Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were the happiest about Erniu's return. When they heard the announcement coming from outside, they ran out hand in hand. When they reached the gate of the outermost courtyard, Erniu was surrounded by people.
The curious villagers kept asking Erniu where the three of them went. What was so strange about them? When Erniu left, other than a few people in Zhuangzi, no one else knew.
Erniu, who was anxious to see the Little Lord, didn't say anything. He walked faster and faster until he reached the gate of the main house. When he saw the Little Lord and Cuckoo coming out to greet him, he shouted again, "Little Lord, I'm back. I …"
"It's good that you're back. Don't say anything. Come in and rest. Zhang Xiaowu and Zhang Xiaoliu, don't stand outside. Get someone to help unload the things in the carriage. Just pile them up at the gate."
Zhang Xiaobao saw that Erniu was so excited that he couldn't control his mouth. He was afraid that he would say something, so he quickly interrupted him and called him and the other two people to the courtyard.
When the villagers saw that they had gone in, they did not disturb them. They turned around and helped to unload the stones from the cart. As they unloaded, they pondered. It seemed that Er Niu had been arranged by the master to do something. Why did he come back with so many stones? These stones didn't look good. They couldn't be used to build a house.
Erniu didn't feel tired now. He stood in front of Zhang Xiaobao and asked excitedly, "Little Lord, did you see that? I brought back the stones you wanted. Those are all stones. Little Lord, what do you want those stones for?"
"Good, good job. Erniu, did you tell anyone about this?" Zhang Xiaobao had seen the stone just now, and it was indeed a Wheat Rice Stone. He was finally relieved. This year's production should be able to increase by a lot. He was also worried that this matter would be accidentally leaked by Er Niu and the other two, so he asked while looking at the other two.
Er Niu shook his head and took the water handed over by Shiliu. He raised his head and drank the water in the bowl. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and replied, "Young Master, don't worry. No one knows what the three of us want the stone for. We changed carriages several times along the way. The last carriage driver definitely doesn't know where the stone came from.
Also, Little Lord, we spent all the money this time, but we didn't spend any money on the stones. We can just pick the stones and save a lot. Little Lord, you and Cuckoo don't worry. We all know that Little Lord is going to use the stones for something big. We won't say anything, even if we die...
As Er Niu spoke, Zhang Xiaowu and Zhang Xiaoliu also nodded at the side. They felt that it was an honor to be able to keep a secret for the Young Master.
"Good, good. You haven't eaten yet, right? The cucumber seedlings have been plucked. There are only a few cucumbers left. They will go bad tomorrow or the day after. It's time to eat. You will know the use of the stones in the future. "
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the three people's travel-worn appearance and sighed in his heart. They were all useful people. He quickly arranged for them to eat.
When the three of them heard that there were still cucumbers to eat, their eyes lit up. There was nothing that made them miss more than the cucumbers from the farmstead in winter. Even though it was spring now, there were still not many vegetables to be had. On the contrary, the vegetables for the winter were almost finished.
Seeing that there were cucumbers to eat, Erniu suddenly thought of something. He reached into his chest and took out a paper bag. It was the size of a medium-sized bowl. He bent down and handed the paper bag to Zhang Xiaobao. He slowly opened the bag and revealed some gray things.
"Little Lord, I bought this wood ear over there. Coincidentally, a family was preparing to dry it outside and I saw it. I exchanged it with the salted cucumbers you brought for us to eat on the road. Three jars of salted cucumbers were exchanged for this little bit. After soaking it in water, there will be more."
As Erniu spoke, he licked his lips with his tongue. It was unknown whether it was because he was craving for the wood ear or because he didn't get to eat the salted cucumber.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at the wood ear in Erniu's hand and were stunned. He actually needed three jars of salted cucumbers to exchange for this little bit of wood ear? The salted cucumber was green and not brown. It was made last autumn.
As the two of them couldn't eat much food in the beginning, they didn't have many requirements for food. Now that they thought about it, they really hadn't eaten wood ear before. Using the wood ear to make a little braising sauce and putting some diced meat in it would make for a good tofu pudding.
"Erniu, were you cheated? Three jars of salted cucumbers in exchange for this little bit of food. You didn't eat it yourselves? All of them exchanged. "
The first thought that came to Wang Juan's mind was that the usually clever Erniu had also been cheated, so she asked.
Erniu, Zhang Xiaobao, and Pomegranate all stared blankly at Wang Juan. After a while, Erniu said,
"Little girl, if you and Little Young Master were to exchange, of course, it would be cheaper. But the three of us really don't have that ability. Fortunately, there aren't such green cucumbers in the current season. Otherwise, not to mention three jars, even if there were thirty jars, they wouldn't exchange."
"Huh? Is this wood ear really that expensive? "Wang Juan couldn't understand for a moment.
When Erniu and the other three heard this, they felt that Little Young Master and Little Girl really didn't understand this aspect. They thought that it was normal. After all, they were children.
