All professional Gu Xian

The rain came and went quickly.

As soon as the rain stopped, the sun came out.

"We have to get the mulberry leaves back first!"

Zhou Qing quickly locked the door and left the house.

When he ran to the bean curd stall in the market, Lao Li dragged the basket out from behind the shed.

"Aqing, how are you? I didn't get a drop of rain!"

"Uncle Jun, you are really the best person in our country!" Zhou Qing gave a thumbs up.

If the mulberry leaves are soaked with water, they cannot be eaten by the silkworms. They have to be dried. Then you have to wait for a while, during which some fragile silkworms may starve to death.

"Hey~ we already know things, so there's no need to emphasize them. How about it? A bowl of bean curd?" Lao Li's smile was as bright as a chrysanthemum.

"No, no, I don't have any money. Next time, next time."

Zhou Qing waved his hand. He only had five copper coins on him, one of which was given by Uncle Liang next door.

Five copper coins can buy two liters of rice, which is two pounds.

One stone in the Jin Dynasty was about one hundred kilograms.

One stone is equal to ten buckets equal to one hundred liters.

One tael of silver can buy four stones of rice, which is four hundred catties. On average, two and a half copper coins can buy a pound of rice.

With these two kilograms of rice, there could be a few more grains of rice in the bitter wild vegetable soup to keep him going for a few more days.

The silkworm babies at home are now at the critical moment of the fourth instar, and will soon shed their skin for the fourth time and enter the fifth instar.

There must be no problem with the supply of mulberry leaves.

Silkworms generally need to grow for twenty-five to thirty-five days from hatching.

After one molt, it is the second instar larvae. Each time it sheds its skin, it will increase by one instar. It will take a total of four molts before the fifth instar larvae begins to spin silk and form cocoons.

Silkworms are full of treasures, and silkworm cocoons can be made into silk. Silkworm chrysalis is edible and high in protein. Even the silkworm pellets pulled out by silkworms can be used as medicine to treat lung heat.

With Zhou Qing's current ability, the limit is to raise a silkworm.

The so-called silkworms refer to putting 20,000 to 30,000 silkworm eggs on a piece of cloth or paper, and then waiting for the silkworm eggs to grow into black ant silkworms, and then divide them into twenty one-meter-long dustpans.

From April to September, a total of three to four crops can be raised. One acre of mulberry trees can produce enough mulberry leaves to breed one sheet of silkworms.

On average, every thirty days, the income from selling silk, silkworm chrysalis, and silkworm pellets is about one to four taels of silver.

The reason why there is such a large fluctuation is that environmental factors have a great impact on the growth and silk quality of silkworms.

It's cold, no.

It's hot, no.

You also need to prevent insects and mice.

Therefore, when raising silkworms, Zhou Qing basically lives in the silkworm room, where he can take care of it easily and add silkworm leaves at any time.

Even when I was taking the college entrance examination and the postgraduate entrance examination in my previous life, I never took care of the silkworm babies so carefully.

From ant silkworms to mature silkworms, and then to silkworms spinning silk and making cocoons, one silkworm eats 400 to 800 pounds of mulberry leaves every day.

Now he is the only one doing it, so his daily limit is to carry three hundred kilograms of mulberry leaves.

There is no other choice but to reduce the number of silkworms raised.

Zhou Qing can probably earn one tael of silver per crop. If he is lucky and the silkworms in that crop are more powerful and the silk produced is of high quality, then he has a chance to earn two taels of silver.

When my predecessor had both parents, the family of three worked together and basically earned about two taels of silver per job, and sometimes even four taels.

If it weren't for this, Zhou Xian wouldn't have the money to drink and gamble.

"If the situation is good, I can earn enough money to go to the martial arts gym in about three months." Zhou Qing thought to himself.

Generally, martial arts schools accept apprentices. Those with good qualifications may charge less tuition, but it still costs five taels of silver.

The normal tuition fee is eighty taels to ten taels.

However, the tuition fee at Baiyun Martial Arts School is the lowest. It only costs three taels of silver. After paying the tuition, you can soak your hands in poisonous water prepared by the martial arts school. If you can endure it for half a quarter of an hour, you can become an apprentice.

If you can't stand it for long enough and are poisoned, you can pay back a few cents and go to a medical clinic to see a doctor.

For those who died directly from the poison, two taels of silver would be refunded to their families. For those who had no family members, the martial arts school would buy a coffin and send it to the mountain.

Of course, you can also pay five taels of silver directly to avoid soaking your hands in poisonous water and practice step by step.

Three taels of silver may not seem like much, but when converted into rice, it can buy 1,200 kilograms.

It is enough to feed a family of three for a year, two meals a day, rice every meal, and vegetables with enough salt and oil.

When his predecessor's mother was still alive, she was very kind to the neighbors and would sometimes give him some bacon cured at home. Otherwise, the neighbors would not take such good care of him.

In this world, let alone having enough to eat, poor people can only have two meals of porridge with wild vegetables every day, which is considered pretty good.

"If we aim at Baiyun Martial Arts School, we can theoretically save three taels of silver in one month at the fastest." Zhou Qing thought to himself.

Zhou Qing rushed to the rice shop carrying mulberry leaves weighing dozens of kilograms, holding five copper coins tightly in his hands.

"It's Ah Qing, do you want to buy steamed buns to eat? The stall is about to close, and there are only five white-flour steamed buns left to sell to you at a cheap price, only three cents."

Zhou Qing passed by a steamed bun stall and the owner shouted.

"Next time, next time." Zhou Qing swallowed and shook his head.

