pastoral fragrance

Chapter 51 Starting to Raise Silkworms

Qiuyue grinned, as a result, all the heavy work at home fell on her head.But for the sake of the future of the two younger brothers, it's okay, just work harder.The younger sister doesn't say anything, so naturally she can't say anything when she is the eldest sister.

Qiu Song said solemnly: "Okay, little sister, stop talking about these things, I don't like reading..."

Qiulin bit his lips, "Second brother, I know you are worried about your family. I have seen you clinging to those old books several times and couldn't put them down! Reading is the way for farmers to leap to the dragon's gate. You are already good at it. Excellent, it’s a pity to give up like this.”

Han also gritted her teeth and nodded, "Yeah, your little sister is right, reading is the way out for farmers. Don't you want to be like those guys in the village with your face to the loess and your back to the sky, working hard all year long How much money? Even if you grit your teeth, mother will let you go back to school. Now there are thirty taels of silver in the family, so you don’t have to worry. The pastry shop also has ten or eight taels of silver every month, and there are Fish, silkworms, etc..."

"But there are so many jobs at home, and I can't help..." Qiu Song couldn't bear it.

"Don't worry, your mother and I will raise silkworms at home. Fish raising is not a heavy job, but it will take some time to wait for the fish season in summer and autumn. Besides, don't you have Mu? Hugh or something, you can also go home and help with some farm work. Let Qiuhe go to Shuxiu some other day, and now he is eight years old, and it will be too late if he doesn't go to school." Xu Nanshan was also thinking about it Come on, I have worked hard for most of my life, but what do I get in the end?Maybe reading is really another way out.Xu Nanshan didn't want his children to repeat his own mistakes, and now that the family still has a surplus of money, then send the two children to school.The children have a way out, so he, the father, will follow suit, right?

Just suffering from two daughters and wives.

Father has already opened his mouth to speak, so this matter is settled in this way.After a few days, Qiu Song really returned to school, and Qiu He also worshiped his teacher and followed him to the school.

As soon as Qiusong Qiuhe left, the lively room seemed a little quiet.At the very beginning, Qiulin was still a little uncomfortable. There was no Qiuhe to talk to and bicker with her, and there was no second brother's chest to lean on when the eldest sister scolded her.But this feeling quickly dissipated.

Because as soon as the year is over, the weather is gradually getting warmer day by day.Qiulin thought it was time to go to the market to buy some fish fry and came back.In this way, the day will be busy.

When it was time to go to the market, Qiulin set off with the eldest sister.The two were still driving the bullock cart.When we arrived at the market, we bought a total of three hundred grass carp and one hundred carp for one tael of silver.Other fish didn't seem to be selling very well, so I didn't buy them.The bought fish are raised in a big urn first, and when the weather is sunny, the whole family goes to the fish pond to release the fish together.

These fish are pitifully small now, once thrown into the water, they quickly disappeared into the fish pond.But after a while, it slowly floated up again, motionless, as if basking in the sun.It looks so cute.

Everyone was also sitting on the shore, the sun was warm, and it was very comfortable to bask in the sun.

After the fish fry were put into the fish pond, Qiulin brought Ah Huang to the fish pond every day.One is to see how the fish are growing, and see if anyone is making trouble here; the other is to see if the mulberry trees on the bank of the fish pond have begun to sprout.When the mulberry leaves grow up, they can go to the market to sell silkworm eggs to raise silkworms.

Qiulin had told Han that it was time to raise silkworms early in the morning, so Han had already prepared the silkworm winnows, leaf picking baskets and grid winches for silkworm raising.Xu's house is relatively cramped, and now they have to raise silkworms.The Han family had no choice but to divide the west wing into two rooms with wooden boards.The children sleep in it, and the sericulture needs to be disinfected, so it is next to the window.

In February, the mulberry leaves sprouted tender green shoots.Qiuyue Qiulin rushed to the market to buy some silkworm eggs from the silkworm farmers.

Because after all, there are not many mulberry leaves, and the house is not big, so I dare not buy more, otherwise I will lose my food, which is a loss.

The newly bought silkworm eggs are red bean-colored and only about the size of a sesame seed. After three or four days, they turn dark green or purple again.When the silkworm crawls out of the egg shell, the egg shell turns white or light yellow.

The children had only seen silkworms in other people's homes before, and this time it was their turn to raise silkworms, and all of them showed great interest.

It's just that the ant silkworm that just crawled out of the egg shell is black all over, covered with small hairs, and looks like an ant in shape, no wonder it is called an ant silkworm.It's ugly!The children couldn't hook up with the white silkworm baby, did they raise the wrong thing?
"You just look at it, and don't go pick some mulberry leaves, the silkworms have to eat!" Han shi leaned on the door frame and looked at the children, calling hurriedly.

