allonlinenovel Chapter 105 Bamboo Fungus
Chapter 105 Bamboo Fungus
Taoxi Village this year.
Even Qinghe County.
Digging bamboo shoots, picking mushrooms, weaving bamboo baskets, burning charcoal...
There's also the autumn harvest in half a month.
Everyone was exceptionally busy.
This day last year.
The villagers still rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood.
Occasionally, they would also sell wild game and mushrooms to the restaurants and eateries in town.
But most of them still rely on their small plots of land to make a living.
Most of the time, they couldn't even afford to eat meat.
But this year is different.
Ever since Madam Lu came to Qing Shi Town, and a Lu Mansion was built there, everything has changed.
During their leisure time, villagers would go up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots, find mushrooms, and even send the wild game they hunted to Lu's house.
Hare, pheasant, fox, snake...
Lu Qingyao's eyebrows twitched.
They were all rejected.
What were once ordinary mountains and bamboo forests have suddenly become treasures for the villagers of Qinghe County.
The sky cleared after the rain.
This is the best time to harvest bamboo fungus.
Jiang Miaomiao dozed off on Aunt Xiuxiu's shoulder; she had gotten up too early and hadn't had enough sleep.
My mother and aunt were pacing at the door.
Waiting for someone.
After a while, Aunt Fu, the village chief's wife, and her daughter-in-law Cao Cao arrived as promised with the villagers.
"Aunt Fu, why are there only a few people?"
Lu Qingyao looked at the villagers behind them.
Taoxi Village has sixty households, but only a dozen or so people came.
Aunt Fu didn't know how to start the conversation.
She and her daughter-in-law went from house to house calling for help, but many families had either gone up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots or pick mushrooms.
Nobody wants to come.
Seeing that her mother-in-law remained silent, Cao Cao replied to Lu Qingyao.
"Second Sister-in-law, the villagers all say that bamboo fungus is inedible, and that picking bamboo fungus is less strenuous than digging bamboo shoots or gathering mushrooms, so no one wants to learn it..."
That being said.
But everyone knew perfectly well that they just wanted to know how much Lu Qingyao wanted to pay for the bamboo fungus.
More than a dozen people's eyes were all on her face.
Lu Qingyao chuckled. These villagers really are...
"Alright! They can come with me. The bamboo fungus they pick that meets the quality requirements will cost two hundred copper coins per pound..."
The crowd gasped in surprise, their eyes lighting up.
"Two hundred coins, that's so high!"
Liu Yuniang was stunned for a moment, then quickly pulled Lu Qingyao aside and whispered in her ear, "Sister-in-law, isn't two hundred coins a catty too high? It's almost as expensive as matsutake mushrooms!"
Lu Qingyao replied, "It's not tall, sister-in-law. These things aren't easy to pick."
Liu Yuniang asked in confusion, "But if you pick them and then roast them over charcoal, they'll shrink to almost nothing. Isn't that good?"
She believed that Lu Qingyao could sell it, and she had even tasted the bamboo fungus that Xiuxiu had brought, but the price was still a bit too high.
Fresh ones cost two hundred coins a pound, so dried ones would probably sell for one tael of silver...
Too expensive!!
What kind of family could afford to eat this?
Jiang Miaomiao felt that her mother had accepted too little.
In ancient times, bamboo fungus was scarce, difficult to harvest and dry, and grew in a special environment.
It was shrouded in mystery.
In addition, it has a unique and rare taste, as well as medicinal value.
The price should be inflated; if it's sold cheaply, people will complain that it's not good enough.
Things are rare.
Only in this way can one catch the eye of those princes and nobles.
If it becomes a tribute item, that would be even more extraordinary!!
Lu Qingyao didn't know how to explain to Liu Yuniang, so she just said, "Sister-in-law, this bamboo fungus has its own reasons for being expensive. I'll tell you about it later."
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Liu Yuniang had no choice but to give up.
Now her younger brother and sister-in-law run the workshop, and she gives them a share of the profits from selling fresh bamboo shoots every six months, which makes her very content.
