Good farming at the foot of Changbai Mountain

Chapter 59 Ginseng Seeds
The work in the ginseng field is really endless, and after doing this, there will be another.If the crops in the field are added, the farmers really can't stay idle.In this age without herbicides and pesticides, if you want to have a good yield, you need to be diligent.The Xu family is not bad, the ginseng land and the crops are in front of them, everyone in the family can go to work, even the small ones like Jinghan can help weed or something.

Weeds should also be frequently weeded on the horse paths and pools of the ginseng ground, otherwise the grass will be too high, which will affect the light and temperature of the stick.After digging the ginseng soil, Zhixin led the people to start weeding, first the ones on Chimianzi, then Chibangzi and Ma Dao.The Xu family has a total of sixty feet of land, and it took five or six days to finish all of these.After all the grass in the ginseng field had been picked up, Mrs. Xue led the children to weed the crop fields, while Zhixin and Zhiming fertilized the ginseng.

Ginseng is a strange thing, ordinary manure cannot be used, otherwise it will rot directly.And what can be used for fertilization is bean cake water.Steam the bean cakes in a pan, and then use a knife to slice them off little by little.After that, soak it in water and ferment it in a large vat for a period of time. When the fermentation is almost complete, get it into the ginseng field and fertilize it.

The fertilization of ginseng is also very particular. It is not necessary to fertilize every year. During the six-year growth period of ginseng, only the fifth year needs to be fertilized.Fertilizer is not effective enough if it is early, and it will not be effective if it is too late, so it is chosen to fertilize in the summer of the fifth year, which is also known as the year of freezing.

When fertilizing, use your hands or a special small scratch to make a small groove between the two sticks.Then pour the bean cake water into the small ditch, and cover it with soil.Some people will sprinkle a layer of bean cake powder when planting sticks, and then cover with soil before planting sticks.Although there is no need to top-dress in this way, it also has a disadvantage, that is, it loves to be bugs.Especially the ground cricket, which is a pest whose scientific name is mole cricket, will bite off the stem of the mallet directly, causing serious harm.There are no pesticides in this era, so gradually no one uses this method of spreading bean cake flour.

Fertilizing ginseng is a labor-intensive job, and you can't do much in a day.Zhixin and Zhiming are two, one digs the ditch in front, and the other waters fertilizer in the back, and also carries bean cake water from the house to this end, so the drying is even slower.There are fifteen feet in total, and it took two people more than three days to finish the job.

People in the village also came to fertilize the sticks, so they took even more effort. They brought a large bucket of bean cake water from their homes, and then tried to get it into their own ginseng fields, which was even slower.Some people envied Zhixin's family when they saw that they had already finished all these tasks. "Brother Xu, your family is not bad. I can see that any job can be done much faster than ours. In the past, old Liu was drinking all day long, and he didn't plant sticks. I really didn't see it. There are so many benefits."

Zhixin listened, raised his head and smiled, "Yes, it's very convenient to be close, Dazhu, if you look good, why don't you come and see Shen?"

"Forget it, I'm not going to do this. This is because your family has many hands and is diligent. If this is replaced by that lazy one, it will be different. Lying on the kang all day long, even if he sleeps on the pool, he will I can’t do any work.” The man named Da Zhu scratched his head and smiled foolishly.

The people from the other houses nearby couldn't help laughing when they heard this. "Dazhu, what you said is on point. People, as long as they are diligent, no matter what day they are, they can live a good life. Those lazy people who know how to eat and die all day long, even if they give him a Mountains of gold and silver, he is too lazy to take them."

After a burst of laughter, everyone lowered their heads and went to work separately. Taking advantage of the good weather, they all wanted to do more, who would be willing to chat?

The days passed by in a busy way, and when it was mid-July, it was time to pinch the ginseng seeds again.Naturally, children can do this job, so there is no need for Zhixin and the others to worry about it. Wen Han, Wen Cheng and Jing Han went to the frozen ginseng field.

Under the mallet shed, there is a piece of green ginseng leaves, and each ginseng tree will have a bright red ginseng seed on top.A ginseng tree can bear twenty or thirty ginseng seeds, each of which is similar to a heart shape, about the size of a soybean, slightly flat, with a red peel on the outside.This year Xu's ginseng is growing well, and the ginseng seeds on it are also huge and plump, and the red fruit makes people feel happy when they look at it.

"Be careful when pinching, keep some before they turn red, and then pinch after two days, the green fruit of this thing can't be washed clean, and it won't work." Jing Han warned.

"Okay, little sister, we all know." Wen Cheng smiled and began to pinch the ginseng seeds.

Each of us carried a basket in his hand and knelt on top of Chi Mianzi. We formed a group of two, exactly on both sides of Chi Chuan'er, and picked ginseng seeds facing each other.The pool is generally five and a half feet wide, and one person cannot reach the opposite side no matter what. If two people are just right, no ginseng seeds will fall.Wen Han and Wen Xuan are in a group, Wen Cheng and Wen Chang are in a group, and Jing Han and Jing Wan are in a group. This is just right, with a distance of two feet from each other.After pinching the two zhangs, let's work next to each other.

