Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Strawberry and Pear Juice
August 14th.
Wednesday.
It's time for one of the three times a week to set up the stall.
Jiang Heng brought a lot of goods this time.
Lettuce, spinach, large tomatoes, small tomatoes, cucumbers, old guests mushrooms, goat milk, blueberries, crayfish, fish, and... new guests strawberries!
The long-awaited strawberries are finally ripe.
This season is not suitable for strawberry growth, but Jiang Heng likes to eat strawberries and has found an improved variety that can be grown all year round, so he planted 100 square meters. This kind of strawberry can grow in a high temperature environment below 35 degrees. When the temperature was extremely high a while ago, Jiang Heng used spiritual power to help cool it down. After many spiritual rain irrigations, it finally matured two days ago.
This variety is not big, but not small either. It is about half the size of a palm. It is a little longer than ordinary strawberries, but not as fat as ordinary strawberries.
Yesterday morning was the first harvest.
The quantity is not large, and because it is off-season, the high temperature still affects the yield. In addition, the strawberry yield is not high. On the first day of picking yesterday, less than five kilograms were picked from a hundred square meters of land.
It is the smallest of all cultivated fruit and vegetable crops.
Because there were too few, on the first day, except for one kilogram that was given away by Xiao Han from the surveillance installation team, most of the remaining four kilograms were eaten by Jiang Heng, Jiang Peng and Xiao Xiao. Chen Aying and Shen Li came over to taste two, and when they were asked to eat more, they all waved their hands.
Too little, leave it to the children.
They won't rob.
Today is the second day, and I harvested a little more, 12 kilograms!
Congratulations!
Because these fruits are to be sold, the ripe ones will easily rot if they are slightly bumped. In order to reduce this situation, Jiang Heng bought special fruit packaging boxes in advance, weighed them at home, and packed them in boxes of half a pound each, at thirty yuan a box.
Simple and crude, easy to sell.
The price is 60 yuan per pound, which is cheaper than blueberries, because she plans to replant other seasonal varieties of strawberries in early September, such as Hongyan, Zhangji, and Snow White.
One is the most widely grown strawberry on the market, one is a strawberry that tastes better but is softer and harder to transport, and the other is the more niche white strawberry.
The price will naturally be different by then.
Considering that the reservation threshold has now become 200 yuan, many families with many family members will not come to buy on purpose most of the time. If there are any changes when Jiang Heng sets up the stall, he will announce it in the group, so this has led to an unprecedented number of people coming to wait today!
The stall was originally set up at a spacious intersection, and at this moment, thirty or forty people were gathered here. As soon as Jiang Heng's car came over, someone pointed at this side, and then the gathered customers quickly looked over.
“Here it comes!”
"It's a few minutes early today!"
"Make way, make way, let the boss's car come over!"
"Remember to queue up, I heard there aren't many strawberries left!"
The guests were bustling with activity.
The stall owners around were looking at this place with envy. Fortunately, Jiang Heng's prices were high and the variety was not large. They bought some other dishes from the stalls nearby when they came. Although the stall owners felt jealous, they were only jealous for a while.
Jiang Heng expertly maneuvered the car into the basket, facing outward. He then turned off the engine, got out, climbed onto the basket, and began to unload. The customers in the queue ahead enthusiastically helped, and as baskets of fruits and vegetables were unloaded, the crowd exclaimed, "Wow, those are real strawberries!"
"Out-of-season strawberries? I don't think they'll taste as good as in-season ones."
"It's good to have something to eat. This quantity looks so small. Do you have ten boxes?"
"I remember I bought an out-of-season watermelon last year. It tasted really good, so sweet."
"Pfft, forget about the overly sweet watermelon. The best ones are sweet but not greasy. The ones that are so overly sweet I even wonder if they have saccharin added."
"Yes, yes, these things are not necessarily better the sweeter they are. I think summer watermelon is the best. It's sweet and refreshing."
"I can smell strawberries..."
They are all familiar guests and can chat with each other.
Jiang Heng listened with a raised brow.
