Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

When Yue Siyuan saw the fresh elm yellow mushrooms, he was very surprised and couldn't help asking more questions. Zhixin told him about growing mushrooms at home. Yue Siyuan became even more curious when he found out that the person who grew the mushrooms was a ten-year-old girl. "Brother Xu, this daughter of yours has such a smart mind that she can figure this out. Well, I'm lucky," there was a hint of envy in his tone.

Zhixin waved his hand and said, "How can we not be blessed? Our villagers are originally digging for food in the soil, and farming is the foundation. Doing this is just a way to make some money during the slack period. My little girl has been very wild since she was a child. , like a kid, following Wen Han and others all over the mountains all day long, maybe he has seen too much and is just thinking."

Pengcheng on the side talked about how he got along with the children of the Xu family in the mountains. He also said that Jinghan was smart, knowledgeable, and a very lovable girl.

"Whenever I am free, I will bring my wife and daughter over, and our two families will have a good time together. Pengcheng, Wenhan, and Wencheng have a good relationship in the school, and Pengcheng often brings two brothers, Wenhan and another The children of the Lin family are back. The children have made good friends, and I feel like they are getting along with each other. From now on, we will often visit each other and treat each other as relatives. "What kind of person is Yue Siyuan?" Since the last time his son came back after living in the mountains for more than ten years, and then the Xu family sent so many things, Yue Siyuan became a little curious about the Xu family. When we met today, Zhixin was very generous in dealing with people and things, and he didn't have the pettiness of a small family, which made Yue Siyuan's favorable impression of him rise sharply.

Pengcheng came back and said that the four Wenhan brothers are now studying in the school. In this era, it is no longer easy to provide education for one child, let alone four children in a family? Moreover, the children of the Xu family, especially Wen Han, have top-notch grades in school. It is expected that Wen Han will definitely achieve fame in the future. This Xu family will not be an ordinary family in the future, so Yue Siyuan is even more determined to make friends.

"I don't dare, I don't dare. Thanks to Brother Yue for not being dissatisfied, he is willing to call Zhixin brother. Zhixin is already on a high level. How dare he be related to Brother Yue? If Brother Yue is useful to my younger brother in the future, please invite me. Frankly speaking, I will do my best," Zhixin said, clasping his fists at Yue Siyuan. "Brother Yue, we have something else to do today, so we won't bother you here. If Brother Yue is free in the future, you can go to the mountains to have a look. The scenery over at Shenchangzi is also good, surrounded by mountains and rivers." Zhixin and the others I still had to go to Manager Sun, so I got up and left.

Yue Siyuan asked someone to prepare a return gift, "Brother Xu, these are ordinary things, not as novel as the ones your family brought. Go back and give them to the two old people and children, which is also a little bit of my gratitude. I hope I won't do it." I have to refuse." What he said is true. This return gift is a routine in daily human interactions. The snake oil return gift is really not as good as the Xu family's careful preparation.

Zhixin didn't refuse. Rich families pay attention to these things. If he doesn't accept it, it won't look good on his master's face. So the father and son came out of Yue's house, and the servants of Yue's house put the return gifts on the cart. Zhixin handed over to Yue Siyuan, who had given them in person, and then drove off in the bullock cart.

Yue Siyuan looked at the backs of Zhixin and his son leaving, and said to Pengcheng beside him, "Son, get along well with the children of the Xu family in the future. This Wenhan will have great achievements in the future. And that little girl named Jinghan, if If you can make friends with her, you will definitely gain unexpected benefits.”

Pengcheng nodded, "Dad, I understand." The father and son turned around and returned home.

Zhixin and his son went to Guanshi Sun's house again, and naturally had to exchange pleasantries before returning to the mountain. There is no need to list the busyness of the past year in detail. The entire Xu family is busy preparing for the New Year. Jinghan was still busy with mushrooms in those two houses. She was thinking about mushrooms coming out a few more times before the year. Didn't Manager Sun say there was a vegetable shop? It is estimated that this mushroom will be sold well years ago. The weather is gradually getting warmer, and if you burn the stove properly, there will probably be more mushrooms.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Jinghan picked nearly thirty kilograms of mushrooms and asked Zhixin to deliver them to the town. When Manager Sun saw it, he was extremely happy and added another five cents per pound. He also told Zhixin that if mushrooms come out before the end of the year, he should send them over as soon as possible. On the twenty-eighth day, Jinghan lost another thirty pounds, which was almost the same as a year ago. There is very little left, so I just keep some for my own family and give some to others, and that’s about it.

With the sound of firecrackers, another year has come. Jinghan is already eleven years old, and it has been almost three years since she came to this world. In a blink of an eye, the ice and snow outside melted, and everything revived. It was a good time for the grass to grow and the orioles to fly, and the flowers to bloom and the willows to grow green.

