Xu Lai smiled at the pond owner, but in his heart he was thinking that he definitely couldn't take his things for free, and planned to give him some money or things in exchange.
Xu Lai made braised chicken for lunch, and she specially bought chicken drumsticks and froze them in the refrigerator.
During the busy farming season, she also had to go to the fields to help, so she basically had no time to go to the market. Therefore, she prepared several days' worth of vegetables for that market day.
Xu Lai took out her phone to record a video. She said, "Today we're making braised chicken. We can prepare three or four chicken legs, potatoes, mushrooms, and some green peppers to add color."
She deboned the chicken legs, cut them into pieces, put them in a pot of cold water, added cooking wine and ginger, boiled them until the foam rose to the surface, skimmed off the foam and set them aside, and then prepared other side dishes.
"Cut the potatoes into chunks, remove the seeds from the peppers, and cut them into chunks." Xu Lai thought of a cooking tutorial she had watched before, where the blogger said, "Cut them into thick slices." Thinking of this, she smiled to herself.
"Next, we pour oil into the pot, and after the oil is hot, we add the blanched chicken pieces and stir-fry until they change color. Then we pour in the sauce, add the potatoes, and simmer over low heat."
While waiting, Xu Lai washed some greens. Once the other side was almost done, she threw in the green peppers, stir-fried them a few times, and it was ready to serve.
Then she went outside into the yard and called out loudly, "Grandpa and Grandma, come back for dinner! The food is ready!" Xu Lai's voice was clear and resonant.
She stood at the doorway, tilted her head slightly back, put her hands to her mouth to form a megaphone shape, and shouted with all her might, "Grandpa and Grandma, come back quickly, or the food will get cold."
Xu Lai recalled that when she was a child, whenever her grandmother cooked a meal while her grandfather was still busy in the fields, she would often call out in the yard. Sometimes, the neighboring grandfathers in the village would also chime in, and Xu Lai would cover her mouth and giggle.
"Okay, we're coming right now," Grandpa replied with a smile.
After calling out, she went back to stir-fry the vegetables. Not long after, the two elderly people got up from the field and prepared to go home.
After Xu Lai finished stir-frying the last vegetable and served the rice, her grandparents had just finished washing their hands. She told them to eat quickly, rest for a while after eating, and then go transplant rice seedlings when the sun went down a bit in the afternoon.
The elderly couple worried that they wouldn't be able to finish planting the rice seedlings, and said, "Let's forget about it, I'll go to the field to pull up the seedlings later."
Xu Lai objected, "You two should rest. It's okay to go later. The weather is still quite hot, so don't get heatstroke."
Around 2 p.m., Xu Lai and her grandparents prepared to go to the fields, where people were busy planting rice seedlings in a green paddy field.
The farmers bent down, holding a handful of tender green rice seedlings in one hand and planting them in the soil with the other. Their movements were skilled and swift, as if they were one with nature. Each seedling was carefully placed in the right spot, ensuring it would thrive.
The rice paddies were filled with the scent of earth and the fresh fragrance of plants, creating a sense of tranquility and vitality. Farmers worked alongside them, chatting about the weather, the crops, and everyday family matters. Their faces beamed with simple smiles, revealing their love for the land and their hope for life.
Xu Lai felt that agriculture was a truly magical thing; you reap what you sow, "sow a grain of millet in spring, reap ten thousand grains in autumn."
Rice planting is not just physical labor, but also a way of communicating with nature. It bears witness to the diligence and wisdom of farmers and nurtures the miracle of life. On this green field, people create a better future with their own hands.
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