Chapter 583: Chapter 583: Silver Sprouts in the Fields
Gu Jinli went to the pharmaceutical workshop and called for Qiu Lang and the others to mow the grass.
This was a task planned several days in advance. Upon seeing Gu Jinli’s arrival, Qiu Lang and his team immediately halted their current work, packed up their tools, and took rice knives borrowed from every family in the village to sprint towards the bamboo forest outside the mansion.
Gu Jinli pointed to a large patch of Mingya Grass in the bamboo forest and said, "You all recognize Mingya Grass, it’s the one with the red leaves. Just mow it like you would grass. After it’s cut, bundle up the Mingya Grass and take it to the pharmaceutical workshop, then pick out the seeds and weeds to finish the job."
"Yes," replied Qiu Lang and the others, who immediately started mowing the Mingya Grass.
Gu Jinli turned to Han Liu and said, "Uncle Xiao Liu, you take Uncle Dai and the others to the old houses at the end of the village, the ones my family bought. Mow the grass in the yards of those mud huts."
Doctor Wu knew she liked growing Mingya Grass and later brought her two hundred catties of seeds when acquiring herbs. She planted them in all the open spaces of the old houses she had bought, and now they were ready for harvest.
She then said to Aunt Hong, "Aunt Hong, you take Qingping, Qingrong, and follow Uncle Xiao Liu to help bundle up the cut Mingya Grass and move it back here. Hurry, it’ll be dark in another three hours, and we need to finish cutting all the Mingya Grass before nightfall."
Qingping and Qingrong were among the twenty-three girls brought over by Nanny Tao, who used to be maids. Half of them were older and belonged to the ’Qing’ generation, while the younger ones were of the ’Bai’ generation.
The nomenclature of these girls followed the generational prefixes Qing, Hong, Bai, Lu, and Lan.
Hearing this, Han Liu staggered, almost falling over. He turned his head to look at Gu Jinli with a bitter expression on his fully bearded face.
Gu Jinli winked at him and gestured encouragement.
Aunt Hong, understanding Gu Jinli’s intention, didn’t say anything further and simply led Qingrong and the others to help as instructed.
Nearly a hundred people together harvested the Mingya Grass, completing the task in less than four hours. Han Liu then took Qiu Lang and others to help mow the grass for several other families.
Village Chief He, accompanied by He Laoguo, He Laotian, He Dasu, and He Wazi’s family, came to see the harvesting of the Mingya Grass. When Uncle Dai relayed Gu Jinli’s message, he instructed them, "Mingya Grass is red and easy to distinguish. Once cut, just remove the non-red leaves, and that’s it."
He further cautioned, "You can’t mix in weeds, or else it will lose its medicinal effectiveness."
"Eh eh, rest assured Doctor Dai, we are old hands at farm work, meticulous in what we do. We won’t allow any weeds to be mixed in with the Mingya Grass," said the village chief. Then, pulling Doctor Dai aside, he asked quietly, "Doctor Dai, how much does Mingya Grass sell for per catty in the pharmacy?"
Doctor Dai smiled; the old village chief was sly, inquiring about the price on the sly, but the Young Master had anticipated this and instructed that if anyone asked, to tell the truth openly, with no need for concealment.
"Dried top-grade Mingya Grass is bought by the pharmacies for six copper coins, selling for ten copper coins per catty."
Village Chief He clicked his tongue, impressed by how much profit the pharmacy made, earning four more copper coins with a single transaction. However, knowing that Mingya Grass could indeed sell for six copper coins per catty, he was still very pleased.
He had calculated that although his family had only planted twenty catties of seeds, Mingya Grass grows aggressively, much more so than wild grass, and has grown into a thick mass. After harvesting and drying, there could easily be around three hundred catties, amounting to one tael and eight hundred copper coins at six copper coins per catty.
Village Chief He exclaimed: "Wow, two taels of silver sprouting from the ground, this grass really is valuable!"
