readytorunbook Chapter 210 Collective Digging for Bamboo Shoots
Chapter 210 Collective Digging for Bamboo Shoots
Ling Wuxin, Nanchen, and Yexiao, the heads of the three families, drank tea and talked for an afternoon, and finally arranged a series of minor officials to temporarily manage Doucheng and Mianzhou. This is the guarantee for the two cities to maintain normal operation. Uprooting so many people is just the opportunity to cultivate their own strength. For the sake of stability, no one can say anything!
As for who will be sent to serve as the county magistrate in the end, it is up to the emperor to decide, and this matter will take at least half a year to be implemented. After all, Ling Wuxin decided to submit evidence to the emperor after the new year to denounce the evil deeds of some people who abuse their power to bully the people, and communication takes time.
Xiaoliu, Xiaoqi, Xiaoba and Xiaojiu were responsible for preparing the hot pot dinner in the kitchen, while the fourth and fifth children started to do housework, such as cleaning their rooms, changing clothes, etc. In short, everyone had their own division of labor.
Yanan, Bailu, and Yiyi ate too much snacks and came out together to digest the food. They also grabbed a strong man from An Yi and asked him to find two other dark guards to start digging winter bamboo shoots. Winter bamboo shoots are bamboo shoots that grow from underground bamboo shoots around the beginning of winter. Because they have not emerged from the ground, the bamboo shoots are particularly tender and fresh. They are known as "gold-covered white jade, the best among vegetables" and are widely loved by people!
"An Yi, is there any way to find bamboo shoots?" Yi Yi and Bai Lu stood arm in arm beside the bamboo forest watching them dig, while Yanan went back to get a bamboo basket to put the bamboo shoots in.
"It is said that the bamboo shoots will grow in the direction that the bamboos lean. But it is hard to say since this is a hot spring valley. It is possible that it is warmer underground than outside, so the bamboo shoots should grow bigger than others." An Yi walked around the bamboo forest, digging here and there. Was he making marks or what did it mean? !
Yiyi and Bailu also became interested after hearing this, and began to observe the direction in which the bamboo grew. They found that there were bamboos growing in all directions. How should they choose? "Are there cracks? If they grow big enough, there should be cracks or bulges, right?" Yiyi's eyes searched, looking for possibilities.
"Stop looking, let them dig by themselves!" Bai Lu couldn't find it by herself, so she asked Yi Yi to keep her company, otherwise she would seem stupid.
"Madam, you guys are here? Have you dug any bamboo shoots?" Ye Xiao led a group of men behind him and walked over. Each of them had a tool in his hand. Did they want to dig up all the bamboo shoots in the Hot Spring Valley?
"Husband, why are you all here? We have just started looking and haven't found anything yet!" Bai Lu was also surprised that all of them came out.
"Everyone, spread out and dig!" Ling Wuxin came to Yiyi and asked everyone to spread out and find places to dig bamboo shoots.
"Okay!" The brothers ran into the bamboo forest laughing, and soon they heard shouting from the forest.
"Want to have a competition? See who can dig the most!"
"Who's afraid of who?"
"What's the jackpot?"
"The loser will have to work hard to make rice cakes tomorrow!"
"Hey! That's nothing. The last thing this village lacks is men!"
"There is no shortage in the village. I'm talking about our family. Otherwise, we won't have to cook, wash dishes or clothes during this festival."
"Haha, is that all you want? Let me compete with you. If you lose, you have to help me find a good horse. If I lose, I have to help you wash your clothes. That should be fine, right?"
……
The three sisters and their husbands standing outside the forest all smiled at each other. "Should we catch up?" Yanan asked.
"Since we want to have a competition, let them compete. We can count the bamboo shoots and put them in the baskets later!" Nanchen said with a smile.
"That's right, let's just dig around here. I don't think it will be any worse than what's inside the forest." Night Owl agreed.
"Okay, okay, let's start. I want to see how you find bamboo shoots!" Bai Lu chose to just watch, but she was still quite interested in this.
"Then let's go with these three. Let's compete to see who can dig up the bamboo shoots first!" Ling Wuxin also became interested and said, pointing to the three bamboos in front of him.
"Haha, that's fine! It's not about quantity, but who can find it faster, right?" Nanchen laughed happily when he heard that. It was something that was right in front of him, so it wasn't difficult!
"What's the prize?" Night Owl naturally wanted to join the competition, so he had to tell the prize first so that he would be motivated.
