Pastoral little master

Chapter 121 Encountering an Uninvited Guest on the Road

The reason Qiduo was in a daze was because she found that the dead plants in the pond looked very much like lotus leaves.

If it is a lotus leaf, then there are lotus roots in this pond.

It's just that her heart was not yet excited, and she was very annoyed. It seemed that the lotus roots would be dug up in winter. Now that it's spring, those lotus roots should be rotten.

It's a pity that this lotus root in the big pond is rotten.

Qiduo felt very sorry for the Tan family. With such a good natural lotus pond, why didn't they know how to dig the lotus root and sell it.

She was thinking about it in her heart, she had already walked down the slope, but she was still not reconciled, she wanted to go to the pond to see what happened.

See if there are any surprises waiting for you today.

Tan Dejin had no choice but to follow, thinking that Qiduo was particularly disappointed after seeing the pond and was in a bad mood.

Approaching the pond, Qiduo could see it clearly, it was indeed the dead lotus leaves all over the pond, and those standing stems were the stems of the lotus leaves.

"Father, do you know what's in here?" Qiduo asked Tan Dejin with a smile, the excitement in her voice could not be concealed.

Tan Dejin looked at it seriously, and said with some uncertainty, "It's a bit like the lotus leaves I've seen before, I don't know if it is?"

"What? Dad, don't we have lotus leaves in Tanjiazhuang?" Qi Duo asked in surprise.

"No one in our village grows lotus roots. I went to your mother-in-law's house to see lotus roots. There are lotus roots in the pond in that village. They bloom when they are double-robbed. They are red and white. They are very beautiful." Tan Dejin said.

Qiduo suddenly realized that no one specialized in planting lotus root.

"Then can I buy lotus root?" Qiduo asked.

"I can buy it, but it's too expensive. Where can ordinary people afford it? Our family can buy at most one or two pieces a year and come back to try something new. Duo, have you eaten it before, don't you forget?" Tan Dejin said, asking Qiduo with some doubts .

Qiduo was stunned for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Father, I was only so old at that time, how could I know what it was?"

The price of lotus root is expensive, which is a good thing. It means that there are few products. If I grow lotus root and sell it, and lower the price so that ordinary people can eat lotus root, it should be a good choice.

Qiduo was very excited.

Looking at the broken branches and leaves all over the pond, she was very unwilling, she gritted her teeth, took off the little jacket outside, and rolled up the sleeves high.

"Duo, what are you doing?" Tan Dejin hurriedly stopped her from taking off her shoes.

"I want to see if there are still lotus roots in the pond." Qiduo said.

"Who knows if this is lotus root, don't go down, I'll take a look." Tan Dejin persuaded Qiduo, he took off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his trousers and sleeves.

Before going down to the pond, he first probed the depth of the pond with a wooden stick. Seeing that the mud was not deep, he entered the pond.

"Father, be careful." Qiduo said.

"I know." Tan Dejin responded, bending over to grope in the mud.

After a long time, a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face, and as if with some force, he lifted his hands out of the mud, lifted a long mud lotus root, and shouted excitedly, "Duo, look, this is really a lotus root."

Qiduo was very pleasantly surprised.

What surprised her was not the identification of the plants in the pond, she already knew that these things were indeed lotus root.

I am so happy that the lotus root is not rotten now, so how much are these treasures under the mud of this pond, how much should it be worth?

Zuchan, Zuchan, you finally did not disappoint me.

"Father, come up quickly." Qiduo took the lotus root excitedly.

Then use the shallow water in the pond to wash away the mud on the lotus root. The lotus root will show its original appearance, which is light brown.The lotus root, which is close to yellow in color, is more crisp and sweet, suitable for cold shaking and stir-frying.

Tan Dejin didn't come up, but looked at the pond with an expression of disbelief on his face, and kept shaking his head, "I didn't expect that there would be these lotus root growing in this pond, it's a pity to waste these years, it's a pity Ah. These lotus root can be sold for a lot of money, and the life of our Tan family will not be so difficult."

Mr. Tan only came to take a look at this pond. Seeing that it was just a pond surrounded by barren slopes and uninhabited, he thought it was useless and never looked again.

The Tan family would never have imagined that there was a treasure hidden in a pond they threw to Qiduo's family like garbage.

Qiduo thought badly, if Mr. Tan and Mrs. Zhao knew that there were lotus roots in the pond, what would their expressions be?

No, they should have the cheek to ask for the lotus root.

Qiduo believed that they could definitely do this kind of thing, and if anyone didn't believe it, she could bet with them.

Seeing the mess in the pond, Qiduo frowned slightly, because she knew that lotus root was delicious, but it was very difficult to dig.

Even in modern times with extremely advanced science and technology, digging lotus root is still done manually, and there is still no suitable mechanical energy to replace manual work.

Moreover, digging lotus root is very tiring and bitter. Even a skilled lotus digger can only dig a hundred catties a day at most. For unskilled people, they can only dig dozens of catties a day. This is a relatively huge task project.

After digging out, how to sell them and turn them into silver is a major issue worthy of serious consideration.

"Brother, Qiduo, what are you father and daughter doing? Why don't you go back and pick up the treasure?" On the high hillside, Tan Debao teased loudly.

Qiduo came back to her senses, stood up and waved to Tan Debao, "Fourth Uncle, come here, it's really a treasure."

Hearing Qiduo's answer, Tan Debao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously ran down the slope.

He felt that it was unlikely that Qiduo would tease him.

Otherwise, with this rotten mud pond, what is it worth for the father and daughter to stay for so long? Even if there is no treasure, Qiduo must have thought of a good way to use this mud pond.

