Zhao Huifang praised: "Chunhua is right. The person I can't stand the most in the village is Li Chuntao. If Ye Laoyao marries a woman like this, it's only a matter of time before he gets cuckolded."
Ma Chunhua nodded repeatedly, "That's right, I wouldn't even want a woman like this, only that idiot Ye Laoya would be reluctant to give her up."
The three women gossiped for a while and then saw Zhang Xiuxiang walking back. Yang Chunyan and Zhao Huifang said goodbye to Ma Chunhua and went to the intersection of the old house to wait for her.
When they arrived, Zhang Xiuxiang also arrived. "The Ye family has hired a car to take the person to the town health center."
"Alas!" Zhao Huifang sighed, "The reason they raised a debt collector like Ye Laoyao was that Accountant Ye and his wife owed him in their previous life."
Zhang Xiuxiang asked curiously, "What happened? Did Ye Laoya make him have a stroke?"
Zhao Huifang: "Well! Let's listen to what Ma Chunhua said..."
"Tsk tsk!" Zhang Xiuxiang smacked her lips. "No wonder when Ye Laoyao brought his eldest brother out, there was still broom grass on his head. He must have been beaten by his mother with a broom."
The three sisters-in-law walked and talked, and soon they arrived behind Aunt Zhou's house. They climbed up the slope and came to the place where Jerusalem artichokes grew. They saw that a lot of Jerusalem artichokes had sprouted in the place that had been dug last year.
The morning glow flashed with dazzling golden light, and the dewdrops on the petals of Jerusalem artichoke flowers and plants rolled and twinkled like crystal pearls.
Next to it is Aunt Zhou San’s vegetable garden. The melon racks are full of old winter melons covered with white gray. The yellow-green pillow melons and millstone melons on the pumpkin vines look very tempting.
It has been more than ten days since the Autumnal Equinox. After the Mid-Autumn Festival comes the Cold Dew Festival. After a few autumn rains, the weather will become cooler.
Zhang Xiuxiang said with a smile: "Chunyan, your family may be able to dig several thousand kilograms of Jerusalem artichokes this year!"
Yang Chunyan: "I think there should be. This time we dug a few baskets of Jerusalem artichokes from the forest where we built the oven. They were not planted in batches. After we dig the edges of the fields, ditches and ponds, we may have two to three thousand kilograms in total."
Zhao Huifang said: "This year we also learned from your family and spread grass and flowers. Next year we will also plant Jerusalem artichokes beside the vegetable fields and ditches like you."
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Sow some ramie too. In a few years, we can dig up the ramie roots and sell them for money."
After hearing this, Zhang Xiuxiang thought for a moment, "Chunyan, what do you think about asking Lao San to bring back a few more kilograms of ramie seeds and spread ramie on the piece of land we just leased?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and nodded, "Okay, in the future I can cut grass for pigs and dig herbs to sell for money."
At this time, Zhao Huifang pointed to the bottom of the slope and said, "Look at the many honeysuckle flowers. Let's have people come here to dig up seedlings next year."
Yang Chunyan looked over and saw a large area of honey flowers under the slope. "When Huai'an comes back, let him come over here and take a look. Maybe he can find a wild beehive."
Zhang Xiuxiang: "The youngest one is blind to the light. There are so many here, but you still have to go so far to find it."
Zhao Huifang: "Chunyan, the youngest wants to raise bees in the woods to collect pure honey nectar. Do you want to build a beehive to attract wild bees?"
Yang Chunyan: "Yiding came back and said that the honey in the beehive was not as good as the honey in the cave. The two of them discussed finding rocks in the forest to make nests, or finding stone slabs to make wild beehives to lure bees."
"It turns out that raising wild bees is so troublesome!" Zhao Huifang laughed, "I think it will take at least four or five years to harvest pure honey nectar."
Zhang Xiuxiang: "Even if it takes seven or eight years, it's still worth it. With a forest of one or two thousand acres, we can get hundreds of wild beehives. We can sell a lot of money just by collecting wild honey in a year."
Zhao Huifang: "Yes, take your time!"
As they were talking, the three of them had already climbed over a ridge. There were vines of sea sand on the roadside, but unfortunately the weather was too dry. If they touched them lightly, they could hear the spores of the sea sand falling down with a rustling sound.
Zhang Huifang saw that Yang Chunyan didn't do anything after looking at it, "Can't we pick it?"
She nodded after hearing this. "It's too dry. We have to come early to collect sea sand. We should harvest it when there is dew on the leaves so that the spores won't fall off easily."
Zhao Huifang: "After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it should rain."
The three of them walked for a while, and Zhang Xiuxiang pointed to the vines on the slope in front and said, "Chunyan, look at that huge patch of Polygonum multiflorum vines."
Yang Chunyan looked in the direction she pointed, and saw that the bushes were covered with Polygonum multiflorum vines. "Let's go and take a look."
The three men used sticks to knock the grass down the halfway point, and knocked the vines on the bushes again. After waiting for a while, they hooked the Polygonum multiflorum vine with a hoe and pulled it down, then cut it off with a sickle and threw it on the ground.
A pile of vines soon formed on the ground. Zhang Xiuxiang continued to cut the rest, while Zhao Huifang collected the vines and tied them up one by one.
Yang Chunyan searched among the vines for a while and found four main roots of Polygonum multiflorum. Two of the big ones were as thick as thumbs, and the smaller one was as thick as a little finger.
"Second sister-in-law, bring the medicine hoe over here."
"Okay!" Zhang Xiuxiang walked over with the medicine hoe in hand. "I found it, okay?"
"The stems look good." Yang Chunyan pulled a vine stem, "You dig this one, and I'll dig that one."
