After the summer harvest, the Zhao family rotated their crops to planting soybeans. After the Ghost Festival, there was only a month left before harvesting the soybeans. After harvesting the soybeans, they would start planting late rice. It seemed that farmers were busy all year round and spent more time in the fields than at home.
Lin Yan couldn't help much with the work in the fields. He was busy with the shop business every day. After work in the afternoon, he had to cook and make drinks in the evening. He couldn't spare much time to go to the fields.
Every day after Zhao Shiyun returned from the shop, he would either water the vegetable patch or work in the fields, easing the burden on Li Yuemei and Zhao Qiming. Lin Yan felt sorry for him, as he had to get up early to make tofu, then go to the shop with her, and then go back to the fields. Since she was pregnant, she couldn't help much, so she could only make him some delicious treats or give him a shoulder massage in the evening to relieve his fatigue.
Unfortunately, Zhao Shiyun had thick skin and could not exert much strength. However, when Lin Yan was setting up a stall before, he heard that it was very comfortable to wrap a cloth strip into a ball, tie a wooden stick to the end, and use it to tap the shoulders and back.
Lin Yan found some unused scraps of cloth and tried to figure out how to wrap them into a ball. After trying for a long time without success, he threw them aside in frustration, planning to study them again another day.
Coming home early today, Lin Yan went to the vegetable patch with Zhao Shiyun. Having already harvested most of the vegetables, Lin Yan planned to plant some more garlic, leeks, leeks, and radishes. Radishes are a winter staple, so they need to be planted more. Drying them makes them delicious in porridge or stir-fried with meat. Zhou Chunlan used to stir-fry them with fermented black beans and chili sauce; the salty, spicy flavor was perfect with rice.
After picking the vegetables in the plots with more space, Zhao Shiyun picked up the hoe and started to turn the soil. Lin Yan helped him. He had brought the seeds with him, so he would plant as much as he could today.
Guessing it was almost dark, Lin Yan said goodbye to Zhao Shiyun and went back to cook. He packed some leeks, beans, and a small pumpkin in a basket and they would have pumpkin rice tonight.
Wash and peel the pumpkin, cut into small pieces, put it into the washed rice, and steam it together with the rice.
Wash the chives and chop them into small pieces. Beat in four eggs and mix well. Add some salt to season. You will make scrambled eggs with chives later.
I had an eggplant at home, so I cooked it with the beans. Wash the eggplant and beans, cut the beans into sections, and cut the eggplant into strips. Marinate them with salt for half a quarter of an hour, then squeeze out the moisture with your hands. Then chop a green pepper.
Lin Yan tied his jacket and began to stir-fry. He scooped a spoonful of lard into the pan, heated it, and poured in the blended chives and eggs. With a sizzling sound, the egg liquid quickly solidified in the pan, turning golden brown at the edges. When the egg liquid was almost solidified, Lin Yan took the spatula and gently flipped the whole chive and egg over. Once this side was fried golden, Lin Yan used a spatula to cut the chives and eggs into small pieces, added a little water, and simmered them for a while. The fragrance of the chives and the richness of the eggs filled the kitchen. When the water was almost dry, it was ready to be served.
Next, he added a few tablespoons of oil to the wok, heated it, and added the chopped beans. He deep-fried them until wrinkled, then removed them. He then added the eggplant, frying until softened. He left some oil in the wok and sautéed the minced garlic until fragrant. He then added the beans, eggplant, and green peppers, stir-frying until evenly combined. He then poured in a sauce made from water, chili peppers, and soy sauce, simmered until the sauce thickened, and added salt to taste.
The vegetables were cooked, and the aroma of pumpkin rice wafted from the pot, filling the entire kitchen with enticing aromas. Zhao Shiyun returned from tilling the fields. He didn't have enough time today, so he decided not to plant radishes yet and would plant them tomorrow. He walked into the kitchen, saw the prepared meal, and helped carry it to the main room. He had been eating in the main room lately because there were too many mosquitoes in the yard, and sometimes he ate early in the morning under the sun.
Lin Yan opened the lid, mixed the pumpkin and rice together with a rice spoon, and then brought it to the main room.
Yu Ge'er had just walked in, sweating profusely. He quickly scooped up some water to wash his hands and face, then rushed into the main room and sat down. Lin Yan saw that he had placed a bulging object behind his chair and asked, "Yu Ge'er, what did you put behind this?"
Yu Ge'er moved his butt to let him see: "It's a sandbag. I was playing with sandbags with He Ge'er just now."
This sandbag was made of scraps of cloth and filled with straw. Lin Yan picked it up and took a look. There was a lot of straw in the sandbag, so it felt bulgy and very firm. He thought of the back massage tool he wanted to make and became lost in thought.
After dinner, the family sat in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air as usual. Several people were fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, and from time to time there was the sound of mosquitoes being swatted. Zhao Shiyun suddenly said, "We're running low on moxa sticks for fumigating mosquitoes. We have to go buy some tomorrow."
Li Yuemei said, "Buy more. The livestock shed in the backyard also needs to be fumigated." The chickens, pigs, and donkeys raised at home have a strong smell in the summer and there are many mosquitoes. Fortunately, they are cleaned regularly so that there is no bad smell.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com