Guan Zongbao got up at five o'clock in the morning, fed Huang's mulberries, and started the day's work. He finished the housework before making breakfast. He collected the silkworm droppings that he had left in the early morning and did not feed them to the fish. Last year, the local Mr. Zhu's family purchased a large amount of silkworm excrement. It is said that they opened a patent medicine workshop that uses silkworm excrement to make medicine. The purchase price was high, so the surrounding silkworm farmers would rather collect the silkworm excrement and sell it to Zhu's family. Instead, the pond's feed needs to be supplemented by harvesting a large amount of grass from the fields.
At dawn, Mr. Huang got up and ate pickles after taking a nap to refresh himself. Taking advantage of the cool morning temperature, he and his son took sickles, hoes, mulberry baskets and other farm tools and went to the mulberry garden to weed. The weeds can be used as grass in the fish pond. But this is far from enough, so he also harvests a large amount of aquatic grass piles from the swamps and water surfaces near the mulberry garden to make green manure to supplement the feed for the fish ponds.
Mulberry leaves in the early morning are covered with dew. Picking them to feed silkworms can easily make them sick. After the dew evaporates, it is the best time to collect mulberry leaves. After finishing the previous farm work, the two began to pick mulberry leaves.
The mulberry gardens in Jiujiang are different from those in the south of the Yangtze River. The amount of mulberry planted depends on the fatness and thinness of the land. For fat ones, each row is one foot or two inches apart, while for thin ones, the distance between each row is one foot, five or six inches. The spacing is mostly seven or eight feet, which is about one acre of mulberry. Five or six thousand mulberry trees were planted on the ground. However, the planting density of arborvitae mulberry trees in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River is only 240 plants per mu, and that of lake mulberry trees in Jiangnan is only 200 plants per mu, forming a huge contrast. The lifespan of Guangdong mulberry trees is generally up to thirty years. Mulberries planted before the beginning of spring will have a harvest of mulberry leaves in the third year of the year. Mulberries planted in the first and second months of the first month will only have a harvest in the second year.
The biggest difference from Jiangnan Mulberry Garden is that there is a process of "cutting branches" around the winter solstice every year. Counting from the root of the mulberry plant, leave an inch of the mulberry head. The mulberry planter uses a sickle to quickly cut across the mulberry tree. It is not allowed to cut twice in a row to prevent damage to the mulberry tree. Pruning usually coincides with the harvest of pond fish. At this time, the pond is drained and the pond mud is cultivated on the foundation. The fertility of the pond mud is used to provide mulberry for the winter, and it can also prevent the growth of weeds.
But if you need to supply overwintering silkworm seeds, there is the so-called mulberry flower production. Those who plant mulberry trees do not cut off their branches during the winter solstice and allow some of their horizontal branches to grow, which is called the "big tree tail". At the end of spring and early spring, some young leaves will sprout, which are called "mulberry flowers". This requires seed producers to make reservations from mulberry growers. Since the yield is extremely low, these mulberry flowers can be sold at a high price. The branches are cut after the mulberry flowers are picked, so this part of the mulberry tree cannot supply the first silkworms and can only supply the second silkworms normally.
Huang bent over, holding the branch in his left hand, and quickly twisted the mulberry leaves with his right hand. He was very particular about the position and speed of the mulberry leaves, so as to prevent damage to the mulberry tree. Because the first mulberry trees are new branches and leaves that grow after pruning, they are very short and require a lot of effort to pick them. When the first two or three were planted, the weather was still slightly cold and the young leaves could not be picked. Five or six leaves must be left on each branch.
The picked mulberry leaves were stacked and put into the mulberry basket on Huang's back. The mulberry basket is made of bamboo and has good air permeability, which can prevent the mulberry leaves from fermenting and deteriorating.
Guan Zongbao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Mom, if we save some money this year, we can hire someone to pick mulberries next year. If we work hard day and night, we will be tired sooner or later, but the gains outweigh the losses."
Huang said: "From the second to seventh mulberry leaves, every kilogram of mulberry leaves costs four cents. The first one is more expensive, costing six cents. It's not worth it. When we save more money, we can arrange a marriage for you. There are many people in the family. A helping hand would be nice.”
After the two finished their work, the sun had already risen. Guan Zongbao transported the hard-harvested weeds back to be made into fertilizer, and then carried a load of mulberry leaves on a pole to the mulberry market, preparing to sell them at a good price.
"There are so many annoying mosquitoes. Next time I will bring a box of anti-mosquito tablets to kill you all!" Zhao Hening was a little angry. She held a local cattail leaf fan to drive away the mosquitoes hovering above her head. She was glad that she listened to Zhang Xiao's advice. When I left Guangzhou, I brought long-sleeved clothes and long-leg pants to imitate the dress of local rural girls. After living in Lingao for a long time, she had almost forgotten the ferocity of mosquitoes in the countryside.
The task assigned to her by Li Yao'er was to investigate the operating mechanism of the local sericulture industry. Zhao Hening took Zhang Jiayu away on the grounds that she needed locals as guides. Li Yaoer was a little worried, so he arranged for Ziren, a police officer stationed at Jiujiang Police Station, to follow him.
Jiujiang Daxu is the market center of Jiujiang, but the mulberry market is not located in Daxu. Instead, it is located in more grassroots villages and sericulture areas. There are countless mulberry markets, including one in a small village. Jiujiang is densely populated. Zhao Hening and his party set out from Daxu to the south only two or three miles before arriving at Nanfang Village. Outside the village is a circular fish pond formed by digging earth, which has an obvious defensive function like a moat.
