Ba Zong's rural life [farming]

Ruan Xishi passed by the Pork Guy's stall after school one day, and there was a small truck parked there, and many people gathered around and chatted about something.Ruan Xishi didn't like to join in the fun, she just wanted to go home quickly and have dinner with Lu Ze, so she bypassed the crowd and continued walking towards home.

Aunt Fang, who was walking towards him carrying a load of peppers, saw him, called him to a halt, pulled him and said, "Shizai, let me tell you, we don't need to sell peppers in the town anymore. You see the peppers over there?" I don’t have that car. Last time the boss who came to my house to buy Sanhua Li came again. He came here to collect peppers at a high price. He paid four yuan a catty, which is two yuan more than the one in the town. And you don’t have to go to the town, how convenient.”

Ruan Xishi heard that the car was here to collect chili peppers, so she looked back and saw a familiar figure in the crowd. That boss Zhu was also an outstanding person, so Ruan Xishi still had a little impression of him, but for him It was a bit strange to come to the village to buy chili peppers again, and asked in confusion: "Didn't he only buy Sanhuali, why did he also buy chili peppers?"

Aunt Fang smiled and said, "Oh, it's impossible for people to do business in one business. Of course, which one makes money sells which one. If they only receive one quarter of the year and don't make money in other quarters, the family will drink Northwest Wind." Huh? I heard from him that their family specializes in purchasing and wholesale business, harvesting crops from the village at a low price, transporting them to the city and selling them at a high price to shopping malls and supermarkets, making money."

When Ruan Xishi thought about it, she also felt that it was reasonable. After all, everyone wanted to earn money to eat, and at four yuan a catty, it was almost twice as much money as selling them in the town. Picking chili peppers once could earn almost 100 yuan. Ruan Xishi was very moved.

He asked Aunt Fang: "Then does he come to collect it every day, or does it depend on the situation? Does he have a purchase point in the town?"

Aunt Fang thought carefully about what Boss Zhu said to them just now, and replied: "It should come every two or three days, it's not practical to come every day, we don't have so many peppers to sell to him, he's open If the car comes to a meeting and returns empty, the gas money will cost a lot.”

Ruan Xishi thought about it too. He remembered that he had cooked a batch of chili peppers at home, but he couldn’t pick them in class. He probably would only have time to pick them up on weekends. He saw that there were many people beside the car where the chili peppers were purchased, and the driver and the boss were busy. After dealing with the villagers, I wanted to go over and ask them if they would come again this weekend.

So he followed Aunt Fang, and Aunt Fang put two bags of peppers on the ground, and said to Boss Zhu, "Boss, these are peppers grown in my house, can you see if you can?"

How could Zhu Wen know what peppers to look at? He only knows that red ones are good if they don’t rot. As for the others, I’m sorry that’s not within his professional scope. Anyway, his boss pays for the peppers, so even if he loses money, it’s fine. It's none of his business, he was just pulled in as a coolie.He just glanced at it casually, and said, "Yes, yes, it's all four yuan a catty. Whoever has chili will sell it soon. Not everyone can afford this price."

When Aunt Fang heard that it was possible, she happily put the pepper on the scale and asked the driver to help her weigh it.

Although Zhu Wen is a half-hearted boss, the driver has been in the transportation business all year round. He is a veteran at calculating money by weighing things.

He took a look and said, made a record, and said to Aunt Fang without raising his head: "It's 83 catties in total, 330 two yuan."

Aunt Fang was overjoyed, and said to the people next to her with an ouch, "I've been growing peppers for so many years, and this is the first time I've sold them for so much money."

The person next to her responded, "Aunt Fang has made another fortune. I'm so happy. Your family has grown so many peppers. I guess you can sell them for thousands of dollars this year, right?"

Some villagers didn’t grow chili peppers this year, so they could only envy them: “If I had known that chili peppers were so expensive this year, I should have planted a few acres of it.”

"Hey, if money is hard to buy, I knew it earlier. This is a life without money."

"Don't watch it, don't watch it, the more you watch it, the sadder it gets. Go home and wash your clothes and cook."

After talking, a group of people left, and Ruan Xishi was able to squeeze in, and raised his voice and asked: "Boss, are you here to collect peppers on weekends?"

