Zhao Hening walked up to him and asked, "Brother, how do you sell mulberry leaves?"
Guan Zongbao said: "Seven coins per load."
Zhao Hening smacked his lips a little, "It's not cheap."
Seeing that she found it too expensive, Guan Zongbao said: "Sister, this is the market price. If you don't have enough cash in hand, you can withdraw some mulberry leaves first. After the harvest, you make money, and then you can pay back the original amount, but there will be an additional %." Three interest.”
Zhao Hening shook his head and said he didn't buy it. It didn't take long for other farmers to reach an agreement with Guan Zongbao, and I would buy every bit of it. The transaction is completed in the trading room. There is a scale in the room, which is controlled by a scale hand. After the buyer and seller agree on the price, the scale hand weighs it. After weighing, the number is reported loudly. A secretary calculates the transaction amount and reviews the transaction. Get third-party confirmation. After the transaction is completed, the clerk will charge a small commission, which varies everywhere.
After selling out all the mulberry leaves, Guan Zongbao originally wanted to go to Jiujiang Market to find an Australian official to inquire about the divorce, but the strange behavior of Zhao Hening and his party caught his attention. In ancient times, rural areas were usually extremely isolated. Even though Jiujiang was located in a tunnel and had developed commerce and trade, the vast majority of villagers never left the twenty-mile radius of the village where they lived. In essence, it was still a society of acquaintances. Basically, everyone in the ten villages knew each other. , but these few people in front of me are strangers. They are just inquiring about various information in Mulberry City, and have no intention of buying Mulberry.
Although they spoke Cantonese Mandarin, they were obviously not locals.
At this time, someone recognized Le Ziren. After all, he had been a resident policeman in Jiujiang Market for two years. As long as the locals had been to the market, they would have some impression of him.
"Sir Le, why are you free to go to the countryside for inspection today?"
"It turns out you're the sixth one. It's my duty to detect thieves, patrol, and maintain law and order. I've been greatly favored by the Senate and I don't dare to slack off." Le Ziren said, "Have there been any strangers in the village recently?"
Lao Liu said: "Sir Le, don't worry. If there is a stranger coming or going, I will report it as soon as possible. These two are very familiar with the chief, but are they relatives of the chief?" Le Ziren followed his words and said: "Yes, Distant relatives. My distant cousin and her husband are planning to open a shop in Daxu. I will take them around today when I have free time to see if there are any business opportunities."
"Oh, it turns out they are relatives of Chief Le. No wonder they are so handsome. They are such a golden couple." Lao Liu said flatteringly with a smile on his face.
Lao Liu chatted with Le Ziren for a while. After he left, Zhao Hening pinched Le Ziren on the back and asked, "Who is your cousin? Who is my husband?"
Zhang Jiayu heard Zhao Hening's coquettishness, but her face remained calm, but her chest was like a deer beating wildly.
Le Ziren quickly apologized and whispered: "Miss Zhao, I was wronged. Chief Li specifically asked me to adapt to the situation and not to reveal your identity. Countryside people are talkative and can't keep things secret. If something happens, the whole village will know about it in a long time." Am I not adapting to circumstances?"
Zhao Hening rolled his eyes at Le Ziren and felt a little pleased, but he still crossed his hands on his chest and said, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you."
Guan Zongbao saw all this. Although the conversation between Le Ziren and Zhao Hening was very quiet, Lao Liu confirmed that this man was the resident policeman of Daxu, no wonder he looked familiar. Well, the other two strangers were probably official officers from Guangzhou, and the leader was obviously this little girl who could make the stationed policemen treat them with respect. People say that the Australians have many female officers, and when I saw them today, it turned out to be true.
Guan Zongbao walked up to Zhao Hening and asked, "Little sister, I saw that you only asked for information and didn't buy some mulberry leaves, but you want to learn to raise silkworms?"
Zhao Hening took advantage of the situation and replied: "Yes, the little girl heard that Jiujiang is the hometown of sericulture. Silkworms, silk and silk are not comparable to other places. She wanted to come here to seek advice. Only after she learns well can she find a good husband."
Guan Zongbao glanced at Le Ziren and said: "This gentleman looks familiar. Someone called him Chief Le just now. I guess he is an official from Daxu. Since my sister is a relative of the chief, if you can trust me, you might as well come to my house. My grandma is fine." In the sericulture industry, I will definitely be able to answer the girls’ questions.”
Zhao Hening looked at Zhang Jiayu, as if asking for his opinion. Zhang Jiayu nodded slightly. This place was not far from the Great Ruins. Before leaving, the chief issued a gun to Zhao Hening. With him and Le Ziren together, there would not be too much danger.
"Mom, I'm back!" Guan Zongbao put down his empty load and shouted into the house: "Do you think I brought you here?"
Huang had just fed the mulberry leaves and went out after hearing the sound. She saw two men and one woman following Guan Zongbao back. The woman looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although she was dressed simply, she looked very beautiful. It was unknown whose family was lucky enough to have such a beauty. Next to her was a handsome young man who looked like a scholar. In stark contrast, there was another young man who looked like a scholar. A man with dark skin and a lean but powerful figure.
"What is this?" Ms. Huang was a little confused. Her son had said he was going to Daxu, so why did he come home so quickly?
"Mom, this is Chief Guancha Le from Daxu. I met him in Sang City. He had a relative who wanted to learn how to raise silkworms, so I brought him back."
