Cats grow fields in the apocalyptic wasteland

Tomatoes have a lot of water and are slower to bake than other vegetables. However, under the slow roasting of charcoal fire, they still shrink slowly and finally shrink into a small piece.

Xia Lunong changed the charcoal fire once, and when changing, she specially lifted the lid of the pot, picked up a piece with long chopsticks, let it cool down, and tasted it slowly.

Kong Zhi sat by the stove to light the fire, saw him frowning, with a strange expression on his face, and asked, "Why, isn't it delicious?"

Xia Lunong didn't know how to describe this feeling, so she just took a piece and handed it to his mouth, "Try it."

Kong Zhi glanced at the tomato, opened his mouth and bit the edge of the tomato, bit into his mouth and tasted it for a while, and concluded: "The taste is not bad."

"It's not bad." Xia Lunong tasted another piece, frowned and said, "It's just that there is something missing."

Tomatoes are sour and sweet, and the sweetness is slightly more than the sourness. After roasting and drying the tomatoes, it generally tastes like this.

Wrapped in meat sauce and fat, the sweet and sour tomato has more meaty flavor and a longer aftertaste.

This one is indeed okay, but for Xia Lunong, it's too bland, it's not that it's not delicious, it's just that it lacks memory, and it doesn't have the feeling that people can't stop eating one bite at a time.

For people of this era, this little snack is anything but.

Kong Zhi said: "You are not satisfied with this version, those sun-dried tomatoes don't have meat flavor and fat, so it will probably be even blander."

"That's true." Xia Lu said worriedly, "I'll think about it again."

Kong Zhi said: "If you have any doubts in your heart, after this pot of dried tomatoes is made, you will know if you ask someone to taste it?"

"That makes sense." Xia Lunong said, "Then why don't you cut the remaining tomatoes for now? We'll ask later. I always feel that roasted dried tomatoes won't be very popular, so I have to ask others."

Xia Lunong's feeling comes entirely from a kind of intuition, and his intuition is generally more accurate than the result after careful consideration.

Hearing that he was going to pause, Kong Zhi let out a "hmm" and continued to sit by the stove and light the fire.

Xia Lunong came out with a bowl of half-dried roasted tomatoes, bit a piece for herself, and stuffed another piece for Kong Zhi, the more she ate, the more she felt that the dried tomatoes were okay, she couldn't help frowning and whispering to herself: "It's strange, what's wrong? ?”

Soon the first pot of dried tomatoes was roasted, Xia Lunong packed it in a small basket, and took Kong Zhi out to give it to passers-by on the road to try.

People in the base, no matter they are familiar or unfamiliar, are willing to help after receiving their request for tasting.

Everyone said that the sun-dried tomatoes were delicious.

When Xia Lunong asked if he would exchange five catties of rice for one catty of dried tomatoes, everyone directly expressed their reluctance.

Xia Lunong lowered the price all the way, and when two catties of rice were exchanged for one catty of dried tomatoes, only one or two out of ten people would agree.

Xia Lunong went back holding the bamboo basket and Kong Zhi, and said depressedly: "I guessed right, everyone really doesn't want to trade, although two catties of rice for one catty of dried tomatoes can earn a little, but the firewood is placed here, earning a little bit. We might as well go straight to collect supplies."

Kong Zhi asked, "What do we do with so many tomatoes in the field?"

"let me see."

"How about raising something? Isn't there a pig in the canteen?"

"Raising pigs is too troublesome and smelly." Xia Lunong shook her head like a rattle, "Besides, it's too wasteful to feed tomatoes to pigs."

When the two went back, Xia Lunong saw a pot of tomatoes cut up, and felt that he had grasped something, but at the same time felt as if he had grasped nothing.

When Xia Huoqu and Yan Xiannian came back, they saw him gloomy and asked, "What's wrong?"

"This dried tomato doesn't seem to be very popular." Xia Lunong handed the dried tomato to his brother, "I don't know what went wrong."

Xia Huoqu went to the kitchen to scoop up water to wash his hands, picked up a piece of dried tomato and tasted it, "It tastes okay."

"It's really okay, but when it's offered to passers-by to try, everyone is not too happy to exchange other rice."

Yan Xiannian also tasted a piece, and asked: "Do you have to exchange it with rice?"

"Rice and noodles are fine, we are short of rice right now."

As Xia Lunong said, she went to the cupboard to bring out today's dinner—tonight, I will eat lamb bone noodles with tomato. The side dishes are still fried bamboo shoots with bacon and fried eggplant, but the long beans are replaced with cold cucumber.

Yan Xiannian picked up the dried tomato and threw another piece into his mouth, followed behind him and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy to change the rice. Food is so precious now that most people are reluctant to part with it."

"What about the extraordinary people?"

Yan Xi Nian said: "The non-ordinary people mainly refer to the group of bachelors who often go out to collect food. They have food in their hands and are generous in spending, but they eat less snacks."

snack?

Shocked, Xia Lunong suddenly raised her head to look at Kong Zhi, and finally realized that something was wrong.

Why is this dried tomato not so popular - he has a wrong positioning!

This sun-dried tomato is a relatively healthy snack, but not a popular one.

It's so bland!

There are actually snacks for sale in the base.

Before the catastrophe, the information was too developed. Ordinary hot strips, instant noodles, chicken feet with pickled peppers, etc., can be made by those who are interested in thinking about it. Now they can be exchanged in the base.

It's just that these snacks are too expensive, and most people are reluctant to change them.

It is difficult for tomato to produce the rich taste of spicy noodles. After the positioning is wrong, it has to compete with snacks such as spicy noodles, instant noodles, pickled pepper chicken feet, etc. It is normal that it cannot impress everyone.

Xia Lunong let out a long breath, "I finally understand."

