Chapter Eighty-One: Gathering Flowers

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  Back home, Second Aunt was also there, she came to send flowers, a whole basket of them.

  "Second Aunt, haven't finished digging up the peanuts? I'll go help this afternoon." Chu Jiaqiang immediately spoke up, knowing that Second Uncle's family planted very few sweet potatoes and most of their land was used for peanuts. In just a few days, it would be impossible to finish digging them all up.

  According to previous years, his peanuts had two or three thousand catties of dry goods. Generally, except for what he ate himself and the peanut seeds for next year, everything else was pressed into oil. However, that much oil was definitely not for personal consumption, most of it was sold, leaving only twenty or thirty catties for personal use.

  In rural areas, many people eat lard, vegetable oil is more expensive, and everyone is reluctant to eat it. In fact, there is another reason, lard is more fragrant than vegetable oil, but some people think that lard is not hygienic. Because peanut oil looks very clear, so the people of Chujiazhuang all call it Qingyou.

  "Have you finished your own business? Those peanuts, I and your second uncle can't finish them in five days. Today there are many guests, so don't go out, stay home and accompany the guests!" Second Aunt didn't know if Chu Jiaqiang was busy or not, but Tang Fu had come, how could the host run away and leave the guest at home? How impolite!

  Chu Jiaqiang didn't argue with her, and instead called Ershu to come over for dinner as well. At the same time, they also boiled a big pot of salted peanuts. Everyone ate a simple meal, then sat together peeling and eating peanuts.

  "Things in the countryside are good, authentic and flavorful! The peanuts in the city smell nice but don't taste as good when you eat them." Tang Baozi eats the fastest, this guy may have a pair of chubby hands, but they're very agile, eating without any hesitation.

  Xu Xiudian nodded: "Many of the ones sold on the street are made by opening a slit in one end of the peanut, and when cooked, the flavor of the peanut comes out, so it smells good, otherwise how can it attract you to buy? But eating it has no flavor, because the flavor is gone. Moreover, peanuts are not planted in the same way, and they are definitely not as delicious as those from the countryside."

  After eating peanuts, apart from the two who were playing chess, there was Yan Tianzhi, and everyone else ran inside to help. This made Second Uncle feel very embarrassed, he opened his mouth several times to stop them, but these people had made up their minds to follow him.

  Second Uncle's land is on a gentle slope, almost half of the slope is planted with peanuts, and it is also the largest peanut household in the village. Just selling oil alone can produce several hundred to thousands of kilograms, at the price of rural vegetable oil at over 8 yuan, there is an income of nearly 10,000 yuan, which is a relatively good income in the village.

  This is also the reason why many people are reluctant to eat peanut oil, nearly nine yuan per catty, who can afford it? Lard is only three or four yuan per catty, buy it back and use an iron pot to fry it, after cooling it becomes solid oil, especially hard in winter.

  When they arrived at the field head, Chu Jiaqiang and Ershu were already in front of them picking, while others stayed behind to pick into baskets.

  "It's okay, the mud in these hills is relatively loose, not difficult to pull out!" Chu Jiaqiang said. If it were changed to a farmland crop, it would definitely not be so easy. Mainly because the soil of the farmland is more compact, peanuts are trapped too tightly in the soil, and when pulling seedlings, many peanuts do not come out with them, and they have to dig by hand, which is more troublesome.

  "The mountain soil has less water and is often windy, with some sand mixed in the soil, of course it's loose!" Second Uncle smiled.

  Tang Baozi doesn't know whether he's here to work or eat. After arriving, he's still peeling peanuts and eating them now. Peanuts can be eaten raw or cooked, but eating them raw has a unique flavor.

  "Fat brother, don't sit down, there are many yellow ants on the ground." Chu Jiaqiang reminded.

  Yellow silk ants are also a kind of name for Chu Jia Village. They are a type of yellow ant that is very small and can be easily overlooked if not careful. They are generally more common in yellow soil. This type of ant is quite annoying, it won't bite when it first climbs onto your foot, but once it reaches the tender skin on your thigh or other areas, it will attack. Of course, unless you're extremely careless, you'll usually feel it when it climbs onto your foot.