"Yeah!" Zhang Xiuxiang picked up the medicine hoe and removed the small shrubs around the vines, dug up the surrounding soil, and started digging carefully.
Over there, Yang Chunyan first moved a few stones away before digging down along the vine. It was fine at the beginning, but the soil became harder as she dug down. She was worried about rotting the Polygonum multiflorum, so she could only dig a few times.
After about half an hour, I finally saw the reddish-brown, wrinkled roots of Polygonum multiflorum.
She took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her face. "Second sister-in-law, did you see any roots in the piece you dug?"
Zhang Xiuxiang said cheerfully, "I saw a little bit. It looks quite old. What about the one you dug?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said: "The diameter of the bamboo tube at home is larger than that of the one exposed, and the one below should be even larger.
After hearing this, Zhao Huifang hurriedly put the rolled Polygonum multiflorum vines into her backpack and walked over to her, "Let me see, let me see."
"Look!" Yang Chunyan stepped aside and looked at her with a smile, "Dig up these four Polygonum multiflorum and you'll have a good harvest today."
"That's right!" Zhao Huifang nodded repeatedly and took the medicine hoe. "You take a break, let me do it."
"The soil below is a bit hard. You dig slowly. I'll go dig another one." Yang Chunyan went over and picked up another hoe, and started digging in front of the two thinner vines.
Another half an hour later, Zhao Huifang shouted in surprise, "Look, this piece of Polygonum multiflorum is so terrible."
Yang Chunyan put down the hoe and took a look. She found that the bigger one was even bigger than the one she and Zhou Huaian dug the first time. This piece of Polygonum multiflorum must weigh at least four kilograms. "It's really terrible!"
"This piece of mine is also good!" Zhang Xiuxiang pulled the Polygonum multiflorum out of the pit, "Take a look at this piece, how is it?"
"It's about the same as this one." Yang Chunyan ran back with a smile, "You guys dig up the remaining piece, we'll go pick up some chestnuts and go home."
"Okay!" Zhang Xiuxiang responded in a cheerful voice.
The three sisters-in-law were busy on the slope for nearly two hours and finally dug up all four Polygonum multiflorum. The two small ones weighed about two to three kilograms, but they were also very good.
Yang Chunyan looked at the two large pieces and smiled, "Today we broke the record. Since we started digging herbs, these two pieces are the largest."
"Let's go!" Zhao Huifang excitedly carried her backpack on her back. "Let's take advantage of the good luck today and go to the mountain nest to have a look. Maybe we can find other good things."
"Great!" Yang Chunyan and the other person also picked up their backpacks and followed her downstairs.
It took nearly another hour of walking before we reached Shanwowo.
The three sisters-in-law put down their backpacks, washed their hands in the ravine, and looked at the lush chestnut trees on the other side of the ravine. They saw that a lot of chestnut balls covered with thorns had fallen under the trees.
The tree trunks nearby were covered with flowers and moss. The autumn orchids growing on the trunks of two of the trees had already bloomed, and when the wind blew, the orchid fragrance wafted to the nose.
Zhao Huifang put down her backpack and took out a lunch box wrapped in a towel from her bag. "Sisters, come and eat some dry food. Only after eating will you have the strength to climb the tree and pick chestnuts."
"Come on!" Yang Chunyan and the other person sat on the stone beside her, took the still warm pancake she handed over, and took a big bite, "Wow! There are braised pork, crab and egg, cold shredded radish, and pickled chili peppers!"
Zhao Huifang said with a smile: "I braised the meat this morning. I made the marinade bag myself and followed Chunyan's example by using a gauze bag to hold the marinade."
Yang Chunyan gave her a thumbs up, "Delicious! Our sister-in-law's cooking skills are amazing!"
Zhang Xiuxiang smiled and nodded, "As long as my sister-in-law comes with us, we can just take care of the mouth."
Yang Chunyan nodded repeatedly, "Yes, sister-in-law knows that I like to eat buns, so she makes them and sends them to me when she is free."
Whenever they had some free time and cooked separately, Zhao Huifang loved to prepare delicious food and send it to the families. She had the best temper among her sisters-in-law, and she respected her for both her lives.
Zhao Huifang was very happy to see that the two liked it, "If you like it, just tell me, and my sister-in-law will make something delicious for you."
"When we get old and don't want to cook, we can go to your place and eat together." Zhang Xiuxiang took a bite of pickled chili and a bite of pancake, "It's delicious. I'll make this for you next time."
After eating two pancakes, the three of them felt full, so they stood up, rubbed their stomachs, and crossed the ravine carrying their backpacks.
"Look, those two orchids are so beautiful." Zhang Xiuxiang finally saw the orchids on the tree. "It's a pity that they can't be planted back home."
Yang Chunyan stepped forward and sniffed the orchid fragrance. "Yes! If they can't survive, we might as well leave them in the mountains. We can see them when we come to pick chestnuts."
"It's not easy to see orchids. They are everywhere on the mountain." Zhao Huifang said as she put on a straw hat and started knocking chestnuts on the tree. Puff, puff... The muffled sound of chestnuts falling on the ground and in the grass came to her ears.
When picking chestnuts, you have to wear a wide-brimmed straw hat, because the chestnut burrs are hard and small, and if they fall on your head, blood will come out. The most worrying thing is that they fall and hit your eyes, which would be troublesome.
Yang Chunyan and the other person also put on straw hats, found a tree, tilted their heads back, reached out their hands, and started hitting it hard. Soon, a lot of chestnuts and fallen branches and leaves fell to the ground.
The chestnuts on the branches that were low to the ground were within reach of the three of them, but the chestnuts on the higher branches and on the treetops could not be reached even with three bamboo poles, so they had to climb up the tree to pick them. (End of this chapter)
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