Chapter 34 Brother Zhou, take a break.

Although the work of digging lotus roots is over, there is still a lot of work to be done in the fields.

The cucumber patch is overgrown with weeds, and it's already late June. The cotton is about to be pollinated. That's how it is during the busy farming season; one thing ends and another begins.

That day, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou were busy weeding in the field when Su Tangtang suddenly said, "Look, this purslane is actually edible."

Su Tangtang plucked a plant and handed it to Huo Yizhou.

Huo Yizhou didn't know much about wild vegetables and ate very little of them. He examined the thick leaves and asked, "How do you eat this?"

“You can steam it, stir-fry it, or make a cold dish; there are many ways to eat it,” Su Tangtang said with a smile. “Would you like to try some?”

Huo Yizhou nodded, "Sure."

“Okay, I’ll put it aside,” she said cheerfully, “and use it to make you a cold dish tonight.”

Huo Yizhou looked at the clumps of dark green wild vegetables in the field and said, "There are quite a lot growing here."

Su Tangtang patted the mud off her hands and laughed, "Yes, it's the one that grows the most and the last to flourish."

As evening fell, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou came out of the field and happened to run into Zhou Yan and her group, who were also heading back.

Su Tangtang raised her hand in greeting, "Hello!"

Zhou Yan and the others responded with smiles.

Zhou Yan noticed the bunch of bright green wild vegetables they were carrying and asked curiously, "What are you carrying?"

Su Tangtang held it up and shook it, "Purslane, pulled from the ground."

Lin Lang leaned closer to take a look, somewhat puzzled, "What are you doing with this? What's the use of this thing?"

Shen Yingying and the other three followed behind them, listening to their conversation, but none of them responded.

When Meng Meng heard Su Tangtang speak, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking to herself: What an eye-catching person, hugging the grass and attracting attention.

“Yes, we can eat it,” Su Tangtang said casually. “We’ll take it back and cook it.”

Lin Lang was slightly surprised, "Really? We have a lot of them over there too!"

Su Tangtang nodded, "Really, there are quite a few ways to make it, you can try it too."

Qiu Nan chimed in, "That's great, we'll pick some and try them later."

Meng Meng leaned close to Shen Yingying's ear and whispered, "Isn't she afraid of causing any problems with her food?"

Shen Yingying also whispered, "That's just the kind of person she is."

Meng Meng pouted, "It would be best if she got an upset stomach."

Their voices were low, so Su Tangtang, who was walking in front, naturally didn't hear their curses.

Zhou Yan linked arms with Su Tangtang and asked, "How are you planning to eat?"

"Just make it cold!" Su Tangtang said with a smile.

The group chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at their lodgings, after which they each went home.

At dinner time, Su Tangtang made a cold salad with some of the purslane and steamed the rest.

That's how it is in the village; the vegetables in the fields grow one crop after another, so there's almost no need to buy extra vegetables.

The food was served, and the two sat facing each other.

Huo Yizhou picked up a piece of cold purslane with his chopsticks, chewed it carefully, and nodded, saying, "It tastes very good, refreshing and delicious."

Su Tangtang laughed and pointed to the plate of steamed vegetables, "Try this one too, dip it in some garlic sauce."

Huo Yizhou did as instructed, picked up a piece, dipped it in the garlic sauce, and put it in his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Steaming makes it even more tender, and the garlic flavor enhances the taste; it's really delicious."

Su Tangtang's tone carried a hint of joy as she shared, "I was also pleasantly surprised when I first tried it! Moreover, it's not just a wild vegetable, but also a medicinal herb. The whole plant can be used in medicine, and it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing blood stasis and reducing swelling."

She paused briefly, then added, "It can also remove dampness, promote urination, and improve eyesight. It's also high in vitamins and minerals, which is very good for the body."

Huo Yizhou nodded and said, "It's both delicious and nutritious, which is quite rare."

Su Tangtang nodded with a smile, "Yes."

Three or four days later, Su Tangtang and her group finally finished pulling up all the weeds in the field.

Then, it was time for the cotton to be pollinated. Around eight o'clock in the morning, everyone went to the field to pick the male parent flowers.

Around noon, an experienced cotton grower came to teach everyone how to demast and pollinate cotton plants.

"Look, everyone, use the nail of your right thumb to gently cut into the gap between the petals and slowly peel off the petals and the entire stamen tube," the master explained while skillfully performing the operation. "You must be careful with the force; don't use too much force, or you may damage the ovary."

Then, he picked up a male flower and gently rubbed it on the stigma of the pistil. "That completes the pollination."

As soon as he finished speaking, he peeled off the petals and stamen tube completely. He looked up and asked, "Did you get it?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

So everyone started to work on it.

At first, some people didn't control their strength well and accidentally chipped off a small piece of the ovary, while others broke off the head of the pillar.

The farmer was heartbroken. Although it wasn't cotton he had grown himself, farmers always feel a sense of regret when they see their crops damaged.

He reminded everyone, "You must go slowly and be careful, otherwise it will be a waste. Moreover, a male flower can only pollinate three or four pistils at most."

As he spoke, he inspected everyone's work.

"Not bad," the chef praised Su Tangtang for peeling the fruit neatly and properly.

Su Tangtang smiled and continued what she was doing.

