The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

When you are full, you will naturally have the energy to work.

It was noon, so the whole family took advantage of the villagers' nap to go into the mountains and pick the ingredients needed to make green jelly tomorrow.

Xie Li still wanted to eat wax gourd, but all the routes she usually took had been cleared out, so she suggested trying to find it by another route.

Xu Yingtao naturally had no objection. She gained new things every time she went into the mountains, and she was eager to expand the new map.

As a result, we didn't find the wax gourd, but we discovered the fig fruit and konjac, as well as the ubiquitous pteris fern all over the mountains and large tracts of Castanopsis bittercii forests.

At this moment, Xu Yingtao had only one thought in her mind - to get rich!

Mountains and forests nurture all things, and there is always a way out. She knew that God would not treat her unfairly.

Although the picking season of ferns has long passed, you can still dig up fern roots and make fern cakes and fern root powder in winter.

It is not yet the season for harvesting konjac, but she has already seen konjac tofu, dried konjac, and konjac cake waving at her.

Castanopsis is even more amazing. There are Castanopsis tofu, Castanopsis rice paper, Castanopsis vermicelli, Castanopsis cake...Xu Yingtao didn't dare to think too much, for fear that she would laugh out loud.

Before going up the mountain, she thought that selling only green jelly was a bit monotonous, and once the weather got cold, there would be no market for it, so the development of new products needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, Shan Lin was so generous and had arranged everything for her without her having to worry about anything.

Of course, except for the ficus carica fruit, the others are not yet ripe, but that does not prevent her from imagining the future.

When Xu Yingtao was immersed in her plan to get rich, her mother and her two daughters all looked at her at the same time.

Jiang couldn't help it, and patted her cheek gently, and asked with concern: "Cherry, are you okay?"

The look of him staring at the plants and trees with a silly smile really looked like he was possessed by a demon.

Xu Yingtao came back to her senses, chuckled, and pointed at the lychee fruit and said, "Mom, let's pick more of this fruit."

The ficus carica fruit was also called magnolia fruit, jelly fruit, and rolling melon ball in her time and space. Because its appearance looks like a weight, some people call it the weight fruit.

Qu Yuan once wrote: If there is a person in the mountains, he is covered with lychee and wears ivy.

The "fig. lily" here refers to the fig. lily fruit.

In addition to its medicinal uses, the biggest use of the fig fruit is making jelly.

The jelly made with ficus pumila fruit has a crystal clear appearance and a delicate and smooth taste. It is more than ten times more delicious than jelly and is one of Xu Yingtao’s favorite summertime delicacies to relieve the heat.

Jiang wanted to object subconsciously, but she had the experience of the stinking yellow thorn before she objected, so she asked, "Can this ghost steamed bun be eaten?"

Xu Yingtao understood. It turned out that people here called the ficus carica fruit "ghost bun".

She nodded: "Not only can it be sold at a higher price than green jelly."

It’s not that the fig fruit is rarer, but that the processing requires more manpower and time costs, so the selling price will naturally rise.

Since she said so, the mother and her two daughters said no more and immediately started picking.

Xu Yingtao reminded: "Pinch the fruits before picking them. Only pick the fruits that are soft to the touch. Don't pick the hard ones."

"The hard fruits are not ripe yet?" asked Xie Bai.

Xu Yingtao shook her head: "That's not the case. Ghost buns are divided into male and female fruits. The male fruit is hard and solid, and there is no use for picking it. Only the female fruit can be made into food."

Seeing is believing, she immediately picked two fruits, one male and one female, and cut them open with a hatchet for display.

Just as she said, the female fruit was full of seeds, while the male fruit was empty.

The mother and her two children suddenly understood.

An hour later, the four of them came down the mountain carrying three baskets of Ficus microcarpa fruits and one basket of stinking broom leaves.

Each backpack was covered with wild vegetables and banana leaves, so even if someone saw them, no one would know what they had picked.

After resting for a while at home, Xu Yingtao was responsible for cutting the ficus litchi fruit, while the mother and her two daughters dug out the ficus litchi seeds and dried them in the sun.

I carried three baskets of Ficus microcarpa fruits, but in the end I only collected one basket of Ficus microcarpa seeds.

After being dried in the sun, it will shrink by two-thirds.

As for the fig fruit shells, they were piled up behind the house to dry and used as firewood.

There's plenty of this stuff on the mountain, and pharmacies won't take it at all.

After finishing all these, the sun was already setting.

Jiang couldn't sit still, so she went to the river to wash clothes.

Xu Yingtao called her: "Mom, wait a minute, let's go over today's accounts first."

Jiang was surprised: "But didn't we spend all the money we earned today?"

Xu Yingtao covered her face.