In order to "encounter" Ruan Xishi, Zhu Wen set off early this morning, and waited here all morning with the wind blowing. Then he saw that the person he was waiting for finally came, and he was relieved as if he had completed a task. In a businesslike tone, he replied: "Come on, why don't you come, what's up little brother, do you have chili peppers to sell?"

Look, how good his acting skills are, he acted like he really didn't know Ruan Xishi, Zhu Wen felt that since he accepted the task given to him by the boss, he was going to be so bloated that he wanted to go to the Oscar to accept the award.

Ruan Xishi scratched his head and said, "There are not many peppers planted, maybe only twenty or thirty catties at a time."

Zhu Wen said: "Okay, I will charge no matter how much, the price is four yuan, as long as you are willing to sell."

Ruan Xishi smiled subtly and said, "Of course I'm willing to sell it, so I'll keep track of the time and pick all the peppers in the field on Saturday, and sell them to you when you come on Sunday, right?"

Zhu Wen waved his hand and said, "No problem, you can find me whenever you see me coming that day, and I usually collect it here."

When Ruan Xishi got the boss's reply, she quickly said gratefully: "Okay, then I will trouble you, boss."

Looking at the child leaving happily, Zhu Wen touched his chin and muttered to himself: "Why is this child so polite and considerate? If the boss can talk half as well as him, I won't be reduced to The country has bought a Lao Shizi pepper. Could this be the legendary complementarity of personality? The boss will not bully others with all his strength, right?"

Lu Ze, who was trying to make chopped pepper fish head in the kitchen at home, sneezed when he was choked by the pepper, and Ruan Xishi, who had just stepped into the house, heard it. Ruan Xishi hurried from the door to the kitchen, and asked nervously: " Brother Lu Ze, do you have a cold?"

The past two days have been much colder than before. Ruan Xishi has already put on a sweater, but Lu Ze always wants to be graceful and not warm. The sweaters he bought from the town are too old-fashioned, so he doesn't want to wear them. Wear a autumn coat and a coat to play cool, it's no wonder you don't catch a cold.

Lu Ze rubbed his itchy nose with the back of his hand, and replied in a muffled voice, "No, it's because the chili is too hot and you choked on it. Why did you come back so late today?"

Ruan Xishi heard him say that he didn't have a cold, so she felt relieved, walked closer and looked into the pot, and sure enough, she saw a pot of bright red chili peppers, the spiciness was very pungent.

He covered his mouth and nose, and replied to Lu Ze, "There is a boss who collects peppers in the village. You remember the boss who went to Uncle Fang's house to collect Sanhua Li last time. He came to collect peppers again this time. Four yuan It’s a catty of money, he said that he will come on the weekend, and I plan to pick all the peppers in the field and sell them to him this Saturday.”

As soon as Lu Ze heard this, he knew that he was meeting Zhu Wen, but he was surprised in cooperation: "Four dollars a catty? Such a high price? Then don't we make money?"

Ruan Xishi saw that he had the same reaction as she had when he heard the news, and couldn't help laughing and said, "Yes, I also think we made a profit, and I'm even a little worried that the boss will lose money in such an acquisition."

It was so naive of him to think so, Lu Ze couldn't help laughing, and said: "How could it be possible to lose money? If he lost money, he wouldn't do it. It's just that you think the price is high. Maybe he will resell it. You earn more money."

Ruan Xishi snorted, "Can chili be so expensive?"

Lu Ze didn't know how much the chili peppers cost per catty. He was just talking nonsense. He only knew how much he usually paid for a small box in the supermarket. The unit price should be very high, so he just said that casually.

Ruan Xishi was relieved: "That's good, I'm still worried that the boss is so busy, and in the end he still loses money, that's too pitiful."

Lu Ze smiled and sent him off, "Go and wash your hands, and get ready for dinner."

Then he took out the fish head with chopped peppers from the pot, and Ruan Xishi washed his hands and came in. Seeing such a dish full of color and fragrance, he couldn't help sniffing, and praised: "It smells so good, what kind of dish is this?" Ah, I haven't eaten it before, brother Lu Ze, your cooking skills are amazing."

