Chapter 311

Li Wu loudly responded, “Okay.”

He thought it made sense. Brother Ding was skilled and knowledgeable about various medicinal herbs, so naturally, he would choose to collect the more valuable ones. Kudzu root, which is heavy and difficult to dig up, often ends up with a bumpy surface that’s hard to clean. If it doesn’t fetch a good price, it’s normal for Brother Ding to ignore it.

But they were different. They had plenty of strength and nothing much to do during the farming off-season. If kudzu root could be sold for money, they could definitely dig it up and sell it.

Money might not be a big deal to Uncle Ding, but it might be worthwhile for them.

Even if they asked and found out it wasn’t worth much, it wouldn’t matter. After all, kudzu root was nutritious. If they couldn’t sell it, they could keep it as food for themselves. Anything that could fill their stomachs was good.

The men in front, hearing that kudzu root was medicinal and could possibly be sold for money, became even more motivated. They eagerly stretched their necks to see where Fan Xiaoliu was digging.

By the end of the morning, they had gained some experience in finding and digging kudzu root. Following the vines downward, they located a knot as thick as a thumb and dug downward from there.

The thicker the knot, the larger the kudzu root beneath it.

When Zhao Lan and her group arrived, they saw Fan Xiaoliu working hard to dig a very deep hole, with something resembling a tree root in the middle.

Next to him, a bamboo basket was filled with kudzu roots of various lengths and thicknesses.

“So this is kudzu root. I didn’t know it looked like this.”

“Digging it up is really labor-intensive, but it’s worth the effort.”

“Have any of you asked Sister Shuiqing how to cook kudzu root?”

“How long can it be stored? How should we store it to keep it from spoiling?”

The women soon started discussing cooking methods and storage techniques. When food was plentiful, they couldn’t consume it all at once; they needed to make it last.

Storage was very important. It determined whether the family could survive and how well they could live during lean times.

Shuiqing also brought Feng Da, Feng Er, Mancang, Manku, and Dani and Erni up the mountain to dig kudzu root.

After planting the medicinal herbs in the fields, Feng Dahong, Mancang, and the other men had much more free time. And today, Dani and Erni were off work in the morning, so they joined in as well.

Among all the mountains in Shanshui Village, the kudzu roots on this particular hill were the densest. Shuiqing had initially planted them as a precaution against famine. Later, when there was enough grain and since kudzu root was hard to dig up, she had given up on using it as a staple food. But she hadn’t expected Bai Manshan to bring along as many as twenty-three strong, able-bodied men. With so many people, the kudzu roots on the mountain wouldn’t go to waste.

The kudzu roots Shuiqing planted had a high starch content. After digging them up, they could be processed into kudzu powder, which was easy to store and provided a convenient, filling food supplement.

After explaining to the men how to find kudzu root, they started searching in different directions. There was no need to search too hard, as the mountain was covered with it.

Before long, cheers were heard one after another.

Shuiqing ignored the men and turned to the five women, including Li Dani, saying, “When you bring back the kudzu roots, clean the surface thoroughly like we do with yams and Polygonum multiflorum. Cut them into thick slices and dry them. This is the first method. The medicinal shop buys this kind, usually for making soup or medicine. Aunt Ding said that people usually drink the soup and don’t eat the kudzu root itself.

“The second method is to crush the cleaned kudzu root into very small pieces, as fine as possible. Rinse it thoroughly with clean water, then filter it through a cloth. The filtered liquid is left to settle in a wooden basin or bucket. After a day or two, pour off the dirty water on top, leaving the white sediment at the bottom. Dry this sediment, wrap it in oiled paper, and store it. When you want to eat it, dissolve it in boiling water or cook it.”

After Shuiqing finished speaking, she asked worriedly, “Did you understand?”

Li Dani replied cheerfully, “Yes, we understood. It sounds similar to making bracken starch, which we crush and soak, although we get very little from it even after working for ten days.”

But they still dug and made it every year, as even a little food could fill their stomachs.

Zhou Yu asked cautiously, “Madam, you said the medicinal shop would also buy dried kudzu root? Could we make it and sell it?”

“This mountain belongs to the master. Everything on it is the master’s property. While we can use it for food, if we want to use it for other purposes, we must get the master’s consent.”

She didn’t intend to use it for anything else, but hearing the lady mention it, she thought that if the kudzu root was really valuable, eating it would be a waste.

“Aunt Ding said they would buy it, but sometimes they limit the quantity and the price isn’t high. After drying, it’s only worth about ten or so coins per pound. But digging up kudzu root is tough, and cleaning and drying it is cumbersome. She said it’s not worth the effort to carry it all the way to the city to sell; it’s better to keep it for food,” Shuiqing explained.

Aunt Ding’s exact words were that she didn’t even want to dig it up!

After all, a pound of rice or white flour is only worth about ten coins. Digging up kudzu root, drying it, and then carrying it to the city might not even guarantee a sale. Even if it sold, it would only fetch about ten coins a pound, barely equivalent to the price of rice or flour. What’s the point of all the trouble?

Eating it fills the stomach just the same!

Upon hearing that a pound was worth ten coins, Li Dani and Zhou Yu’s jaws dropped.

Ten coins! If it was twelve coins, it would be even better; they could buy two pounds of black flour. The main thing was that the kudzu roots on the mountain didn’t need any upkeep. They just had to dig them up, and with some effort, they could sell them for ten coins a pound. Where else could they find such a good deal?

The five women were greatly tempted, their eyes sparkling as they eagerly looked at Shuiqing, excitedly persuading her, “Madam, let’s sell the kudzu root!”

“Ten coins a pound, even twelve coins would be a profit! Anyway, now that the men have no work during the farming off-season, they can dig up kudzu roots, clean, cut, and dry them.”

“One pound can be exchanged for two pounds of black flour. We can sell what we can, and keep the rest for ourselves. It’s such a good deal.”

…

Shuiqing understood their point.

She and Aunt Ding thought it wasn’t worth it because they were comparing it to the price of rice and white flour.

Dani and the others thought it was extremely worthwhile because they were comparing it to black flour. They didn’t mind a bit of hardship or fatigue. Time wasn’t an issue for them, and a profit of ten coins was already very good.

“Alright.”

Shuiqing thought maybe the village elder also wanted to try selling it. In the afternoon, she explained the two methods of storing kudzu root to the people at the medicinal herb workshop. That evening, the whole village was busy washing kudzu roots.

In late October, the first batch of black beans processed with the “nine steams and nine suns” method, as well as ginger and wine-processed Polygonum multiflorum, were completed. Along with the yams and dried tangerine peel made over the past month, everything was packed up and prepared for transport to the medicinal shop in the city.

They also packed some kudzu root chunks.

Since they needed to discuss prices with the shopkeeper, Ding Heli and Fan Jin went together.

Hu Wenhua picked the end of the month and notified each household to prepare their men for the trip.

This time, many families in the village were also planning to sell kudzu root, along with rabbits ready for market. On the return trip, they planned to buy lime, so they needed more vehicles than usual.

With so many goods and valuable medicinal herbs, the number of men traveling increased by over ten.

Although their previous trips had been safe, they remained cautious and prepared diligently.

Better to be safe than sorry. If something happened, they needed to be ready to protect themselves.