freenovelworld Chapter 38 Selling Dried Wolfberries
Chapter 38 Selling Dried Wolfberries
After returning home, Bai was already preparing dinner. Seeing Li Xiaoxiao and the others coming back, she hurried over to help Li Xiaoxiao unload the firewood from the backpack and piled it up under the eaves.
Bai saw the contents of Li Fang's basket and asked, "Fang'er, what are you doing with all this? We don't even have chickens." It's not Bai's fault. Someone in the village had tried crayfish before and thought they tasted bad and had no meat, so they'd just chopped some up and fed them to the chickens. According to Li Xiaoxiao, that was a waste of natural resources.
"Mom, this isn't for the chickens. My sister said she can make it into something delicious for us."
Mrs. Bai didn't believe it and asked Li Fang to give these to Aunt Chen to feed their chickens so that they wouldn't be wasted.
Li Xiaoxiao was at the same point of laughing and crying, "Mom, believe me, I can make them delicious. I guarantee you will want to eat more after you have tried them." Li Xiaoxiao promised.
After hearing what Li Xiaoxiao said, Bai Shi didn't want to care anymore and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Li Xiaoxiao took the basket from Li Fang, ran to the edge of the field, pulled a handful of knotweed used for scrubbing pots, tied it into a ball and began to clean the crayfish. Then he removed the crayfish's head and shrimp thread, and went to the vegetable garden to pick some green and red peppers and garlic sprouts for later use.
Li Xiaoxiao placed the cleaned crayfish in a pot and blanched them. Then, she expertly chopped the scallions, ginger, garlic, and green and red chilies. She heated a pan with cold oil, sautéed the ginger and garlic until fragrant, then added the crayfish and stir-fried them evenly. Then, she poured in an appropriate amount of boiling water, added salt and a little soy sauce, covered the pot, and simmered for a while. Li Xiaoxiao had bought some soy sauce from the grocery store after earning some money; it was simply too expensive in ancient times. Li Xiaoxiao thought it would taste even better with some green peppercorns.
After a while, an alluring aroma filled the air. Li Xiaoxiao lifted the lid of the pot, sprinkled some garlic sprouts on it, and finally turned the heat up to reduce the sauce. A dish of stir-fried crayfish with excellent color, aroma and flavor was ready.
Bai and Li Fang smelled the aroma and came to the kitchen. They looked at the crayfish on the table with curiosity in their eyes. Li Xiaoxiao smiled and picked up a crayfish and handed it to Bai, "Mom, try it." Bai hesitated for a moment, but still took a bite and was immediately amazed. "Hmm, delicious! This crayfish is so delicious!"
The family sat together, enjoying this rare delicacy, and laughter echoed in the courtyard.
As night fell, moonlight streamed across the courtyard. Li Xiaoxiao sat on the threshold, gazing at the starry sky, her heart filled with contentment and tranquility. Tomorrow, she planned to take her dried goji berries to the town pharmacy to see if they would accept them. She also planned to take some crayfish. Although they weren't popular here, she thought she could grab some and ask Shopkeeper Zhao if he would take them. If she could sell them, it would be another source of income.
As she was thinking, Li Xiaoxiao thought of the modern era. She didn't know how her family in the modern era was doing. She missed them so much.
Sigh, let's not think about it anymore. I can't go back anyway, and life here is pretty good. Li Xiaoxiao comforted herself, then got up and went back to her room to prepare for bed.
The next morning, Li Xiaoxiao got up early and took a bamboo basket to the small river that Li Fang mentioned, hoping to see if he could catch some crayfish.
Li Xiaoxiao came to the river and found that the water was very clear and the stones and water plants at the bottom of the river were clearly visible.
She walked along the river bank in search of crayfish, and soon found a few hiding under the rocks. The river water was still a little cold in the morning, but that didn't stop Li Xiaoxiao from catching crayfish.
Li Xiaoxiao took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, and went down to the river. Fortunately, the water in this area was relatively shallow. Li Xiaoxiao excitedly reached out to catch a crayfish, but accidentally got his finger pinched by the crayfish's claws.
"It hurts!" Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but scream.
She shook her hands vigorously, and the crayfish finally released its claws.
Li Xiaoxiao learned his lesson and caught the crayfish more carefully. Soon he filled a bamboo basket.
She carried the bamboo basket home contentedly and met her neighbor Aunt Zhang on the way.
"Xiaoxiao, where are you going? What are you carrying in the basket?" Aunt Zhang asked curiously.
"I went to the river to catch crayfish and plan to take them to town to sell." Li Xiaoxiao replied with a smile.
"Crayfish? What kind of thing is that? I've never heard of it." After saying that, he looked at the bamboo basket in Li Xiaoxiao's hand.
"Xiaoxiao, is this a hard-shell shrimp? Can this thing be sold for money?" Aunt Zhang said in surprise.
