Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Fortunately, she only had a fever for two days, but her throat was sore for several days and she had a severe cough, especially at night, which kept her from sleeping.

Mu Nan was also unable to sleep. He felt heartbroken seeing his wife in such pain.

They went to the town's clinic and invited two doctors to treat her. Both doctors said the same thing as Dr. Liu: there was nothing seriously wrong with her.

Since Wang Qing'er was ill, the task of picking camellias was handed over to the three sisters, Mu Qin and Wu Zihan.

It took two days to pick all the soapberries, but some of them had already turned dark brown.

Wang Qing'er picked out the dark brown soapberries and put them together. These soapberries could be made into a fragrant soap for washing clothes, which she kept for her own family.

If there are no problems, it can be sold, but the price will be much cheaper.

The camellias were all picked in one day; the flowers on the treetops were picked by Mu Xiao and Wu Zihao.

There were only a few camellia plants, and only a few bottles of hydrosol were extracted; most of them were dried into flowers.

Wang Qing'er also squeezed juice from fresh camellia flowers to make some red scented soap, which was bright red and very beautiful.

The family's several hundred kilograms of sweet potatoes were also made into sweet potato starch. The starch yield of sweet potatoes was quite high, and more than 100 kilograms of starch were harvested. After drying, the starch was packed into jars and sealed.

She rested for a few more days and gradually recovered, but her cough persisted. Mu Nan then forbade her from going up the mountain, so she could only stay at home making scented soap.

During the days of picking honeysuckle, almost the entire family went except for Wang Qing'er, and even Mu Yan went to pick some every day.

Two four-year-old girls also enthusiastically carried their little baskets to help pick honeysuckle.

Wang Qing'er made dozens of jars of floral water, which came in two varieties.

One type is made with mint and honeysuckle, and the other is made with mint and mugwort.

Making floral water requires alcohol, but there is no alcohol here, so we can only use high-proof liquor instead.

Keep the floral water for summer use; it's excellent for applying to mosquito bites.

Speaking of mosquitoes in the summer, she was thinking of going to the mountains to find some materials to make mosquito coils. She already had a lot of mugwort at home that she had dried, and there was also elm bark. So far, she had only found two elm trees, which was still too few.

The most important thing is to need some agarwood, which can probably only be bought from a pharmacy.

While making floral water, Wang Qing'er was also thinking about what she needed to make mosquito coils.

Mu Nan happened to be carrying a load of honeysuckle back when he saw his wife lost in thought, so he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Wang Qing'er then came to her senses. "I wasn't thinking about anything. Brother Mu Nan, do you remember the elm tree I told you about before?"

"Remember, what happened?"

"If you have some free time, could you peel some elm bark for me?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, there are also several elm trees on the front hill. I'll go and peel them for you later."

"Okay, don't strip the tree completely bare, just cut some branches and peel them off," Wang Qing'er instructed.

"I know, I'll go peel them right now." Mu Nan said, and started to walk out.

"Brother Mu Nan, don't worry, I'll take your measurements and make you a raincoat." She was thinking of designing a raincoat while she was recovering from her illness, and planned to make one for Mu Nan to try first.

After taking the measurements, she recalled the style of the raincoat from her previous life, drew it directly on the oilcloth, and cut it out.

The raincoat was simple in design, with just a few seams and a hood, so she sewed it herself, but it still took her two days to finish.

Mu Nan tried it on, and it looked quite convincing. However, her stitches were not only crooked and twisted, but also very long, long enough for insects to crawl into the seams.

In the end, Mu Nan had to have her mother-in-law sew the raincoat again before she could wear it.

And so, Wang Qing'er was in charge of cutting, while Zhou Shi, Wang Cuiying, Mu Yan, and Wu Zihan were in charge of sewing. In just a few days, everyone in the family, young and old, had a raincoat.

With a raincoat, you won't get soaked in the rain.

They also brought back quite a bit of elm bark, from the few trees on the front hill and the ones Wang Qing'er had found earlier.

When Mu Xiao learned that his sister-in-law needed this, he and Wu Zihao found a lot of it in the mountains and skinned many of the animals.

There's also mugwort; I cut down a bundle every day, no matter how much.

The elm bark and mugwort that were peeled back were dried and kept for later use. At present, no one in the family knows what Wang Qing'er wants the elm bark for.

After lunch that day, Wang Qing'er lay on a recliner in the courtyard, covered with a blanket, looking at the sky, feeling rather bored. Her persistent cough was making her very irritable.

I thought it would be great if there were loquat syrup, as it can soothe the lungs and relieve cough.

I vaguely remember that there are loquats here, but I don't know if they are sold in town or if there are wild ones in the mountains.

Just then, Mu Nan came in from outside, and Wang Qing'er quickly called out to him, "Brother Mu Nan, are there loquats in town?"

Mu Nan thought for a moment and said, "I've never seen loquats for sale in town, but they are sold in the county seat."

"Oh, okay!" Wang Qing'er was a little disappointed; the county town was too far away!

Mu Nan came over and pulled the blanket up a bit for her, asking, "Do you want to eat loquat?"

"Oh? No, I just wanted to ask if I could get some loquat leaves."

"Just the leaves?"

"Yes, if there are any in the nearby mountains, we can pick some old leaves to bring back."

"I've never seen them in the mountains, but I know where they are. I'll go pick them for you. How many do you want?"

"Brother Mu Nan, if it's too far, then forget it."

"It's okay, leave it to me."

"Oh, alright then. I'll need to go to the pharmacy and buy some fritillaria and agarwood. Oh, and I also need to check with the seed shop to see if they have any fresh seeds."

"Fritillaria is for stopping coughs. What do you need agarwood for? Are you going to use it on yourself? Qing'er, you can't use medicine haphazardly. You have to get a prescription from a doctor."

Mu Nan thought his wife wanted him to take the medicine whenever he wanted, so he got a little anxious and started rambling on and on.

"Uh, Brother Mu Nan, don't worry. I'm not going to use medicine on myself. I'm just going to make some loquat syrup with loquat leaves and fritillaria to soothe my lungs and relieve coughs. It'll be fine. The agarwood has other uses."

"Then I'll go pick some loquat leaves first. The loquats should be ripe now, so I can pick some for you to eat too."

"Okay, if it's too far, then forget it."

"You stay home and wait for me, I'm coming right now." Mu Nan said and left the yard.

As night fell, Mu Nan drove the carriage home. "Mu Xiao, hurry up and unload the carriage."

"Brother, where did you go all afternoon? Why did you buy so much stuff?" Mu Xiao asked, taking a burlap sack from his older brother.

"Slow down, there are potatoes inside, don't break them."

"Potatoes? You went to town?"

"Hey kid, why do you have so many questions? Get to work."

"I..." Okay, well, what can I do? You're my brother.

Today, after picking loquat leaves and loquats, Mu Nan went to town to buy fritillaria and agarwood.