Chapter 166 Lychee Complex

Zhong Jing felt somewhat helpless when talking about this matter, so he could only explain with a smile: "Well, you must have noticed that those lychee trees are so big, some of them have trunks so thick that you can even hug them. I don't know how many years they have been alive!"

Zhao Liya and Shu Yan nodded quickly: "Yes, yes!"

Zhong Jing sighed with a smile, "That's a long story. The soldiers originally stationed in Lingnan were all sent by the imperial court from the north, and no local Lingnan people were included. It was only in the past twenty years that many local people were gradually absorbed. We northerners have never seen or tasted lychees, right? And we always hear how delicious lychees are. Now that we're here and there's nothing else to do, we decided to plant lychees. No matter what, these precious things that we couldn't eat before can now be eaten as much as we want, which is a kind of comfort! As the years go by, the lychee trees are planted more and more, around the military camp, on the mountains, and in the fields, everywhere. Later generations have also inherited this tradition. Whenever they come here, no matter what, they must plant lychees."

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but we still grow some every year. Of course, everyone's tired of eating them, hahahaha."

"So that's how it is!" Zhao Liya suddenly realized and basically understood.

In northern China, the lychee is truly a "legendary," incredibly delicious, and incredibly precious fruit. Countless literati and poets have commemorated it, further reinforcing this stereotype. The story of Yang Guifei and the lychee, with the timeless line "A horse gallops through the dusty world, and the concubine smiles," has touched countless hearts and elevated the lychee to a high esteem.

Lingnan is a remote and far-flung area, and I'm afraid none of the northern soldiers would be happy to be sent here to garrison.

But they couldn't refuse.

It is not surprising that when people come to this place, they would use lychees, a delicious fruit that is said to be a fairy fruit that people in the north cannot obtain, to comfort themselves and seek peace of mind and tranquility to calm their depression.

To this day, planting litchi has probably become a tradition among soldiers. Even if there are countless litchi trees and they can never eat all of them, they still have to plant them when the time comes.

I feel at ease only after planting it.

Zhao Liya saw quite a few lychee tree seedlings on the mountain, which must have been planted in the past two or three years.

Shu Yan also understood some of what he said, so she smiled and said, "With so many lychee trees nowadays, I'm afraid we won't be able to eat them all every year."

Zhong Jing laughed and said, "How could we possibly eat them all? Lychees are delicious, but they're also incredibly irritating. Some people simply don't dare eat too many! Besides, back in the north, they used to be considered precious and rare, but now they're everywhere in the mountains, so they're no longer rare. Who wouldn't get tired of them? But we still plant some every year; everyone's used to it."

Shu Yan was surprised: "You're still planting? Then when the lychees are ripe every year, what do you do with all those lychees?"

Zhong Jing smiled indifferently and said, "Who cares? If anyone wants to eat it, just pick it. If it's ripe and no one picks it, it will just fall to the ground! It's not worth much in Lingnan."

He thought of something and couldn't help laughing again. "A few years ago, those scoundrels leading the Fire Department had a sudden idea to cook with lychees. They fried huge pots of them and almost got beaten up by the angry sergeants. That thing was so disgusting! After that, they didn't dare to do it again, hahahaha!"

Zhao Liya and Shu Yan couldn't help laughing.

Shu Yan laughed and said, "It's really amazing that they could come up with this!"

Zhao Liya's heart was moved, and she smiled and said, "Actually, lychees can be used in cooking. It's just that the cooking methods of the firemen are too simple and crude. Not only lychees, but many fruits can be used in cooking. If the combination is good, the taste is still quite good."

These words made Shu Yan and Zhong Jing's eyes light up, and they both looked towards Zhao Liya.

"real?"

"Really!"

Shu Yan took Zhao Liya's hand and said with a smile, "My dear sister, you are the smartest one. You have so many weird and wonderful ideas! Teach me quickly, and I will make it for everyone to taste."

"Yes, yes, yes! Sister Xiaoya, please tell me quickly." Zhong Jing felt so itchy that he was about to drool.

By the way, I can eat more while Lin Mo, Yu Xiaofang and the others are not around!

Zhao Liya was at a loss for words: "Have you forgotten that there are no lychees in season?"

Zhong Jing and Shu Yan: "."

"Oh, I really forgot! What a pity!"

"That's easy. We have dragon fruit, papaya, jackfruit, and mango. Sister Xiaoya, can you see if there's anything you can use?"

They are all fruits. If lychees are okay, then they should be okay too, right?

When Shu Yan heard this, her eyes lit up again, and she looked at Zhao Liya eagerly - this was definitely the look of an excellent student, filled with a strong desire to acquire new knowledge!

Zhao Liya was amused and excited—she wanted to try it herself, so she smiled and said, "Well, I'll think about it!"

"well!"

"Okay, okay!"

Zhong Jing and Shu Yan were both very happy.

It’s too late for dinner today, but it should be possible tomorrow.

Shu Yan was also the chef for dinner, with Zhao Liya helping her.

Zhong Jing originally wanted to assign two firemen to do odd jobs, but the two of them firmly declined.

That's not allowed!

The two of them cooked their own meals, and at most made a little more to give Zhong Jing a large portion. It was more than enough for the two of them to do it themselves, so why would they need someone to come and help them?

That's a bit too pretentious.

The main dishes Shu Yan made for dinner tonight were honey-glazed barbecued pork, stir-fried bacon with bracken and sauerkraut, and roasted old rooster with spring bamboo shoots. There were also two vegetarian dishes and a bacon and bamboo shoot soup.

With Shu Yan's skillful hands, each dish is given a more fresh and delicious taste, and everyone never gets tired of eating it.

The next morning, Zhong Ming came with two soldiers, each holding a basket of fruit.

"Miss Zhao, Madam Lin, our general said that you two should consider whether these fruits are useful. If there are not enough or you need something else, just let me know and I will do my best to find it for you."

Shu Yan intentionally cooked generous portions of food. As Zhong Jing's right-hand man, Zhong Ming naturally got some of it as well, so he was particularly proactive in sending her fruits.

Zhao Liya took a quick look and was surprised to find that there was quite a variety of fruits. In addition to the ones Zhong Jing mentioned yesterday, there were also grapefruit, oranges, bananas, pineapples, and coconuts.

Zhao Liya nodded and smiled, "These are more than enough. You don't need so much to cook, and it's actually a bargain for us!"

Zhong Ming smiled and said, "Miss Zhao likes to eat it. I will send you a basket every day. We have plenty here!"

Zhao Liya laughed and waved her hand: "That's not necessary!"

(End of this chapter)