Chapter 344

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Since high school had already started summer vacation, although it wasn't long, just a month or so.

Chai Mi also hadn't found another new place for a group to set up a stall, so except for going to the industrial zone. This way she could only temporarily set up a stall one day, rest one day.

Going to the market fair was also possible, but the fair was full of price wars; her goods could sell, but the profit was very low, not very worthwhile.

Plus recently there were quite a few vexing matters, Chai Mi figured resting for two days was fine too.

After eating lunch, Song Qiushui went home to sleep, Chai Mi boredly took a nap; tomorrow she didn't need to prepare anything, and couldn't fall asleep again, so she came out to check on the calf.

She also deliberately checked on those two dogs.

They grew alright, pretty fast, just damn disobedient, only circling around Su Wan.

Although the dogs were entrusted to Chai Xiu to raise, Chai Xiu only raised them; the feeding was done by Su Wan, causing the dogs to only be affectionate with their mother. Toward others, they were cold and indifferent.

"Xiu'er, in a bit let's two go to that He Tao plot, find a few tender corn, boil and eat. Haven't eaten any this year yet……"

Chai Mi said a sentence, Chai Xiu didn't move.

Chai Mi glanced toward the room, frowned and said: "Xiu'er, stop fiddling with that broken hair tie, hurry up, grab a basket, let's go poke around that He Tao plot, pick a few tender corn cobs to boil, haven't tasted fresh ones this year yet."

Chai Xiu was wrestling with two strands of wool yarn, hearing this her eyes lit up, "pa" she threw down the hair tie: "Really? Sister! Finally thought of eating boiled corn! I've been craving it for several days! Right by our home next to that He Tao plot, there are several furrows, definitely have tender ones! Wait for me!" Saying this she jumped out.

"Hey! Come back!" Chai Mi stopped her, "Change into old shoes! Corn leaves scratch people in the field, if you ruin those new plastic sandals you bought again, you'll howl again."

"Know know!" Chai Xiu shuffled out wearing her pair of old cloth shoes nearly worn through the soles, carrying a wooden cotton-strip basket: "Let's go Sister!"

The two sisters headed toward He Tao under the blazing sun. Passing the village entrance, Lao Liutou was still damn stealing trees…… Not to mention anything else, he was very professional, stealing every day……

At this time there would be reader friends asking: Author, are you damn running out of things to say? That Lao Liutou steals trees every day, can he use that many trees?

Actually, Lao Liutou indeed steals trees and some branches every day. Mainly for burning fire, but Lao Liutou is too old, pushing seventy, his physique isn't good, each time he steals branches it's only a flower basket's worth. More than that he can't carry, so because he steals so little each time, he can only rely on "diligence compensates for clumsiness".

Lao Liutou saw the two of them, shouted at the top of his voice: "Chai Mi, Xiu'er, this high noon not resting, where you two scurrying off to?"

"Liu Yeye, going to He Tao to snap a couple tender corn cobs to boil!" Chai Xiu spoke fast.

"Oh, that plot……" Lao Liutou shook his head, "Afraid it's scorching, how much left? Liu Xiaochun that Worthless Wretch hasn't done little harm, tsk tsk, pity that good corn."

Chai Mi smiled: "Harm done, still some left, picking a few tender ears should still have. Leaving then!"

Walked far, Chai Xiu muttered quietly: "Sister, if Lao Liutou didn't say I'd have forgotten, Liu Xiaochun that bastard really can steal! You say how he's so bold? Like it's his own home."

"Alright, money's all coming back, pig also offset, later if he dares come again, I'll break his legs." Chai Mi's tone flat, like saying what to eat today, "Don't mention him, kills the mood."

Arrived at their own corn field by He Tao, sure enough a mess. Many places obviously had big cobs snapped off, only bare stalks standing, crooked. But the edges and deep inside, still quite a few corn stalks hanging with cobs.

"Oh my! Just like dog-gnawed!" Chai Xiu looked at the scene, stomped foot in anger, "How much wasted! That Liu Xiaochun deserves a few more beatings!"

Chai Mi bent waist, ducked into corn field, pushed aside layers of leaves to look inside: "Cursed and cursed, beat and beat, money also compensated. Stop nagging, hurry find tender ones, look at these leaves, all split, if no rain soon, the rest will be scorching too."

The two sisters shuttled through the field, specifically picking those with cob-top silk still tender yellow, not turned brown. Chai Mi moved nimbly, pinched corn kernels with fingernail, one pinch a stream of white pulp meant tender.

"Sister, this one okay?" Chai Xiu snapped one off, excitedly held it up.

Chai Mi glanced: "Okay, put in basket. Hey, that one over there, silk all scorched, old, don't snap."

"Got it!" Chai Xiu carefully put the tender corn cob into basket, then went to feel for the next one.

