Shen Ling returned home after delivering the mung bean soup.
After entering the yard, he went to the backyard to wash the earthen pots, then went to the shed to bring Dahei out, fed him some wild fruits picked on the roadside, touched them along the fur, and then hitched the cart.
"Mom, Ke'er, I went to the fields to pick up the rice and brought it back."
Zhuang Keqing walked away from the stove and came out of the kitchen. He glanced at Shen Ling who was sweating lightly on his forehead with some distress, "Why don't you take a break and drink some water?"
"No, I'll catch the car and I'll be back in a minute."
Shen Ling stood in front of the girl and raised her hand to block a small patch of dazzling sunlight from her.
From Zhuang Keqing's perspective, the young man's always cold and indifferent eyebrows were lowered, showing a rare softness.
"Well, then go and come back quickly. Lunch will be ready soon. We must let some uncles come to our house for dinner."
Shen Ling said "hmm", gently smoothed the messy hair around Zhuang Keqing's ears with her fingers, and then led Dahei out.
Qin Manzhi carried Aman on his back and lit the fire in front of the pot. When he saw that his daughter never came in, he shouted anxiously, "Ke'er, come and take a look at the contents of this pot. Don't let it get burnt!"
Zhuang Keqing came back to her senses after Jing Niang called her. She responded, looked back at the figure who had walked away, and returned to the kitchen with red ears.
There are four more people at home for lunch. Of course, we can't just do simple things like usual, but we have to cook some serious dishes.
It’s too late to marinate the food, but there is enough fish, so the dried catch from the past few days can be put to good use.
The vegetables are readily available at home. I picked fresh cucumbers and fried them with the eggs I picked up in the morning. Soaked the dried fish in water and cut it into pieces, steamed it with shredded onion and ginger, and it was another dish.
The eggplants are growing just right at this time. So, take a few pieces and cut them into pieces. Soak them in water. Add the minced meat in the pan with oil. Then add the eggplant pieces with some base oil. Finally, scoop out a spoonful of bean paste and the minced meat. The eggplant is braised together.
Then slaughter a chicken and stew it with the dried fungus until it is fragrant and strong. Put the radish in the prepared bone soup and cook it until it is soft and sweet.
Stew the multi-grain rice in a big pot, and it's a very hearty meal.
Only after the mother and daughter put the food on the table, Shen Ling came back with Dahei in hand.
There were piles of rice piled high on the cart, tied with hemp ropes, and the piles were high. Several men who came to help walked behind talking and laughing, and each of them carried some on his back.
"Come in quickly, put your things away and have a rest."
Qin Manzhi left the main room and hurriedly asked people to put down the rice and wash her hands before eating.
"Sister-in-law Qin, this is not a good thing for you to eat. It's just half a day's work, so I don't deserve this." Liu Dal quickly refused.
They came to help just because they wanted to build some relationships with the banker, and since it was only two acres of land, the four of them didn't feel tired at all.
"Hey, don't say that. The food is ready. It's getting late. I have to eat something before I leave. I don't want to be hungry."
Qin Manzhi still wants to stay.
Zhuang Keqing saw that several people were hesitant, and knowing the reason, he smiled and said, "Uncle, Chen Guang, who happened to be having dinner, would like to tell you about the method of raising fish in rice fields."
Upon hearing this, several people immediately unloaded their things and washed their hands without saying anything about leaving. When they actually sat down at the table, they were shocked again by the table full of food.
Good guy, the banker is really not stingy. Even if we are celebrating the holidays, we shouldn’t eat so well.
There are chickens and fishes, and there is no shortage of meat, as well as thick white bone soup and dry multigrain rice. If you leave it at home and save energy when you are busy, it would be nice to get some dry food to eat. , who would have thought that today he only helped the dealer for half a day's work, and in exchange for such a good meal.
At this time, few of them could remember anything about rice and fish. They were just picking up vegetables and stuffing rice into their mouths.
Zhuang Er picked up a bowl and felt mixed. He knew that his sister-in-law's tofu business was doing well, but his previous impression was still about the pitiful way he came to ask for help when his elder brother passed away. Little did he know that it had only been half a year.
We can already serve such good meals.
Even in his own family, he might not be able to kill a chicken during the Chinese New Year, let alone kill it to entertain people, without being scolded by his mother.
Farmers are honest. When they say they eat, they eat. After a meal, once you put the chopsticks away, the dishes, bowls, and rice bowls are all empty and clean.
