Zhao Qingyun rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a small stool, and sat down to pack. Grandma Jiang, being elderly and having a bad back, helped hand him the boxes.
Xu Lai called on everyone she could, and soon all the fruit was packed. By then, the logistics company had closed for the day, and Xu Lai planned to contact them again the next day to pick it up.
Zhao Qingyun carefully examined the outer packaging of the grapes. Xu Lai's drawing was quite good, and the color scheme was eye-catching. It would be a very presentable gift.
She ordered a lot of these packaging boxes so that customers who picked the fruit on-site could have them packaged like this as gifts, and the peaches would be packaged the same way.
Business has been booming in the village lately. The vegetables in the fields that we couldn't even finish eating before are now not enough to meet demand. Many people buy a bag to take home after they've eaten them.
Every time my grandparents go out, people praise them, saying they have a good granddaughter who brings them honor.
She hired someone to watch over the orchard; whenever someone came, they would pick the fruit and give it to her in a basket, then weigh and pack it.
She made the fruit from her village increasingly popular, and it became famous throughout the county. As long as people saw the packaging box, they would know that it was fruit produced in Shangxi Village, which attracted even more customers.
Xu Lai finally got a break, and on a sunny morning, he took his machete and went up the mountain.
The Litsea cubeba trees she had seen before were still there. As she walked up the mountain, the trees became more and more lush. Xu Lai cut a path, specifically looking for trees with yellow leaves.
She cut off all the branches of those trees. This tree has an exceptionally strong growth ability. Even if you cut it down to just a stump this year, it will grow wildly again next year.
She stacked all the branches together, cut a tea tree branch to place underneath, and pulled on both ends to tie the bundle of branches together. Then she twisted the branches together to make it very secure, and it wouldn't come loose no matter how much she shook it.
Xu Lai tied two large bundles together, then cut a tree branch to use as a stick, stuck the bundles in, lifted them up, then stuck the other half in, and carried them down the mountain.
When she came down the mountain, the sun had just risen. She had been in the mountains for a while and was covered in dust and leaves. Luckily, she was wearing clothes that her mother didn't want anymore.
Xu Lai was walking home when she saw a well-dressed girl pulling a suitcase and making a phone call. No one seemed to be answering. She looked around, trying to find someone to ask for directions.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around, glanced at Xu Lai's attire, and asked, "Auntie, could you tell me how to get to the village committee of Shangxi Village?"
Xu Lai was stunned, thinking, "Auntie? Does she look that old?"
Seeing that she was ignoring her, Qin Huan got a little angry. "I just asked for directions, why are you ignoring me?"
Xu Lai pointed ahead and said, "Are you calling me? Please figure out who Auntie is first, okay?"
She walked past her, reached the front door, pushed it open, and finally could put down the things on her shoulders, which were chafing painfully.
Xu Lai took off her sun protection mask, and Qin Huan saw her face clearly. She felt a little embarrassed. This was not an aunt at all, but a young lady of similar age to her.
She stepped forward and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I thought your clothes looked like something your mother would wear, and I didn't see your face clearly, so..."
Xu Lai looked down at her clothes. They were originally her mother's clothes, and they did look quite like her aunt's. Well, she couldn't blame her; it was her fault.
Xu Lai asked, "You look unfamiliar. You're not from our village, are you? What are you doing at the village committee?"
Qin Huan smiled and said, "It'll be soon. Let me introduce myself. I'm Qin Huan, the newly arrived village secretary."
Xu Lai said "Oh," and pointed to the house not far ahead, saying, "It's right in front. This house is blocking the way, but you'll see the red flag after walking a few steps. That's the village committee."
Qin Huan thanked him, pulled her suitcase and left, while Xu Lai fanned herself and went inside to take a shower.
After taking a shower, changing her clothes, and drying her hair, Xu Lai felt like she had come back to life. When she went downstairs, her grandparents were already there picking Litsea cubeba.
Xia Ning was filming from the side, and Xu Lai moved a stool over and sat down. Xia Ning pointed the camera at her and said, "Our leading lady has arrived."
Xu Lai laughed and scolded, "What's wrong with you?"
Xia Ning put the camera on the tripod, then picked up a twig and asked, "Is this Litsea cubeba?"
Xu Lai nodded, "I'll pick them all and make you something delicious."
Xia Ning took a sniff and almost fainted from the stench. "This stuff smells really strong."
Xu Lai wore gloves. The petioles of the Litsea cubeba have a brown sap that turns black under the fingernails if picked for too long and cannot be washed off.
Every branch was covered with litsea plants. Xu Lai first pulled off the leaves, then turned the branch upside down, and the litsea plants were easily pulled off.
It took the group almost an hour to clean the pile of branches. Sometimes there were small caterpillars on the branches, which made Xia Ning scream and quickly throw them away. Xu Lai was wearing gloves, so the insects couldn't touch her and she wasn't so afraid.
After picking the litsea plants, remove the branches and leaves, wash them twice with water, remove and discard the bad fruits floating on the surface, and let the good ones air dry in a cool place.
After the moisture evaporates, you can heat the oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, put the Litsea cubeba into the wok and fry it. It only took two minutes for the smell to come out, and it was extremely pungent. Xia Ning, who was filming, immediately covered her nose and ran away when she smelled this.
Once the Litsea cubeba seeds are lightly browned, turn off the heat. Some people leave the seeds and oil in the oil, but Xu Lai didn't want to eat anything grainy, so she used a strainer to scoop them all out.
Once the oil has cooled slightly, it can be stored in an oil jar and sealed. When you want to use it, you can take it out to cook.
She bought some small red chilies at the market, washed them, chopped them together with ginger and garlic, put them in a pan with cold oil, and stir-fried them until the oil was boiling. Then she added Sichuan peppercorns and simmered them together for a few minutes before serving and letting them sit overnight.
After finishing her work here, she prepared to cook lunch. She planned to make a beer-braised duck and stir-fried eggs with chives. The chives in the field had been harvested several times, but after a rain, they grew back.
She was just about to cook when she heard someone outside shouting, "Collecting recyclables, collecting duck and goose feathers!"
When Xu Lai was tidying up, she saw that there were still a few bags of duck feathers in the house, so she turned off the stove, ran out and shouted, "Hey, wait a minute, I have duck feathers in the house."
She added, "Do you collect chicken feathers?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "I'll take it, but the price won't be high."
Xu Lai first pulled out all the cardboard and plastic bottles and put them in the yard; they had all been tidied up by her grandfather.
Then she went to get the duck and goose feathers hanging on the wall. The goose feathers were left over from the New Year. She didn't even open them to look at them, and just gave them to him.
The man took out a scale, put the waste on it, and said, "16.5 jin, 4 mao per jin, duck and goose feathers are 3 yuan a bag, chicken feathers are 1 yuan."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
