Jinghan naturally did not care who handed over the money. Since the eldest sister was at home all day, it was only proper for her to hold onto it. Additionally, the money from selling the fresh buds a while ago was also given to the children by Mrs. Xue and kept all together. This way, they had about one thousand five or six hundred coins. Counting the money made the children feel very happy.
"Alright, you can hold onto the money, but it's not for you to spend recklessly. Remember how tiring the work was, and spend it where it counts, got it?" Mrs. Xue said with a smile.
"We got it," the children replied in unison.
"That's settled, then. There's nothing much else, so don't stay up too late. Get to bed early," Mrs. Xue urged the children to sleep. She sat by the lamp, mending their clothes. In a farmer's household, new clothes were only worn when going out. On ordinary days, they wore old ones, so it was important to repair them well. This was the time when a woman's sewing skills became evident. Some women's patches were neat and tidy, with fine stitching; even if the clothes were old, they still looked presentable. Others stitched patches that were crooked, with irregular stitches, and a man would be embarrassed to wear such garments outside, fearing ridicule for marrying a clumsy wife.
Mrs. Xue's sewing skills were not the best, but they were decent enough. Every evening, she would spend some time sewing and mending. When Zhixin returned from outside and saw her still sewing, he urged her to go to bed early, "That's enough, don't always sew at night. This light is too dim, and you'll tire your eyes out completely."
"What can I do? There's a lot to do during the day. With all the chores inside and out, it's only quiet at night," Mrs. Xue continued to sew. "How's the work on the mountain going?"
"The first round of weeding is done, and it's time to pick the ginseng flowers. The weather looks good these days, so I better hurry and pick them before it rains," Yunsong washed his feet and then climbed into bed. "I'm going to sleep first. You should head to bed soon, too." Not long after, his snoring filled the room.
Hearing her husband's snoring, Mrs. Xue smiled and continued mending the clothes. When she finally finished, she blew out the lamp and went to sleep.
Over the next two days, Zhixin went up the mountain to pick ginseng flowers, which were from the ginseng plants. Ginseng typically has a six-year growth period, and the seeds can be collected in the fifth year when the ginseng is big enough, and the seeds are full. In the sixth year, seeds can't be kept since it affects the yield. Ginseng starts to bloom in the fourth year, so the flowers from plants not keeping seeds need to be picked. The picked ginseng flowers are also useful; some traders will buy them, and the price is quite decent.
The Xu family had about forty plants of ginseng not kept for seeds. Zhixin spent three days picking all the flowers. Mrs. Chen laid the ginseng flowers on old mats to dry under the sun; when they were dry, they could sell for seventy to eighty coins per pound. This year, they picked about thirty pounds of fresh ginseng flowers, which could dry into about five pounds, which was quite good. Even if it was a small amount, it was still money, right? The money earned could buy quite a lot of things.
After picking the ginseng flowers, it was time to plow the fields for the second time. Zhixin and the old master, teaming up with the ox, went to the fields.
Mrs. Chen sat outside, watching over the ginseng flowers while knitting shoe soles. As she sat there, an old woman about Mrs. Chen's age came in. "Old sister-in-law, I've come to visit you."
Seeing who it was, Mrs. Chen recognized the matchmaker, Mrs. Qian, whom she had sought a few days ago. "Auntie, what brings you here today? Please, have a seat." Mrs. Chen quickly went inside to pour a cup of water, "Auntie, have some honey water. It's so hot out; you must be sweating."
Sitting on the bench, the matchmaker fanned herself with a handkerchief, "It's not too hot, just a bit of a long walk. Old sister-in-law, I've come today because I have some good news."
"That's for sure. Auntie coming must mean good news. What is it? Do you have some news about Hui Xin's marriage prospects?" Mrs. Chen was quite pleased.
"Indeed, you will certainly be pleased with this family I'm about to tell you about. You're familiar with the drugstore in town, right? Ren Ji Tang, the one with a young doctor? The last time you took Hui Xin to get medicine, he was the one who treated her illness. I don't know how, but he took a liking to Hui Xin. He asked me to inquire for him, and as soon as he mentioned it, I knew he was talking about your Hui Xin. What do you think, old sister-in-law? Do you remember him?" Mrs. Qian took a sip of water to wet her throat.