Then the master walked over to Meng Meng and saw that none of the cotton flowers she peeled were intact. He frowned and said, "It's okay to go a little slower, but you must peel them properly, otherwise it will seriously affect the future growth of the cotton."

A hint of displeasure flashed through Meng Meng's mind, but she still smiled and replied, "Okay."

An hour later, everyone had basically mastered the pollination method. However, not many male flowers had been collected in the morning, so they did not go to their own fields to work that day. The next morning, everyone spent the whole morning collecting male flowers, and the pollination work did not officially begin until the afternoon.

It's already July, the hottest time of the year. After working in the fields for just a short while, my clothes were already soaked with sweat.

"It's so hot..." Meng Meng couldn't help but complain.

She looked around, but all she could see was an endless cotton field and her boyfriend, Ke Tangshu.

Ke Tangshu said softly, "You should rest for a while."

Meng Meng replied without hesitation, "Okay."

As she spoke, she didn't care whether the ground was clean or not, and sat down directly. She then picked a relatively large cotton leaf and used it as a fan.

Although the fan didn't provide much coolness, it was at least a slight breeze. She sat there for over an hour, until the photographer couldn't bear to watch any longer and reminded her to keep working.

Meng Meng reluctantly stood up and slowly resumed her work.

-

Looking at Huo Yizhou, who was engrossed in his work, Su Tangtang couldn't help but say, "Brother Zhou, take a break."

She discovered that no matter what he did, Huo Yizhou was always exceptionally serious and focused, never stopping, and never complaining of being tired or suffering.

She took out a wet wipe from her pocket, wiped the sweat from her face, and when she saw Huo Yizhou stop what he was doing, she went over and handed him one.

"Look how hot you are, Brother Zhou," Su Tangtang said, looking at him covered in sweat.

Huo Yizhou was slightly taken aback by the way she addressed him. It wasn't until she called him again and handed him a wet wipe that he came to his senses and said softly, "Thank you."

Su Tangtang laughed, "You're welcome, Brother Zhou."

She suddenly felt that calling him "Huo Yizhou" directly seemed too formal, while "Yizhou" was something she could say in front of people but didn't feel quite natural, so she came up with this way of addressing him.

Surprisingly, the way he called him "Brother Zhou" came out very naturally.

She liked to call him that herself. Huo Yizhou's gaze swept over her sun-reddened cheeks, and he said softly, "Why don't you come later tomorrow? Three or four in the afternoon is the hottest time of day."

Su Tangtang exclaimed "Ah!" and quickly shook her head, "No need, no need, we'll do it together."

"It's really too hot. If we keep going in this sun, we might get heatstroke."

As she spoke, she brought over two bottles of drinks prepared by the production team and handed one to Huo Yizhou.

Su Tangtang unscrewed the bottle cap, tilted her head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Then she tightened the bottle cap, looked at the watermelon vines on the ground and said, "The watermelons we planted are growing quite well, the vines are very long, and they've all blossomed."

Huo Yizhou nodded, "It will be a while before we can eat it."

Su Tangtang sighed, "If only it could ripen now, we could sit by the field and eat watermelon when we're tired. It would be so satisfying to take a bite right now."

Huo Yizhou looked at her, "Want to eat watermelon?"

Su Tangtang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's been a long time since I've had this."

Huo Yizhou said gently, "I'll buy it for you later."

Su Tangtang replied with a smile, "Okay, Brother Zhou."

She called him that sweetly and naturally, and Huo Yizhou liked it very much when she called him that.

After a short rest, the two continued working. As Su Tangtang worked, she said, "We've been here for more than two months, haven't we?"

Huo Yizhou replied, "More or less."

Su Tangtang wiped her sweat. "Time flies so fast, but it hasn't rained at all. It feels like the ground is about to crack from drought."

Huo Yizhou agreed, saying, "If it doesn't rain soon, the corn will stop growing. Let's observe it for a few more days, and if it really doesn't grow well, we'll have to water it."

Su Tangtang nodded, "Yes, I really hope it rains soon."

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and for the next five or six days, not a drop of rain fell.

In five days, Su Tangtang and her team completed pollination of three acres of land, which was a lot of work compared to other groups.

Zhou Yan's group completed two and a half acres.

The fewest were Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu. Meng Meng found ways to slack off every day, leaving only Ke Tangshu to work diligently. Ultimately, one person's strength could not match the efficiency of two people working together.

With the weather remaining extremely hot, everyone's enthusiasm for work is waning day by day.

"I really don't want to get out of bed today," Lin Lang said, walking very slowly.

Su Tangtang sighed, "Me too, it's hot and I'm exhausted."

Qu Xian looked up at the sky, "It just won't rain."

Gu Qingke pointed to the side and said, "Look, the corn in the field is all wilted."

Looking out into the fields, everyone could see that some villagers had already started watering the corn.

Shen Yingying asked, "Shouldn't we water them too?"

Gu Qingke nodded, "Yes."

“It’s too difficult,” Zhou Yan couldn’t help but complain. “I really have the urge to quit right now.”

Meng Meng even cried out, "Ahhh, I can't take it! I want to leave!"

If it weren't for the contractual obligations that require paying a penalty for unilateral withdrawal, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on any longer.