big sister headed home

Chapter 16

In the afternoon, because of Jiang Ermeng's appearance, "Dou Hua was in a trance for a long time." She only did some things, "Simply tidied up the herbs," and the mushrooms she picked up were not too many. Forget it, who made them have no vegetables to eat now'The wild vegetables are the most eaten, it's okay to eat wild vegetables occasionally'Eat every meal, eat every day'Eat a lot'Dou Hua always feels like she has become that Rabbits generally' eat grass every day.

There are more than 20 medicinal herbs 'not too many' but medicinal herbs are still relatively rare in early spring, Dou Hua intends to take these to the county town 'to see if the pharmacy there accepts them, and how many copper coins are also an income.Thinking of this, Dou Hua decided to go to the county tomorrow while the herbs were still fresh.

After Dou Qing picked up firewood with Dou Lin, he rested for a while and went out again. Dou Lin yelled that he was going to fetch elm money, so Dou Qing led him and Xiao Dou Hong to the courtyard not far away with long sticks and baskets. Playing elm money under an elm tree.

After a spring rain, the weather became warmer and warmer. The elms on the elm trees grew out, hanging in strings on the branches, emerald green.

When it’s the season to eat elm money, elm money is for people to try early spring when there is a shortage of vegetables. Basically every household in the village will buy some elm money to add to the dishes to try something new, and some people will also buy more and take it to the market in the county. Sell ​​it in the market.

It's the right time for yuqian to go on the market. There are many people selling it, and the selling price is not high. You can buy a big bowl for a penny. These dozens of coins are also very important. Although a few dozen coins are not much, they can buy some grain and cut a few catties of meat.

Dou Cui didn't follow her to hunt yuqian, but stayed at home to clean the rabbit pen. She was a diligent person, and always found some work for herself when she had nothing to do. She also cared about the big and small rabbits in the family. She still remembered these things The rabbit can still be sold for money in the future, and she likes this fluffy and cute little rabbit very much.

"Everyone, do you think they have gained weight?" Dou Cui and Dou Hua who came to help said.

Dou Hua glanced at the trembling and timid rabbits, and saw that their fur seemed to be shiny and smooth, and she didn't notice that they had gained weight. However, she didn't disappoint Dou Cui, and nodded directly, " Well, it probably grew a little bit, you feed them so well, eat a lot, and grow meat naturally."

Dou Cui was happy when she heard that, and looked at the rabbits with a smile on her face, "Little rabbit, you should eat more, gain weight, and grow up quickly."

This is the first time for Dou Hua to see such a bright and lively side of her older sister. Compared with Xiao Dou Hong, Dou Cui is much quieter. She doesn't talk much, but does a lot of work. She is the kind of person who works more and talks less, with a temper Either way, when he grows up, he must be a diligent and virtuous person.

"Sister, what do you think about raising a few more chickens in our family? I heard from A Tao that her chickens are brooding. When her chickens hatch, we will exchange a few with hers. When our chickens grow up Return the eggs to her house." Dou Cui said, looking at the empty chicken coop not far away.

"Tweety, do you want to raise chickens?" Dou Hua asked. She is willing to raise chickens. Chickens grow up and lay eggs. Every day, I cook one for the small ones. It is also good to supplement nutrition, but she is a little dissatisfied. I like the smell of chicken feces. It stinks in summer and can suffocate people to death. There are also those who grow vegetables at home. These chickens cannot be free-range. They must be raised in captivity like rabbits, otherwise those vegetable seedlings will also be harmed by these chickens.

"Yes, big sister, raise chickens to lay eggs, and my younger brother and younger sister will be able to eat eggs." Dou Cui said, still thinking about the two younger ones.

"Well, let's just raise a few chickens, but we need to build a new nest for the chickens and raise them in captivity, and we must clean them in the future." Dou Hua said.

"It's no problem. It doesn't take too much trouble to clean it every day. If you agree, big sister, I'll go to A Tao's house and say it right now, so that the little chicken will be taken away by other people's house." Dou Cui said joyfully, with a smile on her face A little more.

"Well, let's go, don't talk about changing it, just buy it with copper coins, we still have some copper coins at home, to save trouble in the future, these herbs can also be exchanged for some copper coins tomorrow, don't worry too much." Dou Hua said He said that he was also afraid that A Tao's mother would not want to exchange them for chickens. After all, there is no adult in charge of their family now. Dou Cui's little sister, A Tao, is not bad, but her mother is not so easy to talk to, and she is also a powerful person.

"Hey, okay, I'll talk about it right away." After finishing the work in hand, Dou Cui went to the kitchen to fetch water to wash her hands, freshen up briefly, and then went out to the neighbor A Tao's house not far away.

Dou Hua looked at Dou Cui's appearance like this, and thought that the little girl has grown up and knows how to face, but seeing Dou Cui's washed white clothes with two patches on it, Dou Hua's eyebrows She wrinkled a bit, and felt that she really neglected this sensible elder sister. Dou Cui's clothes were so worn out that she didn't make a sound, but she, the elder sister, didn't pay attention to it all the time.

Dou Hua thought that tomorrow she would sell the medicinal herbs and go to the cloth shop to get some ruler heads and add clothes to the little ones.But when she thought about the price of those cloths, she frowned even more. She felt that even if all the herbs were sold, she wouldn't be able to buy many feet back.

In this era, cloth definitely occupies the bulk of people’s living expenses, and the price is not cheap. Coarse cloth and linen cost twelve cents a foot, ordinary cotton cloth costs twenty cents a foot, and better fine cotton cloth costs thirty cents a foot. feet, not to mention those silks and satins that only wealthy people can afford, those prices are even more expensive, and they are not affordable by ordinary people at all.

