Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

The delicate baby was fair and tender, with a few strands of noodles hanging on his face. He blinked his eyebrows and stopped, "Hey... Grandpa..." Seeing his grandfather smiling with satisfaction like Maitreya Buddha, he also smiled childishly with a few small teeth showing, and continued to scoop up rice to eat.

Ji Wenshu really wanted to wipe the little cutie's face clean, so he held the baby's restless right hand with his left hand. His daughter said that as long as there was no danger, the baby's movements should not be interrupted.

I just made a small mistake and touched the little darling twice. The little darling is so cute, I can't help it! Fortunately, my daughter is not here, otherwise she would have scolded me in front of the little darling again!

The warm winter coincided with the time when lotus farmers, who had improved their planting methods, planted a large number of winter lotus roots and had a bumper harvest. Low grain prices hurt farmers, and the better the harvest, the more oversupply there was, and the less money they made. This was later called the harvest paradox.

In previous years, wealthy restaurant owners who would place orders one or two months in advance and even compete to raise prices for winter lotus roots are now waiting and watching. The lotus roots dug by lotus farmers cannot be sold and will soon turn black. They have no choice but to sell them at a low price and don’t know what to do.

Lotus roots wither and grow again every year, their leaves dry up and their stems rot. They cannot be left undigged for a long time, or they will go bad if a cold wave comes.

"Now the price is one cent per root, and it has to be the best long root. Not to mention muddy, any poor quality ones will be picked over. Several big restaurants that ordered roots from us would rather lose their deposits than accept them at two and a half cents."

In the private room, Ji Shou scratched his head. The price of lotus roots plummeted overnight. He was worried about the huge amount of lotus roots at home. It was heartbreaking: "Now even those stingy women can come out with a penny to find fault with the lotus root stall. What a shame!"

Wangshu, who was watching people coming and going and hawking their wares downstairs, was thinking: "? Turning back to Bai Jishou, he said, "Those men who are so stingy that they let their wives spend even a penny should think about it. If they are so useless and can't make money, shouldn't they get married?"

Ah? Ah! No. That's not what he meant. Ji Shou was speechless...Miss, it's all the man's fault, okay...

Tang Bo at the door leaned to the corner, looking around, but he didn't have a wife.

"Let Madam Xia come."

The Jingcheng people have enjoyed lotus roots for generations, and there are countless ways to preserve them. "Candied lotus root slices, salted lotus root slices, dried lotus root slices, stored in ice cellars, and even sun-dried in a frozen river for springtime. There's also dried lotus root ground into powder on a stone mill and brewed with boiling water—a favorite of wealthy daughters, wives, and even the elderly."

Madam Xia said a lot in one breath.

More and more lotus roots are being sold by farmers, and lotus roots are becoming cheaper day by day. Although common people are picky, they at least buy lotus roots around the New Year to cook soup and make lotus root slices for the whole family to enjoy.

Only those customers who made large purchases in previous years are smart. They don’t have to worry about the lotus roots that can be dug up in large pieces, so they keep lowering the price.

Wangshu's descendants only ate sugar-pickled lotus root slices. "How do you eat dried lotus root slices? How long can they be kept?"

“Half-dry it in the sun, let it air dry, and use it to make soup in spring and summer. It tastes pretty good. But it will turn black if you keep it for too long, and it won’t be as good as fresh lotus roots.” The lady was particular, and she didn’t dare serve the black soup in the house.

As long as it’s edible.

In winter, dressed in a straight-hem, wide-sleeved shirt, Wangshu looked at the bright sky and the gentle breeze, only slightly chilly. Auspicious snow promises a good harvest, killing pests and reducing disease and pests, while also bringing irrigation water carrying nutrients to the soil...

It looks like a warm winter, one where you can even dry lotus root slices, a cool autumn day that makes you want to march south without even thinking about home...

"Ji Shou, find out about the Liang family and who is harvesting the lotus roots in large quantities."

Ji Shou had already found out everything. He accidentally mocked the woman for being scolded lightly. He was depressed for a while, but now he quickly made amends and poured hot milk tea for her. He chose his words carefully: "Miss, I have been asking who buys lotus roots. We have endless lotus roots at home. They are growing well. They are crispy when eaten raw and soft when cooked. I started asking about it a month ago, but the price changes every day, from sky-high to dirt..."

