Chapter 29 Harvest (Part 3) Setting up a wok to demonstrate cooking for everyone…
The program proceeded in sequence.
Amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums, young men dressed in magnificent lion costumes tumbled and leaped, each movement displaying power and beauty.
The children, dressed in neat blue and white clothes, lined up in five rows and sang "On the Hopeful Fields" in unison. Their innocent voices expressed their praise and longing for a better life.
The bamboo poles clinked together, making a crisp sound. Young men and women, dressed in matching outfits and barefoot, danced lightly among the bamboo poles, their movements lively and vibrant.
The older performers stood on the stage, singing unfamiliar plays in a melodious and graceful style. Although they hadn't changed into costumes, their movements and positioning were enough to demonstrate their skill.
...
The tea shop's employees sat gracefully on the stage, showcasing their tea leaves to the audience. They then skillfully demonstrated how to brew a good cup of tea, their elegant demeanor captivating many.
The printing workshop employees, along with the children from Qinglan Academy, first proudly displayed their printed books, then had each child take a copy of the Analects and recite a few lines of "Confucius said."
The employees at the ironware workshop strongly recommended their improved farm tools, explaining how useful they were.
The embroidery workshop staff displayed short tops and trousers made in the style of the goddess's everyday clothes.
...
The exhibition area is located in several streets and alleys on the other side of the county government square.
Although it's called an exhibition area, it's really no different from a market. The only difference is that the prices are set low because it's a harvest festival.
Local residents and tourists alike strolled around with great interest, viewing the agricultural products displayed by the five counties of Yunhe.
Chili peppers are made into chili powder, chili sauce, and pickled chili peppers.
Soybeans are made into dried fermented soybeans and fermented soybeans, and tofu is made into fermented tofu.
Green beans were made into pickled cowpeas, and eggplants were made into pickled eggplants.
The corn was ground into cornmeal.
There are also hot and fragrant steamed buns and mantou, as well as deep-fried oil cakes, bean cakes, and corn cakes.
"Oh dear, our fermented tofu looks like it's spoiled, but it's actually delicious."
"Why is it designed this way? Of course, it's for long-term preservation."
"It's not bad, it's not bad. We call this pickled eggplant. If you store it according to our method, it can last for several months."
"Stir-fried pickled cowpeas with pork is delicious!"
"You don't know what stir-frying is? Over there, go take a look, someone's demonstrating how to stir-fry!"
After a brief training session, the locals demonstrated the qualities of merchants, warmly and patiently welcoming tourists: introducing their goods, answering questions, and recommending suitable shops.
As a result, many tourists were directed to watch locals perform "cooking".
A couple, holding their two children's hands, followed the curious crowd down the street. The older daughter kept glancing back at the white steamed buns on the stall, swallowed hard, and looked up to ask, "Mommy, where are we going?"
Her mother said, "I heard someone is cooking up ahead. Let's go see how they cook."
The little girl looked bewildered.
Her younger brother shouted, "I want to eat a pancake! I want to eat a pancake! I want to eat a pancake!"
Her father replied dismissively, "Let's go look at the stir-fries first, and we'll buy them for you afterwards."
The little girl subconsciously repeated, "Stir-fry? What's that?"
On the street, a local resident set up a large iron pot, and a chef wearing an apron held a huge spatula, demonstrating how to cook for the onlookers.
A fist-sized lump of lard melted at the bottom of the pot, and the chef picked up the prepared scallions, ginger, and garlic and poured them into the pot with a sizzling sound.
The chef skillfully added vinegar, then used a spatula to stir-fry the scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant.
An assistant immediately brought over a basin of washed and chopped vegetable leaves and poured it into the pot.
The chef sprinkled salt and kept stirring with a spatula.
The aroma filled the air.
The tourists who gathered around stared in amazement at the scene before them.
They watched as the chef stir-fried the vegetable leaves until they shrank by half, then added other seasonings, stirred them a few times, and finally took them out of the pan.
The chef generously asked, "Would you like to try our stir-fried cabbage?"
"We can offer everyone a free sample of our stir-fried dishes today, but there's one condition: everyone must line up and no pushing or shoving!"
"Those who do not follow the rules will be escorted out of the city by our city guards."
The onlookers were shocked: They could sample it for free?
There are so many of us!
However, the original intention of setting up the free tasting session was to allow some people to try the stir-fried dishes, not to allow everyone present to taste them.
Therefore, someone placed a large bowl of freshly cooked stir-fried cabbage on another table, along with a handful of thumb-sized bamboo skewers, and called on interested tourists to line up and taste it.
Immediately, four-fifths of the onlookers rushed over and lined up under the organization of the city guards, waiting to sample the stir-fried dishes.
The remaining fifth continued to watch the chef cook. The chef who had just cooked the cabbage handed the spatula to another chef. "Next, we will be demonstrating how to stir-fry pickled cowpeas with minced meat."
An old man with a white beard watched as the female chef who had taken over the job stir-fried minced meat with Sichuan peppercorns, chili powder, scallions, ginger, and garlic.
The power of chili powder is limitless.
As soon as it hits the oil, the pungent, spicy aroma explodes instantly.
The tourists watching the stir-fry and those queuing to sample the food all coughed in unison.
"Cough cough cough, is this chili pepper? Cough cough cough cough cough." The old man covered his nose and coughed incessantly.
The disciple who came with him coughed as he asked, "Is this chili really safe to eat?"
The old man clicked his tongue and said, "Can't you smell the fragrance?"
fragrance?