Of course, there is a lot of work to do in the field, and Jinghan is also busy. She needs to take out the cocoons of the mountain silkworms that she hid last year, and use artificial heating to let these cocoons hatch and lay eggs. Of course, the heating areas are still those two houses. The fungus wood in the house had been moved out long ago. At this time, the house was already full of fine hemp ropes, with some silkworm cocoons densely strung on them.

If the mountain silkworm wants a uniform temperature, it has to thread its cocoons. Of course, when you wear it, you only pass through the cocoon made of the outer layer of silk, but you cannot damage the pupa inside. During the heating process, turn frequently to maintain even heating. This process takes about forty days, and the pupa inside the cocoon will break out and become a silkworm moth.

Naturally, Jinghan couldn't stay in the house all day. She just had to burn the fire wall every morning and evening to keep the temperature in the house at 26-7 degrees. This temperature is not easy to grasp because there is no thermometer after all. Jinghan had no choice but to test the temperature based on the feeling of the human body. Anyway, this tussah silkworm is originally wild, and its resistance is better than that of domestic silkworm. Even if it is slightly worse, it is not a big deal.

Jingya returned to the Tao family in the town, and Wenhan and Wencheng took the county examination in February. The old gentleman in the school felt that Wenhan and the others were okay and should give it a try, so they helped get a guarantee and so on, and then asked Wenhan, Wencheng, Pengcheng, and Zixuan to take the county examination together. The results of the exam showed that Wenhan, Zixuan, and Pengcheng all passed the exam, but Wencheng did not.

Wen Cheng returned home and told the old man that he no longer wanted to study because he was not really talented and not very interested in these things. He wanted to study medicine with Zhiming.

The old man thought for a long time, then raised his head and looked at Wencheng carefully. "Wencheng, you have to think about this clearly. Our family can still afford for you to study. As long as you miss it, grandpa will let you continue studying no matter what. If you don't study, study medicine with your third uncle. That's fine. Have you thought about this yourself? Just don't regret it." The old man cherished Wencheng and Wenchang even more. After all, these two brothers had lost their father and mother, and their life experiences were so pitiful.

"Grandpa, I understand. I have always been bad at studying. There is no need to spend my whole life on the imperial examination for an unattainable fame. I have to learn something useful. My third uncle taught me medicine before. , I quite like these medicinal materials, I want to learn from my third uncle, grandpa, just promise me." Wen Cheng looked at grandpa very firmly and expressed his attitude.

The old man and the old lady looked at each other, and then nodded helplessly, "Okay, you are walking the road yourself, and no one can force you. Since you have already decided, then it is up to you. Don't regret it in the future. That’s fine.” The old man agreed.

Wen Cheng knelt down and kowtowed to the old man and the old lady, "Grandpa, grandma, thank you for your support. Wencheng's father passed away and his mother left. It was my grandparents who loved me and kept me from becoming a wild man without a father and a mother. My child, Wencheng will remember this kindness in his heart. When he grows up, he will definitely repay his kindness."

"You kid, why are you kneeling now? Come on, get up. Good kids, you are all grandsons of grandma. If I don't love you, who else can grandma love? Okay, I'll give you three good things. I'll treat him like a disciple. From now on, I'll learn from your third uncle, and I'll be able to make a living." The old man quickly asked Wen Cheng to get up, and then told him.

Wencheng knelt down and kowtowed to Zhiming, officially becoming his master. From then on, Wencheng returned to the mountain, studied medicine with Zhiming, and was busy with the work on the mountain with everyone.

Jinghan only found out about Wencheng's decision in the evening. Jinghan found Wencheng and talked to him about his future plans. "Second brother, if you don't go to school, you will study medicine with your third uncle. This is not bad. Then have you thought about what you want to do in the future? Should you open your own medical clinic and see doctors in the hall, or go to other people's medical clinics? Woolen cloth?"

Wen Cheng listened and shook his head. "I haven't thought about this yet. I'm going to study medicine with my third uncle first. When I really learn it, it won't be too late to think about it, right?"

Jinghan nodded. Wen Cheng was right to think so. Learning medical skills first was the most fundamental thing. However, sometimes, you can also go the other way, not necessarily just one way. "Second brother, do you want to go over and cultivate medicinal materials and then sell them? You see in those drug stores, sticks are weighed by money, and the purchase price is very expensive. But when we sell them, they are measured by kilogram. This There is a huge difference in money, and all this money is earned by the medicinal merchants. Furthermore, we ginseng farmers have been working in the fields for three years, so we can only get such a small profit from the ginseng we grow. They were all made off by these small traders. If my brother can find a market to sell the sticks we have worked so hard to grow at a higher price, I think the people in the village will be very happy. Second brother, you want to learn. Medicine is good, but studying medicine is just one path. There are so many roads ahead of you. Studying medicine is just the beginning. With this beginning, you can do many things."