  There is another point, these ants are extremely numerous, sometimes a piece of land is densely packed with them, and they are very harmful to crops. They also don't pick food, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, potatoes, and even rice are all eaten.

  "Yes, everyone should be careful and it's best to roll up your pant legs. If not, they'll crawl up your pants and you won't even feel it. Although they're small, their bites are very painful." Second Aunt also reminded immediately.

  Wan Lao and they are all experienced people, no need for Er Niang to remind them, they know what to do.

  After being solemnly awakened by Auntie Er, Tang Pangzi dared not sit down anymore and squatted with everyone else. However, his figure made squatting very uncomfortable for him. Before long, he went to help pull out seedlings instead.

  "Hey! Mouse, this mouse is huge!" Tang Baozi shouted loudly.

  "This is a mountain rat, and this thing is also a troublemaker." Chu Jiaqiang said with some gnashing of teeth.

  Some people also call it mountain mouse. When it comes to mountain mice, many people may think of Longhu Mountain and Wuyi Mountain, where the mountain mice are most famous. Mainly fed on shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes and other foods, locals call this "shiitake mouse".

  But in fact, mountain mice are all over the country, and they are very picky about food. Sweet potatoes are often bitten a few times and then abandoned, continuing to harm other crops, making them one of the major pests in rural areas. It's precisely because of this that the meat quality of these mountain mice is excellent, with a fresh and delicious taste, making it a high-grade nutritional supplement, nutritious and hygienic. When eaten, it has a crispy yet chewy texture, with a satisfying bite and an aftertaste that lingers on.

  In Chu's village, many children will use iron cages and other devices to catch mountain rats, then go back and stew them with black beans, which is very delicious. In other places, some people will clean and dry them, making "mountain rat jerky". Mountain rat jerky is also a local flavor snack and is a top dish for Hakka people to entertain guests. Mountain rat meat tonifies the kidney and strengthens the body, and it also has an effect on treating children's bedwetting.

  Because this mouse also often eats bamboo shoots, bamboo roots and so on, many people may think that the mountain mouse is the bamboo mouse, but it's not. The bamboo mouse has the largest body size, a short tail, and two obvious large incisors, making it more like a rabbit. The mountain mouse is larger than the house mouse, without the foul smell of the house mouse, and is much cleaner than the house mouse that often goes in and out of garbage dumps and other dirty places.

  "Mountain rat? Good stuff, good stuff! Catch it back and braise it." Tang Baozi's first words were about eating, making people laugh and cry.

  "This thing is not easy to catch, it's cunning! It runs faster than a ghost. If you really want to eat it, put out a few iron cages tonight and you'll have a harvest tomorrow morning. This thing is greedy, as long as you put good things in the iron cage, it will definitely run in." Chu Jiaqiang suggested.

  Although the mountain rat is clever, it is often blinded by greed. Even if it knows it's a trap, it can't help but jump down.

  "Alright! Tonight let's get a few iron cages, I had it once in the North and it tasted extremely good." Tang Pangzi said immediately.

  There's strength in numbers, and in just three hours, they had cleared three mu of land, filling the two baskets they brought with them. Everyone also helped spread out the peanut seedlings on the ground to dry in the sun, which would be useful later. From time to time, they would add a layer on top of the cow dung in the cattle pen. Firstly, it could cover up the smell of the cow dung and improve the living environment for the cows. Secondly, it could ferment together with the cow dung and become fertilizer for farming.

  Second Uncle and Chu Jiaqiang each carried a pole back, and conveniently washed the mud by the river. It's simple, the whole basket is submerged in water, but the water shouldn't exceed the top layer of the basket, then shake it several times, and use your hands to stir inside several times, repeat several times, and it will be very clean. Of course, peanuts that have been washed need to be dried in time, otherwise they will not only become moldy, but even sprout!