Just after the autumn harvest ended, a light rain began to fall.
At this time, Director Wei got up early and, seeing the light rain outside, remarked to Aunt Wei:
"Thanks to Master Zhong this year, none of our farm's tractors broke down. Otherwise, how could we have harvested all the grain before the rains came?"
"This rain-soaked grain absolutely must be covered up. If it's covered up, it can only be fed to the livestock, which would be a huge loss!"
Aunt Wei chuckled and said:
"Our family is even more grateful to Master Zhong. Not only did we not have to rush to harvest the wheat, but we also learned a skill to make a living!"
“Even our little Youliang follows Master Zhong around every day. I think he’ll learn this skill sooner or later!”
Thinking of this, Aunt Wei stopped sitting and chatting with Director Wei.
They got up and woke up their youngest daughter. The two of them put on raincoats and straw hats, each carrying a set, and went to Zhong Wanwan's house.
Before she even entered the room, Zhong Wanwan heard Wei Maisui's clear voice say:
"Master, it's drizzling, let's go up the mountain to pick mushrooms!"
Zhong Wanwan was sitting by the window, watching the pattering rain, when she asked in surprise:
"We don't wait until the rain stops to pick mushrooms, why are we going so early?"
Wei Maisui explained with a smile:
"Master, you don't understand. By the time the rain stops, the daylilies will be cold, and the mushrooms on the mountain will have been picked clean by others!"
"I brought the raincoat and straw hat, let's go!"
Zhong Wanwan still craved mushrooms; those small hazel mushrooms were delicious whether used to make mushroom sauce or stew.
However, climbing the mountain in the rain was really tiring, and her feet were covered in mud after walking. Zhong Wanwan was quite reluctant to go!
Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Xiaobaiyang say with great interest:
"Sister Mai, are there many hazel mushrooms on the mountain?"
Wei Maisui nodded and said:
"There are so many! If you go early after it rains, you can fill a whole basket!"
"I'll stir-fry half of it tonight, and dry half of the rest in the sun. I'll marinate the other half, rinse it with water later, and it'll taste just like fresh mushrooms—it'll be incredibly delicious!"
Little Poplar exclaimed excitedly:
"Sister Mai, take me with you, I want to go mushroom picking too!"
Zhong Wanwan quickly made the decision:
"Then you two, Wheat Ear and Little Poplar, go pick mushrooms with Aunt Wei. I won't go. I'm going to ask around to see if there are any leftover vegetables from the garden. I want to buy them!"
Aunt Wei asked, puzzled:
"The vegetables from the garden are green and don't taste very good, why are you collecting that stuff?"
Zhong Wanwan said with a smile:
"I want to harvest more and store them in my cellar. The vegetables from the garden aren't fully ripe yet, but most of them won't spoil in the cellar. They're not very good to eat now, but they'll be fresh vegetables in winter!"
"The remaining small pickled vegetables are salty, crunchy, and delicious, especially with corn porridge!"
"Otherwise, we'd get tired of eating the same cabbage, sauerkraut, potatoes, and radishes all winter!"
This was something Zhong Wanwan had planned long ago: to harvest more of these vegetables, in addition to storing some in the cellar.
Vegetables like green tomatoes, old cucumbers, old squash, and zucchini can all be stored in a cellar!
The small green beans, eggplant twists, daylily twists, and chili twists from the garden, as well as the pickled vegetables, are delicious with corn porridge in winter!
These things aren't like cooking, which requires good skills. Zhong Wanwan does these jobs that don't require skills very well!
Hearing Zhong Wanwan's words, Wei Maisui also felt a little hungry. She coaxed her aunt Wei:
"Mom, let's pickle some vegetables this year too. I'm so tired of eating mustard greens one meal and radish strips the next!"
Aunt Wei glared at Wei Maisui and said:
"What's wrong with mustard greens and radish strips? I haven't seen you eat less of them!"
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