Chapter 70 Persimmons [First Update]
The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wen Fan was taken to the meeting point by his parents in the morning.
"This bag is so big, how about I give it to you?"
Wen Fan carried a large backpack, which was bulging with the things she had prepared.
Wen's parents were worried and started persuading her from the moment she got up to take the family car instead.
Although Qingtang Mountain is not far, Wen's mother was still worried because this was Wen Fan's first time going out to eat with friends.
Wen Fan took the heavy schoolbag from his father, waved goodbye to the two of them, and said, "No need, I'm with my classmate. I'll send you a message when we arrive."
She patted her backpack: "I'll bring you tea when I come back!"
Having no other choice, Wen's mother gave him a few more instructions, such as staying in touch once he got there, calling immediately in case of any emergencies, and avoiding taking secluded paths when the scenic area was crowded...
Such nagging would have annoyed most high school students, but Wen Fan listened attentively and then gave an OK sign.
“There are more than twenty of us, I will definitely stick close to the main group.”
Wen's mother tugged at her collar and took out five hundred yuan from her pocket: "Buy whatever you like. If it's not enough, just tell me and I'll transfer more to you."
Wen Fan happily accepted it. Although it wouldn't cost her much money, she was still pleased to receive pocket money: "Great~"
As they were talking, Wen Fan saw Han Lulu, who had arrived earlier. Han Lulu excitedly ran over when she saw her.
"Xiao Fan, you're here so early... Hello, Uncle and Aunt!"
When Wen's mother saw her daughter's friend arrive, she greeted her with a smile: "You're here quite early too."
With only half an hour left before the meeting time, there were more than twenty people, but only these two arrived early.
Han Lulu was dressed in casual clothes today, but unlike Wen Fan who carried a backpack, she was carrying a light crossbody bag, clearly indicating that she was traveling light.
Han Lulu stood next to Wen Fan with a smile and naturally took the bag from Wen Fan's hand: "Uncle and Aunt, don't worry, I will definitely stay with Xiao Fan all day today."
Han Lulu's mouth watered at the sight of Wen Fan's bulging bag; she knew without a doubt that Wen Fan would show off his skills today.
She was determined to stick close to Wen Fan and get the first bite today!
Seeing that someone had come to keep their daughter company, Mr. and Mrs. Wen stopped lingering, gave a few instructions, and drove away.
As soon as her parents left, Han Lulu excitedly told Wen Fan that she had seen her family start selling fried food the day before yesterday and had gone to the store to queue up.
Wen Fan tilted his head slightly: "You went? I don't remember you going."
"Oh dear, you and your aunt and uncle are both quite busy, so I thought I wouldn't bother you. I queued up and bought some shrimp balls, they're super delicious!"
Wen Fan looked puzzled: "How did you know we had new products?"
Han Lulu's eyes widened: "You really don't know? Recently, several food bloggers in the city have been recommending your fried shrimp balls."
As she spoke, Han Lulu took out her phone and found the short videos she had saved.
One by one, livestreamers stood at the store entrance, giving brief introductions before recommending fried shrimp balls.
He casually mentioned the other dry-fried spicy chicken, and then throughout the meal, he spoke in an exaggerated tone about how delicious the shrimp balls were, using extremely nauseatingly saccharine adjectives.
Perhaps because this thing is relatively novel, the traffic is actually quite good, with many comments asking for the specific address.
Han Lulu chattered on from the side: "None of us have tried it before. Not to mention the locals, even our class group chat is buzzing with excitement. Everyone wants to try it."
"By the way, didn't you see XX the other day? She said in the group that she goes to queue up every day, and the queue takes too long. She even asked me to take turns queuing with her in a few days."
"Actually, everyone really wants you to buy some things for them, but they're too embarrassed to do so..."
Wen Fan remained expressionless as he pulled a bag from his backpack.
Han Lulu jumped up instantly: "Wow, you really brought it? Oh my god!"
Wen Fan: "...Don't be too happy yet. They're fried. I plan to take them with me as a side dish."
She didn't bring any meat or vegetables, so she decided to find them locally when she got there, bringing some shrimp balls and crispy pork for convenience.
Han Lulu didn't care about any of that; she was so excited that she wanted to pick Wen Fan up and spin him around a few times.
She took out her phone and started taking pictures from eighteen different angles. After taking the pictures, she uploaded them to the group and sent a voice message to the group.
"Comrades, look what this is!"
The previously silent group chat quickly responded, with voice messages and text flying around.
"Hahaha, shrimp balls!"
"Thank you to our beautiful and kind-hearted fairy, Wen Xiaofan!"
"...Holy crap, I'm heading out right now."
"Wait for me, leave me a bite!"
...
Whether it was the power of the shrimp balls or the barrage of voice messages in the group, the more than twenty people who hadn't made a sound just moments before all arrived in just over ten minutes.