His mind was spinning fast, and it took him a moment to figure it out.

Kong Zhi looked at him.

Xia Huoqu also asked, "What do you understand?"

"Understand why our dried tomatoes can't be replaced!" Xia Lunong brought out other snacks for comparison, said her own conclusion, and finally concluded, "It's hard to make up my mind to change to something delicious. If I, I Don’t replace the dried tomatoes either!”

Yan Xiannian didn't expect him to think of this soon, and asked with great interest: "Since the positioning is wrong, how can we change it?"

"It's very simple, just change it to something that can be used as a staple food." Xia Lunong asked, "Brother in the past, have you heard of chili cake?"

"A little impression."

"This is a local snack, made with rice noodles and vegetables. Peppers, pumpkins, eggplants, etc. can be made into chili cakes, and tomatoes should be fine too."

Yan Xiannian asked: "Is it okay to eat it after making it?"

"Almost, the feeling of satiety must be stronger than that of simple dried tomatoes!"

Xia Lunong had a new idea. The next day, he simply cut up all the tomatoes and put them in the sun to dry them as much as possible.

While drying the tomatoes, he took the rice and went to the cafeteria to grind rice noodles.

The hydropower station has not yet been built, and there are no machines in the cafeteria. Everyone needs to grind stones by manpower.

Xia Lunong would definitely not be able to do it alone, but fortunately, there is Kong Zhi by his side who can help him grind the mill together and provide him with practical suggestions for improvement.

With the help of Kong Zhi, Xia Lunong thought about several versions, and soon made a tomato chili cake with minced meat.

Rice noodles are added to this tomato chili cake, which tastes quite tough.

The main body of rice noodles is starch, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes, with a long aftertaste.

After Xia Lunong tasted it, she felt that she was really a genius.

He raised his head and chest, put the whole plate of tomato and chili cake in front of his brother, and said calmly, "Brother, how about you try the taste this time?"

Xia Huoqu picked up a piece, looked at him, and at Kong Zhi beside him.

Kong Zhi was silent as always, but his lips were slightly swollen, it should be spicy, and he didn't know how much he ate or tried.

Xia Huoqu took a bite, and soon he could taste the diced tomato wrapped in the rice noodles, followed by the meat and pepper flakes. It tasted fragrant and spicy, with a slight sweet and sour taste. The more fragrant.

The tomato and chili cake tasted amazing this time. Xia Huoqu didn't expect his brother to handle the ingredients so well.

The tomato inside is no longer dull, but the sweet and sour taste adds a touch of umami, and also relieves the dull feeling of rice noodles and meat.

Xia Huoqu hadn't tasted such a satisfying snack for a long time.

Xia Huoqu looked up, met his brother's expectant gaze, thought for a while, and said, "This piece of tomato chili cake is fresh, fragrant, salty, spicy, slightly sour and slightly sweet, very delicious and rich in taste , if I taste it from someone else, if three or four catties of rice are exchanged for one catty, I will definitely exchange some to satisfy my hunger."

Yan Xi Nian took an extra piece, and waited for their brothers to finish speaking before saying: "Xiao Nong, give me more of this tomato and chili cake. Tomorrow, your brother and I will take it to the hydropower station to help you promote it."

"That's right, I'll do more."

Xia Lunong hummed a few lines, and said, "Actually, it not only tastes good, it is also very suitable for dry food. You see, there are vegetables, meat and carbohydrates in it, complete nutrients, good taste, and easy to carry and eat, even if When you’re on the road, it’s totally fine to put a piece in your mouth and eat while walking.”

Yan Xianian couldn't help laughing, "Okay, I'll use this slogan tomorrow."

Xia Lunong looked at him with wide eyes, "I didn't make any false claims."

"This is a compliment for your good words." Yan Xiannian asked, "You haven't been to the hydropower station yet, do you want to go and see it together and promote it yourself?"

"No." Xia Lunong directly refused, "I'll make more tomato and chili cakes. We will go to Yacheng in two days. Even if no one wants them in the base, Yacheng is such a big place, we can definitely exchange some."

Xia Lunong was very confident, and his intuition told him that the tomato chili cake would be very popular this time.

The same is true.

When Yan Xiannian came back the next day, he took out a notebook from his inner pocket and handed it to him, "The tomato and chili cake you made is very popular. I ordered 37 catties for you at the price of one catty of tomato and chili cake for five catties of rice. , take a look."

"So fast?" Xia Lunong was surprised, "Don't they think about it?"

"I've already tried the finished product for them today, so why do you need to think about it?" Yan Xinian took a sip of water from his teacup, "I didn't ask them to order more because I didn't have enough tomatoes at home. The purchase limit is five catties per person. If the materials are not enough, we can't do it Come out and replenish them next time."

Xia Lunong opened the book and saw that most of the people who ordered it on it ordered five catties, and only one ordered two catties.

Xia Lunong rubbed her chin, "37 catties should be done, I can finish it tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll let them come to you with rice tomorrow after work."

After writing down the numbers above, Xia Lunong returned the notebook to Yan Xiannian, "Brother Xinian, please arrange the order and deliver fifteen catties first, and I will spare some time tomorrow to make some eggplant and chili cakes, as a sample at that time." Give it to them as a gift and see if anyone likes it."

Yan Xiannian smiled and said: "It's up to you. Don't work too hard, there is no shortage of food at home, just use up the tomatoes and eggplants in the field."

"Fortunately, it's much easier than going out to collect it, and you don't have to worry about it." Xia Lunong's eyes sparkled, "Don't work too hard. When this batch of rice comes into the account, the family will not be nervous."

Looking at Xia Lunong, Xia Huoqu felt the comfort of his old father for the first time in his heart, and nodded slightly, "Okay."

Xia Lunong clenched her fists, her face full of fighting spirit.