At this moment, the 300 golden ears of his own family had been planted. He was about to go to the front yard to discuss it with his parents and brothers, when he saw Chen Cun standing at the gate of his yard with his hands behind his back.
The village chief Chen Sanyou is in his forties. He is gentle, polite and helpful. He is quite prestigious in Dongchen Village and his reputation is second only to his eldest brother, the clan leader Chen Fu.
Seeing Chen Cunzheng coming over, Jiang Sanlang hurried forward and said with a smile, "Uncle Chen, come in and sit down."
Chen Sanyou then walked in, looked around, and asked, "Sanlang, you seem to be very busy lately, what are you busy with?"
Jiang Sanlang rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "I wasn't busy at all. I just picked some mushrooms from the mountain and planted them."
"What kind of mushrooms?" Chen Sanyou was curious.
Jiang Sanlang led him into the bamboo shed, pointed at the twenty mulberry trees on the shelf and said, "Golden ears are planted here. They are said to be a tonic."
Chen Sanyou stretched his neck to look for a while, then found that he didn't recognize it, and muttered, "It's strange."
Jiang Sanlang chuckled foolishly.
Coming out of the bamboo shed, Chen Sanyou said earnestly, "Sanlang, you can grow mushrooms, but you can't abandon the fields. Growing grain is the foundation of our farmers' livelihood."
Jiang Sanlang nodded immediately: "Don't worry, Uncle Chen, my fields are still planted, not a single acre has been lost."
Chen Sanyou nodded and sighed, "Yesterday the village head informed us that after the summer harvest, the imperial court will collect a large amount of grain and cloth. Every acre of land in our village will be taxed 10%. Alas, you should all be more careful. If there is not enough land by then, we will have a hard time."
Jiang Sanlang frowned. "Another tax increase? Uncle Chen, is the court at war with someone again?"
Chen Sanyou shook his head. "I don't know. There will always be a decree coming down when the time comes. We just have to wait."
He walked a few steps, then stopped and continued:
"Also, hurry up and cultivate the fields over at the South Mountain. No matter what you plant, it's better than leaving it idle. I think the price of grain will definitely go up in the second half of the year. You can work on that piece of land a little bit. It's better than going hungry in the winter."
"Uncle Chen is right." Jiang Sanlang said, "I am also planning to tidy up the land in Nanshan. I would like to ask Uncle Chen for advice when the time comes."
"Yeah." Chen Sanyou was satisfied and left with his hands behind his back.
After seeing Muramasa off, Jiang Sanlang looked solemn.
In previous years, the imperial court would always collect grain and cloth before going to war, and if the war was stalemate, it would also conscript soldiers.
By then, the people will probably have to endure cold wind, snow and rain again.
Fortunately, he had earned dozens of taels of silver. Even if conscription was really necessary, his three brothers could use the silver to buy night guards to go to the battlefield instead.
Therefore, the matter of building a house still needs to be carefully considered.
…
As the old saying goes, peach blossoms in March and rain in April. It is already the end of April, and the sky is overcast, as if a rainstorm is brewing.
Chunniang sat in front of the window, glancing outside from time to time, full of worry.
She has been thinking about her daughter's words these days, fearing that the river would suddenly flood one day and submerge her home.
"Sanlang, let's hurry up and go to Nanshan to build a house. I can't even sleep well these days."
Jiang Sanlang, who was teasing his son, was stunned. He looked outside and frowned.
There has been a lot of rain in early summer, and it hasn't been sunny in the past few days.
He thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we build three huts in the South Mountain first? If there is a heavy rain, we can take shelter in the mountains."
Chunniang nodded immediately and said, "Let's build a thatched hut, Sanlang. I really can't stand it anymore." She was worried all night and didn't dare to close her eyes.
"Then I will tell my parents and elder brother tomorrow and see if they will build it or not." Jiang Sanlang said.
Chunniang glared at her husband and said, "Just build it if you want, why do you always drag our parents and our elder and second brothers into it? What if they don't agree to go, then you won't build it, right?"
"How could that be possible." Jiang Sanlang touched his head awkwardly: "I was just thinking that if there is a flood someday, they can build a house on the south slope and have a place to stay."