"Although I have spent all the money I earned today, I still need to tell you about the business situation. Besides, as the elder of the family, you should be aware of the financial situation of the family so that you can find financial problems in time in the future, so that you don't have to know if your money is stolen."

Jiang thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case. She sat up straight and looked very serious.

The original body was illiterate and the character could not collapse, so Xu Yingtao could only narrate orally.

"We made a total of 102 pieces of green jelly today. We gave one piece to the steamed bun shop, lost one piece, and used two pieces for tasting. In other words, 98 pieces of it were profitable."

"Among them, the ones with sauce were sold for 40 pieces, and the rest were sold for 3 coins each, making a total profit of 334 coins. Later, 24 coins were used to buy buns and 50 coins were used to buy pork..."

When Xu Yingtao reported these data, she didn't even stutter. At first, Jiang could still add and subtract, but later she was completely numb.

Her arithmetic ability is limited, and it can only support her to do addition and subtraction within 20, and she must be given enough time to calculate, otherwise she will be at a loss.

Xie Bai was much better off than his mother, but as the amounts increased and the sums became larger, he found it a bit difficult to calculate.

Fortunately, I have a good memory. I memorized every number Xu Yingtao said and calculated the correct result according to my own pace.

But the more this happened, the more he admired and worshipped Xu Yingtao.

Xu Yingtao didn't know yet that in just less than three days, her image in Xie Bai's mind had changed from a burden to a very powerful person.

Little Xie Li is much more simple and unpretentious.

She couldn't sit still at all.

No matter what Xu Yingtao said, her heart was on the basket of litchi seeds drying in the yard.

When she was digging the seeds just now, she couldn't help but secretly taste a little. To be honest, it tasted bad.

What on earth can my sister-in-law make with this disgusting stuff?

Xie Li really couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried.

Later, she refused to believe it and went out to taste some when it was almost dried.

Phew, it still tastes bad.

After Xu Yingtao reported the bill, she saw a confused look in Jiang's clear eyes and realized that the bill had been wasted.

She silently included literacy in her to-do list.

But the most urgent priority right now is to solve the problem of survival first, and spiritual needs have to be put aside.

Jiang couldn't help but confirm again: "Did you really earn 334 coins today?"

Even if we deduct the decimal points, and calculate it as 300 wen a day, we can earn a full nine taels a month!

That’s more than one hundred taels a year!

Jiang's breathing became faster at that moment.

How could Xu Yingtao not know what she was thinking, and she cruelly shattered her beautiful dream.

"Green jelly can only be sold for another month at best. No one will eat it when it gets cold. Besides, eating the same food every day will make you sick of it no matter how delicious it is. We are just starting to sell it now. Customers find it new and exotic. After a while, sales will drop."

Jiang's breathing stagnated.

Xu Yingtao continued, "In order to keep our customers, we must make some improvements in taste, so we have to increase investment. Mom also saw today that buying oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and spices is not cheap."

Jiang's face, which had originally turned red due to excitement, gradually lost its color. She was too naive and forgot to calculate the cost.

She murmured, "Then, what should I do?"

The hope that had finally appeared was extinguished in an instant, and her face became even more worried.

Xie Bai also became visibly nervous, and even Xie Li sat up straight, looking at a loss.

Xu Yingtao's original intention was to give them a heads-up that business has its ups and downs and it's impossible to make a fortune every day. But now seeing the worried looks of the mother and her two daughters, she had no choice but to give them reassurances.

"Don't worry, once the ficus litchi seeds are dried, we can add a new product. Even if the weather turns cooler next month, I can still do other business and we won't starve." When she said this, she smiled confidently and calmly.

Jiang's heart gradually settled back into her stomach, and she even forgot to ask her why she called the ghost bun seeds ficus pumila seeds.

The two siblings were a little stunned.

The eldest sister-in-law stood there. Although she was thin, her posture was very straight, like an unyielding green bamboo. She was surrounded by light, so dazzling that it was impossible to ignore her.

After dinner, Mrs. Zhou appeared outside the courtyard to prevent herself from seeing anything she shouldn't see. Before entering the courtyard, she specifically asked loudly, "Is there anyone in the house?"

The door to the main room is wide open, so how could there be no one here?

How could Xu Yingtao not know her intention, so she quickly put down the litchi seeds in her hand and stood up to greet her.

The mother and her two children followed closely behind.

"Grandma Zhou, how come you are here..."

Xu Yingtao's words were stuck in her throat, and her already round eyes widened even wider.

Mrs. Zhou did not come empty-handed, she also brought the cart that Xu Yingtao had been longing for.

On the cart were baskets and washed bowls, which were exactly what Xie Bai had delivered at noon.