Can you smell this?
But it is true that the fruity aroma of strawberries is much stronger than many vegetables with light flavors.
*
The baskets were almost all moved, leaving some in the car. Jiang Heng wiped her hands and greeted the customers, "I'm sorry, there aren't many strawberries left, so we can't taste them this time. For your convenience, I packed them in advance. A box is half a pound, 30 yuan, and there are only 20 boxes left. I'll give you a taste. Please line up first."
Twenty boxes, each box weighs half a pound, which is ten pounds.
Jiang Heng kept the remaining two pounds of meat which were more cooked, and ate them himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud noise.
The guests stood up immediately.
Especially those at the front of the line, who were afraid that their seats would be inexplicably moved back a few places, and they stared vigilantly at any guest next to them who was trying to move forward.
Someone else grumbled, "Didn't you say out-of-season fruit isn't tasty? Why are you still trying to squeeze in with me?"
"That's grown by someone else. The ones grown by Boss Jiang must be delicious!"
“…”
When Jiang Heng heard this, her eyes curved. Word of mouth had already risen!
She looked at the regular customer at the front of the line and asked, "Hello, what would you like to buy?"
"First, a box of strawberries, two pounds of crayfish, and four heads of lettuce..." Li Ruqin ordered several things in one breath, with a painful expression on her face. But when she thought of her daughter who was already on the way back, she felt that she could accept it. She just muttered in her heart, why didn't these strawberries ripen two days earlier?
Today is Wednesday.
Two days later is fine.
It just happened to be the weekend, so my daughter could be at home and I wouldn't have to rush back home after get off work and drive back again late at night after dinner like I do now.
Currently, they buy groceries from the boss once a week, ordering them on Saturday mornings, and eat them for two days, just enough for my daughter to have enough food before going to work. But today they have strawberries! And crayfish!
The boss said that there are not many crayfish now and they are not big, so he only plans to sell them for the last time.
Of course I had to come over quickly so that my daughter could eat it first.
Jiang Heng quickly packed the items the customer wanted and said with a smile, "A total of two hundred and forty-five yuan."
There are not enough green onions left and the new ones haven’t grown yet, so they can’t be given away as gifts.
Keep the rest for yourself.
Now I have to cook for more than ten people, and the daily consumption of green onions alone is quite a lot.
Li Ruqin paid and took her small bag. Looking at the spoils filled with them, she smiled contentedly. She left the line and took out her phone to text her daughter, "I bought some crayfish and strawberries! Alas, I can't try the strawberries, but I saw they were bright red, and I could smell them through the box. They must be pretty good."
She spoke quite loudly. Feng Die was just passing by and happened to hear her. She subconsciously stopped her electric bike and looked at the long queue next to her. She saw that on top of the basket in front of the boss were boxes of bright red strawberries.
The transparent plastic packaging box allows you to clearly see the appearance of the strawberries.
Oh shit!
It's strawberry!
Her favorite is strawberries!
I glanced at the price again, thirty yuan a box.
There are about twelve of them, not as big as those polyploid strawberries, but they look very good. They are out of season, so what is there to be picky about?
Feng Die immediately found a place to park and went to queue up.
As she ran over, she saw three people jogging towards her. Seeing that their target was this side, she immediately quickened her pace. There didn't seem to be many strawberries in the basket, and she didn't know if there would be any by the time it was her turn.
Sure enough, within two seconds of standing still, a few more people appeared behind him.
One of them was panting and complaining to his companions: "We are late. There are so many people here. I don't know if it will be my turn!"
"Didn't I tell you to leave early?!"
"I want to, too. Isn't it the boss who won't let me go?!"
As Feng Die listened, her already uneasy mood became even more uneasy. This was not the first time she bought something from Boss Jiang. In fact, their county town was so small, and Boss Jiang was so popular nowadays that even people who usually didn't want to spend so much money on food had heard of her stall.
She also bought it once or twice out of curiosity, but the price was a bit expensive, so she was very restrained.
