Chapter 427 - 371: Medicinal Herb Garden
Chapter 427: Chapter 371: Medicinal Herb Garden
The herb garden now had over ten mu of herbs ready for harvesting. The contracted herb merchant was due to arrive in three days to haul the herbs away. Over the last two days, Grandpa had hired about a dozen people from the village to help with the harvest. They were paid daily wages and given two meals, as everything had to be harvested before the merchant showed up.
On the southeastern slope, a large, four-room building had been constructed. It had a waist-high foundation of bluestone, with walls of old-kiln red brick built on top. Stepping inside, she saw that a second-story loft had indeed been built with thick wooden planks. The ground floor was paved entirely with blue bricks and was immaculately clean and orderly. Xiao Man couldn’t help but marvel, ’Grandpa’s temporary herb storage warehouse is even better than the Sun Family’s herb warehouse I saw back in Wancheng.’
Xiao Man helped Xinghua set out breakfast on the stone table under the osmanthus tree by the door. Grandma took Dapeng and Qiuyan to call the others back to eat. A short while later, they saw Mo Jiabao and Tang Qingyun walking out from the woods. Soon, two figures shot past them like the wind, chasing each other and laughing as they ran closer. It was Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin. Seeing the two of them joking around, even splashing each other and getting their clothes half-soaked while washing their hands, Xiao Man was left speechless. ’These two are definitely not the same ones from my past life! Where is your cool, aloof indifference? Your mature, frosty demeanor? When did you become like this? Is your whole personality changing? Please don’t... this is just too weird!’
Grandpa had gone to the village to see Secretary Mo about something and hadn’t returned. Grandma had Xinghua set aside a portion of breakfast for him. Yu Wumei didn’t eat there; after washing her hands, she headed home. With the hired hands coming to work soon—for whom she had to prepare lunch and dinner—and the pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese at home, she had more than enough to keep her busy.
After they finished breakfast and cleared the dishes, Xiao Man, accompanied by Xinghua, strolled around the entire garden. They looked over the vast stretches of herb beds, then wandered to the grove of mixed trees on the back hill. She discovered that the grove was enclosed by a tall, woven bamboo fence. From a distance, it looked just like the "Bird’s Nest" stadium from the future Beijing. As for the peach and plum trees she had planted next to the grove, their branches and leaves were lush, but there wasn’t a single fruit on them.
Xiao Man wasn’t surprised. Even though they were grafted fruit trees, they usually couldn’t bear fruit in their first year.
But Xinghua said, "The peach and plum trees did bear fruit this spring. They were all eaten by greedy pheasants that flew up into the trees to peck at them."
"Where did the pheasants come from?" Xiao Man asked.
Xinghua pointed to the "Bird’s Nest." "They’re penned up in that grove. Two big pheasants and their brood of chicks. My dad caught the big ones in the mountains last fall. He kept them in a cage for over two months before letting them out. They didn’t run away; they even laid eggs and hatched chicks. We originally let them roam free, but who knew they’d be so destructive? They pecked and ate any fruit they saw, so Grandpa and my dad had no choice but to fence them and their whole family inside the grove."
Xiao Man walked over and peered through a gap in the bamboo slats. She saw a large pheasant perched on a branch, its long, graceful tail dazzlingly colorful and beautiful. She couldn’t help but say joyfully, "It’s gorgeous! Can we take them to the market and see if anyone will buy them? If so, we should raise more. This could be a way to get rich!"
Xinghua laughed. "No need to ask at the market! The boss who comes to collect the herbs has already claimed them all. He told us to just focus on raising them, and he’ll buy as many as we can produce. He even went out of his way to find and bring us information on how to raise pheasants. Grandpa is planning to buy a batch of wire fencing to build a bigger enclosure for them. He also mentioned it to Secretary Mo, so anyone in the village who wants to raise them can do so. After all, there’s a guaranteed buyer."
