3 Chapter 3
Farming
It is noon and I am hoeing the field. Sweat drips onto the soil. [1]
If you ask who suffers the most, it must be Jiang Laowu.
Jiang Jingyun, the fifth child in the family, is currently working in the rice fields, shedding his sweat (and tears).
The sun in the fifth month of the lunar calendar is high in the sky, and it burns people so badly that it hurts.
Jiang Jingyun carried a heavy wooden barrel in his hand and kept bending down to spread fertilizer on the roots of the rice.
After a while, he began to feel sore in his back and waist, and sweat poured down. Even though he was wearing a robe that covered his arms, the sharp rice leaves still cut through his skin, not to mention that his clothes were soaked with sweat, which was really itchy and painful.
After gritting his teeth and persevering for a whole morning, Jiang Jingyun was as tired as a dead pig and collapsed on the edge of the field, unable to move.
Seeing this, the elder and second brothers Jiang couldn't help but joked, "How can the scholar be so weak? You should go and have a rest nearby. Jinglin should also go. There is not much work left. I can finish it in two afternoons."
Jiang Jingyun did not try to be stubborn and let them laugh at him. He pulled Jinglin to sit down on the edge of the field and gulped down several gulps of water before he caught his breath.
He was so tired that his eyes were dull and he stared ahead with lifeless eyes: two days ago, when he learned that there was only a little land left at home, he was very panicked. Now, looking at this large rice field, he felt pain all over his body. It’s not the hottest time of the day yet, but just applying fertilizer is almost killing him. What will he do when the time comes to harvest?
A scholar is good for nothing. What our ancestors said makes sense.
Once a college student, Jiang Jingyun, now a weak scholar, Jiang Jingyun, so worried!
"Brother, look at the big snails we caught." An egg-sized snail was raised in front of Jiang Jingyun. The fishy smell of mud interrupted his melancholy.
"Huh? Such big snails, where did you pick them?" Jiang Jingyun came back to his senses, reached out to take the snail that his little sister almost raised to his nose, turned to look at her and the third brother, and found that the two of them had already filled half of the bamboo basket they brought with snails, each of them was incredibly big.
Jiang Jingyun brought the two kids out today.
There were not many entertainment activities in ancient times, but staying at home all day was not a good thing. Today, I originally wanted to let the children go out and have some fun, but I didn’t expect that while Jiang Jingyun was working, the two of them ran to pick up this thing.
Jiang Jingyun frowned. With so many snails, they wouldn't have gone to the river to play, would they? "Tell me the truth, where did you pick them up? Did you two go to the river to play?"
I don’t know why. Jiang Jingyun had never punished them before, but now the third brother Jiang Jingfeng felt a little scared when he saw his eldest brother’s serious face.
Jiang Jingfeng hurriedly pointed to a small canal not far from the ridge of the field and explained: "I didn't go to the river, I picked it up there, because I can take it back and smash it to feed the chickens, so I took my younger sister to pick it up..." His voice became lower and lower, and his head lowered, for fear of being scolded by his eldest brother.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jingyun walked over and took a look at the canal. It was probably dug for watering crops. It was about two feet wide and the water was only deep enough to cover the ankles. Because the water is flowing and looks relatively clear, you can occasionally see one or two small fish as thick as fingers swimming around in the water plants on both sides. It doesn't look dangerous.
He then relaxed his expression, but still said seriously: "I'm sorry, big brother misunderstood you, but from now on, you are not allowed to approach places like rivers and lakes where the water is deep and dangerous without permission, do you understand? Safety is the most important thing, don't you understand?"
The three little ones all nodded obediently.
Jiang Jingyun patted the heads of the three children one by one with satisfaction, and then began to look at the snails in the bamboo basket happily: "These snails are really big, are there any more in the canal? Come on, let's pick some more and make some stir-fried snails for you to eat in the evening."
The second brother didn't know why the eldest brother suddenly got excited and wanted to eat the snails, so he hurriedly advised: "Brother, this is not delicious, it smells like mud and there is sand in it. We usually feed it to the chickens."