Before long, basket bottom laid a layer of tender corn cobs.

"Enough right Sister? Enough for our family to eat a meal, snap more and can't eat it all." Chai Xiu wiped sweat on forehead.

"Mm, enough. Let's go." Chai Mi picked up basket, weighed it, "Alright, enough to eat."

Two people walked back, just reached home doorway, saw Song Qiushui rushing from her home direction, holding something in hand, shouting from far: "Chai Mi! Chai Mi! Look what I got!"

Ran up close, Song Qiushui presented treasure-like held up thing in hand——a quite pretty glass canning jar, inside filled with yellow-gleaming stuff.

"What thing? Honey?" Chai Xiu curiously peered.

"Hehe, not honey, it's wild bee honey!" Song Qiushui smug, "My dad poked it out of the bee hive in the old locust tree on the back mountain! Just filtered out, still warm! Sweet! Let me bring you some, said to give your calf some water mixed with it, reduce internal heat!"

Chai Mi took it, unscrewed lid smelled, a rich sweet fragrance mixed with faint floral grass scent: "Yo, Uncle Song quite thoughtful. Thank Uncle Song for me. Just right, we just snapped tender corn, will boil and eat in a bit, you stay and eat too, later I'll give you honey-stewed red braised pork!"

"That's great!" Song Qiushui eyes shone, immediately squeezed into courtyard, "I said coming to you sure has good things! Corn where? Let me see how tender!"

Chai Xiu put basket down, Song Qiushui rummaged looking: "Tsk tsk, so tender! My family has no land, if I want to eat I'd have to steal. I'll help you tend fire……"

Chai Mi put honey jar on window sill: "No need, you just stay, later you go get me some five-flower pork…… Mom! Mom! Get some firewood, we're boiling corn!"

Su Wan came out from room, still holding baby bottle for feeding cattle: "Heard heard, shouting so loud. Youqing, stop fiddling with that broken tobacco, carry some firewood! Qiushui's here? Just right, later taste our family's tender corn."

Chai Youqing "ai ai" agreed, hurriedly stood to go carry firewood.

Chai Mi peeled off several layers of corn leaves, left the inner tender green layers wrapping the cob, boiling this way more fragrant. Chai Xiu and Song Qiushui also came to help, courtyard instantly lively.

Song Qiushui asked: "Where do I go get meat for you, if that pig you don't give as gift, just kill it directly, then there's meat. Right, that pig you really gave to Lao Liutou?"

"Mm, Liu Yeye suffered Liu Xiaochun a 'blow', asking for some compensation is right." Chai Mi threw peeled corn into large basin beside, "Besides, our family has no place to feed, no time to tend either."

"Also." Song Qiushui nodded, "Lao Liutou must be overjoyed?"

"Happy like picked up gold ingot." Chai Xiu interjected, "Just now passing his doorway, still heard him humming a little tune."

Just speaking, Chai Youqing carried a bundle of firewood over, carefully placed beside stove pit, ingratiatingly looked at Chai Mi: "Chai Mi, firewood…… enough?"

"Enough, put there." Chai Mi answered. Chai Youqing like received imperial decree, hurriedly went to scoop out ashes from stove pit.

Su Wan scrubbed clean big pot, added water, Chai Mi placed corn cobs with tender leaves one by one into it. Chai Youqing hurriedly lit fire, firewood crackled, flames licked pot bottom.

Before long, water in pot gurgled with bubbles, a fresh corn sweet fragrance began permeating the courtyard.

"Ah, smells fragrant!" Song Qiushui inhaled hard through nose.

Chai Xiu ran to cowshed side: "Mom, calf's head all raised up!"

Su Wan went over to look, laughed: "Really is! This little thing's spirit getting better and better, medicine willing to eat, milk drinks fragrantly. Raise a few more days, estimate can stand up."

"That's good then." Chai Mi watched the corn cobs tumbling in the pot, and her heart also relaxed considerably. "Once it can stand on its own, feeding it will be much less trouble."

Water vapor swirled in the pot, and the aroma of corn grew stronger and stronger.

"Sister, how long does it need to boil?" Chai Xiu was getting a bit impatient.

"What's the rush, it just came to a boil, boil it another ten minutes or so." Chai Mi poked a corn cob with her chopsticks. "It has to be cooked through to be delicious."

The time was about right. Chai Mi lifted the pot lid, and a thick cloud of white steam carrying an even richer sweet fragrance rushed toward her face. The corn cobs in the pot had turned an enticing golden yellow.

"It's done, it's done!" Chai Xiu cheered.

Chai Mi used chopsticks to pick one out and placed it on the cutting board beside her. "They're all hot, let them cool a bit before eating."

Afterward she went to the fridge and took out a piece of five-flower pork, but said with some regret: "This meat was frozen, it won't taste as good. It's not as good to eat as the meat bought earlier, but who told you to be so lazy? Back then I told you to get some meat, and you wouldn't budge."

