She used scissors to cut off the branches with prickly ash carefully, making sure not to damage them. She wanted to keep it sustainable so they could keep harvesting year after year. The small ones could be moved, but the large ones might not survive being transplanted, so it was better to come pick them when needed.
A group of more than ten people worked all day and only returned to the village when it started getting dark. At noon, they ate some roasted sweet potatoes, flatbread, and some wild game they had caught locally. Yaelle had grilled the meat herself, since everyone else was busy picking the prickly ash and she was the only one free.
Her grilling skills were pretty good. Back when business at her shop was booming, a young man had rented the outdoor space in front of her shop to set up a barbecue stall. He used her electricity, and his stall became so popular they could barely keep up.
Sometimes when she wasn't too busy, she'd help him out at the front. It was a win-win. Customers eating barbecue would buy beer, drinks, and cigarettes from her shop.
Sadly, after the pandemic, business declined, and he eventually gave up and left to do something else. Even now, the barbecue cart was still sitting in Yaelle's storage, collecting dust. There were even some charcoal leftovers.
He had called to tell her to sell the cart as scrap, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Sometimes, she still grilled a few skewers herself. With her good skills and a full set of seasonings, Yaelle's grilled rabbit and wild chicken were praised by everyone.
Their enthusiasm for the afternoon's work soared, and even when they got back to the village at night, they still felt full of energy. Because the prickly ash was small and light, picking it was very tricky. On average, each person only picked around fifty to sixty catties in a day.
After dinner at the village, she instructed the villagers to sort the harvested prickly ash the next day by size and ripeness. They removed the impurities from the prickly ash, such as leaves and twigs. Then they spread it out evenly on a clean surface to dry naturally without direct sunlight, letting the moisture slowly evaporate.
Once everything was arranged, she washed up simply and went to sleep. The next morning, sunlight shone through the clouds, bringing a bit of warmth and brightness. Yaelle woke up early, feeling especially excited.
That day, she was going to take all available labor from the village to continue their prickly ash harvesting mission in the mountains. A large group of people set out, carrying baskets and tools, full of energy as they headed into the mountains. Birds chirped happily along the way, as if welcoming their arrival.
Yaelle chatted and laughed with everyone, sharing the joy. After two days of effort, they finally harvested all the prickly ash from the mountain. Looking at the piles of prickly ash, Yaelle felt incredibly happy.
They had picked over 4,500 catties this time, and that number made her smile from ear to ear. Over the next few days, everyone at the village worked non-stop processing the prickly ash. Drying, sorting, and packaging each step was done carefully to ensure the quality wouldn't be affected.
At the same time, Yaelle started thinking about how to make better use of this batch. She was considering opening a new branch of her hotpot restaurant. As the weather cooled down, business at the hotpot restaurant would heat up.
These fresh prickly ash supplies could fully meet the restaurant's needs and significantly reduce costs. She imagined customers enjoying the delicious hotpot, and her heart was full of anticipation. After the prickly ash was picked, she led everyone to the area where they had previously discovered camellia trees.
On the way, they passed the place where they once found ganoderma. Holding on to a little hope, Yaelle decided to let everyone spread out and search again. To her surprise, in less than half an hour, someone shouted excitedly, "Found it!"
They found more than a dozen clumps of ganoderma. Though not as large as last time's, they were still rare and precious. Yaelle estimated that they had about four to five catties of ganoderma.
She sighed with emotion, "We're really lucky. If it weren't for the suitable climate here in the Sichuan Chongqing region, we might have missed this opportunity." She knew how valuable ganoderma was and didn't want to waste something so good.
She decided to trouble Xavier again. After all, she had already planned to give him a chance.
She asked Attendant Sean to store the lingzhi properly, then continued leading the group to press into the oil tea forest. As they approached the forest, they could already see from afar that the trees were full of oil tea fruits. Yaelle led her troops forward with excitement and charged ahead.
The process of harvesting oil tea fruits is an important part of developing the oil tea industry. The harvest time directly affects the yield and quality. Timely harvesting ensures a good amount of seeds and better oil production.
The usual picking season is from late August to late October. During this time, the fruit stops growing much in size but the oil content increases quickly. Traditional harvesting mostly relies on manual labor.
Since oil tea trees are found in mountainous and hilly areas, the roads are inconvenient and the slopes are steep, making manual picking hard and less efficient. Just like picking Sichuan peppercorns, they needed to prepare some basic tools in advance, such as baskets, bags, or other containers. Sometimes ladders were also needed, but they didn't carry any.
Fortunately, the guards were agile, and the trees were easy for them to climb. Yaelle also made use of local materials to make hooked poles of different lengths to pick the fruit depending on the tree height and fruit position. This was easy.
