The fierce peasant woman is busy farming

After lunch, continue working.

When it was almost dark, Master Zheng finally heard a low cry and dug it out.

Zhou Yue was stunned when he saw the ginseng that Master Zheng and his son had spread on a piece of red cloth.

There are only a few small leaves on the top, but there is actually such a big tree underneath.

Theoretically, ginseng can only grow six leaves at most, but that doesn't mean that wild ginseng with six leaves is older than one with four leaves.

Because there are too many accidents in the wild, wind, rain and wild beasts can disturb the fragile plants.

However, it is said to be big because the roots are very long, but its taproot is thinner than you might imagine.

I have seen the leaves a long time ago. Under the leaves, there is a section that looks like a stem and a root. Master Zheng said that it is called the reed head.

The small depressions on the top of the reed are called reed bowls.

A reed bowl represents the year of ginseng.

Below that is the taproot, which is densely packed with many wrinkles.

The more, finer and denser the wrinkles are, the older the ginseng is.

According to Master Zheng, this ginseng is quite old.

Master Zheng sorted out the roots with trembling hands while answering everyone's questions.

Everyone felt that today had really broadened their horizons and increased their knowledge.

Xuan Mo listened silently for a while, and then asked the question that everyone wanted to ask:

"Grandpa Zheng, if the ginseng is not tied with a red string, will it really run away?"

"Haha, ginseng can't run, but it can sleep."

Master Zheng's wrinkled face looks very similar to ginseng.

When he heard the child ask, his face smiled like a chrysanthemum.

Everyone is more interested, ginseng for sleeping?

How to sleep with ginseng?

"Haha, ginseng grows in the wild, and its leaves on the ground grow in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

This is also the reason why its reed head is formed, and a new reed head emerges every year.

The reed heads that fall off in autumn are called reed bowls.

Sometimes when a wild beast steps on it, or when the weather is bad, too dry or too wet, it will go into a deep sleep and refuse to show its head again.

This is what it means to have a good sleep.

This is also why everyone thinks ginseng will run away.

If you see it this year, you may not be able to see it again if you come back to see it.

That's because it's sleeping, not coming out, and resting its roots down there."

It turned out to be the case.

It seems that we still need to learn more wisdom from nature.

Lying down appropriately and at the right time is to accumulate strength for better growth in the coming year.

The ginseng was dug out and wrapped in a big red cloth. Master Zheng solemnly placed the ginseng in a long wooden box they brought.

The two masters used some cloth strips and soft branches to firmly secure the ginseng to the bottom of the box.

Then he closed the lid and carried it on his back.

Both father and son breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had accomplished something great and solemn.

The others all became serious.

"Master Zheng, the Queen Mother wants fresh ginseng. How do you preserve it so that it doesn't dry out or rot?"

Zhou Yue asked the key question.

“Well, I haven’t figured out a solution yet. The fresh herbs in the counter are all picked and sold right away.

If you can’t sell it, let it dry naturally after a few days, and then take it away. Dry it in the shade if it needs to be dried, or hang it in the sun if it needs to be dried.

Anyway, we collect fresh herbs every day, so the cycle will never be interrupted."

Hearing this, Zhou Yue's heart moved.

Master Zheng continued:

"This time is special after all, this ginseng needs to be delivered to the capital city fresh.

Although this place is not far from Beijing, if we set out tomorrow including today and ride on horseback all day, I'm afraid we won't be able to reach the city gate before dark.

Even if we get into the city gate before dark, Lord Song won't be able to be sent to the palace until the next day.

When it came into the hands of the Queen Mother, she had to prepare something before she could start if she wanted to use the fresh ginseng.

If you calculate it carefully, it will take at least two or three days at most.

Even though the weather is starting to get cooler now, it would be difficult to keep it fresh if it is kept in this box for two or three days.

Alas, it is not easy to do. I have never encountered such a situation before. "

Song Yuan had not thought of this before and was a little puzzled.

"It's getting dark, let's go home first. Sitting here and thinking about it may not give me an answer even if I rack my brains.

Get down the mountain quickly before it gets completely dark.

I thought about this while I was eating at home.

The world is big, but eating is the most important thing."

You’re right, let’s eat first. There’s no rush anyway.

The people on the cliff came down the ropes one after another, leading their donkeys and calling their dogs as they walked down the mountain.

On the way, Zhou Yue deliberately tried to get close to Master Zheng:

"Uncle Zheng, you said the medicinal herbs on our mountain are good, right?"

"Yes, I have been collecting herbs for decades, and it is indeed rare to see such quality."

Old Man Zheng was still immersed in the joy of digging ginseng and was completely defenseless against Zhou Yue.

"Then how much do you think this Astragalus and Codonopsis can sell for per kilogram if it is dried?"

"Well, in our store, the best quality Astragalus from Wuwei, Gansu, is sold for 100 coins..."

"Fifty cents? So expensive?" Zhou Yue exclaimed.

"One or two."

Zhou Yue knew that the Dahui dynasty was different from the dynasties in history that she knew.

Here one catty is ten taels, and one tael is ten coins.

One hundred coins buy one liang, which means one guan buys one jin.

Master Zheng was very satisfied with Zhou Yue’s reaction and said proudly: “Of course, I’m talking about the selling price, and it’s the Astragalus from Gansu.

The astragalus you have is of second-grade quality.

The purchase price in our store is even lower.

I think I can give about seventy cents.

I’m not sure.”

Master Zheng glanced at Song Yuan and said cautiously.

When purchasing medicinal materials from people introduced by Lord Song, the price needs to be determined by the boss himself.

Lord Song is the brother-in-law of his eldest daughter's husband, so naturally he has a lot of face.

He couldn't say exactly what the price would be.

"Oh, that's great. Once we dry the herbs, can we send them to you in the county?"

Zhou Yue struck while the iron was hot and asked further questions.

"Yes, yes. As for Mr. Song's relatives, it's easy to talk to them. Everything is easy to talk to them."

"Then thank you, Uncle Zheng.

By the way, what about wild ones? "

“Wild ginseng is also good, I can give you fifty coins per ounce.

These all need to be dried in the sun, and the wet ones need to be scaled.

One more thing, I have to remind you that the herbs you dug out today are quite old. "

Zhou Yue listened attentively. This old pharmacist was very knowledgeable about medicinal materials.

They can definitely tell the age and quality of the herbs.

Seeing Zhou Yue's respectful attitude, Old Man Zheng was very satisfied and continued:

“For medicinal herbs with roots, everyone believes that the older they are, the better, right?

In fact, this is not the case. For example, astragalus and licorice have become hollow inside after being stored for too many years.

The longer this root grows, the more woody it becomes.

Finally it turned into firewood.

Look at this, it's a bit woody."

Master Zheng casually took out a piece of Astragalus from Zhou Yue's backpack and pointed at the circular hole on the cross section.

Then he put the piece of astragalus into his mouth, took a bite and started chewing.

After chewing for a while, he nodded and said:

“Well, although it’s a bit dry, it still tastes good and the meat is quite firm.

It also tastes sweet.

Good Astragalus, although it is a bit old.

But it grows in a good environment, with good soil, good sunlight, high terrain, and has never been flooded.

So it tastes good.

The flaws do not outweigh the merits, yes, yes."

Zhou Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yue calculated that the land on the top of the cliff was not big, and he estimated that the output of astragalus and wild ginseng would not be much.