Chapter 46 Peach Gum

July 25, 3033

The rice seeds had absorbed enough water. Two days ago, Zhao Yeqing followed Mu Xi's method, scooped out the rice seeds and put them into a woven bag. He tied the mouth of the bag with a rope to let the seeds germinate inside.

Now two days have passed. When I opened the bag, most of the rice seeds inside had sprouted.

The newly grown buds are white and thin, like little bugs crawling out of the bayberry flesh.

Pour it out carefully and you can take it to the rice field to sow seeds in a while.

Originally they were thinking of waiting until the seedlings grew into vines before planting them in the fields, but now the temperature is difficult to control, so it is safer to plant them in advance.

Maybe it’s because we have entered the dog days of summer, the temperature has remained high, and red high temperature warnings are broadcast every day.

The rice fields have been soaked in water for so many days that the mud inside has rotted.

There is a drainage outlet next to the rice field. Before sowing seeds today, some of the excess water must be drained away, leaving moist mud to prevent lightweight seeds from floating up after entering the water.

Two people each had a small bowl of seeds and started sowing them together from the left and right sides of the rice field.

When the rice seeds have grown tender sprouts, you cannot put your hands into the bowl to take the seeds, as this will easily damage the seed embryo. It is best to gently pour them into the palm of your hand and then spread them evenly in the field.

Zhao Yeqing was wearing plastic rain boots and got stuck in the field after only taking a few steps. Mu Xi, who had entered the field barefoot, walked over in two or three steps and pulled Zhao Yeqing out of the mud.

"It's not easy to walk in there wearing plastic shoes, so it's best to take off your shoes. If you're afraid of getting dirty, don't force yourself to come down. I can do it myself."

Zhao Yeqing shook her head. She was not afraid of getting dirty, but she was a little afraid of the unknown in the mud. But at this moment, she still wanted to overcome it.

I took off my rain boots and put them aside, then stepped into the mud barefoot.

It's a wonderful touch. The mud that has been soaked in mountain springs is still cool even under the sun. The moment you step into it, you will be surrounded by soft mud and it will feel a little itchy.

It is much easier to walk after taking off shoes. If your foot is stuck in the water, don't use too much force to pull it out. It is easier to lift it gently.

It took the two of them just over half an hour to finish sowing all the rice fields.

Mu Xi took out a new broom from the house. It was hand-woven by an old man in the past. The material used was broom grass, which is also a wild vegetable. It can be eaten in spring and summer. It will turn red in autumn. The grown broom grass can be used to make brooms.

Use a broom to gently pat the rice fields after sowing to make the seeds sink into the ground to prevent them from being eaten by birds in the woods.

Zhao Yeqing inspects the fruits of his labor in the vegetable garden.

The plants have a strong ability to recover. It only took about ten days for them to go from being half-dead after the rain to being full of vitality again.

Peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and okra have all started to bloom again, and cowpeas are bearing fruit again, with two or three beans hanging from each flower pod.

The leaves of the sweet potatoes are so dense that they need to be cleaned up. They grow too fast and age quickly, making it a little difficult for humans to eat them, but rabbits love them.

The small vegetable patch that was originally planted next to the rabbit pen has completely cooled down. No one took care of it during the hailstorm, and now there are only some vegetable leaves growing here and there. Zhao Yeqing has no intention of taking care of it. At most, he will give the rabbits a bucket of water when feeding them, and feed them as snacks if they can grow any.

After so many days, the little rabbits have grown some fur. Among the seven little rabbits, three are gray, two are white, and the remaining two have impure fur, a mixture of gray and white.

Zhao Yeqing tried hard to restrain herself from looking at them. They were so cute, and she was afraid that she would not be able to bear to eat them in the future.

The bitter melon vines next to the fence of the vegetable garden have spread and occupied half of the fence wall of the vegetable garden.

Zhao Yeqing was somewhat surprised to find that the pumpkins that were not ripe after watering yesterday had all turned yellow today and were lying on the ground.

She decided to keep it for a while until the sugar in the pumpkin settled and it would be sweet enough when cooked.

The Chinese spinach is in season and it would be ok to wait a few days, but Zhao Yeqing likes to eat the tender ones, so he picked them all without holding back.

Leafy vegetables can be picked and planted at the same time. Except for vegetables whose leaves can be eaten and vegetables like leeks that can be cut and grow repeatedly, other leafy vegetables can be pulled out and then planted again.

After a busy morning, the sun became higher after nine o'clock. After staying outside for a while, my skin began to feel hot.

Zhao Yeqing didn't want to stay at home, so he thought about going to the woods to see if there were any fresh seasonal ingredients.

Mu Xi said that he seemed to have seen peaches bearing fruit when he went up the mountain that day.

Zhao Yeqing then remembered that he had picked peach blossoms in the spring. He originally planned to make wine, but later he made peach blossom porridge.

Mu Xi pointed in the direction of the corner of his house and said, "There, your grandfather buried several jars of wine. If you want to drink it, I'll dig it out."

Zhao Yeqing was shocked and said he had never heard of such a thing.

Mu Xi recalled it with amusement, "Your grandfather was afraid that your grandmother would find out, so he didn't dare to bury it in the corner of your house. He probably thought that if he was discovered, he would frame my grandfather. I saw him burying it."

Zhao Yeqing couldn't help but chuckle and immediately said, "I'll tell grandma the next time we pay homage."

It's hotter in the house than in the woods in this weather.

Zhao Yeqing called Mu Xi to go pick peaches together.

Meishan has dense vegetation, and the forest blocks out the sun, so the temperature feels several degrees lower.

In this weather, snakes, insects, rats and ants are afraid of the sun and avoid the meadow areas and start to become active in the woods.

Mu Xi asked Zhao Yeqing to walk behind while he led the way in front. The distance from his home to the peach tree was only a few hundred meters, but they encountered two snakes.

Fortunately, they were not big, and Mu Xi picked them up and threw them out with a stick, and they swam away after landing.

It only takes ten minutes to walk to the destination. There are not many leaves on the peach trees, probably because all the nutrients are provided to the peaches.

The peach tree is a hairy peach tree. It is not very tall, only about five meters, but the crown is very large. The fruits on it are crispy, the size of ordinary eggs. They are not very sweet, but they are fragrant.

Zhao Yeqing instructed Mu Xi to climb the tree to pick peaches, just like when he was a child, and stand under the tree to give instructions.

"The one on the left is redder... not that one, further to the left."

Mu Xi was on the tree, putting all the fruits he could pick into his box. If he couldn't pick any, he would knock them down with a stick and let Zhao Yeqing pick them up.

She didn't give up until he said he couldn't hold any more.

There are still a lot of amber crystals on the peach tree. Zhao Yeqing asked Mu Xi to look carefully on the branches to see if there are any. If there are, they should all be picked down.

This is the peach gum that she has been craving since spring. There were also some in spring, but not as many as now.

When the peach gum on the tree is fresh, it is soft and breaks into pieces when squeezed, like crushed jelly.

The weather is hot and sunny now, and the peach gum on the trees has been dried and is hard and crisp, like a beautiful amber gem.

Zhao Yeqing was squatting under a tree picking peach gum when Mu Xi suddenly jumped down from the tree. Her figure dropped from the sky and the wooden stick she used to hit peaches stabbed straight at her back...