"Oh!" The two sisters suddenly realized, and hurriedly picked up the leaf picking basket, and went to the fish pond together.

These ant silkworms are very delicate, and the mulberry leaves they eat must be the tenderest ones, and the dust on the mulberry leaves must be washed clean, otherwise they will cause stomach upset if eaten by the ant silkworms. Also braids.

This is the first time the Xu family has raised silkworms, and everyone thinks it is new.The Qiuyue sisters picked the mulberry leaves, took them home and spread them in the baskets in the yard. After the water on the leaves drained, about an hour passed.Those ant silkworms that just popped out of the eggs must be starving.

The two sisters hurried to the stove to wash and dry their hands, and then took the dried mulberry leaves into the house.Then chop it up with a knife and sprinkle it in the silkworm winnow.These ants that have just crawled out of the silkworm eggs eat very little, and it is enough to feed them mulberry leaves once or twice a day.

I also couldn't see the mouths of those silkworms moving, and slowly watched the mulberry leaves decrease bit by bit, until finally there were only some stems and stalks that could not be chewed.

When replacing the mulberry leaves with new ones, you have to be careful, as the silkworms are very small, and if you don't pay attention, they will lie on the remnant mulberry leaves and throw them away.So carefully open it to pick it out, and put it back into the silkworm winnow.Moreover, the ant silkworms just came out of the silkworm eggs, so they had to be very careful. When changing the mulberry leaves, they could only be moved with a soft brush.

Silkworms grow very fast, and it usually takes only forty days to spin silk.It's just that these silkworms are very delicate, so they need to be taken care of with extra care, otherwise they will lose their braids.Every day, Mrs. Han can pick out some dead silkworms from the mulberry dustpan.These silkworms should be dealt with in time, otherwise they will infect other silkworms.

The two Qiuyue sisters were in charge of picking mulberry leaves, and the rest of the work was done by Han.

Early spring and February are good times for spring plowing and preparation.When the villagers in the village were busy with spring plowing, Qiuyue and Qiulin were not idle.

As early as last year, the two sisters cleared up the wasteland in the backyard, and now it is being put to use.This potato is not only a vegetable, but also an important grain, and it has many fruits, and the yield of one mu of field can reach more than two thousand catties.Even in barren land with poor soil, the yield can reach a thousand catties.

As the Xu family had no land to use at all, it was most practical to plant this thing in the wasteland in the backyard.

The wasteland in the backyard is not big, and only twenty or thirty catties of potato seeds can be planted in total.These seeds were bought by the Qiuyue sisters in the town.After buying it, put it in a warm and humid place.Sure enough, within a few days these seeds began to grow lavender buds.

Seeing that the seeds sprouted, the two sisters were busy cutting the yams along the germination area. When cutting, the pieces should be larger so as not to damage the germ tissue.A potato can be cut into about four pieces.Dig the open space in the backyard into small pits, and then bury the cut potato seeds in the soil along the direction of germ growth.

Now the eldest sister is the only one who supports the whole family. Qiulin loves her dearly, so she will do some neat things to share her worries.

Now she is also holding a small hoe to bury potato seeds.These moments are not too much, the sisters finished the work after an afternoon of work.Then pour a little water on it, not too much, so as not to lose the soil, and you're done.

In another four months, there will be fresh potatoes to eat.Then the sisters sprinkled some chili seeds and loofah pumpkins on the side. There is only this little land in the family, and it must be fully utilized.In addition, even at the foot of the wall in the yard, the sisters sprinkled chili loofah and cucumber seeds.Presumably in summer, something will come out.

Qiulin was still thinking about getting something to feed, but pigs are not good enough, and now their family is in short supply of food, and this pig is a good eater, so it's not worthwhile to feed them.There is no need to think about cattle and sheep. After much deliberation, Qiulin still thinks it is more reliable to raise more chickens.

This chicken is not as good at eating as pigs, and the hen can also lay eggs. It is an extra income to save the eggs and sell them in the town.

The pastry shop's business is not stable, and pastry is easy to imitate. Within two months, other pastry shops in the town also have pastries similar to walnut cakes.There are more shops here, and these pastries will not be popular anymore.So now the money to his house is also sharply reduced.

So you have to find other income to succeed!
When it was time to go to the market, the two sisters took the dustpan baskets and baskets woven by their father and the embroidery work of their mother to the town for some money.It was early spring, and the profitable herbs in the forest had just begun to emerge, and the wild vegetables on the ridges of the fields had also begun to sprout, and it would take a while before they were sold.

However, Dad's knitting fabrics are selling well, and they are often sold out, and they can add four to five hundred cash every month.Because Han's body is weak, the children don't allow her to do embroidery for a long time like before, so she can't produce a few handkerchiefs or sachets in a month.Fortunately, the price of this thing is not low, and there are still three to five hundred coins to earn every month!
(End of this chapter)