"Aunt Zhang, I don't know either. I just grabbed some and took them to town to ask if anyone wanted them." Li Xiaoxiao explained.
"Xiaoxiao, I advise you not to go. No one here eats this thing. It smells of mud. We catch it to feed the chickens and ducks." Aunt Zhang advised.
Knowing that Aunt Zhang had good intentions, Li Xiaoxiao didn't mind. She smiled at her and went home.
Aunt Zhang was left there muttering to herself, "Is this kid crazy about money?" Then she shook her head and left.
After returning home, Mrs. Bai had already prepared breakfast. "Xiaoxiao, where did you go so early in the morning?" Mrs. Bai asked.
"Mom, look, I went to the creek to catch some crayfish. I figured I'd go to town to sell dried wolfberries this morning anyway, so I decided to stop by Xiang Man Lou and ask Shopkeeper Zhao if he'd take crayfish."
Thinking about the delicious crayfish from last night, Bai also felt that they might be able to make money, so she let Li Xiaoxiao do as she pleased, and then invited everyone to have breakfast together.
After dinner, Li Xiaoxiao specially changed into the new clothes that Bai made for her, put the crayfish into a bamboo basket, carried the dried wolfberries, and walked towards the town. Afraid that Li Xiaoxiao would be too tired to walk to the town with all these things, Bai went to the room and took out some copper coins for Li Xiaoxiao, asking her to take the ox cart of Lin Bo in the village. Li Xiaoxiao agreed.
After walking to the village entrance and waiting for a while, Lin Bo's ox cart finally arrived. Li Xiaoxiao gave Lin Bo a penny and found an empty seat on the ox cart to sit down.
Li Xiaoxiao got up early in the morning and was so sleepy from the shaking of the ox cart that she closed her eyes and dozed off.
A curious woman saw Li Xiaoxiao holding a bamboo basket and carrying a bag of things, so she asked, "Xiaoxiao, what are you carrying? It's a big basket and it looks heavy." After saying that, she wanted to reach out and lift the rag that Li Xiaoxiao had covered the bamboo basket with. Li Xiaoxiao quickly turned the bamboo basket to the other side, and the woman's hand rose into the air awkwardly.
"Aunt, these are just some random snacks I made. There's nothing fancy about them." Li Xiaoxiao replied bluntly.
When the woman saw that Li Xiaoxiao refused to show her, she put her hand down in disappointment.
"Why are you so arrogant? Why shouldn't you show others your food when you eat?" the woman cursed in a low voice.
Li Xiaoxiao was too lazy to pay attention to her. This person was the daughter-in-law of the Chen family who was on good terms with her aunt-in-law, and she had the same character as her aunt-in-law.
After wandering all the way to the town, she planned to go to the pharmacy first. Since she had never been there before, Li Xiaoxiao had to ask around before she found the largest pharmacy in town - Renhetang. When she arrived at the pharmacy, Li Xiaoxiao looked up at the quaint sign, feeling a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
She took a deep breath, weighed the dried wolfberries in her hand, and stepped into the pharmacy.
The pharmacy was filled with a faint medicinal fragrance, and rows of medicine cabinets were neatly arranged, covered with labels of various medicinal materials.
Several pharmacists were busily preparing medicine for customers. A kind-looking old man in a long robe sat behind the counter, looking down at a yellowed pharmacopoeia.
"Excuse me, are you the owner here?" Li Xiaoxiao asked softly, afraid of disturbing the tranquility.
The old man looked up, his eyes gently swept over Li Xiaoxiao, and he smiled slightly, "Little girl, I am the shopkeeper here, how can I help you?"
Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly stepped forward, gently placed the dried wolfberries in her hand on the counter, and explained, "Boss, these are wild wolfberries that I picked from the mountains and dried. Do you think you can take them?"
The shopkeeper picked up a handful of dried wolfberries, examined them carefully, sniffed them gently, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Hmm, the color is even, the dryness is moderate, and it smells naturally sweet. The quality is good. Little girl, how much do you plan to sell it for?"
Hearing the shopkeeper's praise, Li Xiaoxiao was delighted and quickly quoted the price he had in mind. The shopkeeper pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's a fair price. I'll take it at 40 wen per tael. However, if you have good goods like this in the future, remember to send them back to me." Li Xiaoxiao quickly agreed. Having a stable sales channel would definitely be something he was looking forward to.
The shopkeeper called a medicine boy to weigh the dried wolfberries, and the total weight was six pounds and eight ounces. The deal was done. Li Xiaoxiao took the silver and copper coins handed over by the shopkeeper, and his heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
After thanking him repeatedly, she turned and left the pharmacy, thinking that she should go to Xiangmanlou to find Manager Zhao to test the sales of crayfish.