Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 103 Selling Goods in Yingkou
"Shaoyang, is Shaoyang at home?" Just as I put the crib in place, I heard someone calling me from outside.

Qu Shaoyang came out of the house and looked outside. It turned out to be the third and fourth sons of the Zhou family.

"Chuanyong, Chuanzhi, you two are here, why don't you come into the house?"

Qu Shaoyang waved at the dogs, telling them to stop barking, and then invited the Zhou brothers in.

"No, no, we just came to see you for something.

Isn't this the Red Hammer City? Someone in the village organized a group to go into the mountains to release the beasts, but they were short of one person.

We want to ask you, will you join us?"

To go into the mountains and look for wild ginseng is to dig for ginseng.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court ordered the closure of Changbai Mountain in order to protect the dragon's birthplace from being destroyed. Ordinary people, especially Han people, were not allowed to enter.

At the same time, the imperial court established the Dasheng Ula General Administration Office in the Ula Kingdom, one of the four Hulun tribes, and had "ginseng miners" (also called "paofu") who specialized in digging ginseng.

When the season arrives every year, the ban is lifted and ginseng growers holding ginseng tickets enter the Changbai Mountain area to pick ginseng.

Over time, people called this activity "Fangshan".

As for the red hammer market, it means that the ginseng seeds turn red. At this time, ginseng is most conspicuous and easiest to find.

Most people who go into the mountains for free will choose to go into the mountains during this season.

Only the old mountain dogs that live in the mountains all year round will let their cats roam free all year round.

There are many rules for releasing animals into the mountains, one of which is to go out in odd numbers and return in even numbers.

What this means is that the ginseng gang usually regards ginseng as a person. The number of people going into the mountains is an odd number, and bringing back ginseng is considered an even number, which means good luck.

Sometimes, there are not enough people to go in, so people would rather go into the mountains alone, with a stick. It is rare for two people to go into the mountains together.

This is mainly for self-protection. If two people go into the mountains and encounter a big cargo, if one of them becomes greedy, wouldn’t the other person be in danger?
Therefore, it is actually against the rules for two people like Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan to go into the mountains.

Of course, they didn't do it to release the animals, it was just a coincidence.

When they arrived at Honglangtou City, the people in the village gathered together.

Find someone older and more experienced to be your leader and go into the mountains together, hoping to gain something.

But after counting over and over, everyone found that they were all even numbers. It would be bad to not let anyone go, so they had to add one more person.

After much deliberation, the Zhou Chuanyong brothers finally decided to find Qu Shaoyang and ask him if he wanted to go.

Qu Shaoyang was stunned when he heard this, and then he remembered what his master once said, that a person's wealth and destiny are fixed.

They have already gone into the mountains and taken so many mallets this year, so they can't be greedy anymore.

There is also a saying in the Gang, if you gain something the first time you go into the mountains, you cannot go back to the mountains again after you come down.

If there is no gain, you can go into the mountains a second or even a third time, there is nothing wrong with that.

"Chuanyong, I won't go into the mountains with you. I have important things to do these days, so I have to go out."

Qu Shaoyang did not hesitate and directly rejected Zhou Chuanyong's invitation.

Zhou Chuanyong didn't expect Qu Shaoyang to refuse so straightforwardly, and asked in confusion.

"What's going on? It's so important that you don't even want to make money?"

"Oh, Shaoyang is going to Yingkou and Jinzhou to recruit some land reclamation workers.

We have bought a large piece of wasteland, so we need to find someone to open it up quickly so as not to delay the planting next year."

At this time, Liu Dongshan also came out of the house. Hearing Zhou Chuanyong's question, Liu Dongshan hurriedly spoke.

"If we go to recruit people now, we will have to build houses when we come back, and it will be just right to open up the wasteland in autumn. So, we don't have time to release the people in the mountains."

The time spent in the mountains to clear the mountains is quite long, at least half a month, at most a month, and it is still uncertain whether there will be any harvest. How can Qu Shaoyang and his team afford to waste time?
Besides, they have already reaped a lot this year, so there is no need to get involved with these people.

The Zhou family's hundreds of acres of land were dug out by Old Zhou and his four sons with pickaxes one by one. It took several years.

So when Zhou Chuanyong heard what Liu Dongshan said, he was stunned for a moment, "Oh, you don't want to reclaim the land yourself?"

When everyone knew that Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang bought four or five hundred acres of wasteland, some people laughed at them behind their backs.

It is said that these two guys are old hands and know nothing about farm work.

How many years will it take to reclaim 400-500 mu of land? It's a waste of money.

It would be better to start with ten or eight acres, and then purchase it bit by bit.

Unexpectedly, they had no intention of reclaiming the land themselves, they wanted to become local residents.

"Uncle, Shaoyang, you guys go ahead and do your work. We'll be leaving first. If you need any work at home, let me know."

Since the other person has other things to do, they should stop wasting time here and go find someone else.

After the Zhou brothers left, Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang also began to pack up and prepare to leave for Yingkou.

They brought out a total of thirteen ginseng seedlings from Xiaodonggou, seven of which were grade five ginseng seedlings with leaves of varying sizes, but of acceptable quality.

In addition, the six seedlings and six grades of leaves are amazing. They are all very old and large goods. The largest seedling among them weighs eight taels.

As the old saying goes, seven taels is ginseng, and eight taels is treasure. That is a real treasure.

Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang discussed and decided to keep the heaviest seedling for the time being.

This thing can be stored for many years, so if there is any shortcoming in the future, it can be used as an emergency.

Then keep the two best ones among the seedlings. Wild ginseng is a good thing for restoring yang and replenishing vital energy.

When living at home, no one can say what might happen. Leaving two ginseng seedlings at home can save lives at critical moments.

For the rest, I made ginseng buns and packed them in two torn sacks.

Early in the morning of July 16, the master and his disciple set out from Maoer Mountain to Yingkou, carrying guns, riding horses, and taking dry food and water.

We walked during the day and slept at night, getting up early and going to bed late, and finally arrived at the destination after five days.

This time they brought so much ginseng that they naturally didn't dare to just find a place to stay, so they found a big inn to settle down.

The next morning, the master and his disciple changed into tattered clothes, took the torn sack filled with ginseng, and went straight to the medicine store.

The last time he sold the copper gall, the seller gave him a good price, so this time, Qu Shaoyang plans to give it another try.

It would be best if he could establish a relationship with the person in charge. In the future, Qu Shaoyang could collect all kinds of medicinal materials from Tadian, Maoershan, Dianzi Street and other places and send them here.

If he develops well in the future, maybe he can open a ginseng and antler store or a warehouse here.

Hunting is not allowed this season and the release of livestock has just begun, so there are not as many people in front of the drug store's receiving counter as last year.

When the clerk in the medicine store saw two people, an old man and a young boy, coming in with dishevelled hair and tattered clothes, he knew that they must be the gang members who had been released from the mountains.

The guy was quite puzzled. In previous years, it was not until November that the gang members could come to sell goods. Why did these two come so early?

Of course, as soon as they entered the door they were guests, so the waiter didn't say anything and greeted them warmly.

"Gentlemen, do you have any mountain products to sell?

Our Baoshengtang has fair prices and is honest and fair. We will give you a satisfactory price for any product. "

(End of this chapter)