In case she misunderstood, Xu Yingtao asked tentatively: "Grandma Zhou, it's almost dark, why are you still pushing the cart out?"

Mrs. Zhou did not intend to step into the yard. She just pushed the cart forward and replied, "I saw you carrying things on your shoulders at noon. You looked exhausted. Now that it is the off-season, I can lend you this cart."

It’s really a blessing that someone sends you a pillow when you feel sleepy!

Xu Yingtao walked forward quickly and thanked Mrs. Zhou again and again. Finally, she said a little embarrassedly, "Grandma, I may have to return those bowls from your house tomorrow."

As for the money, she would definitely be able to pay it back in the future, but she had no idea about the specific date, so she could only put it aside for now.

Jiang also said, "Aunt, don't just stand outside, come in and have a bowl of water."

Mrs. Zhou waved her hand and said, "I just drank a bellyful of soup last night. Go ahead and take care of yourselves. Don't worry about me." After that, she turned around and left quickly.

"Why don't you thank Grandma Zhou quickly!" Jiang also thanked her profusely and did not forget to remind her two children.

The brother and sister came back to their senses, quickly turned their eyes away from the cart, cupped their hands into a trumpet shape, and shouted in unison: "Thank you, Grandma Zhou!"

Only after Mrs. Zhou's figure completely disappeared did Jiang push the car into the yard, feeling filled with emotion for a moment.

The Zheng family lent them so much money, and not only did they never come to collect the debt, but they also provided support from time to time. Looking throughout the entire Dayu Dynasty, it would be difficult to find such good fellows.

It is said that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. How should they repay the kindness they owe to the Zheng family?

The two younger ones stayed in the yard to study the cart, which was a rare toy for them.

Xu Yingtao and Jiang returned to the kitchen and continued their plan of making jelly which they had interrupted earlier.

Just take an appropriate amount of dried Ficus pumila seeds and wrap them in filter cloth, then soak and rub them in boiled water until the water turns them light white.

Seeing that Xu Yingtao washed her hands directly without taking the next step, Jiang asked in confusion: "Is it done? No need to add starch?"

Xu Yingtao nodded: "But the solidification time is much slower than that of green jelly, let's wait overnight and see."

Jiang didn't understand but didn't ask much. Seeing Xu Yingtao starting to tinker with the peppers she bought today, she went to help.

Both of them were very skillful and quickly peeled out all the pepper seeds.

Jiang hesitated and said, "Cherry, do you want to rub this too?"

Xu Yingtao burst out laughing and explained, "These are chili seeds. I'm collecting them first. When we buy some land, we can try to grow some."

"Is that so?" Jiang smiled a little embarrassedly. As for Xu Yingtao's suggestion to buy land, she didn't take it to heart at all.

It’s not that she didn’t trust Xu Yingtao. She was thankful that she could pay off her debt now, and she didn’t dare to hope for anything else.

The sky gradually darkened, and with the last ray of daylight, Xu Yingtao pounded all the peppers into pepper powder.

After a busy day, the most important thing now is to wash up and have a rest to recharge your energy for tomorrow's business.

Although Xu Yingtao wanted to take a good bath very much, the conditions at home were limited. She could only carry a basin of water into the house to wash. But it was better to be able to wash than to be smelly, so she was very open-minded.

The next day, when the rooster crowed for the first time, Xu Yingtao opened her eyes.

Jiang got up earlier than her and had already cooked the porridge.

With the help of the firelight in the kitchen, Xu Yingtao quickly steamed a few chestnut cakes and quickly kneaded out the green jelly to be used today.

Only after doing all this did she have time to check whether the ficus litchi seed jelly had solidified successfully.

Seeing her smile, Jiang asked tentatively, "Is it done?"

Xu Yingtao nodded: "Mom, please light another fire. I plan to make some mint water."

Jiang did as she was told, and while adding more firewood, she asked, "What's the name of this new food?"

Based on the previous experience, Xu Yingtao had already picked a name for it, and blurted out "Ice Jelly" when she heard it.

One is green jelly and the other is ice jelly, easy to pronounce and remember.

Jiang had no objection and just repeated the word "ice jelly" several times until she memorized it.

At dawn, the family set out for the town again.

With the cart, the burden on everyone except Jiang was greatly reduced.

Xu Yingtao advised her to pick less, but she was stubborn and said, "I'm used to picking. Don't bother me."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Xu Yingtao could only give up. However, she was thinking that when she had money in the future, she would have to buy a mule or a donkey. No one could afford to always rely on human labor for transportation.

However, before buying livestock, you have to buy grain, oil, cloth...

Add to that the fact that we owe so much foreign debt, it’s really a headache just thinking about it.

However, apart from all these, what Xu Yingtao wanted most was an iron pot.