My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 735

If we set aside the fish for now and just talk about growing vegetables, that's much easier.

Fresh, off-season vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers are quite popular and easy to sell, especially in winter.

Chen Ling is quite skilled at growing vegetables.

In the past two years, most of the greenhouses built here have been for mushroom cultivation.

This is much simpler than growing vegetables, and the cost is extremely low; you could say it costs almost nothing.

It only costs a little money for the bacterial strain.

The remaining mushroom bags were made from materials such as corn cobs, rice husks, or cottonseed husks.

After the stale, fermenting process, mushrooms can be grown.

A greenhouse the size of Wang Lixian's can be easily built by his family without much effort.

In the first year, I even asked Chen Ling and the others for help.

Once you get the hang of it, the whole family can do it. It's just filling mushroom bags, a job even a little kid can do.

Besides, their daughter and son-in-law both pitched in.

It requires minimal investment of manpower and resources, and it sells out quickly...

They can be sold immediately at the county town's morning market, so there's no need to worry about them becoming unsellable.

It's different when you grow other vegetables.

Watering, fertilizing, spraying pesticides, pest control...

There are so many things to worry about.

Although pests are less prevalent in winter, the greenhouse is warm, so diseases are still present.

Needless to say, greenhouse vegetables grown in this way will definitely be priced higher.

Compared to mushrooms, vegetables at such high prices won't sell in a small county town.

The quantity is too small. This area is not a vegetable base, and few people grow vegetables in greenhouses in winter, so no one comes specifically to collect them.

Of course.

There is a freight station with little sheep.

Neither Chen Ling nor Wang Lixian are afraid of this.

Chen Ling didn't think much about the vegetables either; he just kept the same three items he used to sell when he first started.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and chives.

In addition, plant some watermelons; greenhouse watermelons are popular even in winter.

On the contrary, mushrooms clash somewhat with vegetables.

The point of contention is that vegetables need sunlight, they need to be exposed to the sun on sunny days, and the more sunlight they get, the better they grow.

Mushrooms, on the other hand, are the opposite.

Mushrooms cannot tolerate strong sunlight. Although the greenhouse needs to be dried on sunny days, after the greenhouse is dried, you should quickly go in with a sprayer and spray the mushrooms.

the reason is simple.

After the greenhouse has been heated, the environment also needs to be sufficiently humid for the mushrooms to grow as quickly and well as possible.

This is why Wang Lixian divided his vegetables and mushrooms into two separate greenhouses.

Chen Ling built two, one large and one small, with the smaller one being able to grow mushrooms.

The large area covers a lot of land. After planting vegetables, ditches are dug to raise fish, and the place is also quite spacious.

"Master, Master, we've come to collect your eggs."

While Wang Lishan and his group were arguing with Chen Ling, Wu Lao and his two groups of men walked in carrying baskets.

Old Wu, who was leading the group, shouted "Master!"

This 'master' is none other than Chen Ling.

Chen Ling turned around and said helplessly, "Old Wu, can we stop joking around? It's just something that happened at the dinner table, you can't take it seriously. Besides, my medical theories are all half-baked. If you become my apprentice, you won't learn anything and you won't be able to improve your health."

Old Wu exclaimed, "Oh dear! I've lived to such an old age, I've seen all kinds of people, I'm very good at judging people. Master, do you think I don't know whether you have real skills or not?"
"So what if I'm a bit older? As the ancients said, 'There is no sequence to learning the Way; those who are enlightened are teachers.'"

Chen Ling was speechless.

Ultimately, it all comes down to his father-in-law.

Why are you talking nonsense to them when you have nothing better to do?

To be honest, some strange theories in traditional Chinese medicine, the more bizarre they seem, the more truthful they are sometimes.

The more intense the situation, the clearer Chen Ling remembered it; one could say he had a photographic memory, and didn't even need to take notes.

So when they followed He Jiawen to consult Chen Ling.

Chen Ling then briefly mentioned a few more points.

It's a level above He Jiawen's so-called 'Five Elements Theory'.

The concept of 'yin and yang' has been added, for example, 'yin has substance, yang has no form'.

In other words, what you can see on your body, such as skin, flesh, and hair, belongs to 'yin', while what you can't see is called 'yang'.

Based on this theory, Yin and Yang also flow in and out of each other, and are relative.

For example, sometimes, drinking too much water can cause symptoms of "internal heat".

For example, if you have a fever, no matter what the cause, eating meat the next day will definitely prolong the fever symptoms.

Many illnesses require eating and drinking less.

Or they might just serve simple, plain food.

To those who don't understand, this is utterly bizarre and absurd.

But Wu Lao and his ilk are not ordinary people. They have nothing to do after retirement, so they have a need for health preservation. Some of them have even personally experienced the symptoms that Chen Ling mentioned.

then……

Besides several people being greatly amazed, Chen Ling gained another devoted fan.

He wanted to become his disciple on the spot.

“Fugui, what are you afraid of? Old Wu is knowledgeable, not a stupid student… Ask Uncle Sangui, when they are carpenters, they take on older apprentices, they can scold and beat them as much as they want, sometimes these older apprentices learn things faster than the younger ones…”

Wang Lishan and the others watched with laughter, finding it amusing and making them feel proud.

"Yes, yes, I learn things quickly. Master, what books do you want to read that aren't available on the mainland? I'll find them for you when we get back. Your thesis is missing research materials, I'll find those for you too."

I will come to visit you during holidays and festivals in the future.

I have everything my young apprentices have.

Mr. Wu quickly raised his hand to indicate his presence, his face full of urgency, his actions just like those of a primary school student.

The group of people behind him didn't seem to be laughing at him.

