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Chapter 558: Chapter 562 Help Looking at Herbs_1
Aunt Huang was very efficient; by the evening of the second day, someone had delivered the herbs.
"Wife of Zheng Hong, can you check if we dug up the right ones to avoid bringing back a bunch of useless stuff?"
An older woman came over with a basket to ask for guidance.
She was the representative sent by all those who picked herbs because her coming alone wouldn’t attract too much attention.
They had already learned their lesson from the last time the Tan Family bought herbs.
When others saw they could make money, they joined in on the excitement, and among them were inevitably those who muddied the waters, complicating things for the Tan Family and even dipping into their wages.
Apart from working in the fields, the most women in rural families could hope for was to help out at home with their needlework.
But their hands were calloused, often snagging the fabric while embroidering, which fetched a lower price than working for the Tan Family.
Qiao Duo’er nodded, "Auntie, please take a seat, and I’ll pour you a bowl of tea."
"Thank you, I really am thirsty," Fat Aunt laughed and said.
The Tan Family was now one of the wealthiest in Big Willow Village, but they were always smiling and amiable towards everyone, without any hint of condescension.
Before long, Qiao Duo brought over a bowl of sweet water, which sweetened Fat Aunt’s heart.
Since they treated her with such courtesy, she must work hard in return.
Otherwise, others would call her an ingrate.
While Fat Aunt sipped the water, Qiao Duo’er examined the herbs in the basket.
Most of the required herbs were gathered, but, of course, some useless weeds were mixed in as well.
Previously, as ordinary farmwives, managing to identify eighty percent of the herbs correctly was already quite impressive.
"These two stems look alike at first, but there are differences; this one is darker in color, the roots on it are long and fine, while the other does not have roots, so these two are not the same thing..."
Qiao Duo’er pointed out each of the wrongly picked herbs, explaining them clearly one by one.
Fat Aunt was very efficient; she remembered every point that Qiao Duo’er mentioned.
With such a good memory, it was no mistake for the others to have chosen her for this task.
Fat Aunt was a straight-talker, never hiding her words, and Qiao Duo’er also enjoyed dealing with her.
"Wife of Zheng Hong, is the work payment still settled daily?"
Some issues had to be clarified in advance to avoid unnecessary friction later, right?
Qiao Duo’er nodded, "The herbs need to be processed promptly, or their potency will degrade, so the herbs picked that day must be brought over, and I’ll pay upon seeing the herbs. It was six Wen Money a pound initially, but the price will increase if the quality of the herbs is good."
"Six Wen Money a pound is already quite a lot; I heard that a full basket of herbs won’t fetch more than Ten Wen Money in town."
The smile on Fat Aunt’s face revealed her surprise!
In fact, if it weren’t for Qiao Duo’er teaching them how to recognize the herbs, they couldn’t have earned this money, so even if the price were lower, they would be willing.
"We’re all from the same village, so I’ll be at ease if you earn a bit more," Qiao Duo generously said, patting her chest confidently that the price she offered was fair.
After drying, the quality of the herbs drops significantly, making them less cheap than they appear.
Fat Aunt quickly declared, "I will definitely tell them when I go back, to make sure they put their hearts into it."
Aunt Huang said that this time Duo’er needed a lot of herbs, and even if the price per ten pounds of herbs increased by just One Wen Money, it would add up to a considerable amount of money.
"Try not to dig up those of poor quality, lest when I buy herbs next year, there will be nothing left on the mountains. Also, Aunt Huang hasn’t been feeling well recently, so I’m counting on you to pay extra attention to this matter," Qiao Duo’er said with sincere concern, making it hard for anyone to refuse.
