Chapter 90

As he walked along, Wang Yong encountered several tourists strolling around the village. They all greeted each other with friendly nods and smiles, but these tourists had no idea that the somewhat shy young man who had just passed by was the village chief of Banship, the inventor or grower of the super vegetables.

In the distance, the road leading to the school on the hillside was clearly visible, and it had already taken on a rough shape. After the spring, with some fine-tuning and the addition of steps or even concrete stairs, the road would be complete.

The construction of the eco-restaurant was also progressing rapidly. It was almost like building with blocks; as long as there were enough materials, workers, and technical supervisors, the construction progressed at an incredible pace. Now, it was almost finished.

Inside, there were people busily working, likely starting the interior decoration. Perhaps in a few days, they could begin planting vegetables and some fruit trees. Of course, the fruit trees would have to be dwarf varieties like peach trees, as the greenhouse, though nearly four meters high, couldn't accommodate ordinary trees that could grow to five or six meters.

However, the appearance of the hot springs had altered the microclimate of Banship. Now, the purpose of the greenhouse needed to be reconsidered. Wang Yong thought it could be transformed into an eco-park, filled with rare and exotic plants from all over the world, much like a botanical garden.

When the guests came to dine here, they would be dining in various environments. What would that feel like?

Moreover, they could introduce some self-service hotpot options, allowing guests to pick their own vegetables from the fields and prepare their own meals. This would likely attract many tourists. Of course, all of this was based on the popularity of the super vegetables.

As he walked, he greeted the villagers from time to time. Just as Wang Yong was about to reach the village committee, a scene in front of him made him stop in his tracks.

In front of the village committee was an open space, a relic from the old production team days, used for village-wide meetings. It was about 300 square meters, and now it was filled with many stalls.

Each stall was uniformly built with brick bases and cement slabs, and covered with canopies. It looked quite formal. Could this be Uncle Da's idea?

There were stalls selling vegetables, meat, fish, seafood, fruits, cooked foods, candies, and pastries. When did the village have such a small market?

Although there weren't many buyers, it wasn't as bustling as the town market. However, there were still quite a few people, mostly tourists in groups of three or five, enthusiastically selecting items they liked, and some were loudly haggling with the stall owners. Most of these tourists were from the city's elite, who usually shopped in high-end stores and brand shops. This was their first time experiencing a rural market, so they were eager to try it out. Besides, the prices were really cheap!

There were over twenty stalls, and each one was visited by villagers or tourists from time to time, indicating that business was good.

The market, though small, was well-organized and clean. Each stall had one or two wheeled plastic trash bins, and all the garbage was thrown into them. Each stall had a fixed location, and the items sold at each stall were different.

Ah! My God! How long has it been since I've seen this? Wang Yong walked a few steps to a nearby stall selling pastries.

The stall had over a dozen types of common rural pastries, such as the dark, rock-hard cakes that would become as hard as stones if left for too long. He remembered when he and Dawei went to Dawei's grandfather's house, and in the basket hanging from the beam, there was one of these rock-hard cakes.

The two mischievous boys each kicked a piece back, and the next day at school, they teased their classmates by offering them the cake. At that time, most families were just barely able to afford enough food, and snacks were rare. So when they saw the cake, they were so excited that they eagerly accepted it, thanking the two boys profusely!

One impatient classmate, like the fat boy, bit into it right away. Tragedy struck as he took a big bite to show how delicious the cake was and how much he liked it.

The result was that he spat out blood and fainted on the spot.

Ha, that's an exaggeration, it wasn't poison. But spitting out blood was real. Although he didn't lose his front teeth, he definitely bled and had a toothache for four or five days, with swollen gums!

Thinking about this, Wang Yong smiled awkwardly, remembering his youthful mischief. Looking at these delicious treats from his childhood, he wondered if he should buy some to apologize to the fat boy. Of course, if he got busy and forgot to send them, and they turned into "rocks" by the time he did, the fat boy couldn't blame him. After all, a smiling face never gets slapped, right? Otherwise, where would be the justice? To get hit for giving a gift? Hmm, he should bring Dawei along, as he was also involved in that incident.

There were oil cakes, walnut pastries, and ice pastries. Ice pastries were his favorite when he was a child!

Every year during the Spring Festival, a lot of relatives would come to pay respects to his grandfather and second uncle. When paying respects, they would always bring two things: two bottles of wine and a box of fruit pastries.

The wine was usually bottled and sold in the market. When he was a child, it cost just a few yuan per bottle. If someone bought wine that cost over ten yuan, the relatives and friends would be envious and say a lot of nice things, but then they would complain behind their backs. This showed that they had a wealthy relative, enjoyed the admiration of others, and then complained about how they hadn't become rich themselves.

