The moon falling to the ground

Chapter 129 Unexpected Discovery

There are more and more people suffering from goiter in the village.

In the afternoon, Fuwu bought salt and gave each villager a pound of salt. The villagers were so grateful that they brought their own vegetables to express their gratitude.

They were busy until the evening and Jian Yue and the others were tired and hungry.

Fu Yun gave Village Chief Ge's family a bag of rice, a bag of flour, and a piece of meat, and asked the village chief's wife to help cook.

Several children came in carrying a few long purple poles. When they saw Jian Yue, their eyes lit up: "Sister, these are sweet poles. They are for you. Thank you for giving us candy."

Jian Yue took it and found that it was actually sugar cane. She was moved and said with a smile: "Thank you, I like it very much."

These little brats are the ones we met at the village entrance.

When the children saw that Jian Yue liked it, they were very happy and jumped away.

Village Chief Ge's grandson, Ge Shitou, came over with a hatchet and said, "Doctor Jian, let me cut it open for you. This thing is too hard and it will cut your mouth if you are not careful."

"Thank you!" Jian Yue gave him the sugarcane.

Ge Shitou neatly chopped the sugarcane into pieces and carefully helped Jian Yue peel the skin.

Jian Yue took a bite and found it very juicy, but not as sweet as the sugar cane of later generations. However, if the planting method is proper, the sweetness of sugar cane can be increased.

She asked casually, "Where did you get this stuff? Is it a lot?"

Ge Shitou said: "There are a lot of these things at the foot of the mountains and halfway up the mountains around us. We can't afford to buy sugar, so we cut some and bring them back to eat. But if you eat too much of this, your tongue will hurt, and you may even cut your mouth if you're not careful. Only children like to eat this."

Since this thing grows in patches, it means that the soil here is suitable for growing sugarcane.

Jian Yue suddenly had an idea.

Nanchang State Salt and Sugar were both scarce. Since the raw materials for sugar were right in front of her, she could make the sugar first.

Doctor Mao was sitting under a tree in the yard with Village Chief Ge, drinking tea. Jian Yue went over to ask about the ownership of the surrounding mountains.

According to Village Chief Ge, they have few fields here, and the two nearby mountains belong to the village, while the rest are unowned land.

The yield of crops grown in the mountains is low, so few people grow crops there. Most villagers go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and chop firewood. Hunting is the job of hunters, and villagers without skills dare not go into the mountains.

Jian Yue suggested going out for a walk, so Village Chief Ge asked his eldest son Ge Daliang to lead the way.

Fu Yun followed Jian Yue.

The three of them climbed up the mountain from the foot of the mountain. Jian Yue checked the soil on the mountain and found that it was all sandy loam. The nearby mountains were not high and had sufficient sunlight, which was very suitable for growing sugarcane.

Half an hour later, the three of them returned in the twilight. Doctor Mao noticed that Jian Yue seemed very happy.

During the meal, Jian Yue proposed to buy two mountains in the village. As for the other mountains, she would naturally go to the government office to ask.

Village Chief Ge was very surprised. After thinking for a while, he said, "Doctor Jian, there is nothing to grow on the mountain except for the useless purple-skinned poles. There is no point in growing food. It is useless to spend money to buy the mountain."

He thought Jian Yue was young, had never farmed, and didn't understand these things about the fields, so he tried to persuade her in a kind way.

Jian Yue knew that the village chief had good intentions, so she said, "I bought the mountain for other purposes. I also plan to build a workshop in your village and hire people from your village to work."

Village Chief Ge stood up suddenly and almost overturned the dining table. He asked excitedly: "Really? Doctor Jian, you are not kidding, right?"

"No, as long as I can successfully buy the mountain, I will build a workshop in Gejia Village."

"Okay, okay, I will go find the elders and discuss it with them now. Please wait, I will give you a reply soon." Village Chief Ge rushed out of the house like the wind.

Doctor Mao and Fu Yun were all stunned.

No, is it that urgent? Can't they finish their meal? So are they going to eat now or not?

Ge Daliang smiled awkwardly: "Well, you guys eat, I'm going to go see my dad." He left too.

Ge Erliang rubbed his hands excitedly and asked in disbelief: "Doctor Jian, are you really going to build a workshop in our village?"

No wonder his father was excited, he was so excited that he almost jumped up.

The land in Gejia Village is small and poor. After paying the grain tax, there is basically no grain left. It is not easy to go out to work. There is work today, but not tomorrow. The locals are xenophobic, and people from poor villages like theirs who go out are bullied. Moreover, going out means hard work. Ten to fifteen cents a day, and if the work is not good, the money will be deducted.

If there is a workshop in the village, you can make money at your doorstep and take care of your family at the same time, who wouldn’t be happy?

Jian Yue repeated once again: "As long as we can buy the mountain in your village, we will build a workshop in your village. Your village will also be given priority in recruiting workers. Of course, those who are sneaky, lazy, and have bad character will not be accepted."

"That's right, that's right. Eat quickly, the food is getting cold." Ge Erliang and the women of the Ge family were obviously more enthusiastic than before.

Village Chief Ge soon arrived with two elders of the Ge clan. After the two sides exchanged greetings and sat down, an elder in his sixties excitedly said: "If Doctor Jian builds a workshop in our village and employs our villagers to work, we can sell the mountain to you at the lowest price."

"How much does the Ge clan elder want to sell it for?" As business is business, Jian Yue must ask clearly. She doesn't want to take advantage of the poor, nor does she want to owe favors to the Ge Village, so as to avoid being entangled in the future.

The elder said, "The two mountains belonging to Gejia Village have a total area of ​​about 400 mu. How about we sell them to you at two taels of silver per mu?"

The two mountains cost about 800 taels, which Jian Yue thought was not expensive. She looked at Divine Doctor Mao, who said, "If you have acquaintances in the government office, you can buy a barren mountain like this for one tael of silver per mu. Of course, two taels per mu is the market price, which is barely acceptable."

The elder's face turned red, and he said hesitantly: "If you think the price is high, then we can lower it a little bit."

Gejia Village is isolated, and the elders and others don’t know the price of barren mountains outside. They just compare the price of reclaimed fields.

An acre of reclaimed land costs between three and four taels, and they privately thought that two taels was not too high, but they didn't expect that the government office would only sell it for one tael.

It's as if they are not real.

Village Chief Ge and the two elders all looked very embarrassed.

Doctor Mao waved his hand and explained: "It's not that I think your price is too high. In the government office, even if you don't know anyone, you still get two taels."

Village Chief Ge and the two clan elders breathed a sigh of relief and were no longer so embarrassed.

Jian Yue signed a contract with Village Chief Ge.

Tomorrow I will ask someone from the government office to come and measure it, and then stamp it and pay the money.

The two elders left happily.

The wife of the village elder and two daughters-in-law vacated two rooms, one for Doctor Mao and one for Jian Yue and Fu Yun, while the others slept in the carriage.

After a tiring day, Jian Yue ignored the simplicity and musty smell of the room and fell asleep with her head touching the pillow.

The next morning, Doctor Mao asked Village Chief Ge to count the number of lonely elderly people in the village and give each family ten kilograms of flour, ten kilograms of rice, and thirty kilograms of whole grain flour.

Village chief Ge and his family were very happy. Village chief Ge and his two sons led Doctor Mao and Jian Yue to deliver food to the lonely old man...