dognovel Chapter 34 Harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus
Chapter 34 Harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus
After lunch that day, Xu Chunsheng put down his chopsticks and said to his family:
"Boss Li told me yesterday that the price of Ophiopogon japonicus in the city has already skyrocketed. It's now over 20 yuan per kilogram, which is more than ten times higher than last year. Although the price increase hasn't spread to the town yet, we'll start collecting it this afternoon to be on the safe side."
Upon hearing Xu Chunsheng say that the price had risen to over twenty yuan per kilogram, the Xu family members looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief. They had thought that the price of Ophiopogon japonicus would only rise by five or six yuan at most, so the price of over twenty yuan was truly unexpected by everyone except Chu Xu Chunsheng.
It was Xu's father who was the first to come to his senses and voice his doubts:
"Should we buy it now? Or should we wait another month until it's a bit older? Would it be worth more then?"
Xu Chunsheng nodded and answered without hesitation:
"We have to take it now. In a few days, the news will definitely reach the town, and then people will be envious. Robbers might even come to steal it."
"It's okay if they're a little tender. We planted Sichuan Ophiopogon japonicus seedlings, which will be ready in about a year. It's much better than having them stolen later."
Xu's mother patted Xu's father's arm and gave her opinion:
"I think Erwa is right. If it really gets stolen by robbers, who can you cry to? If you take it now, you might lose some money, but at least you'll have the stuff in your own hands."
The eldest sister and Xu Yaomei nodded in agreement. The eldest sister nodded because she understood, while Xu Yaomei nodded along with her sister.
Father Xu took a sip of coarse tea and said to everyone:
"Okay, I'll do as you say. We'll start digging this afternoon."
After saying that, Father Xu urged everyone to get their tools and go to work in the fields.
Xu Chunsheng interrupted him at this moment:
"Dad, don't rush to the fields yet. Go to Uncle's house this afternoon and tell them to start harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus as well. Remember to tell them to keep it a secret and not to reveal the price of Ophiopogon japonicus."
"Little sister, remember to quietly tell Xiaowei this afternoon that his mother should start harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus now. Don't rush to do anything else. Harvesting the Ophiopogon japonicus is the most important thing."
"Okay, little sister, I promise to complete the mission and tell him secretly."
……
In the afternoon, we still started with the "bending" work. Although the sun wasn't too strong at the end of March, it was still quite tiring to work under the sun all the time. So, we followed the usual routine: making "three-piece buns" in the morning and "bending" work in the afternoon.
Xu Chunsheng carried a hoe and a basket on his back, which contained a wooden board and a kitchen knife. Xu's mother carried a sling with two low stools, scissors, and other tools. Xu's eldest sister carried a dustpan and followed at the back.
The three chatted and laughed as they walked towards the "bend," encountering people working along the way. Seeing their work, they all asked curiously:
"Tao Hong, where are you taking those two sisters?"
"What big job do you have today? Are you carrying so many baskets on your backs?"
Xu's mother would cheerfully reply, "There's not much work to do, so I'll just go check on the fields."
Although it wouldn't be long before everyone in the village knew that her family was harvesting wheatgrass, Xu's mother didn't tell them now, preferring to say less and avoid trouble.
Before long, Xu Chunsheng and the other two arrived at the field and saw that the leaves of the lilyturf root were growing lushly and tightly together.
Xu Chunsheng put the basket on the ground and said to his mother and sister:
"Sis, can you tamp down the ditch for me? I'll dig it."
"Mom, just cut the roots from the back. Don't worry about the seedlings for now, just pile them up by the roadside."
Xu Chunsheng followed the ditch his older sister had dug out, spotted the seedlings, and dug about a hand's width away from the roots.
There are techniques involved in digging up Ophiopogon japonicus:
You can't dig too close to the seedling, as this will easily break the tubers; you also can't dig too far away, as this will not only be time-consuming and laborious, but also make it easy to miss small tubers.
