Chapter 67 I Want This and That
After a dish of spare ribs with green plum sauce, a plate of stir-fried bok choy was served, followed by roast chicken with potatoes. The lunch in the parent-child tour package included three dishes and one soup. The last soup was quite ordinary, kelp and egg drop soup, with a few drops of homemade sesame oil added when it was served in the bowl.
The bok choy is grown on Xia Wu’s own hill. It is crisp and sweet, and is Bugs Bunny’s favorite. It tastes great when stir-fried, with a light sweetness.
The third dish was not produced in Yanggou Village. The ingredients were all bought in the town. However, the chicken used was a free-range chicken raised locally. Although the taste was not as good as the chicken raised by Xia Wu, it was more than enough for city dwellers who were used to eating feed-fed chickens.
The little boy who had just been shouting that he didn't want to eat ribs grabbed the ribs and ate them with relish. While eating, he stared at the few ribs left on the plate and said, "Mom! I want more!"
When parents saw for the first time that their children did not dislike the spareribs, they naturally left the good things to the children. They turned to eat other dishes, which were farm dishes paired with rice grown by the villagers in the paddy fields and cooked in a wood-fired pot. They tasted great, and the adults gobbled them up, and the children were no longer picky eaters.
Someone who usually doesn't eat vegetables at home actually tried some bok choy. After eating it, he smacked his lips and commented, "It's sweet."
"Still eating cabbage?"
"One more!"
We received a total of five families today. It was a bit noisy just now, but now everyone is just busy eating. The occasional noise is just to let the children who can't reach the food take some.
Some families catch fish for lunch and can add an extra dish by paying some processing fees.
As expected, a serving of sweet and sour fish was served on every family's table. The men smiled knowingly. It was common to come up empty-handed, but fishermen would never come up empty-handed, as they had plenty of ways to catch fish.
The taste of the fish was unexpectedly good, and was significantly different from the fish we usually eat in the city.
The meat is more tender, and although crucian carp has more bones, it still tastes very good.
After the meal, everyone was conquered. For 298 yuan, a family of three could spend a whole day in a beautiful place with mountains and rivers. The meal alone was worth the money, not to mention that they could also experience picking and fishing, and bring their children into close contact with nature, which cleansed their body and mind.
After dinner, everyone sat lazily in their seats, not wanting to move. The sun was shining brightly outside, so Xia Wu came out at the right time to greet the group friends who came to play.
"Is everyone satisfied with today's meal?"
"It's Xia Xia!"
"She's even prettier in person than in the video!"
"Satisfied! Very satisfied, Xia Xia, can we buy some from the village to take back when we leave?"
This question really touched Xia Wu's heart, "What do you want to buy?"
“We want to buy everything if we can sell it!”
Vegetables, chicken, fish, green plum sauce...
Xia Wu smiled, "Of course you can. The food we eat today is basically all grown or raised by our villagers. For example, I asked someone to buy these spare ribs from the pork stall in the next village early this morning. The pork they sell is all raised by the nearby villagers. If you go too late, they will be sold out."
"Some villagers raise chickens. You can ask a few more of them. They also have free-range eggs. The vegetable packs I sell online contain vegetables. But since you're here, you can take some back with you. If you want to buy, ask Zhao Jing."
Xia Wu introduced Zhao Jing to everyone and everyone greeted her.
"Welcome again to Yanggou Village. As you can see, this place is not prosperous, but very primitive. Your arrival has brought some ripples to the village. I am very grateful to you. In return, I will give each table a homemade fruit drink. I hope everyone has a good time."
After Xia Wu finished speaking, Qiu Lan and Shi Hongniang brought a tray with a large bottle of fruit drink to each table.
"Green plum lemon iced tea?"
There was a small label on the bottle written by Xia Wu. Shen Ming read it out and felt thirsty just listening to it. He divided the cups and poured one cup for each person. The drink was a light green in color. When he smelled it up close, he could smell the aroma of green tea, the taste of lemon, and the hint of green plum.
There is a small amount of ice in the fruit drink. When you take a sip, it is cool and refreshing in your throat. After the slight sourness, it is followed by endless sweetness, which makes people feel very satisfied.
The temperature rises at noon, and the food is a bit greasy after eating. At this time, drinking a glass of cool and refreshing green plum drink is simply refreshing.
In an instant, Chen Ming thought that if he had such a small drink in the hot summer, it would definitely be a great thing in life.
Not only her, but Lu Jiadong's two children also like green plum fruit drink very much. They each drink a cup and then pour another cup.
People at other tables also raved about the drinks.