Thinking so, Tan Debao couldn't help but look forward to some surprises in the future.

Qiduo and Tan Dejin greeted Tan Debao with the long lotus root.

"Fourth, what do you think this is?" Tan Dejin raised the lotus root in his hand happily and asked with a smile.

Tan Debao looked at the lotus root seriously, then at the dead branches and leaves all over the pond, and asked in a tone of disbelief, "This...is this lotus root?"

"En." Qi Duo and Tan Dejin nodded with a smile at the same time, with joy shining in their eyes.

Tan Dejin handed the lotus root to Tan Debao, he took it, stroked it lightly, smacked his tongue and shook his head, "Father and mother, they would never have imagined that there is such a treasure in this muddy pond, brother, this is called a good man and a good man." Newspaper, dig out these lotus roots and sell them, and you won’t have to worry about your family life in the future.”

"Fourth Uncle, you are right. Back then, my grandma was worried that Liu Lang would drag down the entire Tan family, so she divided our big house, and distributed these two useless ancestral properties to our family, but they never thought that the ancestral property was the ancestral property. , they are not useless.

Fourth Uncle, Dad, let's go around the pond first to see if there are lotus roots in it.If it's all lotus roots, we have to find a way to dig them out quickly, I'm worried that if the time goes on, they will really rot, this is really a gift from God to us," Qiduo said.

The lotus root is still not rotten at this time, which is beyond her expectation.

"Okay, what Qiduo said makes sense, let's go and have a look." Tan Debao nodded.

"Fourth, it's okay to put the ox cart there, so it won't be stolen." Tan Dejin was a little worried about the ox cart.

Tan Debao immediately said, "Brother, you and Qiduo will go and see, and I will stand on the slope to watch the bullock cart."

Qiduo and Tan Dejin nodded, and immediately walked around the pond.

After circling the pond, Qiduo had some small surprises. Standing on the high slope and looking at it, she thought the pond was all gray, but she didn't expect that in the northwest, there is a hidden green.

The green is hidden in the middle of the withered lotus leaves, and you can't really see it unless you go to the edge.

This green plant doesn't need seven flowers to say what it is, Tan Dejin recognized it at a glance, "Ah, isn't this water celery, it's very delicious."

Qiduo naturally knows what water celery is. She used to eat it frequently in modern times. A county adjacent to her hometown used to be a famous production base of water celery.

As the name suggests, water celery is a vegetable that grows in water. It can be eaten cold or stir-fried with leaves removed. It is fragrant and refreshing, and can clear away heat, detoxify, and lower blood pressure.

Since they can be eaten, Qiduo will naturally not miss them, but it is a pity that they did not bring any tools, and it is not easy to pick them. The best way is to cut them with a sickle.

"Father, let's go back today and discuss how to dig the pond full of lotus root and these water celery. It's best to start work tomorrow, sooner rather than later." Qi Duo suggested.

"Success, then let's go back first." Tan Dejin nodded in agreement.

The father and daughter went up to the high slope full of joy and told Tan Debao about the situation in the pond.

Tan Debao repeatedly called this pond a treasure, and the three excitedly got into the bullock cart and drove home, discussing how to dig lotus roots while walking.

Qiduo's family is small, so they must hire someone, otherwise the pond root and his family may have to dig for a year and a half.

"It costs a lot of money to hire people. One person needs at least ten yuan a day. Some people work hard, and some people are lazy. They can't dig a few catties all day long. Then the money will be very expensive. It's wasted, and I don't know how much money will be put into it." Tan Dejin was worried.

This is also what Qiduo is worried about.

The lotus root is easy to break, and the broken lotus root will turn black soon, so it is not easy to store, but the whole lotus root can be stored for at least two months if it is stored in a proper way, so there is no need to worry if it cannot be sold for a while.

And digging lotus root is very tiring. If the daily salary is fixed, it is inevitable that some people will be lazy and not work.

She thought of another way of paying her wages.

"Father, fourth uncle, let's do this. We can calculate wages according to how much lotus root we dig. For example, if you dig a catty of lotus root, we will give you one penny or two pennies. In this way, the more you dig, the more you will be paid. It doesn't matter if you are lazy." Ah, you don't get paid, so I believe everyone will find ways to work hard in order to make more money." Qi Duo said.

Tan Dejin and Tan Debao's eyes lit up, this is a good idea.

"Qiduo, you have a good idea. If you want to cheat money, go cool off. In this way, I believe that all the lotus roots in the pond will be dug out soon. However, it is too high to give a penny or two for a catty of lotus roots. Well, wouldn't it be possible to earn hundreds of dollars in one day?" Tan Debao nodded in agreement with Qiduo's idea, but felt sorry for the high wages.

Qiduo sighed softly and shook her head, "Fourth Uncle, even if someone can earn hundreds of Wen, it is because of their hard work. Digging lotus root is very hard work, and the pond is full of mud. If you want to dig the lotus root completely It is not easy to come out.

Dad, you just dug one, how do you feel? "

"Qiduo is right. It is difficult to dig. I spent a lot of effort to dig that lotus root out of the mud." Tan Dejin also nodded.

Tan Debao looked at Qiduo, gently stroked her hair, and said with a smile, "Qiduo, you have a kind heart, and you will have good luck in the future."

Qiduo raised her eyebrows and smiled, not because she was kind, but because she didn't want to be as mean and cold-blooded as those landlords and gentry.

When the carriage arrived at the entrance of Tanjiazhuang Village, Qiduo and the others saw a group of people walking towards them, all holding sticks and the like in their hands.

All are face-to-face people.

(End of this chapter)