More than twenty people stood in front of Wen Fan, all staring at her expectantly.
Wen Fan: "...It's cold."
"We don't mind!"
"……not much."
Let's try it!
Helpless, Wen Fan took out the bag of shrimp dates, gave one to each person, and then there were very few left.
This group of people arrived without having breakfast, and they ate the cold shrimp balls with relish, chatting as they ate.
"Wow, this is so delicious."
"I think it would go really well with instant noodles."
"Huh? I think a sprinkle of chili powder would be just right."
"Waaaah, if I had known it was this delicious, I should have lined up a few days ago."
...
Amid the chaos, the squad leader stepped forward.
"Stop eating, everyone! We're going to miss the train!"
A group of foodies set off lazily, with the class monitor and a girl from the foot of Qingtang Mountain leading the way. She had darker skin and her name was He Yuzhen.
He Yuzhen pointed to bus number 19: "This is it, just take it to the last stop."
There weren't many people on the early bus. He Yuzhen and her classmates boarded the bus, and after scanning the QR codes one by one, they filled the bus.
The driver, who was smoking outside, asked in bewilderment, "I haven't heard anyone mention any study tours today?"
Besides, study tours don't usually take place on holidays, and scenic spot tickets are so expensive.
However, since everyone was present, the driver didn't wait any longer. He got on the bus, closed the door, and asked the passengers to make sure that, except for a few who got off midway, the rest would be on the bus all the way to the final stop. Then, the driver stepped on the gas and drove off.
Wen Fan is now the most popular person in the class. As soon as she got on the bus, she was put in the front window seat, supposedly to prevent her from getting carsick.
Wen Fan didn't get carsick at all. In fact, when everyone else was dozing off as soon as she got on the bus, she still had the mind to look at the scenery outside the window.
Little did she know, as she looked outside, a gaze also fell upon her.
Fang Weiyue sat in the back row, her heart filled with desolation.
She didn't know why she had to participate in this event, but some things couldn't be avoided by running away.
In the dead of night, Wen Fan's shadow seemed like a heavy stone weighing on her heart.
The vehicle arrived at its destination quickly.
Stepping off the bus, the fresh air was invigorating.
He Yuzhen directed everyone to walk inside.
"Just a few hundred meters further on, and we'll reach our village."
Everyone laughed and joked, "He Yuzhen, you're not going to sell us off, are you?"
He Yuzhen rolled her eyes: "Sell what? You're not even worth as much as the pigs in our village."
The village where her grandmother lives has developed quite well in recent years. It is adjacent to Qingtang Mountain, and several high-end villa areas have been developed nearby. It is said that the concentration of negative oxygen ions here is high, which is very suitable for health care, so the occupancy rate of the villas is also high.
When wealthy people come, they are very particular about food and drink.
There's a pig farm in her grandmother's village. Because it's in the mountains, the pigs are raised in a completely natural way, so there's no worry about selling the pork. After the pigs are slaughtered, they're sent directly to big supermarkets in the city, and the sales are quite good.
With this pig farm, many villagers can work there.
Some families don't go there, but instead prepare some local specialties or various trinkets, carry them on a shoulder pole to the foot of Qingtang Mountain, and sell them to tourists, earning quite a bit of money.
He Yuzhen led everyone along a mountain path, and soon they arrived at the village.
It must be said that this village is very different from the village Wen Fan remembers.
Every household here has a two-story house. Some are beautiful and some are simple, but the ground in front of the house is flat and tidy. Many houses have cars in front of them, and the village roads are clean and tidy, no less than those in the city.
The students around me seemed to be familiar with this scene, and they were all talking about it with great interest.
"Haha, those geese over there are so silly."
"The dogs in this village all look so short, like benches."
"Sniffle, little kitty, don't run away."
"He Yuzhen, is there a public toilet in the village?"
He Yuzhen: "...Hold on a bit, we'll talk about it when we get to my grandma's house."
He Yuzhen greeted everyone as she walked, and the villagers were very welcoming to her.
"Is this the young lady from the He family? Why did she bring so many friends today?"
He Yuzhen: "We're out on a picnic, Auntie. Is Grandma home?"
"She's here, I just saw her herding the chickens back."
He Yuzhen led her classmates straight to her home. Without even knocking, she pushed the door open and shouted, "Grandma, I'm back!"
Grandma He had just locked the chickens up when she heard her granddaughter's voice and hurriedly darted out from a corner of the yard.
"Yuzhen, are these all your classmates?"
The old man heard his granddaughter say she was bringing classmates home, but he never expected there would be so many!
He Yuzhen chuckled and said, "Yes, these are all my classmates."
A group of people respectfully greeted Grandma He, which made her heart tremble.
