"This method is good. Although the fruiting is slow, the quality of the fruit from the saplings and the mother tree is exactly the same and will not change. We don't need to wait until next year. After harvesting the fruit and fertilizing the trees, we can start planting the saplings. If we take good care of them, we can plant them directly next year, and they will bear fruit in two years."

As they worked, they chatted and imagined the bountiful harvests every household would enjoy a few years later, which fueled their enthusiasm. The eight of them finished their work quickly.

The fruit trees in Chen Hong's yard have excellent shapes; they are not very tall, and the canopies are dwarfed, so most can be reached from the ground. Only a few trees require a ladder to pick the fruit. After picking for more than two hours, there were only five or six trees left to harvest.

The women weighed and packed most of the fruit into baskets. Chen Hong said, "Uncle, Uncle Erhu, come over and have some water, smoke a cigarette and rest for a while. We'll be finished picking in about an hour. There's no need to rush."

Everyone greeted each other and sat down to drink some water. The men took out cigarettes and smoked.

Chen Hong picked up the empty kettle and said to everyone, "It's 11 o'clock. I'll go back and cook first. You can work a little longer and then go home for lunch. If you're not finished, we can talk about it in the afternoon. After lunch, take a break and then we'll bring the truck back and load it directly. The main task this afternoon is to load the truck and send it to the city. We'll definitely finish early today, so you can rest a little longer and don't rush."

Chen Hong carried a basket and a sickle home first. When she entered the yard, she saw her son squatting by the big basin in the kitchen, happily watching the big fish and crabs. "Baby, be careful not to get pinched by the crabs. Their claws are very strong and it hurts a lot if you get pinched."

"Mom, I know! I just saw them crawling in the basin, and they couldn't get out no matter how hard they tried. It was so much fun!"

"Did you listen to Grandpa at home? Where is Grandpa?"

"Grandpa is picking vegetables in the backyard. He said you should come back soon to cook, and he'll help you pick the vegetables. Mom, watch the crabs and make sure they don't crawl out and escape. I'll go help Grandpa carry the basket."

As she spoke, she turned and ran quickly towards the backyard. Chen Hong smiled and told her, "Run slowly, don't fall."

Chen Hong changed her shoes and clothes, quickly washed up, went to the small shop in the village center to buy some pork, and then hurried into the kitchen to cook.

There are ten people in the family eating today. After a morning of physical labor, they definitely need to eat more, so we can't skimp on the food. Chen Hong plans to cook eight dishes for lunch.

First, cook rice in the rice cooker. Because they often ask for help during the busy farming season, Chen Hong's family bought the largest rice cooker. It can cook four pounds of rice and make 12 bowls of rice, which should be enough for them.

Cook the rice, wash and cut the meat, prepare the scallions, ginger and garlic, blanch the pork belly, add cooking wine to remove the foam, take it out and wash it clean. Clean the pot, add some oil, grab a handful of rock sugar to caramelize it, add the drained pork belly and stir-fry until it is colored, add scallions and ginger, stir-fry quickly, add soy sauce, cooking wine, a few bay leaves and star anise, add two bowls of hot water, cover the pot and simmer over medium heat.

"Chen Hong, what dishes are you making for lunch today? I'll prepare the vegetables for you."

"Dad, you don't need to worry about the kitchen, I can handle it myself. Could you please bring the mung bean soup to the main room so they can drink it when they come back from work?"

Father Yu brought the mung bean soup into the main room, prepared the bowls, and poured the mung bean soup into the bowls to cool.

Chen Hong quickly picked and chopped all the vegetables in the basket, then heated up the oil in a wok to make a stew of pork belly, potatoes, and green beans. She added plenty of meat and vegetables to make it a filling dish. She also took out the jellyfish, washed and shredded it, shredded the cucumber, added some minced garlic and cilantro, and then mixed it with vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt before plating.

The braised pork in the big pot is emitting a rich aroma. Hmm, the pork is cooked to perfection. Add some salt, a handful of garlic leaves, stir-fry evenly, and it's ready to serve.

Wash the pot and add two ladles of water. Place ten cleaned salted duck eggs on the pot, put a steamer basket on top, and then put the marinated sea bass on a plate in the steamer basket.

Take another plate, put the cleaned crabs on it, and steam them together in the pot.

Time was tight, so I had to cook three dishes in one pot. Then I grabbed a handful of agastache leaves, chopped them up, put them in a bowl, cracked in six eggs, added a little salt, and the pork, potato, and green bean stew was just cooked by then. I added salt and it was ready to serve.

Wash the pan again, beat the mint-flavored eggs, add oil to the pan, and when the oil is hot, pour the egg mixture into the pan. Hold the spatula and swirl it around, then flick your wrist and toss the spatula with a "smack" sound to gently toss the eggs. Okay, the mint-flavored eggs are cooked. Remove them from the pan and plate them.

Ten minutes have passed, and the crabs and fish in the big pot are cooked. Put on heat-resistant gloves, first take out the crabs, then take out the sea bass. Use chopsticks to remove the scallions and ginger from the sea bass's belly and discard them. Then pinch a few scallion shreds, ginger shreds, red chili shreds, and cilantro pieces and sprinkle them on the sea bass. Heat some oil in a wok, and when the oil is hot, pour it over the sea bass. With a sizzle, the aroma of scallions, ginger, and chili wafts out, and the sea bass is ready.

Prepare a dipping sauce and bring it into the main room along with the crab. Finally, take the salted duck eggs out of the pot, rinse them with cold water for a while, then take them out and place them on a cutting board. Cut them in half vertically with a knife; the yolks are bright red and oozing oil, indicating they have been pickled for just the right time.

I carried the dishes into the main room in two trips, and then went back to the kitchen to make a tomato and egg soup. Lunch was ready. I looked at the clock in the main room and it was 11:50. Why hadn't the workers come back yet?

Chen Hong called Yu Hai: "Yu Hai, quickly bring your uncle and the others back for dinner. The food is ready. After dinner, you can go back to work this afternoon."

Yu Hai received a call and said, "Okay, we'll be right back." A moment later, the work team returned in a grand procession.