Growing Ginger

Man Bao patted her small pocket and let out a sad sigh. When she returned home, she gave the fabric and cotton to her mother and solemnly announced to her family, "I've spent all my money, so from now on, you'll have to pay for the meat!"

Old Zhou glanced at the fabric and cotton in his wife's hands, touched his pipe, and thought to himself that at least it was all spent.

He nodded, then turned to his sons and said, "When you go out to sell soup, leave a pot behind and bring it back to heat up for your sister at night."

Everyone agreed, and Zhou Erlang even suggested, "We can also bring back some meat along with the bones for Man Bao."

So the matter of meat was resolved.

Information traveled slowly in those days, and the Zhou family followed Laoding to conduct business. Apart from Laoding and his family, who returned home every ten days, few others knew about it.

For over forty days, they had no competition, and their income was stable.

When Laoding and the others returned for the first time to rest and replenish their supplies, most of them no longer opted for dry rations. Instead, they carried rice or wheat directly to exchange for fresh and warm provisions from the Zhou brothers, along with a bowl of meat soup. Even if there were no vegetables, it was enough to fill their stomachs.

Some people had thought about doing the same, especially those who had many brothers in their families. They had considered it, but the thought of doing it and actually doing it were worlds apart.

Many people walked up to the meat stall, inquired about the prices, and then retreated.

It wasn't until the news spread from one village to another that some bold and clever individuals discovered they could earn money by following Laoding to prepare food.

So, people started showing up behind Laoding with carts, and of course, this included the two sections of Laoding that the Zhou brothers often followed.

They didn't make as much noise as the Zhou brothers; instead, they quietly brought the cooked buns in a basket to keep them warm and delivered them promptly. Perhaps realizing they didn't have much time, they deliberately lowered the price slightly or made the buns a bit larger than the ones from the Zhou brothers.

As a result, the Zhou brothers' business was divided.

Although they were quite regretful, Zhou Erlang said, "It's very fortunate to earn so much money."

Zhou Wulang's heart swelled with emotion as he asked, "Should we proceed?" We only produce two hundred and twenty coins per day, and we are no longer able to sell the vegetables. "But we can still sell the soup."

"Of course, we should go." Even if we can only sell soup, we can still earn over a hundred coins a day. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang did not have the same high expectations as their younger brothers. They also reminded them, "It's a cold winter day, and it's better to go out and earn some money than to stay at home." Lao Si, you still owe money to the family, and Lao Wu and Lao Liu, you've been clamoring to buy new clothes. "If each person goes out for a day, you can save enough for a new set of clothes in a few days."

Zhou Wulang reluctantly lowered his head and stared at his toes, feeling unhappy.

Old Zhou got angry and knocked on the stool, saying, "If you don't want to go, then come back and plow the fields!"

Who would plow the fields in the middle of winter?

Man Bao, who was busy gnawing on bones with her nephews and nieces, raised her head and clapped her hands, saying, "Great, come back and help me clear the land." "I think Lao Si's plot of land isn't large enough for me to plant everything I want." Let's expand the land a bit.

She said, "Lao Wu must be unhappy that there are too many people going and the money earned is too little, so you can take turns going." Today, San Sao and Si Ge will go, while Wu Ge and Liu Ge will stay at home to help me clear the land. Tomorrow, Wu Ge and Liu Ge will go out, while Si Ge will stay at home to work. How about that?

The brothers looked at each other and nodded after considering the situation. "Man Bao is right." If we can only sell soup, it's wasteful to have so many people attending. Two people can go out at a time, while the other two can stay at home to work.

He then looked at Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang and said, "You two should also take turns going." There's no need for all four of you to go on the trip. "There's also a lot of work to be done at home." The kitchen needs a storage rack, and the chicken coop needs repairs.

Although Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang were already adults, they did not want to stay at home and work. They slumped their shoulders, but they didn't dare to express their disappointment, fearing that their children would mimic their actions.

Old Zhou believed that the method he had arranged was effective. By taking turns going out, the day's income would be split between two people.

The public funds were not reduced, and four additional laborers were added to the family's workload daily. There was no problem.

Zhou Wulang couldn't help but complain to Man Bao, "What do you want to plant?" "Lao Si's piece of land is not small." Is it necessary to plant such a large area of sweet potatoes?

"And ginger," Man Bao said.

"This is so expensive, and there's no guarantee that it will grow." Your ambitions are too big.

Man Bao hummed, "I will definitely make it grow."

Man Bao took the ginger pieces to find Bai Shanbao for a specific purpose. The two of them looked through many books but couldn't find the planting method for ginger in the only agricultural book. Man Bao had read so many books during this time that she was dizzy, and she said, "The fact that such an important thing as ginger is not written about how to plant it." "Hmph, if they don't write it, I will."

She took out a lot of white paper from the printer, folded it, cut it, and then had her sister-in-law sew it for her. She then held the brush and wrote "Ginger" on the first page.

She decided to write it herself. Keke had mentioned that by observing carefully and maintaining a detailed planting diary, she could document the ginger planting method. Furthermore, the containers at Keke's place had the basic planting instructions written on them.

The customer service at the mall would also answer her questions about planting, but she didn't understand any of the nutrients or fertilizers. Keke also mentioned that those items were not available in her area, so she had to devise the planting method on her own.

Man Bao and Bai Shanbao were both impoverished children who were very enthusiastic about earning money. Bai Shanbao generously cleared the flower beds in her yard and buried the ginger in small pieces.

Occasionally, when the sons came to find her, they saw the two children squatting in the flower beds, playing earnestly. They couldn't help but feel a little conflicted. Although the flowers planted in the flower beds were not very valuable, it was still not easy to plant them. Why did they have to dig them up?

The two children worked hard and got covered in mud. In the end, Man Bao knocked the soil off the roots of the flowers that had been pulled out and gently placed them on the ground. She said seriously to Bai Shanbao, "It's too cold; we have to keep them warm." It's best to use straw and wheat straw. "I'll bring some for you tomorrow."

Bai Shanbao nodded seriously and then attentively watered the plants. Before going to bed at night, she thought of the ginger plants in the yard and got up to water them again.

As the Spring Festival approached, the temperature began to rise slightly, and the ginger pieces in Man Bao's vegetable garden actually sprouted. Man Bao was overjoyed and ran to the Bai family that day to ask if Bai Shanbao's ginger pieces had sprouted.

The two children squatted in the flower beds for half a day, but no sprouts appeared. In the end, they couldn't resist digging up the soil, only to discover that the once plump and swollen ginger pieces had turned black. When poked, they softened, indicating spoilage.