Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 390: The End of the Year

Jiang Chunfu and his group did not bring much dry food into the mountains, so they should have returned in seven or eight days.

But no one expected that the Ghost Festival had passed and these people had not returned yet.

The daughters-in-law of each family could no longer hold their temper and came to Qu Shaoyang for advice.

What ideas could Qu Shaoyang have?
He only roughly knew which mountain area Jiang Chunfu and others had gone to, but after so many days, who knew where Jiang Chunfu and others had gone?
There are deep mountains and old forests around Maoer Mountain. Looking for a dozen people in such a large area is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where can we find them?

“Don’t worry, I think Chunfu and the others must have encountered a big one.

There were more than ten of them, and they were carrying guns. Most people didn't dare to provoke them.

Besides, the security around Maoer Mountain is good now, and Hu Zi has long disappeared, so there won’t be any accidents.

Wait two more days. If he still doesn’t come back, I will arrange for someone to go into the mountains to look for him.”

Qu Shaoyang was not too anxious. During the slack season, the guys in his family learned some martial arts from Liu Dongshan.

Besides, they all carried guns, a dozen of them, so even if they encountered a tiger, they could still fight back.

If it really doesn't work, we can still send someone back to send a letter for help. Since no one came back to ask for help, it's not a big deal.

Since Qu Shaoyang had said so, Xiaohua and the other wives had nothing to say and could only wait patiently.

Sure enough, another day passed, and in the evening, Jiang Chunfu and his party returned covered in dust.

Although everyone looked quite disheveled, there was a smile on everyone's face.

As soon as Qu Shaoyang saw the situation, he knew that this time when they went into the mountains, they would definitely take money.

"How's it going? Did you meet any big guys?
I told you to come back early. Now your wives are so anxious that they are begging me for mercy. "

"Sir, we have made quite a harvest this time in the mountains. We have carried two seedlings of grade six leaves, and quite a few of grade five and grade four leaves.

Anzi, quickly show the ginseng we brought back to the adults." Jiang Chunfu said with a smile.

On the other side, the guy named Anzi quickly took off the basket on his back and took out several birch bark rolls from it.

When I opened one of them, there was a seedling of grade six ginseng leaves inside. I could tell at a glance that this seedling ginseng must weigh at least three or two taels.

"There is another seedling, which is bigger than this one. Sir, I will ask Anzi to open it and show it to you." Jiang Chunfu introduced excitedly.

“No, no, don’t open it. Tomorrow morning, just send all the ginseng to our warehouse.

It's as much as it should be, and you can calculate and divide the money among yourselves after the sale."

Seeing that Xiao Anzi was about to open another birch bark bag, Qu Shaoyang hurriedly stopped him.

Well, Qu Shaoyang has seen too much ginseng.

He has no interest in looking at ordinary ginseng unless it is particularly large and well-shaped.

"You must be tired and hungry after being in the mountains for more than ten days. Go home quickly. Your family members are waiting anxiously.

Wash yourself thoroughly, preferably take a shower and wash your hair, and check if there are any grass bugs in your hair.

You have to be careful, there are children at home, it would be terrible if the little ones were stung by that thing."

Qu Shaoyang was afraid that these guys didn't understand, so he quickly reminded them to pay more attention.

"Hey, hey, I see. Thank you for the reminder, sir. We'll go down first then."

Jiang Chunfu led the servants to retreat and each of them went back to wash and pack.

The next morning, Jiang Chunfu and his companions took the ginseng to the warehouse to sell it. The warehouse received Qu Shaoyang's instructions and accepted the ginseng according to the market price, and directly calculated the silver to Jiang Chunfu and his companions.

Two seedlings of six-grade leaves, plus four seedlings of five-grade leaves, and three seedlings of four-grade leaves, sold for a total of one thousand four hundred taels.

This price is a bit cheaper than in Yingkou, but it is a very good price locally.

The warehouse owner did not lower the price, which was fair and reasonable. After all, warehouses also need to make money.

There were a total of thirteen people including Jiang Chunfu who went into the mountains. Jiang Chunfu was the leader, so he had to take an extra portion, and those who had opened their eyes had to take an extra portion.

No matter how much it was, it was unexpected money. Earning dozens of taels of silver in ten days was already very good, and everyone was very happy.

Maybe this year is the year for harvesting ginseng, and all the ginseng has been brought down from the mountain. Not only did Jiang Chunfu and his group have a lot of harvest, but several ginseng gangs around Maoer Mountain also had large harvests.

The Qu family’s warehouse was close and the price was reasonable, so after these ginseng gangs came down the mountain, they delivered the ginseng directly to the warehouse.

In just ten days, the warehouse collected a lot of high-quality ginseng, which could be sent to Yingkou and resold for a lot of money.

Of course, after receiving so many large quantities of goods, the warehouse had no money left on its books.

The shopkeeper had no choice but to come to Chen Xiuyun to borrow some money for cash flow, and then return the money after the goods were sold to Yingkou.

"I asked the accountant in the mansion to send 50,000 taels to the warehouse to temporarily use it for circulation. If it's not enough, come and get more."

During dinner, Chen Xiuyun mentioned this to Qu Shaoyang.

"Oh, okay, you can arrange these. As long as there is enough money at home, you don't have to tell me specifically."

Qu Shaoyang didn't care much about these things. Nowadays, the family businesses were quite profitable. It was not an exaggeration to say that they made a fortune every day. Chen Xiuyun could take care of the detailed accounts.

"Well, Xingye is back from Dianzi Street. He made a lot of money from dealing in quick-firing guns and bullets.

Also, Taohua and I have discussed about opening a candied fruit and snack shop here, selling caozi cakes, eight pieces, mi sandao, peach cakes, and various candied fruits.

Taohua's family is engaged in this business, and you know her craftsmanship, which is quite good."

Chen Xiuyun remembered something and discussed it with Qu Shaoyang.

The Maoer Mountain today is no longer the same as when Qu Shaoyang and his apprentice first arrived. The population has more than tripled or quadrupled.

The increase in population has driven immediate economic development, and various demands have also increased.

There is no proper dim sum shop in Maoershan. In the past, people from grocery stores would go to Tonghua to buy goods and sell them back. The prices were high, and the dim sum would not taste good if left for a long time.

Ever since Xingye brought Taohua here, all kinds of snacks eaten by the Qu family, including mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Yuanxiao for the Lantern Festival, are all made by Taohua and her people. Their craftsmanship is much better than those bought outside.

In addition, the Qu family has more and more land, and the orchard is getting bigger and bigger, so the products they produce must have a market.

It is less profitable to sell grains and fruits directly. It is better to make them into snacks, candied fruits and other things and sell them, which will bring higher profits.

"You guys are really good at thinking." Qu Shaoyang was happy when he heard it.

"Okay, if you like, go ahead and do it, as long as you don't mind being tired."

Qu Shaoyang doesn't care about these things, as long as Chen Xiuyun is happy.

"By the way, how is your cultivation of penicillin going? Was it successful?" Qu Shaoyang suddenly remembered this.

Since the leap June, Chen Xiuyun has been saying that she wanted to cultivate and extract penicillin. It's already August, and there's still no news?
“The previous attempts failed. We have another batch that will be almost ready tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Let’s see if we can extract it.

This thing is quite difficult to make, it feels even more difficult than my dad's stew of aged mustard greens." Chen Xiuyun shook her head and sighed.

(End of this chapter)