Chapter 92: All Tomatoes
Grandpa Huang’s home is the one where Lulu and the others were taken in.
Grandpa Huang was the only one at home. His wife had passed away, and his children were working in other places. They only came back during the Chinese New Year. It was a rare opportunity to have so many children come to see him. He was so happy that he couldn't contain himself.
"Oh, they're all here!" Grandpa Huang prepared the baskets, "30 per person, no more."
"Ah...Grandpa Huang, thirty are not enough."
Grandpa Huang didn't believe it: "Thirty isn't enough to eat?"
"Last year there were only 20, today 30 is a lot."
"I'll give it to you first!"
"Grandpa Huang, I'm leaving first!"
Several of the children did not go back to ask for chestnuts, but ran to see the chicks. These chicks were like furry little balls, with round bodies covered with a layer of soft golden fur. The fur was fine and dense. Their small black bean-like eyes flashed with agility and curiosity among the fur. Their tender yellow mouths made a soft "chi chi" sound from time to time, accompanied by a slight tremor, and the fur also swayed gently, as if a golden wheat wave was swaying in the breeze.
"Let's go wash our hands first, and then feed the chickens, okay?" Yesterday, Grandpa Huang gave him the important task of feeding the chickens.
"Feed the chickens!" Yanyan became interested.
After washing his hands, Lulu brought a small basin and said, "This is the chicken feed that Grandpa Huang prepared. Just spread it over like this."
However, there are some skills in spreading feed. It should be spread in the right amount and evenly, and it should be adjusted in time according to the chicks' eating habits.
Since Grandpa Huang was the only one raising all the chicks, and there were not many chicks, they were quickly fed. In the yard, Grandpa Huang was also preparing to make sugar-roasted chestnuts.
The big pot at home can fry a lot at a time. First, light the fire and put the dry corn stalks at the bottom of the oven. Then, light a match, bring the weak flame close to the stalks, and with a "whoosh", the stalks are ignited. The orange-red flames quickly rise up and lick the bottom of the pot. Then, add some thicker branches, and the fire in the oven becomes stronger and stronger.
Making a fire is also a technical job. Several kids who had never seen it before squatted down, huddled together, and watched Grandpa Huang make a fire.
Pour the plump chestnuts into the pot, and with a "bang", the chestnuts happily spread out at the bottom of the pot. Then add sugar. The next step is to take a large iron spatula and start to stir-fry continuously.
The most important thing in making sugar-fried chestnuts is to control the heat. In fact, you can also make it at home. It's just a little troublesome and it's easy to not fry it well.
Let Grandpa Huang do it. First, Grandpa Huang is good at it. For so many years, Grandpa Huang's fried chestnuts are the most delicious. Second, we know that Grandpa Huang is alone and lonely, but Grandpa Huang is too proud to say it. Everyone also uses this as an excuse to ask their children to spend more time with Grandpa Huang.
It's just talk to ask them to go back early.
"Grandpa Huang, are you hot?"
"I'll fan you!"
"Don't fan it! The fire will be blown away!"
[It’s so heartwarming… I woke up early in the morning and saw this, and I felt the body was warm.]
[I am not so resentful even though it was too early! ]
[The countryside is really nice, there is a great atmosphere, we are all like fellow countrymen, everyone helps each other and chats! It is very comfortable.]
[Little chicken, eat more. When you are full, we can eat you (dog head.jpg)]
[It's so funny, a few kids who have never seen the world are huddled together to watch others make a fire.]
[Child next to him: Black question mark.jpg]
[Child: Have you city people never seen a fire before? What’s so good about this? (Not trying to provoke a fight! Save your life!)]
[Are the products sold online? I want to buy some. You can tell at a glance that these crops have not been sprayed with pesticides. I want to buy some for my elderly and children.]
[I want to buy some too! Yesterday the village chief mentioned something about corn and field fish, and I am so hungry for them.]
[+1, nowadays many products claim to be pesticide-free, but they taste just like that. Children may not be able to tell the difference. As adults, we know the food is not good once we eat it.]
[Is there any brand in Yasuda Village? It looks familiar.]
[Yes! His name is Yasuda! I also saw his live broadcast... but I didn't buy it because I was afraid it was a scam.]
[Hiss… I’ll go search.]
[It’s normal. There are too many scams like this on the Internet now. And some of the prices are expensive.]
[It’s not expensive! The price is OK. I’ll buy some for you to test the waters.]
[Thank you! Good people will have a peaceful life!]
Of course, the production team would not let them just watch Grandpa Huang making sugar-roasted chestnuts. They organized everyone to pick corn together.
Children are naturally not good at such strenuous work as breaking corn, so Director Zhu asked the children to go to the tomato field.
"There will be a reward for the first place in corn breaking!" said Director Zhu.
"Let them go as children? Without an adult accompanying them?" Xie Luoshu was a little worried. Although there was a photographer accompanying them, they still had to be watched by an adult.
Yasuda Village is nice, with beautiful mountains, rivers, and people, but bad people are everywhere. In recent years, human traffickers have become more rampant, and some have kidnapped children right under people's noses. Moreover, the human traffickers' tricks are getting more and more sophisticated. Leaving several children together without adults accompanying them, several parents are actually a little worried.
