There are more than 300 households in Zaihu Village, and the total population of all sizes exceeds 1,500.
After all, we are all big families in this era.
Uncle Ruan Gui did not expect that Zhao Liya and Hu Ling would come again, and he was very happy.
Seeing that they brought so many gifts, the family was both happy and sorry at the same time, but they didn't want to scold them, "It's just your intention to come and see them. It's such a waste to bring so many things! These days
Who doesn’t have to live their lives carefully? We can’t do this again!”
Zhao Liya smiled and said: "Uncle Ruan Gui, you are so polite! It's fine if you don't think it's too simple!"
Uncle Ruan Gui asked his daughter-in-law to kill chickens, asked his son to go to the edge of the village to dig bamboo shoots, and went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, and served lunch with a smile.
Now that Zhao Liya is here, she naturally wants to walk around and have a look, so she also follows Aunt Ruan Gui to the vegetable garden.
Aunt Ruan Gui said cheerfully: "What's so nice about the vegetable garden? If you want to go, you can go. It's just a good time to help Auntie pick some beans."
Zhao Liya nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Auntie, ask me to help you wherever I can!"
"Why!"
Uncle Ruan Gui was also happy to hear this. This Zhao family is really different and makes people like it.
Zhao Liya never expected that she would see sweet potato vines and tomatoes in Aunt Ruan Gui’s vegetable garden!
"This, this - Aunt Ruan Gui, you actually have sweet potatoes! And tomatoes!"
Zhao Liya pointed, eyes widened, shocked!
She suddenly thought, yes, this area is only two to three hundred miles away from the sea. In a broad sense, it can be regarded as a coastal area.
So, is it any wonder that some crops from the West appear here?
"These are called sweet potatoes and tomatoes?" Aunt Ruan Gui was also a little surprised and said with a smile: "We call this sweet potato a ground fruit, and this tomato is a sour and sour fruit. Take a handful of the ground fruit seedlings and stir-fry them. They are still fresh and tender. We
My family loves to eat it. The more you pinch it, the longer it grows and it grows faster. What a good thing! When the fruit matures in autumn, I will ask your uncle Ruan Gui to send you two baskets! Children like to eat sour fruit raw, not to mention that it is sour.
It’s sweet and sour and quite appetizing, but the cooking is mediocre, it tastes weird, and it will become sticky after cooking for a while..."
Zhao Liya looked at the tomatoes in the corner, and then at the small patch of sweet potatoes.
It seems that Aunt Ruan Gui and the others don't know that sweet potatoes can be propagated with vines. It can be seen from this small plot that sweet potatoes are grown from seeds.
Sweet potatoes are a good thing, but Aunt Ruan Gui and the others only grow them as a vegetable and don't take them seriously at all.
This is not surprising, after all, who would have thought how good this is?
"Aunt Ruan Gui, can you pick some tomatoes and some sweet potato vines when I go back?"
Aunt Ruan Gui laughed cheerfully and said, "What's wrong with that? You want as much love as you want, and it will grow anyway."
"Thank you Aunt Ruan Gui!" Zhao Liya thanked her happily and added: "Aunt Ruan Gui, let me tell you, this sweet potato vine can be cut and planted directly in the ground. It will survive, grow and bear fruit. The sweet potato fruit can be boiled and can
It can be steamed, made into porridge with rice, or buried with the skin under the hot ashes in the stove. It’s delicious. There are other ways to eat it. I’ll make it for you when it’s harvested and you’ll know.”
"Tomatoes can also be used in cooking. You can cut them into pieces and stir-fry meat with peppers, or add some to soups, scrambled eggs, fried beans, etc. They are sour and sweet, and they are very appetizing in summer."
Aunt Ruan Gui was extremely surprised when she heard this, and her eyes widened: "Oh, as expected of someone from the capital, he knows a lot! It turns out this is really a good thing!"
Zhao Liya secretly laughed, thinking that the wealthy ladies in the capital would not understand this!
However, she did not explain, and nodded with a smile: "Well, I won't lie to you, this is really good stuff."
Aunt Ruan Gui nodded with a smile: "Okay, okay, I'll remember it. I'll try to plant some more sweet potatoes later. Don't mention it, sweet potato vines grow very fast. You can feed more to pigs, chickens and ducks. It will save you money."
A lot of things have happened!”
Zhao Liya agreed: "No, this is a treasure all over the body."
"Haha, quite a bit!"
Thinking of the geographical location of this area, Zhao Liya asked again with the mentality of giving it a try: "By the way, Auntie, are there any vegetables or crops from outside in our village? I also want to see
It’s so rare!”
Aunt Ruan Gui thought for a while and joked: "Hmm... I don't know which ones are from outside. We also have a vegetable garden at home. Do you want to go and see it?"
Zhao Liya got what she wanted and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, then I'll trouble Auntie!"
Aunt Ruan Gui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She didn't expect her to be so curious.
"Okay, let's go have lunch!"
It’s hard for Zhao Liya to say that she must go now, wouldn’t it become unreasonable?
"Well, I'll go after dinner."
Aunt Ruan Gui, her mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law made lunch. Zhao Liya wanted to help, but the Ruan family refused to allow it - how could there be any reason to let guests enter the kitchen to work? People would laugh at her if she told her.
Zhao Liya had no choice but to go out to talk to Uncle Ruan Gui and the others.
Lunch is local chicken and braised bamboo shoots, eggs mixed with spring onions, fried sweet potato vines, fried beans with peppers, and a pot of steamed rice.
The Ruan family kept asking Zhao Liya and Hu Ling to eat more. Uncle Ruan Gui had a grandson who was only three years old. His nickname was Tu'er. When Zhao Xiang came over to eat Mr. Ruan's birthday banquet, the Ruan family asked him to help name him.
Xiang then named the baby Ruan Tu, and Tu showed his ambitions. The Ruan family was very happy, and now they all call the baby Tu'er.
This child was sensible and looked at the chicken eagerly. The adults didn't say anything and didn't make a fuss. Zhao Liya gave him a big chicken leg, which made him very happy.
After a lively lunch, Zhao Liya was torn: Should she discuss planting sugar cane with Uncle Ruan Gui first, or should she go to the vegetable garden with Aunt Ruan Gui first?
After struggling for a while, I decided to talk about sugar cane first. The season waits for no one, and the crops and vegetables in the vegetable garden will not run away.
Uncle Ruan Gui was very surprised when he heard the two of them talk about growing sugar cane: "Do you want to buy land to grow sugar cane and then build a workshop to squeeze sugar?"
"yes!"
"This - this land is not difficult to buy, but no one in our village has ever grown sugar cane. I have heard people talk about it, but I don't know if it is difficult to grow and squeeze sugar... and no one does this.
But we really don’t understand. No one in our area understands either..."
There is no sugar-pressing workshop in Gaolian County, but it seems that there is one in Linxian County.
Zhao Liya asked carefully, and Uncle Ruan Gui told him everything he knew.
There are sugar presses in Suixi County, Lin County. After the sugar is squeezed out, it will be brown and cut into rectangular pieces, which is commonly known as sliced sugar. If it is well made, it will have a beautiful color, no impurities, and a sugary taste.
Very pure. Generally, it is not very well made, the color is dark, and the sugar cubes are mixed with irregular bagasse impurities. The taste of the sugar is not pure, and it is slightly bitter.