books44 Chapter 77 Busy August
Chapter 77 Busy August
It clung to the leaves on the peach tree and fell downwards.
The two sisters spotted a peach on the top, which was big and red, and looked delicious.
Lin Chunyi picked it and asked, "Did you find this for us?"
Peach nodded, then pushed them toward another tree, where they bit the leaves as well.
Lin Lanshan also picked a large, red fruit.
"So they didn't forget about us after all. They even found us the two biggest ones. That's more like it."
She chuckled, and her anger vanished completely.
Peach shook her head, looking quite proud.
Tuanyuan and Ankang also came over and called out to them a few times in a flattering manner.
"You searched together too?"
"Gah~", "Coo~"
Lin Lanshan returned the leftovers to the animals, saying, "It wasn't all for nothing that I spoiled you. Alright, go play now."
"The remaining fruit can only be eaten two at most each day; any more than that is not allowed, we still need to make dried peaches!"
After they left, the two sisters went to the stream to wash the fuzz off the peaches.
"Sis, this peach is so sweet! It's much sweeter than the ones we ate last year."
Lin Chunyi thought of those kids, munching away in the peach orchard while searching for the best fruit to save for them, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"Okay, let's pick all the ripe ones and take them back to prepare them first. In a few days, we'll have to start picking a lot of vegetables, and we won't be able to keep up."
After the two finished eating the peaches in their hands, they returned to the peach grove, found a spot, and dug a hole at intervals between the pile of peach pits, then threw them in and buried them.
After walking a long distance, we found a patch of wildflowers and weeds growing lushly, and dug many holes to bury the bad blueberries that we had put in the space last time.
The two dreamed that perhaps one day there would be a blueberry grove here.
Then they picked all the ripe peaches, about a hundred or so, and took them home.
In about half a month, all the peaches in the peach orchard were picked and dried into peach preserves.
Although the little ones ate quite a lot, the yield this year was more than last year, and the amount of dried peaches made was no less than last year.
In mid-August, the fruits and vegetables in the Foreign Languages Department finally ripened!
First and foremost are strawberries, which are one of Lin Chunyi's favorite fruits!
The two sisters arrived at the strawberry field with excited expressions, carrying small bamboo baskets, and began picking the first batch of red strawberries.
Thirteen strawberry seedlings, each bearing about ten strawberries. Five or six small ones, three or four white ones, and three or four red ones.
Lin Chunyi squatted down, gently lifted a strawberry the size of a quail egg, and pinched it off from the stem about half the length of her index finger.
Before she even put the bright red, tender strawberries in her mouth, the rich, sweet aroma filled her nose, making her mouth water.
No need to wash it, I took a bite and ate half a strawberry. It was indeed the familiar sweet and refreshing taste.
She looked delighted. "Lanshan, strawberries are truly the best-tasting fruit in the world."
Since there's plenty of empty space in the blueberry patch, let's plant a few more next year!
Oh, and we can also throw some strawberry seeds into the valley.
In a few years, the whole valley will be full of bright red strawberries…
Lin Lanshan also picked a strawberry, pinched off the stem, and popped the whole thing into her mouth, laughing:
"Sis, you're exaggerating! Our valley has already been pre-ordered with tons of fruit..."
Peaches, blueberries, melons, and now strawberries. We have several valleys where we grow them.
"Tsk, a bit sour. I still prefer peaches, which are sweet and crunchy." Then she picked another one and popped it into her mouth.
The two ate a few, then started picking more into their bamboo baskets. There were about thirty or forty of them, of various sizes, in the two baskets.
They plan to keep the first batch of strawberries fresh in the space. The ripe ones will be dried and made into jam, etc.
Next came the palm-sized green peppers, which were all picked and put into the cellar. The tiny, finger-sized chili peppers were simply placed in a winnowing basket to dry.
Lin Lanshan picked a fist-sized red tomato and tasted it first. It was sweet and sour with a refreshing aroma, and burst with juice in one bite.
Lin Chunyi also picked one, took a bite, and asked, "How is it? Delicious, right?"
"Just like last year, it's crumbly and smooth. Although it's a bit sour, it's delicious."
"This is our second time growing tomatoes, so we have plenty of experience. Not only do they taste great, but we've also produced more fruit than last year."
They were all picked and put into the cellar.
For watermelons the size of a soup bowl, look for those with clear stripes and dark colors, and whose tendrils are dry.
Then pat it twice; if it makes a dull "thump" sound, it's cooked.
They picked three in total and hung them in the well.
The next day, they took out two and put them in their space. One was cut in half, and the two sisters ate it with spoons.
It tastes exactly the same as the ones my grandparents grow—sweet and thirst-quenching.
I kept some of the fruit pulp and the leftover melon rinds for Taozi and Tuanyuan Ankang to eat.
They were happy to eat a melon that tasted even better than a cantaloupe for the first time!
Late August.
The winter melons had grown, and they bought seeds from small winter melons. The largest ones weighed more than four pounds, and they picked five and put them in the cellar.
Next came the corn. Once the stalks turned yellow, the two began to pick the corn.
They picked a dozen or so tender ears of corn in advance and put them in the cellar; now the ones in the field are all fully ripe.
Early in the morning, the two sisters, wearing straw hats, carrying baskets on their backs, and dressed in clothes that only revealed their wrists, were ready to pick corn.
"Wait, something seems to be missing..." Lin Chunyi looked at her younger sister's sallow face and felt that something was not quite right.
Oh, right! The corn stalks are so tall, the leaves must be scratching their faces.
She went back to her bedroom and got two scarves, giving one to her younger sister, "Tie this up and cover your face."
Now the two of them were fully equipped, covered up completely, with only their eyes and hands showing.
They walked into the cornfield, where rows of tall, sturdy corn stalks each had two or three ears of corn hanging diagonally on them.
The two of them each went into a separate path.
Lin Chunyi held the pole with her left hand, grabbed, pulled, and snapped it with her right hand, then twisted and turned it with all her might, and the corn fell heavily into her hand.
Then he tossed it behind his back, and the corn went back into the basket.
Lin Lanshan was in the other row, and the same thing happened to her.
The two men worked diligently, sweat dripping down their foreheads from under their straw hats and into their necks.
My face and neck started to itch.
Lin Chunyi couldn't help but lightly wipe her forehead with her sleeve and then scratch her neck.
Then he looked up at the sky and said, "Lanshan, the sun is out, we need to hurry."
"Wow... what a huge bug!" Although I've seen all sorts of bugs while growing vegetables.
But every time I see something soft and wriggling, I still can't help feeling nauseous!
Lin Chunyi looked puzzled. "Are there bugs on the corn stalks?"
"No, I just noticed the silk on this corn cob had fallen off, so I peeled it open and took a look. There was a huge white worm!"
"The white things growing inside the corn are corn borers, it's normal."
Back in my hometown, when I used to peel corn with my grandparents, we'd find two husks out of every five ears!