Lu Ze proudly said: "This dish is called Fish Head with Chopped Peppers. I happened to meet a fish seller this morning, so I bought a fish head to make this. Eat something spicy in winter to keep out the cold."

When the food was served, Ruan Xishi couldn't wait to pick up a little bit of fish meat under the fish head and put it in his mouth. It was really spicy and salty, very delicious.

"It's delicious, Brother Lu Ze, where did you learn this dish?"

Lu Ze remembered that he had "amnesia". Theoretically, he should not be able to cook dishes that he had never seen before. He had a flash of inspiration and replied, "I'm bored at home these days, and I watched some cooking shows. , I learned from those cooks."

Ruan Xishi's mind was captured by the food, and she didn't want to ask so much about what she had. Lu Ze was right, he still had to eat some spicy food in such a cold day, and his body was much warmer.

Although the weather is a bit cold, it is cloudy and suitable for planting. After school in the afternoon, Ruan Xishi and Lu Ze went to the field to plant sprouted potatoes.

The land of this field was plowed by Lu Ze alone. It looked decent and there was nothing to be picky about. Ruan Xishi didn't want to do it again, so he just dug shallow pits on the land that Lu Ze plowed. Then put the germinated potato pieces stained with straw ash into it, crush the soil and gently cover it with a thin layer. The soil should not be too thick or too hard, otherwise it will not be conducive to the rooting, germination and fruiting of potatoes.

After the soil is cultivated, a layer of straw should be spread on top to protect the potatoes from the cold. In winter, sometimes there will be frost, which can freeze the potato seedlings. It will also generate heat on the way to maintain a suitable temperature for potato growth.

After planting, Ruan Xishi clapped her hands contentedly and said to Lu Ze, "After two or three months, the potatoes will grow. When we peel off the stalks, we can see round potatoes one by one, just like picking up eggs." Dig them up and sell them in the town."

After being told by him, Lu Ze began to look forward to the day of harvest.

On Saturday, Ruan Xishi was thinking about picking peppers in the field, so she got up early in the morning, ignoring the morning frost and fog and the low temperature, so she wore thick work clothes and went to the pepper field to pick peppers.

Seeing that Ruan Xishi was in such a hurry, Lu Ze felt very helpless. He wanted to go with him, but he thought that Ruan Xishi hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so he could only stay at home and cook breakfast, and then take it to the field for him to eat when he was full.

Lu Ze carried his breakfast to the slope. Ruan Xishi had already picked half of the chili peppers by himself. Afraid that he would be hungry, Lu Ze hurriedly called him over to sit down and have breakfast. When he sat on the ridge, drank porridge and ate eggs , Lu Ze picked up a bag and started picking peppers from another field.

The two picked from the time when the frost and fog had not dissipated until the sun came out, and finally picked more than half of the peppers. This time there were more mature peppers, so the picking was a bit slower, but the amount was really large, so Lu Ze and Ruan Xi stood by Chu Lin. They picked it for a long time without complaining. After all, they all realized that the more peppers they have, the more money they can make.

At noon, Wufen's peppers were finally picked. They were almost full of two small snakeskin bags, which were heavy to carry. Ruan Xishi was very happy. On the way back, he kept guessing with Lu Ze how much these peppers could sell for.

When I went back, I weighed it. It was more than 30 catties, which was ten catties more than expected. Ruan Xishi gently dumped the peppers on the corridor to dry like a baby, so as not to stink and spoil them in the bag overnight.Xiao Hui approached curiously, but was softly rebuked by Ruan Xishi.

The next day, on Sunday, Boss Zhu, who bought the peppers, came as scheduled. Ruan Xishi and Lu Ze sold the repacked peppers, earning more than 100 yuan.

Ruan Xishi carefully took a piece of 100 yuan bill and some small change from Boss Zhu, squinting his eyes with joy, thanking people all the time, which made Zhu Wen very embarrassed in front of the real boss.

Because he made a lot of money, Ruan Xishi bought half a catty of pork from the pork guy by the way when he went back, and planned to go home and eat meat to celebrate-although he said that he had meat every day during this time thanks to Lu Ze, but their family The concept of so many years can't be changed for a while.When I make money or something good happens at home, I will generously use the money to buy the pork that I am usually reluctant to buy and come back to reward myself.