Ordinary peasant households are better off pulling a few feet of cotton cloth to make clothes, and most of them sew clothes with wear-resistant and strong coarse cloth and linen. Although these clothes are strong, they are relatively hard and uncomfortable to wear next to the body.

Thinking of the poor situation at home, Dou Hua couldn't help but sigh in her heart, living at home is really not easy, especially without adults around, as the eldest sister, it is very difficult for her to bear the burden of the family alone.

Dou Hua felt melancholy for a moment, then regained her confidence. God treated her well. Now she has superhuman five senses and can see the halo of plants. Dou Hua feels that these will definitely help her family live a better life. good day.

The staple food for dinner is steamed elm money, and the dish is a small half pot of stewed chicken and mushrooms left over from lunch. The family sits around the table together and eats simple meals that are delicious.

Early the next morning, it was still sunny, and Dou Hua carried a basket containing the medicinal herbs arranged yesterday, and went to the county seat alone.

This day is not the day of the market. On the street where the market is located, there are only a few farmers selling elm coins. The shops on both sides of the street are open. When there is no market, some shoppers who need things will directly Go into the store to buy, but the price is slightly more expensive than the stalls in the market.

Dou Hua had experience in selling furs before, but this time she learned to be smart. There were four pharmacies on the street, and Dou Hua went into three of them to inquire about the price. This was her first time selling herbal medicine in a pharmacy. This is the easiest and most stupid way to compare the prices of three companies and find a suitable one.

Two of the three stores offered similar prices, namely fourteen and fifteen yuan per plant, while the third one offered the lowest price, only saying eight yuan to buy it, which was obviously dishonest. Seeing that she didn't know about it, she wanted to fool her.

Dou Hua took down the name of this store in her heart, thinking that she would never go into this store again in the future.In the end, Dou Hua chose the Baohetang pharmacy that offered fifteen cents a plant, and sold the medicinal materials to his family. For Dou Hua, an extra penny is good now.

The one who collected the medicinal herbs was an apprentice buddy of Baohetang, and he was quite talkative. When he saw Dou Hua returning to sell herbal medicines, he said, "Girl, don't worry about selling the medicinal herbs to us. Our Baohetang collects and sells medicinal materials. I don’t dare to say it, but in this county, it is definitely the most trustworthy, and it will never fool you casually. If you dig herbs in the future, just come to us, and I will definitely give you a good price. Yes. These are just some common hemostatic herbs. The price is lower. If you can dig up some good herbs, the price will be higher. Here, this is the money for these herbs. There are 24 herbs in total, fifteen cents One plant, a total of 360 Wen, you count it."

Dou Hua took the copper coins, counted them carefully, and thought that these herbs were worth some money, which was far beyond her expectation. She didn't expect these herbs to sell for hundreds of copper coins.

"Well, I see, you also accept other herbs here, right? It's just that I don't know some herbs, so I don't know which ones you need here?" Dou Hua is still very unfamiliar with herbs, although she now has the ability to discover herbs. It's a pity that she doesn't know it, and doesn't understand the value of these herbs themselves.

"It's okay, just dig up the herbs you know and send them here. We collect most of the herbs here, and we have a special map of herbs here. If you encounter unclear identification, we will compare them one by one. That's fine, and my master is the treasurer of Baohetang, he is also very proficient in identifying medicinal materials, there is no problem with him, I have only learned a little bit now, and only know some common herbs."

"Oh, and the map of the medicinal materials? Can you show me?" Dou Hua's eyes lit up when she heard that there was a map. Now she is worried about not knowing what herbs are there.

"This..." The apprentice was a little embarrassed, "This map is very precious, and the master cherishes it very much, so I won't let it be taken out easily."

"Your master isn't here now, so I'll just take a look, it won't be damaged, and you'll pack it up as soon as you finish reading, and your master won't know about it. You can use these copper coins to buy a cup of tea, and I'll dig up some herbs in the future." How about you, let me have a look." Dou Hua counted out five of the copper coins that the apprentice buddy paid him and stuffed them into his hand coaxingly.

Sure enough, the apprentice guy got the money, and his words became much looser, "Okay, I'll show it to you, you look quickly, my master is going to visit friends, and he will be back soon." After finishing speaking, the apprentice guy walked out from behind the counter He took out a roll of yellowed leather paper from the cupboard, carefully opened it, and spread it on the counter. Did he glance outside the shop for fear that his master would come back suddenly.

"Okay, let me see what those medicinal herbs look like, and when I dig them up, I can bring them here and exchange them for some money." Dou Hua said, then lowered her head to look carefully at the various herbal medicine illustrations drawn on the paper, This blueprint is also some years old, and it is well preserved. The illustration book on it is still relatively clear and recognizable. Dou Hua concentrated her energy and relied on her superhuman five senses to browse from beginning to end in a short period of time, deeply understanding the illustration book and its name. in mind.

Although she remembered it, Dou Hua couldn't guarantee that she would be able to identify the medicinal herbs when she went to the mountain to dig for them. After all, there was a certain difference between the illustrated book and the real thing.

"Okay, can you finish reading it? I'm going to put it away." The apprentice urged anxiously, "There are so many medicinal herb illustrations, even if you read them a few times, you won't remember them all. Let alone you, I am I've been in this pharmacy for almost a year, and I haven't memorized half of the herbs in this illustration book yet."

(End of this chapter)