After all, you can buy cheap vegetables.
But today I came across strawberries!
I can't walk at all.
One, two...
Seeing the customers in front of her buying and leaving one after another, and feeling that many of them had a box of strawberries in their bags, she became even more nervous. Could it be that she really couldn't buy any?
There are eight people left and three boxes of strawberries.
Feng Die counted them, her heart sank, and she kept praying: Don’t buy it, don’t buy it!
One didn’t buy, two didn’t buy, the third bought… the sixth bought, the seventh didn’t buy, the eighth didn’t buy!!!
It's her turn!
*
Feng Die's voice was so loud with surprise: "Hello, a box of strawberries!"
Jiang Heng handed over the last box of strawberries and said with a smile, "Hello, thirty yuan."
Feng Die: "Turn around!"
I really bought it, happy.
It was the two people behind her who groaned in unison when they heard her ask for strawberries.
"The strawberries are gone, and the crayfish are gone too. I can't eat them today, wuwuwu..."
The two girls hugged each other and cried bitterly.
Feng Die felt a little sorry for what she saw. She was about to leave, but after thinking about it, she stopped. When the two people bought some vegetables and walked out of the line, she called out to them, "Do you want to try this strawberry?"
Wang Miaoyuan and Yu Gui were both stunned: "Huh?"
"No, no, we didn't make it in time. We'll just go earlier next time."
They all felt a little embarrassed, thinking that it was their complaints that made the previous buyer feel uneasy.
Feng Die quickly said, "It's okay, try it. I just ran a little faster to catch up. If you didn't buy any, you can try it. There are still quite a few."
She was very enthusiastic and indeed a little embarrassed, so she took the initiative to share.
When the box was opened, a strawberry that was completely red from tip to bottom appeared in front of the two people, and the pleasant strawberry fragrance quickly swept over them.
The other party also handed the strawberries to the two of them.
Wang Miaoyuan and Yu Gui looked at each other, blushing but still taking one: "Thank you."
Yu Guidao said: "The boss will set up a stall the day after tomorrow. We will definitely come early. Then you can come and eat at ours."
"Hahaha, okay."
Feng Die smiled heartily, said nothing more, and waved: "I'm leaving first, bye."
"Bye~"
The two also waved strawberries and said goodbye to her.
After the others left, the two walked back together. Looking at the strawberries in his hand, Wang Miaoyuan put them into his mouth and said, "Just eat them. It won't make you sick if they're not clean. Anyway, these at the boss's are probably pesticide-free."
"That's right." Yu Gui thought it made sense and ate it too.
Wow, take a bite.
Fully ripe strawberries have thin skin and are juicy. The outer flesh is softer and tenderer, while the inside is a little crispier. As your teeth apply force, the abundant juice rushes into your mouth, and the tip of your tongue is immediately covered by the sweet taste of strawberries.
A hint of sourness seemed to confirm that they were indeed strawberries.
The rich fragrance filled the nose and mouth. After taking a sip, the two looked at each other, their expressions becoming more painful.
These strawberries are so sweet and fragrant, they don’t feel like out-of-season fruits at all.
After tasting it, I want to eat more!
Feng Die, who had no idea that she had made the two greedy girls even greedier, was already feeling very happy. The first thing she did was to wash the strawberries.
Add starch and salt, stir, and then rinse carefully.
The few ten strawberries were divided into two parts. One part was put in the refrigerator and would taste better when it was frozen cold at night. The other part was eaten now.
Just take a big sip.
Eat the whole strawberry, leaving only the small stem.
The tender flesh was squeezed in the mouth, and the tip of the tongue quickly tasted the expected sweet juice. It was sweet, but not overly sweet. There was enough juice to make the sweetness with fruity aroma just right, refreshing and not greasy.
Ahhhh!
So delicious!
It is worthy of being her favorite strawberry, and worthy of being Boss Jiang!
It was worth her fear while waiting in line!!!
——
At the same time.
Gu Shufang picked up the child.
By the time we arrived at the community, it was already past six o'clock.