On the way back, Ruan Xishi was still very happy, and kept talking beside Lu Ze: "I can actually earn so much money, I'm so happy."

No wonder he was so excited. After all, years ago he was just a lonely orphan with no possessions. He was always in a state of doubting whether he could support himself. He never thought that he could do such a thing. At this point, I can rely on my own hard work to earn money for daily expenses.

Lu Ze looked at his happy face with a smile, touched his head, and boasted, "Our baby is really capable."

Ruan Xishi was even happier after getting Lu Ze's affirmation.

After the potatoes were planted, the sweet potatoes planted before could also be harvested. Ruan Xishi took advantage of the fact that the weather was still sunny and not too cold, so he took the time to dig out the sweet potatoes in the slope.Otherwise, once it rains on a cloudy day, the sweet potatoes are likely to rot in the ground. Even if it does not rain, the sweet potatoes will emit a sweet smell after ripening, which will attract insects to spoil them.

The sweet potato vines are very old, some have been withered by the frost, some are still growing tenaciously, and occasionally one or two purple flowers that are about to wither can be seen.

It was the first time for Lu Ze to see sweet potato flowers. Before that, he never knew that sweet potatoes would bloom.Sweet potato flowers are either purple or white-pink, shaped like morning glory, so delicate that they will become wrinkled when the wind blows.

Ruan Xishi touched the sweet potato root along the sweet potato vine, then cut off the whole sweet potato vine from the root with a sickle and put it aside, picked up the shovel and carefully started from the sweet potato root more than a foot away.Because there will be more than one sweet potato growing under a sweet potato plant, at least two or three, as many as seven or eight.Sweet potatoes grow divergently on the sweet potato roots, and it is impossible to guess where it grows from the ground. In order to ensure the integrity of the sweet potatoes, they can only be dug from the roots farther away.

Lu Ze nervously watched Ruan Xishi's movements from the side. Ruan Xishi gently pushed aside a layer of soil, and he could see sweet potatoes that blended with the soil, each round and round.

Ruan Xishi visually inspected the overall position of the sweet potato, and then dug a shovel deeply from the side, digging up the entire root of the sweet potato.

There were five or six sweet potatoes of different sizes and shapes on a vine, but Lu Ze was so happy that he helped Ruan Xishi pick the sweet potatoes and put them in a snakeskin bag while saying: "If each one can grow so many sweet potatoes , isn’t there a lot of land after digging this land?”

Ruan Xishi was amused by his naive thoughts, and said to him: "Some sweet potato vines may not have a single sweet potato, maybe that's impossible, but I want to dig up the sweet potatoes in this field, at least a few hundred catties. "

Lu Ze watched Ruan Xishi dig a few sweet potatoes, and was eager to try it himself, so Ruan Xishi gave him the shovel and taught him how to dig.

In the beginning, Lu Ze didn't do anything lightly, he chopped up several big sweet potatoes with a shovel, and before Ruan Xishi made a sound, he felt sorry for himself first, holding half of the sweet potatoes and asked Ruan Xishi regretfully: "Little Ruan, what should I do, I ruined it, it’s such a big sweet potato, alas.”

Seeing how pitiful he was for a sweet potato, Ruan Xishi couldn't help thinking that he was a little cute, so she smiled and comforted him and said, "It's okay, sweet potatoes can be stored for a long time after being cut, and the exposed parts will scab in the air, and the meat inside will It won't break."

After hearing this, Lu Ze finally felt relieved. He carefully dug out the remaining sweet potatoes and put them in a snakeskin bag.

Ruan Xishi took it out and put it in the dustpan, and said to him: "Sweet potatoes with cuts are put separately. After we bring them home, we have to eat the cut ones first. Although they say they won't spoil, it's not good to leave them for a long time. Complete The sweet potatoes can be sold in the future, but the cut ones are generally not bought by anyone, so they still have to be separated.”

Lu Ze nodded with a half understanding, and was much more careful when digging again.

After they finished digging the sweet potatoes, it was almost dark. Ruan Xishi bundled the sweet potato vines into bunches and carried them home. Lu Ze was puzzled and asked, "These sweet potato vines should not be edible, what do you need them for?" ?”

