The sun sets.
The sky is twinkling with stars, and the cold moonlight shines on this mountain forest.
Li Zheng asked the women to burn torches and go up the mountain to provide light for the trench diggers. The torches were connected in a line, like a fire dragon entrenched on the east mountain.
Cheng Wanwan stood in the crowd holding a torch, the voices in his head kept ringing.
【Ding! Discover natural wild Gastrodia elata! 】
She saw something in the ditch, which seemed to be gastrodia elata, but the light was not good and she could not see clearly. Even if she could see clearly, it would not be a good time to dig out the things in the ditch.
【Ding! Discover natural shepherd’s purse root! 】
There are a lot of shepherd's purses growing in the dug ditches. The shepherd's purse costs a few cents per catty. The root of the shepherd's purse is more expensive, more than 20 cents per catty.
Cheng Wanwan stood on the side very calmly. She still had one hundred and nineteen two hundred and five hundred and sixty cents in her hand. This was a huge sum of money. There was no need to save such a shady property. There are too many. The most critical issue now is how to let the money in hand pass through the open road.
She wants to buy land and even build a house before winter comes.
【Ding! Discover natural wild stone flower seeds! 】
Cheng Wanwan frowned. She had never heard of what stone flower seeds were.
She looked at the illusory panel. On the picture was a green plant, with black and purple rhizomes, heart-shaped leaves, and many lantern-like fruits on the top.
She has seen this kind of thing before. In modern times, it is called stone flower seeds, and it is a raw material for making ice powder.
She liked to travel at that time and had been to Xinyang. Ice powder is a specialty of Xinyang. A scenic spot she went to specially cultivated this stuff and invited tourists to make a bowl of ice powder. She even vaguely remembered the steps...
An idea immediately came to Cheng Wanwan's mind.
Just when I was thinking about how to make money flow through the open road, this profitable business came to my door.
"There are so many lanterns here!" Zhao Sidan's playful voice came, "Let's compete to see who can pick the most lanterns."
A group of half-grown children began to pick lanterns frantically. After picking them, they threw them on the ground and trampled them with their feet. Cheng Wanwan felt very distressed.
She walked over holding a torch and said to the children: "Whoever can help me pick a pound of lanterns, I will reward him with an egg."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Sidan became anxious: "Mom, I'll come, I'll come, leave all the eggs for me!"
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "As long as you can pick a pound, you will also be rewarded with eggs."
Aunt Wang asked curiously: "Da Shan Niang, what do you want these lanterns for? They are not even edible."
"I vaguely remember that when I was very young, my grandma made some delicious snacks with lantern grass." Cheng Wanwan lied without blushing, "Anyway, there are so many lanterns on the mountain. Let's go back and try some. What if it works?"
Aunt Wang didn't believe a word of it, but picking lanterns can be exchanged for eggs. This kind of good thing must not be missed. She quickly waved and called the children wandering around the mountain: "Barley, wheat, loach, help Aunt Zhao quickly. The more lanterns you pick, the better.”
Several women nearby heard it and quickly called their children over.
They have all heard that Sister-in-law Zhao went up the mountain a few days ago to pick up two big hens and a big rooster. Those two wild hens are particularly good at laying eggs. They lay four in a day. She is not afraid that Sister-in-law Zhao will not be able to get the eggs. .
The children who had been digging wild vegetables in the mountains all went to pick stone flower seeds.
"Aunt Zhao, is there enough for one pound here?"
"Aunt Zhao, eldest sister and I collected a basket together. How many eggs can we exchange for them?"
"I also picked a basket. My mother said it was two pounds. Can I get two eggs?"
Cheng Wanwan looked in front of him. He saw three or four backpacks, seven or eight baskets, and dozens of pockets. They were all filled with stone flower seeds, weighing at least twenty kilograms by visual inspection.
The mobility of these children is amazing. It seems that in the future, this kind of work can be directly outsourced to the children in the village.
She called Zhao Sanniu and asked the boy to help transport the stone flower seeds back. He carried a basket behind his back and hung a basket in front of him. He carried four baskets in each hand, and Zhao Sidan carried the rest. The two brothers gained a lot. Feng went down the mountain.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said to the group of children in front of her: "Our hens can only lay four eggs a day, so we can only have four people come to collect the eggs a day. Can we let the younger children get the eggs first?"
Wang Damai was very sensible: "I'll be the last one!"
Wang Maimai also nodded: "I will be the last one too!"
Zhu Huzi licked his lips: "Then I will stay until the last day."
Cheng Wanwan thought she would have to spend a lot of time, but she didn't expect these sensible children to be so willing to give in.
She smiled and said: "When my aunt still needs a lantern in the future, she will come to you again."
One egg for one pound of stone flower seeds is a great deal.
If ice powder could really be sold for money in this era, she wouldn't mind raising two eggs for these children.
The night sinks little by little.
Some children couldn't stand it anymore and followed their brothers and sisters down the mountain. The women were still holding torches on the mountain.
Cheng Wanwan always stayed by Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou's side, giving them some water to take a sip from time to time. Although the child was not her own, she still felt a little distressed.
Li Zheng was struggling along with him. After all, he was getting older and his eyes were red. He stood on the big rock and shouted loudly and encouraged: "We will finish the work after digging another three feet. Work harder, everyone!"
Everything is going smooth.
When we were about to finish work, an accident occurred.
Wang Yongcheng went down with the shovel and hit a hard object. This was not a problem he had encountered before. There were many rocks on the mountain, so it was normal to find a hard object. Just move it to the side and lift the stone out. It was not a big deal.
Wang Yongcheng changed positions and continued digging, but still encountered a hard object. It seemed that the rock was a bit big.
He moved several steps, but still couldn't do it. The stone was bigger than he thought.
This side was blocked, and the whole process was affected. A group of old men gathered around and kept trying to dig with shovels, but they dug out five feet away.
Five feet, that is, a large stone about sixteen meters long and sixteen meters wide. It is equivalent to a huge stone that cannot be shaken by human power.
Cheng Wanwan's face looked a little solemn.
When modern trench digging encounters large rocks, machines will be used to cut through them. However, there are no machines in this era, and it is impossible to remove the rocks solely by manpower.
A detour is not possible, because there is a stone wall to the east and an ancient forest to the west. Each tree is so thick that at least three people can hug it. Cutting down these trees is not an easy task at all.
People who are extremely tired think they have seen the light, but find that the difficulties have just begun.
A trace of resentment spread among the crowd, and then blended into a voice of condemnation.
"I told you a long time ago that Sister-in-law Zhao doesn't understand anything about a woman. I don't know why I have to listen to her."
"How old is Ergouzi? Does what he says count? Why did he make the whole village dig ditches?"
"With such a huge boulder here, I can't even do anything about it! Li Zheng, please come up with an idea!"
"What else can you think of? Go back and wash your hands and sleep. The crops in the fields should be as they should be. It's not like our village is the only one suffering from drought. Let's all starve to death together..."
