Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

After seeing off Chang Yifei and others, Liu Xu returned to the main room.

Everyone from the two families, big and small, was waiting inside. After Liu Xu sat down and drank the water, Liu Changshun asked:

"Xu girl, Mr. Song's order is bigger than Zuiyunxuan's. Should we take it?"

"Uncle San, tell me what you think."

"It would be a shame if we don't accept it, but if we accept it, we will have to rebuild the mushroom house, and someone will have to guard the fire wall during winter. I'm afraid we won't have enough manpower."

Liu Changshun actually has another worry in his mind. It's okay in the winter, but when the weather gets warmer and there are more vegetables, the sales of mushrooms will definitely be affected. At that time, there will be so many mushrooms produced every day, and he will not know how to deal with them.

"Uncle San, our two families really can't afford such a large order. But what if it's Liujia Village?"

Liu Xu looked at Liu Changshun and asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room looked up at Liu Xu.

"What you mean is..." Liu Changshun asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I want to teach the villagers how to grow mushrooms. Third Uncle, our two families have a contract with Zuiyunxuan, so we don't have to worry about not being able to sell our mushrooms. We can only keep the mushroom cultivation a secret for a while, and when Zuiyunxuan comes to pick up the goods, it will definitely spread."

Liu Changshun opened his mouth but no sound came out.

"Uncle San, Liujia Village is our original home after all. Once the news spreads, if the village chief or Second Grandpa comes to ask, how should we respond? Instead of waiting for everyone to ask, we might as well take the initiative to tell everyone, so that we can have a good reputation. There is another very important reason. The mushrooms that Young Master Song wants... are sent to the border... I want to follow this line to see if I can find my father..." Liu Xu said slowly.

Because she had noticed more than once that her mother would stare blankly at the entrance of the village. Her father had been gone for more than half a year, and there had been no news. She knew her mother was worried, but out of consideration for her, she had always pretended not to care.

After hearing her words, everyone in the room fell silent. Xu Ruolan's eyes were filled with tears.

After a long while, Liu Changshun finally spoke:

"Xu girl, Third Uncle listens to you. We'll do whatever you say."

The others also nodded.

So they started to discuss how to tell the village about this matter. It was definitely not realistic to teach one family at a time, and it would cost money to grow mushrooms in winter. If they told the village, it might not be helpful, and they might even be misunderstood.

In the end, we decided to go directly to the village chief and let him take the lead on this matter.

After breakfast the next day, Liu Xu went to meet Liu Changshun first, and then they went to the village chief's house together.

The autumn planting season has ended, and most of the young men in the village have gone out to look for work. The same is true for the village head’s family, where only the old couple and their three daughters-in-law are at home with their grandchildren.

Seeing the two people coming, Liu Wangshi hurriedly invited them to come into the house and sit down, while she went to pour water.

"Uncle" and "Grandpa" called people first before sitting down.

"How come you two have time to come here today? How is the construction of the new house going?" Liu Dahai asked with a smile.

"The progress is quite fast. The beams will be put up in a few days, and we should be able to move in before winter." Liu Changshun replied respectfully.

"When the time comes, Xu'er will treat Grandpa to a housewarming meal! Hehehe!" Liu Xu said with a smile.

Liu Dahai smiled even more kindly.

"Okay, okay, Grandpa will be waiting for your warm-house meal."

"You two don't come here for no reason. What's the matter with you coming here today?"

Hearing this, Liu Changshun looked at Liu Xu and motioned for her to speak. Liu Xu sat up straight:

"Grandpa, Xu'er and Third Uncle came today and they do have something important to tell you."

Liu Dahai motioned for her to continue.

"Xu'er knows that more than 90% of the people in Liujia Village are from our family. Although we have had occasional quarrels, we are united when it comes to major events. Xu'er is very happy to be born in such a big family. However, our family has been farming for generations, and in all these years, we have only produced one student, Liu Chengming. It's not because we are not smart enough, but because it is really too difficult to support a scholar."

Liu Dahai agreed with this point and sighed deeply.

"So, if we want to change this situation, we have to make the whole village rich." Liu Xu paused.

"Grandpa, do you still remember the summer when everyone picked mushrooms and sold them for money?"

Liu Dahai nodded, "Of course I remember. At that time, your great grandmother and your aunt and uncle went to pick them. Although there were not many, they still sold for 100 or 200 coins."

Liu Xu looked at Liu Changshun, and when he nodded, he continued:

"Grandpa, actually...it was my third uncle and I who first sold that edible mushroom to Zuiyunxuan." Upon hearing that, Liu Dahai looked at her in surprise, then looked at Liu Changshun, and was even more surprised to see Liu Changshun nod.

