Chapter 45

The vegetable garden was originally planned to be quite large, over ten mu. At first, Li Dong intended to set up a vegetable picking activity, but due to a lack of investment and few customers later on, he only cultivated a plot of about half a mu. In the early stages, he even had to ask others for help with planting.

Recently, Li Dong has been taking care of it himself. Fortunately, he has managed it well recently, clearing the weeds around and creating a few small paths, making the picking experience smooth.

"Tomatoes."

The girls, seeing the tomatoes turning red, were delighted and rushed over. The tomatoes hanging on the branches were completely different from those in the supermarket, especially with the contrast of red and green, making them look particularly fresh.

They couldn't resist picking one to taste, regardless of whether it would prick their hands. Liu Qing'er picked one first. "So beautiful."

"Qing'er, you're amazing, how did you pick it?"

Xu Yue and the others, who had never been to a vegetable garden before, were quite impressed by Liu Qing'er.

"Just pick it directly, it's very easy."

Liu Qing'er was a bit proud and couldn't help picking two more to put in the basket. Seeing this, everyone thought it was indeed easy and followed her example.

"Don't pick the unripe ones."

"It's fine."

Li Dong smiled and said, "The half-red ones are actually ripe inside." He picked a large, half-red, half-green tomato, split it open, and indeed, the inside was all red. "Everyone, try it, it's quite delicious."

The tomatoes in the garden were a different variety from those sold in supermarkets. They didn't need to consider transportation issues, so he chose a variety with a soft, sweet, and slightly sour taste, and a unique fragrance, suitable for eating raw, cold dishes, and cooking. The downside was that they didn't transport well over long distances.

When the tomatoes were split open, they looked sandy and made one's mouth water. The girls, who had just eaten, couldn't resist trying them. Once they did, they were amazed. "So delicious, why are they different from the tomatoes we usually buy?"

"Yes, they are sweet and sour, with a lot of juice."

"The flesh is soft and has a fragrant aroma."

"Is there any secret?"

"Brother-in-law, can you tell us?"

"There's no secret, really. I just chose a variety with a better taste, and used organic fertilizer. The water we use for irrigation is spring water. That's all." Li Dong smiled. To be honest, his tomatoes weren't the prettiest or the largest, but the taste was really good.

The girls, hearing there was no secret, understood why the supermarket tomatoes couldn't compare. Organic fertilizer and spring water made all the difference. They picked more enthusiastically, each planning to take some home for their families to try, as they were so delicious and healthy.

Gao Jia thought, "Brother-in-law really has the farm running well. The vegetable garden is managed nicely. I'll talk to my parents about staying here for a couple of days; it would be good for them to have something to do in retirement."

"Don't just pick tomatoes."

"At noon, we'll pick the vegetables we want to eat from the garden."

Gao Jia smiled. "Brother-in-law, is that okay?"

"Of course, pick whatever you want to eat."

Li Dong smiled. "Cucumbers are also good to eat raw, they are crisp and there's a small patch of fruit cucumbers."

"Really, let's pick some."

Since the tomatoes and cucumbers could be eaten raw, everyone picked and ate as they went, no longer worrying about eating too much or needing to diet. "Wow, come over here, there's a big pumpkin."

"What's so strange about a big pumpkin?"

"This one is super big."

Xu Yue was quite excited. Li Dong glanced over and was surprised; he hadn't noticed this pumpkin before. It was indeed large, probably around thirty to forty pounds. "Can we eat this?"

"Sure, we can eat it."

The main issue was that they wouldn't be able to finish it. Li Dong smiled. "Alright, I'll take care of it. I'll make a pot of pumpkin for lunch, and you can each take a piece home to avoid waste."

"Great."

The big pumpkin was really heavy. Li Dong had to struggle to carry it, let alone the girls, who tried and couldn't move it at all. "Thanks, Brother-in-law."

"Want to pick some more?"

"Peppers, autumn eggplants, and green beans?"

"Then let's pick some of each."

Xu Yue and Liu Qing'er exchanged glances. Since they were here, they might as well pick more. Fishing was for fun, and picking vegetables was also quite enjoyable. Li Dong moved the pumpkin to the edge of the field and picked a winter melon to put next to it.

Sitting on the edge of the field, he watched the girls play in the garden. The wild boy came over and rubbed against Li Dong, who was quite calm. "Brother-in-law, take some photos for me."

"Sure."

After playing in the garden for about an hour, everyone returned to the edge of the field with their baskets full of vegetables.

"Let's go back and rest."

The group returned to the farm, where Han Weiguo had already arrived. He was surprised to see the guests were pretty young girls. "Uncle Weiguo, you're here." Li Dong put down the pumpkin and winter melon and greeted Han Weiguo with a smile.

"Here, guests?"

"Yes, my sister-in-law and her friends."

In the kitchen, Li Dong took out the ingredients for the day. "Is this a snake?"

"I ran into it yesterday. Uncle Weiguo, you can make a snake soup, and a wild chicken stew with chestnuts. The wild chicken is in the cage, and we'll have a turtle too. I'll go to the reservoir to get some fish and shrimp, and make a pot of stew, that should be enough."

