Chen Hong shook her head, "How can this be considered ungrateful? This is the taste of my childhood!"
In the past, to save food, what kind of wild vegetables didn't we eat? Back then it was to fill our stomachs, now it's to eat healthily!
When to say what, and what to pursue at different stages.
Don't people all want their lives to get better and better? Looking back now, our childhood was also very colorful.
Climbing mountains and trees, raiding bird nests and catching rabbits, gathering wild vegetables and firewood—they were much better than the children in the city today!
Guan Tao and Xiao Ying listened with shining eyes, and kept asking Chen Hong and Xiao Yun about their childhood stories.
"We find catching cicada nymphs very interesting and fun. I never imagined that what you guys did as kids was so childish!"
Your lives are so enviable! When we were kids, all we did was homework, homework, homework. Our parents didn't even let us go out!
Mrs. Guan added, "Can the city compare to the countryside? There are cars and motorcycles everywhere you go, and you can easily get hit if you're not careful."
"Kids forget to watch their surroundings when they're playing. Adults don't have time to supervise you. It's too dangerous to let kids go out to play."
A meal of wild vegetables brought out a unique flavor; the children ate with relish, finding it both healthy and fun.
The adults ate to their hearts' content, tasting the flavors of their childhood and recalling memories of the past.
In short, the "bitter memories and sweet tastes" meal wasn't a success. The adults' memories were all beautiful and nostalgic, and they didn't feel that the past was bitter.
On the contrary, I feel that life was better before than it is now. There was less economic pressure and mental burden, and life was more relaxed.
Although the attempt to recall past hardships and appreciate present happiness failed, Chen Hong's skill in preparing wild vegetables won over everyone's appetite.
After dinner, only five steamed buns and two vegetable dumplings remained; the rest of the food was devoured.
Moreover, they got so engrossed in digging for wild vegetables today that they plan to do it for the next few days.
They even went so far as to call it "just loosening the soil and weeding her orchard." Fine! Whatever makes you happy!
Foraging for wild vegetables also allows her to get closer to nature, and there's no danger in her own orchard. Having her child with her makes Chen Hong feel even more at ease.
Since they were keen on digging for wild vegetables, Chen Hong could take advantage of the good weather to pickle and dry the vegetables.
In about ten days, she will have to go to Jinan, and there will be no more opportunity to dry vegetables.
The vegetables in the garden have been harvested in large quantities. We should dry more of them so we can have a different flavor in winter.
Although she has space and won't have to worry about vegetables in winter, she still needs to make more preparations to avoid attracting attention.
Besides, home-dried vegetables make a great local specialty to give as gifts, and wild vegetables aren't cheap these days.
After dinner, some people washed the dishes, some wiped the floor, and some fed the dogs.
After cleaning up, Xiaoying and Guantao took Yu Yang out for a run and came back to find Nini watching cartoons in the living room.
The four adults, Chen Hong and Xiao Yun, turned on the lights at the door and sat in the yard picking wild vegetables.
This afternoon, their enthusiasm for digging wild vegetables was high, and they brought back quite a lot, enough for five large baskets.
The main plants are shepherd's purse, purslane, and amaranth, with a few sow thistle and dandelion.
Each of the four people had a small stool, and there were three large stainless steel basins next to them, each used to hold different kinds of wild vegetables.
Once the basin was full, Chen Hong began washing and blanching the vegetables.
Almost all wild vegetables need to be blanched before eating.
After blanching the wild vegetables for a few minutes, Chen Hong took them out and put them in a clean basin. She then found a clean bamboo tray, set up a shelf in the yard, and placed the bamboo tray on it.
Sprinkle the blanched purslane and amaranth separately onto different bamboo trays to dry and drain.
A gentle breeze is blowing tonight, so there won't be any dew overnight. Chen Hong won't move the bamboo trays inside; the wind will blow them all night, removing some moisture, making them easier to dry tomorrow.
They worked until 10:30 before they finished cleaning, washing, and blanching all the wild vegetables.
Chen Hong instructed Xiao Yun: "Xiao Yun, you should dig less of thistle in the future. The thorns of this wild vegetable will become harder when dried, and it won't taste good."
If you want to eat it, dig it up as you go; fresh purslane is easier to crush the thorns into pieces. You should dig up more purslane and amaranth; these two vegetables taste better dried.
"Okay, sister, I got it. I'll tell the kids when we go dig for wild vegetables again tomorrow!"
It's getting late, everyone should pack up and go to bed. Nini has already had a nap.
Everyone packed up their stools and basins and went inside to wash up. Chen Hong finished up by cleaning up the trash and putting it in the septic tank in the backyard. They went back to the front yard, locked the door, and went back inside to wash up and rest.
I haven't heard from Zhou Yi for several days; I wonder if he's on another mission.
Her boyfriend was purely a tool for her to spice up her life. After dating for so long, she had long since gotten used to his occasional disappearances.
In fact, Chen Hong is very satisfied with her current life. No one cares about her, no one asks her questions, and she can do whatever she wants. She is truly at ease.
To be honest, when the elderly from Zhou Yi's family came to Yujia Village, she didn't care about their food or drink.
Although neither side explicitly stated it, there was a sense of mutual accommodation between them, and Chen Hong also felt some pressure.
They're going back to Beijing tomorrow, and Chen Hong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Hong was very happy that the elderly people, who were all quite old, had spent more than a month peacefully in Yujia Village without any health problems.
That's why she doesn't want to get married again; after marriage, there would be more considerations for the elders and relatives of both families.
It's really not easy to live in a big family!
It's really tiring to take care of everything, inside and out!
Otherwise, in some places these days, it's fashionable for young women to look for partners who "have a car and a house, but no parents!"
Having a large in-law family requires managing various relationships, which takes up a lot of energy.
Chen Hong had grown accustomed to the freedom of being in charge of her own life and didn't want to step into the "walled city" of marriage again.
Judging from the background and actions of the Zhouyi family, it's clear they weren't a small family.
Uncle Zhou and Zhou Yi's father have been leaders for so many years, they must have many relatives and friends.
Chen Hong had no ambition, did not want to do anything big, and did not want to use the Zhou family's influence to pull strings and get things done for herself.
Her heart is small; now she can only hold her parents, children, and siblings.
She'll lend a hand to others if she can, but she doesn't want to spend too much time and energy on it.
She wanted to fish freely and live happily with her son.
She is very satisfied and content with her life now! She doesn't want to change anything!
In the following days, Chen Hong kept drying vegetables, not only wild vegetables, but also the green beans and eggplants in her backyard garden. She dried everything that could be dried.
She pickled vegetables that couldn't be sun-dried into various flavors. She also pickled two large vats of salted duck eggs and preserved eggs.
These past few days, different wild vegetables have been served at every meal at home: wild vegetable buns, wild vegetable pancakes, and wild vegetable tofu.
There are also stir-fried wild vegetables with eggs, mixed wild vegetables, wild vegetable porridge, wild vegetable soup, and all sorts of other ways to cook them. They really have come up with all sorts of creative ways to enjoy wild vegetables.
That day, Chen Hong told Xiao Yun and the others to go home early, as she was going out to "buy" a sheep to stew.
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