Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

Liu Xu was just about to take the two of them to the mushroom house when she saw Liu Changshun bringing Xing'er and Shuisheng into the yard.

"Uncle San, Xing'er, Brother Shuisheng, you are here!" Liu Xu greeted them with a smile. She guessed that her mother probably felt that they, an orphan and a widow, could not entertain Chang Yifei and Mu Lingxuan well, so she specially invited Liu Changshun's family.

"Well, I saw a carriage parked in front of your house, so Uncle San came in to take a look." Liu Changshun said nonsense with a gentle face. Then he said to Chang Yifei with surprise:

"So it's Mr. Chang San. My apologies."

"Uncle Liu, you are too polite. Didn't Uncle Chang write to me before? I was delayed by something a few days ago, and just rushed over today. I was in a hurry and didn't inform you in advance. I hope you don't blame me!" Chang Yifei and Liu Xu have been working together for a long time, so he naturally knew the relationship between the two families. Moreover, he also learned from Shopkeeper Chang that it was Liu Changshun who brought Liu Xu to sell snakes and ginseng that day.

"No, no! Who is this young man?" Liu Changshun looked at Mu Lingxuan in confusion.

"Oh, this is Song Xuan, Mr. Song, and I are good friends. Of course, he is now also friends with Sister Xuer." The surname Mu is too special. It is fine that Liu Xu is a friend acknowledged by Mu Lingxuan himself, but it is better for others not to know.

"Hello, Mr. Song!" Liu Changshun could tell that Mu Lingxuan was either rich or noble, but since he could be friends with Miss Xu, it must be a good thing.

Mu Lingxuan nodded. Liu Xu couldn't stand them standing here and being polite to each other, so she couldn't help but say:

"Hey, Uncle San, stop being polite. Come on, let's take them to see the fruits of our labor."

After that, he led the way to the mushroom house. Xing'er quickly followed her little sister, and the other four followed behind. The young man in black thought that there was no danger here, so he stayed where he was.

The temperature had already started to drop, so Liu Xu closed the door and only opened half of the window for ventilation. The utility room was only a dozen square meters, so when several people entered the room, it seemed a bit crowded.

"Dangdangdang, Third Brother Chang, look!" Liu Xu pointed at the mushroom bed beside her and smiled contentedly.

Today's mushrooms had not been picked yet, so when Chang Yifei entered the room, he saw three rows of two-foot-wide and more than ten feet long wooden frames in the room, with many fresh mushrooms growing in them, one by one or in clusters.

"Xu, Sister Xuer, have you succeeded in growing the mushrooms you mentioned before?" Chang Yifei asked with a look of surprise.

"Hahaha, isn't this obvious? Xing'er, Shuisheng and I have been tinkering with it for a long time, and finally it works. How is it, isn't it awesome!"

Liu Xu looked proud, Xing'er and Shuisheng also looked proud, and Liu Changshun looked relieved.

"Great, great!" Chang Yifei gave them a thumbs up.

Mu Lingxuan was a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask.

The room was too small, so they looked around and left, returning to the main room, where Liu Xu poured tea for them. Xing'er and Shuisheng felt uncomfortable seeing that they were going to talk, so they went back inside to look after the two little ones.

As soon as he sat down, Chang Yifei couldn't wait to ask:

"Sister Xuer, how much mushrooms do you produce every day?"

"Well, conditions are limited now. My third uncle's family and I can only pick about 30 kilograms a day for now." Liu Xu thought for a while and said, Liu Changshun did not speak.

"More than 30 kilograms..." Chang Yifei felt a little regretful, but he thought of something and looked at Liu Xu with shining eyes:

"When you said temporary, do you mean the production will increase?"

He was indeed a businessman and did not miss a single word.

"Yes, temporarily, because we built a new house at the foot of the mountain, and our family added about eight mushroom houses of this size."

"Eight, sixteen... In other words, the daily output can reach about 500 kilograms?" Chang Yifei could no longer suppress the joy on his face.

"Yes, but the winter production is still uncertain, but it should not be less than 300 kilograms." Liu Xu replied calmly.

"Sister Xu'er, you promised to sell it to Zuiyunxuan first. Is that still true?"

Damn, if this mushroom can be produced in winter, that would be great. Zuiyunxuan will be able to firmly establish itself as the leader in Yongshun Prefecture's catering industry.

