Ba Zong's rural life [farming]

On the weekend, Ruan Xishi and Lu Ze went to town by motorcycle early in the morning.

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, the town is very lively these days whether it is fair day or normal day. Outside the market, chickens and ducks are sold everywhere, as well as various fruits, moon cakes, fireworks, firecrackers and incense few.

The crowds of people on the street, if they walk in it carelessly, they will probably be scattered by the crowd. Lu Ze had no choice but to hold Ruan Xishi tightly. He is tall and burly, and no one dared to bump into him. Ruan Xishi followed him more easily.

It might be a little strange for two big men to hold hands, but there are so many people today, and people are all looking at the road and the things they are holding or their children. How can they pay attention to whether other people are holding hands, not to mention that Lu Ze is so much older than Ruan Xishi Others would only think that it was the elder brother who took the younger brother out to the market, and held hands in fear of getting separated.

Ruan Xishi was holding hands with Lu Ze in broad daylight. At first, she was a little nervous, afraid that others would look at them strangely, or expose their relationship in public, and be pointed at by others, but after walking for a while, she found that no one else After noticing the movement of their holding hands, he gradually let go, and even pulled Lu Zeman Avenue to buy what they needed.

Every year when the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, many mooncake vendors from other places will appear in the town, claiming that they are a local specialty mooncake, boasting about how delicious it is.

The mooncakes on the street are dazzling, because the Mid-Autumn Festival will be in two days, and the vendors are afraid that no one will buy mooncakes after the festival, so they are crazy about selling their mooncakes these days.It is said that it is a blood loss, but in fact it can still make money. The cost of mooncakes is much lower than the selling price, especially the mooncakes from Sanwu manufacturers, so I will fool the country people.

Ruan Xishi didn't like these fancy mooncakes, so he led Lu Ze through the streets and alleys to an unremarkable bakery.

To be reasonable, if it wasn't for the wooden plaque hanging in front of the door with the word "cake" written on it, Lu Ze wouldn't even know that this place sells cakes.

This store looks very old, the door is still an old-fashioned wooden door, and the inside is dark, making Lu Ze suspect that this is the legendary Sanwu product manufacturing nest. He was a little scared, but Ruan Xishi pulled him in. , he can only follow along.

There are several tubes of cakes wrapped in oil paper on the counter in the store. There are almond cakes, fried rice cakes, mung bean cakes and red bean cakes in the glass cabinet. They look good, but I don’t know the raw materials and production process.

There was only an old lady watching the store. Because she was blind and deaf, she didn't know when a customer came in. It was Ruan Xishi who called her loudly, so she raised her head, walked tremblingly behind the counter, glanced at the person, and said: "So it's Shizi, are you here to buy mooncakes?"

Ruan Xishi nodded: "Yes, grandma, do you still have mooncakes here?"

Grandma pointed to a few tubes of mooncakes on the counter and said, "That's all that's left. There are a lot of people buying mooncakes these days. Our family can't sell enough mooncakes even after working all night. There are still a few that come here to order. It's a gift. If you're not in a hurry, we're free these two days, and I can make you the taste you want."

Ruan Xishi felt that there were only him and Lu Ze in his family, and they couldn't eat many mooncakes, and the freshly made mooncakes couldn't be kept for a few days, at most, they could buy a few and go home to taste. Shaking his head, he said, "Don't bother, I only need one tube, and if it's made to order, I have to come back in two days. It's too much effort."

Grandma smiled and said: "That's right, by the way, why don't you see your grandpa come together, I can also ask my old man to come out and chat with him."

Ruan Xishi smiled dryly, and replied: "My grandfather left last winter, don't you remember?"

Grandma groaned: "Hey, I'm old and don't remember anything. Maybe I'll go down in two years."

Ruan Xishi quickly said: "What are you talking about, grandma, don't say it, you will definitely live a long life."

Grandma smiled and said: "Everyone has their own destiny, this is uncertain. Shizi, come and see which flavor you want. This one is bean paste, this one is lotus paste, this one is sweet potato, and this one is pumpkin. Here are sesame peanuts, five kernels, barbecued pork, and egg yolks."

