Chapter 32： Give advice

Chapter 32: Guidance

Then Chun Niang chopped a golden ear into pieces and stewed it in a jar.

After the stew is done, feed some to the chicken first. After observing for a long time, you can see that there is no abnormality in the chicken, and then you can taste it yourself.

Yingbao actually didn’t want her mother to taste it. After all, her mother was still breastfeeding, and it would be terrible if her milk was affected.

But Chun Niang insisted on tasting it herself. She drank half a bowl and waited for a while before she felt any discomfort before allowing her daughter to eat.

Yingbao took a sip. The golden ear soup was soft and sticky, with a hint of osmanthus. It would be better if you add some honey.

"It's delicious." Yingbao ate half the bowl in one go, licked his lips and said, "Let dad take it to the town pharmacy tomorrow to check it out. If it doesn't work, go to the county town."

She was sure that this was Golden Ear. The texture and appearance were the same as what Sister Wen said, and even the taste was similar.

An ancestor of Sister Wen's family once worked in the Imperial Hospital, and it is said that she specialized in treating the royal family and nobles. Later, when she got older, she retired and returned to her hometown.

So most of the men of the Wen family studied medicine, opened a wide range of medicine shops, and were very famous in various places.

Sister Wen has been influenced by medicine since she was a child. She not only knows medicine, but also knows how to identify medicines. She often tells Yingbao about her childhood experiences.

Of course, Yingbao also likes to listen.

"Yeah." Chun Niang said with a smile, "When your father comes back, I will tell him."

In the evening, Jiang Sanlang returned home barefoot from the fields. He put down the sledge on his shoulders, washed his feet with water, put on the cloth shoes brought by his daughter, and then sat down to eat dinner.

Seeing a bowl of yellow porridge on the table, I curiously asked: "What kind of porridge is this?"

Chunniang pursed her lips and smiled and said: "It's golden ear. Bao'er picked it. You can try it if it tastes good."

Jiang Sanlang picked it up and took a big sip. He smacked his lips and praised: "It tastes good, smooth and smooth. It warms my stomach after drinking it."

Chunniang pursed her lips and smiled and said: "This thing is very valuable. Grandma Xicun said that the county drugstore sells dozens of taels per box."

“Huh?” Jiang Sanlang’s eyes widened, “Really? Which grandmother in the West Village said that?”

Yingbao on the side:…

So, one lie really needs countless lies to cover it up.

The next day, Jiang Sanlang took a mulberry stick covered with golden ears to the town and showed it to Li Langzhong.

Li Langzhong picked it up and smelled it, and was surprised, "This is indeed golden ear, a fine nourishing treasure."

 He raised his old eyes and asked: "Has your Erlang ever eaten this?" He was also thinking about how Jiang Erlang's lung disease was cured.

Jiang Sanlang was stunned and shook his head quickly, "No, this thing is...I just found it recently. I cooked some last night and tasted it. I thought it tasted good. I also heard that this thing...well, it can be sold for money, so I brought it. Let me see if it’s true.”

Li Langzhong stroked his beard and nodded: "It is indeed golden ear, but this is the first time I have seen fresh ones. I didn't expect that our small place can produce such precious medicinal materials. However, if it is sold, it needs to be dried. That’s it.”

Jiang Sanlang was a little disappointed when he heard this.

When I was about to take back the mulberry tree and linden tree, I heard Li Langzhong say: "If this fresh golden ear is attached to the tree stem, it may not be damaged in a day or two. You can take it to the county town for a look."

Chuanhe Town is too small and has limited purchasing power. Even if the golden ear is a rare item, it cannot be sold. But if it was dried, he could buy some.

Jiang Sanlang's mind was slightly moved, and he quickly thanked: "Thank you, Mr. Li, for your guidance."

As he spoke, he cut off two large golden ears with a knife and gave them to Mr. Li.

Li Langzhong chuckled and said: "This thing is precious, I can't take it for nothing. Let's do this. I have a way to quickly dry medicinal materials. You can go back and try it to see if it can be used to dry golden ears."