"You know, my mother and I didn't have enough to eat every day. Later, I remembered that my father had told me that some mushrooms were edible, so I tried to pick some. When my grandfather and others had rested, I secretly cooked them and ate them. As a result, I found that those mushrooms were not only edible, but also delicious. So I told Xing'er, and we picked some more while cutting grass, and asked Uncle San to take us to the town to sell them."

Seeing that Liu Dahai was listening attentively, Liu Xu continued:

"The shopkeeper Chang of Zuiyunxuan is familiar with my father. He probably couldn't bear it, so he gave me a chance. You know what happened afterwards. Zuiyunxuan withdrew from the mushroom dishes."

"Girl, you're really good at hiding it!" Liu Dahai scolded with a smile.

"Hehe! Didn't we split up later? The mushrooms on the mountain became less and less because of the season and too many people picking them. I thought that if I could grow vegetables, maybe I could grow mushrooms too. So for a while, Xing'er, Shuisheng and I went up the mountain every day to dig mud and carry dead leaves and wood. After tinkering for a long time, we finally succeeded in growing mushrooms."

Liu Xu stopped talking here and looked at Liu Dahai with a smile.

"What! You grew mushrooms?" Liu Dahai stood up in shock.

"Yeah, it's growing well. My uncle and I have planted it." Liu Xu still had a smile on his face.

"But aren't mushrooms only available in summer? Can they be grown in winter?" Liu Dahai asked again.

"Yes, it's also possible in winter, but it will be a little more troublesome."

"Then, why are you here today...?" Liu Dahai thought of a possibility, but he was not sure.

"It's just what you think! I want to teach this method to the villagers so that everyone can grow crops together. It doesn't take much time and won't interfere with everyone's farming work."

Liu Dahai looked at the little girl in front of him, his heart was burning with enthusiasm, but he was a little hesitant, so he looked at Liu Changshun and asked:

"Shunzi, are you willing to do this too? This is a skill that can be passed down from generation to generation."

"Uncle, aren't we a family? Aren't all the people in the entire Liujia Village, except for those outsiders, members of our Liu family? If it's passed down to the clan, wouldn't it count as a family heirloom?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Dahai slowly sat down, looked at the two of them, and kept praising them:

"Good kids, all of you are good kids. If all the Liu family members were like you, there would be no need to worry about the family not prospering!"

"However, Grandpa, we also have requirements when teaching this skill!" Liu Xu looked at Liu Dahai seriously and told him to leave.

"You said."

"First, this craft, once learned in the village, cannot be passed on to outsiders, even to girls from other families or relatives of the wives in the village." Liu Dahai nodded in agreement.

"Second, the selling price of mushrooms must be unified. We cannot raise the price, let alone lower the price, to avoid disrupting the market and ending up with nothing." Seeing that Liu Da did not object, he continued:

"Third, the mushrooms produced in the village will be sold first to Zuiyunxuan and a young master named Song!"

The first two points were fine, but to be honest, Liu Xu was a little embarrassed to mention the last point. However, she couldn't give in. She had to find a way to get all the mushrooms that Mu Lingxuan wanted, so that she would have a chance to find her father, even if the probability was only one in ten thousand.

"I understand this Zuiyunxuan, but what about Mr. Song?" Liu Dahai asked puzzledly.

"I'll give you a hint, but you should keep it to yourself." Liu Xu walked to Liu Dahai and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Song's goods were actually sent to the Mu family army camp."

After saying that, Liu Xu was satisfied to see Liu Dahai's surprised and happy expression. In addition to her father, there were more than 30 young men in Liujia Village who were conscripted. Liu Dahai could naturally understand the benefits of taking this line.

"Okay, okay! You girl, you do big things quietly. And you, Shunzi, this girl is so brave, you will inevitably get involved, right?" Liu Dahai scolded with a smile.

"Hehe" Liu Changshun scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

"Okay, Grandpa agrees to all three conditions. Is there anything else?" At this time, the village chief couldn't wait to inform everyone.

"Also, if you want to grow good mushrooms in winter, you may have to spend some money. I don't know if you are willing to do that." Liu Xu spread his hands and said helplessly.

"That's it! You can't expect to get something without paying, it's not like pie falls from the sky. I will tell everyone about this. Xu girl, I tell you, you have to spend money, otherwise, how can these guys cherish it. So I decided that you don't have to say that you can teach for free. When the time comes, I will tell them that those who want to learn have to pay a certain amount of tuition. Only in this way will they take this matter seriously."

Wow, it’s true that old ginger is still spicy.