Ruan Xishi said: "Although we don't use it, there are still other uses. For example, it can be used to feed Uncle Li's cattle and pigs. Green fodder is so rare in winter. The family who raises pigs and cattle will chop sweet potato vines into pieces. Dry it and store it up, and when there is a shortage of green fodder, it can be taken out to feed pigs and cows, and if there is more, it can be fed for a whole winter and early spring."

Lu Ze understood: "It turns out to be like this."

Sure enough, I met a few villagers on the road. Seeing Ruan Xishi carrying a load of sweet potato vines, he asked him if he could give them some and let them take them home to feed the pigs. There are still some left in there, if you want it, just go and get it."

The villagers quickly thanked them, and went to Ruan Xishi's sweet potato field to hold sweet potato vines.

Passing by the door of Uncle Li's house, Ruan Xishi stopped and knocked on the door. Aunt Li heard the sound and came over. Seeing Ruan Xishi carrying a load of sweet potato vines, looking like she had just returned from working in the field, she said distressedly: "Oh, Shizi, why are there so many sweet potatoes?" rattan?"

Ruan Xishi said: "I just went to dig sweet potatoes. The sweet potato vines are useless for me, so I brought them back to feed Uncle Li's cows. You can drag them in."

Aunt Li was so moved that she didn't know what to say, so she called Uncle Li to come over and move the sweet potato vines to the cowshed, and said to Ruan Xishi, "Why did you come back from the field so late, you must have not had time to cook at home. Why don't you eat at Aunt Li's house? Although Aunt Li's house doesn't have much food for you, there are still a few bowls of rice, bring Ah Ze in to eat, don't starve."

Ruan Xishi quickly shook her head and said: "Don't bother Aunt Li, we're going home to cook now. There are still a lot of dishes left at noon. Go back and cook a meal and heat up the dishes. It will be ready soon."

Seeing him turn around and leave, Aunt Li sighed from behind and said, "Hey, you kid, why are you being polite to Aunt Li. It's getting dark, so watch the road on your way home."

Ruan Xishi waved her hands without looking back and said, "I see, Aunt Li, go back and eat quickly."

After returning home, Ruan Xishi put the sweet potatoes on the corridor to dry, and Lu Ze took the initiative to contract the task of making dinner. Ruan Xishi followed Lu Ze, who was busy in the kitchen, through a wall and said, "Tomorrow I will burn some straws and use them when the ashes cool. to preserve sweet potatoes so they don't get eaten by worms or sprout."

Lu Ze replied: "Okay, I will help you when the time comes."

Ruan Xishi picked out the small sweet potatoes with cuts to one side. These sweet potatoes are not suitable for sale and can only be kept at home for himself. Ruan Xishi plans to cook sweet potatoes for breakfast tomorrow.

After he finished handling these sweet potatoes, the sky was completely dark and the temperature was several degrees lower than before. Ruan Xishi felt a little cold and had to stand up and stamp his feet and rub his hands.

It happened that Lu Ze had finished dinner and asked him to wash his hands and serve the bowl with rice. Ruan Xishi ran into the kitchen to get the bowls and chopsticks, and said to Lu Ze, "The weather is getting colder and colder, I feel like I have to go to Uncle Zhang's house to buy some charcoal sooner." When you come back, prepare first, and when it suddenly becomes very cold, you can burn it to warm yourself."

Lu Ze felt a little fresh when he heard about the fire. He lived in a big city before, and he had floor heating, air conditioners, and heaters indoors, so he didn't have to worry about heating at all. However, there was no such condition in the village, so he could only rely on the relatively primitive method of warming up. , he was a little bit looking forward to what it would be like.

The author has something to say:

Zhu Wen: Everything is for the boss!

If you don't pay attention to digging sweet potatoes, you will feel distressed to death. TUT is most afraid of cutting a big sweet potato in two or cutting it into eight pieces (...) Thanks to the little angels who voted for me as the overlord~

Thanks to the little angels who voted [Mine]: 1 piece for Oh Runji, 1 piece for life is so wonderful

Thanks to the little angels for irrigating me with nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angels of the irrigation nutrient solution: 8 bottles of Nianhua Bluff, 1 bottle of Oh Runji

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ^_^