As the New Year approaches, the household is actually not so busy.
The fields have soone looking after them, and the hired hands have decided to stay until the day before New Year’s Eve to make more money.
In the winter, there’s not much to do in the fields, so the hired hands help clean the pigpens and chicken coops, carrying the chicken and cow dung to the fields. So corners of the fields have large pits for storing these.
Manure is good for fertilizing the fields, but it needs to fernt first, otherwise, it can burn the crops.
There’s plenty of goose grass in winter, and with good crop growth this year, the wild grass in the fields has also thrived, which can be used to feed the pigs and chickens.
The rabbits have also been prepared with hay, and each day a bit is thrown to them, along with so water in the trough.
There aren’t many bamboo rats, only thirty or forty, and one or two bamboo stalks a day is enough.
Bamboo is the least valuable thing, the bamboo sea behind the mountain is enough to feed thousands of bamboo rats.
Only the chickens, ducks, and geese require fresh grass. For the ducks and geese, you can just toss the fresh grass to them, but for the chickens, it needs to be chopped up and mixed with so rice bran or corn and wheat bran.
Of course, if there are worms, that would be even better. The ho-bred earthworms seem to be insufficient, so Xiaomi has Jiang Hu buy so from the village children.
He made several bamboo tubes of about the sa size, allowing the children to use them to find worms. Each tube filled with worms can be exchanged for a copper coin.
The crops grow well in these fields, so naturally, the worms also grow well, thanks to the Spiritual Spring water, which nourishes all things.
Feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese these worms and wild grasses not only makes them grow well but also makes their at tastier and their eggs more flavorful!
Since the Jiang family resud selling various agricultural products, the demand for Jiang family’s crops has consistently exceeded supply, with people almost daily seeking out Mrs. Liu or the steward for tea, hoping to secure supplies in advance.
Of course, these are things the steward would ntion when collecting goods from the Jiang family. However, around the village, people often go to town to sell eggs and such but never seem to ntion Xiangmu Village or Jiang family farm goods.
Jiang Hu also asked the steward about this, but the steward rely laughed heartily.
"Ah, Brother Jiang, this Cheng County isn’t small, yet it’s not that big either. There are many affluent families here. Given that it’s good stuff and priced high, how can ordinary people afford it? Just look at these eggs, they cost three to four copper coins each, how many ordinary folks can bear to buy that?"
Jiang Hu was astonished, but upon thinking about it, he understood.
Regular eggs cost one copper coin each, and at most expensive, three copper coins for two.
But the eggs that the Liu family buys from him are priced uniformly at two copper coins each!
Turning around and selling them for three or four copper coins doesn’t seem unreasonable, after all, ho produce is good. Back in Xiangma Town, all their products were already priced sowhat higher than the market rate.
Even so, demand always exceeded supply.
Back then, there was a larger supply, and the rich in town were relatively few. If prices were entirely high, only a few could afford them, and the rest would just go to waste at ho.
This is why prices then were only slightly above market rates, so ordinary families could, even if reluctantly, afford to buy once every few days.
But Cheng County is different, with more wealthy people. Jiang family’s goods, through the Liu family, don’t even need to enter the market before they’re already snapped up.
No matter the supply, there’s no need to worry; Cheng County may be a bit farther from Nanyang Prefecture, but there are many surrounding towns within a one or two days’ journey, and quite a number of other counties within a five to eight days’ journey.
Looking at it this way, other than fresh vegetables, there’s absolutely no problem with the market for other products.
Once Jiang Hu understood this, he wasn’t worried anymore. The household’s products could sell, they were making good money, and it didn’t hinder others in the village from selling vegetables or eggs. All the better.
"Xiaomi, Zi’ang, are you heading to the mountain again?" Just after tidying up the kitchen with Auntie, coming out, he saw the two little ones with bows and arrows ready to leave.
"Dad, there’s nothing much to do today, right? We’re going to check the mountains; it’s almost New Year’s, after all, ti to bring back sothing good."
With only a few days left until the New Year, there wasn’t much to do in the fields, and the house had been thoroughly cleaned. Even a lot of good food was prepared, just waiting by the fire for the New Year to arrive.
"Be careful on the road. By the way, your mom baked so small dried fish yesterday. Take so with you; if you get hungry on the road, you can eat it."
Jiang Hu turned back to the kitchen and quickly ca out with two small cloth packages, one for each of them.
"Uncle Jiang, we’re off then."
The two promptly headed to the mountain, having walked this path countless tis, they wouldn’t get lost even with their eyes closed.
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