Chapter 302: Chapter 303: Centuries-Old Ginseng
Now that the head of the family had spoken, Zhang Guihua finally agreed, albeit reluctantly, as at least eating in the dormitory was much cheaper than eating in the cafeteria.
Moreover, her eldest son had promised to honor her with five dollars every month, not an entirely fruitless gain, so Zhang Guihua could only comfort herself with this.
Upon returning to the main house, she immediately, with delight, opened the wardrobe, took out the cloth wrapping her money, and unfolded it layer by layer, counting it again along with the five dollars.
Jiang Dashan, hunched over, sat on the kang, puffing on his old tobacco pipe.
The swirling smoke veiled his aged cheeks.
After a long while, Jiang Dashan sighed deeply, “Ah~ the sons have grown up, they all have their own little schemes and ideas now, and I don’t know how much longer this family can stay together .”
“As long as we’re both not dead, this family can’t split up!” the old lady counted her money and said without raising her head.
But Jiang Dashan did not speak again, he just continued to smoke his pipe, seeing more clearly than his wife.
Eldest moving out to eat on his own might as well be the same thing as splitting the family.
But the eldest son was promising, working in town, and eventually, he might have the opportunity to settle in the city and become a city dweller, something they, as parents, would never stand in the way of.
Jiang Dashan felt both proud and somewhat sentimental, as people tend to long for their children and grandchildren to stay close as they grow older.
Meanwhile, the second eldest and his spouse were also discussing the matter.
“Now that the eldest brother and sister-in-law are practically no different from city folks, who would’ve thought there’d come such a day,” Zhao Xiaojuan remarked with a sense of wonder.
Jiang Changhe said in a low voice, “Eldest has always been the sharpest kid in the village; the elders used to say that if he could have sat still in a classroom, he’d at least be a middle-school graduate and could go to the city to work.”
“Eldest brother certainly has a quick mind and a way with words,” Zhao Xiaojuan agreed on this point.
As she spoke, she gently touched her four-month pregnant belly, “I’m happy for the eldest brother and sister-in-law if they’re doing well.”
Jiang Changhe looked at her belly, his dull eyes suddenly lighting up, “We’re all family, after they’ve settled down in the city, they could also help out with the nephews and nieces.”
Zhaodi lay on the kang, listening intently to her parents’ quiet conversation without any hint of sleepiness.
She knew that Uncle’s family would move to town to live just like in her previous life. But looking at the current situation, it was obviously going to happen sooner this time.
She remembered that in her last life, it was not until San Ya was ten years old that the first house moved to town.
However, it wasn’t because Uncle had become a worker in town, but because he found a hundred-year-old ginseng in the mountains and sold it for a good sum.
Zhaodi’s eyes suddenly flew open: How could she have forgotten such an important thing!
If Uncle could find it, so could she!
With this, they would have the capital to start a business.
After starting the business and making good money, her family could also move to town and become the envied city dwellers.
With these thoughts, Zhaodi suddenly became excited. Yes, in this life, she must find the ginseng before Uncle did!
After the excitement passed, she calmed down again.
She only knew the rough location of the ginseng, and the mountains were dangerous, full of wild animals that might attack humans.
Uncle himself, an experienced mountain man, had nearly lost his life trying to pick ginseng and was slapped on the back by a blind bear.
If he hadn’t been quick-witted, biting into the ginseng to stay conscious while he ran down the mountain and was promptly taken to the hospital for rescue, he might have died.
If Uncle, a man who frequented the mountains, struggled so perilously to collect ginseng, it would be even less feasible for her, a young girl.