Chapter 564: Planting Bamboo
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
During dinner, MO Ruyue invited them to have some food together. The old village chief and his wife were not thick-skinned people. They felt that they had already accepted the money from the other party and were too embarrassed to eat their food, so they went back to their own room.
After finishing her meal and washing up, MO Ruyue went back to her room to rest. She shared a room with Chun Hua.
It was cold here, but fortunately, they knew how to use a heated brick bed. When they were cooking and boiling water, the brick bed was heated up. The room was still much warmer than the outside, so they slept more comfortably at night.
The next day, Chun Hua woke up early and prepared breakfast.
The old village chief’s wife was about to go to the kitchen to make breakfast, but she was told that their breakfast was ready.
The two elders shamelessly ate the breakfast Chun Hua had given them. After the meal, the old village chief followed MO Ruyue and the others up the mountain.
On the way up the mountain, MO Ruyue asked the old village chief why there were only the two of them at home. It turned out that their son had died in battle, and their daughter-in-law couldn’t take it anymore and ran away. Their two daughters had married off to other places and would come back to visit them sometimes. Their grandson had also been sent to their daughters’ home in the winter.
MO Ruyue brought the old village chief and two other villagers to a bamboo forest. They demonstrated how to dig with Wei Yi.
MO Ruyue had asked about the ownerless forests here, which meant that they belonged to the Western Liang Country.
The old village chief did not understand why they had come to this mountain to dig.
The few people who followed him also did not understand. They only felt that these nobles really knew how to play. They came to the mountain to dig in the cold weather. Wasn’t this a joke?
If these people had not seen Wei Yi and the others hunt down from the mountain last night, and there were also big worms, they would have lost the patience to watch them dig and play.
Soon, MO Ruyue gave them the answer. They saw a plump bamboo shoot in the hole they dug!
“I see that quite a few of the mountains on your side are a little empty. Actually, you can all plant bamboo on the mountains. That way, you can have bamboo shoots to eat even in spring and winter.”
“Also, if you plant more bamboo, you can also raise bamboo rats, rabbits, and cold-resistant animals on the mountain. In this way, even if you can’t hunt other prey in winter, you can still have meat to eat, right?”
The old village chief and the other villagers listened to MO Ruyue’s words as if they were heavenly books, but their eyes lit up.
The old village chief and the others also understood how the winter bamboo shoots were dug out. MO Ruyue also taught them how to find the winter bamboo shoots. Without needing her to instruct them, the few of them began to dig. After a while, they also dug out the winter bamboo shoots and were very happy.
The old village chief immediately knelt down in front of MO Ruyue.
“Thank you for your kindness, Madam. You’re a good person and will definitely be rewarded!”
“Old man, there’s no need to be like this.”
Wei Yi went forward and helped the old village chief up.
‘Quick, Da Jun, hurry back to the village and ask the villagers to dig some. At least we won’t have to eat only beans today.”
After a while, many people came to the village. When they saw them digging for winter bamboo shoots, their eyes lit up as if they were digging for gold instead of bamboo shoots. Then, they all rushed forward to dig for winter bamboo shoots.
“Village Chief, I just heard you say that your village eats beans all day long. Do you plant a lot of beans every year?
“Since there are beans, can you also eat tofu?”
MO Ruyue gave up her seat to the villagers and started chatting with the old village chief again.
“Sigh, that’s right. We either eat beans or tofu as rice every day. No matter how delicious it is, we can get sick of it.”
The old village chief stopped working and answered the noble’s questions.
“Then have you ever thought about using beans to exchange for food?”
“I’ve thought about it. I even went to send it off.”
“Not only is our place far from the outside world, but it’s also freezing cold. It’s not worth it. We might not be able to sell it even if we give it away.”
After chatting with the old village chief for a long time, MO Ruyue finally understood why the village was so poor and had no food. It was because the weather, location, and people didn’t get along.
Most importantly, they were all military households. Even if they set up stalls to sell their products, they would be looked down upon by others. They would rather buy from others than from them. Even if there were people who bought them, they would keep the price very low. Over time, unless they had no choice, very few people would sell their products. Moreover, the most produced products here were beans and corn.
Because of these two good seeds, the requirements for the land were not so strict.
When the weather was warm and rainy, they could pick a lot of edible mushrooms and store them for food in winter.
“Village Chief, can you tell me what is on this mountain when the weather is warm?
“Tell me about the flowers and plants.”
The old village chief was puzzled by MO Ruyue’s question. He racked his brains to think about what was on the mountain during spring.
“It’s winter now, so I can’t think of anything for a while. It’s just the flowers and plants on the mountain.”
MO Ruyue thought that it was indeed a little difficult.
She looked at the mountains that were covered in white snow, revealing only many tall trees. It looked very mysterious.
“I see that every household here uses charcoal.”
“That’s right. We’re so poor that we can’t even eat. How can we have the spare money to buy charcoal?”
The old village chief felt that it would be better to let him spend money to buy charcoal instead of just freezing it.
“I see that this mountain is filled with wood. It’s quite dense. Why don’t you guys burn charcoal and sell it to other places?
“You should be able to earn some money at least without any cost.”
“This… I’m afraid the higher-ups won’t allow it.”
The old village chief stuttered. If it was anyone else, he would definitely not say it out loud, but he felt that MO Ruyue was a good person.
“I might be able to help you with this, and I can also help you with the sales of carbon. However, if I help you confirm this matter, you must guard the mountain here well. You can’t cut down randomly. You must cut down one tree and plant one tree after another.”
The old village chief stared at MO Ruyue with wide eyes. He knew that MO Ruyue was capable. Perhaps she was not just saying that. He was very excited.
“Madam, if you can really let us use the wood on this mountain, of course, we will cut down one tree and plant one tree according to Madam’s instructions. Then you will be our second parent and our great benefactor!”
The old Village Chief was so excited that he wanted to kneel down in front of MO Ruyue again, but MO Ruyue quickly stopped him.
“Don’t be happy so early, and don’t spread it out yet. Once the higher-ups agree to this matter, someone will come over to discuss the process with you.
It won’t just be verbal. It’s not too late to thank me after it’s really confirmed.”
“Yes, yes, Madam. You’re right.”
However, the old Village Chief did not know what to say. He just waited for MO Ruyue to speak.
“As the saying goes, you have to rely on the mountain to survive, but you can’t just sit there and eat the mountain empty.”
“You must plant a large number of bamboos in spring. Otherwise, I’m afraid that in a few years, you won’t even be able to use bamboos.”
“Madam, don’t worry. I will definitely remember to plant more bamboo in spring.”
Bamboo was easy to grow. Basically, when one was dug up and moved elsewhere, a small clump would grow there the next year. There was no problem of lacking seeds.
“We must urge the villagers to be careful not to hurt the mother bamboo when they dig the bamboo. There won’t be any more bamboo shoots next year.”
“It was also easy to plant. Whoever dug more winter bamboo shoots would plant more in the coming year..”
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