Xu then picked a handful of peppercorns from under the pepper tree and held them in her hand. The green peppercorns were shriveled and round. With a heavy squeeze of her fingers, they split into two pieces, from which a transparent green liquid seeped out, releasing a faint aroma of citrus mixed with lemon.
"Hehe, that boss looks a lot like your kid!"
"Haha, little family... little family, it's raining so early! Haha, the weather is really nice today. Have you had breakfast yet? Are they planning to go to the market..."
The reason why hot pot is not commonly seen in the market is twofold: firstly, the market demand is low; and secondly, it is difficult to cultivate. It has extremely low requirements for soil, water, climate, etc., and is extremely difficult to encounter various pests and diseases, with a very low mortality rate...
However, I did not lead Xu along the usual mountain path that the villagers often took, but along a main road that was almost completely covered by sparse vegetation, heading out of the mountains.
"The Sichuan peppercorns are of poor quality and there's not enough of them, so how come we're still losing money?"
As Bo Yi listened, she suddenly realized something was amiss. Secretary Li was from Xu Dongliang, and so was the old lady. So why were they speaking in a special language instead of the local dialect? Were they deliberately speaking to her?
Just as Ms. Xu was pondering that question, the two began exchanging pleasantries. Mr. Xu continued to lead Bo Yi out of the mountain, explaining things to Ms. Xu as they walked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yes, yes." Bo Yi shook her head and sighed again, "That 'Ghost-Seeing Sorrow' is difficult to cultivate and survive..."
"Haha, you dug up fewer than them, you dug up eleven! One less than him!"
As Ms. Xu admired the banner, she walked up the stairs. When her left foot was firmly planted on the ground and her right foot stepped into the space between the stairs, she heard cheers and saw a group of people springing up from the corners of the stairs like mushrooms after a rain...
Then, listening to Boss Xu recount the amusing stories of mushroom picking outside the mountains, with Xiahezibao chiming in, Xu, who grew up by the sea, suddenly became quite interested.
"......"
Based on that aroma alone, Xu was confident that it wasn't the spicy hot pot she wanted!
"......"
Enduring the intense, almost tangible spiciness, Xu examined all the plants in the baskets carried by the crowd. In the end, except for one person who dug up the famous red-fruited plant, all the other plants were extremely spicy!
Mr. Xu focused on the first half of his sentence. Ms. Xu, who was carefully studying the peppercorns, did not notice the change in his tone. Bo Yixiong, however, did notice it, giving Mr. Xu a subtle glance before slowly looking away.
I picked up the withered branch in my hand and moved it around the pepper tree a couple of times, and found the seventh and eighth pepper trees. Surprisingly, they were actually growing cash crops there!
Before the villagers received a definite answer from the Xu family, they all bid farewell with great excitement and returned to the village, discussing among themselves where to plant the dug-up chili peppers.
Seeing this for the first time, Xu An actually felt a pang of shame and embarrassment... and a tiny bit of secret delight...
"You dug up seventeen trees, which is seven more than him!"
Before Xu nodded, everyone else became excited and handed the plants from their baskets to Bo Yi for her to identify.
"Hehe, that's bad, that's bad! You came back from the mountain early yesterday, made seven trips, and dug up eighteen trees, hehe! Did any of you dig up less than you?"
To the left of the main road were terraced fields, overgrown with weeds, stretching as far as the eye could see, a desolate landscape. This didn't seem strange to Bo Yi, so he stopped and asked, "Secretary Li, are those terraced fields abandoned? Why do they look like they're being tended even though they're covered in weeds?"
"That is..." Li Sixin's subordinate seemed to be holding something up to his nose and sniffing it before giving the answer: "Is that Sichuan pepper planted outside the ground?"
Xu didn't finish her first sentence because I noticed that each villager had a basket beside them, and there wasn't a single lush green plant outside the basket. I recognized the green plant very well, but the fruit growing under it was completely unfamiliar. This was the purpose of my trip—spicy hot pot!
At some point, an old woman walked to a distance from where the seven people were, went around to the edge of the ground, took out a pair of scissors from her basket, and snipped off a few peppers from under the tree and put them into her basket.
"Bo Yixiong, Yanfu told me you're quite interested in the mushrooms outside the mountains. Perhaps you could come down and take a look? Our Xu Dongliang may lack some resources, but the natural scenery is absolutely stunning. Usually, just look up from the mountaintop, and the view is breathtaking!"
"Is the older one the boss? Shouldn't the younger one be the boss?"
Of the chilies dug up, even a one-eighth survival rate is considered low. They'll definitely be left to grow down the mountain. It's only mid-April now; at most, there will be two more harvests, and if the weather is bad, even eight harvests are possible...
Mr. Xu's muttering was slow, hurried, and heavy. Ms. Xu only heard the words "professional" and "success." Just as she was about to listen carefully to what Mr. Xu was saying, he changed the subject.
Now that the mushrooms being grown outside the mountains are confirmed to be of good quality, while those grown outside Hezibao will likely grow legs and run away, the difference between sooner or later is minor. Therefore, Bo Yi readily agreed to Boss Xu's suggestion to go mushroom picking.
Following the direction of Bo Yixiong, Xu indeed saw a pepper tree that was as low as chest height, with layers upon layers of leaves covering the dense pepper trees.
Ultimately, it was because I had thought things through thoroughly enough. If I had specifically pointed out the difficulty in transplanting and cultivating that spicy food when I heard Hezibao say that Shanwaichang didn't have any hot pot, then the scene I witnessed would have happened.
“That is…” Xu’s left hand rose involuntarily, and the toothbrush in her hand pointed to the green plant closest to her.
“Those Sichuan peppercorns are part of a future poverty alleviation project. They’ve been planted for seven or seven years, and every year they’ve lost money. This year, the young man finally decided to take care of them, and that’s how they grew.”
Looking at the villagers behind him discussing with great enthusiasm, Bo Yi's thousand words of unspoken thoughts ultimately turned into a sigh, disappearing into the morning breeze in the mountains.
"......"
Who would have thought that this guy with thick eyebrows, small eyes, glasses, and a refined demeanor would actually have a lot of good ideas hidden inside!
How could there be no cash crops in a waist-high weed field?
As they were talking, Boss Xu suddenly changed the subject: "Li Yanfu, I heard from Yanfu that he has a shop that sells braised food, but the sales are very bad, and he uses a lot of Sichuan peppercorns. If you want to consider purchasing from Xu Dongliang, why don't you?"
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