"For the vegetables, I'll make a pot of pumpkin. Instead of steaming it, I'll fry it a bit to reduce the moisture, making it sweeter. Then, I'll make an eight-treasure glutinous rice and some corn fritters."

"Alright, I'll prepare it."

Han Weiguo took the menu from Li Dong and started working.

After giving the instructions, Li Dong left the kitchen with a basket and a bamboo pole, ready to go out and pick chestnuts. The chestnuts were just right for eating now. The young ones could be eaten raw, sweet and crispy, while the older ones were good for stewing with wild chicken.

"Brother-in-law, what are you going to do?"

"Pick chestnuts, do you want to come?"

"Pick chestnuts."

The girls were immediately excited. "Sure, picking chestnuts sounds fun."

"Let's go and see."

"Alright, I'll get some tools for you."

The outer layer of the chestnuts is covered in spines, which can be quite painful to touch. Li Dong took two pairs of tongs from the kitchen.

"Brother-in-law, what are you going to use those for?"

"Qing'er, you forgot the chestnuts have spines."

"Our Qing'er probably forgot about that."

The girls laughed and joked. Li Dong shook his head. The chestnut trees were a bit far away, but there were a few on the mountain he had leased, so he didn't need to buy any.

They walked and stopped along the way. "Wow, those are jujube trees, are they yours, Brother-in-law?"

"Sort of."

There were a few jujube trees, not very tall or large, with few jujubes due to the drought. The girls picked some, wiped them, and ate them. "They are really sweet."

"Yes, they are."

They took photos, picked jujubes, and had a great time. What should have been a ten-minute walk turned into a half-hour journey. "Let's pick from this one."

There was a larger chestnut tree ahead, but it was a bit further. They didn't need many chestnuts for the stew.

Swinging the bamboo pole, Li Dong told the girls to wait on the side, and he put on a straw hat to protect himself from the chestnuts falling on his head. After a few swings, chestnuts fell to the ground. Li Dong put down the pole, and the girls rushed over.

"Don't touch them, they will prick your hands."

He was too late. Liu Qing'er and Qian Tongtong were pricked. They had forgotten about the spines. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Use the tongs."

Li Dong stepped on a few young chestnuts, removed the outer spiny layer, and handed the green inner shells to Liu Qing'er and Xu Yue. "Try them, young chestnuts are quite sweet when eaten raw."

"Raw?"

They rarely ate chestnuts raw, as young chestnuts were not common. Young chestnuts and young walnuts, when eaten raw, were really delicious, sweet, and crispy. The two girls peeled one and put it in their mouths, their eyes lighting up. "They are really delicious."

"Everyone, try them. The young ones taste great, and the older ones can be saved for the stew."

Li Dong smiled and gave a few more to Gao Jia. He didn't eat any himself, as he had eaten plenty before. Picking chestnuts took about an hour. They returned to the farm courtyard around half past ten, having had a lot of fun and taken many photos.

"Do you want to go fishing?"

Gao Jia, seeing Li Dong go to the kitchen to deliver the chestnuts, asked her friends quietly. The sun was quite strong.

"Maybe not."

"The sun is too strong, it will be hot."

The sun was indeed strong. Li Dong was about to prepare the fishing gear when he heard the girls say the sun was too strong. "I have some straw hats, you can wear them."

Seeing the girls hesitate, Li Dong smiled. "New straw hats."

"Let's go and play then."

"Exactly, I'll go and check the fish."

He had set the fishing nets the day before and would now go to collect them, preparing to cook fish for everyone. They would eat whatever fish they caught.

"Collecting fish, let's go and see."

Fishing wasn't very interesting for the girls, but collecting fish was something they could watch.

The group put on the straw hats, took buckets, and set off. Whether they fished or not was a minor matter; enjoying the scenery and taking photos was the main event.

Arriving at the reservoir, the scenery was quite nice. Although the reservoir wasn't vast, it looked quite large from a distance. "Wow, there's a boat?"

"Brother-in-law, are you going to row the boat to collect the nets?"

"Yes, do you want to come along?"

"Great."

Everyone was excited. Rowing a boat, especially a small boat like a sampan, was very interesting. They were glad they had come to the reservoir. "Be careful not to fall in."

At the small dock, the girls took a few photos before boarding the boat. Li Dong rowed, and the girls took photos and played in the cabin. Soon, the boat reached a small island in the center of the reservoir.

At the water's edge, everyone got off the boat, took photos, and Li Dong reminded them to be careful not to fall in. He then started collecting the fishing nets. His luck was good, and he caught a few large carp. "I'll make a red-braised carp for lunch and a pot of small fish."

"Fish soup with rice crust is delicious."

"Rice crust is my favorite."

The rice crust from a wood-fired stove was a small specialty of the farm, and everyone loved it, whether with meat soup or fish soup.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Oh, they are my 'tenants' in the reservoir."

Li Dong looked up and saw a pair of swans slowly swimming towards them, though they were still quite far away.

"Tenants?"

"Yes, two large swans."