Therefore, when digging, Xu Chunsheng put in a lot of effort, digging the hoe into the ground about fifteen or sixteen centimeters deep, and then forcefully lifting the Ophiopogon japonicus along with the soil, which largely prevented the medicinal roots from being broken.
Xu's mother pulled out the lilyturf from behind, shook off the excess soil, and piled them all up so that it would be easier to cut the roots later.
The dull thud of hoes hitting the soil, the swishing sound of soil being shaken off, the crunching sound of footsteps on the leaves of the liriope muscari, all mixed together, along with the startled crickets and spiders hopping away, instantly brought the field to life.
Half an hour later, Xu's father joined the team digging for Ophiopogon japonicus.
The father and son of the Xu family were responsible for digging out the Ophiopogon japonicus, while the mother of Xu sat in front of the "Ophiopogon japonicus mountain" and cut the Ophiopogon japonicus with scissors. The eldest sister of Xu took over the work from her mother and shook off the soil from the Ophiopogon japonicus, piling it up in the ground.
"Dad, Mom, older sister, and second older brother~"
The crisp sound interrupted the busy group.
It was Xu Yaomei, carrying a half-full pot of tea, walking towards them.
Seeing this, Xu Chunsheng quickly put down what he was doing, took the teapot from her, and asked:
"Little sister, school's out? How did you know we were here?"
The youngest sister, wearing a small hat, looked up and said with a grin:
"You said at noon that you were coming to the field to dig up Ophiopogon japonicus. I know that the work at the 'bend' is done in the afternoon, so I guessed you'd be here."
Hearing Xu Yaomei's words, the adults in the family instantly softened:
"My little sister is so thoughtful; she even brought us tea, just in time for Mom's thirst."
"Yes, isn't it tiring to carry tea so far?"
"Come sit on the bench and rest for a while."
……
Amidst the praise from her family, Xu Yaomei waved her slightly reddened hand, her words brimming with pride for doing things for her family:
"I'm not tired at all. My little sister is in school now, she's a big girl, so doing these things is easy for her."
"I also told Xiaowei that we're going to harvest Ophiopogon japonicus, and told them to hurry up and harvest it too. I told him secretly!"
This time, Xu Chunsheng didn't lift his younger sister up and bounce her around. His hands were covered in mud, and he didn't want to get the mud on his sister.
So he rubbed Xu Yaomei's head a few times with the back of his hand, making her already messy hair even messier.
"Erwa, why don't you stop digging? Take a break and have some tea. It's getting dark. Later, cut off the leaves of the Ophiopogon japonicus seedlings and we'll take them home and continue picking."
After saying that, Xu's father picked up the hoe again and continued digging for Ophiopogon japonicus.
As darkness fell, Xu Chunsheng casually picked up a Liriope muscari, pinched the leaves, placed the lower half and root on a wooden board, and with a swift stroke, cut off most of the leaves from the Liriope muscari.
With a knife, scrape along the wooden board, and the remaining part is scraped off the board.
Xu Yaomei squatted down next to Xu Chunsheng to help him, putting the Ophiopogon japonicus into a basket, and then into a nylon bag.
After this process, in half a day, about half an acre of Ophiopogon japonicus was dug up, but some of the dug-up Ophiopogon japonicus still needs to be taken back for harvesting.
Everyone was exhausted and just wanted to rest and recharge, as there were still several tough days ahead.
So when the family returned, they simply washed the picked Ophiopogon japonicus clean, and hung the unpicked ones under the eaves to dry to prevent them from getting damp.
Xu Chunsheng lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. But this time, it wasn't anxiety he felt; instead, it was the excitement of finally seeing the "fruit."
Within a month, the price of Ophiopogon japonicus will soar to over forty yuan.
By then, their economic situation will have greatly improved.
All the problems will be solved as his family's economic situation improves significantly, and neither Qian Junwei nor You Xiaoxia will be able to cause them any more trouble.