With the continuous exploration of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, processing has also been put on the agenda.
The factory building of the Chinese herbal medicine processing plant in Lijiapo was completed six months ago under the guidance and planning of two senior consultants—Dr. Gu and Factory Director Yan.
The first batch of harvested herbs has been sent to the processing plant for further processing.
The workers at the herbal medicine processing plant are all villagers from the village. They knew absolutely nothing about how to process medicinal materials before. After being trained by Dr. Gu, Engineer Ye, and Factory Director Yan, the group of novices finally managed to get the hang of it, albeit with some stumbles.
Li Xiangdong also hired Ye Gong, who had just retired, at a high price to serve as the deputy technical director of the Lijiapo Chinese herbal medicine processing plant, specifically to oversee production.
Li Guoling and several other young people who did not continue their education after graduating from junior high school served as Ye Gong's special assistants, following behind him every day with small notebooks to learn.
In Li Jin's words, this is to reserve talent and management cadres for the Chinese herbal medicine processing plant.
Ye Gong walked ahead with his hands behind his back, pointing to the neatly stacked yellowish-white roots on the ground and said, "This astragalus can be harvested in spring and autumn. In spring, it is harvested from after the soil thaws until before it sprouts, and in autumn, it is harvested from after the leaves wither until the soil freezes again."
"Of course, the best quality astragalus is harvested in autumn. The astragalus roots harvested now have a high dry yield, firm roots, sufficient starch, good quality, and high yield. It is also the peak period for astragalus saponin content."
Astragalus
Li Guoling carefully wrote down what Engineer Ye said in her notebook with a ballpoint pen. If there were any words she didn't know, such as "Astragalus saponins", she would write down the pinyin first and then look them up in the Xinhua Dictionary later.
To process Astragalus membranaceus, remove the fibrous roots and impurities such as mud and sand, then dry it in the yard, and then steam it thoroughly in a large steamer, and dry it again for later use.
Not all cooking is fully mechanized yet. For example, slicing requires years of experience to cut food evenly and consistently.
Therefore, there are more women working in the processing plant.
Wearing masks, hats, and work clothes, everyone stood meticulously behind the workbench, their hands moving up and down with knives, making a constant "clanging" sound. Soon, many thin and even slices of astragalus appeared on the workbench.
Rehmannia glutinosa also needs to be processed in this way.
The simplest ones are goji berries and honeysuckle. Just pick them, remove the impurities, and dry them.
The people who do this job are elderly people who can't do heavy farm work.
They sat on stools, basking in the sun, and worked leisurely, earning eight cents a day.
Wages were paid daily. Every day after work, I would watch my great-grandchildren running towards me, hug them with a smile, and lead them to the supply and marketing cooperative's sales point to buy snacks.
......
Ye Gong and his wife originally lived in the county town, but after being hired by Lijiapo, they commuted to and from get off work by bicycle every day.
Previously, Lijiapo planned several sets of talent-supporting housing in the new residential area, a concept proposed by Li Xiangdong.
He said at the time, "As our factories grow, we'll definitely need to recruit more and more people to help with management. Now that we've built housing for these talented individuals, we can allocate it to them when they come from other places, so they can feel at ease. After all, only with a stable home can one work happily!"
Engineer Ye was also allocated a set, consisting of three main rooms, two side rooms on the east and west sides, but no south-facing room.
However, the house is fully furnished, with everything from cooking stoves and water tanks to kang beds and wardrobes—all brand new. You can move in as long as you bring your bedding.
Recently, as the business volume of the Chinese herbal medicine processing plant has been increasing, Mr. Ye simply tied his clothes and quilts to the back of his bicycle and brought them over. Every night after finishing his work, he would go to his assigned room to stay.
Ye Gong's wife was worried that no one would cook for the old man, so she simply moved in as well.
This is a plump, fair-skinned old lady with a kind face. At first, she was worried that she wouldn't be used to living in the village, but after walking around the village twice, she immediately felt that this place was so beautiful!
Neat and wide roads, uniform layout, brand-new and clean houses, and lush flowers and plants adorn the village's appearance. There is even a supply and marketing cooperative's sales point in the village, which has a wide variety of goods. It is very convenient to buy daily necessities such as soy sauce, vinegar, matches, red paper, and white sugar.
"Old Ye, I think this Lijiapo is even prettier than the county town!"
Mrs. Ye remarked with such emotion.
Ye bent down and washed his face in front of the washbasin, then took his towel from the basin stand and dried the water droplets on his face. He joked, "Who's complaining that this place is the countryside and doesn't want to come?"
Mrs. Ye placed a steamed bun on the octagonal table, then turned around and scolded, "Who would have thought of this! After all, which rural area isn't dirty and messy?"
Mr. Ye and his wife were from the provincial capital. When they were sent down to the countryside, they lived in a cowshed and had had enough of that kind of life.
By a twist of fate, Mr. Ye stayed in Huichuan County, and Mrs. Ye stayed with him and never returned to the provincial capital.
Ye Gong also remarked, "That's right. If you look across the whole country, there probably aren't many villages that are cleaner and more beautiful than Lijiapo."
The couple chatted for a while before starting their dinner.
Here, in Quanshui Village, at Grandma Jiang's house.
Grandma Jiang was speechless as she watched Li Xiangdong furtively lock the front door, then the inner door, close the windows tightly, and draw the curtains.
"What's so important that you're keeping it so secret?"
Li Xiangdong ignored his master's complaints. After confirming that it was indeed safe, he mysteriously took out a large ceramic jar from his bag.
After opening the lid of the earthenware jar and taking out a bag of quicklime, they pulled out a large bag of birch bark.
Dr. Gu said with a smile, "It seems this trip to Northeast China was well worth it!"
Grandma Jiang blinked. "Just a few ginseng roots, and you're saying you had to close my door?"
Li Xiangdong's hand paused. "Hey, I haven't even opened the bag yet, how do you know what's inside?"
Having been criticized by his master so much, Li Xiangdong now has an excellent mental fortitude. After a moment of stunned silence, he immediately began to unpack the package in an orderly manner.
After peeling back the three layers of birch bark and the thick moss, five wild ginseng roots of varying sizes were revealed.
Most importantly, these wild ginseng roots are still fresh, plump, and have intact roots.
Doctor Gu, his earlier nonchalant demeanor vanished, as he gently picked up the largest wild ginseng and examined it closely under the lamplight. "Incredible! This ginseng is quite large!"
Grandma Jiang stopped complaining. She got up and took out a delicate little scale from the cabinet. "Seven ounces is ginseng, eight ounces is treasure. I think this ginseng must weigh half a pound!"
Sure enough, the largest wild ginseng weighed a whopping 300 grams!
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