Chapter 161 Picking Bayberries
A week passed quickly and it was Sunday again. This day was the day we had agreed to go to the mountains to pick fruit.
Jiang Xinbai got up early in the morning, ate his meal, packed up, and prepared to leave.
Yang Jinsheng held the child and asked again, "You really don't need me to go with you?"
"No, I'm just picking some bayberries. Why are you going with me? Just stay at home and take good care of Xiaobao!"
"Sister Xiaobai, are you ready? Can we go now?" Li Lele's voice came from outside the yard.
Jiang Xinbai said as he carried the basket, "Okay, I'll be right there."
"Le Le, you're here so early. I said I was the first!" At this time, Jiang Xinlan came over from behind on a bike.
Li Lele turned around and smiled, "Sister Xiaolan, did you buy a car?"
Jiang Xinlan squeezed the brakes, put her foot on the ground, and said with a smile: "Yes, it's inconvenient to go anywhere without a bicycle. Someone happened to be offering bicycle tickets, so we bought them."
"That's great. We'll get one each and go!" Jiang Xinbai tied the two baskets to the back seat of the bike, got on and drove away.
After leaving the city, Li Lele led the way in front, and Jiang Xinbai and Jiang Xinlan followed slowly behind.
"Xiao Bai, the weather is just right now, not too cold or too hot. Oh, and Xiao Bao is about to turn one! How about having a birthday party?"
Jiang Xinbai shook his head and said, "I'm not going to do it. In this situation, I won't be the first to take action."
"Yeah, it's better to keep a low profile."
After riding for about 20 minutes, Li Lele in front stopped, turned around and looked behind him, smiling, "Sister Xiaobai, Sister Xiaolan, this is it, let's park the bike and go up!"
Jiang Xinbai looked at the mountain he had never been to before and said with a smile, "This mountain looks quite high and dense."
"Yes, that's why those wild bayberry trees have not been discovered. It's June now, and the bayberries should be ripe. Come on, let's go up the mountain." Li Lele took the lead and walked up the mountain, followed closely by Jiang Xinbai and the others.
"Let's go this way. It's closer if we climb up this slope."
"Okay, you go ahead and we'll follow."
After climbing over a big slope, we saw a large group of bayberry trees. At first glance, there were some red fruits sparsely scattered on each tree.
Li Lele wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile, "We're here. The branches of the bayberry tree are quite fragile, so don't climb too high. Stand at the bottom and pick the ones you can, then slowly climb up to the top."
"Yes, I see. We used to have several bayberry trees in our village. We were so happy when they bore fruit, but later they died for some unknown reason."
Jiang Xinbai still felt a little sad when thinking of the bayberry trees in her mother's village. In the past, every household could get some bayberries when the trees were ripe. They were sour and sweet and very delicious.
As she was talking, Jiang Xinlan had already picked one and put it in her mouth. As soon as she took a bite, her face twisted. She wanted to vomit but couldn't bear to, so she chewed and swallowed the bayberry. Then she said, "Not only is this bayberry small, but it's also very sour."
Li Lele burst out laughing, "Sister Xiaolan, you are so lucky. The one you picked is the sourest. The ones ahead are better. If you don't believe me, try it."
Jiang Xinlan really didn't believe it. She picked a few bayberries from the trees that Li Lele mentioned and took a careful bite. The sweet taste instantly filled her mouth. She nodded repeatedly as she ate, "Mm, this is delicious, very sweet."
"Really?" Li Lele smiled proudly, "I tried it last year. The bayberries from these bayberry trees are the most delicious. We picked them and ate them ourselves. We used the sour ones to make wine. It was not a waste at all."
"Well, I have to feed myself first." Jiang Xinlan said as she stood next to the tree and started eating bayberries one by one.
Jiang Xinbai and Li Lele followed suit, picking the big red bayberries to eat until they were full.
After they had eaten enough, they started picking bayberries. They picked the sweet ones first and then the sour ones.
"Well, the yields of these trees are not very high. There is not much on each tree." Jiang Xinbai looked up at the trees. The yields were pitifully small.
"That's for sure. No one fertilized them. They just grew naturally. It's good enough that they can bear fruit. You guys have almost picked them. Let's go over there and take a look. There was a patch of milk foam over there last year. Let's go take a look."
"Milk foam, it should be sweeter than this bayberry, do you have any more now?"
"There should be. It was about this time last year. See, I told you there was." Li Lele said with a smile, pointing at a piece of white milk foam.
Jiang Xinbai squatted down and took the lead in picking one and putting it in his mouth. "Hmm, it has a milky aroma, so fragrant and sweet."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to this milk foam! Hehe, Yaoyao and Xiaobao will definitely like it, you can give them some."
Actually, it was called a field, but there wasn't much to pick. Three people each picked only two big handfuls and that was it.
"Okay, we've picked them all. Why don't we go back?" Li Lele stood up and stomped his feet that were numb from squatting.
"Let's go, let's go, that's enough. By the way, Lele, do you know how to make wine?" In the past, the bayberries distributed in the village were not enough for the family to eat, so how could they think of making wine? Therefore, Jiang Xinbai didn't know how to make bayberry wine.
Li Lele nodded, "I know, I'll teach you when I get back, it's very simple."
After a busy morning, Jiang Xinbai and his companions returned with two baskets of wild bayberries each. As soon as they got home, Yang Jinsheng came over due to the smell.
"I smelled that sweet and sour smell as soon as you entered the yard. Let me see what wild bayberry looks like?" As he said that, he reached out to untie the cloth covering the back seat.
"You sound as if you've never seen bayberry before. Wild bayberries are smaller and more sour."
"Look, this basket is sweet. You can keep it for yourself. You can send some to mom later. If my home wasn't a little far away, I would want to send some to my mom. She loves eating bayberries." Bayberries are very delicate and cannot be kept. Those picked today can be kept until tomorrow at most. If they are kept any longer, they will go bad.
Yang Jinsheng picked up a bayberry and put it in his mouth. As soon as he bit it, the sour and sweet juice immediately popped out. He nodded as he ate it, "It tastes pretty good. Can Xiaobao eat it?"
"Is it possible?" Jiang Xinbai was a little uncertain, then he took down another basket, pointed at the milk foam on it and said with a smile: "You can give this to Xiaobao. It's sweeter than bayberry. Xiaobao will definitely like it."
"Oh, is this milk foam? I've eaten it before." Yang Jinsheng took a plate, picked up all the milk foam on the basket, and ate one.
"Well, this is all we can get for the three of us. Save some for Xiaobao!"
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