Chapter 107 Continuous autumn rains prevent water from draining, and over time, tree roots...
At midnight, the lights were still on inside the goji berry farm.
Yu Xiaoyue yawned as she lay on the sofa watching TV, her belly protruding, looking about six or seven months pregnant.
After the baby in her belly entered its sixth month, she finally stopped feeling nauseous and was able to eat properly again.
Ji Feng was massaging her swollen calves. After lying down for a while, she started to crave food again.
Yu Xiaoyue: "Do you still have the handmade spicy strips that Huijun gave me a few days ago?"
"It's gone."
"Then give me a bag of Aunt Yuhua's fried dough twists."
Ji Feng said helplessly, "This one is gone too."
Yu Xiaoyue sat up and sighed, then looked like she was about to cry again: "How can you be so useless? There's not even anything to eat at home."
Ji Feng stood up and rolled up his sleeves: "Just tell me what you want to eat."
"Hot and sour rice noodles, extra spicy, extra numbing, extra rice noodles."
Ever since she ate the hot and sour noodles that Chen Mian brought her, she has fallen in love with them and eats them almost every two or three days.
Ji Feng nodded silently, then turned and went into the kitchen.
Yu Xiaoyue lay back down contentedly and called out to the kitchen, "Honey, hurry up, I want some fresh noodles."
Ten minutes later, Ji Feng was still stirring the sweet potato starch paste, while the bone broth in the pot had already boiled.
Yu Xiaoyue, supporting her pregnant belly, leaned against the kitchen door: "Do you want some fried eggplant fritters, honey?"
Ji Feng replied without looking up, "We're out of eggplants at home, my dear. I'll make you some after get off work tomorrow."
After mixing the batter, he picked up the enamel bowl and walked towards the stove, but the movement aggravated the wound below.
He paused for a moment, then resumed walking normally.
Yu Xiaoyue, however, keenly noticed: "What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"
Ji Feng stubbornly shook his head and started cooking the noodles: "No, you're mistaken."
Seeing that he denied it, Yu Xiaoyue didn't think much of it and brought up another matter.
"The villa I bought for my son and Kapok is almost finished being renovated, and it's still registered in my name."
"I'm having trouble getting around right now, could you find someone to change my name to theirs?"
Ji Feng: "It's just a name, is it really that important?"
"Of course it's important. It was originally bought specifically for the young couple as their wedding home. What would it mean to put the mother-in-law's name on it?"
Yu Xiaoyue slapped the man in annoyance.
If she hadn't suddenly gotten pregnant, she wouldn't have needed to ask him for this.
The aroma wafting from the pot made Yu Xiaoyue's mouth water, and she moved from the kitchen doorway to the stove. "Can we eat now?"
"immediately."
After waiting for a full five "immediately" moments, Yu Xiaoyue finally got to eat the hot and sour noodles she had been longing for.
"Phew... It's so hot..." The rice noodles, fresh out of the pot, were still steaming hot when picked up with chopsticks.
Ji Feng took out another bowl and chopsticks, sat down, and manually helped his wife cool down the hot and sour noodles.
Today he made Yu Xiaoyue's customized version of hot and sour noodles, which included sweet potato noodles, bean sprouts, kelp strips, and her favorite ingredients such as chrysanthemum greens, pickled cabbage, fish balls, and sesame paste.
Ji Feng: How can hot and sour noodles made by Northeasterners not be considered authentic Northeastern spicy hot pot?
Halfway through the meal, Yu Xiaoyue directed her husband to take out a leftover roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) from the refrigerator.
A bite of rice noodles, a bite of roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and a sip of soup—that's what makes a seasoned foodie.
After finishing a bowl of chewy, smooth, fragrant, and spicy sweet potato noodles, Yu Xiaoyue happily closed her eyes and slowly leaned back in the soft chair, feeling dizzy from the meal.
Since learning of her pregnancy, Ji Feng has acted out of character, no longer working overtime and leaving get off work earlier than anyone else every day.
Furthermore, they covered all the corners of the tables in the house with foam, and even tied backrests and cushions to the chairs at the dining table, for fear that she might accidentally bump into something.
If Yu Xiaoyue hadn't stopped her, her motorcycle would almost have been sold.
Yu Xiaoyue: "This is my lifeline."
Ji Feng: "You are also my lifeline."
Middle-aged couples are most afraid of each other's health problems, let alone Yu Xiaoyue's pregnancy, which is a major event.
Even during her recent prenatal checkup, the doctor repeatedly emphasized that Yu Xiaoyue's physical condition was better than that of a young woman in her twenties, and that there would be no major problems with childbirth.
Ji Feng couldn't control his anxiety. In the late stages of pregnancy, he didn't even want to go to work anymore, and all he wanted to do was stay home and keep an eye on his wife.
The autumn rain continued for several days without stopping, and the air seemed to be filled with an endless amount of moisture.
As Ji Feng listened to the pitter-patter of rain outside the window, he felt increasingly irritable.
He rolled over in bed, which aggravated the wound below, and he hissed.
Surprisingly, Yu Xiaoyue was also awake; she would usually be dreaming by this time.
Yu Xiaoyue lay flat on the bed, touching her round belly: "Ji Feng, is there something you're hiding from me?"
His actions today were clearly suspicious.
Ji Feng guiltily pulled the blanket up to cover himself completely: "No, I didn't."
Yu Xiaoyue felt increasingly uneasy; this person must have done something to strain their back.
"You're not having an affair, are you? You're getting on in years, why are you still chasing after these trendy things?"
Ji Feng, both amused and exasperated, swore, "Really, no, you're pregnant, don't talk nonsense."