On the contrary, some people are envious. For example, Xu Yingguang, who is involved in clubs, is both envious and conflicted.

He felt regretful. Why did he only say "swear brotherhood" and not "take on a master" when they were drinking that day?

Every single one of them is a fool.

A fool wouldn't have gotten to where he is today.

They have also witnessed the amazing effects of some of the remedies in the past few days.

Those prescriptions are more like methods of dietary therapy than prescriptions.

For example, what helped He Jiawen and the others regain their health was a simple breakfast of egg tea.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add salt, stir well, then pour boiling water over them to cook them, and finally add a few drops of sesame oil.

It sounds simple...

It is simple, yet there are complex aspects to it.

Simple egg tea is made by simply boiling an egg in hot water; this is meant to reduce internal heat and promote downward movement of the body.

But after adding salt and sesame oil, it becomes different.

Saltiness enters the kidneys, and fragrance awakens the spleen.

Drinking a bowl of this egg tea in the morning is an excellent way to awaken the internal organs and nourish the body.

Of course.

Just drinking this egg tea isn't enough; you need to digest it properly to get the maximum benefit.

In other words, after drinking egg tea, it needs to be converted into something the body needs.

Do your work when you need to, take a stroll when you need to, but you can't just lie around resting.

He Jiawen and his group stumbled upon this by accident.

When they first came here to photograph the red-crowned cranes, they had to get up early to stake out the location on the mountain. They didn't want to eat anything because they got up so early, and they didn't have time to make breakfast.

The old ladies in the village told them to boil a kettle of water and get up to make some eggs to drink.

They say this helps with hunger.

He Jiawen and his friends would have a bowl of soup every morning, with three or four local eggs in each bowl. After finishing their soup, they would head up the mountain.

This guy, climbing up and down every day, his blood and energy must be circulating properly.

They fully absorbed the delicious egg tea.

The more you take care of your health, the better it gets.

After hearing about it, Mr. Wu and his colleagues tried it for three days in a row.

Furthermore, based on He Jiawen's suggestion, they were asked to crack more eggs; three or four were too few, but five, six, seven, or eight would also work.

This way, you can replenish it quickly.

They did as instructed.

After drinking every day, he would stroll around, help Chen Ling with some chores, or go to the farm to collect eggs, or go for a walk in the mountains with He Jiawen and the others.

In short, there was also some exercise.

Then, I slept very well that night, felt energetic the next day, and got up early on the third day, feeling refreshed and full of energy.

In the past, I would feel sore all over every day when I couldn't walk properly.

Surprisingly, nothing's wrong now.

So when he saw the real results, it would be strange if Xu Yingguang didn't have any thoughts.

Didn't you see how determined Old Wu was to acknowledge Chen Ling as his master?

Xu Yingguang, having been involved in gangs for so long, is too concerned about his image, and there are some things he just can't say.

He stammered several times, his face turning red, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

He was also a veteran in the underworld.

If people find out that he took a young mainland Chinese man in his early twenties as his master, what will they think of him?

If his words have no effect, his children won't be able to get by in the future.

Fortunately, everyone was listening to Mr. Wu speak, and no one noticed him.

Chen Ling was amused by Old Wu's words and brought out stools for everyone: "Sit down, everyone. I just finished moving the bedroom, and there are still a bunch of doll toys that I haven't moved upstairs yet."

Then he said to Master Wu, "Master Wu, I have a female apprentice who wants to learn cooking from me. You can recognize me as your master. She has a very young senior sister above her."

Unexpectedly, when Old Wu heard this, he laughed heartily and said, "Sure, I have no problem with that. I'd also like to learn how to cook from my master."

“Okay, if you don’t mind, I certainly won’t mind either.” Chen Ling nodded with a smile.

"Oh, Master, don't talk like that. Just call me Shizhong."

Old Wu's real name is Wu Shizhong.

"No need, no need. You're so old. Let's stick to our own way. You call me Master, and I'll call you Grandpa." Chen Ling waved his hand.

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Xiao Chen, I have a question for you. Why are the eggs your chickens lay so big?"

Zheng Shaoqiu suddenly asked a question: "I heard from the villagers that the smaller the eggs, the better, because small eggs are more nutritious than large eggs."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling smiled and said to him, "It's because the chickens are different breeds and the methods of raising them are different."

In the countryside, people often say that fat chickens don't lay eggs. But look at the chickens I raise; they're all incredibly fat.

And it lays eggs so frequently.

Upon hearing that the chickens were of a different breed and raised differently, no one asked any further questions, assuming it was someone else's secret recipe.

Then I became curious again: why is it that 'a fat chicken doesn't lay eggs'?
Isn't it better to be as fat as possible?
"No, it's not that. Just like how being too fat can affect fertility, whether you're male or female, being too fat can lead to stagnation in the spleen and stomach. Using the Five Elements theory that you've been interested in lately, the spleen belongs to Earth. If the Earth element in the spleen is too excessive, it will excessively affect the Water element in the kidneys, since Earth controls Water."

If the reproductive function of the kidneys is affected, then the production of sperm and eggs will naturally be affected.

on the other hand.

When the spleen is excessive, it can also in turn harm the liver, causing stagnation of liver qi. This can affect a woman's menstruation and a man's erectile function and ability to stand up normally.

There's a crude saying that goes, "Whether you have bullets is a kidney problem, whether you can fire is a liver problem..."

"Look, even people are affected by weight gain, let alone chickens."

After Chen Ling finished speaking, he was about to continue, saying, "My chickens are a different breed; even if they get fat, it won't affect their egg production."

As it turned out, everyone was stunned.

Xu Yingguang's eyes lit up and his lips trembled.

Damn it, I want to become an apprentice too.

Nobody should stop us.