"Ah, it's Chief Le, please sit down quickly, please sit down..." Mrs. Huang was a little at a loss. She had never dealt with an official in her life, so she hurriedly took out two small stools from the room. They were rare in her family. Lots of furniture.
Seeing that there were not enough stools, Le Ziren gave them to Zhao Hening and Zhang Jiayu, then he moved a medium-sized stone and sat down. Mrs. Huang was a little embarrassed and said, "Sorry, sir, we don't have many stools at home."
Guan Zongbao took out a few pottery bowls from the house, scooped out cold water from the water tank and brought them up. He also brought some dried fruits and put them on the small table outside the house. He said apologetically: "The house is simple and there is no tea. If you are thirsty, Just drink some cold water first."
Zhao Hening shook the marching water bottle he brought with him and said, "Brother Guan, you're welcome. We brought water."
Le Ziren said: "Auntie, my cousin wants to learn Jiujiang's sericulture method."
Huang said: "My little sister is smart at first glance. It won't take long for me to learn this skill."
Zhao Hening smiled and asked, "Auntie, where do you buy your silkworm seeds?"
"They are all local silkworm species. This girl has a really keen eye. Whether the silkworms produced are good or not depends a lot on the silkworm species." Huang praised, "The silks from various places nearby have their own advantages and disadvantages. The silk threads of Poshan silk are long, and the silk threads of Long silkworms are very long." The silk spun from Jiang silk thread is good, but Longjiang silkworm seeds are all purchased from Jiujiang, so we can reel out good silk thread. This is not a difference in women's craftsmanship, but a difference in water color."
The so-called "water color" is different, which means that the silkworm seeds are different. Zhao Hening has considerable experience in this, but she pretended not to understand and continued to ask: "Oh? Did you keep the silkworm seeds yourself?"
"Most of them don't keep them. There are specialized local seed producers that specialize in silkworm seeds. Silkworm farmers buy them from the dealers."
"Oh, why not save your own seeds?"
Seeing that she was asking common sense questions, Huang thought she had never raised silkworms before, so she explained: "My little sister doesn't know. The environment for raising silkworm flowers is different from raising silkworms. There are two types of seed preservation, one is to raise silkworms. Seeds are made and reserved for future silkworm production, which is the main silkworm seed in one year; second, they are planted over the next year for use in the next year. Everyone practices silkworm making at home. If relatives and friends know that they are raising silkworms well, they will hear about it. It is called the 'number paper'. If it is two, three, four, five or six, they are all sold by the shop. The reason is that the method of soaking in water is difficult, and buying seeds is also difficult. It depends on whether the silkworms are affected. It can be used for planting seeds, but if it suffers from various diseases, it will probably not be good for the next generation, so it is called a silkworm master."
Zhao Hening knew the saying "Eight Silkworms in Eastern Guangdong". Eight silkworms can be raised in a year, and the output is much higher than that in the Jiangnan area. From March to September every year, that is, from Qingming to Frost, six types of silkworms can be raised, which is called Zhengzao. The seventh form raised in September and October is called cold form. Before Zhengzao, there was another group that specialized in producing silkworm seeds for Zhengzao's production, which was called Silkworm Zangzao. According to Huang, silkworms usually save their own seeds and have not yet been professionally produced, indicating that the division of labor in the local sericulture industry is incomplete and the degree of marketization needs to be improved.
"What's so difficult about soaking in water?" Zhao Hening asked.
Huang said: "My relatives on my mother's side are seed producers, and I know a little bit about it. The female moth lays her eggs behind the silkworm paper, and puts the silkworm paper in the wooden frame of the seed bath. The seed producer prepares plenty of hot water. Touch it with your hands, then pour hot water on it, and move it from side to side, just like taking a bath. After three or four times, hang it in a cool and ventilated place and let it dry slowly. After bathing, take it out for inspection at the end of the day, if the skin of the gallbladder turns light red. It's OK. Test again on the second day. The shrimp meat should be red. The test method will be different every day. By the eighth day, all the silkworms will be out."
According to Zhao Hening's experience, what Huang is talking about should be a high-temperature water bath method for screening silkworm seeds, while Jiangnan uses a lime water bath method. This type of manual method relies heavily on the operator's experience, so only professional seed producers can produce improved seeds. Professional seed producers will look for better silkworm seeds, get rid of diseased cocoons, and intentionally leave excellent varieties for the market. If you raise silkworms at home and save the seeds, the quality of silkworms will easily vary, and unsatisfactory silkworm production will continue to affect the quality of silkworms. The next step is to create silkworms, resulting in malignant reproduction.
"What is the difference between the two types of silkworms that retain seeds?" Zhao Hening asked again.
"The first silkworms to raise are big silkworms, also called big silkworms, which mature once a year. Small silkworms mature every month, also called moon silkworms. For new year planting, the big silkworms should be planted in early summer, and the moon silkworms should be planted in July. After harvesting, you only need to hang it between half walls, or seal it with a dry bamboo tube, and do not bathe the seeds, so it can be stored for a long time.”
Zhao Hening nodded, this is the current silkworm breeding combination in Guangzhou Prefecture. "Eastern Guangdong Eight Silkworms" does not refer to a single variety that matures eight times a year, but a variety combination pattern based on the year. The "Yongjia Eight Silkworms" recorded in "Qi Min Yao Shu" are at least a combination of three types of silkworms: Ruanzhen silkworms, Hanzhen silkworms and Cuscuta silkworms. During the Jiajing period, a combination of two to four silkworms was used locally. It was not until the Wanli period that the new combination was fixed as Da Zao and Lunyue Zhong.
