pjbooks Chapter 15 Digging for Licorice
Chapter 15 Digging for Licorice
Seeing that the person on the ground was no longer moving, with only faint breathing sounds remaining, Shan Yaowen tore off the sack.
It wasn't that he was upright and honest, or that he would admit to doing something wrong; the main thing was that this was one of the few sacks in the family, and he couldn't let it fall into the hands of Zhao Laosan.
After the sack was torn off, Shan Yaowen was prepared to confront or curse at Zhao Laosan, but Zhao Laosan, who was lying on the ground, curled up with his hands covering his head and his eyes closed.
"Brother, I don't know where I offended you. If you want to hit me, go ahead and vent your anger. If it's about collecting debts, brother, just wait a few days. I'll have the money soon. Don't worry, I didn't see your face, brother, and I won't retaliate against you afterwards..."
Looking at the very sensible Zhao Laosan, Shan Yaowen chuckled inwardly, packed up the sack, and left without a word.
Zhao Laosan was still calling out "Big Brother, Big Brother" on the ground.
Only after Shan Yaowen had gone quite a distance and Zhao Laosan realized there was no sound in front of him did he muster up his courage, squinting to look around. After confirming that no one was there, he stood up cursing.
"Who the hell followed me up the mountain to ambush me?" After getting up, Zhao Laosan didn't say anything about continuing to follow Shan Laoer, and hurried down the mountain. This mountain was too damn eerie.
Nobody bothers me at home, but I got beaten up when I went up the mountain.
However, as Zhao Laosan walked, he was still wondering who had hit him—his creditor?
Impossible. They could just come to my house and block the door. There's no need for them to come up the mountain and beat me up. Could it be Shan Lao Er?
It's very likely that this guy is sneaking up the mountain, probably because he has some shady secret. However, he's so cautious that I can't handle him for the time being.
Shan Yaowen didn't go far; he stood behind a tree nearby, watching. The sacks had been put away, and he was holding a loaded gun.
I don't know why Zhao Laosan, that scoundrel, has set his sights on me. If beating him up isn't enough, then I'll have to use a gun. Luckily, he's smart enough not to follow me any further.
After getting rid of Zhao Laosan, Shan Yaowen went into the mountains to find medicinal herbs.
He came here mainly to find licorice, as he remembered that there was a large slope in this mountain that grew licorice.
However, when Shan Yaowen arrived at the location, he discovered that the area had already been visited by others and was full of potholes.
"Indeed, every era has its clever people."
Shan Yaowen was not disappointed. Although licorice is now a protected plant in the wild, it is impossible to eradicate it now.
He put down the sack, took out a hoe, and began searching.
Digging up licorice is quite tiring. The roots of licorice are generally 50-100 centimeters long, and in older plants they can even reach more than 1 meter.
When digging, you can't dig straight up and down; you have to dig diagonally from one side of the plant to avoid cutting the main root. In short, digging medicinal herbs is a troublesome task. If you accidentally break or damage them, their value will be greatly reduced.
Even with his memories and experience from his previous life, Shan Yaowen still broke several roots at first before gradually getting on the right track.
……
While Shan Yaowen was working hard on the mountain, the eldest son of the Shan family returned with a cartload of firewood. After rubbing his hands together, he immediately stretched them out to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked his father, who was sitting on it:
"Where's the second son? He hasn't come back yet?"
"He went out early this morning." Father Shan was tidying up the leather on the kang table with scissors. "How's your work going? Can you go back to work in a couple of days?"
Upon hearing this, Shan Yaowu shook his head. "I asked around, and the sand-shoveling operation doesn't need that many people right now."
Back in the fall, Shan Yaowu worked at the sand quarry. Although he was a temporary worker, at least he had something to do. But after the snow, more and more people became idle, and many people went to the sand quarry looking for work.
He got the job through connections, but after this phase, the sand field got new staff, and he became unemployed. He was planning to stay home and do some work to find something else, but he hasn't heard anything from them yet.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shan frowned. "Let's stay home for now. I'll ask someone to inquire at the ranch."
Mr. Shan worked at a state-run ranch, and his injury was a good opportunity for his eldest son to take over his shift.
"Dad, if I go to the ranch, wouldn't that be the same as you losing your job? Let's forget it." It wasn't that Shan Yaowu didn't want to go to the ranch, but the number of people there was already fixed, and changing people would require approval from superiors.
Moreover, his departure is tantamount to inheriting his father's position. What will happen to the second son?
"Go ahead, it'll be yours sooner or later anyway," Mr. Shan said dejectedly, waving his hand.
It wasn't that he was biased. He had told his second son a long time ago that he was thinking of giving him a job so that he would have some security, since his second son was unreliable. But his son didn't like the job and insisted on going out to make big money.
Then a tacit understanding was formed in the family: the single father would take the job at the ranch, and the eldest son would take care of the two of them in their old age.
