Chapter 46: Official Commencement of Work

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Old Madam Tong looked up and saw Old Man Tong. "Old man, what are you doing here?"

"If I don’t come, you might just cause an uproar. Come back with me!" Old Man Tong’s tone was stern and unyielding.

Old Madam Tong’s resolve immediately waned. "I still have things to do..."

"What’s going on? How long do you plan to be a laughingstock to others? Let’s go!" Old Man Tong grew impatient and directly grabbed her to leave.

Tong Chuxue watched the Tong family members depart with a satisfied smile. “Thanks to you today. Otherwise, I would have stayed home for lunch.”

“Yes, today’s matter really troubled you. Stay for lunch at Aunt’s place,” Xu Jinniang warmly invited.

Luo Hui’an politely declined but stayed for lunch.

When leaving, Tong Chuxue saw Luo Hui’an out.

“Thank you for today.”

“No need to thank me, it was nothing,” Luo Hui’an replied.

After a few simple words, they fell silent, yet the atmosphere was unusually harmonious.

The Tong family’s episode had come to a pause, and Tong Chuxue’s reishi mushroom business was about to take off. Now, with a substantial amount of startup capital in hand, the prospects looked bright.

To truly get things going, Tong Chuxue urgently needed a secluded area free from interference. After walking around the village, she decided the most suitable place was the barren land beside her home.

When she told Tong Shan about this, he was quite surprised. “The wasteland behind the mountain can be sold, but the soil is almost barren. Are you sure you want it?”

Tong Chuxue nodded.

By now, Tong Shan fully realized Tong Chuxue was a very thoughtful girl and didn’t say more. He took out the village’s soil map and marked the plot Tong Chuxue wanted to buy. “This land is about ten acres. Five silver taels per acre for barren land, so fifty taels in total.”

Tong Chuxue pulled out a large silver ingot from her pocket and handed it to Tong Shan.

Holding the heavy ingot, Tong Shan felt a flood of emotions. Tong Chuxue had only recently branched off from the Tong family, and now she was spending tens of silver taels. The Tong family’s vision had indeed been shortsighted.

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The land deed would take a few more days, but preparations could begin now.

Tong Chuxue, along with Luo Changhua, Lin Chunyan, and Liu Fen, went up the mountain and cut down a lot of bamboo. She planned to fence the plot with bamboo to block prying eyes, so the subsequent work could proceed smoothly.

Luo Huiqing was small and weak but quick-witted. While her father built the fence, she followed behind planting a circle of flowers and vegetables around the bamboo. After finishing, she excitedly sought praise from Tong Chuxue. “Sister, look, it’s both beautiful and edible.”

Tong Chuxue stroked her head in approval.

During their work, Tong Chuxue provided all the meals, naturally assigning the cooking to Xu Jinniang. Following Tong Chuxue’s suggestion, every meal had four dishes and a soup, always including a purely meat dish.

After two days, Tong Chuxue noticed that the uncles and aunts barely touched the dishes, only eagerly eating a plate of greens.

Curious, she asked, “Uncle, Aunt, I noticed you didn’t eat the braised pork. Is it not to your taste?”

“No, no, it’s great. I just eat some greens,” Luo Changhua quickly denied.

“The greens are good, really good,” Lin Chunyan agreed.

Luo Hui’an spoke up, “Father, mother, the money for these meals will be earned back. Miss Tong won’t lose out.”

Tong Chuxue understood then: the uncles and aunts felt embarrassed; ordinary farming families rarely ate meat daily.

“Uncle, Aunt, it’s just a few meals with meat. It won’t bankrupt me. If you’re really uncomfortable, just work harder, but you still need to eat.”

With Tong Chuxue’s persistent encouragement, Xu Jinniang’s attitude toward spending began to shift. “Chunyan, just eat. It’s so hot, vegetables won’t keep, and it’d be a pity if they spoiled by tomorrow. Besides, we bought everything from the butcher’s, not expensive at all. When your reishi mushrooms grow, who knows how much meat you’ll be able to buy.”

Luo Hui’an helped nudge things along by putting some meat onto Luo Changhua’s and Lin Chunyan’s plates. “Eat more.”

“Xue girl, can that reishi really grow?” Liu Fen asked curiously.

“Of course. But there’s a lot of preparation involved,” Tong Chuxue replied. “Once the fence is done, I’ll lead everyone to build a greenhouse for cultivating the reishi.”

“A greenhouse?” Luo Changhua had worked all his life but had never heard that term.

“I’ll explain it all after lunch.”

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Their curiosity piqued, everyone hastened to finish their meal, eager to learn about this greenhouse.

Right after lunch, they surrounded Tong Chuxue, demanding an explanation of the greenhouse’s purpose.

Tong Chuxue calmly explained, “A greenhouse is essentially a specialized structure for growing vegetables. You’ll understand once it’s built. But building it requires some materials.”

“No problem. Xue girl, just say what you need, and I’ll get it,” Luo Changhua offered.

“Building the greenhouse is like constructing a house. We need soil bricks and timber. Also, Aunt, please help me collect some straw and rice stalks,” Tong Chuxue began assigning tasks.

A few days later, all necessary materials were gathered. Perhaps because everyone now had a stake, their enthusiasm was high.

Tong Chuxue directed the group to start building the side walls of the greenhouse. Unlike ordinary vegetable greenhouses, the reishi greenhouse needed ventilation, so windows were spaced at intervals along the walls.

The center used sturdy timber for beams and pillars, with a framework on top, then covered with a layer of straw.

These laborious tasks were beyond Luo Hui’an’s strength, but she wasn’t idle. Following Tong Chuxue’s instructions, she went to town to buy two large tarps to cover the greenhouse’s sides, blocking the ventilation holes.

The roof was the hardest part. In ancient times, there was no plastic film. Using a raincloth would block all light. So Tong Chuxue first laid a layer of straw and rice stalks, adding a tarp only on rainy days to keep out water.

As for the ground inside, Tong Chuxue had Luo Changhua dig drainage ditches arranged in a grid to help maintain indoor humidity.

They worked vigorously inside the fence, but villagers outside had no idea what was going on and were puzzled by Tong Chuxue’s secretive fencing. Why keep others from even looking?

The village women, after chores, gossipingly debated whether Tong Chuxue’s business could succeed, ultimately concluding it was all just nonsense.

However, such rumors didn’t affect Tong Chuxue in the slightest. She was already thinking about where to find reishi spores.

Though, according to Luo Hui’an, the reishi on the back mountain had been almost “completely harvested” in recent years, reishi mushrooms, being fungi, would inevitably regenerate. So Tong Chuxue felt she still needed to make a trip into the mountains.

Knowing Xu Jinniang’s temperament, she certainly wouldn’t approve of such a risky deep-mountain journey. With no other choice, Tong Chuxue resorted to the same tactic again, setting out in the dead of night.