"Then, Grandpa, how much do you think we should charge? And do we need to ask them to sign a confidentiality agreement or something? After all, it will be hard to explain it when the time comes if we just talk nonsense!"

"Yes, that's the reason. As for how much to charge, if each family sends one person to study, then we charge 50 cents, which can be paid with grain. If it's more, people will definitely not do it, but if it's less, they won't care." Liu Dahai said happily.

"By the way, girl, since you have found a buyer, what about the price?" Liu Dahai asked, rubbing his hands.

"This winter, the tentative price for fresh mushrooms is 30 wen per jin, and dried mushrooms are 280 wen per jin. Zuiyunxuan and Mr. Song sell fresh mushrooms at 28 wen per jin, and dried mushrooms at 260 wen per jin. But Mr. Song requires all dried mushrooms, 1 jin per month. By the way, jin of fresh mushrooms can produce jin of dried mushrooms. There is less sun in winter, so they will probably need to be dried manually. I'll find a way to do that. As for the future price, we'll adjust it based on market demand."

"Hiss..." Liu Dahai was obviously frightened by the price and supply quantity she mentioned.

Damn, one catty is 28 wen, ten catties is 280 wen...

"Xu girl, how is the yield of the mushrooms you grow?" Liu Dahai asked carefully, stroking his chest.

"Well, my uncle and I can harvest more than 30 kilograms a day. But it also depends on the size of the mushroom bed and the daily care. Well, how about, Grandpa, while you have nothing to do now, come with us to take a look?"

"Ah...Okay!" Liu Dahai followed the two of them to Liu Changshun's house with a dizzy look on his face.

When we got to the mushroom house, Liu Dahai stood in the aisle, pointed at a few mushroom beds, and stammered:

"That's it? More than 30 kilograms a day?"

"Yeah! My family and my uncle's family are about the same, but not every day more than 30 kilograms, sometimes less, only more than 20 kilograms!"

Liu Dahai motioned Liu Changshun to support him, then turned to ask Liu Xu:

"I see that this... this mushroom bed is very simple. What did you mean by spending some money?"

"Well, this is only for warm weather, not in winter. We were busy figuring out how to plant mushrooms at the time and didn't think about it. But the mushroom houses in our new house are all built with fire walls and kangs, which can ensure that the temperature in the mushroom house is the same as in summer in winter. If everyone wants to plant mushrooms, they will have to ask Foreman Zhu and others to help build the fire walls and kangs. As for how much it costs to build one individually, why don't you go and ask first?"

So, in the end, the old village chief ran over to ask Zhu Jiacheng.

Zhu Jiacheng told him that a fire wall was about three feet wide and nine feet long, and it cost one tael of silver to build one, and they would provide all the labor and materials.

After finding out the truth, the three of them returned to Liu Xu's home.

Xu Ruolan knew that they wanted to discuss something, so she brought over a pot of tea and took the child to the yard.

"Girl, there aren't many people in our village who can spare one or two taels of silver to do this!"

The people in Liujia Village are basically honest farmers, and they probably spend only two taels of silver in a year. If they were asked to spend one tael to build this thing, many people would probably be reluctant to do so.

"This..." Liu Xu frowned in thought, then raised her head with bright eyes after a moment.

"Grandpa, if conditions are really limited, let them light the brazier themselves! Although this may result in a much smaller yield of mushrooms, no matter how many pounds are produced, it's better than nothing, right?"

"Is this okay?" Liu Dahai was a little skeptical.

"Yes, the purpose of building a fire wall is to ensure that the indoor temperature is similar to that in summer. A fire pot can also be used! It's just that the heat is not so uniform, so the mushroom yield will be affected. But there will always be some. They will grow it for a while, and when they have money, they can build it again if they want to increase production." Liu Xu shrugged.

The three of them discussed for a while about how to write the document. The last clause of the document was written by Liu Dahai. If the above requirements were violated, a fine of 10,000 taels of silver would be imposed and the clan would be expelled from Liujia Village.

The document is made in duplicate, with one copy kept by the village chief and one copy kept by each family.

There were a total of 36 households in the village, and apart from Liu Xu and Liu Changshun's family, a total of 68 documents had to be written. In the end, this heavy burden fell on Liu Dahai and Xu Ruolan, who were required to finish writing them tonight and gather the villagers to discuss the matter tomorrow morning.

Liu Xu wanted to help, but her handwriting was as bad as a dog's. Liu Changshun was just as bad as her.

After discussing the matter, Liu Changshun went home with the village chief.

Liu Xu took the sample written by the village chief and went to work with her mother.