Chu Yu was heartbroken last night as she lay in bed, feeling sorry for her five houses and huge savings deposits. She had been a successful company CEO since childhood, but now she was dressed as a poor peasant girl. She felt like she had lost out big time. But seeing this beautiful appearance, she finally felt a little better.
Shanguan Village is nestled against the mountains. A few days ago, it rained, and the weeds grew wildly, making the roads difficult to walk on. Chu Yu took a sickle and cut the grass as he walked, barely managing to move forward.
Shanguan Village has barren land and can't pay its grain tax every year, making it a well-known impoverished village in the county. In contrast, Zhoujia Village, where the Zhou family lives, is much better off economically. Therefore, Jiang Meifeng has always looked down on Shu Hui's mother's family.
Looking around, there was very little fertile land. The rice had only been planted less than half a month ago, and the fields were only a light green with sparse seedlings.
Given the environment in Shanguan Village, I really don't know what kind of business one could do to make money.
But Chu Chu's surgery would deplete all their savings and leave them owing the hospital 100 yuan. Without making a profit, their very survival would be in question.
Chu Yu was deep in thought when, as if possessed, he turned onto a side path, at the end of which was a secluded cave.
A stream flows in front of the cave, its gentle murmur creating a scene of tender summer romance.
There are many such caves on the mountain in Shanguan Village, covered by wild grass, making it impossible to see what's inside. After clearing away the wild grass, Chu Yu went inside and saw a white thing in the cave from afar. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a bat skull.
This skull is quite large; it must belong to a large bat.
Chu Yu looked up and saw several dark bats hanging upside down on the cave wall. Because the cave was dark, she had to look carefully to see them clearly.
I stepped on something soft, and when I squatted down to take a look, I saw that it was a lot of oval-shaped particles with a slightly rough surface, brownish in color, and broken into powder.
The more she looked at this, the more familiar it seemed. In her previous life, Chu Yu had seen this medicinal herb—Night-shining Sand—when she helped her mother brew Chinese medicine!
Night-shining sand is bat droppings, which has the effects of clearing the liver and improving eyesight, as well as dispersing blood stasis and eliminating stagnation.
Although the price of luminous sand on the market is not high, people have been collecting it for medicinal purposes. However, few people know about it, so the luminous sand in the bat cave of Shanguan Village has remained uncollected.
Chu Yu had considered starting a business in other ways. In the early 1980s, the planned economy was transitioning to a market economy. Although the economy had opened up, people's mindsets had not yet changed, and there were hardly any vendors on the streets of Rongtai County.
There was gold lying everywhere waiting for people to pick it up. You could make money by setting up a street stall, opening a restaurant, or making women's clothing. But you needed capital for everything. Even in the early 1980s, it would take several hundred yuan to buy goods from other places.
The 700 yuan was not enough to pay her sister's hospital fees, and there was no idea when Zhou Jian'an would get back the 300 yuan he owed. The family couldn't afford the capital she had started her business with.
Her uncle and aunt were struggling financially, so she couldn't ask them for help. As their niece, she had to be sensible since she was staying at their house.
She had thought about it all night but couldn't find a suitable way to make a living. Only now, seeing the luminous sand covering the cave floor, did she smile.
It's true what they say, when you're feeling sleepy, someone will hand you a pillow.
Although the price of luminous sand is cheap, it has no cost!
Shanguan Village has many mountains and caves, and this stuff has no seasonal restrictions, so it can be collected anytime, making it easy to earn a living.
Chu Yu was a woman of action; once she said she would do something, she did it. She rushed back to her aunt's kitchen, found two large burlap sacks and a shovel, and then pulled a wheelbarrow to transport the sacks back.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Jiang poked his head out of the house and ran over to ask, "Sis, what are you doing?"
Xiao Jiang is only eight years old this year, while the original owner was already eighteen. The two are quite far apart in age and their relationship is not very close. Fortunately, Xiao Jiang is a lively person who loves to get close to people, much better than that brat Zhou Chufei.
Chu Yu flicked his head and laughed, "Let's go up the mountain to pack some things."
"What is that?"
"Bat droppings."
"What? Bat droppings! You've been carrying sacks full of poop!"
Xiao Jiang stared wide-eyed and made a vomiting face; he found it hard to associate his beautiful older cousin with poop.
Chu Yu was left speechless, both amused and exasperated by his words. But he wasn't wrong; it really was bat droppings. Fortunately, she had raised a Ragdoll cat in her previous life, and the cat had adapted quite well to its role as a cat owner.
Chu Yu stared at him and laughed, "So, do you want to go shovel poop with your cousin?"
Xiao Jiang looked disgusted, but driven by curiosity, he followed Chu Yu through a maze of twists and turns into a cave.
A hapless child followed behind, and Chu Yu, fearing the difficult mountain path might injure him, kept reminding him to be careful.
The cave was dark, but fortunately, the luminous sand was not far from the entrance. It was found on the ground and beside the rock walls. The sand beside the rock walls was about half a person's height, and the bottom layer had already fermented. At first glance, it really looked like some kind of rare mineral.
Chu Yu took out a sack and a shovel. "Xiao Jiang, help your sister hold the sack."
Xiao Jiang pouted, a little unwilling, "You can pretend to be a poop yourself, but you still ask me to help! Isn't bat droppings poop too? What if it stinks to death!"
Chu Yu found it amusing; this child really did have a knack for comedy. "When your sister earns money, I'll buy you popsicles."
As soon as Xiao Jiang heard there were popsicles, he stopped talking. Wait, did he hear that right? His cousin was actually going to make money using bat droppings?
When his mother comes back, she should take his cousin to the hospital to have her head checked.
Regardless, Xiao Jiang obediently held up the sack for Chu Yu.
In her previous life, Chu Yu and her mother had endured a period of hardship, but the hardships of that time were nothing compared to those of today. No matter how hard she had it, she had never done any manual labor. Fortunately, the original owner knew how to use a shovel, which wasn't difficult to use, and she quickly filled the sack.
After filling the sack, she took out a rope and tied the sack tightly before pulling the cart to transport the night-shining sand back.
The downhill road was difficult to navigate, and several times, Chu Yu almost tumbled off the cliff with the car. Fortunately, Xiao Jiang was there to help steer the vehicle. Although he was not very strong, he was extremely familiar with this mountain road and would warn Chu Yu in advance about any steep sections that required extra caution.
With Xiao Jiang's help, Chu Yu successfully brought Ye Mingsha into her second uncle's house.
"Sister, what are you doing?" Chu Xiang asked, opening the sack.
Sister-in-law Shu followed. Having lived in Shanguan Village since childhood, she naturally recognized what was in the sack. She just wondered why her niece had brought this thing home.
As for farmyard manure, the kind produced and sold in the toilet is more than enough.
"Chu Yu, why did you bring this thing back?" Sister-in-law Shu asked, puzzled.
Chu Yu didn't hide anything. If she wanted to make money, she needed the support of her uncle and aunt. Her second uncle seemed quite capable, with a strong voice and a firm tone, but in reality, he didn't manage the household at all. Her aunt made all the decisions, inside and out.
Given her aunt's high status in the family, Chu Yu had no choice but to patiently explain:
“Aunt, bat droppings are scientifically known as 'night-shining sand,' and they are a traditional Chinese medicine. A classmate of mine whose ancestors were traditional Chinese medicine doctors mentioned to me that the Chinese medicine station has been buying night-shining sand for a long time, but it's a relatively uncommon product and not many people know about it. I saw some when I went up the mountain today, so I brought some back and plan to take it to the Chinese medicine station to see if I can make some money from it.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
