They talked with her for half an hour, wanting to invite her to trace the origins of pomegranates in Huili, Sichuan, to help them sell their products.
This was the first time Xu Lai had received such an invitation, and she was genuinely surprised. After calming down and thinking it over, she felt it was worth going, since the other party had covered the food and accommodation expenses, and she only needed to pay for the travel expenses.
This is also a form of recognition for her; her short video account is becoming increasingly successful. Xu Lai rarely advertises in her videos, so her fans are very loyal and trust the products she sells.
She told Xia Ning about it, and Xia Ning was incredibly excited. "Xiao Lai, at this rate of development, becoming a major internet celebrity is just around the corner!"
Xu Lai laughed and said, "Don't joke around. What do you mean by 'internet celebrity'? This is also part of my job. It's my sense of accomplishment to make sure consumers can buy fresh fruit."
Xia Ning started the next topic: "So when are you going?"
Xu Lai glanced at the itinerary: "It'll be in the next few days, you can come along too."
Xia Ning was naturally happy to go. Since she returned, she hadn't been anywhere except to the county, and she was thinking about going out to play.
The two quickly booked train tickets. The area was relatively remote, with no airport and no direct high-speed rail service. They chose the nearest high-speed rail station and planned to take the highway there.
After arranging these things, Xu Lai felt much better and even had the leisure to water the flowers on the balcony.
She hadn't tended to the gardenia for a long time. It wasn't that she didn't water it, but rather that every time she wanted to water it, she found the soil was still quite moist. Although puzzled, she attributed it to the morning dew.
When she went outside with the watering can, she saw Zhao Qingyun watering her potted plants with a cup.
When he saw her come out, he slowly put the cup back and took a sip to ease the awkwardness.
Xu Lai's expression froze instantly. "You...drank the water used to water plants."
Zhao Qingyun choked and quickly explained, "Cough cough... I poured this water for myself to drink."
Xu Lai misunderstood him and exclaimed, "Why did you use the water you drank to water my flowers?"
Zhao Qingyun was truly unable to explain himself clearly, so he broke down his words into segments: "What I mean is, the water I took was the water I usually drink, but I didn't touch the water I used to water the flowers with my mouth."
Xu Lai said "Oh," and then said, "Who asked you to water the flowers for me? I was wondering why the soil always felt moist whenever I wanted to water the flowers."
Zhao Qingyun turned his face away: "Sometimes when I'm resting on the balcony, I feel it's a bit withered, so I just do it on a whim." He added, "I won't water it anymore."
Xu Lai immediately stopped him: "No, I really need you to help me water the plants for a few days. I have to go on a business trip."
Zhao Qingyun was somewhat surprised: "You've gone back to work?"
Xu Lai sighed, "I was making short videos, and I also bought some agricultural products. The merchants over there asked me to trace their origins."
Zhao Qingyun wasn't very familiar with this place, so he asked, "Which province is it in?"
"Sichuan, there's no direct high-speed rail to that place," Xu Lai sighed.
...
The next day, Xu Lai told her grandparents about her business trip in a couple of days. They thought she was going back to City B and were preparing to pack up the eggs at home for her to take with her.
Xu Lai hurriedly said, "I went to help someone sell things, and I'll be back in about a week."
Grandma knew she had been making short videos, and when she was invited to sell things, she was quite proud: "Grandma knew that no matter what you want to do, as long as you want to do it well, you will definitely succeed."
Grandma wasn't lying when she said that; she practically raised Xu Lai herself, watching her granddaughter leave the countryside step by step.
Xu Lai attended a middle school in town. The school environment was terrible; the students lived in mud houses and used public toilets.
At the time, her father said that if she didn't get into a top high school, he wouldn't let her continue her studies and she would have to go to the factory with them.
After listening, Xu Lai didn't say anything, but studied desperately and eventually got into the best high school in the county. She also boarded in the first year of high school. Later, because Xu Yan went to junior high school in the county, her family bought a house near the school, and she started to live in the dorms.
Grandma still feels ashamed. When Xu Lai went to university, she didn't have enough money to support her studies. Xu Lai worked part-time to support herself and completed her studies.
She worked for several years afterward and returned to the village this year. Although her grandmother was puzzled, she knew that Xu Lai must have encountered something.
Although Grandma wanted to ask, she was afraid of reminding her of those unhappy things, so she kept it to herself. Now that she sees her daughter doing better and better, she is truly happy.
As she was thinking, Grandma suddenly realized she had forgotten something. Then she looked at the pot and saw that the water had already started to boil, so she quickly scooped it out.
Grandma is brewing wine today. Xu Lai has always wanted to learn this craft, which Grandma learned from her mother-in-law, Xu Lai's maternal grandmother.
She also wanted to take over her grandmother's craft, so that the art of winemaking wouldn't be lost in their generation.
Xu Lai turned on the camera and learned as she filmed. Her grandmother placed a steamer basket in the pot of boiling water. The basket contained soaked glutinous rice, which was to be steamed until it was hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
Lay a plastic sheet on the ground, spread the steamed rice out on the ground to cool, crush the yeast and sprinkle it on the glutinous rice, and wait until it is completely cooled.
Prepare a large vat, put glutinous rice in it, and leave a large hole in the middle so that the wine can flow out better.
Cover it with a lid, cover it with a thick cotton quilt, and weigh it down with a stone. Then wait for it to ferment and leave the rest to time.
Xu Lai looked through the instructions and felt that it wasn't too difficult, but she couldn't quite get the amount of yeast right.
Grandma bought the yeast from the market, but she always wanted to find a kind of grass in the field and make the yeast herself.
Xu Lai felt that there was no better time than now, since the temperature wasn't high and it was the perfect time to go to the fields.
The grandfather and granddaughter discussed it and left with the basket. Xu Lai didn't know what to pick, so she just followed along.
Walking to a large patch of water plants, which contained many wild grasses that Xu Lai didn't recognize, her grandmother pointed to one of the plants and said, "That's it, smartweed."
Xu Lai: What kind of grass?
Grandma cut off a large patch with a sickle, and Xu Lai reached out and picked one. There was nothing special about it. To be honest, she thought it looked a bit like a caterpillar, and it didn't feel very comfortable to touch.
After picking a basketful, we took it home and removed the leaves and stems. Grandma washed it several times and was about to chop the smartweed flowers with a knife when Xu Lai called out, "Grandma, let's get the blender. How long will it take to chop this?"
She cleaned the machine, poured in the smartweed, and pressed the start button.
Grandma also said she wanted to grind rice, so Xu Lai took her bowl and went next door to borrow a stone mill.
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