light red color, like river shrimp, and become crispy, fragrant, and delicious.
There is another species that is larger than crickets and grasshoppers, called the single-hooked cricket.
The single hook has a particularly large belly. Once you grab its hind legs, it jumps and leaps around, which is quite amusing.
This thing is not only fun, but also delicious.
When you get home, burn the still-warm ashes in the stove, remove the head, and eat only the golden seeds inside. A unique aroma fills your mouth.
Not only children catch them, but when adults are working, if grasshoppers or single-hooked insects jump onto their hands or arms, they will also grab them with a smile, thread them onto grass stems, stuff them into their pockets, and keep them to take home to their children.
Li Xiangdong and his companions were all seventeen or eighteen-year-old young men, who should have been able to earn ten work points by working in the fields.
But these guys were different from ordinary young men. First of all, Li Xiangdong couldn't stand working in the fields all day long.
He led Li Guoqing and the others to inspect the medicinal herb fields, cornfields, and watermelon fields one by one.
But everyone else greeted them with smiles and told them not to tire themselves out and to rest more often after walking for a long time!
Other young people also didn't want to work, but before they could even finish their requests, their fathers slapped them hard across the neck.
"Why is it that they can do a bad job but I can't? It's not fair!"
The son craned his neck, clearly unconvinced.
I cursed loudly, "You want fairness, you son of a bitch! If you had their abilities, I'd treat you like royalty!"
"Well, Dongzi is capable, but what about Guoqing and the others? They're not Dongzi..."
At this point, Laozi got even angrier. "You good-for-nothings! You're all around the same age, how come he's getting along so well with Dongzi? You good-for-nothing can't even get a taste of something new!"
son:……
Why should we suffer hard work and be humiliated?
Well, we're not the best off, but we're not the worst off either.
After all, living in a big brick house, watching TV, and riding a bicycle is a good life that other villages can only dream of...
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