It takes at least ten days from silkworm cocooning to silk reeling. During these days, you need to carry more mulberry leaves, so everything is mainly about filling your stomach. As long as you can eat enough, it doesn't matter how bad it is.

Zhou Qing endured the commotion of gluttons and came to the 'Dafeng Rice Shop' at the end of the street.

Outside the rice shop, the waiters were working.

Zhou Qing entered Mipu.

Behind the counter, a glossy middle-aged man wearing a black hat, a goatee, and a smooth face was fiddling with his abacus.

Hearing the footsteps, he glanced up and saw Zhou Qing, dressed in coarse linen and with a pale face. He lowered his head again and waved his hand towards the wooden rice bucket on the right.

"Chen rice is worth three cents per liter."

Zhou Qing paused, "Isn't it two and a half copper coins per liter?"

Half a month ago, he looked at the price when he came to buy rice.

"The price has increased." The middle-aged man did not raise his head and spoke in an understatement.

Blah blah blah.

The sound of the bead struck Zhou Qing's heart like a heavy hammer.

I can't even afford two liters of old rice with five cents.

If you don't buy by the whole liter, the rice shop will definitely find ways to make shortfalls. For poor people like them, they can only suffer the loss of being dumb.

"I can only buy some brown rice." Zhou Qing sighed.

Brown rice is the lowest quality old rice, with bran added to it, which was what was used to feed pigs in rural areas in previous lives.

"Shopkeeper, I'll buy one liter of old rice and two liters of brown rice." Zhou Qing loosened his tightly clenched hands and placed five copper plates on the counter.

"We charge five cents for one liter of old rice and two liters of brown rice."

Hearing the middle-aged man's voice, the man working outside came over to shovel rice for Zhou Qing.

After shoveling a liter of old rice, it’s the turn of brown rice.

The wooden shovel in the waiter's hand shook a few times, and the brown rice in it was less. The next time he shoveled it, there was more bran.

Zhou Qing's eyelids twitched and he said nothing, but silently clenched his fists.

There is only one Dafeng rice shop in the town.

"Take it away." The boy moved the rice bag forward.

Zhou Qing tied the rice bag tightly and carefully put it into his arms.

Three kilograms is enough for him to drink wild vegetable rice soup for ten days and a half. Although it is unpalatable and difficult to digest, it can satisfy your hunger and give you the strength to do things.

As soon as Zhou Qing walked out of Dafeng Rice Shop, he saw someone galloping towards him on horseback.

Three men and one woman were all well-dressed and outstanding-looking. As soon as they arrived at the door of the rice shop, they dismounted before they could stop and shouted into the rice shop:

"Shopkeeper! Get me all the glutinous rice in your shop! We want them all!"

The leader, a young man with a sword on his waist and an arrogant expression, slapped a piece of silver on the counter.

The shopkeeper and waiter who were too lazy to pay attention to Zhou Qing just now trotted up to the four of them, nodding and bowing, with a smile on their face.

"Third brother! Go buy some big black dogs!"

The arrogant young man ordered another young man.

Seeing another young man leaving the rice shop, Zhou Qing did not dare to watch the excitement anymore and walked towards home with his head lowered.

Looking at the well-dressed young men and ladies on the street, Zhou Qing sighed in her heart.

"Those who are covered with silkworms are not silkworm farmers."

When the silkworms at home spin silk and form cocoons, life will be easier.

When Zhou Qing returned home, he saw that the wooden door of the courtyard wall outside had been kicked open and fell to the side.

What's even more frightening is that the door of the silkworm room was also kicked open.

A strong man was rummaging through boxes and cabinets in his home, not knowing what he was looking for.

"What are you doing?!" Zhou Qing rushed into the yard.

"Hey, the rightful owner is back."

A ferocious man with a sinewy face walked out of the adobe house. He was wearing a black shorts, and his exposed arms were thick and strong, full of bulging muscles.

The visitor is Zhang Dahai, a well-known gangster in the town. Because he farts a lot, he is nicknamed Zhang Laofi.

It's just that these Kuhaha people didn't dare to shout this nickname to his face, they only dared to curse a few words behind his back.

He was the one who discovered Zhou Xian's body and almost took off his underwear.

Now he is rummaging through boxes and cabinets in his house, which is really too much.

"Your father lost money playing money in our Datong Casino. Although he died, the money has to be repaid. You should repay the father's debt, right?" Zhang Dahai looked at Zhou Qing with a joking look on his face.

"Look, this is an IOU, written in black and white on a piece of paper!"

With that said, Zhang Dahai took out an IOU from his arms, without showing it to Zhou Qing, he just shook it and put it away.

This is a desperate situation!

Zhou Qing took a breath and said in a deep voice: "Brother Zhang, no matter how much money my father owes, I will pay it back, but you have to give me time.

The silkworms at home are about to spin silk. If you do this, how can I pay you back? "

"That's easy to handle. If you don't have money to pay back, your shabby house and silkworm house can just be used to pay off the debt." Zhang Dahai looked as if it was a matter of course.

"The silkworms we raised this time are pretty good. Can you give me a month's grace and pay back the money as soon as I sell the silk?" Zhou Qing paused.

"If the money is not paid by then." Zhang Dahai smiled.

"If you don't pay, everything here will be given to you." Zhou Qing's tone was calm.

"It's a deal." Zhang Dahai said loudly, glancing at the neighbors around the house.

His goal from the beginning was the house, but it was difficult to rob it openly. Now that he could make more money, he was willing to wait.

"You understand much better than your father." Zhang Dahai walked outside with satisfaction.