Chapter 28 Planting Corn
After the wheat harvest was completed, everyone began preparing to plant corn.
While selling wheat yesterday, Su Tangtang inquired about the price of corn seeds and the amount needed per acre.
Early this morning, she and Gu Qingke went to town to buy seeds.
They bought a total of 25 kilograms, choosing the better quality kind, at 60 yuan per kilogram, spending a total of 1,500 yuan, enough to plant eight acres of land.
Just as Su Tangtang returned from town, she saw Zhou Yan and Lin Lang arrive. Judging from their expressions, she guessed why they had come.
"Tangtang, are you busy?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile as she looked at Su Tangtang, who was washing her hands.
Su Tangtang nodded. "Sister Yan, Lin Lang, what brings you here?"
Zhou Yan felt a little embarrassed because she had troubled Su Tangtang quite a bit recently, but she still said, "I'd like to borrow your electric tricycle."
"We're planning to buy seeds, but the two-wheeled tram can't carry them all."
Knowing that Zhou Yan was a reliable person, Su Tangtang readily agreed, "Sure, but we need to return it this afternoon, we need it too."
Zhou Yan and Lin Lang nodded quickly, "Don't worry, we'll be right back after buying the seeds!"
Su Tangtang smiled and helped them unload the corn seeds they had just bought from the car.
Lin Lang casually asked, "Which company did you buy the seeds from? How much did they cost?"
Su Tangtang gave a brief explanation, then added, "There are cheaper ones, but we didn't buy them, fearing it would affect the germination rate and harvest."
Zhou Yan nodded after hearing this, "Then let's go and take a look at the one you mentioned."
After saying that, they rode away on the borrowed electric tricycle. Su Tangtang stood at the door and watched them go.
"I think I'm such a great person," Su Tangtang said with a smile after seeing them off.
Huo Yizhou, who had just come out of the main room, happened to hear this and chuckled, "You're quite good at praising yourself."
Su Tangtang was startled by the sudden sound and turned to look at him. "How come you walk so quietly? You scared me."
Huo Yizhou took a sip of the beverage provided by the production team and said leisurely, "You were so engrossed in praising yourself that you didn't notice your surroundings."
Su Tangtang chuckled, "Don't you think so?"
Huo Yizhou nodded. "It's quite good."
He paused, then added, "However, sometimes, 'good' should have its limits."
Su Tangtang pouted, "I know, I can tell the difference. I only lent it to Sister Zhou Yan because she seems like a nice person."
Huo Yizhou responded, "Okay."
Then they changed the subject, "What are you having for lunch?"
Su Tangtang thought for a moment, "Stir-fried chicken drumsticks with chili peppers and noodles."
"We're out of noodles at home."
"I will do it."
Huo Yizhou was slightly taken aback, but didn't ask any further questions. He just smiled and said, "You're really amazing."
Su Tangtang said excitedly, "I can also steam buns and make dumplings. I'll make them for you another day."
Huo Yizhou smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'm looking forward to it."
"I'll cook the stir-fry today, and you can make the noodles," Huo Yizhou suggested.
Su Tangtang nodded and replied, "Okay."
After discussing it, the two went into the kitchen together and divided the work. Su Tangtang rolled up her sleeves and started kneading the dough, while Huo Yizhou washed the vegetables and cut the meat.
He worked quickly and efficiently, preparing the ingredients in no time. Then he lit the fire, heated the wok, and began stir-frying the vegetables.
By the time Huo Yizhou's dishes were almost finished cooking, Su Tangtang's noodles were also ready. They were of moderate width and uniform thickness, showing that she was skilled at cooking.
Huo Yizhou lit the small pot and boiled the water. Before long, the water was boiling.
Su Tangtang gently put the noodles into the pot, and the two smiled at each other amidst the steaming heat.
Soon the noodles were cooked. Su Tangtang scooped them out, divided them into four bowls, and then piled the stir-fried vegetables that Huo Yizhou had prepared on top of the noodles.
She called the photographer over to eat.
Then she picked up the bowl, stirred it with her chopsticks, took a slurp, and her eyes lit up immediately. "Delicious!"
Huo Yizhou also took a bite and said, "The noodles are very chewy, just the texture I like."
Su Tangtang smiled and said, "If you like it, I'll make it for you again in the future."
Huo Yizhou paused slightly in his chopsticks. "Afterwards"? After the show ends, they'll probably go their separate ways. There's no "afterwards" to speak of.
Thinking of this, a strange sense of irritation welled up inside him. Some words were stuck in his throat, but he couldn't say them because of the camera. In the end, he could only swallow them back silently along with the noodles.
Around 1 p.m., Zhou Yan and Lin Lang returned the tricycle, bringing with them two bags of fruit.
Su Tangtang quickly said, "Sister Yan, you're too kind."
Zhou Yan said with a smile, "We thought the fruit was quite sweet, so we bought a lot to bring some for you to try as well."
Su Tangtang accepted the fruit and thanked Zhou Yan, who waved her hand, saying, "We're the ones who should be saying thank you."
After chatting for a few minutes, Zhou Yan and the others said goodbye and left.
No sooner had they left than Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu arrived, also there to borrow the car.
Su Tangtang said apologetically, "I'm sorry, we need the car in a little while."
Meng Meng's smile froze instantly. "We'll get it back soon."