"Xia Xia, is this fruit drink also made with green plum jam?"
Xia Wu hit the nail on the head. "Yes, it's the jam made from the plums you picked today. If you have time this afternoon, I can take you to see how the jam is made."
"Xia Xia, are you selling jam?"
“For sale.”
"Xia Xia, what kind of tea did you brew? It tastes pretty good. I want to buy some to take back too."
These city people find everything new and can't wait to bring back anything they like.
"The tea leaves are picked by our villagers in the mountains. They are called wild mountain tea. Every year, every household picks them and roasts them to drink. It is especially refreshing in the summer when we are working on the farm. However, there are not many tea trees on the mountain, and my family doesn't have many either. If you want to buy some, you have to go to the village and ask."
The middle-aged man smiled happily, "That's great, I like farm tea!"
Lunch lasted for about an hour and a half. The sun was still quite strong outside, but they didn't want to waste time chatting there anymore, as they still had to drive home in the afternoon.
Xia Wu went back to the house and put on a straw hat to protect herself from the sun. Her straw hat was woven by Yang Guojun. He also wove a few flowers out of rush and pinned them on the hat, which looked very nice when she wore it.
A girl was attracted by Xia Wu's straw hat and simply came up to ask, "Xia Xia, are you selling hats?"
Xia Wu immediately replied, "For sale! How many do you want?"
This was not her first time receiving guests. The previous two waves of guests were the same. They wanted to buy everything they saw. Xia Wu silently wrote down what they wanted. Yang Guojun was not the only one in the village who could weave straw hats. Yang Siye and the others could also weave them.
There is so much rush in the village that it can be cut and used for burning. Recently, it has become a magic weapon for the villagers to make money. Some villagers have made a lot of money just by selling straw hats and various straw-woven gadgets.
Xia Wu had already made preparations and brought out a wooden rack specially used for displaying straw weavings. Hanging on it were not only straw hats, but also straw flowers, straw grasshoppers, and straw pistols...
Depending on the complexity, the prices of these gadgets range from ten to one hundred yuan. After a moment of selection, everyone quickly picked out the items they liked, transferred the money to Zhao Jing, put on their straw hats, and headed up the mountain.
Knowing that greengages and raspberries can be made into jam, tourists have more fun picking them.
Xia Wu took them up the mountain. Many people only picked raspberries at the foot of the mountain in the morning. Before they walked too far up the mountain, they climbed the hillside along the cement road for about ten minutes and saw a sea of sweet clover flowers on the right.
Further away, there are green grasslands that are seamlessly connected. The vast sea of grass is connected to the sky, and the scenery is extremely beautiful.
Xia Wu heard the exclamations and stopped to ask them if they wanted to take a photo.
"Yes! Let's take a few pictures before we go!"
No woman can refuse to take a few beautiful photos as souvenirs in such naturally beautiful scenery. Some people bring cameras when they go out to play, so they call their husbands, sons and daughters to find suitable places for taking photos.
Xia Wu was happy to see them take more photos. After the first two waves of customers came to play, they took photos and posted them in the group, which was the best way to attract customers.
This is the third wave of guests Xia Wu has received. As for the money he makes, it's pretty good. He makes quite a bit. The most important thing is that there are many ways to make money that can be developed.
She plans to go back and change the process, trying to get as many villagers involved as possible, so that nothing needs to happen at her doorstep.
Xia Wu is quite afraid of trouble. If it weren't for the money, it would be so much fun to raise chickens and play with dogs by himself.
"Xia Xia, can I take a picture of you?" A young girl dressed in forest style ran over and asked her with red cheeks.
"Of course, where do you want to shoot it?"
"It's fine right here. I'm a photography enthusiast, and people often ask me to take photos with you. You're so beautiful, you're perfect to be a model!"
Xia Wu smiled and accepted her compliments, "Thank you, you are very beautiful too."
The sky was blue and the wind was gentle, and behind her was a sea of blooming sweet clover flowers. Xia Wu took off half of her straw hat, as if to block the sun, but not completely. The sun shone on her face, casting a half-bright and half-dark shadow.
The most attractive thing about Xia Wu's face is his eyes, which are clear and clean, like a spring. Even through the lens, they can still shock people.
The female photographer took quite a few photos, and Xia Wu cooperated very well.
After the conversation was over, the girl wanted to add Xia Wu on WeChat. "Let me send you the photos. They're so beautiful."
Xia Wu called her on WeChat and found out that the girl's name was Zhang Miao and she came with a sister this time.
