Jian Dan has a clear understanding of her house. Since she can't expand inside, she goes outside and immediately sees two strings of red groundcherries hanging in the window.
She thought the red peppers hanging up by others looked pretty; in the past, these were almost standard equipment on rural televisions.
She didn't grow chili peppers, but she encountered many red groundcherries on the mountain. Since they were pretty and red, she strung two strings together and hung them up.
Now, looking at it, hey? This works too, doesn't it?
If the girl can wear it, then what's wrong with the radish?
He stopped looking for it and went back to his room to find the needle and thread he had used and put away last time. He then used it to find the right needle.
These radish strips are much more eye-catching than the red shiitake mushroom stems. They're also easy to thread; you just pick them up. It's simple and quite fun to play with.
These radishes are at their most juicy and fresh right now. It's a good thing they're tied with thickened string, otherwise these long bunches wouldn't be able to hold up.
It's simple and doesn't care about aesthetics; its main focus is practicality.
Several long strings of fruit hung on nails by the kitchen door, on hooks on shelves along the walls inside the house, on nails above the window frames, and there was even a string of fruit hanging next to the red ground cherry. One red and one white, they looked quite nice, but I wonder if they would taste bad if they were frozen.
I heard from Grandma Liu that in the countryside, almost everything can be pickled, and nothing is wasted. This includes cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, cilantro, cabbage, and even mushrooms and wild vegetables picked from the mountains.
She hadn't tried the other simple ones yet, but when it came to wild vegetables, she remembered that she had actually eaten them once: beef, potatoes, dandelion, perilla leaves, and sweet potato stems. Each one had a perfect flavor and was considered a specialty of the Korean ethnic group. Just thinking about it made her miss it.
She was certain that what Grandma Liu was talking about was not this kind of pickled vegetable, but rather dandelion and potatoes cooked together, with salt and maybe a little oil, a strong-flavored dish that goes well with rice.
However, these three dishes are not in season at this time, so we can only try them in the spring.
This year, there are few plants in the garden, and not much to tidy up. Whenever I have time, I still go with Li Yan and the others to the foot of the mountain to collect firewood.
However, ever since Director Cheng came, Jian Dan has become completely quiet. She doesn't stand out in anything and follows the educated youth's lead, behaving in a very conventional way.
Before the snow fell, the village organized another trip up the mountain. She quietly followed the group, picking up the mountain produce and gathering firewood that had been missed last time, without any of her previous ostentation.
Liu Weimin kept glancing at her, wondering what she was up to. This wasn't like her at all.
Even after he came down the mountain and entered his home, he still couldn't figure out what had happened.
Simple and natural, there was no way to explain anything to him; in any case, her life had become completely quiet.
Occasionally, I would get together with a few other educated youths. If there was anything to do, I would usually go to Grandma Liu's house. Anyway, we were hibernating and not going out, so no one could say anything about it.
Before we knew it, the first heavy snowfall in Liujiatun since last autumn had arrived.
Now, Liu Weimin, the village officials, the elderly, and the villagers were all relieved. A good snow promises a good harvest; more snow in winter means the crops won't lack water and will grow well next year.
Most of the villagers stood in the snow, their eyes red, reaching out to catch the snowflakes, which instantly melted into small puddles in their palms.
"God is still looking out for us farmers!"
"Oh, it's finally snowing! I haven't been this excited about this stuff in years."
"Absolutely! God has opened his eyes!"
Some people even knelt down facing the sky and kowtowed directly.
"God, please rain more, leave some hope for the old farmers!"
Liu Aiguo realized that the conversation was getting out of control, so he quickly stopped them.
"Alright, alright, I know you're happy. Just watch your words from now on. Have you forgotten what we talked about in the meeting the other day?"
The villagers were startled, looked at each other, and remained silent. They were indeed happy that it was snowing, but who would have thought that someone would care about what they said?
“This year has been tough for everyone in the village. Our village wells are almost empty. Just a few days ago, someone told me that the water was murky.”
It's frozen over, but as long as there's plenty of snow in winter, the crops will definitely be good next year, and everyone will have enough to eat, so don't worry.
The snow that just fell is all clean. Go back and fill big basins and vats with it, boil it, and isn't that better than well water?
Human wisdom comes from life and is inexhaustible.
Whether the snow is dry or not is not their concern. Even Jian Dan thinks it's a good idea.
Moreover, the environment we're in now is simply too good; the air is incredibly fresh.
Those who came after, tainted by worldly impurities, cannot be compared to them.
The snow, once it came, fell for three whole days and three nights.
The first thing to do after the snow stopped was to shovel the snow, as the heavy snow had blocked the doorway.
It's not particularly big, but it's true that you can't get out the door.
Jian Dan was only able to open the door thanks to her strength. With one kick, the snow reached her calves; she practically waded through the snow to open the door.
The snow stopped, and the wind stopped too. The snow was blown everywhere, but the snow on the road didn't look particularly thick, mainly because it was blown around by the wind in a completely irregular manner.
The woodpile, in places with walls or shelter from the wind, was piled high with snow blown in by the wind; in some places, it was as high as a person's belly.
The villagers are alright; most of them have experienced it.
Jian Dan and a few other educated youths were really enjoying themselves. The air was fresh after the snowfall, with a hint of sweetness that filled their nostrils and made them feel as if all the turbidity in their hearts could be blown away.
The adults took homemade wooden shovels with wide wooden planks in front of them, and pushed them to make a path.
Seeing this reminded me that I didn't have such a large wooden shovel at home, but I did have a small iron shovel, which I got when I was planting cabbage and radishes.
However, looking at the snow in the yard, which was at least ankle-deep, and then looking down at his cotton shoes that were already filled with snow, he could only resign himself to his fate and return the way he came.
These shoes are already wet, so there's no need to change them. I grabbed a shovel and started cleaning up from the doorway.
She didn't plan to clear the entire yard, but she needed to clear a path first. So she shoveled the snow from the middle of the path to both sides. When she cleared it to the front gate and looked back, she saw that there were small hills on both sides of the path. To be honest, it was quite beautiful.
She bounced around to shake the snow off her shoes and clothes. She had been waving a shovel non-stop, and when she suddenly stopped, a gust of wind came by, and she felt cold and shivered involuntarily.
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