Chunniang's face lightened up a bit, and she urged, "Then why are you waiting for tomorrow? It's not too late now, go and tell your elder and second brothers."
"Oh, I'll go right away."
Yingbao didn't know that because of her words, her parents actually decided to build a house in Nanshan. Not only did her father go to build it, but he also asked his eldest and second uncles to go with him.
At this moment, she was busy in the cave, planting snow fungus on five mulberry trees.
After planting snow fungus, I went to see the golden fungus on the other five mulberry trees.
These golden ears have grown, but because the weather is bad, they are not harvested.
But if they are not harvested, the mature golden ears will shrink, change color, and eventually rot.
The golden ears my father has grown haven't grown yet, so naturally they won't be baked in the oven. And now it's the rainy season, the weather is humid and there's not enough sunlight. If the golden ears aren't dried in time after being picked, they will rot and mold.
Oh, I must calculate the time well next time I plant, otherwise it will be all in vain.
Yingbao walked around the cave and saw a large patch of bachelor's grass, which was the grass that grew water chestnuts.
The water chestnuts are ripe now, and if they are not picked, they will rot in the ground.
Yingbao scratched his head and squatted down to dig water chestnuts.
By pulling and digging, they harvested a large basket of water chestnuts as big as eggs from just a few dozen clumps of sedge, which made Yingbao very worried.
I can’t finish it by myself, and I don’t dare to give too much to others. This is really killing me.
If only she had grown them, she could take them to town and sell them, or pretend to buy them from the market.
But she is only a two-year-old baby now, just a little taller than the small dining table. If she goes out alone, any child of a few years old can take her away.
I picked out a dozen of the largest ones and put them aside as seeds, and put the rest in a basket for the time being.
After washing her hands with the pool water, Yingbao began to ponder the thirty ripe golden ears.
This thing is very valuable, and it makes her sad to waste one.
Glancing around, Yingbao saw the Wudingzhi on the stone wall and suddenly had an idea.
Pick a few leaves of Wudingzhi, put them in a bowl and mash them into a paste, then scoop some pond water and stir it.
The Wudingzhi juice dissolved in the water is only slightly sticky, and nothing else can be seen.
Yingbao poured the bowl of water on the mature golden ears and wanted to wait a few days to see if they would mutate.
Anyway, the golden ears are ripe. If they are not picked and dried in time, they will rot. It is better to use them as an experiment.
If there is nothing unusual, she will cook the golden ears and feed them to her grandparents, uncles and second uncles so that it is not a waste. If they are spoiled, she will just throw them away.
When I came out of the cave, I saw dark clouds outside the window and it was already raining.
Yingbao knelt beside the table on the kang, picked up an ink stick and began to grind ink.
Ever since her father bought her writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, she had an additional task every day, which was to copy calligraphy and recite the Three Character Classic.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, hitting the window frames with a crackling sound, splashing water.
Jiang Sanlang hurried back home from outside, his clothes already wet.
He took off his wet clothes, wiped his face with the cloth his wife brought, and said with a smile: "My eldest and second brothers have agreed to go with us to Nanshan to build a house. When the rain stops, I will ask Brother Li Dayong to help us make adobe bricks, and we will start construction in the fall."
Building a house is not an easy task, even if it is a thatched house. You have to dry the adobe bricks needed for building the house first, then prepare enough bamboo and thatch, as well as round wooden beams, and the door and window frames must also be made in advance.
Once everything is ready, you can hire someone to lay the foundation and build the house.
During this period, the busy farming season must be avoided. The bitterly cold winter is also not an option, because the soil is prone to contain ice. Once spring comes and flowers bloom, the ice melts, and the house becomes unsound, and the walls will collapse after a short period of living.
Chunniang smiled, brought him some dry clothes to change into, and asked, "Are you still going to build a mud house?"
Now that the family is rich, we can build five large houses with blue bricks and tiles. They will be clean and bright, and there will be no black bugs crawling out of the rotten thatch on the roof in the summer.
Jiang Sanlang nodded and said, "For now, let's build three adobe houses. When we make more money, we'll build brick houses."