A few people were quite embarrassed. They didn't pay attention while eating. They felt a little embarrassed after eating. Several grown men scratched their heads and didn't feel comfortable asking about rice fish anymore. They stood up to leave.
After eating so many things from people, how can I still lick my face and ask about ways to make money without losing my shame?
"Uncle, why are you leaving? You haven't talked about rice and fish yet?" Zhuang Keqing asked.
A few people just got off the bench and sat back down.
"Girl, are you really willing to tell us this method?" Zhuang Er asked.
"Of course, I originally planned to try this method in my own field. If it works well, I will recommend it to the folks."
"This..." Liu Da glanced at Zhuang Er, and then looked at each other with the other two men. After hesitating for a moment, he still asked: "How much money does this method cost?"
It's too high and we can't afford it.
Several people were thinking in their minds, and their eyes all fell on Zhuang Keqing.
Zhuang Keqing was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
The girl's eyebrows were crooked and she just said: "This is not a secret recipe, why do you still need to charge money?"
Zhuang Er stared like a bull's eye, "You really don't need any money, and you are still willing to teach me?"
"Of course it's true."
So, on this afternoon, the news spread throughout Erlizi Village that the banker was willing to teach everyone how to raise fish in paddy fields for free.
The people who were cooking, cleaning, and spanking the children at home were no longer in the mood. They only asked and answered these few questions, and they were both happy and worried.
It all depends on the farmer’s harvest from these two acres of land. We must not harvest less food!
After lunch, the helpers were sent away, and Qin Manzhi went to wash the dishes. Zhuang Keqing and Shen Ling unpacked all the rice and spread it on the ground.
In the past, the family used to thresh the rice by hand, which was labor-intensive and time-consuming. Now that we have Dahei, we tied a small stone roller behind it and pressed it along the yard over and over again. Roll it several times, and the rice will be threshed.
The grains just came off, which really saved a lot of effort.
After a full day and a half of grinding rice and removing the grains, Zhuang Keqing and his mother counted the rice and saw that the grain production in these two acres of land had increased by more than 20% compared to before!
The farmer's paddy fields are of the lowest quality, and the yield per acre can compete with those of the best paddy fields.
There was more than one family in the village who was concerned about the grain output of this farmer. As soon as the bagging work in their yard stopped, people came from the other side.
It's Aunt Li's family next door.
Li Guihua usually didn't care about the things in the fields, but Liu Zhuzi cared about it. Ever since he ate rice and fish in those days, he couldn't forget it. He also heard that the farmer's girl was willing to teach everyone how to raise fish for free, so he looked forward to it every day.
There is a good harvest in the man's field.
"Sister-in-law Qin." Li Guihua smiled enthusiastically. She had a good relationship with Qin Manzhi, so she didn't hide it when she came to the door and asked directly. "How is the harvest in the rice and fish fields? It can't be worse than before, right?
"
Qin Manzhi didn't say anything, and just took the person to his small warehouse. When he got there, when he opened the door, he looked at the neat piles of sacks and counted them.
"one two three……"
This, this is sixteen bags!
Two bags and one quintal, that is, one acre produced four quintals of grain?!
Are you kidding me? The farmer’s paddy field is of inferior quality! One acre of his own high-grade paddy field only yields less than three and a half dan!
Liu Zhuzhu's eyes wanted to stick to the sack. He was so excited that he wished that next year, the few acres of paddy fields at his home could be stocked with fish fry.
Li Guihua also saw clearly from the sidelines. Of course she understood how exaggerated the output was. At this time, she opened her mouth and was speechless. She lost her usual eloquent appearance.
"It's true! It's true!" The couple couldn't come back to their senses for a long time. Finally, it was Qin Manzhi who took the initiative and closed the warehouse door to wake them up.
"Sister-in-law Qin, you are my sister-in-law. You must let Ke'er teach us this method!"
Li Guihua grabbed Qin Manzhi's hand and held on tightly, while Liu Zhuzhu nodded frantically on the side, making Qin Manzhi dumbfounded.
"Ke'er has already said that I will teach you, but it's still early next year, so please relax first." Then she added as if she remembered something, "Ke'er said that you can burn the remaining straw in the field first.
Yes, it can also help fertilize the fields."
After witnessing the abundant harvest of rice, fish and grain, and tasting the delicious rice and fish with his own eyes, Liu Zhuzi didn't have the slightest objection to Zhuang Keqing's words, and immediately left, saying that he would rush back to burn the fields.
