Raising Silkworms and Refining Gu from Mount Hundred Thousand

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!"

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

There is only one Dafeng rice shop in the town.

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

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

The arrogant young man ordered another young man.

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 directly soak your hands in the 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 it weren't for this, Zhou Xian wouldn't have the money to drink and gamble.

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.

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

It's cold, no.

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

Bah, bah, bah.

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

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

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.

"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.

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

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.

"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."

The normal tuition fee is eight taels to ten taels.

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

"Chen rice is worth three cents per liter."

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

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.

You also need to prevent insects and mice.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

"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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

"Hey, the rightful owner is back."

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.

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.

Outside the rice shop, the waiters were working.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

"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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Zhou Qing entered Mipu.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

It's hot, no.

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

"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.

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

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.

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.