Song Qiushui pursed her lips: "Where would I go get it at this hour? Anyway, as long as it's delicious, that's fine."

As Song Qiushui spoke, her eyes were quick and hands fast; she scooped up the biggest cob. "I'll eat one first, you slowly make the red braised pork!"

Chai Xiu also hurriedly picked one. "Mine!"

Su Wan and Chai Youqing each took one.

Chai Mi thought for a moment, then also took one first, snapped it in half, and afterward ate half.

She tasted a bite, and indeed it had the flavor of corn.

That feeling is hard to describe.

Because in the later generations, that kind of white sticky corn started to become popular, it's a bit sticky on the teeth.

The corn of this era is actually very different from the later generations. They are mainly some floury corn; eating them, there's more starch, so they're naturally a bit sweeter.

Of course, mainly the yield is still very low.

In this era, even with fertilizer applied, corn yielding over one thousand per mu is already the limit.

Unlike the later generations, when technology became especially prosperous, what with genetic engineering seeds, what with wide-row double-row planting, one mu of land could grow five or six thousand corn plants, and the yield per mu easily exceeded two thousand catties.

Even sticky corn yields over two thousand per mu.

So, the corn of that time wasn't very tasty anymore.

You couldn't find the corn flavor.

Although it was sweeter than before, without the corn flavor, it's just awkward.

Of course, this topic can't be talked about too much.

After all, like vegetables having no vegetable flavor, eggs having no egg flavor, these are all consequences of increasing yield.

But, the people regard food as heaven; eat your fill first, then eat well.

Chai Mi ate a few bites, then scrubbed the pot clean again, poured in oil, then dabbed some honey on the meat, and made a portion of red braised pork.

With the remaining bit of meat, she stir-fried a big green onion, which counted as two dishes.

Just about to eat, Chai Xiu started up: "Sister, didn't Second Aunt bring us back quite a few mushrooms? Why aren't you eating them?"

Last time going to Second Aunt's house, she indeed brought back quite a few mushrooms.

Chai Mi glared at Chai Xiu: just knows how to eat, damn it.

But Chai Xiu had spoken, and Chai Mi happened to have nothing else to do, so she found the mushrooms. "I'll stew you a soup. Mushroom chicken soup. This should be good to drink..."

There was ready-made chicken. Chai Mi took a few pieces, then added a lot of mushrooms, and started stewing the soup. By the side of the pot she also stuck a few cornmeal cakes.

Su Wan put the table at the head of the kang.

Several people got on the kang. Chai Mi brought all the dishes up, one, three.

Three isn't very auspicious. Chai Mi helplessly went and stir-fried an egg sauce.

It's just beating a few eggs, then adding some big green onion, adding some soy sauce. It can be eaten as pickled vegetables, or used as a dipping sauce.

"These mushrooms are red mushrooms, very delicious." Chai Mi took out a spoon, distributed them to the others, then used the spoon to take a small bowl for herself, and afterward drank a sip. "This taste is pretty good."

It had been a long time since she drank soup. This mushroom chicken soup, Chai Mi herself felt she had stewed it well, and drank two more sips.

Afterward, holding the corn cakes, she started eating.

Song Qiushui held a corn cob in one hand gnawing, and a spoon in the other drinking soup, she was busy beyond measure.

"Chai Mi ah, I feel the frequency I eat at your house is even higher than the frequency I eat at my own house."

Chai Mi smiled: "Don't just feel it, actually it's exactly so."

Su Wan also drank a sip of soup, but it had the taste of chicken, which she didn't like very much, so she didn't drink much more. Then she asked Chai Mi: "Did you go see your Second Uncle today? How did it go?"

"Blowing his beard and staring, just short of beating me up." Chai Mi gestured. "My Second Uncle just deserves a fixing. If it weren't for him being my Second Uncle, I'd still... not sending him to the fence would be letting him off easy. Result? He doesn't know good from bad, and still wu-wu Fry-Fry with me."

Chai Mi thought of Chai Youfu's attitude and felt displeased. "Acting like I owe him. But it can be understood. That leg of his, I heard the doctor say, lost over a catty of flesh, it's a bit better than a break. Good thing elementary school started summer vacation early, otherwise with his condition going to class, he couldn't even walk."

"Pah..." Song Qiushui was even more dissatisfied. "My dad's a smooth talker, insisted on saying: oh, we're all in-laws, if you don't go your Second Uncle loses face. I damn well even brought two cans, it's not as good as feeding a dog. I'm just seeing he has an injury now so I won't hold it against him generally. Once he's recovered, you watch if I go to his house and make trouble... Next time, I'll get a big loudspeaker, and I'll go around the whole camp deliberately making things difficult for him."