Chapter 64: I have as much as you want (give me your monthly ticket!)

Lu Miao pursed his lips, with the corners of his lips drooping slightly, feeling a little deflated. The heat that had just been blown away by the breeze returned to his heart, and he felt extremely uncomfortable and hot.

Lu Miao groaned and pulled the wild wormwood on the side of the road, kicking and stomping on the clods of earth on the path, which was already a sign of unhappiness.

Fu Jingyou turned around and saw that although her face was tense, her eyes were staring at the lake on one side very seriously. He guessed what she was looking for:

"If you go out early, you'll find them everywhere in the ditches and along the lakeshore. It's actually very easy to catch them if you really want to."

"You know what I'm looking for?"

Fu Jingyou was confused, "Not Wang... Not looking for turtle?"

"I'm looking for turtles!" Lu Miao shook his head and nodded, scanning the surroundings and said, "But you said turtles are everywhere, why don't I see any?"

Fu Jingyou raised his strong jaw towards the big black bull in front of him and said, "There's a bull walking in front of us."

Besides, it was quite early now, and the dew was almost dried up. Even if there were no cows walking ahead to disturb the grass, the temperature would rise, and those turtles that came ashore to get some fresh air at night would almost all go back into the water and hide under the water plants to keep cool.

Catching a turtle is really a very small matter. Fu Jingyou didn't want Lu Miao to bother about it anymore, so he softened his voice and coaxed:

"Okay, let's go, I've caught the turtle."

"You caught it? How did you catch it?" Lu Miao was looking back, trotting after him and barking, "Didn't you just come back? How come I don't know when you caught it?"

"This morning."

"This morning?"

"Um."

Lu Miao remembered and said, "No wonder your trouser legs were wet when we met that time!"

Fu Jingyou smiled teasingly, not caring at all. "Besides the soft-shelled turtle, there are some other things. I'm not sure if they're edible. You can decide when the time comes."

Lu Miao nodded, but still curiously asked: "What are they?"

"ocean……"

In the local dialect, "Haizi" refers to crabs. Fu Jingyou paused for a moment, fearing that Lu Miao might not understand, and then said:

"There are a few crabs, loaches and eels, and there are also a few yellow girls of different sizes."

Lu Miao had just seen some crabs in the lake, but they were all very small, not much bigger than a thumb at most.

In her mind, crabs of this size are definitely not edible.

As for loaches and eels, as long as they are not too small, you can put them together and cook a plate to make a decent dish.

Speaking of that yellow girl, Lu Miao was really frightened. He thought about it for a long time but still couldn't understand what this yellow girl was.

Ask Fu Jingyou, he will just say it is a fish with small thorns on both sides of the fish head, he can't explain anything else.

Lu Miao had no choice but to suppress her curiosity. She would have to go back at noon to find out what it was.

While talking, the two walked forward along the path for a while. There were not as many lotus leaves growing by the lake as in the center of the lake, but there were still some.

There were two tender lotus pods near the shore, and Fu Jingyou reached out and picked one.

The other one was a little far away, so he leaned over and hooked it with his sickle. After picking it up, he handed it to Lu Miao and instructed:

"Be careful, there are small thorns on the lotus stems."

Lu Miao nodded and took it excitedly: "Thank you!"

The surface of the lotus pod still had a hint of moist dew. Lu Miao peeled one open. The lotus seeds were rice white and the lotus heart was emerald green. He put it in his mouth and chewed it to taste.

Perhaps because the lotus pods were still tender, I didn't taste the bitterness of the lotus seeds, but instead the sweetness filled my mouth.

Lu Miao's eyes sparkled, like a greedy child who had found a favorite snack, and he quickly peeled another one and put it in his mouth.

Seeing her impatient look, Fu Jingyou knew that he had picked the right lotus pod.

"The water here is deep and there are few lotus pods. Where we work there are more wetlands. The lotus leaves and flowers there are like they are growing in paddy fields. You can pick as many as you want."

Fu Jingyou brought a sickle and said that there were many wetlands where they were going to work, and there were rice fields along the road. Lu Miao was originally wondering what kind of work he was responsible for today, but after hearing this, he gradually understood.

"Are you in charge of harvesting rice today?"

Although the rice in the rice field on one side has sprouted, it is still green and it is obviously not time to harvest it yet.

Lu Miao asked curiously, "Isn't it too early to cut it now?"

"No. We have to wait two more days before harvesting this field of millet. Today we are harvesting early-season rice, which matures earlier than other millets."

Fu Jingyou shook his head. He didn't talk much before, and only after he came into close contact with Lu Miao and gradually became familiar with him did he say a few more words.

Seeing Lu Miao's curiosity, he patiently explained:

"The quality and appearance of early-season rice couldn't match that of mid-season and late-season rice. The team didn't plant much, and we didn't plan to hand it over as required grain. We kept it for distribution at the end of the year. The members' families had all suffered for a year or six months, so anyone who wanted to try something new would use their work points or money to buy some to take home."

Lu Miao nodded and asked, "Is this the same brown rice I exchanged for in the team?"

Fu Jingyou nodded, and Lu Miao understood what he meant.

The outer shell of the brown rice has not been completely peeled off, and it tastes not only somewhat hard but also a bit dry.

Fu Jingyou was used to eating whole grains. When they had dinner together before, he ate brown rice with great relish. But for Lu Miao, to put it bluntly, the brown rice sometimes really felt like chewing crumbs.

This is especially obvious when steaming at the educated youth's site.

As Fu Jingyou said, the quality and appearance of early-season rice cannot catch up with medium-season rice and late-season rice. In comparison, excluding the reasons of not completely removing the husks and cooking methods, the taste of early-season rice should also be inferior.

With all the negative buffs accumulating, it’s hard to blame Lu Miao, who was used to eating fragrant rice and polished rice, for being picky about food.

"Where can I buy better rice? The kind with the husks removed?"

"It's the grain and oil food station in town. You need coupons for rice."

The rice sold at the food station is hulled with a special device. There is still a big difference between the rice hulled manually by the old folks in the village and that device.

Fu Jingyou pondered for a moment, then added, "But the quota is limited, and you need a grain and oil permit, so it's not easy to buy."

Lu Miao's eyebrows furrowed, and he pursed his lips, somewhat dissatisfied with the answer:

"Then there is no other channel?"

Other channels? Of course there are.

Fu Jingyou wanted to say something, but paused when he thought of something.

After a brief thought, he changed the subject and asked Lu Miao:

"There should be, why, do you want it?"

"Um!"

Lu Miao nodded obediently. Fu Jingyou looked at her expression and was about to say that the brown rice in the team was also the best fine grain. But before he could finish his words, he heard her grumble bitterly:

"I don't like the brown rice the team exchanged for. I want the kind that's sticky and chewy when cooked... Can I get that, Fu Jingyou? It doesn't matter how much the ticket is, I don't care!"