I happened to meet the courier and got my package.
The thing is heavy.
When she asked him what he bought, he refused to tell her and insisted that it was a surprise for her.
I thought my husband went to a mountain town and the food was particularly delicious. Could it be the dried food specialty there?
The child had been sick on and off for a week, and had been using the air conditioner. But he couldn't sleep at all without it. The child was afraid of heat, and even the air conditioner temperature was too high. Gu Shufang herself was also very troubled. She didn't think much about the express delivery, and took it and went back with her son who was still coughing.
My mental state is fine, but I have a severe cough.
When they got home, Gu Shufang asked him to take the medicine first and then eat.
The meals are also very light.
However, she had just returned from outside and was still very hot, so she had no appetite and opened the package first.
When I opened the package, I could faintly smell a sweet fruity aroma.
It looks like a strawberry and a pear.
It's normal to have pears in this season, but strawberries?
In a greenhouse?
How expensive is it? Where did he buy it?
Didn’t you say you were in the village all day long?
Gu Shufang complained in her heart, but she also put on a smile. The main reason was that she liked eating strawberries, and her husband specially sent them by express delivery, which must be because he thought she liked them.
When I opened it, I saw several items wrapped in foam in the middle.
Unpack them one by one and place them on the coffee table.
A box of strawberries, not many, probably about one pound.
Four pears, small sand pears that are still very small and don’t look very good.
Then two heads of lettuce? A pound of cherry tomatoes?
Apart from the strawberries, the rest left her confused.
Were you worried that she wouldn't be able to buy lettuce and cherry tomatoes, so you sent them to her?
Gu Shufang was bewildered, but soon realized something. She had told her husband about her son's cough and would call him every day to ask if he was feeling better. He still hadn't recovered, so she probably bought the pear for her son to drink.
She didn't hesitate and took them to the kitchen, put the ones that needed to be refrigerated in the refrigerator, and boiled the pears directly into water.
I have a cough, so I should eat less sweets.
And although this pear doesn’t look very good, you can taste the sweetness from the pear fragrance, which should be enough.
"Mom, aren't you eating yet?" The little boy, about seven or eight years old, had been hungry for a long time. He wolfed down a few mouthfuls of food when he came back to fill his stomach. Then he found that his mother was still busy. He was about to say a few more words when he started coughing again. He tilted his head, covered his mouth, and coughed twice before the coughing subsided.
Gu Shufang explained, "Your father specially sent back a few pears. It must be because your cough hasn't gotten better. I cooked them first. They're just right for drinking after you finish eating them."
"Wow!" the son said in surprise. "Didn't Dad say we were going to the mountains? There are still pears there?"
Gu Shufang laughed and patiently explained, "There are so many delicious foods in the mountains. Doesn't your father say every day that the food is delicious? They say that if you live by the water, you can eat by the water; if you live by the mountain, you can eat by the mountain. This is not a lie."
The son tilted his head and asked, "Do you have pears, apples, oranges, and grapefruits?"
Gu Shufang: "Yes! But there may not be any in the mountains where your father went."
Her hands kept moving as she peeled the pear. The flesh was very rough, and the hard grains could be clearly felt when the knife blade passed through it. But as she cut it, the sweet aroma emanating from the tender white flesh became stronger. It was a pear that didn't look good, but it definitely tasted good.
The son smiled slyly: "I know there must be strawberries?!"
"Yes." Gu Shufang laughed, knowing that he had seen it: "Do you want to eat?"
"I want to! Cough cough cough..." He started coughing again after saying just two sentences.
Gu Shufang's smile faded. She was afraid that if she continued coughing, it would develop into pneumonia.
She only cooked one of the four pears.
My son can't drink too much by himself.
She washed the pears, put them in a glass kettle at home, added a pot of water and started to boil. She washed her hands and hurried to eat. After a while, the water boiled, and the fruit fragrance that had disappeared when it was submerged gradually emerged.
The whole house seems to be immersed in this light sweet smell.
She was so distracted that she didn't even think about strawberries.