Although the bamboo fungus wasn't her money, she still felt bad for her younger brother and sister-in-law.
She saw that every penny was hard-earned.
Someone in the crowd asked, "Master Lu, is that bamboo fungus really two hundred coins a catty?"
"It's two hundred coins, but I have to make this clear from the start: there are specific techniques for harvesting bamboo fungus. Only those that meet the requirements are worth two hundred coins per pound. We won't accept any others, not even at a low price," Lu Qingyao said solemnly.
"What are the requirements?"
"You'll find out when you get there; I'll teach you."
Several of them wanted to turn back and call their families after hearing this, but Lu Qingyao stopped them.
"It will be too late for you to go back now. Let's do it another day, or you can teach others after you've learned it. We're leaving now, and you must be back in Qing Shi Town before noon. Don't be greedy, don't try to do too much..."
I'm afraid they'll try to pick up the sesame seeds while also wanting the watermelon, and end up with nothing.
Although no one understood the meaning behind her words, they still responded in unison.
After all, bamboo fungus cost two hundred coins per pound, and people had to take you there to pick it.
Such a good thing is something I couldn't ask for more.
that's it.
The villagers of Qinghe County have gained another way to make money.
Selling bamboo fungus.
One spreads to ten, ten spreads to a hundred, a hundred spreads to a thousand...
early morning.
The sky is bright.
At the entrance of Luhua Village, the Chu family residence.
Jiang Yunyan got up and went to the outhouse.
She heard people passing by her house, and it sounded like there were quite a few of them.
He opened the door and called out to one of them, "Auntie, what are you doing up so early?"
“Yu-ge’s mother, don’t you know? There’s a kind of mushroom called bamboo fungus in the bamboo forest behind our village. The Lu family in town sells it for two hundred coins a pound! I have to hurry, or someone else will have picked it all…”
"Why is her aunt in such a hurry? Tell me what bamboo fungus looks like. There's such a big bamboo forest, that thing won't run away." Jiang Yunyan pulled her aside.
"Why wouldn't it run away? If you go too late, it'll be gone..."
The woman finished speaking and left in a hurry, not wanting to waste any more time with her.
The Chu family used to be a wealthy family, but after the father died, the children and grandchildren became lazy and indulged in eating and drinking.
People are getting lazier and poorer these days.
Instead of thinking about how to make money, they stay at home every day.
They didn't even know about this good news.
By the time the family realized what was happening, all the money had been made by someone else!
Jiang Yunyan was overjoyed and quickly ran back to wake her husband up.
There's a large patch of bamboo on the hill behind his house, planted by his father-in-law when he was still alive. There must be bamboo fungus in there, as that person mentioned.
Two hundred coins! That's enough for his family to eat meat for several meals!
"Husband, get up quickly, there's money in the bamboo forest behind our mountain..."
Chu Yu, who had been snoring, sat bolt upright upon hearing this, his eyes gleaming. "Where? Where is there any money?"
Jiang Yunyan knew that mentioning money would definitely wake her up, so she didn't keep her in suspense any longer.
There's a treasure in the hill behind our house!
Upon hearing this, Chu Yu lay back down to sleep. "What treasure? It's just bamboo shoots. I've already inquired; they're only sixteen coins a pound right now. I'm not going..."
“My lord, listen to me, it’s not bamboo shoots, it’s bamboo fungus. The villagers all pick it and sell it to the Lu family in town. It’s two hundred coins a catty. It grows in the bamboo forest. You should quickly find someone to ask about it.”
Chu Yu became interested upon hearing this, and went out after putting on his shoes and socks.
The family is now struggling financially. Last time I went to Jiang Yunhu's house, I didn't get anything good and even lost a pair of geese.
I'll go take a look while I'm at it.
I heard that my niece and sister-in-law both have jobs in the Lu family.
Maybe I can get some benefits from it.
Lu family...
I vaguely remember that Jiang Yunze's wife also had the surname Lu.
Could it just be Lu?
Chu Yu quickened his pace as he thought about it...