Chapter 337

“I think we can give it a try too. Let’s move out a portion first and just expand the number of rabbits. It might be more work, but as long as it earns us money, it’s worth it!” Li Wu added.

At worst, they could gather more fodder and prepare plenty of bran.

He wasn’t afraid of hard work, only of not having money.

Zhang Hui agreed, “Let’s be cautious. This way, we can raise more rabbits and later move them all outside.”

As the village prospered, the population would gradually increase. More people meant more houses, and less space for livestock. Eventually, they would have to move the animals outside anyway.

Besides, she noticed that Shuiqing’s place was very well organized, with separate areas for living and for raising livestock. The smells and waste didn’t affect each other, which was ideal.

After the family reached an agreement, the men continued making adobe bricks and building houses.

Wang Guifen and Zhang Hui didn’t rest either. With Zhao Lan helping at the herbal medicine workshop, most of the household chores fell on their shoulders. Usually, the men would share a significant portion of the work, but now they were doing the heavier, harder tasks, leaving the women so busy they wished for more hours in the day.

The most crucial task was processing kudzu root, an important source of income for the family.

Kudzu roots were large, with each plant weighing ten to twenty pounds or more. When dried, they didn’t lose as much weight as other vegetables, more like corn or soybeans. Even dried, they retained a significant weight.

At eighteen wen per pound, kudzu root was far more lucrative than the seven or eight wen per pound they used to get for rice and wheat. Rice and wheat required months of care, whereas kudzu grew naturally, only requiring effort when it was time to harvest. It was almost like picking up money!

So besides feeding the rabbits and other livestock, the most important tasks were digging up kudzu roots, washing them, and drying them.

Shuiqing was also busy with kudzu root processing, not for sale but for consumption. To be honest, Shuiqing quite liked kudzu root flour.

The flour sold in markets often had other starches mixed in, making it less authentic. Her homemade flour was 100% pure wild kudzu root, with no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. It could be considered wild.

Li Dani and four other women were responsible for the core tasks at the herbal medicine workshop, so they couldn’t leave. Fortunately, the other eighteen men, now free from the busy farming season, were available.

They worked wherever needed, diligently and without complaint, proving to be invaluable.

Taking advantage of the slack season, they processed kudzu root flour for storage as a staple food.

The main reason was that Shuiqing had planted the most seeds on the mountain. The kudzu plants were vigorous and grew quickly, outcompeting other wild grasses and vegetables. Although leaving the roots to grow larger for next year was possible, space was needed for them to grow.

So, they decided to harvest a large portion this year, leave a small portion, and plant more seeds. By alternating harvests, they could ensure a bountiful yield every year.

Feng, who had injured his arm, was not allowed to work, but he couldn’t sit idle. He followed along, using his uninjured arm to carry hoes, baskets, and other tools, helping where he could.

The other men did the digging.

Basket after basket of kudzu roots were transported down the mountain.

The men used straw or thatch bundles to scrub and clean the roots before placing them in stone mortars, where they were pounded into a paste to extract the starch.

Speaking of the stone mortars and pestles, the men were even more impressed with their master!

Back at the estate, there was only one stone mill, which everyone had to share, leading to long queues, exhaustion, and wasted time.

The same was true for the stone mortars.

But their master was different. There were stone mortars in the village and at their master’s home, so they didn’t have to queue up with the villagers. After they arrived, their master even provided them with one!

With only four families and twenty-three people in total, their master still gave them their own stone mortar!

They didn’t need to grind the kudzu root manually. During the slack farming season, they used a donkey to do the heavy work, finishing everything quickly. This saved them a lot of time during the busy farming season.

Unlike the hand-pounded mortars and pestles on the estate, which required great effort and time, their master’s setup involved a foot-operated system.

The stone mortar was placed on the ground, with a large stone pestle attached to a horizontal wooden beam. The beam was elevated in the middle, and by stepping on one end, the connected stone block on the other end would be lifted and dropped heavily, instantly crushing the kudzu root into pieces.

It was effortless!

And the results were remarkably good!

Having a clever master made a significant difference, making the work much easier for the servants.

The crushed kudzu root needed to be washed repeatedly with clean water, then filtered through a cloth into basins and buckets. After a day or two, the dirty water was poured off, and the white starch at the bottom was dried to become kudzu flour.

After successfully making the kudzu flour for the first time, Shuiqing boiled water and poured it over a large basin of flour, adding white sugar, and gave everyone a bowl to taste.

Shuiqing stirred the mixture to cool it down, took a spoonful, and tasted it. The fragrance and rich kudzu flavor were unmistakable and authentic.

She looked at everyone with satisfaction and asked with a smile, “Watch carefully and remember the process. From now on, you can follow these steps to ensure the result is crystal clear. If it fails, just reboil it in a pot until it turns transparent. That means it’s done;

Dani, Erni, and Zhou Yu, keep this in mind. It can also be used to thicken soups. I’ll give you some white sugar to take home. You can make a bowl of this for breakfast during the busy farming season;

Feng Da and Mancang, try it and see if you like the taste. You can take it as dry food for your travels.”

Dani, Erni, and the other women used to think kudzu flour was just like the fern root flour they made on the estate, a food to fill the stomach. But the lady suggested they mix it with white sugar?

Just a breakfast, but using precious white sugar?

No, the lady must be using this as an excuse to nourish their bodies!

Oh, the lady is so kind!

On the other side, Feng and the other men hesitated to eat from their rough ceramic bowls.

They had seen how much white sugar the lady added, which was more expensive than brown sugar. To use so much just for them to taste?

“Ma’am, we’re grown men. Using white sugar on us is too wasteful.”

“Mancang is right. We can eat it without sugar.”

They were men and didn’t need to be nourished. The sugar should be saved for the women.

Shuiqing laughed, “Don’t worry, eat up. We’ve stored plenty of sugar. If we don’t eat it now, it will melt and go to waste in the summer heat.”

Hearing Shuiqing mention waste, the men finally lifted their bowls and took a sip.

The sweet, refreshing taste delighted them, and they understood why kudzu flour sold for eighteen wen a pound.

“It really is medicinal, like Uncle Ding said. It’s thirst-quenching! So good!”

“So sweet, like sugar.”

“Of course it’s sweet with so much sugar. Think about the fern root flour we used to make. Without sugar, it tastes about the same.”

They realized it was the lady’s generous use of sugar that made it so delicious!