Both the front and back yards were now covered with mushrooms, creating a spectacular sight.
These mushrooms, once dried, will probably weigh around 70 or 80 pounds. If this continues, we can collect a lot of mushrooms every time it rains. Just from collecting, drying, and selling mushrooms, we can make a lot of money.
Based on the price of dried mushrooms in previous years, one pound of dried mushrooms could sell for 12 coins. On a rainy day, seventy or eighty pounds of dried mushrooms could be dried, which could be sold for about one tael of silver.
With so many people, they can make a lot of money just from drying mushrooms throughout the year. They can also make dried bamboo shoots and other mountain products to exchange for money.
The produce from the mountains alone can earn a hundred or eighty taels of silver a year, which is quite a lot of income.
Xu Han was not going to miss such a good opportunity to make money. After figuring out the math, she would take people to the mountains to pick mushrooms and make dried bamboo shoots every rainy season thereafter. Of course, she would not miss other mountain products either, and her main goal was to have everything.
Based on this calculation, Xu Han could recoup all the money she spent on buying people within a year, and might even make a profit.
The servants we bought can not only do these things, but also clear wasteland and farm the land, so at least we won't lose out at all.
Xu Han said to Granny Ma, "Granny Ma, if you're tired, take a break. There's no rush. Sorting mushrooms is hard work, and sitting for too long will make your back hurt."
Hearing Xu Han's words, Granny Ma continued working. "Madam, I'm not tired at all. This work is not tiring at all. Compared to the work I did before, it's so much easier. Doing this work is like playing."
Hearing her say that, Xu Han smiled and didn't say anything more. She turned to the three girls who had come back and said, "Go and get a few large wooden basins. Wash these mushrooms we picked up later. We'll make mushroom sauce later."
After receiving the instructions, the three girls quickly got to work, while Xu Han turned around to prepare the other ingredients needed to make the mushroom sauce later.
Xu Han has made mushroom sauce many times, almost every year, and now she is quite adept at it.
I just happened to be running low on mushroom sauce at home, so I made some extra today since I picked a lot of mushrooms.
With more people eating at home now, we finish all sorts of pickles and sauces much faster. I'll have to increase the quantity when I make them in the future, otherwise we won't be able to eat them for more than a few days after making them once.
After they washed the mushrooms clean, Xu Han started making mushroom sauce.
Xu Han was in charge of cooking, Granny Ma was tending the fire, and the other three girls took over Granny Ma's work and continued sorting mushrooms in a shady spot.
This time, Xu Han made two large jars of mushroom sauce, which she kept at home to eat.
She also made four more small jars of mushroom sauce, which she planned to give to Yunhua when he returned.
Not knowing when he would return, Xu Han prepared the items and put them in her spatial storage so he could take them back whenever he came back.
Just as Xu Han put the mushroom sauce into the jar, Lu Chuan returned with his group.
Everyone poured the mushrooms into the yard and started picking them up on their own.
Xu Han looked around but didn't see the Taoist priest, so she asked, "Where is the Taoist priest? I can't see him."
Lu Chuan replied, "He said he wanted to improve everyone's meals, so he took Han Qi hunting. He should be back soon."
"Haha, that's great! Looks like we're in for a treat tonight. I wonder what they'll hunt. If they can catch a pheasant, that would be wonderful. We could make a pheasant and mushroom soup; it would taste absolutely amazing. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
Lu Chuan looked at Xu Han with a doting expression. "Want some chicken soup? That's easy, I'll go to the chicken coop and catch a few chickens."
He had just finished speaking and was about to get up to catch a chicken in the coop when Xu Han quickly stopped him, saying, "No, no, I was just saying it casually."
We can't eat any more of our chickens, or there won't be any left.
Lu Chuan looked at Xu Han with amusement, "You've raised so many chickens and you're still reluctant to eat them? You can raise more after you've eaten them all. This year, someone will help you feed the chickens, so you can raise even more."
"Yes, I was just thinking about it. The weather will be cooler soon, and I'll see if I can hatch another batch of chicks then. It's just that the kang (heated brick bed) in the backyard is currently occupied, so there's no place to hatch them."
"No rush. We'll start building two rooms tomorrow, then we can free up the backyard. If you really don't want to, we can wait until next spring to hatch more."
"Okay, go check if the Taoist priest is back yet. It's getting dark, and we'll go hungry if we don't cook soon."
As Xu Han spoke, she pushed Lu Chuan outside, and followed him out to see what was going on.
Tonight's dinner was cooked by Dan Niang. It was a simple home-style meal, without any fancy dishes or meat. We ate coarse grains and dark flour, but everyone was very satisfied.
Because the Taoist priest and Han Qi returned late, they didn't eat the game they hunted today. Fortunately, they were skilled, and the game they hunted was still alive; otherwise, in this hot weather, it certainly wouldn't have lasted until tomorrow.
Construction on the house was temporarily suspended for two days due to the rain, but as soon as the weather cleared up, Lu Chuan led everyone to resume construction.
It had just rained, and the ground was still very wet. The mud was too sticky to walk on, so it was impossible to weed. Therefore, the women in the family all went to help build the house.
Xu Han didn't let the three younger girls go; the work of building the house was too heavy, and they were too weak to do much work.
Xu Han simply let them continue making clothes at home, and also help clean the yard and take care of the family's three meals a day.
As for the rest of the people, they are all focused on building the houses and trying to finish them as soon as possible so that everyone doesn't have to squeeze together and feel inconvenienced.
The building materials were readily available. After clearing out the size of the two houses, Lu Chuan led his men to start mixing mud and building the walls, while the rest of the men continued to carefully clear the other foundations.
Because there were many people, the two houses were built very quickly, and the entire house was completed in just three days. They also managed to build the kang (heated brick bed) inside the house.
Now all we need to do is wait for the house to dry completely before laying the bluestone slabs on top, and then we can move in.
Of course, Lu Chuan wouldn't just wait for the houses to dry. While the houses were being aired out, he led the others to continue building the remaining houses.
Finally, after eight days, the first two houses were completely dry, and two more houses were built.
On the ninth day, Lu Chuan started arranging for everyone to move their belongings into the new house early in the morning. From today onwards, the servants will all live on the other side of the valley.
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