"Tsk, that's the way you don't know how to eat it. Stir-fry it with chili peppers, and then add some onions, ginger, basil, etc. to remove the odor and enhance the flavor. Wow, the taste is amazing." Jiang Jingyun wanted to drool just by talking about it. After doing farm work in the morning, he was so hungry that his chest was sticking to his back.
"Wow, is it so delicious?" My little sister also started drooling.
“Very delicious!”
"Then can we eat it at noon?"
"Not at noon. You have to put the snails in water and spit out all the sand before you can eat them in the evening."
The second and third brothers were listening nearby and were also very greedy. They couldn't wait to go into the water to pick up snails.
Jiang Jingyun also rolled up his trousers and went into the water to pick up the fish. As he did so, he reminded them, "The ones with round butts are golden apple snails. Remember to keep them separate from field snails. Golden apple snails cannot be eaten, but they can be used to feed chickens."
The three little ones responded without even raising their heads: "I understand."
After half an hour of hard work, the four brothers and sisters of the Jiang family reaped a rich harvest.
Looking at the full basket of snails, Jiang Jingyun’s waist and legs no longer felt sore, and he had a smile on his face.
I've been wearing it for almost half a month, and I can finally smell the meat.
Fortunately, the funeral customs of this dynasty did not have strict requirements on diet: no food was allowed in the first three days, only porridge was eaten in the first seven days, vegetables and fruits were eaten after the seventh day, and meat could be eaten after the 27th day.
Otherwise, if Jiang Jingyun really didn't eat meat for three years, he might not want to do anything and would just want to kill himself.
Although there is not much meat in snails, it is still meat no matter how small it is. We can eat whatever we can get without being picky!
It happened that the elder and second brothers Jiang who were applying fertilizers had also finished their work. Jiang Jingyun raised his hand and greeted them enthusiastically, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers. Come to my house for dinner today. I will cook two dishes myself."
Big Brother Jiang waved his hand to decline. He knew that the family must have prepared food and was waiting for them. He also knew that his fifth brother's family was in a very difficult situation right now. If he was rude enough to go and eat, he might even be scolded by his parents when he got home. "It's a small matter. No need to be polite. I'll go back first." After saying these three sentences, he and Jiang Er went back, carrying the bucket, as if they were afraid that someone would be chasing them.
Jiang Jingyun watched the two of them leaving without trying to stop them. He would just send over a portion of fried snails in the evening and deliver it to their doorstep. There was no way they could return it.
After thinking about it, he picked up the heavy bamboo basket and greeted the three siblings with satisfaction: "Let's go back too."
When you get home, first pour the snails into a basin and soak them in water, adding a little oil and salt - this will help remove the mud and sand in the snails.
After that, he went to the kitchen and had a simple meal. Exhausted, Jiang Jingyun was finally able to sit down and relax, thinking about the future.
Jiang Jingyun came into contact with intangible cultural heritage by chance when he joined a club in college. He was attracted by this treasure that had passed through thousands of years. Thus began his intangible cultural heritage live broadcast journey, where he learned many exquisite skills and brilliant historical heritage, and earned his first pot of gold in life.
However, Jiang Jingyun doesn't dare to use things that are too advanced easily.
Firstly, the capital was only the remaining two taels and four cents from the borrowed money, with which he could do nothing; secondly, this was a feudal society where power and status were important, and anything that attracted too much attention would easily bring disaster.
After much thought, the only thing I can show off now is my cooking skills.
During his three years of high school, Jiang Jingyun worked part-time in a small restaurant near the school. The shop owner saw that it was not easy for a child like him to work and study, so he usually treated him well. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he didn't mind teaching him some cooking tips.
Thanks to the shop owner, Jiang Jingyun has learned cooking skills quite well.
But what kind of business should I start?
Jiang Jingyun looked at the snails in the wooden basin in the yard, seeming to be thinking about something.
"Let's go to the town tomorrow to check the situation first. Things will work out when the time comes. As a young man who has been influenced by socialism, I won't starve myself to death. There's no need to panic!" Jiang Jingyun comforted himself, stood up and called out to his followers, "Let's go to the vegetable garden with big brother to pick some vegetables for dinner."