Zhang Jiayu pointed to some thatched "shops" at the waterfront outside the village and said to Zhao Hening: "Hening, this is the so-called mulberry market."
Zhao Hening was obviously a little disappointed and said: "This is also called a city? There are only two or three shabby thatched houses!"
Zhang Jiayu said: "The clans in rural Guangfu often reject foreign merchants. The merchants in the village go home after completing the transaction. There is no need to build permanent shops, so a few thatched houses are enough."
Before he even got close, he heard the two women spitting and scolding each other. Woman A scolded: "You shameless chicken thief, you like chickens so much, why don't you make chickens?"
Woman B scolded: "You are the chicken, your whole family is chickens, look at whoever raises chickens, they all look like your chickens!"
"Humph, you still have reason to steal my chickens!"
"Why do you say this is your chicken? Why is your chicken looking for food in my mulberry garden?"
The number of villagers who watched the excitement gradually increased, and some people tried to dissuade him, but to no avail. A hen in the countryside was a big fortune, and no one was willing to give up, let alone admit to stealing the chicken.
Zhao Hening saw that Le Ziren was watching it with gusto, so he asked him: "You are a cadre of our Senate after all. Why don't you go to resolve the dispute and instead watch the excitement here?"
Le Ziren said: "Miss Zhao, isn't it just a chicken? Such trivial things are too common in the countryside, and I can't deal with them. Besides, I can't speak bird language, so how do I know whose family this chicken belongs to?" of?"
Zhao Hening gave Le Ziren a roll of his eyes, thought for a moment, stepped forward and shouted loudly: "Aunties, stop arguing!"
The two women facing each other who were squirting vigorously were startled by Zhao Hening's sudden shouts. They both looked at her, not knowing what was going on.
Neither Zhang Jiayu nor Le Ziren expected that Zhao Hening would take the initiative to interfere, and they had no time to stop them. Seeing that the two of them were quiet for a moment, Zhao Hening continued: "Aren't you arguing about whose family this chicken belongs to? But no one can prove the ownership of this chicken. I have a way."
Woman B rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, who's yellow-haired girl whose hair hasn't even grown yet wants to take care of my business?"
When Woman A saw someone helping her, she said, "Hey, my little girl, you feel guilty when you see rough roads, don't you?"
"Why are you vain? I've never been vain before! She's a foreigner, and she's here to take care of the affairs of the village?"
"It's good for foreigners. It has nothing to do with you and me. This is only fair."
The woman Yi Liqu had no choice but to say: "Then let her talk. I'll see what she can do."
Zhao Hening said: "Okay, where do you two live?"
The two women pointed to their thatched houses respectively. They were both on mulberry trees not far away. The two families were not far apart.
Zhao Hening said: "Give me the chicken."
In order not to appear so guilty, Woman B readily handed the little hen to Zhao Hening. Zhao Hening grabbed the chicken wings and led everyone to the middle of the two thatched houses. He said: "There is no name written on this chicken, and you can't provide conclusive evidence to prove whose chicken it is, but the chicken... You know whose family you belong to. This is the middle of two families. I put the chicken here, and whichever nest it returns to, it belongs to whose family. Do you agree?"
When Woman A heard this, her chickens would definitely return to their nest and she said hello repeatedly.
Woman B has a secret in her heart. The chickens that escaped from other people's homes will naturally return to other people's nests. In this way, she will really become a chicken thief. However, she can't show her cowardice now, so she has to bite the bullet and agree.
Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Zhao Hening let go of his hand, and the hen ran back in the direction of woman A after getting off the ground. Woman B found a step for herself and said: "My chickens are all raised in the mulberry garden. Like some men, it is common not to go home. Since it doesn't want to go home, just let it go."
The dispute was resolved, and there was no excitement anymore. The onlookers quickly went about their own business. After enjoying the thanks from Woman A, Zhao Hening was in a good mood and said to Zhang Jiayu, "How was it? Did you handle it beautifully?"
"Clean and beautiful, I'm ashamed of myself!" Zhang Jiayu was a little ashamed. He used to call himself a chivalrous man, so he naturally wanted to do justice and put his family and country first. He would not care about such trivial matters. He didn't expect Zhao Hening to be so clean. A dispute was neatly resolved.
Le Ziren said flatteringly: "Miss Zhao is indeed a top student in Fangcaodi..."
Zhao Hening imitated Zhang Xiao's tone and said: "The grassroots cadres of the Senate must learn to go deep into the grassroots, become familiar with the people's sentiments, and shine the light of the Senate into every corner."
"Yes, yes, Miss Zhao is right." Le Ziren quickly agreed.
The mulberry city quickly returned to normal. Zhao Hening and his party pretended to be farmers buying mulberry leaves and started chatting with the villagers. In places like Jiujiang where the sericulture industry is relatively developed, the mulberry market is generally not open on market days. Instead, it is open for more than 20 days every day to supply mulberry leaves. The land occupied by Sang City is either the public property of the village, the public property of a certain ethnic group, the property of a certain ancestral hall, or the temple property of a certain temple. Generally, it is contracted every year or every few years, and the proceeds are used as land rent.
One of the larger thatched sheds is a place dedicated to storing mulberry leaves, and a small room next to it is a place for buying and selling. Zhao Hening became interested in a young man wearing patched clothes. This man looked handsome, but was tanned and had scars and bruises on his face. He was Guan Zongbao.
