Chapter 27 Summer Solstice
July 4, 3033, sunny, summer solstice.
It seems that with the arrival of the summer solstice, the temperature this year has reached an unprecedented high.
In previous years, the highest average temperature in Meishan was 28 degrees and the lowest was minus 10 degrees. This year, it was just the summer solstice, but Zhao Yeqing clearly felt that the temperature had risen a lot and was almost the same as the average temperature in the city during the hot summer.
In previous years, the hottest temperature in the city during the summer was nearly 37 degrees, and the average temperature for the entire summer was 32 degrees. It is estimated that the temperature in the mountains is at least 30 degrees now.
When Zhao Yeqing woke up in the morning, his neck was covered in sweat. There was no air conditioning at home and it had never been used in previous years.
At seven o'clock in the morning, the sunlight was already pouring in through the blinds. Zhao Yeqing kicked off the quilt, pulled a tissue from the head of the bed to wipe his neck and forehead, and walked barefoot to the window.
The tile floor was warmed by the sun, and the temperature made Zhao Yeqing a little dazed.
Is this the sun that should be there at seven in the morning?
There was a scratching sound coming from outside the door. Zhao Yeqing opened the door and saw the two little guys rubbing around her feet.
She was very ticklish, and before the two dogs could circle around her feet a few more times, she picked them up with a smile.
Xuebing's current weight is estimated to be around 12.3 catties, and Huhu is heavier, about 14 catties.
Zhao Yeqing carried one in each hand and went downstairs.
When the power went out, there was no way to freeze the fresh meat to make bacon, so it has now been completely air-dried. It weighs about eight pounds, and Zhao Yeqing hung it in the corner of the kitchen.
The kimchi can be eaten a long time ago. As the weather has gotten hotter recently, she likes to eat kimchi with baked potatoes and a little cold-mixed watercress, which is very appetizing.
The jar of sauerkraut had not been opened yet. When she opened it, she found a layer of white fungi on the surface. She skimmed it off with a clean spoon, took out a cabbage, poured some high-proof liquor into it to sterilize it, and then refilled the jar with the water used to seal it.
The sauerkraut was already quite sour, and Zhao Yeqing's mouth was watering as soon as it was taken out.
The fire was lit in the stove. This large stove had only one burner, and a large pot was placed on it. Zhao Yeqing took out the small coal stove in the tool room and put the small pot on it. He used one pot for cooking and the other for rice.
The small coal stove could only hold some small firewood. When chopping firewood, Huhu would always be frightened by Zhao Yeqing swinging the axe.
I don't know if this guy can survive in the forest.
Put a handful of rice in the casserole on the small coal stove. The rice was frozen last night and is easy to cook into pieces. While the porridge is cooking, fry a side dish.
Many of the chili peppers in the small vegetable garden are already hanging on the branches. It takes nearly a month for the peppers to turn from green to red, but the green ones are edible and spicy enough.
Zhao Yeqing picked up three chili peppers, washed them and cut them into thin slices diagonally. He then washed off the excess salt from the sauerkraut and chopped it into small pieces. He then sautéed the chili peppers in hot oil and added the sauerkraut.
There is no need to add salt, the taste is already good enough, and the dish is ready in less than five minutes.
Stir-fried sauerkraut with minced pork is her favorite, but it’s a pity that she can’t eat pork now. If she had known earlier, she should have bought a piglet to raise.
Her original intention was to come back to adjust her mood and spend some time picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence. Raising chickens could add interest to her rural life. Who would have thought of raising pigs?
The weather is hot, so the vegetables don’t have to worry about getting cold, and the porridge still needs to be cooked for a while. Zhao Yeqing took advantage of the free time to water the two vegetable gardens.
Some time ago, the plastic sheets around the greenhouse were removed, leaving only the top covered to prevent overheating from the direct sun.
The racks of cowpeas, green beans, cucumbers and bitter melons in the large vegetable garden are already covered with vines and have entered the flowering and pod-setting period. She prays every day that the temperature will rise more slowly. Bitter melons, green beans and cucumbers are unlikely to bear fruit in a high temperature environment above 35 degrees, and the plants will die if the sun is any stronger.
The temperature changes in recent times are obviously no longer suitable for plant growth. Zhao Yeqing took down the plastic sheets around the greenhouse. At the beginning, she only considered the need for insulation when planting in the mountains and did not prepare any shade nets.
She plans to apply ink on a transparent plastic film and then cover it on the greenhouse for sun protection. This should greatly increase the shading rate, but tomatoes require better light, so they have to be arranged separately.
Xuebing cried out loudly, and Zhao Yeqing released her hands which were still on the plastic wrap. This was Xuebing's way of reminding her that the porridge was ready.
Xuebing has a very keen sense of smell. After smelling the burnt smell twice, he found that every time Zhao Yeqing was in a panic, he would make a howling sound as soon as the burnt smell first appeared to remind her.
The aroma of rice porridge wafts in the kitchen.
She has been eating less and less rice recently. She prioritizes consuming the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the cellar, which are almost gone.
If the rice at the foot of the mountain cannot provide her with seeds, then her carbohydrate intake in the future will most likely have to rely on potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots from the large vegetable garden.
Pour a bowl of boiled water into the porridge that has bloomed. She doesn't put much water in the porridge, so the porridge is very thick when it's done, with just a little bit of stickiness on the bottom.
In summer, she likes her porridge to be thinner, and adding boiled water to cool it down so that she can eat it directly. In winter, she likes her porridge to be thicker, the kind that makes her mouth sticky after drinking it.
She served the white porridge and sauerkraut, and did not forget to pour milk for the two kids. There was still half a box of Shuhua milk left. She tried mixing some cow's milk in the Shuhua milk these two days. The two kids didn't feel any discomfort after drinking it, but they were a little hesitant about the different taste of milk. After accepting it, they still drank it with relish.
After breakfast, Zhao Yeqing went out to cut the freshest grass for the rabbits.
The three rabbits gradually accepted their fate of being kept in captivity, and finally three days ago she discovered that the female rabbit was pregnant. She didn't know how many days she was pregnant, but she noticed that the female rabbit's breasts had noticeably swollen.
Recently she has been paying close attention to them, feeding them the freshest grass every day and some vegetables every one or two days.
Unfortunately, she has not yet achieved complete vegetable freedom. It is enough for her own consumption, but it is far from enough for raising rabbits. Recently, she opened a small piece of land next to the rabbit pen to grow some cabbage, lettuce and Chinese cabbage that the rabbits like to eat.
The sweet potatoes are growing well. Recently, they have reached the stage where the leaves are growing vigorously and the stems are swelling. There are a lot of sweet potato leaves crawling on the ground. After a while, when there are more, I can pick some to feed the rabbit. She also likes stir-fried sweet potato leaves.
After feeding the rabbit, Zhao Yeqing went back to the house, sat down to rest, and made himself some honey water.
People tend to feel sleepy when the weather gets hot, not to mention in the mountains, where there are no honking, no hawking, no endless phone calls, and no endless videos to watch.
There are only the sounds of leaves colliding in the mountains, birds singing, and summer cicadas chirping. Sometimes the cicadas may suddenly stop chirping because of the appearance of some animals or insects, but after a while, they forget about the fright and continue to chirp rhythmically.
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