She just picked suitable bamboo or wood sticks and added some nails from her space. She bent the nails slightly and used them for picking. She also reminded everyone to avoid damaging the trees or flower buds to maintain their health and future production.
The oil tea fruits weighed more than Sichuan peppercorns. After a whole day of picking, the weight was much higher than the peppers. It was already close to the maximum each person could carry.
They weighed them after returning and found it true. The least one had one hundred fifty jin, the most a bit over two hundred. That day, they harvested over 5,800 jin in total.
She had the villagers handle the first processing steps, including removing impurities and picking out the bad fruits. Stacking for fermentation: traditionally, after harvesting, oil tea fruits are left in a pile for 6 to 7 days. This allows the seeds to mature and increases the oil content.
Drying and shelling: after stacking, the fruits are spread out on bamboo mats or dry ground for 3 to 4 days until the seeds crack naturally. After that, the seeds are manually removed, sieved, and aired out again to dry further. Drying: the seeds must be completely dried to reduce moisture and avoid mold.
On rainy days, they should be placed in a well-ventilated dry area and turned 1 to 2 times a day. Once dried, the seeds should be properly stored until they're ready to be processed or pressed for oil. The next day, Yaelle didn't go to that side.
She took her group to the next target, the kudzu root area. Kudzu is usually harvested in autumn, from September to November. At this time, the roots are fully grown and contain the most nutrients.
Right now was exactly the right time to harvest. First, they had to cut off the vines, then dig out the roots using tools. Yaelle reminded them to be careful while digging to avoid damaging the roots and to keep them whole.
Because the kudzu roots grow very deep and long, the digging took a lot of work. Each person could only dig up less than two hundred jin a day. After returning, Yaelle had the villagers wash the roots thoroughly to remove soil and impurities.
Then, using special tools, they peeled off the outer skin to reveal the flesh inside. After peeling, the kudzu roots were sliced into even thin pieces and placed in a clean, ventilated area to dry. This helped prevent mold or moisture damage.
Once completely dry, the slices were packed and inspected to ensure there was no mold or contamination. Kudzu should be stored in a cool, dry, and ventilated place to prevent moisture, heat, or pollution. The storage should be checked regularly.
These steps ensured the quality and medicinal effect of the kudzu and were key for getting high-grade products. The following day, Yaelle only assigned Helper Beau and his group to dig up kudzu. She planned to take her guards to explore another spot.
There was a tenant from the village who used to live in this mountain. He volunteered to guide Yaelle and said he knew many shortcuts and hidden paths nearby. Yaelle thought he was quite clever and gave him one hundred wen as a reward, asking him to lead them well.
He led her group through the mountain paths and indeed helped them find many valuable things. While they were taking a shortcut down the mountain, Yaelle noticed a familiar plant. She went closer and found it was indeed a palm tree.
It was also the right season for palm fruit, and the tree was full of them. She quickly told the guards to start picking. Just then, the tenant said, "Miss, why are you having them pick this? You can't eat it. It's everywhere near our mountain."
"Really?" Yaelle was surprised and delighted. No wonder she hadn't seen any earlier. It was growing on the other mountain.
"Of course it's true. I wouldn't dare lie to you," the tenant said quickly, almost ready to swear. "Can you go back and talk to your fellow villagers? Ask them to help pick these fruits.
I'll pay thirty wen a day. No slacking. If they do a good job, they can keep doing it every day. If they slack off, they won't be hired again."
"I want to test the oil output. If it's good, I might raise the pay." That plant usually grows in tropical areas like Hainan, Taiwan, and Yunnan. Since this is close to Yunnan, it made sense that it was there.
"That's great. This stuff isn't worth much and it's all over the mountain. Some jobs in town don't even pay thirty wen. They'll definitely be willing." The tenant was happy.
It wasn't a busy farming season, so earning more was a good thing. "This job is yours now. You supervise them. Make sure they weigh everything and do it properly.
Thirty wen a day. They must pick, clean, and send it to the village to dry." With someone to handle it, Yaelle left it to them.
"Thank you, Miss. I'll do my best," the tenant said excitedly. For something so simple to earn thirty wen, he felt very grateful. He would definitely make sure no one slacked off or cheated.
With that matter handled, Yaelle arranged the follow-up tasks at the village. She gave Uncle Huang some money to pay the workers and then got ready to head home with her guards. As for Helper Beau and the others, they stayed in the mountains to keep digging kudzu.
The area was large enough to keep them busy. She had been out for five days already. She couldn't delay anymore.
The wedding was only ten days away, and she needed to go back and prepare.