The fruit pastry box was something that all children at that time went crazy for. It was a special item only available during the Spring Festival, not at any other time.

It was a gift box containing various pastries, specifically for the Spring Festival when visiting relatives. It usually came in two or three grades, with the cheapest being two yuan, and then three or five yuan. Besides the different weights, the types of pastries inside also varied.

Of course, these prices were from the early 1990s. Later, people started giving noodles instead, as they were more practical. A one-kilogram pack of noodles cost one yuan and was enough for a family of four for a meal. Uncle Da made a fortune by making noodles and then started an engineering team to take on projects.

The fruit pastry box usually contained at least several types of pastries: cat droppings (sticky rice sticks), walnut pastries, cakes, cookies, oil cakes, ice pastries, liuhuo, green silk roses, and mixed fruits (the last two were the worst, and he never ate them).

Children at that time had various tricks to sneak pastries from the fruit pastry box. Digging holes was the most basic, and if caught, they would definitely get a beating.

Since everyone had little money at that time, the fruit pastry boxes they received were often passed on to others. Sometimes, after a few rounds, they would end up back in their own hands. Even last year's fruit pastry boxes might be kept until the next year, though the pastries inside would be inedible.

Wang Yong's favorite was the ice pastries and liuhuo. He always fantasized about how the fruit pastry box could be filled entirely with ice pastries and liuhuo.

"Hey! The village chief is here. What would you like to look at?" The stall owner, who had just finished serving a customer, noticed Wang Yong standing in front of the stall, staring at the ice pastries.

Wang Yong heard a familiar voice and looked up at the stall owner in confusion.

The stall owner was about fifty, wearing a long apron and disposable plastic gloves. When he saw his face, Wang Yong was stunned!

"Old Uncle-in-law?"

"Ha, what? Don't recognize me?" the stall owner chuckled.

"Why are you selling pastries in the village? Did you get laid off for not teaching well?" Wang Yong teased his old uncle-in-law without much respect.

"How did you know!" the old uncle-in-law laughed, not at all angry.

"My old back pain flared up again recently, so I retired early. Strangely, after I stopped working, my back stopped hurting. I was puzzled by it."

Wang Yong smiled but didn't respond. When he first returned, he had sent fruits and vegetables from the small world to his family to help them recover. At first, they treated them as novelties, and the children ate them. Later, after the super vegetables were exposed, he never missed a chance to send them, and when he was away, Uncle Da sent them every few days or asked them to come and pick them up.

"Old Uncle-in-law, now that you've retired early, why are you setting up a stall instead of resting at home?" Wang Yong asked, puzzled.

"Ha, how is it? Don't look at this small market, but you can buy most daily necessities here. This was my idea for Da Hai! Because of this, my stall is free, while others have to pay a hundred yuan a month," the old uncle-in-law boasted proudly.

"Are you short of money? If so, I can cover the tuition and living expenses for Chunru and Chunxu, and you..."

"Stop! Hold it! Who said I'm short of money!" the old uncle-in-law interrupted Wang Yong and continued, "I see our village getting richer, but the old traditions are almost lost. So, I organized a group to bring back some of the old foods, to preserve and promote our traditions. This is called not forgetting our roots!"

"Later, when you saw the potential of our village, you gave my uncle this idea?"

"Exactly. By the way, Wang Lao Da opened a restaurant that serves rural banquet dishes. It's been open for three days, and it's been packed every day. The city tourists all praise it. Even here, these old pastries have sold a lot. Many people buy several or even a dozen packs to give as gifts. In less than a week, I've earned what I used to make in a month!" The old uncle-in-law became more and more excited as he spoke.

Wang Yong really hadn't expected that these old rural foods would be so popular. But thinking about it, it made sense. Many city people had moved from the countryside to the city, and they would have vivid memories of these old foods. How could they not buy some to relive those memories?

"My uncle should have told me earlier. Old Uncle-in-law, come to my house for lunch from now on..." Before Wang Yong could finish, the old uncle-in-law, Zhao Zhenjiang, quickly interrupted him:

"No, if there are no customers and I'm free, I'll go to your place anyway. Besides, we brothers often gather at Old Yang's stall, have a steamed bun, a couple of dishes, and a bottle of wine. We chat and laugh, which is much more enjoyable than eating at your place!"

Indeed! Looking at these stall owners, most of them were probably of his grandfather's generation. Their children had grown up and were independent, so they didn't need to worry. Setting up these stalls was probably more about passing the time and alleviating loneliness. (To be continued.)