But why are there still strawberries in this season?
I was busy eating, and my husband's place should be full of people eating at this time, so I didn't contact him immediately.
*
After finishing the meal, Gu Shufang washed the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, and prepared the pear juice.
There was only a large bowl left from the original large pot of soup, which smelled fragrant and sweet. Gu Shufang hesitated for two seconds, then picked up a piece of pear with chopsticks to taste it first.
The flesh had been cooked soft, but the unpleasant graininess could still be tasted. However, when she put it in her mouth, she paid more attention to the taste. Just like the sweet smell she smelled, the tip of her tongue also tasted a very refreshing sweetness, sweet but not greasy, and the aroma was pleasant.
It's eye-catching.
This ugly thing is really good!
It's just a little hot.
She took it to her son's room, helped him with his homework first, and waited for it to cool down before drinking it.
When I went in, I saw my son chopping erasers.
Gu Shufang was speechless: "Ahem!"
The son sat up straight in an instant: "Mom!" He smiled ingratiatingly, but couldn't help coughing twice: "I just encountered a problem I couldn't solve. Mom, is this pear juice? I want some first?"
Don’t want to do homework!
Especially when my throat is uncomfortable, it is even more difficult to concentrate.
Gu Shufang sighed: "It's still hot. Wait a minute, what's wrong? I'll tell you."
It is true that when it comes to homework, the mother and son easily become enemies. Considering that her son is still sick, she endured it, took the homework book, took a look at it, and began to explain it to her based on the case that the teacher taught in today's lecture.
I barely cooperated and completed half of it.
The child couldn't help it and wanted to rest again: "Mom, it's cold and I'm thirsty."
Gu Shufang had no choice but to bring the bowl over.
The child took it. The pear juice was light yellowish-brown, but extremely clear and exuded a sweet fragrance. He liked it very much.
When I first said I wanted to drink, it wasn’t just to divert my mother’s attention.
I finally got to drink it and took a big gulp.
Take a sip.
It is sweet, with the unique flavor of pear, and tastes particularly refreshing and comfortable.
The warm water slid into his throat, and the moist feeling in his throat made him subconsciously drink another sip, and then another sip...
I drank most of it in one breath.
It wasn't long since I finished dinner, and I drank so much that my stomach was bloated. I couldn't drink any more, so I put it down with a feeling of unfulfilled desire.
Finally, lick your lips.
The remaining sweetness made the little boy sigh in satisfaction: "It tastes so good!"
Gu Shufang was speechless: "Oh."
There's really no need to drink so much just to divert attention, although the pear juice does taste good.
After drinking, the child seemed to be more focused when doing his homework.
I don’t know if it’s Gu Shufang’s illusion, but he coughs less frequently?
After he finished his homework, he was asked to drink the remaining half bowl of water, filling his stomach with water, and then he was asked to take a shower. Only then did the couple start talking on the phone.
It was still early, around eight o'clock.
Xiao Han had been waiting for a long time, but he knew that his wife was helping his son with his homework, so he endured it. He couldn't disturb her at this time. A child who didn't want to do homework might pester him to chat for a long time.
Finally the video call came and I answered it immediately.
"Wife!" Xiao Han called out expectantly, "Did you receive the things I sent?"
"Got it." Gu Shufang nodded and said in surprise, "It's ok for you to buy strawberries and pears, but why did you also buy lettuce and cherry tomatoes? Are you worried that I won't be able to buy vegetables here?"
Xiao Han: "Didn't I say the food here is delicious? I want you to try it too."
It’s just a little expensive, so I’ll buy some first and then some next time.
He couldn't wait to ask, "Have you eaten the strawberries? Are they delicious? I ate two, they were delicious!"
"Not yet." Gu Shufang was so busy that she had no time. When she was reminded, she immediately stood up and said, "I'll go eat it now. I forgot I had strawberries in the refrigerator. They should be cold now and taste better."
