Chapter 639
: Rules of Digging Ginseng
Chapter 639: Rules of Digging Ginseng
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li excitedly said:
"Third-grade leaves, such a small thing is third-grade leaves. I remember that the supply and marketing cooperatives would charge a minimum of 3 yuan for the mallets made from third-grade leaves."
Wang An gently dug the soil next to the ginseng and said:
"Go and cut a few wooden sticks for me so I can get the ginseng out. You can't use a knife to dig out the mallet. If it gets broken, it will be useless. By the way, after you cut the wooden sticks, scrape them with a knife to make sure there are no splinters."
When Wang Li heard this, he subconsciously asked:
"What size wooden skewers should I use? Is there any particular wood to use?"
When it came to the word "said", Wang An began to think carefully.
Mainly, I recalled what Han Shuisheng told me, the methods, rules and taboos of digging ginseng.
But it didn't matter when he thought about it, Wang An immediately frowned.
Because Wang An suddenly realized that if he dug ginseng according to those rules and taboos, he would not be able to dig ginseng today and would have to turn around and go home!
First of all, according to the rules, when digging ginseng, you need to tie a red string on the ginseng first, to prevent it from escaping underground.
But, I don’t have any red hair string on me. Not only that, I don’t even have a red cloth strip. What should I do?
Secondly, the number of people digging ginseng is totally against the rules.
Because according to the rules, the number of people digging ginseng must be an odd number, which can be one person, three people, five people, seven people, but not two people, four people, six people, or eight people.
People who dig ginseng believe that ginseng is spiritual, which means that ginseng can also be considered a person.
Therefore, only when there is an odd number entering the mountain, will the ginseng actively let people find it, thus achieving the goal of entering in odd numbers and returning in even numbers.
Of course, this means good things come in pairs. You can dig ginseng in the mountains. Although it is a rule, it is also a good thing!
But at this time, there were only himself and Wang Li next to the ginseng.
Again, digging ginseng cannot be called “digging ginseng” but “lifting the hammer”.
Eating is called "taking food", going back to rest is called "taking house", cooking is called "carrying pot", smoking and taking a rest is called "taking fire", snake is called "money string", and so on.
Anyway, basically all verbs are either "take", "hold", or "lift".
All tools are basically labeled with the word "Kuai Dang", such as Kuai Dang sticks, Kuai Dang scissors, Kuai Dang axes, etc.
As for meals, they cannot eat meat, only vegetables. Most people only eat millet. As for vegetables, they are all pickled vegetables, and no meat is allowed.
Finally, in addition to these, there are many other rules, such as worshipping the mountain god, trying not to talk when digging ginseng, and "calling the mountain" first when you find ginseng, and then someone has to "take the mountain".
To be honest, there are so many rules for digging ginseng that Wang An can’t even remember many of them.
Of course, with Wang An's brain, as long as he concentrates on listening to something, he will definitely remember it.
There was only one reason why Wang An couldn't remember it at this moment, and that reason was that when Han Shuisheng said it at the beginning, Wang An didn't take it seriously at all!
But the same old saying applies: “Existence is reasonable.”
So although Wang An recognized the rules of the gang and would not refute or slander them, he still did what he was supposed to do.
To put it simply, those are your rules, not my rules. You should listen if you should, and don't have to listen if you don't want to. Anyway, I won't listen.
Besides, if we really listened to everything, how do we explain the "Erjiazi" purchased by the supply and marketing cooperatives, which according to the rules cannot be dug?
Thinking of this, Wang An and Wang Li said indifferently:
"It should be about the same size as chopsticks, with the tip flattened a little. Make sure you choose hardwood."
"Okay, Fourth Brother, I got it." Wang Li agreed and ran towards the hickory tree not far away.
After Wang Li left, Wang An did not continue digging ginseng, but walked towards the second "old sign" Wang Li found with his knife. Soon, Wang An came to the second sign, and the new bark on the second sign was more than the first, almost accounting for half the size of the sign.
In other words, this "old sign" has existed longer than the first "old sign".
Without saying anything, he went straight for the invading knife.
To be honest, for work like chopping pine bark, an axe is much more convenient than a rapier, mainly because a rapier is relatively light and you can't use any strength when chopping, you can only pierce it with force.
Fortunately, Wang An was young and energetic, so after less than 10 minutes, this "old sign" was restored.
But when Wang An checked the marks on it, he subconsciously widened his eyes.
Because the information on this "Old Omen" is that a ginseng gang of five people dug up a 5-grade ginseng leaf.
You have to know that this is a grade 6 ginseng leaf. Even if it did not exceed half a pound at the time, it can still be called a real "treasure" from ancient times to the present.
Because the sixth-grade leaf ginseng, like the gold nugget, has always been used as a tribute in the Qing Dynasty and before.
After reading the information on this "old omen", Wang An subconsciously looked towards the big trees around him.
Because at this moment Wang An suddenly felt that this old shop might have some big goods left.
And similarly, there shouldn’t be only these two “old signs”.
So Wang An began to walk quickly around the nearby big trees.
Sure enough, Wang An discovered another old omen that was completely dead, and another omen that had only a crack left.
However, after finding these two, Wang An did not find any other "old signs".
Of course, even so, these findings are sufficient.
Mainly these four signs, plus the third-grade leaf ginseng that Wang An has already discovered, are enough to prove that the nearby area is absolutely a veritable old place, and there must be big goods left.
The reason why Wang An was sure that there was a big treasure was because Han Shuisheng said that old gangsters like this were usually those who joined the gang in their early years and left behind blessings for their descendants.
Then, generation after generation, people would pick the big ones and keep the small ones to dig ginseng from this old ginseng.
So if nothing unexpected happens, someone will definitely come to dig ginseng in this old place this year or next year.
Seeing that Wang Li had not returned yet, Wang An used the sharp knife again and started to dig up the old branches of the last big red pine tree that had been chopped down, bit by bit.
To be honest, with Wang An's meticulous search method, as long as there is ginseng, he will definitely find it.
Just when Wang An successfully found the second ginseng, Wang Li came back with the sharpened wooden stick.
(End of this chapter)