Tang Bo wanted to help the person who was showing off so much, but he didn't see that the person was in a desperate situation and was still acting like a fool...

"The Liang family harvests the lotus roots on the same day, washes them, bundles them up, and delivers them to your door. They sell them for one cent each. The other families follow suit, but their conditions are very difficult..." The money is little, but the work is much more.

Before dark, Wangshu took his men for a walk in the river and marshland. His own plot was bustling with activity, but instead of happy conversation and laughter, there was a dejected and angry atmosphere.

"I worked so hard to grow such beautiful lotus roots! And now they're being wasted!"

"One penny, and I have to give it to you too. Even in a disaster year, the price is not this high!"

"...Old Qin has already dug it up and sent it to the Liang family. Let's hurry up too. Who knows, it might be worth half a cent by the time we wake up..."

…"I won't care if it rots in the ground or take care of it!"

"Boss Ji is here." The old farmer in the middle of the crowd was sharp-eyed and quickly signaled everyone to be quiet, because that was the general's wife.

Everyone calmed down. After all, she was a woman who agreed to teach everyone the tricks of growing lotus roots. No matter how much resentment they had now, it had nothing to do with her. Besides, the largest field in the city was right in front of them.

The lotus leaves in the lotus field are almost all withered, and the lotus roots are under the line connecting the lotus leaves. If you don't dig them up now, once the stems wither, it will be difficult to touch the lotus roots, let alone dig out a whole good lotus root.

"Madam, what should we do now?" The old farmer was already frantic. Digging was not an option, and not digging was even worse. A large group of lotus farmers were isolated on the other side. Knowing that Boss Ji had arrived, they were bound to make a decision. Now they were all in the same boat, eager to listen.

Wangshu squatted down and simply sat on the dry ground. He had been standing in the inn for most of the day outside. He was extremely tired. His braids were so itchy that his scalp was stretched because of so many things he was thinking about. Alas!

It was indecent to sit on the floor, so Xiaoqing saw this and quickly went to get a small quilt and a small stool.

"Old farmer, how about drying lotus root slices?"

Next to the withered lotus field was another half, blooming and growing during the unusually warm winter. Tang Bo handed over a lotus flower in full bloom. Wangshu smelled this winter lotus, which was said to appear only once every ten years, took it back to open his son's eyes and question him.

"Boss Ji, this method is feasible, but making soup with only lotus root slices won't taste good, and rich people won't like it. It takes a lot of effort, and in the end, the price will be worse than fresh lotus root."

Easy to carry, can be used as marching rations.

Wangshu helped Xiaoqing stand up by her hand and said, "Old farmer, let's dig lotus roots."

Then the lotus farmers who were listening closely heard it.

"Boss Ji is buying lotus roots at fifteen cents a basket, right by the river. The payment will be made on the spot, and we'll pick up as many as we can! Just be quick!" Everyone in the martial arts hall held up common household bamboo baskets, and then put the lotus roots upright into the baskets in front of everyone, regardless of whether they were big or small. After shaking them a little, the baskets were full with only eleven roots!

Fifteen articles!

The crowd roared, "Boss Ji is righteous!"

The next day, Zhang San received the order and sent a hundred people to the river. The people at the downstream were responsible for rinsing the lotus roots first, and then someone moved them to the basket entry area on one side. Several teams helped to quickly break the lotus roots. After a basket was filled, it was directly poured into a wooden cart with guardrails. The lotus farmers settled the accounts here. The full wooden cart over there was pulled to the rice drying yard farther away and dumped into an open space. There, teams carrying wooden chopping boards and polished kitchen knives made overnight began to cut the lotus roots into slices like cutting melons and vegetables. Someone was responsible for immediately putting them into baskets, lifting them to the hot water on the side, sinking them together, shaking them, and quickly passing them through the hot water. They were then spread out on the ground to dry from point to line to surface.

Small lotus roots are kept for seeds, and large lotus roots are sliced ​​and dried in the sun.