Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Chapter 557 What's in that piece of land?

Zhou Dacang said angrily, "You don't know anything! You are the eldest brother. You have to help more when I am not at home. You let her run around and do such a big thing. She is just a little old. Aren't you afraid that she won't grow if you worry too much? Now there are so many more mouths to feed at home. If the little flower mushrooms don't grow, and if the things in that field don't grow, then such a big family will have nothing to eat?"

Zhou Gu touched his head and said, "But uncle, I can't do what Guoguo does. None of us can do it. Just take the fermentation of fertilizer as an example. We have never heard of it. If it's your turn, can you do it?"

Zhou Dacang: "...You blockhead, if you don't know, then you won't ask. Is that thing under the nostrils only used for eating?"

Zhou Gu looked innocent.

Zhou Dacang looked at him, thinking that he had been like this since he was a child, and waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. I won't make it difficult for you. Just do what you need to do."

But I still feel a little sorry for Zhou Guo. Such a little guy, having to feed so many mouths, I wonder if it’s a heavy burden?

When Zhou Guo heard that she had come to the mountain, he came over as soon as he put down the wood. He saw the two of them sitting on the ground to rest from a distance and shouted, "Uncle, uncle, why are you running here instead of resting at home?"

Zhou Dacang saw her body and head covered with dead branches and leaves, and she picked them up carefully one by one. He smiled and said, "Where have you been? I looked around but couldn't find you."

Zhou Guo said, "I went to the mountains to look for wood that can grow flower mushrooms. This is not enough. I want to put wood all over the mountain. Next year or the year after next, the mountain will be full of flower mushrooms. By then, our family will be rich."

Zhou Dacang laughed and said, "That's incredible. Earning five or six thousand taels of silver in a quarter is not considered rich, right?"

Zhou Guo patted the dust off his body and said, "That's different. Although pine mushrooms are not available everywhere, if they are available here, they will be available in other places too. Maybe next year or the year after, someone will start selling them on the street. By then, we won't be the only one selling them. It's not certain how long we can make this money. But flower mushrooms are different. We grow them ourselves, and we are the only one that can supply them continuously. No one can share this profit with me. I can sell them at any price I want."

When Zhou Dacang heard her talking about these things, her whole body seemed to be glowing, and he couldn't help but look at Zhou Gu beside him. The child seemed to be enjoying it very much.

Zhou Gu looked puzzled, not knowing why he was looking at him.

Zhou Dacang turned around and pointed at another mountain, saying, "What are you going to plant with the soil you dug out from the forest? I heard that you and your husband are the only ones in your family who know what's in it, and no one else knows what's in it?"

Zhou Guo glanced at Zhou Gu and said with a smile, "I haven't grown them yet. I thought I'd give them a surprise after I grow them. If I can't grow them, wouldn't it be a waste of hope?"

Zhou Dacang said, "I can't wait until your stuff is grown. I have to go back to the camp as soon as my injury heals. It will probably take another year or two for me to come back. You'd better tell me, otherwise I will always be worried about it. And I believe in you. You can ferment fertilizer, so you will be able to grow what you want sooner or later."

Zhou Guo thought so too. Others could wait, but his uncle couldn't. He said, "Well, what's planted in the soil is nothing but goat mushrooms."

"Sheep mushroom?" Zhou Dacang was fine, but Zhou Gu next to him jumped up and asked, "Sheep mushrooms can be grown?"

Zhou Dacang said to him, "If we can grow small flower mushrooms, why can't we grow sheep mushrooms?"

After that, he said to Zhou Guo: "Why don't you try to grow pine mushrooms? Matsutake mushrooms are so expensive!"

Zhou Guo had never thought about this. This thing had not been grown in her previous life, so it would be even more impossible for her to grow it now. It would be like a blind man touching an elephant. She might have to work on it for the rest of her life. It's not like she has nothing to do.

Shaking his head, "Forget it, this money is too hard to earn. There are so many people coming down from the mountains every year, we should let the villagers earn some money too. We can't make all the money, right?"

Zhou Dacang mercilessly exposed him, "You can grow sheep mushrooms, but you can't grow pine mushrooms?"

Zhou Guo sighed and said, "If I can grow sheep mushrooms and small flower mushrooms, I will make a lot of money, and I will have no worries about food and drink. Why should I bother with pine mushrooms? It took me two years to ferment the fertilizer, and it took almost two years for small flower mushrooms and sheep mushrooms. It has taken me four years. Pine mushrooms will be even more difficult to grow. It may take five to ten years, and I may not be able to grow them. Anyway, there is no shortage of these things. I might as well do something else with that time."

Zhou Dacang said with a smile: "Aren't there plenty of small flower mushrooms and sheep mushrooms in the mountains?"

Zhou Guo shook his head, "It's different, uncle. Flower mushrooms and goat mushrooms are small. There aren't many of them in the mountains. The year when they grew the most, we could fill a large and small basket every day. This year, there are much fewer, and next year, there may be even fewer. We want to sell them to restaurants, but they think the yield is too low and they can't supply them for a few days, so they're not even worth it. Matsutake mushrooms are different. A few of them make up a pound. Although there are more in good years and fewer in bad years, they're not that few, so overall, the amount we bring down from the mountain is still quite good."

Zhou Gu said: "Yes, in fact, it's not much this year, but it's longer than last year, plus it's more expensive than last year, so I made almost half more than last year."

Zhou Dacang understood and said, "I don't understand these either, but if these things can make a lot of money continuously, I'm afraid they will attract attention."

I was worried. They had no power or influence, so how could they fight against others?

Zhou Guo put his hands on his hips and said, "I'm not afraid. It will take at least two years for these things of mine to reach scale. By that time, you, my uncle, will probably be a general. We have a backer!"

"That's right!" Zhou Gu nodded repeatedly. With a backer, what else did they fear? Their uncle was a great general! !

Zhou Dacang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "How can I become a general in two years? Those generals are all in their thirties or forties. Even if they become generals, they can only be guerrilla generals. How can a young general like me be worthy of their attention?"

Zhou Guo said, "Why can't I watch it? Now is a chaotic time, civil officials are not good enough, generals are popular. Uncle, you work hard in the army, and we will work hard at home. When you are promoted to a high-ranking official in the future, even if a superior officer values ​​you and wants to marry his daughter to you, our family can afford it and will definitely not let you suffer."

Zhou Gu nodded again.

Zhou Dacang said with a smile: "Then I will wait. The money for my wife-marriage still needs to be earned by my nieces and nephews. I can't earn it back by myself."

The three of them talked for a while and then went back. Zhou Dacang’s injury has not healed yet and he can’t stay in the mountains for too long.

Three days later, the first snow of the year finally fell.

Overnight, the yard was covered with a snow mat half a palm thick.