"In this way, the one who digs first can have a holiday until the 20th of the first lunar month. He can do nothing but accompany his wife." Ling Wuxin said so, which attracted the contemptuous eyes of Nanchen and Yexiao. Is this possible? There are so many things waiting.
"You don't believe it, right? Then let's change it to, no business needs to be dealt with until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the two losers will share the burden. Is that okay?" Ling Wuxin modified his words.
"Okay, that's it. The loser will do the work for the winner! The deadline is before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month." Night Owl concluded.
"Let's get started!" Nanchen picked up the hoe and started picking the bamboo closest to him to mark the territory.
"Hey, second brother, there's no point in drawing the territory. Maybe my bamboo whip is growing towards you?" Night Owl protested.
"Tsk tsk, only your bamboo can grow and grow into my territory. Even if it is, I was the first to discover it, so even if it is mine..." Nanchen has already started to scrape off the fallen leaves on the ground.
"..." Hearing this, Ling Wuxin was too lazy to pay attention to their bickering. He circled under the bamboo and looked at its direction. However, he found that the bamboo in front of him was most likely a male bamboo, which would have fewer bamboo shoots. So he quietly approached a nearby female bamboo and began to clear the fallen leaves on the ground.
"Hey, big brother, this is the one you dug. Why are you running over there?" Night Owl was the first to notice the little boss's little action.
"I know it's this one. I just found that its bamboo whip grows towards this side!" The shrewd Ling Wuxin explained calmly.
"..." Yiyi, Bailu, and Yanan didn't understand the basis for their search for bamboo shoots, but after listening to their verbal attacks, they felt that the three of them were quite competitive. They didn't help anyone, and Yanan even found some stones for them so that they could sit and watch the show.
The three men were wielding hoes and digging the soil in their respective plots of land when good news first came from the forest.
"Found it! Found it. There are three buds growing on this bamboo shoot."
"Let me see, let me see, wow, it turns out that the bamboo shoots are quite big!"
"Is this bamboo shoot from this bamboo?" Someone had already analyzed and determined how to find it based on the direction in which he dug out the bamboo shoots.
"Yes, look at this direction, isn't it like this?" He carefully dug the soil and gave instructions with gestures. The people who came to watch suddenly realized what was going on, and then ran back to find their own bamboo shoots.
"I found it here too, haha! I can see a lump for now, but I believe there will be more if I dig deeper. This whip is quite thick, and probably very long. I'm going to..." Now he swung the hoe in the forest more frequently.
Ling Wuxin, Ye Xiao and Nanchen have also found bamboo shoots, but they haven't discovered any bamboo shoots yet. They have to keep digging, competing to see who finds them first.
After another round of bangs, clangs and swish sounds of digging the soil, Ling Wuxin cut off a bamboo shoot with a "crack" and threw it on the ground between Ye Xiao and Nan Chen.
"I won!" Ling Wuxin said, and he began to fill the soil he had just dug out back in place. It seemed that winning or losing was the only thing that mattered, not how much he dug.
"Boss, why don't you keep digging?" Night Owl asked quickly when he saw his actions.
"I've already won, why should I dig anymore!" Ling Wuxin raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
"...I always feel like something is wrong. Does the boss only care about winning or losing?!" Night Owl muttered. He still insisted on digging at his bamboo whip.
"Third brother, your feeling is right. Mine has also come out. There are three buds in a nest, and their sizes are uniform and moderate!" Nanchen moved aside to let everyone see his masterpiece directly.
Yanan’s three sisters also gathered around to watch, and it was indeed a litter of three!
"Three babies in one litter! This is a good sign, big sister!" Bai Lu said quickly.
"Then harvest them quickly, husband!" Yanan was also excited and asked Nanchen to harvest them quickly.
"Okay! Listen to my lady, I'll gather all three of them together and harvest them." Nanchen picked up all three bamboo shoots intact, and then returned to Yanan with satisfaction. "Are you satisfied, lady?"
"Satisfied, you must be satisfied!" Yanan made a big brother gesture to him.
……
"Enough, enough! Come back and dig more if you want to eat more later," Ling Wuxin shouted into the woods.
"Got it, got it, let's count the spoils..."
The lively bamboo shoot digging competition ended here, and the whole family happily enjoyed the hot pot dinner. Of course, the delicious dish of fried winter bamboo shoots with bacon was also indispensable on the table.
Everyone enjoyed the food and took the gifts. Each family used horses to carry the New Year's supplies and gifts bought by Yanan's family back home! They all regarded it as a shopping festival for their families.