The disciples put down their hands, sniffed the aroma of meat mixed with spiciness, and exclaimed in surprise, "What amazing seasoning!"
The old man smiled as he watched the female chef pour diced pickled cowpeas into the pot and stir-fry them. He then said to his disciples, "Yunhe made the right choice coming today! Come on, before many people realize what's happening, let's go buy some chili peppers."
Before the tourists could react, a series of earth-shattering coughs were followed by the aroma of sour, spicy, and savory dishes, which whetted their appetites.
"Wow, it smells so good."
"It tastes delicious, slurp."
"Can this dish be sampled for free?"
"Stir-frying doesn't seem difficult."
"Yes, all you need is an iron wok to stir-fry it."
"We can give it a try when we get back."
The spicy aroma from the explosion wafted in the wind, attracting even more tourists to come and watch.
The shop owners in the streets and alleys welcomed customers.
What can you stir-fry with fermented black beans?
"You can stir-fry meat, either fresh meat or cured meat."
"Is this chili sauce used in the same way as chili powder?"
"They are the same, but it's best to use chili sauce when stir-frying XXX, and chili powder when stir-frying XXX."
"You'd like to learn how to make pickled eggplant? We don't have time today, so please come find me another day."
The tea shop owner smiled as he watched the number of customers at the nearby shops increase, thinking to himself that the person who suggested setting up a pot to cook for the tourists was truly ingenious.
That's exactly right. Some of the agricultural products they showcased were new to everyone; no one had ever seen them before. Outsiders, unlike the locals, aren't used to eating these things, so naturally they wouldn't know how to cook or eat them. They simply "demonstrated" it for everyone, and everyone learned how in no time.
Some people may not intend to buy it, but once they see it with their own eyes, smell it with their nose, and taste it with their tongue, they might be unable to resist the urge to spend money.
She hadn't been watching for long when tourists who had seen the tea ceremony performance from the county government square rushed over.
"Boss, how much is your tea?"
The boss quoted a price.
The customer stared at her and asked in a negotiating tone, "Boss, if I buy a lot, can you give me a discount?"
The shop owner winked and laughed, "Are you drinking it yourself, or are you going to buy it wholesale and resell it?"
The guest was taken aback.
The shop owner cleared his throat. "Sir, our retail price and wholesale price are different. The price for wholesaling 100 jin is also different from the price for wholesaling 200 jin. If you are interested, please come inside."
Mo Jingchun had arranged for patrol teams to be stationed in the county government square and the streets and alleys where the exhibition was held. If anyone caused trouble or quarreled, someone would immediately call them over to maintain order.
Those who can be calmed down will be calmed down; those who cannot be calmed down will be taken to another place for "talking".
Therefore, the tourists felt good.
The medical team members never expected that they would be of such use.
Applying medicine to people who have accidentally fallen and injured themselves, feeding a bowl of sugar water to people who have fainted, and providing free medical consultations to people who come to inquire about medical treatment.
Before they knew it, a long queue had formed outside the medical team's door.
"What? Free medical care?"
Yes, yes.
"Then I'll come and take a look too."
The news spread like wildfire, and many tourists brought their elderly relatives and children to queue up for free medical treatment.
Medical team: "Huh?!"
"Master, Master!" A young man ran into the clinic, sweating profusely, and found Doctor Xu, who was preparing medicine.
Doctor Xu put down the herbs and patiently asked, "Weren't you helping out at the county government office? What happened?"
The young man said helplessly, "Master, our place has become a free clinic, and more and more people are coming to see a doctor. We can't handle it all, so we came here to borrow someone."
Dr. Xu: "?"
Dr. Xu couldn't help but laugh. "Free things are always popular, and everyone here is a smart person. Okay, call two more teams over."
Young man: "Okay!"
Dr. Xu thought for a moment and then instructed, "Remember, our main job is still emergency care. Don't give away those medicinal soups that we prepared earlier. Otherwise, if someone urgently needs them and you can't get them out, that would be troublesome."
Young man: "Yes!"
Mo Jingchun soon heard the news and was immediately dumbfounded, "We're having a harvest festival, why are we doing free medical consultations?"
Gu Lanying smiled and said, "Try to think positively. Since the essence of the Harvest Festival is to promote the local economy, the free clinic is the same."
Mo Jingchun was puzzled; she opened her mouth wide in surprise, "Why?"
Gu Lanying patiently explained, "If the local free clinic attracts people from several nearby counties, or even other states, to come for treatment, won't they need to eat, stay overnight, and possibly buy things or medicine?"
Several lines of answers flashed through Mo Jingchun's mind, and she unconsciously uttered a few words: "Adapt to local conditions..."
Gu Lanying smiled and said, "That's right, adapting to local conditions."
In topics related to rural revitalization, the development of local economies in accordance with local conditions has been mentioned, such as ceramic towns, wine towns, and tourist towns.
Naturally, it can also be developed based on medical advancements.
Mo Jingchun clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Shall we talk to Dr. Xu another day?"
Gu Lanying shook her head. "Wait, their clinic doesn't have that many medicinal herbs right now. Let's talk about it later."
Mo Jingchun: "..."
She began to understand the goddess a little better; having many ideas in one's head but not being able to put them into practice was quite distressing.
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Author's Note: 1. I'm experiencing writer's block QAQ
2. My editor and I have agreed that, starting from Chapter 23, we'll do a reverse V-shaped cutoff on Wednesday.
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