"Alright, alright, all good. Children, come inside and sit for a while. I'll get you some persimmons."
The student who had been holding it in all the way quickly pulled He Yuzhen to find a restroom, while the others hesitated and said they wouldn't go in.
"It's already 11 o'clock, and I'm so hungry."
We agreed to have a picnic, but seeing how enthusiastic the old folks were, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to leave soon.
He Yuzhen had no choice but to tell her grandmother that she would take everyone to Phoenix Pool.
"Grandma, do you still have our pot and the grill that Dad used when he brought his friends over?"
"Yes, they're all separated in the kitchen."
Grandma He opened the kitchen door and pulled out a huge iron pot from the corner, along with a small barbecue grill and some charcoal that hadn't been used last time.
As the old man searched, he advised, "There are no tourists at Phoenix Pool, but do you know how to cook? Why don't you eat at home? We have everything you need. I even went and bought a big piece of meat this morning."
Grandma He was very worried just looking at this group of teenagers. A while ago, Yuzhen's father, who is over forty years old, also said that he wanted to bring his friends to experience the fun of camping.
Three or four grown men made a lot of noise, loading a huge amount of pots, pans, dishes, and a whole box of various ingredients onto their off-road vehicle, and enthusiastically pitched their tent at Phoenix Pool. But what happened?
The fire was finally lit, but the meat was completely blackened and the vegetables were half-cooked. In the end, I had no choice but to call her and ask her to send some beer and peanuts over.
In the end, we didn't even stay for five hours, so we packed our things and went back to the city.
Now look what's happened. The older generation has suffered enough, and now the younger generation is coming, not only themselves but also bringing their classmates.
Grandma He thought to herself, "These twenty-odd children are probably going to go hungry today. Sigh, I'd better cook some extra rice for them later and take it over. I'll also see if I can cook them some home-cooked dishes. They've come all this way; it wouldn't be right for them to go down the mountain hungry."
He Yuzhen directed the boys to move things, and put her arm around her grandmother's shoulder with great confidence: "Grandma, it's okay, there are many of us, we can definitely cook it well."
Not to mention there's also a killer weapon, Wen Fan. With Wen Fan around, today's food can only be either delicious or incredibly delicious.
Grandma He couldn't refuse her granddaughter, so she packed two large bags of vegetables and a bag of persimmons, and also brought a small pot along.
"The persimmons have been left to ripen, so they're ready to eat. All the vegetables here are homegrown; call me if you need more, and I'll bring you more. With so many of you, one pot definitely won't be enough. Oh, and this too..."
Grandma He gave the piece of meat she had bought that morning to her granddaughter to take with her.
"When you're grilling, cut it into small pieces. If you eat large pieces that aren't fully cooked, you'll get diarrhea."
More than twenty people, each contributing a little, carried pots and charcoal, so happy they were about to burst into song.
He Yuzhen said goodbye to her grandmother and took a persimmon out of her pocket and gave it to Wen Fan.
"Come on, let our head chef have a taste first."
The local persimmons ripen early, and because they grow on mountains, the harvest lasts from the end of August until October. A single persimmon tree can be laden with fruit when ripe, and the bright red fruit looks like little lanterns.
Wen Fan pinched it and bit a small hole with his teeth. After several days of ripening, the persimmon flesh slowly softened from hard to soft, until now, it was so soft that it seemed as if a ball of juice was wrapped in the peel.
With a gentle bite, just like eating jelly, the fruit pulp is sucked into the mouth, and the sweet taste instantly takes over the taste buds.
"Wow, these persimmons are so sweet!"
"He Yuzhen, your persimmons are so delicious, why don't you sell them?"
He Yuzhen had just finished eating a persimmon, and holding the empty, shriveled skin in her hand, she said helplessly, "The sales are bad. There used to be a lot of people growing persimmons in our village, but now no one grows them anymore because they can't sell them."
With the increasing variety of persimmons in recent years, all kinds of persimmons are on the market, such as crisp persimmons, small persimmons, black persimmons... The local old persimmons have thicker skins and are smaller in size than others, so fruit buyers from other places don't come here.
“Look, over there that persimmon grove. Those persimmons can’t be harvested, so they just hang on the trees and will fall soon.”
"...Can't we make dried persimmons?"
He Yuzhen sighed: "Do you think persimmon cakes are easy to sell? Others have tried making them before, but they still couldn't sell them and even lost some of the money they spent on making them."
Wen Fan looked at the persimmon grove not far away. The persimmons there hadn't all fallen yet, but a small portion of them had already fallen. The remaining persimmons were still hanging on the branches. It was a beautiful sight, but unexpectedly, these persimmons were unsellable slow-moving goods.
He Yuzhen: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Look, Phoenix Pool is just ahead."
The group's attention was diverted, and they all exclaimed "Wow!" in unison.
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