Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 421 - Chapter 421 421. Earned ten thousand_1

Chapter 421: 421. Earned ten thousand!_1 Chapter 421: 421. Earned ten thousand!_1 “The bulrush needs to be split open to dry, and we need someone skilled for that task, otherwise it’ll get ruined…”

Song Youde thought about having to hire so many people and couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed–how much would the wages be!

He couldn’t resist asking, “Tantan, we still don’t know how much the straw mats will sell for, hiring so many people makes the costs soar… Let’s just have our own family members do the harvesting.”

Song Tan: ?!!!

“No!” She quickly refused, handing over a freshly cut bulrush to Song Youde to take another look:

“Grandpa, the quality of this grass, we wouldn’t see this in normal years. We must hurry and harvest it while the weather is good, otherwise, it’ll age by tomorrow, and if it rains in a couple of days, we won’t have time to dry it… By then you’ll regret it too late!”

“When could our own family possibly find the time to do this?”

He understood the reasoning, but… it was still hard to let go of the money.

Song Youde mumbled to himself, “Had I known, I wouldn’t have dismantled the old kiln in the yard. I should have built it larger back then, to fit the bulrush inside. It would only take a few hours to dry, and the color would stay beautiful…”

That was indeed true.

Normally, drying bulrush in the sun would inevitably lead to some fading, turning from bright green to light green, grayish-green, or dull.

And it also required a day or two.

But if dried in an oven, it would only take four hours. Not only would it save time, but it would also preserve the color and the fresh scent of grass to the greatest extent, which is truly a more economically valuable method.

Song Tan, however, was vigilant: “If we expand the kiln, will it not cost money? Besides, when you grandfather starts curing tobacco next year, wouldn’t you be tempted to think that since the kiln is already so big, it would be better to grow two more acres of tobacco leaves?”

Song Youde: …Look at this cunning granddaughter!

He hadn’t thought of that, but now that it was mentioned, it seemed pretty reasonable…

…

By the time he got home, it was already past 6 o’clock. Breakfast had long been ready, and Wu Lei, like a wandering spirit, leaned on the staircase, stiffly moving his legs down one step at a time, taking ages to do so.

Without washing his hands, he grabbed a large piece of rice cake, holding it with both hands and gobbling it down bite after bite.

This was a sticky cake made from newly ground rice, soft and sweet–so delicious it was incomparable!

For a family of their size, Seventh Uncle had to make three layers of giant steamers at once just to have enough!

Qiaoqiao also came downstairs, sleepy-eyed, and after a big stretch, he imitated a few starting movements from “Ultraman Tiga” before cheerfully dashing into the kitchen.

But he was a meticulous child, and, after washing his hands, he first scooped up a bowl of freshly cooked rice porridge–

“Wow, so fragrant! I want to eat it with pickled long beans!”

But the porridge was a bit too hot, so he could only slurp it carefully while blowing on it.

Turning his head, Qiaoqiao became curious, “Leilei, why are you eating like a squirrel?”

He mimicked the action.

A squirrel holds acorns with its tiny paws, just like Brother Wu Lei holding the rice cake to eat right now.

Qiaoqiao had once chanced upon the sight through a window, observed it for quite a while, and his description now was absolutely spot-on.

Wu Lei looked up at him and with a miserable expression and a weak voice, replied:

“Because… my hand trembles, I’m afraid I can’t hold on.”

Those who hadn’t done physical labor before, suddenly working hard for several days, not only didn’t the soreness go away, but each day new aches stacked up…

Like this hand, which was now trembling even when raised in midair.

Zhang Yanping was pouring the last sip of porridge into his mouth when he heard the remark and almost choked!

Only then did he sigh, “Wu Lei, you still lack exercise. Don’t worry, once your skin gets as tanned as mine, your hands won’t shake anymore.”

Qiaoqiao didn’t believe this one bit–Brother Yanping never did any labor.

Under the bright morning sun, Zhang Yanping’s dark face seemed to even gleam with a bright light.

Seeing this, Wu Lei suddenly felt desperate–If he became as dark as that, would Lili still go out with him?

Meanwhile, Song Youde was already discussing with Song Sancheng about making straw mats at home. Wu Lan was tallying up who was good at labor and a great hand at rice cutting…and promptly called them up with unerring precision.

Wu Lei hurried over with pitifully stiff legs:

“Uncle, can I skip hauling watermelons today? I can’t even lift my arms now, and my back is killing me…”

Why were all the watermelons so big!

At first, it didn’t seem like much to carry them, but later… it was truly a bitter tearful ordeal.

Upon hearing this, Song Sancheng couldn’t help but laugh, “Really? My boy, you’re so considerate–”

He then raised his voice and shouted, “Wu Lan, Wu Lan, we could hire one less person today, Wu Lei said he can go cut the grass for us–”

Wu Lei: ?!!!

Instantly, he recalled the agonizing times in the rice paddy; even the huge watermelons on the mountain now seemed charmingly round and cute, so he quickly waved his hands:

“No, no, uncle, I was just saying, I actually want to go help Mr. Zhang with his tasks! I’ll be there in a bit, just a moment…”

“Oh, alright.”

Song Sancheng felt a tinge of regret–hiring people to cut grass paid well, and saving on one person could be a decent saving.

But this lad, Wu Lei, though a bit of a daydreamer, had shown good performance in the past couple days, so he addressed him with concern, “Leilei, don’t exhaust yourself hauling watermelons up the mountain. After you carry twenty or thirty, take a rest, there’s no need to do it all at once.”

Wu Lei: …

At present, he needed a break after hauling just a dozen or so…

Then, Song Sancheng gave him a couple of hefty pats on the shoulder, “Keep up the good work! Look how much stronger you’ve gotten these last days, sleeping soundly, right? I tell you, living in our village is really healthy. You young folks in the city are all in sub-health status, you need to come back here and readjust…”

“Oh, and now that it’s summer, you’ve got to start your labor early. You silly kid… if you get up at 5 am, tidy up and get some work done before the sun rises, then come back to rest, isn’t it better than working under the scorching sun? ”

“You young people, you still love to sleep in, haha…”

At this point, Song Tan felt a bit embarrassed herself. Her dad’s words, was he doing this on purpose or what?

Wu Lei, numbly holding the unfinished rice cake in his hand, felt like his heart was breaking.

…

Looking at the sky, Song Youde said, “Oh boy, I’d better hurry back and find a few old pals to help me chop grass–Wu Lan, Tantan said she’d earn the money for the straw mats, I’ll give you whatever I pay the workers, alright?”

Wu Lan laughed readily, “Sure, dad, but you’d better work hard, my mom earns a hundred bucks a day picking tea, she’s already made about ten thousand!”

Song Youde’s scalp tightened, and he quickly calculated in his mind–since March, a hundred a day, by the end of June…

That’s definitely about ten thousand!

This wife of his hadn’t even mentioned the money when she came home, quite the hoarder! No wonder she had so much energy early each morning with her basket!

Hmph, watch him make ten thousand… cough, five thousand… um, three thousand and bring it back!