Yu Xiaoyue turned over, clutching her stomach, and faced Ji Feng. Under her persistent questioning, Ji Feng finally told the truth.
"I got my tubal ligation done." He said somewhat embarrassedly, his voice barely audible.
He didn't intend to let his family know about this; he always took leave from work and went to the hospital secretly by himself.
But who would have thought that first his son bumped into him at the hospital, and now his wife is chasing after him relentlessly.
Ji Feng pulled up the blanket and buried his face in it, his tone muffled: "Don't ask me anymore, wife. A man has his pride."
Before Yu Xiaoyue could even feel sorry for herself after the initial shock, she heard someone deliberately inform her, "The doctor said it won't affect your use, you just need to rest for a few days to allow the wound to heal."
Yu Xiaoyue: ...
Feeling a bit stuffy under the covers, Ji Feng poked his head out again and said awkwardly, "You don't need to feel sorry for me. You're willing to risk your life to have my child, so this is what I should do."
Yu Xiaoyue: You've said everything, what am I supposed to say...?
She mentally organized her thoughts, but before she could speak, her husband covered her mouth and forcibly interrupted her, saying, "Alright, go to sleep now, I'll make you eggplant fritters tomorrow."
.
"Get some rest, Mianmian. We can study the vocabulary tomorrow."
"No, there are tasks to complete tomorrow."
Under the dim light of the desk lamp, Chen Mian scribbled and drew in her notebook.
After returning from Mahemuti's house that day, she went to the city the next day and bought a set of English textbooks and tapes.
The current cooperation with Jalal is just the first step; sooner or later, she will personally sell the goods to foreigners.
Not all foreigners can communicate in basic Chinese like Jalal.
Instead of placing your hopes on others, it's better to rely on your own efforts.
It's been raining non-stop for the past few days, so she can't do any work in the fields. She spends her days memorizing vocabulary words in the morning and evening, and practicing her spoken English with tapes during the day.
As a result, other family members can also recite a few simple English phrases.
Chen Mian propped her head up with one hand, a pencil clenched in her mouth, and looked up at her husband: "Do you think Maihemuti will come?"
"meeting."
Ji Yu did some calculations for Maihemuti. If the money he could earn now was one, then the money he could earn from exports could be tens or even hundreds.
He draped the coat he was holding over Chen Mian's shoulders: "Even if he knows you schemed against him, he'll still come for the money."
"I hope so."
Lin Huijun and Yan Yuhua have already tried several jam recipes.
The apple sauce had an unexpectedly unique flavor, sweet and sour, and when spread on crispy toasted bread slices, the rich jam gave the ordinary bread a new dimension.
The fermentation of wine takes time, and like other jams, it can only wait until the following spring to discover its unknown deliciousness.
However, they accidentally discovered a local specialty juice, sea buckthorn juice.
Sea buckthorn berries, as the name suggests, grow in the desert. Their branches are covered with thorns, and the orange-red berries are tightly clustered together, like miniature grape bunches.
It tastes rather sour and astringent when eaten directly, but when crushed, mixed with warm water and honey, and juiced, it becomes a sweet and sour beverage.
Regular consumption of sea buckthorn juice can also help enhance the body's immune function and promote blood circulation and lower blood pressure.
Yan Yuhua really enjoys her current job; it's much more interesting than life back in her hometown.
Working on a farm allows you to meet people from other places, and you can even earn money by researching food at home.
Yan Yuhua fiddled with the tools in her hands: "Just how high-ranking is this researcher position that Mianmian appointed for me? How many people will he be in charge of?"
Lin Huijun was peeling grapes, and then crushing them in a glass jar: "If you don't mind the hard work, Mianmian will build a factory for you and ask you to be the factory manager."
Yan Yuhua chuckled, imagining the glory of being the factory director: "Of course I won't find it tiring."
After she finished speaking, she looked up at the gloomy weather outside the window, and the smile on her lips faded slightly.
The air hasn't been dry enough these past few days, and she was worried it would affect the fermentation of the fruit wine, so she had to remind her daughter to check it carefully after sealing it.
"Where are your dad and Yongliang? I haven't seen them for a while."
"The rain kept falling, and the two of them were worried, so they went to the farm to check the drainage."
In the peach orchard, Lin Shanhu and Chen Yongliang, father-in-law and son-in-law, were wearing heavy raincoats and black rain boots, constantly probing the depth of the drainage ditch with shovels in their hands.
Lin Shanhu, with one hand on his shovel, shouted, "Yongliang, when was this drainage ditch dug?"
"It's too shallow. The water accumulates around the tree and can't drain away. The roots will rot over time!"
Chen Yongliang walked over from a short distance and took a look. "These were dug up by the workers when the saplings were first planted."
Lin Shanhu made a mark on the ground, picked up a shovel, and walked around the farm.
He wiped the rain off his face: "There's too much; almost all the drainage ditches need to be dug again."
"What are we going to do now, Dad?" Chen Yongliang's heart sank. "I remember when these drainage ditches were first dug, we checked them one by one. How could this have happened..."
Lin Shanhu: "The wind and sand are strong here, so it's normal for it to become like this over time. We're supposed to check it every now and then."
Chen Yongliang touched the peach tree branches without saying a word; it was his oversight.
Lin Shanhu rubbed his hands together: "Luckily, the newly ordered saplings are still on their way. Let's get to work."
Do as much as you can today, and call a few more people to join us tomorrow.
"Once the water is drained, everything will be fine."
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The author says: I reflect on myself. I have had extra time lately, but I can only write 3,000 words a day. I am guilty.
Why can't people's brains work a little faster? I really want this to end! [crying][crying][crying]
I just want it to end, not the stars in the sky.
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