This time, there was no need for Erniu to say anything. Pomegranate explained, "Little Young Master, Little Girl, wood ear isn't something that ordinary people can eat. The two of us didn't eat it during the New Year in Zhuangzi."
"Yes, they didn't eat it, they didn't eat it." Zhang Xiaobao affirmed this point. At the same time, he rolled his eyes.
Wang Juan's little mouth opened Weiwei. She looked at the wood ear in Erniu's hand and then looked at Zhang Xiaobao's expression. As if she had encountered something good, she smiled sweetly.
"It's good that you didn't eat it. Our family can't even eat it. Erniu, you guys have worked hard. Quickly go eat. Pomegranate, follow us in."
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan called Erniu and the other two to eat. They then led Pomegranate, who had a puzzled expression, into the innermost room.
"Do you know how to plant wood ear?" Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiaobao as soon as they entered the room.
"I have a general understanding of the situation, but the specific details are vague. I just need to try a few kinds of wood at the same time. After all, wood isn't valuable." Zhang Xiaobao appeared to have a well-thought-out plan.
"You know quite a lot." Wang Juan muttered.
"Of course. Don't you know what we do? Our profession doesn't require us to be skilled, but we need to know more." Zhang Xiaobao also muttered. He then called Pomegranate, who had just followed them in, to the front of him.
"Pomegranate, I have a very important task for you. Within a day, find the wood of the Linden tree and cut it into sawdust and wheat bran … Take these dried wood ear and use them. Soak them and put them to temperature. That's not the temperature. You estimate that it's slightly lower than the temperature of your body.
Use a tin bucket to steam the sawdust and wheat bran. When the soaked wood ear grows hair, you have to remove the hair. How to do it? I'll tell you. Put the hairy wood ear into a bag made of gauze and knead it with cold water. The water that comes out is what we need to use.
After you're done with this, you'll need to chisel small holes in the rest of the wood … As for the sterilization, you'll need to buy some lime, put some into a bowl, fill it with water, and use the water to brush the wood. That's about it, do you understand? "
Zhang Xiaobao tried hard to recall the things that he had occasionally glanced at in the past. He explained the content in a way that Pomegranate could understand. However, he ended up speaking incoherently.
Pomegranate listened carefully and repeated the general steps. Zhang Xiaobao explained in detail the parts that she didn't understand. Pomegranate finally understood how to do it.
However, she didn't know the purpose of her young master. "Young master, don't you want to eat the wood ear? Do you want to take it all for me? Why don't you leave some for the masters of the two families? "
"I can't bear to eat it. Where can I find it after eating it? It's so precious. Even my family, who is rich, can't eat it. If I eat a little now, it will be a little less. When the time comes, I don't know which method is better. What will I do if it's gone?" Zhang Xiaobao looked at the wood ear in his hand and felt that it wasn't grey. It was grey-white and golden.
"You can explain it to Pomegranate. Pomegranate, I'll tell you. If we follow Xiao Bao's method, we can grow our own wood ear. When we have enough, we can eat it however we want. We can't let others know about this." Wang Juan interrupted and explained to Pomegranate.
"Ah?" Pomegranate opened her mouth as wide as possible. She looked at the two young masters and the dried wood ear and nodded mechanically. Suddenly, she knelt on the ground and pointed one hand to the sky and the other hand to the ground.
"I, Pomegranate, swear that I will never let a fourth person know about this method except for the young master, the young lady, and myself. If I tell anyone, I will let the heavens strike me with lightning and turn me into ashes."
Before Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could react and help her, Pomegranate stood up and took the wood ear. She gasped for breath and turned around and ran away.
"We're rich, we're really rich this time. Xiao Bao, do you know how to grow mushrooms?" Wang Juan asked Xiaobao excitedly. She thought about how she and Zhang Xiaobao would have large plots of land in the future, and how many farmers would happily farm on those plots of land.
"More or less? Mushrooms can be eaten normally. There are many in the mountains and they aren't worth much. What's the point of growing them? "Zhang Xiaobao didn't care about the money. He had long been used to it.
"Not much. Most people pick mushrooms in the mountains and sell them. They don't eat much at home. Mushrooms are usually cooked with meat. If they want to eat a meal, it will take them ten days to half a month. Eating mushrooms is good for the body. If we make them for the farmers, they aren't worth much. We make baskets of them."
Wang Juan was determined to create a large and warm manor so that the farmers could grow healthily.
Zhang Xiaobao could only cooperate. With a stable background, they could avoid a lot of trouble. He nodded. "Okay, when the wood ear is successful, we will grow mushrooms. Pine mushrooms and hazel mushrooms don't seem to work. When the time comes, we will choose one. This one is more difficult than the wood ear."
"That's not urgent. We can wait a few days. Let's go and see how big our garlic sprouts are. If they are edible, we will make garlic soup for the farmers tonight."
Wang Juan didn't urge them for the time being. She remembered that a few days ago, a farmer sent some garlic sprouts for the master to eat. She and Zhang Xiaobao also made a lot. This thing was good and could be eaten several times. It tasted better than leeks.
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