Chapter 301

After Zhao Lan returned home, she grabbed some candies that her eldest brother-in-law had bought last time and gave one to each child, sending them off to play.

Since the village walls had been completed, she no longer worried about the children playing outside. In the past, she had been concerned that the children might wander too far, encounter wild animals in the mountains, or play in the river or lake and get hurt. With guards at both the front and back gates, the children could only play within the village, giving her great peace of mind.

The children, happy with their candies, skipped off to find their playmates, overjoyed.

Once they were out of the courtyard, they found that nearly every household’s children were outside. The village’s dirt roads and paths were filled with children chasing and playing.

After making sure all the children had left, Zhao Lan closed the courtyard gate, turned around, and eagerly asked her family, “Dad, big brother, sister-in-law, do you know what those medicinal herbs are?”

“Who cares what they are, as long as they make money.”

“Besides, didn’t Shuiqing say that if we wanted to plant them, we could get seeds from her? Although she doesn’t have much experience in planting them, we could wait until next year if we’re unsure. Didn’t we agree to plant them next year?”

Their family was extremely busy this year. After planting potatoes, they had to plant winter wheat. Once the winter wheat was planted, they had to build a pigsty for piglets. With chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and pigs, both in the fields and at home, the six of them didn’t have the manpower to plant unfamiliar medicinal herbs.

“Grain and livestock are crucial. We can’t neglect them. Once we harvest these potatoes, we’ll make a lot of potato starch for storage, securing food for several years. After the winter wheat harvest, we can sell it for money. Even if the medicinal herbs yield nothing, at least we have food to fill our stomachs.”

The old village head listened quietly to his sons and daughters-in-law discussing, not rushing to speak.

Zhao Lan, sweating with anxiety, exclaimed, “If you knew what those herbs were, you wouldn’t be thinking of planting winter wheat to sell!”

Rice and wheat were refined grains, and their family, reluctant to eat them, sold all but a portion reserved for their eldest nephew’s studies. They exchanged the rest for cornmeal and ground the corn from their fields into flour, which was enough to feed the family. This diet was unique in the village.

Their family had more land and diligently managed it, yielding nearly one tael of silver per mu from rice and winter wheat each year—a good harvest in Guangning Prefecture.

But compared to Polygonum multiflorum, a yield of one tael per mu was insignificant.

How could it compare? It was incomparable!

Wang Guifen laughed, “You’re killing me with suspense. Just tell us what kind of herb it is that’s got you so excited.”

“Yes, don’t keep us guessing. Spill it out.”

Zhang Hui teased, “I want to see what kind of precious herb it is that makes you so excited that you even gave the kids candy.” “We’ve already seen some profits from the rabbits, so how can you still be so excited?” Li Qiang looked at his wife helplessly, shaking his head.

Zhao Lan glared at her husband, ignoring him, and addressed her father-in-law, “It’s Polygonum multiflorum!”

As soon as she spoke, the room was filled with gasps.

Then came a chorus of exclamations.

“Polygonum multiflorum?”

“Are you sure?”

“How is that possible? Did I hear wrong?”

Li Wen and his two brothers stood with their mouths half open, unable to react for a while.

“My goodness, it’s really Polygonum multiflorum! I never expected it to be Polygonum multiflorum,” Wang Guifen expressed everyone’s thoughts.

“Yes, I didn’t expect it either, but then I remembered that didn’t Dad dig one up when he was younger? This shows that our area is suitable for growing Polygonum multiflorum,” Zhao Lan said, satisfied with the current excitement.

Now she wasn’t the only one excited—they were even more excited than her!

Hahaha, after all, she had a whole day to process it.

The old village head thought of the Polygonum multiflorum he had dug up when he was younger. Why hadn’t he thought of collecting seeds and planting them? If he had succeeded, wouldn’t every household in Shanshui Village be prosperous by now…

Li Qiang, still shocked, quickly asked, “What are the other two? Can we plant them too?”

Zhao Lan raised her chin and explained carefully, “Yam can only be planted next spring, dried tangerine peel requires seedlings, but Polygonum multiflorum can be planted in autumn, so we can still catch the season. Shuiqing said we can get seeds from her, but she doesn’t guarantee the harvest. Each household should make their own decision. If we are willing, we can go for it.”

Finally, she asked, “Should our family plant it?”

“Plant it! Of course, we should plant it!”

“We might not have experience this year, but we’ll gain it for next year, right?”

“Just one short-term Polygonum multiflorum plant can sell for several hundred coins. If we can grow even just two per mu of land, we’ll break even. If we grow dozens, oh no, I’m getting dizzy!” Li Qiang, who previously thought his wife lacked worldly experience, now felt thoroughly humiliated. He was the one who lacked experience.

Why is it that every time he thought he was knowledgeable, Fan Jin and Shuiqing would shatter his understanding again?

In the midst of this cheerful atmosphere, Zhang Hui timidly raised her hand and asked, “Where will we plant it? Do we have enough manpower?”

The room fell silent as they considered this question.

The old village head snapped out of his thoughts and made the decision, “We won’t plant winter wheat. We’ll use those few mu of land to plant Polygonum multiflorum. We’ll use the effort meant for winter wheat to plant it. Next year, when we have more seeds and know how to plant them, we can expand to the mountains.”

With so many families in the village, theirs wouldn’t be the only one planting it. The amount of seeds each family could get wouldn’t be much, so they had to plant carefully. If the seeds didn’t sprout on the mountain, it would be a waste.

All six people agreed without any objections.

Even if it didn’t yield anything, it was worth the risk of losing the winter wheat crop for the chance of growing Polygonum multiflorum.

When Zhang Xiaocao went back and told her family, her mother was the first to agree!

“Mom tells you, we’re not very smart, so we must follow the lead of those who are. Think about it, ever since we started following Shuiqing, hasn’t our life gotten better?”

Jinyin, Tongniu, Tieniu, and Muniu nodded vigorously.

“We can’t be like those shortsighted people who are lazy and picky, only to end up mocking others.”

Jinyin, Tongniu, Tieniu, and Muniu continued to nod vigorously.

Like the second uncle’s family.

“A few families in the village followed Shuiqing and planted potatoes, and we followed. Look, this year during the floods, our family is one of the few that didn’t worry about food;

We followed Shuiqing in raising rabbits, and we raised more than anyone else. Every time we sell rabbits, our family earns the most;

Not to mention the money you earned from selling charcoal last winter, which allowed us to build this house and still have some left over. Our family even has savings now.

So this time we must follow too! Although we don’t have fields, we’ve planted potatoes on our land, but we can still clear new land. I’ll start clearing land these days. As soon as you finish building the herb workshop and study, hurry up and join me!”

“Alright!”