They are all photography enthusiasts, initially drawn to Xia Wu's lens, and later gradually fell in love with the slow-paced rural life depicted in her videos. Zhang Miao and her friends are not locals, and they didn't come here specifically; they were there to attend a large comic convention in Tong City last week.
After the comic convention ended, I stayed in Tong City for a few days. I happened to see that Xia Wu had opened Yantou Mountain to tourists, so I rented a car and went there.
"I see there are many other fruits on the mountain. What a pity! If we have time, we will definitely come back!"
"You're welcome to come and play anytime."
After a while, another middle-aged man came to see Xia Wu. He was the one who asked Xia Wu about tea during dinner just now.
"Hello, Xia Xia. I'd like to ask, you planted so many Chinese milk vetches, not just for people to take pictures, right?"
The man spoke in a gentle and polite manner.
Xia Wu pointed to the beehives not far away and said with a smile, "It's mainly for beekeeping and honey collection. There are a few more beehives over there."
Milk vetch has a fast growth cycle, a long flowering period, and abundant nectar sources, making it very suitable for summer transition. Xia Wu has even collected honey from it twice.
Moreover, in autumn, these sweet clover do not need to be harvested and can be directly buried in the ground to increase soil fertility.
Milk vetch, also known as alfalfa, is a very good feed for cattle and sheep. It is also a legume plant and has a similar effect to growing soybean fertilizer.
The land on the mountain had been abandoned before, overgrown with weeds and trees, and lacked fertility. It took several composting cycles before fruit trees could be planted. Xia Wu planned to plant soybeans on this land in the fall so that he could plant more things next year.
The middle-aged man extended his hand and introduced himself. "My name is Lu Yuan. I work for a real estate company. To be honest, I usually have a lot of requests to entertain clients and build relationships with them. Nowadays, people pay attention to health and wellness. My biggest feeling after visiting you today is that living here is definitely very healthy."
"Just now I was telling my wife that it would be great if there were no pressure so that I could rent a room in your village for half a year."
Nowadays, many young people feel the pressure of having a "dai", car loans, mortgages and continuing the family line. Unfortunately, Lu Yuanquan has taken all of it.
He spends over 10,000 yuan a month just on car and mortgage payments. Plus, his children go to an international school, so the tuition is around 100,000 yuan a year. And the family's food and drink...
Fortunately, he and his wife have a relatively stable income, but behind the stable income is overdrawing their bodies, endless work and overtime.
For a long time, both husband and wife were in sub-health condition when they went for physical examinations.
In addition to physical pressure, there is also mental pressure, so Lu Yuan's lover likes to watch the slow life in Tian Yuan's videos, and eventually became a fan of Xia Xia.
The couple had bought the things Xia Wu sold online before. After eating some organic vegetables, they always felt better.
So this time they took a break from their busy schedule and took their children on a road trip.
Lu Yuan talked for a long time and returned to his original purpose, "Are you selling honey?"
"If I can sell it, I'd like to order a batch, preferably in a size I can give as a gift."
Xia Wu nodded readily, "Of course I can sell it, but the price of wild honey is not cheap. Let me tell you first."
"Last year, I had a batch of loquat honey here. It was very effective in relieving coughs and reducing phlegm. I sold it for 2,000 yuan per pound, and it was all bought up. Milk vetch honey is not as good as loquat honey, but it is also additive-free native honey. It is definitely more expensive than the market price. Do you think you can accept it?"
Lu Yuan said without hesitation: "What I want is pure earth honey. The honey on the market is inevitably additives. I trust you, so I buy it from you. Money is not a problem."
Xia Wu liked such straightforward customers, so she was also very forthcoming with her price. "Let's put it this way. One kilogram of honey is 180 yuan. If you want high-quality packaging, I can have someone custom-make it for you, but you'll have to pay for it. Is that acceptable to you?"
The price difference between this and loquat honey is quite large, and it is much lower than Lu Yuan's psychological expectation.
"I can accept that, but may I ask you something? Do you have any loquat honey left? If so, could you sell me some?"
Lu Yuan showed an inhuman smile and said embarrassedly: "It's mainly because I haven't seen honey that costs 2,000 kilograms. I want to see what the difference is with ordinary nectar."
This is how rich people think.
What's more, Xia Wu actually had some loquat honey left in his hands, but the quantity was not much, only two or three pounds at most.
It's purely for my family to drink.
But if Lu Yuan wanted, she could also sell it to him in half a pound or a pound.
Because the loquats on the mountain are almost ripe, if you want to relieve cough and moisten the lungs, loquats should be no worse than honey, right?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
