697 Digging Up Ginseng
Qiao Qiang walked a few more miles into the mountains and suddenly saw lush grass growing under a pine tree. The grass at the other places were not so densely packed.
He took a closer look and realized that there was a ginseng in the middle of the grass patch. There were even red small fruits growing on it!
Qiao Qiang calmly took out a red string from his bag and gently tied it around the ginseng. The older generation all said that ginseng had spiritual energy. If he did not tie it with the red string, it would run away if he was not careful!
He placed his tools on the ground one by one. Then he took out a straw mat and sat on it, carefully digging up the ginseng.
Ginseng was expensive partly because of its age. The older it was, the more valuable it would become. On the other hand, it also depended on the quality of the ginseng. Even if the main ginseng was intact, but the roots were damaged, the price would drop a lot!
Digging for ginseng tested one’s endurance and skills. If one was not careful, one would lose money.
Qiao Qiang focused on digging out the ginseng. By the time he finished, it was almost dark. There were wild beasts in the mountains at night, so he could not stay any longer.
Qiao Mei had been waiting in the courtyard for Qiao Qiang to return. Looking at how happy Qiao Qiang was, Qiao Mei knew that he must have a fruitful trip.
“Grandfather, did you manage to find any!” Qiao Mei asked expectantly.
“This mountain is really a treasure land. I only dug one out today. From the looks of it, it must be more than 80 years old. I can’t see it clearly since it is dark. There should be another one on the mountain. It was too late, so I didn’t dig for it.” Qiao Qiang put down the bamboo basket and went to the water vat at the side to wash his hands.
One ginseng was enough for He Ning to eat. She would ask Qiao Qiang to dig up the rest for fun.
Qiao Mei did not go to look for He Ning immediately. It was almost dinnertime and the fact was that it was easier to invite someone than to send him away. If He Ning came, he would definitely shamelessly stay for dinner.
In order to maintain the peace and quiet at home, she would approach them tomorrow morning.
Qiao Qiang carefully cleaned up the ginseng and fixed it down with cloth and thread. If he made it look good, Qiao Mei would be able to sell it to that little brat from the He family for a much higher price.
He would settle the score with He Ning when he went to the capital. Although he said that he would never set foot in the capital again in his life, he still had to be there when Qiao Mei gave birth.
Otherwise, he would not be able to feel at ease.
The Xia family’s gathering in the capital had also ended successfully and everyone returned home feeling satisfied. Only Xia He decided to make a detour at the last minute and go to the art troupe to practice her dance.
The environment in the art troupe at the Kong family’s hometown was very bad and no one practiced dance at all. They did not even have good basic training and did not even know how to stand properly. She had to admit that the dancers did not develop their skills as fast as in the capital.
She must have a more solid foundation than the others. Only then could she stand out in the casting selection next month.
Before she left the house, Xu Lan even called her over for a talk. Xu Lan told her about some techniques and methods for training, as well as the general theme of next month’s performance.
As long as she trained hard, she would definitely be able to get the role of the female lead. She could not let Yang Xin and the others take it away from her. Since she had returned to the art troupe, she must return to her original level and get the position that belonged to her!
At this moment, there was another person in the dance studio. It was Deng Fan.
He was in the same batch as Xia He when she joined the troupe the first time and he was one of the best dancers at that time. She did not expect him to secretly do basic training alone at night.
“Ah… you’re here too…” Xia He said awkwardly.
“Yes,” Deng Fan replied coldly without even looking at Xia He.
Xia He did not care to make things complicated. She took off her coat and did some stretching and warmups before preparing to practice her dance. Although there were two people in the same room, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Xia He really could not stand such an atmosphere. She walked over and said, “It’s been a long time. I didn’t expect that you would still work as hard as before. I thought no one would be here tonight.”
“It’s always been like this. I have no talent and can only work hard,” Deng Fan said coldly.
“You didn’t seem to have such a personality in the past. At that time, you still hung out with me and called me Sister He! Why don’t you have anything to say when you see me now,” Xia He said.
Deng Fan was silent for a long time and could not figure out how to answer Xia He’s question. In the end, he shut his mouth and focused on dancing.