Lu Ze didn't realize that this unremarkable shop can make so many flavors of mooncakes.

Ruan Xishi turned around and asked him, "Brother Lu Ze, what flavor do you like?"

Lu Ze doesn't like sweet and greasy things very much. You can see that he likes to eat beef mooncakes, but what Grandma just said seems to be sweet. He will definitely not eat five kernels and barbecued pork. You can try sweet potatoes and pumpkins - Ruan Xishi If you know the owner of this store, the owner of this store will not sell bad things to Ruan Xishi, right?Thinking of this, he convinced himself a little.

"Then buy some sweet potato and pumpkin..."

Ruan Xishi said to Grandma: "Grandma, can you mix it up in a tube for me? I want two pumpkin, sweet potato, bean paste, and egg yolks."

Grandma said: "Okay, wait a minute, I have just made some food in the kitchen that I haven't had time to pack, and I plan to save it for myself. Since you want it, I'll get it for you."

Ruan Xishi smiled and said, "Then thank you, Grandma."

Lu Ze didn't expect Ruan Xishi to buy so many mooncakes. Wouldn't he have to eat half of them in order not to let Ruan Xishi see that he dislikes Sanwu mooncakes?Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

So when Grandma went to the kitchen to get mooncakes, Lu Ze tugged at the corner of Ruan Xishi's clothes and asked in a low voice, "Can the two of us finish eating so much?"

Ruan Xishi explained: "Grandma's mooncakes are not big, she sells them in tubes here, so they are well packaged, eight in one tube, and their mooncakes are not sweet, no coloring and flavoring added, almost the original flavor, eat it It doesn't get greasy."

Granny quickly packed the mooncakes and brought them out. Ruan Xi didn't even need to check if they were the mooncakes he wanted, she just paid for them.

"Grandma, is it still 12 yuan a tube?"

Grandma replied: "Yes, 12 yuan a tube, children and old people are not deceived."

Ruan Xishi handed over a sheet of ten yuan, and took Lu Ze away after seeing that she had collected the money.

On the way out, Ruan Xishi couldn't help but tell Lu Ze about the history of this bakery.

"This shop has been here for more than 100 years. It was originally opened by my grandma and her father. After her father passed away, she and her husband inherited the bakery. Her husband was originally an apprentice in the shop, but they fell in love with each other later. Yue, her father had no son, so she let her husband marry in and passed on the skills to him. Grandma and her husband have made cakes all their lives, and their children and grandchildren have also made cakes. The family has made a living by selling cakes for three generations. They are very well-known in our villages, except during the festivals when the business is relatively hot, and those who have weddings and weddings on weekdays come to her to order biscuits, because their biscuits have a good reputation."

While talking, the two of them walked back to the street. Ruan Xishi held a tube of unremarkable mooncakes wrapped in oil paper in his hand, pointed to the colorful mooncake stand opposite and said to Lu Ze, "Don't look at the packaging from Grandma's house, The price is cheap, and it’s actually better than those boxed mooncakes. Grandma’s family pays attention to small profits but quick turnover. The materials for making mooncakes are all bought from their relatives, and they are ground by themselves, such as sweet potatoes, peanuts, pumpkins, eggs, and beans. It’s all. The cost of a mooncake is about [-] yuan, and selling mooncakes only earns a few cents, so the packaging is simpler, but they sell thousands of mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they can earn a lot of money. The mooncakes on the outside look very well packaged, but the mooncakes inside might not be as good as grandma’s. The price lies in the packaging, but it’s actually huge profits. Only those families in the town who live better and care about face purchase."

"The main reason is that the mooncakes at Grandma's house are basically made and sold on the spot. Because there are no preservatives, they can't be stored for many days. Eat them while they are fresh, and the taste is much better than those sold outside. If you don't believe me, touch and see, there are still some mooncakes left." Wen."

Lu Ze cooperatively touched the greased paper, and it was still warm. He nodded in conviction, "The mooncakes from Grandma's house are indeed better."

After buying moon cakes, the next step is to buy incense candles and firecrackers.

