readytorunbook Chapter 402 A great harvest
Chapter 402 A great harvest
The most prominent example is a frail scholar named Huo Qi.
He had inadvertently offended a wealthy young man at the academy and was framed for stealing silver. With no witnesses or evidence, he could not prove his innocence and was unwilling to be imprisoned, so he joined the bandits.
The uncle who just sighed was because his daughter was being forced into marriage by a local bully. When he tried to stop him, he was beaten and had his leg broken. His daughter, unable to bear the humiliation, threw herself into a well without even leaving the house. In his grief and anger, he endured his broken leg, picked up a knife, and killed the bully. He then joined the bandits' den.
……
Along the way, Lin Xiaotang gradually learned about the background of this group of people. Since most of them were kind-hearted people forced into this situation, they were reluctant to tell Lin Xiaotang. Some of the information was also told to her by the bearded man in secret.
Last night until this morning, Big Beard still didn't believe that Lin Xiaotang had the ability to lead everyone to eat their fill and earn money. But she came up with the idea of dividing everyone into three teams to work. He benefited from Lin Xiaotang's help and was assigned to the team with the easiest work.
With his basket growing fuller and fuller of mushrooms, he was overjoyed. He would finally stop drinking watery wild vegetable soup for lunch; otherwise, his mouth would taste bland.
Therefore, he began to admire Lin Xiaotang.
There's a food shortage on the mountain right now. Most of the hundred or so people were usually too lazy to work, but surprisingly, no one started clamoring to quit. No matter what, as long as everyone is willing to work, they won't go hungry for the time being.
Lin Xiaotang carefully searched for mushrooms along the way, and also reminded everyone to be careful, because there were many people who were eating, and they were all men with big appetites, so they should pick as many as possible.
"Everyone, please bear with us. If we gather a lot today, we can dry it and preserve it for later consumption. Then we won't have to work so hard to gather it every day."
Their group was considered quite diligent among the bandits. Upon hearing Lin Xiaotang's words, they were initially delighted, but then became discouraged.
“If there were only twenty or thirty of us, we could work hard today to gather more and dry it to last longer. But there are many people on the mountain, and some of them are lazy and have bad tempers. I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep them.”
Lin Xiaotang thought for a moment and said, "Don't be discouraged, everyone. I will find a way to make sure everyone has something to do. Those who are lazy and have bad tempers are not suitable to stay if they don't change. We are going to grow medicinal herbs and do business in the future, and we will never support idlers. We may not be in good health or quick, but we cannot slack off."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a sense of hope. Now that their leader was willing to listen to the young girl's advice, and the young girl was clever and quick-witted, it seemed that their future was truly promising.
Everyone thanked Lin Xiaotang and couldn't help but praise her.
"It's a bit too early for everyone to thank us now. Let's wait until we achieve something and see the results before you all thank us, haha..."
As they walked and chatted, Lin Xiaotang suddenly spotted a blade of grass about knee-high with uniformly growing leaves. The numerous leaves stretched out and arranged in a shape larger than the mouth of a bowl. Lin Xiaotang was so excited that she almost shouted out loud.
She suppressed her excitement and immediately waved and called out to Big Beard.
"Quick...come here quickly, ginseng, I found a ginseng."
"What the hell?"
"Ginseng?"
The bearded man dropped the basket on his back and ran to Lin Xiaotang's side in a flash, following her gaze.
"My goodness, I've never seen ginseng before in my life. Today I not only saw it, but it's even ginseng that grows in the mountains. This is truly an eye-opener."
He looked at the slender branches, with small leaves at the top spread out like the size of a bowl. They looked ordinary. Could they be ginseng?
The bearded man asked, half-believing, half-doubting, "Girl, you're not mistaken, are you?"
Lin Xiaotang pursed her lips, took off the small basket on her back, picked up a small twig from the ground, and said, "Is it true or not? We'll know once we dig it out."
There have always been specific customs associated with digging ginseng. It is said that once you see ginseng, you should tie a red string to its branches so that the ginseng won't run away.
Having neither a red rope nor a red cloth on her body, she could only tear off a pink hair tie from her head and make do with it for now, thinking it should be the same principle.
Those who came with him, just like the bearded man, were seeing ginseng for the first time. They were all incredibly excited and fascinated by it. They didn't even bother to unload their baskets and all crowded around it.
Lin Xiaotang moved lightly and dug carefully. She had experience digging ginseng. First, she cleared away the weeds and fallen leaves covering the ground. Then, she drew a circle and started digging from the surrounding area, using a small stick to loosen the soil little by little.
The soil on the mountain was not firm. She pried it open a little with a stick, shook it gently with her hands, and loosened the soil, revealing the ginseng roots. Lin Xiaotang held her breath and patiently cleaned the loose soil off the roots. She cleaned all the surrounding roots and exposed them. She then pried it open from the bottom and dug out the whole ginseng. She shook off the soil on top, and a complete ginseng was revealed.
She plucked off the leaves and looked at the ginseng in her hand, sighing with emotion.
"This ginseng is even bigger than the one I dug up a few years ago. It must be over a hundred years old. It will definitely fetch a good price. Once we sell it, we won't have to worry about rice and flour for the next few days."
The bearded man exclaimed excitedly, "Great! This is fantastic! Girl, you look ordinary, but you're a lucky charm! If the boss knew you dug up ginseng, he would value you even more."
Everyone chimed in, "Little girl, you're really something. No wonder the boss values you so much and even sent Big Beard to protect you. With you here, we won't go hungry anymore. From now on, whatever you ask us to do, we'll do it obediently."
"Me too, me too, I'll follow the little girl's arrangements. If we work together, we'll definitely have a good life in the future."
They no longer need to rob and plunder. Some of them joined the bandit gang because they were kind-hearted and had no other choice. They did not want to be the most heinous criminals. Otherwise, what would have happened if they had been bullied in the past?
Lin Xiaotang carefully tucked the ginseng into her bosom, slung her basket back over her shoulder, and led Big Beard and the others to the bamboo forest. Because the forest was damp, there were a few fresh bamboo shoots. They dug up all the fresh bamboo shoots, picked some mushrooms, and gathered some wild vegetables before returning.
On their way back, they collected some more firewood to keep themselves healthy. The younger ones carried the firewood on their backs, while the bearded man carried three bundles of firewood on his back and had a basket hanging on his chest. He was working very hard.
When everyone returned to their lodgings, the team that had caught the fish had already come back. Seeing the pile of grass carp on the open ground, everyone was as happy as children.
"Today I can finally have some meat, it's wonderful!"
"Just having fish and vegetables isn't enough. Our boss and a bunch of men haven't come back yet. Judging by the situation, we're sure to have a big fight today. We'll make sure everyone has their fill."
"Of course, when has our boss ever let anyone down?"