"Don't worry." Director Zhu vowed, "The production crew not only has a cameraman, but also many other staff members, and there are also cameras."
Since Director Zhu said so, then, okay.
But we still need to remind the children not to run too far, and to stay together. They must be accompanied by an adult. They cannot go with strangers, etc.
Wen Mingyuan, on the other hand, said nothing. Wen Mingyuan was feeling upset. He got up early and was digging wild vegetables when he got bit by some insect and got a big lump. The villagers said that if he crushed a kind of grass and applied it on the wound, it would heal in half a day.
After all, he was bitten while digging wild vegetables. The host specially prepared some herbs. But Wen Mingyuan didn't want to use them. The green stuff, which was still juicey after being crushed, looked unreliable.
The owner didn't care, since he had given him the herbs anyway. He had given him an insect repellent sachet before, but he didn't want to take it with him, so it had nothing to do with them.
I don't know if it's a psychological effect, but I just feel that it itches so much. Now that he's back, he's not allowed to rest and is forced to pick corn! What the hell is going on?
In the cornfield, an old man was picking corn. His eyes were fixed on a corn stalk. His hands quickly and powerfully reached out to the corn cob. His rough but dexterous hands expertly grasped the root of the corn and gently twisted and picked it. With a crisp "click", the corn cob fell steadily into his hands.
"Aren't you wearing gloves?" Liu Ruotong asked while putting on gloves. Director Zhu said that there are small saw teeth on the edges of corn leaves, and it is easy to get hurt without gloves.
"I'm used to it." As he spoke, the uncle broke off another stalk of corn. "Besides, these are all old cobs, so they're fine."
Zou Jiayan went to the program crew to ask for a pair of gloves. The program crew would prepare more of these things in advance: "Uncle just happened to have an extra pair. You can put them on. Even if you are not scared, I am scared just looking at you."
"Thank you." Although I've become skilled and used to it, I still get cut occasionally. I've thought about buying gloves, but how much money would it cost? Anyway, the cuts heal in two days, so I decided not to buy them.
"Hold the middle of the corn cob with one hand, or a little above it. Right here. Then use your other hand to find the place where the cob and the stalk are connected. This is where it is more fragile." The uncle explained and demonstrated, "Keep the hand holding the corn still, and use your other hand to twist the corn cob left and right. The lower part will be given, and then break it down like this. Look, it's coming off."
Everyone seemed to understand, but decided to give it a try. Unexpectedly, it was quite easy to break, just grab it, twist it and pull it off.
"Why do you have to break them off one by one?" Wen Mingyuan didn't want to break them off after just a few. A single corn is not very heavy, but if you throw several corns into the basket together, the weight will increase.
He had seen a video online showing how the corn husks could be peeled off and the corn inside could be easily broken off without any effort.
The uncle also heard it: "It is easier to preserve corn with the husk on. With so much corn, it will take a long time to sell it."
And as you often see in movies and TV shows, the corn hanging under the eaves also has to be cooked with the husk.
Uncle said so, Wen Mingyuan had to shut up. He was just very slow in breaking corn, and he didn't care about any reward. This wasn't the first phase that required funds. What couldn't he buy himself?
On the other hand, Yanyan said: They are all tomatoes!
Tomato vines were lined up neatly, like a formation for inspection, with green branches stretching upward, swaying gently in the autumn breeze.
On one side are small tomatoes. Bunches of ripe tomatoes hang heavily on the branches, like little red lanterns that have been lit. Their skins are smooth and plump, and they shine attractively under the sunlight. Small tomatoes are densely clustered among the green branches and leaves. Although they are small in size, their colors are more eye-catching, and they are gorgeous and juicy, exuding a fresh and rich fruity fragrance.
On the other side is the area of large tomatoes with thriving plants and abundant fruits. The large tomatoes are like round red balls, hanging heavily on the vines, their plump bodies shining with an alluring luster under the sunlight. Some tomatoes are slightly cracked, revealing the sandy flesh inside. When the breeze blows, the tomato field exudes bursts of unique fragrance, mixed with the fragrance of the soil and the dryness of autumn.
[Yan Yan is so happy that he almost died.]
[Eh? Planting big tomatoes and small tomatoes together?]
[It is possible, but it is not common. Usually they are of the same kind.]
[I saw a video that said it was the village chief who proposed it.]
[That’s pretty good. The big tomatoes are supplied to the vegetable market for cooking, and the small tomatoes are supplied to the fruit store.]
[Indeed, there are so many tomatoes. If I only plant one kind, I guess there will be a lot of tomatoes that I can’t sell.]
[Young people do have a lot of ideas.]
[Speaking of which, why does Yanyan call it tomato instead of tomato?]
[I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be a big problem, tomato = tomato.]
In the tomato fields, villagers have already started picking tomatoes by walking between the rows with bamboo baskets. With sharp eyes, they gently grasp the plump bodies of the large tomatoes, and with a little force, the ripe tomatoes fall off the vines into their palms with a "crack".
The tomatoes are in bunches. Pick the good ones and cut a large bunch at once with scissors.