The younger sister came over and looked up eagerly and asked, "Brother, are you going to make something delicious?"
Jiang Jingyun picked up his little sister and scratched her nose with a smile: "Yes, little greedy cat, go pick some vegetables from the field and come back to make you something delicious."
The little sister nodded happily. She was not annoyed when being called greedy. She is a real foodie.
Speaking of vegetables, we really have to thank our ancestors for their hard work in the development of planting. Although it was ancient times, people's vegetable baskets were already very rich at that time. Common cucumbers, loofahs, cabbages, etc. were all available, and even the side dishes such as peppers and perilla that Jiang Jingyun wanted were available.
After observing the types of vegetables in his own vegetable garden and having a general idea in mind, Jiang Jingyun stopped hesitating and plucked a handful of greens, picked some onions, garlic, peppers, basil and other side dishes, then walked back.
On the way, he saw a wild vegetable called white cauliflower from his hometown, and he picked a bunch of it and took it back. He used it to make egg soup and to cool down in hot weather.
After returning home, Jiang Jingyun started to get busy.
Since there was no brush at home, he used an old loofah to scrub the mud and moss off the surface of the snails, then used scissors to remove the tails of the snails and threw them into another clean wooden basin.
The third brother and the little sister squatted beside the wooden basin, watching him cook the snails with his flying hands, their heads moving back and forth following his hands.
Sometimes he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow~", and sometimes he exclaimed in understanding, "Oh~~"
Jiang Jingyun wanted to laugh when he heard this: "Don't squat here, go help your second brother wash the vegetables, we can eat soon."
Wash and cut the green onion into sections, cut the ginger into shreds, peel and smash the garlic, add oil into a hot pan, add ginger, garlic, chili pepper, etc. into the pan and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in sour bamboo shoots and snails and stir-fry, then add bean paste, salt and sugar and stir-fry evenly, then pour in an appropriate amount of water and simmer for a quarter of an hour, sprinkle with chopped green onion, coriander, and the soul basil, and cook over high heat until the sauce is reduced. The pot of spicy and juicy stir-fried snails is ready.
As soon as the dish is served, the aroma that hits you is mouth-watering and your appetite will grow.
Adhering to the principle of "the cook eats first", Jiang Jingyun took the lead in picking up a snail to taste it.
It tastes spicy and refreshing, fresh and juicy. The snail meat is plump and chewy, and the sour, crisp and tender bamboo shoots, as well as the unique fragrance of perilla, make the whole dish more layered, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
tasty!
It’s a pity that we don’t have cooking wine to remove the fishy smell at home, nor do we have spices like star anise and peppercorns for seasoning, otherwise I can’t believe how delicious it would be.
Jiang Jingyun was still secretly thinking about how to improve the dishes, but the kids next to him couldn't wait any longer. They were already drooling just by standing next to him and smelling the food.
"Brother, can we have dinner now? I'll go get the rice!" The second brother turned around and went to get the bowl.
"I'll go set the table!" The third brother also ran to move the tables and chairs.
"I, I'll take the chopsticks!" The little sister was not willing to be outdone.
Jiang Jingyun laughed: "Okay, go ahead, I'll just boil the cauliflower into a soup."
I did some heavy physical work today, so I need to eat some dry food.
Jiang Jingyun had steamed rice in the pot before going out to pick vegetables. Now he fried the snails and made soup, and dinner was ready.
The four of them sat at the wooden table in the yard, and had the most delicious meal since their parents passed away in the bright afternoon.
The second brother scooped up the rice in the bowl, his eyes red, "It's delicious!" It's great that the eldest brother can wake up!
Jiang Jingyun touched the child's head and said nothing.
The past cannot be retrieved, but the future can be looked forward to. The road is still long, so keep going.
【Author’s words】
[1] From the Tang Dynasty poem “Pity the Peasants” by Li Shen: “When the sun is at its highest point in the sky, I am hoeing the field, and my sweat drips down to the soil.” Who knows that every grain of food on the plate is hard-earned.
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