Chapter 220 Busy to Take Off
Lei Chuntian was worried about Jiang Yu's safety. As he was hesitating, he heard his elder brother cough lightly beside him.
Are they not letting her know? That's right, my parents told me to make sure everyone is safe, otherwise I won't be able to explain to their family!
If she told him secretly, wouldn't it be her fault if something happened to Jiang Yu?
Big brother’s reminder is just in time!
She looked at her elder brother with gratitude, turned around and smiled apologetically at Jiang Yu, and advised: "Those mountain roads are not easy to walk on, you'd better not go to pick them."
Jiang Yu could see that all the younger generations in the Lei family followed the lead of their eldest brother Lei Dafu.
I heard that the elders of the Lei family now listen to him, and all major matters are decided by him.
Chuntian hadn't dared to tell him just now after he'd hinted at her, but it was perfectly reasonable for her not to tell him. After all, she couldn't even climb a mountain, let alone climb a tree to pick pears...
Lei Chuntian looked at Jiang Yu with his head down, and his heart ached. Then he heard the hoarse reminder from his elder brother next to him, and immediately an idea came to his mind!
Yes, I just want to eat pears, it doesn’t mean Jiang Yu has to pick them himself!
Jiang Yu nodded and was about to speak when he heard Lei Chuntian lean over and whisper, "It's okay, I'll pick some and send them to you when the time comes!"
Jiang Yu refused repeatedly: "No, the mountain road is not easy to walk on..."
"Well, it's difficult for you people who come from the plains. I grew up in the mountains, so isn't it the same as my own home?" Lei Chuntian said with a smile.
Jiang Yu was still worried.
Lei Chuntian added, "It's okay. I'll pick some from the pear tree not far from my home."
Jiang Yu felt relieved and smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Chuntian."
When I get back, I will make a handkerchief for spring.
My sister-in-law said that the most practical way to express gratitude is to give a return gift. We have a lot of scraps of fabric at home from making clothes, so making a sky blue handkerchief would be both presentable and practical.
*
A trip up the mountain brought me two medicinal herbs, among which there were three edibles—luckily, I didn’t need to pick the pears.
It was already noon when they returned. Hulu Village held an emergency meeting to discuss candidates and assign tasks.
"Pears are not urgent, but acorns and chestnuts are. Chestnuts are especially easy to get back to feed the chickens, ducks and geese."
"Acorns are food. We need to get them back soon, dry them, grind them into powder, and then Shen Qing can take them to the city to try. Otherwise, if we delay, it will freeze and snow, and we won't be able to go to the city."
"Huanglian is at the top of the mountain. Dafu will take us up the mountain tomorrow. It will take us half an hour to walk halfway up the mountain. It will take about an hour to go up the mountain, and two hours to go back and forth. Half a day has passed. So those who choose to go should bring dry food with them and will not come down at noon.
The men had to build houses and could not move, nor could they cook. Climbing the mountain required a lot of strength, especially carrying coptis chinensis down the mountain, and the elderly could not do it either.
Let's do this: the older women will stay home to cook, and the other women and some of the boys will go."
"The other boys and girls went to pick acorns and chestnuts. Chestnuts are close to the Notopterygium wilfordii, so we'll go every two days to collect a wave of seeds and Notopterygium wilfordii."
"I picked up several large baskets of acorns and chestnuts. I'm afraid the girls and boys can't lift them..."
Shen Qing arranged everything one by one: "The bricks and tiles for the brush workshop will be enough in three to five days. First, free up a few donkeys. Donkeys are suitable for walking on mountain roads. Build a few wooden frames and put baskets on both sides. People just need to lead the donkeys."
"Okay!" the meeting members responded.
A donkey can carry more than 300 kilograms at a time, which is something even men cannot do!
Moreover, no matter whether it is a steep mountain road or a narrow path, the donkey can walk steadily, which makes it perfect for the mountains.
"When you've picked enough, bring it back. Those digging for coptis root on the mountaintop shouldn't leave too late. Come down in the afternoon and have the donkey carry it back along with the acorns and chestnuts. It's easier to leave empty-handed."
"good!"
They return in the afternoon. Excluding the time spent climbing up and down the mountain, the people digging Coptis chinensis can dig for two hours at most. The Coptis chinensis dug in two hours should not be too heavy, so people can have the strength to carry it to the halfway point of the mountain. When they reach the halfway point, there will be donkeys to pick them up, which can also reduce the fatigue.
"The acorns, chestnuts, and medicinal herbs we sent back were uniformly arranged for drying, cleaning, and slicing. The silver from the sales and the grain we received in exchange were distributed proportionally based on the labor provided by each household."
"Okay! I agree!"
"I agree too!"
The number of people in each family varies, so the number of people going out is naturally different. Moreover, it is safe to go up the mountain in groups. It is fairest to put them together and distribute them according to manpower!
You don't have to fight for anything, and you don't have to worry about the safety of your family if you act alone. You can also earn more by having more people, and you won't suffer any loss. It can be said that all aspects have been taken into consideration.
Shen Qing finally said, "Once the first batch of herbs and acorn powder is ready, I will go to the city and sell what can be sold for silver, and exchange what cannot be sold for silver for food."
When they heard about silver and food, everyone present felt that the hard work was nothing.
They are not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but they are afraid of not getting any reward after enduring the hardship and fatigue.
As long as they have a little income, it is very good for them who can only make a living from the soil...
Mr. Jiang Er said, “There is only one millstone. Before, we had to wait in line to grind things. I am afraid the waiting time will be even longer when we need to grind acorns into flour.
I was thinking, why not buy everything at once? These are things that every household in the village needs. We can use the money from selling the herbs to buy all these necessities, and then distribute the remaining money among the people according to their manpower. How about that?
Shen Qing agreed completely.
Granny Qin suggested, "Next time we go to the city, we can hire a well digger. Nowadays, every household has money, so why not dig a well for each family? That way, we can have water more conveniently."
Apart from the Guan family, which family doesn’t have more than ten or twenty people?
Just washing in the morning and evening requires a lot of water. If several families share a well, they will have to queue up in the morning and evening.
They were all families that could afford two taels of silver, so Granny Qin's proposal was immediately approved.
"Okay, take a look and see if there's anything else you need to buy. Let's buy it together while we're out!"
"It would be better to buy some more things from the public."
......
Starting from that afternoon, the whole village went from being so busy that they had no time to being so busy that they took off!
I wish I could jog while walking.
It was too late to go to the top of the mountain in the afternoon, but it was still possible to pick acorns and chestnuts on the mountainside.
It just so happened that there was no work today, so all the donkeys were idle.
Although the wooden rack was not made, there were still sacks. I picked them up, tied the bags tightly and put them on the donkey's back.
Dozens of people went out and picked up more than a dozen sacks in one afternoon.
The chestnuts do not need to be washed and dried, and are distributed to each household according to the number of people.
Shen Qing's family got a whole sack.
Huo Bing cut a small amount of chestnuts with Jiangshui and threw them all into the chicken coop regardless of whether they had worms or not. He would then clean out the chestnut shells after they were eaten and boil them in a pot.
Huo Bing woke up early the next day and was stunned to see a large basket of fresh and juicy pears at the door.
She turned around and happened to see her aunt and mother coming out, and hurriedly said, "Mom, aunt, look!"
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