Training the Heavens

Chapter 207 Mushroom Harvest
"It's the same at my house. You know what, Lao Xu's method really works. Educated people are different from us. If mushrooms can be grown this time, our lives will be much better." Guo Zizi said with anticipation.

Working on the ranch, the salary is not high and the location is remote, so everyone lives a tight life. They can only rely on the Qilian Mountains to provide them with opportunities to earn extra money. However, mushrooms, cordyceps, and yellow sheep are not easy to come by, so most of the time they rely on the weather for their livelihood.

If we can successfully grow mushrooms, it will be a different story. It will be equivalent to having a relatively stable income in addition to our salary, and everyone's life will be greatly improved.

The earthworm chicken farming method that Xu Lingjun had taught them before had been successful, and the egg production of each household had increased. They had seen the tangible benefits and naturally had expectations for mushroom cultivation. If they had told them this at the beginning, no one would have believed it.

If Xu Lingjun's experiment is successful, these people will follow suit immediately. This is the power of trust. If someone else told them this, Guo Zizi and the others would definitely not believe it.

Everyone worked together to help, and the mushroom shed was built in a few days. Then Xu Lingjun began to make the porcini culture medium. He mixed the pine sawdust, pine needles and rotten wood collected in these days in a certain proportion, added appropriate amounts of water, gypsum, lime and other nutrients that promote the growth of the strain, and then stirred it evenly for sterilization.

Then spread the fungus evenly on the surface of the substrate, and try to make the mycelium spread and grow quickly with the help of sufficient water, so as to promote the growth and reproduction of boletus.

After these are handled, it is time to enter the daily maintenance and management stage. During this process, the moisture content of the substrate needs to be controlled, neither too dry nor too wet; at the same time, attention should be paid to factors such as environmental temperature, light and air circulation.
The operation is relatively complicated and requires certain skills and patience. This is why ordinary people nowadays dare not easily try mushroom cultivation, because the slightest carelessness will lead to the loss of investment.

Fortunately, Xu Lingjun has a capable assistant like Li Xiuzhi, who has never lacked patience and has never encountered any problems in raising earthworms before.

Xu Lingjun wrote down the methods of caring for and managing porcini mushrooms in detailed items and explained them to her one by one. When Xu Lingjun followed Guo Chenzi and others to graze in the mountains, Li Xiuzhi stayed at home and took good care of the porcini mushrooms according to Professor Xu Lingjun's methods.

Every time they came back from grazing in the mountains, Guo Xizi, Dong Kuan, Haisheng and others would come to visit the mushroom shed. When they saw the young fungi emerging from the substrate, their anticipation became stronger.

"It looks like it could work! Although it's not as good as yellow mushrooms, it's still a good thing worth two or three yuan per pound. Once I sell it, I can have a comfortable New Year."

Haisheng couldn't help but calculate how much money he could make from this room full of porcini mushrooms. Even the rough estimate shocked him. "Lao Xu, I'm afraid the money you make is much more than your salary!"

"Old Xu has long earned more money from digging Cordyceps, picking yellow mushrooms and hunting than from his salary." Guo Zizi said nonchalantly. They were together day and night, and he knew very well how much money Xu Lingjun had earned recently.

"It's different!" Haisheng emphasized immediately. "Digging for Cordyceps, picking mushrooms, hunting, these things are all unpredictable. If you're lucky, you can make a lot of money, but if you're unlucky, you'll work hard for a long time and get nothing. But if you grow mushrooms, as long as you find the right way, it's just like growing crops. You can make a stable income every year!"

Xu Lingjun nodded secretly after hearing this. Haisheng was indeed a man who had received veterinary training and had seen the world. His short sentence revealed the fundamental reason why agriculture eventually replaced hunting and gathering in human history.

Because crops offer relatively stable harvests, while hunting and gathering depend on the weather, the harvests can fluctuate greatly, easily leaving a tribe without food or clothing. While crops are also affected by various factors, they are still much more stable than hunting and gathering. Mushroom farming is also considered a type of crop farming. Once you master the technique, you can earn more steadily than searching for mushrooms all over the mountains. Furthermore, the technique can be replicated, allowing more people to make money from mushroom farming.

After resting at home for a few days, Xu Lingjun followed them to the mountains to graze again. At this time, the changes Xu Lingjun brought to them were reflected. Guo Chenzi, Dong Kuan, Haisheng and others all had some more tea eggs in the food they carried with them.

The earthworm chicken farming technology has taken effect. The egg production of each household has increased. Their family members are willing to exchange eggs for money to buy some tea, and then learn to cook tea eggs from Li Xiuzhi to supplement the nutrition of the strong labor force in the family.

After arriving at the ranch and setting up the tent, Guo Zizi took out the tea eggs and ate them with relish. As he ate, he said, "Thanks to Lao Xu, otherwise I would never have been willing to eat eggs while grazing, let alone eggs cooked with tea leaves."

"That's right. Not only do the chickens in my house lay more eggs, but they are also fatter than before. I'll kill one and stew it during the Chinese New Year. It's so wonderful just thinking about it!" Haisheng couldn't help laughing when he thought about the dishes that would appear on his family's dinner table during the Chinese New Year this year.

Xu Lingjun seized the opportunity to quickly instill information in them, "Our place may look poor, but as long as we think hard, there are many ways to make money. Besides raising chickens and growing mushrooms, there are many other ways. I will try them one by one. If they work, everyone will follow suit. I guarantee that in three to five years at most, everyone will be able to live a good life that they never dared to imagine before!"

"I believe what Lao Xu said. From now on, we will enjoy the good life with you." Guo Zizi laughed happily.

"Oh, why didn't I read more books at that time? If I had read more books, maybe I could have found a way to make money." Haisheng said with regret. Only then did he understand the meaning of "you only regret not having read enough books when you need them."

"It's okay. You are still young. It's not too late for you to learn if you want to. When I go to the county to deliver mushrooms, I will ask the teachers at the agricultural school to bring you some books. You can read them carefully." Xu Lingjun encouraged his friend. Since his friend had the idea of ​​making progress, he would definitely be willing to help.

Before they knew it, more than two months had passed, and the first batch of mature porcini mushrooms finally appeared in Xu Lingjun's home. Guo Chenzi and others entered the mushroom shed and were stunned by the plump porcini mushrooms.

"What a great harvest! Lao Xu, you can earn at least a few hundred yuan from this crop. That's a lot of money!"

Hearing this, Xu Lingjun couldn't help but think of a classic line from a post-apocalyptic novel - "I wish you a good harvest of mushrooms and a full warehouse of mice." Although the same words were said in different contexts, the expectations for a better life were the same.

　There will be more later, and it should be back to normal tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)