"Brother Chang, have you forgotten that we are friends? As long as you can eat it, let alone priority, what's wrong with selling it all to you?" Liu Xu said playfully. The main reason was that she felt that if Zuiyunxuan could buy it all, they wouldn't have to bother looking for other buyers. It would save a lot of time and effort.

"How could we not eat it? There weren't enough to sell before! And it's hot, so fresh mushrooms are hard to transport. Except for this one in Yuyang Town, other places use dried mushrooms, and the supply is limited."

"Okay then! But the price of mushrooms in winter is different from that in summer!"

"Tell me"

"This cultivation technology is exclusive to me. It's no exaggeration to say that we're the only one in the whole Dongsheng. Moreover, in order to produce mushrooms better, we have specially built a fire wall to ensure the indoor temperature. All of these cost money. So, I plan to charge 280 wen per pound for fresh mushrooms and wen per pound for dried mushrooms." After Liu Xu finished speaking, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Hiss... this is double the price. We have been working together for such a long time, why don't you give me a friendly price?"

When Chang Yifei heard the price, he felt a little annoyed.

"Third brother Chang, let's be business people! Brothers should settle accounts clearly, don't you think? This is different from collecting wild fruits in the mountains. There are costs. Don't you think that in addition to the money for building the house, we have to burn a fire wall later, which will cost a lot of firewood. There are not many people in our two families, so we have to spend money to buy firewood, which is also a lot. And then my third uncle will have to deliver it every day. The weather is so cold, if he gets caught a cold...hiss, I didn't calculate this just now. No, I'm losing money at this price!" Liu Xu said with regret.

"Fresh mushrooms are 28 cents per pound, and dried mushrooms are 260 cents per pound. I don't need you to deliver them to me. I will send someone to get them. How about that?" Chang Yifei said while gritting his teeth.

"Well... in that case, then let's deal!" Liu Xu narrowed her eyes and smiled. In fact, the price in her mind was 25 wen per pound for fresh ones, and 220 wen per pound for dried ones, hahahaha.

Chang Yifei looked at her expression, what else did he not understand? This girl must have been fooling him just now. He felt a pang of pain in his heart, but a gentleman's word is as good as a horse, so he could only glare at Liu Xu fiercely.

Liu Xu smiled and poured him a cup of tea.

Liu Changshun also smiled and followed Xu Yatou. He just needed to be a background board.

Mu Lingxuan watched the whole thing and found this little girl even more interesting. However, he understood other things but still didn't quite understand this mushroom. Seeing that they had reached an agreement, he asked:

"Miss Liu, from what you said, this mushroom is used for cooking? But I seem to have heard that it is poisonous?"

"Hey, Mu... don't call me girl anymore, it sounds awkward. Call me Xu'er like Third Brother Chang, ok? I'll call you Brother Huaijin from now on."

Mu Lingxuan was stunned for a moment and nodded.

"Brother Huaijin, they are indeed used for cooking, and some mushrooms are indeed poisonous. However, I know which ones are not poisonous, so the ones I picked before and are growing now are all edible non-toxic mushrooms. Not only do they taste good, but they are also rich in nutrients!"

Liu Xu looked at him and explained with a smile, but was thinking in her heart: Oh, this little ice-faced boy has been here for such a long time, and except for the time when I gave him ginseng just now, this is the only time he has spoken such a long speech. And he looks so confused, so cute.

"I heard you say this thing can be dried? How long can it be preserved after drying? Can it be transported long distances?" Mu Lingxuan thought that in winter, the Mu family army rarely had any vegetables for several days. If there were this mushroom, could it improve the soldiers' food? And Liu Xu said that this is rich in nutrition, which probably means that it is good for the body. Thinking of this, his chest couldn't help but feel warm.

"Uh, yes!" Liu Xu blinked her eyes and figured it out in an instant. This guy is from the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion. Could he be trying to take the mushrooms to the military camp?

Don’t mention it, this was Mu Lingxuan’s idea.

"Then Liu... Sister Xu'er... can you increase your production? I also want to buy some. I don't want fresh ones, I just want dried mushrooms!"

O▽O Chang Yifei seemed to understand and was stunned:

So, Liu Xu is going to connect with the Mu Family Army? Oh my god, this is going to take off.

"Well, Brother Huai Jin, can you tell me first, how much you need per month? I need to consider whether I can supply it." Liu Xu thought for a while and asked with a frown.