However, because the single father and single mother were worried about the second child, they never separated their households.
The eldest son was also afraid that if the family split up, the second son wouldn't be able to survive. He also felt that he was taking advantage of his younger brother, so he kept dragging it out.
"Dad, the second son has changed a lot now. Maybe he'd like to take the job on the ranch."
"He wouldn't do that. Why would he open his own ranch if he wanted to?" The father knew exactly what his son was thinking. From the moment he learned that his second son had decided to open a ranch, he knew that this kid hadn't given up on his dream of making big money.
However, he is much more mature now than before. Before, he would just talk the talk but never walk the walk, but now at least he is taking action, which is a good start.
"Sigh, if only the second son could be more obedient," Mr. Shan sighed.
The two brothers have completely opposite personalities. The elder brother is calm and reserved, but a bit quiet and doesn't like to talk much. The younger brother is lively, but not at all steady and too impulsive.
"I'm back!"
The father and son had just finished talking about family matters when they heard Shan Yaowen's voice outside.
When Shan Yaowu went outside, he almost didn't recognize his younger brother. "What have you been doing?"
Shan Yaowen went out clean in the morning, but when he came back, he was covered in mud. There wasn't a clean spot on his body, his clothes were torn in several places, and there was blood on his hands.
"Erguo~" Shan Xiaomei blinked and rushed out, stopping her momentum in front of Shan Yaowen.
My second brother always comes home clean and tidy, why is he all dirty today?
"Sweetie, your second brother is dirty, I'm not hugging you anymore."
Shan Yaowen wanted to touch the little sister, but he withdrew his outstretched hand. None of his ten fingers had clean nail crevices; they were all covered in black mud, and his palm was stained with a mixture of dirt and blood.
After Shan Yaowen finished speaking, he looked at his elder brother and pointed to the sack next to him: "I went to dig for licorice root and slipped and fell on my way back."
Looking at the large sack next to his younger brother, Shan Yaowu felt a slight tremor in his heart. "Did you dig all of these?"
He stepped forward and lifted it up; it weighed about fifty pounds.
Is my younger brother really that amazing?
How can you dig up so much licorice in a day?
He thought he was tired enough after chopping firewood all day, but he didn't expect his second brother to be even more ruthless. He spent the whole day digging for licorice on the mountain. Digging for this stuff is no easier than chopping firewood. You have to dig it on your knees. It's damp and cold this time of year, and Shan Yaowu can imagine how his knees would feel.
After Shan Yaowen changed his clothes and took a shower, the whole family sat together. As for the sack of licorice he brought back, Shan's mother had already washed it and was hanging it out to dry.
When Shan Yaowen came out, everyone's gaze towards him changed, especially his sister-in-law Shi Fang. After all, she knew how much work it took to dig up so much licorice in a day, and she certainly couldn't do it herself.
"Do you plan to sell these licorice roots directly or process them first?" The father looked at his second son with mixed feelings, not expecting him to be so capable after suddenly realizing his mistake.
He admitted that he couldn't have produced so much licorice when he was younger.
"Selling fresh goods directly is difficult; slicing and drying them on this day is also not easy."
The sun is weak after a snowfall, and it would take forever to dry anything. I don't know how much firewood I would need to burn to dry it indoors.
"Tsk tsk, the purchasing station is offering two cents a pound for fresh goods, so you're making ten yuan a day, Wen!" Shi Fang exclaimed, looking at her brother-in-law in amazement.
Upon hearing this, Shan Yaowen sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and had his younger sister apply the medicine for him. He sighed, "It's just good luck that we found a large, continuous field of them. Otherwise, how could we dig up so many in a day? Normally, we can only make a few dozen kilograms a day and earn a dollar or two at most."
"Too."
If you can dig up fifty or sixty kilograms a day and earn a dozen or so yuan, then the surrounding mountains will basically be plucked bare.
People at that time had all come from hard times, and they worked really hard. What they feared most was not working. Even if they could only earn three or four yuan a day, let alone a dozen yuan, countless people would still do it.
At this time, people are least afraid of being tired; what they fear is hunger, poverty, and being broke.
Shan Yaowen was able to dig up so much food in a day because he knew about the surrounding mountains and forests after his rebirth and knew where the goods were. Otherwise, he would only be able to dig up a few dozen kilograms a day.
Moreover, we dug up several major areas today, so we probably won't be able to dig up this many tomorrow. After all, these things don't grow overnight, and digging up one area means one less area to dig up.
"By the way, I'm thinking of having your older brother handle the work at the ranch. What do you think?" After sighing, Mr. Shan brought up his position.
"Great! That's wonderful!" Shan Yaowen slapped his thigh excitedly. "Keep it up, big brother!"
Shan Yaowu scratched his head sheepishly, "Second brother, you don't want it?"
"No." Shan Yaowen refused decisively.
Even Shi Fang, who was standing next to him, looked at him strangely, as if her brother-in-law was indeed different now.