"Phoenix Tail Flower" is what the locals call it; this thing is actually also called Canna indica.
Although the name "canna lily" contains the character for "banana," it is not actually a banana.
This plant is about the height of a person and usually grows along riverbanks. It's entirely green except for its vibrant bright red flowers. (Image of a canna lily). Have you ever seen one? Rural areas have a diverse variety of plants, but the canna lily is a flower that almost every local child knows. This is not only because it's beautiful, but also because of its nectar.
However, Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu clearly did not know how to enjoy the phoenix tail flowers, and were sticking them into each other's heads one by one.
"Oh dear, you two kids are really wasting such a precious resource!"
Fu Wan told Ye Lin to put down the basket, then pulled Fu Ling, who was closest to her, over and plucked the phoenix tail flower from her hair.
Fu Ling's face fell and she became unhappy because the flower on her head had been taken.
"Don't worry, Mom will show you a magic trick."
A magic trick?
Fu Ling's sadness was immediately forgotten, and Qin Mingzhu also perked up, looking at Fu Wan with expectant eyes.
Under the watchful eyes of the two children, Fu Wan twisted off the bottom of the phoenix tail flower and then placed it in Fu Ling's mouth.
"Take a whiff and see."
Fu Ling was confused and subconsciously took a deep breath. The next second, a sweet taste quickly spread in her mouth.
"It's sweet!"
It's sweet, isn't it!
It's no exaggeration to say that the nectar of the phoenix tail flower is sweeter than the white sugar in your home.
Fu Wan's family was much poorer when she was a child. Among her fond memories of Qingshan Village, phoenix tail flowers were one of them.
As the only younger sister in the family, Fu Ming, Ye Lin, and Ye Jun would join other children in the village to guard the budding phoenix tail flowers by the river. Once they bloomed, they would pick them and share them with Fu Wan.
Because there are many children in the village, Ye Lin and his family can usually only pick two or three branches. So the four children in the family take turns tasting the honey, one bite for each of them.
Fu Ling sucked the nectar with a satisfied expression, and Fu Wan did not neglect Qin Mingzhu either, helping her to unscrew the tail of the phoenix tail flower in her hand.
After putting down his basket, Ye Lin went to the kitchen to drink some water. When he came out, he saw two children happily eating phoenix tail flowers.
The satisfaction on his face was exactly the same as that of his younger siblings when they were little.
He smiled and, as if by magic, pulled out a phoenix tail flower from the basket on the ground and handed it to Fu Wan.
"Awan, this is yours."
"I have one too?"
Fu Wan was somewhat surprised, realizing she was no longer a child.
“It’s not like only little kids can eat this. Besides, in our hearts, you’ve always been our youngest little sister.”
Hearing this, Fu Wan almost teared up. She was able to get to where she is today thanks to the support of her loving family members.
Holding back the stinging in her eyes, she tasted the nectar of the phoenix tail flower in her hand.
It tastes just like I remember!
"Ah Wan, if there's nothing else, I should probably head back now."
Ye Lin's words quickly brought Fu Wan to her senses, and she hurriedly grabbed Ye Lin.
“Why go back, Brother Lin? The boat is all repaired and will be going out to sea in a couple of days. I just called the village to look for you. Since you're here, there’s no need to go back.”
I need to go out to sea in the next couple of days, and the back-and-forth trips are a hassle.
Ye Lin was overjoyed to hear that the boat had been repaired.
"Okay, okay, as long as the boat is repaired."
However, after his initial excitement, he felt a bit troubled. "I didn't bring any change of clothes with me when I went out today."
"So what? Just wear mine!"
Fu Ming pushed open the courtyard gate and came in carrying a pile of bamboo.
Boss Fu followed behind. They had just cut the bamboo by the mountainside to make bamboo tubes and repair Fu Wan's harpoon.
Many bamboo tubes had cracked before, and Fu Ming suspected that it was because the bamboo tubes were not made well, so he planned to make a new batch to replace the old ones.
The bamboo had to be processed after it was brought back. Ye Lin saw that there was work to be done, so he didn't say much. He went inside to find a saw and a machete and got to work.
At this moment, Fu Liang also carried a bunch of fishing nets into the room. Boss Fu had just told him about going out to sea.
"Uncle, these fishing nets are a bit torn. My mother asked me to bring them over and see if they can still be used."
Boss Fu opened the nets and looked at them. These were the fishing nets he used before the accident. The holes were almost as high as Fu Ling's height, and there was no need to repair them at all.
"Why don't we leave it here and wait for your aunt to come back so we can see if we can cut it off to patch the net?"
If a fishing net that has been used for a long time is too badly damaged, Ye Xiaocui will cut off the intact parts of the net and use them to patch other nets next time.
As Fu Ling passed by carrying the pheasant that Ye Lin had just put aside, a thought flashed through her mind when she saw the tattered fishing net.
"Dad, this fishing net looks like it has a good mesh size. How about we turn it into a crab trap?"
"We're going out to sea these next few days, which is a good time to set up crab traps!"
Although both are traps, crab traps and fish traps look different. Fish traps are long and narrow, while crab traps are round and secured at the top and bottom with steel wire. Once a crab crawls inside, it is very difficult for it to climb out.
Of course, round crab traps are not commonly used by ordinary households, since they use a lot of wire and they are not cheap.
Most villagers make crab traps by fixing fishing nets with bamboo to form a cage shape. However, although this method is inexpensive, it is not as efficient as crab traps made of wire.
Before fishermen put crab traps into the sea, they put some food that crabs like to eat inside, such as small fish and shrimp, or cut snail meat, which can attract many greedy crabs to fall into the net.
"Making crab traps? Are they made of bamboo?"
Boss Fu began to examine the bamboo he had just carried back, wanting to pick out some materials that could be used to make crab traps.
Fu Wan shook her head, "Don't use bamboo, use wire."
Fu Laoda was an old fisherman after all, and after Fu Wan's few words of description, he was able to picture the appearance of the wire crab trap in his mind.
"This method might work!"
The more Fu thought about it, the more interesting he found the crab trap, so he turned around and went inside to get the money.
"I'm going to the small shop to buy some wire!"
The people in the courtyard were busy as bees, and Fu Wan was not idle either, boiling water, killing chickens and plucking their feathers.
Just then, Ye Xiaocui returned from the field, and Fu Wan quickly called out to her.
"Mom, Brother Lin is here. I'm cleaning up the pheasants. Could you go tell Aunt Chunlan that he'll be having lunch at our house?"
Ye Xiaocui went into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of water. She was happy to see the half-plucked pheasant in the bucket.
This chicken was clearly a wild pheasant; even a fool could tell it was caught and sent by her older brother. It was a small gift but a heartfelt gesture; her family had thought of her, and Ye Xiaocui was naturally happy.
"Alright, I'll go find your aunt then!"
Fu Wan plucked the chicken feathers, while Ye Lin chopped the chicken and prepared the rabbit. He was a true hunter; in just a few moments, he had chopped the chicken and rabbit and put them in a bowl.
After returning from Jiang Chunlan's house, Ye Xiaocui went to the backyard to pick vegetables. A few minutes later, Jiang Chunlan also rushed over to Fu Wan's house to help.
However, despite her willingness to help, what she brought over shocked both Ye Xiaocui and Fu Wan.
"Chunlan, why did you bring the old hen from home?"
Look at that clucking hen, it's obviously raised by Jiang Chunlan to lay eggs!
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