As she spoke, she walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out the strawberries. As soon as she moved, the refrigerator was filled with a pleasant sweet and sour strawberry aroma, which was completely different from the pear aroma just now. In addition, she could also smell some tomatoes and lettuce. Her attention was on the pear just now, and she moved quickly, so she didn't have time to smell the fragrance.
At this time, after these smells have dissipated from the refrigerator, they can be smelled very clearly.
Gu Shufang was surprised: "This doesn't smell like out-of-season strawberries?!"
"Hahaha, maybe the boss has good planting technology. I heard they use something called four-season planting, which means it can be planted all year round." Xiao Han laughed: "Not only does it smell good, you can eat it!"
Gu Shufang didn't eat it. She put her phone aside and rinsed the strawberries first.
Xiao Han: "No need to wash it so thoroughly. Boss Jiang's vegetables are not sprayed with pesticides. They just rinse them with water and eat them directly."
"I know, but there may be some small bugs in these strawberries, so it's better to wash them thoroughly." Gu Shufang explained, but she did wash them more casually than usual. She soaked them in salt water, rinsed them with clean water, and then put them in her mouth.
These strawberries are not very big, which is consistent with the fact that they are out of season.
But the color is very beautiful, red from top to bottom, only the red at the tip is more vivid, the skin is firm and plump, and the thin peel is stretched to the extreme.
The kind she would definitely choose first when selecting strawberries in the supermarket.
And this whole pound is like this!
Especially the bright red tips of the strawberries, which make people's mouths water and want to take a bite.
Before Gu Shufang even left the kitchen, she had already put one to her mouth.
The strawberry was not big, so she could swallow it in one bite, but she preferred the pointed texture of the strawberry and didn't want the taste of the strawberry butt to be ruined, so she only bit half of it.
The skin of the strawberry is very thin, and once it is ripe, it will rot if you are not careful. At this moment, when you bite it with your teeth, you can clearly feel the thin skin being broken, exposing the tender flesh inside. It is also at this moment that the extremely sweet juice rushes in with a small amount of sourness.
The icy cold liquid gave Gu Shufang a shudder, but she was soothed by the rich sweetness the next second. The fruity aroma reached its peak when the flesh was broken.
Wow!
Very strawberry flavor!
"Is it delicious?" Xiao Han couldn't help swallowing his saliva when he saw his wife like this.
Strawberries are very expensive and out of season, 61 kilograms.
He originally planned to buy pears, but when he was talking to the boss about it at noon, he saw strawberries. Thinking that his wife liked to eat them, he immediately asked if he could buy some more strawberries. As for himself, he couldn't bear to buy any.
He was one of the people who signed up specifically because of the high salary. The pressures of the family mortgage, child-rearing expenses, car loan, and retirement expenses for both sets of parents fell on the two of them. If he had the chance to earn more, he would naturally earn more. As for spending money, he would rather avoid it if possible. Besides, the food at Boss Jiang's place was really good. He felt that he had gained a lot of weight in just over ten days. Compared to his wife and son, he did not get to eat such good food.
So after he bought them, he only tasted two and then packed them up and sent them by express delivery.
Gu Shufang chewed and chewed, no longer having time to speak, and nodded vigorously.
Biting the strawberry butt with a crispier texture, the flesh here is more crispy and the taste is just slightly lighter than the pointed part, but still sweet and delicious!
After eating several of them, my son, who had just come out of the bathroom, smelled the food and came over: "Mom, are you eating strawberries?!"
Gu Shufang: "Come, come, let's eat together."
"Great!" The child came over, picked up a strawberry and stuffed it into his mouth.
He bit off the tip of the bright red strawberry, revealing the soft, sweet and sour flesh: "So sweet, so delicious!!!"
The little boy's clear voice rang out in the living room. Gu Shufang nodded in agreement repeatedly, took another one, and squinted her eyes with joy.
So happy.
Eating cool and sweet strawberries in the hot summer~
The only one I can’t eat is Xiao Han: o(╥﹏╥)o
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The author has something to say: Good morning＼(￣︶￣)／
Fifty random red envelopes in this chapter~
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