Mu Lingxuan pondered for a moment:

"Two thousand kilograms a month. If that doesn't work, fifteen hundred kilograms will be fine!"

"Hiss" "Hiss" This time not only Chang Yifei, but also Liu Changshun and Liu Xu took a breath.

Ten kilograms of fresh mushrooms are dried to get one kilogram of dried mushrooms. Two thousand kilograms of dried mushrooms require 20,000 kilograms of fresh mushrooms. Spread out, it is about 600 to 700 kilograms of fresh mushrooms every day. Adding the amount Chang Yifei wants, at least 1,000 kilograms must be produced every day.

Her family and her uncle's family conservatively estimated that they could hold 600 kilograms a day. Even if they built another house, they would not have enough manpower.

The expression on Liu Xu's face changed from time to time. The others held their breath and concentrated without interrupting her thinking.

After a long while, her eyes lit up and she smiled and said:

"I can't reply to you for now. If you are not in a hurry, can you wait for two days? I will reply to you in two days."

Mu Lingxuan looked at her steadily, pursed his lips and said:

"I need to deliver the medicine back personally, but I'll leave Xuanyi here. He will stay in Zuiyunxuan for two days."

"to make!"

Liu Changshun looked at Liu Xu with some worry. Liu Xu nodded slightly at him and he didn't say anything.

After the matter was settled, Liu Xu thought that since they were guests from afar, she wanted to cook a few dishes for them herself. So she asked Liu Changshun to chat with the two of them for a while, and she went to the kitchen.

The two little ones were already awake. Xing'er was afraid that they would disturb everyone's conversation, so she and Shuisheng each picked up one and went to the yard to play.

Xu Ruolan and Chen Lan had already returned to the kitchen to pick and cut vegetables. Seeing Liu Xu coming in, Xu Ruolan asked:

"how's it going?"

"They didn't bully you, did they?" Chen Lan also asked worriedly. She knew that some rich young men had bad tempers and loved to bully the weak.

"Mom, Third Aunt, don't worry, it's okay! Moreover, our mushrooms are not only not having trouble selling, but are also in short supply." Xing'er told her that only she and her father knew about the old ginseng, so she didn't mention it and told her everything about the mushrooms just now.

After hearing this, both of them were excited.

Not to mention Mr. Song, just Mr. Chang San can earn seven or eight taels of silver a day, which is more than two hundred taels a month.

Seeing the two of them so happy, Liu Xu put aside other things for the time being and started to think seriously about lunch.

I don't know what they were talking about, but I heard hearty laughter and Hao Ge'er's screams from the yard.

An hour later, everyone sat in the main hall. There were no such things in the countryside, and Liu Xu was the master, so there were no separate tables. Xuanyi and Qingfeng were followers, but they would not sit at the same table with the master, so Liu Xu left food for them separately. The remaining table was just full for eight people.

Xu Ruolan also made up her mind. She went to the village to buy tofu and chicken from someone. On the way to Xing'er's house, she happened to meet someone who caught a fish in the river, so she bought one too. There was still pork at home, so Liu Xu made a braised pork, a sweet and sour fish, and a big bowl of minced meat and tofu soup. Thinking that Mu Lingxuan had never eaten mushrooms, she cut the chicken in half, cooked a mushroom soup with one half, and made a mushroom braised chicken with the other half. Then she fried a plate of it with batter and made a bowl of cold salad. Finally, she fried some garlic greens. The table was full.

Mu Lingxuan was very surprised when he saw it, and felt a little touched.

There was no wine at home, so everyone used tea instead. Xu Ruolan asked everyone to be polite, and then everyone started eating.

Except for the fish, Chang Yifei had seen all the other dishes, but he thought that the one cooked by Liu Xu tasted better.

As for Mu Lingxuan, forgive him for being surprised by what he has seen, but except for that plate of green vegetables, he has never seen these dishes before. He even thinks that plate of green vegetables tastes better than those he has eaten before.

So both the host and the guests were happy during the meal.

After dinner, Xu Ruolan and Chen Lan cleared the table. They chatted in the yard for a while before Chang Yifei and the other person said goodbye and left.

Before leaving, Mu Lingxuan reminded Liu Xu again to remember to go to Zuiyunxuan to find Xuanyi for a reply in two days. Liu Xu nodded in agreement, and after watching the few people drive away in the carriage, she returned to the yard.