Jinghan pinched the ginseng seeds full of joy, looking at the red ginseng seeds in the basket, she felt that the future was full of hope. "Jingwan, how are you? Are you used to being capable?" She was afraid that Jingwan would not be used to working in the field.

"Sister, it's okay, it's fine. We went up the mountain and ran all over the forest all day long. Do you think I fell like that? I'm not tired of this work, it's okay." Jing Wan smiled, compared to Jing Han, she was more Be gentler.

Jingya is 11 years old this year. Mrs. Chen saw that she was not used to doing these kinds of farm work, and she was getting older, so she asked her to do some sewing at home.In two years time, it's time to start preparing for marriage. Naturally, it's not like Jing Han, who runs around all day long.

It doesn't take much strength to pinch the ginseng seeds, as long as the hands are quick, this time shows the advantage of girls. Jing Han and Jing Wan are quick and careful, and they are much faster than Wen Han and the others.It didn't take an hour to pinch all the two feet.The two sisters sent the pinched ginseng seeds back to Mrs. Chen, and then continued to work next to Wen Cheng and the others.In one afternoon, all the ginseng seeds were pinched off, and naturally they were all sent back, and it was enough for Zhixin and the others to wash them out in the afternoon.

After lunch, everyone began to wash ginseng seeds.Washing the ginseng seeds is to remove the layer of peel outside the ginseng seeds.Naturally, it is impossible to pick this thing down with your hands, but you have to put it in your pocket, then scrub it with your hands, or step on it with your feet.After scrubbing to a certain extent, the peel and pulp inside should be washed away with water, leaving only white seeds.

It is better to go to the riverside for this job, since water is more convenient.So Zhixin led the children to wash ginseng seeds by the river.

Put half a bag of destemmed ginseng seeds in the sackcloth pocket, tie the mouth tightly, and put it on a flat stone.Jinghan stepped on it with bare feet, stepping on it carefully little by little, and gradually, dark red juice flowed out from the pocket, which was fruit pulp.In this era, there is no fine chemical industry, so these pulps can only be wasted and washed away with water.

When the fruit pulp in the cloth pocket is getting less and less, it means that the inside is almost done.Zhixin opened the bag, poured the ginseng seeds into a large basin, and rinsed them carefully.

Fifteen-foot-long sticks, if you can pick them out, you can have about forty catties of fresh ginseng seeds, and you can divide them into three bags.Wen Han and Wen Cheng also made a bag and stepped on it. "Little sister, why do I feel that you are faster than the two of us, but we are stronger than you?" Wen Cheng was a little puzzled, the three of them started together, how could Jinghan be so fast?

"Second brother, you guys have great strength, but you have to use even force on this thing, and step on it little by little. If you kick this way and then kick this way, it's naturally slow." Jing Han smiled. But I have been working for many years. Although I am small now, the experience is there after all.

After hearing what Jing Han said, Wen Cheng felt that it made sense.Only then did I start to pay attention to my feet and apply force evenly, and sure enough, a lot more fruit pulp came out. "Hey, it's really easy to use." Wen Cheng shouted excitedly.

"Wencheng, don't look at this trivial job, you know, there are tricks in everything. You have to think carefully about it." Zhiming listened to the conversation between the brothers and sisters over there, and just borrowed machines to educate these children. "Wencheng, third uncle sees that you are quite good at medicinal materials, do you want to study medicine with third uncle together with Jinghan?"

Wencheng heard this, and looked up at Zhiming, "Uncle San, I'm very stupid. As long as you don't think I'm stupid, I'll learn from Uncle San." Can't keep up with Wenchang and Wenxuan.It seems that even if he can go to school to study in the future, he will be able to make a name for himself.It's better to study medicine with my third uncle, and I can count as having the ability to support my family.

"Don't talk nonsense, you are not stupid. All the children in our family are smart and good young. It's just that they are talented in some aspect." Zhiming reprimanded Wen Cheng with a smile. "In the future, don't say that you are stupid. You should study hard with your third uncle, and your little uncle. Wait for you to learn well, and see if you can find a pharmacy as an apprentice. Medical skills also need to be practiced." After all, Zhiming can't let go of his favorite career. Although he has experienced some things and can no longer practice medicine, the hobby in his bones is hard to change after all.

"Brother Wencheng, you should study hard from Uncle San. When our family is rich, we will open a medical clinic in the town, and then you and Uncle San will sit together, that would be great." Jing Han also thought Wen Cheng was not bad in this regard, so he encouraged him with words.

"Yes, brother Wen Cheng, you have to work hard." Jing Wan and Wen Chang also said in unison.

(End of this chapter)