Su Tangtang insisted, "I've already made an appointment with the planting master, and I need to go to the field to plant the seeds right away."
"Tangtang, don't be so stingy," Meng Meng said jokingly.
Su Tangtang's eyebrows twitched, and she laughed, "Then just consider me stingy. Anyway, I'm not lending it to you."
Meng Meng's face turned somewhat pale, and she gave a dry laugh, "Alright then."
After saying that, he turned and left, and Ke Tangshu followed him.
Watching her angry retreating figure, Su Tangtang turned to Huo Yizhou and said, "She's angry."
Actually, it's not that she can't lend it, it's just that she's not willing to lend it to Meng Meng. Plus, Meng Meng just said that Meng Meng is stingy, so even if she doesn't need it, she won't lend it to her.
She knew Zhou Yan would cherish and use the money she lent to her, but Meng Meng was different. Meng Meng was clearly hostile towards her, perhaps because she was Shen Yingying's friend and she always wanted to take the opportunity to make things difficult for her and vent her anger for her friend.
After Meng Meng and the others left, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou rode their electric bikes, carrying corn seeds, to the fields.
When they arrived, the planting technician was working on the adjacent plot. It was their turn next. The planter was very large and completed the planting of one acre of land in the blink of an eye.
Soon, the technician arrived at their location in his machine.
The two men helped pour the seeds into the machine's hopper, and then the operator drove the seeder into the field. As the soil was turned over, the corn seeds were evenly buried in the ground.
It took more than two hours to sow all the seeds on the eight acres of land. Around 4 p.m., the sowing was completed. Su Tangtang settled the payment, which was 80 yuan per acre, for a total of 640 yuan for the eight acres.
With that, their corn planting was finally finished, costing a total of more than two thousand yuan. Su Tangtang did the math and couldn't help but say, "There's still the cost of spraying pesticides and fertilizing later, which will be another considerable expense."
"Yes," Huo Yizhou replied softly.
Looking at the land where the seeds had just been sown, Su Tangtang sighed once again, "Farming is really too difficult."
-
Meng Meng had been holding her anger in all afternoon, so she turned around and found Shen Yingying, and started to complain about Su Tangtang.
"Yingying, I've always heard you say bad things about her, but I never imagined she was not only mean-spirited but also stingy," Meng Meng said, feeling embarrassed after being rejected in public, and becoming increasingly angry as she spoke.
Shen Yingying sighed softly, "I'm used to it now."
Meng Meng pulled her back with a pained expression and whispered in her ear, "I'll help you get back at her."
Shen Yingying did not try to dissuade her, but simply nodded silently.
Meng Meng sneered, "Anyway, I'm not a celebrity. I'm just on this show for fun. I have no intention of entering the entertainment industry. It's most appropriate for me to stand up for you."
Shen Yingying held her hand, touched. "Mengmeng, you're still the best to me."
Meng Meng smiled, then her expression turned serious. "I've already thought of a good way to deal with her."
Shen Yingying leaned closer and asked, "What's the solution?" Because of the camera, the two could only whisper and murmur to each other for a while.
Just as they finished speaking, Gu Qingke and Ke Tangshu, who had borrowed the car, returned.
Seeing the tricycle they had borrowed, Shen Yingying stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go buy corn seeds too."
Meng Meng immediately smiled and said, "Okay."
So the four of them set off together for the town.
That evening, the production team gathered everyone together.
The director spoke first, "Everyone, please report on the progress of corn planting."
Su Tangtang was the first to respond, "We've already finished planting all of ours."
Zhou Yan and Lin Lang quickly added, "Our family is the same."
The director looked at Gu Qingke's group.
Gu Qingke replied, "We'll broadcast it tomorrow."
Meng Meng chimed in, "We'll do it tomorrow too."
The director nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The director then announced, "A guest star will be joining us tomorrow."
Everyone immediately started discussing it.
Lin Lang asked curiously, "Who could it be?"
The director, however, kept it a secret, saying, "I won't reveal it yet; you'll find out tomorrow."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
The director then added, "These two guests are friends of some of you."
Zhou Yan smiled and asked, "Whose friend is it this time?"
Gu Qingke pressed further, "Are they a couple?"
The director shook his head. "No."
Everyone started excitedly speculating whether it would be their friends, except for Su Tangtang, who didn't join in because she didn't have any friends in this world.
The director clapped his hands to interrupt the discussion, "Alright, stop guessing for now, there's a new task tomorrow."
Qu Xian asked, "What mission?"
"The production team has booked five ponds, and you'll be going to pick lotus roots together tomorrow."
The director explained, "Considering that the weather is cooler in the morning and evening, the picking time is scheduled between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Meng Meng said excitedly, "I've never picked lotus roots before, I'm so excited!"
She turned to Ke Tangshu and asked, "Have you ever done this?"
Ke Tangshu replied calmly, "No."
Seeing his lukewarm reaction, Meng Meng's enthusiasm immediately waned. She ignored him and continued listening to the director's explanation.
"You will be divided into three groups, one of which will operate together with the guest stars."
The director continued, "The group that picks the most will receive a reward of 10,000 yuan, the second place will receive 5,000 yuan, and the third place will receive 2,000 yuan."
The first prize of 10,000 yuan is no small sum, and everyone is eager to try and win first place.
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