Xiao Man nodded. Pheasants weren’t just ornamental birds; they were also a nutritious mountain delicacy. Raising them was definitely a great way to make money.
The two of them continued to wander around the mountain, inspecting the various herb beds before heading to the fields being harvested to help pull herbs for a while. Seeing the sun climb high and the heat become scorching, Mo Jiabao worried that Xiao Man wouldn’t be able to bear it and told them to go home and help with lunch. So, Xinghua pulled Xiao Man away.
Xiao Man looked around but didn’t see Tang Qingyun, Tang Haocheng, or Gu Shaoqin. She walked over to the herb warehouse and saw Qiuyan playing hopscotch with two other little girls on the large drying platform. She went up and asked her where the others had gone.
Qiuyan replied, "Grandma went home to help my mom with lunch. Mr. Mo called Uncle Tang away. Brother Haocheng and Brother Shaoyan, and Brother Dazhi, they all went with Brother Zhiyuan and his group to play in the stream at Monkey Ridge."
"The stream at Monkey Ridge? Doesn’t that mean going all the way to Qingniu Mountain? What’s so fun about being deep in an old forest?"
Xiao Man knew the place. It was a stream that never ran dry, its water cool, clear, and sweet. Its source was at the top of Qingniu Mountain, so it could be called authentic mountain spring water. A thought suddenly struck her. ’That spring water really is exceptional. Bottled drinking water became popular in the nineties; maybe in my past life, someone got rich off that deep-mountain spring.’
The little girl playing with Qiuyan added, "They brought tire inner tubes to swim with. They said they’re going to play in the water and catch fish to roast and eat. There’s a type of silverfish in the Monkey Ridge stream that’s incredibly delicious. My brother caught two last time, and when we cooked them, even just the soup was sweet. So good!"
Xiao Man was speechless.
She had a feeling she’d really led those two astray in this lifetime. ’Not only have their whole demeanors changed, but their inner foodie has been awakened too...’
As Xiao Man and Xinghua reached the gate at the foot of the slope, they saw that the sheet metal gate was closed. There were people shouting and arguing outside. After listening for a moment, Xiao Man could tell it was Mo Chengfu, and the ones arguing with him were Mo Guoqiang’s younger brother, Mo Laoer, and Second Aunt Mo.
Xiao Man and Xinghua pulled open the gate and walked out. Mo Laoer and Second Aunt Mo immediately abandoned Mo Chengfu and swarmed over, their children in tow. Second Aunt Mo had lost a lot of weight and no longer had her formerly plump, well-fed appearance. In contrast, the little girl of about three she was holding by the hand was quite chubby. The two boys trailing behind the couple were rail-thin, which only made them seem much taller.
Second Aunt Mo’s gaze swept over Xiao Man, filled with venom. It was a look so hateful it was as if she wanted to carve off a piece of Xiao Man’s flesh. Of course, Xiao Man knew why she hated her. Mo Xiaosu was still locked up in juvenile detention. In their minds, a stint in juvie meant your life was over, your future ruined. ’But can I be blamed for that? People have to face the consequences for their own evil deeds.’
Mo Laoer let out a dry laugh. "Xiao Man, you got back yesterday, right? Your aunt and I have been busy with work, so we haven’t had a chance to come see you. When we’re free, come over to our little courtyard and play with your cousins. We’ll have your aunt make you something delicious."
Second Aunt Mo spat. "An ungrateful wretch! If I had good food, I’d rather feed it to the pigs and dogs!"
Xiao Man sneered. "I’m afraid even the pigs and dogs wouldn’t want it. You should save it. It would be better to give it to a convict!"
Second Aunt Mo’s face twisted. "You little..."
In her agitation, she unconsciously tightened her grip, hurting the little girl she was holding. The child burst into loud wails.
Xinghua frowned. "What do you think you’re doing? If you want to cry and cause a scene, go back to your own home to do it. Stop blocking the path!"