Chapter 32 Guidance on the Maze
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. After observing it 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 by 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 her lips and said, "Let dad take it to the town drugstore tomorrow and check it out. If it doesn't work, go to the county seat."
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.
Therefore, most of the men in 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 came home barefoot from the fields, put down the sledge on his shoulders, scooped up water to rinse his feet, 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?"
Chun Niang 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, tutted his lips, and praised: "It tastes good, it's smooth, and it warms your stomach after drinking it."
Chun Niang pursed her lips and smiled and said: "This thing is very valuable. Grandma Nishimura 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?"
Ying Bao 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. He was surprised and said, "This is indeed golden ear. It is an excellent nourishing treasure."
He raised his old eyes and asked: "Has your Erlang ever eaten this?" He was also thinking about how Jiang Erlang recovered from his lung disease.
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 show you if it is 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 all.”
Jiang Sanlang was a little disappointed when he heard this.
When he was about to take back the mulberry tree, he 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 seat 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."
Then he cut off two big 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 relationship." 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 golden 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 fungus and handed it to Jiang Sanlang: "You can tan it like this."
He pointed to the root behind the snow ear, "Be sure to dig out all the back pedicles, otherwise it will not be exposed to the sun and will easily become black and moldy."
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 will dry 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 asked for the sketch to study it carefully.
After coming out of the drug store, 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, 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."
Chun Niang felt slightly disappointed, then her daughter said, "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."
"Ah?" 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 answer, Jiang Sanlang said without hesitation: "It should be feasible. Just listen to my daughter and let's take a look."
In fact, no matter whether it works or not, Jiang Sanlang will give it a try.
A kilogram of sun-dried golden ears can be sold for ten guan. This is a huge opportunity, how can you 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 husks, chaff and sawdust, and pounded them in a stone mortar for later use.
Then he 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 Sangmu with water from the cave 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.
In the meantime, Jiang Sanlang also built a drying oven in the yard, the kind with a sandwich. 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 so happy that he immediately showed it to Li Langzhong.
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, finding a total of four or two.
According to the originally agreed price of ten guan per catty, four taels would equal four guan and eight hundred guan.
Mr. Li gave the money to Jiang Sanlang and said with a smile: "Sanlang, if you still have it, you can sell it to me together."