Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

"deliver!??"

When they heard Wu Lang's question, Ye Xiaozheng, Lian and Erniu all looked at Ye Changyan as if they had suddenly realized something. If they sold such a delicacy, they might really make some money. However, Ye Changyan denied it. Not only did he not want to sell it, he even wanted to give it away. The whole family was very confused.

Seeing that the whole family was looking at him with confusion, Ye Changyan didn't plan to keep them in suspense any longer.

"A few days ago, when I passed the exam, I received so many gifts from everyone. Now that my family is in mourning, it is impossible to hold this banquet."

Everyone nodded, but their faces were filled with even more confusion.

"We can't just accept this gift from others for nothing, don't you think?"

Everyone nodded again.

"I think since we can't prepare a banquet, we should at least give everyone some gifts in return."

"Brother, do you mean to give these mushrooms as a return gift to others?"

"Snap!" Ye Changyan snapped his fingers. It seemed that Wu Lang's brain was indeed active.

"Yes."

At this time, the whole family understood what Ye Changyan meant, and they all nodded in agreement. Their family had received so many gifts, they couldn't wait until the mourning period was over before treating guests.

But the whole family only saw the superficial intention of giving a return gift, and had not yet understood Ye Changyan's deeper thoughts. Of course, Ye Changyan did not intend to explain too much at this time.

"But this is not enough. Besides, everyone thinks mushrooms are poisonous. Even if we give them to them, they may not be happy about it."

Wu Lang personally recorded the gift list, so he naturally knew how many gifts his family had received since his brother passed the imperial examination. How could these mushrooms be enough?

Besides, everyone is very afraid of this mushroom. If you really send it to someone's door, they may not be grateful but may even drive you out.

"Goro, look at the mushrooms in this pottery bowl. Can you tell that they are mushrooms?"

Ye Changyan pointed at the fried chicken mushrooms soaked in oil on the table and saw Wulang shaking his head.

"That's right. Remember, from now on, mushrooms can no longer be called mushrooms after we make them."

“What’s that called?”

"I gave it a new name, Shanzhen. Aren't these delicacies from the mountains Shanzhen?"

Hearing Ye Changyan's choice of name, the whole family nodded in agreement, thinking it was both nice and avoided everyone's taboo about mushrooms.

"Also, the specific methods and recipes of these wild delicacies we make must not be passed on to others. Everyone must keep this secret, as it is the key to our ability to make money in the future."

When they heard about making money, everyone perked up, nodding their heads rapidly and listening attentively.

But Ye Changyan did not elaborate on how to make money, which made everyone more excited and curious.

Seeing that the whole family was excited and looking at him expectantly, Ye Changyan changed the subject again.

"If we give all these delicacies to everyone, I'm afraid it won't be enough. I plan to buy some chickens in the village and give a chicken to each of the relatives and neighbors who send us gifts."

When the family heard this, they nodded again and again. Ye Changyan’s idea was a good one. Since they couldn’t invite people to their home for a feast, they could just give each family a chicken. For ordinary relatives and neighbors, this wouldn’t be too shabby.

"I'm afraid we can't buy so many chickens in the village. I'm afraid we'll have to go to town to buy some more."

Wu Lang clearly remembered the number of people who had sent gifts. Ye Xiaozheng and Lian nodded in agreement, and Ye Changyan also nodded.

"For the other wealthy families who sent gifts, I plan to give each of them a jar of wild delicacies as a return gift."

Ye Changyan's idea made the whole family very confused. This jar of wild delicacies was worth only a few dollars. The mushrooms were picked from the mountains, but some oil was used, and then the money for the jar was spent. It was far less valuable than a chicken.

And these people are either rich or noble, and they have status and position. They are wealthy gentry in the surrounding area and have some reputation in Wanshou County and even in Yuzhou City. Would they be interested in a jar of worthless delicacies from you?

Seeing the whole family shaking their heads like rattles, Ye Changyan smiled and shook his head.

"This is not an ordinary jar of wild delicacies. Think about the expressions on your faces when you ate this wild delicacy just now."

Ye Changyan's mouth corners raised, his face full of confidence.

After hearing what Ye Changyan said and seeing how confident and calm he was, the whole family was skeptical.

"Then mother and Erniu, you will follow my previous method to deal with the remaining mushrooms."

Lian and Erniu both nodded and got up to go to the kitchen.

"Dad, you and Wulang, help me put the mushrooms in the clay pot."

"Okay, brother!"

As he said that, Wulang ran to the yard and moved the dried pottery jars into the main room.

The father and his two sons carefully put the mushrooms in the basin into a ceramic jar, and then poured the fried mushroom oil into the jar with a spoon.

Soon, the mushrooms were packed and Goro put the lid on.

Ye Changyan put the purchased beeswax into a ceramic bowl, put the beeswax on the fire to melt it, and then carefully sealed the lid with beeswax.

Ye Changyan was very satisfied when he saw the sealed pottery jars on the ground.

"Dad, can you make straw ropes?"

Ye Xiaozheng nodded, and Ye Changyan asked Wulang to bring a bundle of straw, and Wulang followed his father to learn how to make straw ropes.

Ye Changyan used twisted straw ropes to tie up the sealed pottery jars to make them easier to carry.

After asking Ye Changyan two key questions, Lian and Erniu quickly mastered the method of frying chicken mushrooms and chanterelles. Several baskets of chicken mushrooms and chanterelles were fried.

Wulang was responsible for putting the fried chicken mushrooms into ceramic jars one by one.

Ye Xiaozheng had been sitting at the door of the main room twisting straw ropes, while Ye Changyan was sealing the pottery jars with melted beeswax and tying them up one by one with straw ropes.

That night, the family was busy until very late, but everyone had a smile on their face and they were enjoying themselves.

The next day, the family got up early again, had a simple breakfast, and then went their separate ways.

Ye Changyan and his sister Erniu and Wulang continued to go into the mountains to pick mushrooms.

Lian went to the village to buy chickens, while Ye Xiaozheng continued to dry mushrooms at home.

Near noon, the three siblings returned home with a great harvest.

Lian bought more than a dozen chickens in the village, and couldn't buy any more. The villagers all wanted to keep them for laying eggs and refused to sell them no matter what.

"It's okay. Let's send out the chickens we bought this afternoon and go to Qingshan Town to buy more tomorrow. If that doesn't work, we can go to the county town to have a look."

Ye Changyan didn't expect that there were no large chicken farms in that era. Every household raised a few chickens, mainly for the purpose of collecting a few eggs. Being self-sufficient was enough.

In fact, Ye Changyan didn’t know that the fundamental reason why the villagers were unwilling to raise more chickens was not because they didn’t want to, but because the output from the land was limited. It was difficult to feed a family of several people, so where would the extra food come from to raise chickens?

After lunch, Erniu stayed at home to process the mushrooms she had just picked today, while Ye Xiaozheng was responsible for turning over and drying the mushrooms in the yard.

Lian and her two sons, carrying a chicken, went to the village head's house.

"No one is there. He is tied up with his uncle. No one is at home."

When she arrived outside the yard of the village head, Lian started knocking on the door and shouting into the yard.