Chapter 177 – Making Money
Recently, Lu Xia was quite busy. When they built the house initially, they left a small plot of land for growing vegetables, and now it needed to be plowed.
So, during work hours, she and Jiang Junmo would plow the land with the villagers and educated youths, and after returning home, she and Jiang Junmo would continue plowing the yard. They were completely occupied.
Thankfully, the two of them worked together, and they quickly finished the plowing.
Coincidentally, at this time, the fields were also plowed, and the villagers wasted no time in starting the planting.
Planting was not too tiring. In groups of three, one person would dig the holes, another would place the seeds, and the third would cover them with soil.
With many hands, the task was completed in just a few days, and all the corn was planted.
But the work didn’t end there; apart from corn, there were also other crops like rice and sorghum to be planted.
So, from April to May, Lu Xia spent her time busy with spring farming.
By May, the workload reduced a bit. Lu Xia’s vegetable garden was also planted; she bought the vegetable seeds from the village and even mixed in some spiritual spring water while watering them, ensuring they grew well.
During this time, they also resumed going up the mountain to pick wild vegetables.
The previously available wild vegetables had grown old, but now a new type called “big leaf celery” had sprung up. Its taste was similar to regular celery, but as their homegrown vegetables hadn’t matured yet, they could utilize the big leaf celery in many ways, and it held high nutritional value.
Unlike the previous wild harvest, most of which had to be dried and stored until winter to be sold at a low price, the fresh big leaf celery could be sold right away. It was said that the supply and marketing cooperative set up a counter specifically for purchasing vegetables at this time, although the earnings were not substantial.
However, it still offered a legitimate opportunity to make money.
Moreover, big leaf celery grew in abundance on the mountain, and it was said that one person, Liu Jun, had earned more than thirty yuan from it last year.
So, when the big leaf celery grew this year, the people at the educated youth spot rushed up the mountain like they had been injected with chicken blood.
Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo naturally didn’t want to be left behind. They weren’t solely focused on making money; they also wanted to collect some to send back home and share with their families.
Of course, if they could make some money from it, it would be even better. They needed some legitimate ways to earn money so that their excessive spending wouldn’t attract too much attention from others. Although they had family allowances, it was better to be discreet.
There were indeed plenty of big leaf celery on the mountain. On their first day, each of them filled a sack, and though they didn’t press it down too hard, it still looked like a lot.
“This sack should be around thirty to forty catties,” Jiang Junmo estimated.
He lifted it and shook it, “There are about forty catties.”
Lu Xia nodded in satisfaction, feeling less tired after a day’s work, “I heard that the villagers usually sell it to the supply and marketing cooperative on the same day. Shall we go as well?”
Jiang Junmo thought for a moment, “Sure, there’s no way we can finish eating all of it, so we’ll leave some for later.”
Lu Xia agreed, “Alright, then we’ll take it to the supply and marketing cooperative later.”
Afterward, they pushed their bicycle to the town. On the way, they encountered many villagers carrying bags and baskets of vegetables on their way to town.
When they saw Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo, they smiled and greeted them, “Educated Youth Lu and Educated Youth Jiang, you’re also selling big leaf celery. Looks like you’ve gathered quite a lot!”
They envied the bicycle that Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo had brought along.
Lu Xia smiled and replied, “Today, we were lucky to find a large patch, but it might not be the same tomorrow.”
“That’s true; collecting this stuff really depends on luck.”
When they reached the supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Xia noticed that some of the educated youths had already arrived, and some had even finished weighing and selling their produce. Everyone wore smiles on their faces, indicating that they had made a good amount of money.
When it was Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo’s turn, the two sacks weighed more than eighty catties in total. The purchasing price was three cents per catty, so they earned two yuan and fifty cents from the sale.
*
Chapter 178 – Buying Chicks
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Earning so much in just one day was already quite a lot.
Even Sun Shengnan and the others were a bit envious when they saw the result, but they also knew that Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo earned it together, and the difference wouldn’t be much if divided among everyone.
What shocked Lu Xia was that Liu Jun had picked almost a hundred catties of big leaf celery, more than what she and Jiang Junmo earned combined.
No wonder he made so much money last year. Perhaps he already knew where the abundant areas were and went straight there this year, which is why he picked so much.
As the money rolled in, the villagers became even more motivated. Since the fields were already planted and there wasn’t much work, many people took leave from work to go up the mountain and pick big leaf celery.
In previous years, it was the same situation. The village chief couldn’t stop people from making money, considering he himself wanted to make money too. He even moved the planting time slightly earlier to avoid conflicts.
As for the educated youths, they became even more crazy. This was a rare opportunity for them to earn money. It was said that Liu Jun even went to pick at night, making use of moonlight to see and sometimes secretly lighting torches, though that was not very safe, and they couldn’t let the villagers find out.
Lu Xia was astonished when she heard about this, but she and Jiang Junmo weren’t as crazy. They occasionally took leave and joined the others in going up the mountain.
Surprisingly, even though it was tiring, they found the whole experience quite addictive, especially with such a bountiful harvest.
In short, after half a month, both the villagers and the educated youths had lost some weight due to their hard work. Liu Jun, in particular, had slimmed down a lot, but it was said that he had earned a considerable amount of money this year.
Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo also made some money, totaling over ten yuan.
They didn’t sell everything; they kept some for themselves to eat. The rest was blanched, dried, and sent back to the Jiang family, along with the previously collected wild vegetables.
In reality, these wild vegetables were mostly eaten during the winter when fresh vegetables were scarce. However, Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo didn’t wait until winter to send them. The taste was still good when freshly dried, but they might not be as fresh by winter.
After all the hard work, both Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo felt a bit tired.
At this time, they noticed that the vegetable seedlings in their garden had grown, but they hadn’t bought the chicks they planned to.
Lu Xia hurriedly went to the village and found that it was a bit late, but they could still buy them, albeit at a slightly higher price.
The higher price didn’t matter; the crucial thing was that they could get the chicks. Lu Xia entrusted this task to Aunt Cuiyun.
Aunt Cuiyun readily agreed, and after visiting her family, she brought five half-grown chicks to Lu Xia the next day.
Currently, the rural rule allowed each household to raise a maximum of five chickens.
“According to what you said, I had originally wanted to find all hens for you, but they weren’t willing to sell more, so I got four hens and one rooster instead.”
Lu Xia was already very satisfied, “That’s already great. Thank you so much, Aunt Cuiyun. I really appreciate it; otherwise, I wouldn’t know where to buy them.”
Aunt Cuiyun laughed heartily, “Why talk about these? In our village, we help each other out when someone needs it. There’s no need for so many formalities. If you need anything in the future, come find me.”
Lu Xia smiled and replied, “Sure, Aunt Cuiyun, I will remember that.”
Saying that, she took out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies, about six or seven pieces, and placed them in Aunt Cuiyun’s hand, “Take these candies back for your grandson to enjoy. It’ll sweeten his mouth.”
Although Aunt Cuiyun said, “Oh, you know the candy is precious. You should keep it,” she tightly held onto the candies and didn’t return them.
Lu Xia smiled and shrugged, “It’s just a few candies. Aunt Cuiyun, don’t be so polite. Otherwise, I’d feel bad about making you do so much for me.”
Aunt Cuiyun finally “reluctantly” accepted the candies and complained, “You educated youths, always so polite. Alright, I’ll take them. If you need anything in the future, come to me; I’ll definitely help you.”
“Okay, Aunt Cuiyun, I’ll remember that!”
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