Chapter 52: Green Apricots in May
It was said early on that the green apricots were very green and sour just by looking at them, but Lu Miao didn't expect them to be so sour. It was so sour that her teeth became weak and her face was about to cramp from the sourness.
With a bitter face, he uttered "yue" several times. When he heard Fu Jingyou laugh, Lu Miao glared at him with resentment and anger:
"You're teasing me! Are you deliberately making me eat such sour green apricots?"
"No, the green apricots in this season are sour. You have to be careful when eating them."
"How?"
"Like this." Fu Jingyou took a green apricot from the box, rubbed it in his palm, and then brought it to his lips and took a small bite. "Green apricots in late May and early June are a rare snack in the countryside. They are sour, so you have to eat them in small bites."
There are not many decent snacks in the countryside, and even if there were, there is no money to buy them, so the fruits in the mountains become the only thing that can satisfy the cravings of children.
Fu Jingyou said this while demonstrating how to eat to Lu Miao. However, when he finished the first bite and took the second bite, he couldn't help but close his left eye, and his handsome face twitched and trembled.
Fu Jingyou was embarrassed and a little helpless, "It seems a little sour."
Lu Miao was speechless, but also felt that Fu Jingyou was a little funny.
After the little episode with the sour green apricots, Fu Jingyou opened the lid of the pot and busied himself with serving rice and dishes.
Lu Miao leaned over the table, holding his chin with both hands and asked:
"Why pick green apricots if they're so sour? Can't we wait until they're ripe and eat them sweet?"
Fu Jingyou said: "The girls and boys in the village are not particular. They pick one today and pick another tomorrow when they are hungry. Usually they don't wait until they are ripe."
"Besides, there are many birds in the mountains. Even if the fish are ripe, most of them will end up in the birds' stomachs."
Lu Miao asked again: "Is this grown in the mountains? Isn't it planted by the members themselves?"
"Um."
After serving the fragrant and attractive mud frogs on the table, Fu Jingyou served Lu Miao a bowl of steamed rice. He held chopsticks in one hand and four freshly heated steamed buns in the other, then sat opposite Lu Miao and took a big bite of each.
Lu Miao pouted in confusion, "The brown rice I brought isn't enough? Why are you eating steamed bread again?"
Fu Jingyou said indifferently: "They are all rations, eat the same."
Lu Miao lowered his eyes to look at the rice in front of him, and pursed his lips even more. "How can I eat so much rice? You are afraid of wasting the steamed bread, but you are not afraid that I will waste the rice?"
Fu Jingyou picked up a piece of mud frog meat with chopsticks and ate it silently without saying a word.
"snort!"
Lu Miao stood up and took out a large bowl from the broken cupboard. She scooped water from the bucket and rinsed it clean. She poured all the remaining rice in the pot into the bowl, leaving only a layer of rice crust at the bottom of the pot. She said in a commanding tone:
"I'm going to drink some rice soup later. Fu Jingyou, please make some porridge!"
Fu Jingyou put down his chopsticks, stood up with a steamed bun in his mouth and started working.
Lu Miao sat back at the table. She hadn't touched her chopsticks just now, so the rice and chopsticks in her bowl were clean.
Picking up the chopsticks and pushing down the newly poured rice, Lu Miao picked up her own bowl and put some of the rice into the big bowl. Fu Jingyou stoked the fire in the stove and sat back at the table. She just pushed the bowl over:
"Here, let's eat together."
"I don't……"
Fu Jingyou pushed the bowl back. Lu Miao glared at him, "No what? You picked green apricots for me, asked me to come here to eat, and didn't let me do anything. You helped me so much, and now you want to make straw sandals for me... Fu Jingyou, you can't let me take advantage of you all the time. I'll feel guilty!"
Lu Miao knew what Fu Jingyou cared about. It was simply that he thought fine grains were precious and rare. Besides, she was a girl, and it was not appropriate for him to eat a girl's food casually.
But to be fair, Fu Jingyou helped her a lot. Not to mention the daily chores, just letting her come here to improve the food was already saving her from dire straits.
Now she was asked to eat rice. She couldn't bear to watch Fu Jingyou eat the disgusting steamed buns, and she felt even more guilty.
After taking a breath, Lu Miao put away his expression and said calmly and seriously:
"Of course, I don't mean to force you. You can choose not to eat rice, but I will reconsider whether I should accept the help you give me in the future."
Lu Miao gave Fu Jingyou the opportunity to choose, but Fu Jingyou had no choice.
"I'll eat."
Fu Jingyou picked up the rice and took a big mouthful. The fragrance of the rice instantly filled his mouth and nose. The delicate and soft taste was completely different from coarse grains.
He couldn't help but savor the memory carefully. Beneath the fine hair on his forehead, his brows relaxed with a hint of relief, and he looked less bitter and resentful than usual.
He rarely showed such an expression. Lu Miao held his chin with both hands, and his mood inexplicably brightened.
Fu Jingyou felt uncomfortable being looked at by her, and emphasized in a low voice:
"Just this once...next time, next time I'll bring back decent rations, and then you can eat mine."
Lu Miao chuckled innocently, "Okay, but the seasonings have to be mine. I'll think of some ways to help you make more delicious dishes and we can eat together."
Lu Miao doesn't like to take advantage of others, but at the same time, she will not miss the opportunity to make her life better.
Friends can't really share the good and the bad, but helping each other and exchanging favors is the right way to get along. Fu Jingyou nodded in agreement, and Lu Miao hummed a bright smile, picking up a chopstick from the plump mud frog legs in the large bowl and saying, "Eat!"
The bamboo forest behind the house swayed in the summer breeze. Amid the rustling sound, the chirping of birds and Lu Miao's voice seemed unusually ethereal and crisp.
The fragrant, plump and firm mud frog meat tasted even better than the soft-shelled turtle last time. Fu Jingyou finished a full bowl of rice and did not let go of the steamed buns, swallowing them all in one gulp with the oil at the bottom of the bowl.
The rare feeling of fullness and the lingering delicious taste in his mouth made his internal organs feel extremely comfortable.
Last time he accidentally fell asleep, and when he woke up, Lu Miao was gone. Fu Jingyou was lost for a long time because of this.
This time he perked up his spirits, and while cleaning the kitchen, he occasionally tilted his head to chat with Lu Miao in a casual manner.
He didn't find any more reasons to delay until the kitchen and the backyard were cleaned up. Then he turned to Lu Miao and said slowly:
"You should go back."
"Is time passing so quickly? It's almost noon..."
Lu Miao stood up from the small table, stretched and looked at the sky. After a while, he turned to look at Fu Jingyou and asked:
"Fu Jingyou, when can I come next time?"
Fu Jingyou nodded: "It will take a while...I'm still a little busy."
Lu Miao thought about it seriously and asked again:
"So I haven't seen you in the team lately?"
"Sure..." Fu Jingyou hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll be back in a few days. If you have anything, you can always find me."
"Um... okay!"
Lu Miao puffed up his cheeks and was silent for a while, his expression involuntarily showing a hint of grievance and coquettishness:
"You have to hurry up and don't keep me waiting too long! I can't eat potatoes and sweet potatoes every day anymore..."
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