Chapter 114 Harvesting Silkworms
On the first day of cocooning, Shen Xia asked her elder brother to weave a few large bamboo baskets for her to store the cocoons.
It’s really difficult to get around at home now.
And later a lot of malt was produced.
In order to supply goods to Tianxinzhai in time, Shen Xia planned to boil more malt and keep it, so that when they needed the goods, it could be processed in one day.
After Song Jin could see completely, he became a completely different person, especially his peach blossom eyes, which were extremely charming.
And every time Shen Xia saw him looking at her with those affectionate eyes, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"Third brother, your eyes... are so charming." Shen Xia said somewhat unnaturally.
Song Jin smiled, with a hint of fondness in his eyes: "Why? Don't you like Xia Xia?"
Shen Xia quickly shook her head: "No, I just feel a little uncomfortable."
In fact, what she was thinking was that ever since her third brother’s eyes had fully recovered, she didn’t dare to look him in the eye again.
Those deep and charming peach blossom eyes seem to be able to attract people deeply, making their heart beat faster and their cheeks slightly red.
However, facing such a third brother, Shen Xia didn't know what to do.
She always felt that her third brother's feelings towards her seemed to have changed, but she couldn't tell what kind of change it was.
Perhaps it was because Third Brother's eyes were too passionate, which made her feel a little overwhelmed.
In the yard, my two cousins, my mother and my third brother were peeling silk cocoons together.
Xiaotian and Xiaowu also wanted to come forward to help.
But Shen Xia wouldn't let her.
Let them both go and study.
Now Song Yun is still at home, so he can still teach them. In a few days, Song Yun will go to the academy, and then I will have to teach them myself.
Although I am quite knowledgeable, educational concepts are different in different eras.
So I don't plan to interfere too much in their studies.
As for my two cousins, I plan to teach them arithmetic, which will be of great use in the future.
Five people worked in the yard for a whole day, and only in the afternoon before making dinner did they pull all the cocoons out of the grid.
Fortunately, when my eldest brother went to town to buy something the day before yesterday, I asked him to bring back a scale.
Just weigh it.
There are 20,000 silkworms, and the cocoons they produce finally weigh about 80 kilograms.
According to this calculation, two and a half kilograms of silk cocoons can produce one kilogram of silk quilt.
In summer, four kilograms of silk quilt are enough.
These eighty kilograms can make four beds.
Just as I finished weighing and was about to put my things away, I saw someone coming to the door.
But why are there so many people?
Later, Shen Xia asked and found out that it was mainly these families who followed Shen Xia in raising insects, and everyone in the village knew about it.
So when they saw these people coming to the Song family with baskets on their backs, they all wanted to come and see what was going on.
Everyone had just finished peeling the silkworm cocoons and was so excited that they wanted to get them first.
There were a lot of silk cocoons, nearly 100 kilograms, which were carried into the family's home in several backpacks.
It is not heavy but takes up space.
The Yang family would pass by the construction site next door when they came here. It was just the time when everyone was getting off work, so they would come over to watch the fun when they saw it.
Shen Xia looked at the crowd gathered at the gate of the yard.
Of course, apart from those who wanted to sell silk cocoons, no one else came in.
In the end, the eldest brother and the second brother, as family members, had to squeeze in.
Shen Xia looked at the crowded entrance.
There were too many people, and I didn't dare let them in. The yard was really small!
Aunt Liu arrived first.
So let’s weigh Aunt Liu first.
There was a small table in the yard, so Song Yun was asked to write down the weight, the price per pound, and then the amount of silver.
Sign a receipt.
The eldest and second brothers weighed Aunt Liu, and found that she weighed only 78 kilograms.
Shen Xia immediately said three taels and one hundred and twenty coins.
While Song Yun was still counting, Shen Xia mentioned the silver, and everyone in the yard was very surprised.
Zhao Xue looked at Shen Xia with admiration: "Cousin, how do you calculate? I want to learn it too."
Zhao Xin agreed: "Me too."
Xiaowu and Xiaotian also nodded.
Shen Xia looked at him and said, "I'll teach you when I'm free. Finish what you're doing now first."
After saying that, he looked at Aunt Liu and said, "Aunt Liu, please go to Fourth Brother's place and give your answer and sign your name."
Although Aunt Liu didn't understand what it meant, she still did it.
Next came Aunt Liu, Aunt Jiang, Aunt Zhou, and Aunt Yang, who all came with their family members.
It seems that everyone had finished making cocoons yesterday, and started peeling them this morning, and brought them here as soon as possible.
Everyone is looking forward to new things.
The four people who came later weighed about 80 kilograms each, and only Uncle Yang weighed the least at 75 kilograms.
It’s the same as signing, drawing fingerprints, and then paying.
The people at the door saw that each of the five families had paid more than three taels of silver!
I’m so envious!
Even the few families who had planted mulberry leaf seeds before began to look forward to it.
Only then did Zhao Xue and Zhao Xin understand what method of making money her cousin’s wife had mentioned that night.
It’s really profitable to raise this, but after the joy comes the worry.
Can my cousin’s wife make the money back by collecting this?
After all, it’s so expensive!
When the people outside saw those people getting the silver, both the parties involved and those watching were filled with excitement.
At this time, Uncle Qian seemed to be pushed in by someone behind him, or something.
He came in in a flash, then turned around and glared at the person behind him.
Then he turned around and smiled at Shen Xia's puzzled expression: "Little Song's wife, it's like this, aren't my workers from this village? There's not a lot of work to repair the house, but they wanted me to ask if our village can support this thing."
Shen Xia glanced at Uncle Qian.
I also saw the expectant eyes of everyone behind me.
Of course, I know how difficult it is to have a job that can support a family nowadays.
But I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t guarantee whether it will last long in the future!
I thought to myself, if this doesn’t work, then I’ll do something else.
Although I am very confident in myself, whether I can succeed is another matter.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Uncle Qian, this thing is still in the trial stage. That is to say, I don't know where to sell these things after I collect them. I am not sure whether I can sell them after I make them into other finished products."
"In this situation, do you think I dare to let everyone raise it?"
"If I can't sell this thing, I definitely won't be able to buy it from you, and you'll have raised it in vain."
"I understand everyone's expectations for this thing, but don't worry. As long as I find a way out, it will definitely not be enough for the people in this village to raise it. I will let everyone raise it together."
"Also, because there are not many people raising them now, I give everyone 40 cents per pound. Later on, it can be 35 or 31 pounds."
Everyone listened to Zi Shenxia's words and understood that what she said made sense.
But if a small amount is needed, only a certain number of people can raise it, and everyone wants to be one of them.
Uncle Qian listened and replied, "Little Song, I understand what you said, and it makes sense. So, you can find a seller first. If the production is not enough, we can raise them together with you. That's feasible."
Shen Xia nodded: "Okay."
Everyone listened to Shen Xia and thought it made sense.
Everyone hopes that Shen Xia will sell the things!
In this way, everyone will have the opportunity to become rich together with him.
Gradually, the people who came to watch the fun left.
Recently, only the few families that originally raised silkworms are left.
Everyone looked at Shen Xia with smiles on their faces.