Ruan Xishi went to a candle shop, bought a bunch of incense, a few candles and some gold and silver treasures, and went to pick up firecrackers.

Firecrackers are also very lucrative. Firecrackers a few meters long cost more than 100 yuan. When they are set off, they are like burning money. Ruan Xishi feels distressed when he sees them, so he only bought a small bundle of short firecrackers.

Lu Ze was looking around in the candle shop, and when he saw fireworks, he curiously took a look.

Ruan Xishi paid the money, came over and saw him holding a bundle of fireworks sticks fondly, and asked, "Brother Lu Ze, do you want to play with this?"

Lu Ze nodded, and asked self-taught: "Is this held and released?"

Ruan Xishi: "Theoretically, it is not allowed to hold and release, but the children in the village still like to hold it with their hands when releasing it, which is actually very dangerous."

Lu Ze said, "Let's buy a bundle and go home and play with it?"

Ruan Xishi remembered that when he was a child, every time he came to town with his grandpa to buy New Year's goods before the New Year, he wanted his grandpa to buy them for him to play with when he saw the fireworks, but his grandpa told him that they were very expensive, costing two or three yuan each, and burning for 2 minutes. It's gone, and it doesn't look good. It's better to spend two or three yuan to buy food.Ruan Xishi resolutely chose to buy candy between buying two or three yuan candy and buying fireworks. After all, candy can last for a long time.

So until his grandfather passed away, he never made a fuss about letting off fireworks.

But now Lu Ze looked eager, and Ruan Xishi thought of himself who was also eager to set off fireworks when he was a child. He took a bundle and asked the boss: "How much is this bundle?"

The boss glanced at it and replied, "20 yuan."

What is the concept of 20 yuan to Ruan Xishi? A pair of shoes, a T-shirt, almost two days of food money, buying anything is better than selling fleeting fireworks.

Ruan Xishi became ruthless, closed her eyes and said to the boss, "Then I'll buy a bundle."

Lu Ze saw his reluctance and knew what 20 yuan meant to the family, so he said to him, "Why don't you buy it."

Ruan Xishi had already paid the money, handed him the fireworks, pretended not to mind, smiled and said: "It's okay, it's a festival, it's only once a year, it's fun, 20 yuan is nothing to us now, I've never let off fireworks since I grew up."

That's what he said, but Lu Ze still knew that he wanted to fulfill his wish. Lu Ze held Ruan Xishi's hand tightly and said to him solemnly: "I will work hard to make money to support you in the future."

In order not to make him feel so guilty, Ruan Xishi slyly said: "You earned the money you are using now."

Lu Ze also laughed: "Then I'll earn a little more, and try to let you set off fireworks as you like during the Chinese New Year."

Ruan Xishi rolled her eyes with a smile when she heard this, and replied: "Okay."

The author has something to say:

There are many cake factories in our village. When I was a child, I went to make cakes with my mother and her friends. I heard that the biscuits used in weddings, weddings, banquets and gifts were all made to order at the bakery. There is a kind of rice cake that is super delicious!

As for the fireworks, I remember the first time I set off fireworks was in the junior high school my grandfather taught. That year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, my grandfather saw that other children had fireworks, so he bought me a bunch of them. There were no fake ones during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but In the evening, students can have free activities at the party. We went to the roof to set off fireworks. I dared not hold them. Then my big brothers and sisters gave all my bundle of fireworks to play. I hid in my grandpa’s arms secretly. Look hahaha.It happened many years ago, and I just remembered it suddenly. I always thought that the first time I set off fireworks was bought by my dad when my life was better at home. I bought it to play_(:з)∠)_

My grandpa is very kind to me. When I was young, my parents threw me at my grandparents’ house when they wanted to take my younger brother. I didn’t go back to my parents’ house until I was in the fourth grade. My relationship with my parents is very bad. When we quarrel The whole village calls me the child of my grandparents, not their 2333. Unfortunately, my grandpa has been away for a year, and I haven’t recovered yet. I don’t know if I will be relieved after writing this article_(:з) ∠)_