Jiang Sanlang was overjoyed, "That's a good feeling." He bowed deeply to Mr. Li and said, "Thank you for your advice."

Li Langzhong smiled and told Jiang Sanlang how to make golden ears without hiding his secrets.

“When I was young, I learned from my master how to dry snow fungus, which is probably similar to gold fungus.

First clean the snow fungus and dry it in a bamboo plaque. Do not place it too densely and expose it to the sun for three or four days until it is completely dry. "

Li Langzhong took out a whole snow ear and handed it to Jiang Sanlang: "You can just dry it like this." He pointed to the root of the snow ear at the back of the head, "Be sure to dig out all the back pedicles, otherwise it will not be exposed to the sun and it will be easy to get hairy. Black mold.”

Jiang Sanlang nodded repeatedly.

“Another way is to build an oven in the yard, with a mezzanine.” Li Langzhong picked up a pen and drew a rough outline on the paper.

“That’s it, put the golden ear into the oven interlayer, bake it over a warm fire overnight, and it can be dried quickly. But the temperature should not be too high or too low, just twice as high as in the dog days of summer.”

Jiang Sanlang listened carefully to Li Langzhong's explanation, and also asked for the sketch to study it carefully.

After coming out of the medicine shop, he went home directly and told Chun Niang what Mr. Li had said.

“Li Langzhong also said that as long as we can find more golden ears, and if they are in good condition after drying, he can buy them for ten coins per catty.”

“Oh, really?” Chun Niang was so excited. He immediately turned around and asked his daughter, "Bao'er, where did you find it? My mother will go look for it with you tomorrow."

Yingbao: "It's in the woods, but there shouldn't be anything there anymore."

Chunniang felt slightly disappointed, then her daughter said again: "But we can plant it."

Yingbao pointed to the golden ears on the two mulberry trees and said, "Use these as seeds. Let's find some dead mulberry trees, dig a few holes in them, separate the roots of the golden ears, and plant them on the dead trees."

“Huh?” Is this still possible?

Not only Chun Niang was shocked, Jiang Sanlang was also shocked by the little girl's words.

They have never grown mushrooms, let alone golden ears.

“Is this really possible?” Chun Niang asked.

Without waiting for his daughter's reply, Jiang Sanlang said without hesitation: "It should be feasible. Listen to my daughter and let's take a look at it."

In fact, regardless of whether it works or not, Jiang Sanlang will give it a try.

One pound of dried golden ear can be sold for ten guan. This is a huge opportunity, how can we let it go so easily.

Just do it.

 Jiang Sanlang immediately went up the mountain and picked up a lot of dead mulberry trees and carried them back. He also followed the little girl's instructions and got some rice husk, chaff and sawdust, put them into a stone mortar and pounded them for later use.

He then dug holes in the mulberry wood, poured the sawdust and chaff into them, and poured water on them.

Then divide the golden ear root into several parts and plant them in holes filled with debris.

Plant the golden fungus, sprinkle it with water, and place the mulberry wood in a newly built bamboo shed to wait for the bacteria to emerge.

Of course, Yingbao would sprinkle the pond water in the cave over the mulberry tree every day to keep it moist.

After more than ten days, small golden ears finally grew back on the mulberry tree, and the growth was very gratifying.

Meanwhile, Jiang Sanlang also built a drying oven in the yard, a sandwich type. After several attempts, he finally found the right temperature and successfully dried seventeen golden ears.

The first time I dried the golden ear, it was not perfect, but it was pretty good, and the color of the golden ear was acceptable.

Jiang Sanlang was very happy and showed it to Li Langzhong immediately.

Li Langzhong was also surprised. He didn't expect that in just ten days, Jiang Sanlang could successfully dry the golden ears.

He weighed more than a dozen dried golden ears on a scale, making a total of four or eight.

According to the originally agreed price of ten guan per catty, four liang 8 would be four guan and eight hundred wen.

Li Langzhong gave the money to Jiang Sanlang and said with a smile: "Sanlang, if you still have it, you can take it and sell it to me together."

(End of this chapter)