Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 272 - Chapter 272 272. Silver ear pricing and tobacco_1

Chapter 272: 272. Silver ear pricing and tobacco_1 Chapter 272: 272. Silver ear pricing and tobacco_1 The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and these past few days the sunshine had been excessively good, causing the silver ear mushrooms drying in the courtyard to gradually turn from snow-white and translucent to a dry, slightly yellowish color.

Zhang Yanping walked around the drying racks twice, not knowing for the umpteenth time if he could use some time magic to have these silver ear mushrooms quickly packed and sold.

However, before selling them, there was a problem that needed to be addressed–

“Tantan, have you thought about how to price the silver ear mushrooms?”

Song Tan: …

No worries, it’s not too late to think about it now.

She turned her head and asked Seventh Uncle, “How much do the regular wild silver ear mushrooms sell for?”

Seventh Uncle, who was scrolling through short videos, replied without even lifting his head, “Depends on the quality.”

“The ones sold on the street, half a pound for 35, they say they’re wild, you believe that? I heard while cooking for someone else that they bought top quality small silver ear mushrooms grown on basswood, and it’s over 300 to 400 yuan for half a pound.”

“It’s up to you really.”

Song Tan thought for a moment, then asked, “How many grams of silver ear mushrooms do you need to make a bowl of soup?”

Who could be certain about that?

Seventh Uncle was somewhat speechless, “What kind of question is that, you still don’t know if they prefer it thick or thin. You might as well ask how many grams a person can absorb in a day–10 grams is enough!”

Song Tan didn’t care about his attitude; she laughed and turned to Zhang Yanping enthusiastically:

“Did you hear that? 10 grams per serving, just figure out how much to charge for 10 grams.”

Zhang Yanping thought for a moment, “The broken pieces on top, 50 yuan for 10 grams, and 80 yuan for the intact ones below, do you think that’s appropriate?”

After spending time together, Zhang Yanping had also become adept at the essence of pricing: it needed to be expensive, yet convenient for accounting.

Although he had yet to see Song Tan do any accounting–what couldn’t a simple mobile phone calculator resolve?

Song Tan contemplated for a while: “Okay, but let’s not sell the broken ones; let’s keep them for ourselves to eat.”

80 yuan for 10 grams, if they could sell it, it would be as precious as tea leaves. Not to mention, keeping the good stuff for themselves to eat, Wu Lan would be the first to go ballistic.

After all, whether they’re broken or intact, the nutritional value is the same, might as well drink it themselves.

“Deal!”

Zhang Yanping couldn’t wait to go set up the online listing.

What a smart cousin he was! Not to mention, he was genuinely generous when it came to food and drinks.

The tea and honey sold for such high prices, but if the family wanted to drink it, they had it every day.

Only, with the price being what it was, even someone as thick-skinned as him would only dare to drink it once a day just to taste it.

As they were talking, Song Youde came into the courtyard beaming from ear to ear, without a word he hopped on his beloved electric bike.

Song Tan couldn’t help but wonder, “Grandpa, is there more work to be done?”

The silver ear mushroom cultivation area on the mountain was only so large; it should have been finished in a day!

Song Youde was all smiles that his teeth were all but hidden, “Tantan, I think the tobacco at that plot is growing tall and strong, with big and plump leaves, ready to be harvested.”

“I’m heading over to your place to fetch some bricks back, to build a stove!”

Saying so, he twisted the throttle, and the bike roared off.

“What was Grandpa going to do again?”

Song Tan didn’t quite understand.

Zhang Yanping also wore a puzzled expression.

But Seventh Uncle was suddenly invigorated, “Growing tobacco?! Oh boy, that does need a good stove to be built, I haven’t even been to check the fields!”

He put down his phone, no longer interested in watching short videos, completely energized by the thought.

Before long, the electric bike roared back into the courtyard, and Song Tan saw that the rear seat was loaded with the omnipotent basket, filled with old red bricks from the dismantled house.

There was also a bag of cement and three bags of sand on the side.

Song Youde didn’t stand on ceremony this time, “Tantan, they only asked me to haul this because you agreed.”

Song Tan: …

With just this bit of cement and sand, she couldn’t refuse anyway, the construction crew were well aware of that.

“Grandpa, what are you doing with this? Drying tobacco leaves?”

Song Tan caught on.

It seemed like she hadn’t seen this before, quite a novelty.

Song Youde had already started getting busy, even Seventh Uncle was lending a hand, tapping the old bricks with a tile cutter to get the cement and sand off them.

“Yep! The tobacco grew well. Can’t waste it.”

Both were busy but took a moment to engage with her.

Song Tan: …

Well, that explains why these two old guys were so enthusiastic!

But Song Tan was still a bit puzzled, “Then why do you need to build a kiln now? How did you used to dry the leaves before?”

Song Youde bowed his head and kept silent.

On the other hand, Wang Lifan couldn’t help but laugh at him, “How did you dry them in the past years?”

“In past years, to save trouble, he’d set up a clay stove on top to dry them! Last year’s tobacco didn’t grow well, he got lazy, and the temperature of the wood beneath varied–leaves got overdone or damp… He’s been going on about it for a year!”

“So now, after seeing you farm, he rushed to sow the seeds. You think he’s going to the field every day just to look at the vegetables? He’s clearly checking on his tobacco leaves.”

Song Youde protested loudly, his voice rising, “How can it not be about the vegetables? I’ve looked over every single kind! I’m just checking on the tobacco incidentally.”

Wang Lifan just smiled and said nothing.

Song Youde: !!!

He held his breath and turned back to sorting out bricks again.

Luckily, Song Youde had other topics to distract from the awkwardness, and at the moment he was excitedly discussing with Seventh Uncle:

“You have no idea, the leaves are glossy and thick. The widest part can’t even be covered by my two hands, must be around thirty to forty centimeters!”

Seventh Uncle was indeed very encouraging, his face full of anticipation, “Why didn’t you pick a leaf to take a look?”

“Ah, the kiln isn’t ready yet, couldn’t bear to do it.”

Song Youde was frank, “Isn’t it because the tobacco leaves are so good, it would be a pity to mess them up? First we build a barn for drying. When I have time, I’ll go top them, try out the tender leaves on the top first.”

Wow!

Seventh Uncle was taken aback, “You’re not even sparing the top ones?”

When tobacco grows strong, it flowers, producing fine pinkish-white, long trumpet-shaped blossoms, arranged symmetrically and quite attractive.

The few leaves just below the flower stem, too tender to use and whose growth would be hampered by blooming, usually had to be broken off.

Now that Song Youde mentioned it like that, it showed his commitment to use everything to its fullest.

However, Seventh Uncle didn’t object; instead, he mused, “I know how to build a drying barn. I’ve made those hanging ovens for roasting ducks before, did it all by myself from start to finish. Give me a share of the tobacco once it’s dried.”

Normally, Song Youde really was generous. Whatever one needed from the field, one just had to ask.

But now, with tobacco involved, even though Song Tan was nearly done planting along the edges of both fields, he hesitated for a long time before he finally said with difficulty and reluctance:

“Do you really know how to dry it?”

Seventh Uncle, working on the bricks with a tile cutter, confidently declared, “Put your mind at ease, a hundred times over! It’s just a drying barn, right? No problem at all!”

It was just a matter of temperature control and stability, could it be more difficult than hand-roasting a duck?

Seventh Uncle was truly confident.

“By the way, we’re running short on bricks, and we might not have enough cement and sand… go haul a few more loads later.”