Doctor Dai was startled by his shout and, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, said: "Village Chief, do you have any other questions? If not, I’ll be off to attend to some matters. Tomorrow when you all are cutting the grass, I’ll come over to show you how to prepare the Mingya Grass and how to dry it."
"Ah ah, Doctor Dai, you go ahead and get busy. Tomorrow I’ll send Tongsheng to fetch you." Village Chief He was so pleased, he trailed Third Grandpa, his eyes scanning left and right among the Mingya Grass, seeing them as if they were strings of Copper Coins. The more he looked, the more vigorous he became, until the sky turned pitch black. It was only when He Tongsheng came running to call him home for dinner that he, along with Old Guo and the rest, left.
The next day before dawn, families of Village Chief He got up. The villagers knew they were going to cut Mingya Grass today, so everyone came to watch the excitement.
They wanted to see the Qin, Gu, and Luotian families cut the Mingya Grass yesterday, but Wang Yongfu along with Old Zhu and his son, and He Sanlai were guarding the end of the village, preventing entry. So they could only suppress their burning curiosity until today.
As a result, the more they watched, the more baffled they became.
"Village Chief, is this how you cut the Mingya Grass? Isn’t this just like cutting wild grass? I thought this valuable Mingya Grass that could be sold would be harvested with more finesse."
Someone asked: "Village Chief, can this bright red grass really be sold for money?"
Before Village Chief He could answer, Fourth Son He’s wife sneered: "Ha, what money could it sell for? Go to the mountain, cut a load of wild grass, and try to sell it in town. Only a fool would pay for it. Village Chief, you have been deceived by the Gu Family, this grass of yours will surely end up as mere fuel for the stove once it’s dried."
Village Chief He was in high spirits, but was considerably annoyed when Fourth Son He’s wife threw a wet blanket on his mood. He didn’t indulge her behavior and addressed He Dacang standing beside him: "Old Four’s wife has been disrespectful with her words. Have her find two women to take her to the ancestral hall and kneel for five hours as a lesson."
Fourth Son He’s wife was stupefied, suddenly recalling how Village Chief He had grown much more assertive in the past year, punishing anyone who dared to cause trouble according to ancestral laws. She’d been showing off without thinking and had forgotten about this, so she quickly turned tail and ran.
Village Chief He said: "Go ahead, run. If you can escape today, do you think you can stay away from the village forever? You can’t avoid the punishment, kneeling earlier will end it sooner."
Seeing she couldn’t escape, Fourth Son He’s wife immediately feigned crying and pleaded for mercy, but Village Chief He was not swayed. He insisted that He Dacang’s wife and two older women escort her to the ancestral hall to kneel.
With Fourth Son He’s wife being taken to the ancestral hall, the other women who wanted to make snide remarks all shut their mouths. After watching idly for a long while and finding it dull, they all went back home.
Yet, merely five days later, those who felt that Village Chief He and his folks had been played were shocked. This was because the Gu Family bought all the Mingya Grass from the five families, including Village Chief He and Old Guo’s, at the price of six cents per catty.
"Village Chief He’s family sold a total of 340 catties of Mingya Grass, earning two taels and forty cents. It’s as if two taels of silver truly sprouted from the wasteland."
"He Shengzi’s family sold even more, 400 catties total, earning two taels and four hundred cents. That sure made his grandpa incredibly happy."
"Wow, this Mingya Grass really can make money. What are we waiting for, let’s hurry to the Gu Family to ask for some seeds." He Daqiao’s wife’s eyes were red with excitement as she spoke, then slapped her thigh hard, saying: "Look at how foolish I am, the Gu Family doesn’t allow us to just go to the end of the village, we need to find the Village Chief as a guarantor first."
Saying this, she hurried away, even leaving behind the water she was halfway through collecting.
"Daqiao’s wife, wait for us, we’re coming too." The other village women quickly followed suit, and even instructed their kids at home: "Hurry back and tell your dad to go to the Village Chief’s house. Silver is growing in the fields, we must plant it right away!"