Joe's Farming

After picking most of the chestnuts, Qiao Yu asked everyone to take a break. He took out the pancakes and braised pork he had made in the morning, cut them in the middle and put a few thick slices of braised meat in them. He gave one to each person and then sat down to eat.

Qiao Yu also prepared tea this morning and carried a kettle and four cups.

Li Li'niang had heard about what kind of braised dishes Wen Ge'er was helping Qiao Yu sell, but she was still amazed when she ate it for the first time. Normally, they rarely ate white flour pancakes at home, let alone ones with meat.

"Brother Qiao, is this the braised meat you sell?"

"Yes, is it delicious?"

"good to eat."

"Hehe, as long as you like it." Qiao Yu likes Wen Ge'er's aunt very much. She is affectionate and loyal, and works very hard. Among so many chestnuts, one third were picked by her.

Wen'er's little sister ate the cake in small bites. Now she dared to look at Qiao Yu and smiled at Qiao with her eyes curved.

Qiao Yu didn't expect everyone to be so hardworking that they had picked all the chestnuts before noon. Fortunately, the pepper tree was on their way back, and they had seen it before. After resting, they could go directly to pick pepper.

In the mountains in late autumn, all kinds of wild fruits have ripened, but some are still in season. On the way to pick peppercorns, Qiao Yu found two hawthorn trees. But because peppercorns are more important, he only picked a small handful of hawthorns.

When Wen Ge saw the pepper tree, he was lucky that he had already experienced the taste of pepper.

Li Li Niang knew about the hemp fruit. It was too spicy to eat, and it was covered with thorns, so people usually wouldn't even look at it. She didn't expect Qiao Ge'er to pay someone to pick it, but she wasn't a talkative person, so she went up and started picking it without saying anything.

"Aunt, little sister, this tree has a lot of thorns. Be careful when picking the fruits. Don't get pricked. Let's not rush. Pick slowly." Qiao Yu reminded.

The three of them responded and waited, but their hands were not slow in their movements.

"By the way, don't rub your eyes with your hands before washing your hands. It will be very uncomfortable." Qiao Yu also started to pick the peppercorns. He arrived in time this time. If he arrived a few days later, all the peppercorns might have fallen off.

The sun was quite bright at that moment, and Qiao Yu squinted her eyes as she picked the fruits carefully. Suddenly, her little sister screamed and jumped away.

It turned out that there was a caterpillar hidden on the branch she was going to pick, with yellow-green hair and long thorns.

Qiao Yu was so scared that she stepped back and shouted, "Octagonal nail! Stay away. It hurts so much if you get stung."

Qiao Yu knew that the caterpillar was the baby of a butterfly, but he was afraid of all kinds of insects. However, as a man, he did not scream out loud, which was already the result of his restraint.

Li Li'niang glanced at him in confusion, then picked up a branch, forked the caterpillar and threw it away.

Qiao Yu took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha...Qiao Ge'er, you are so afraid of bugs...hahaha." Wen Ge'er laughed so hard. This was the first time he saw Qiao Yu so confused.

Qiao Yu was also a little embarrassed, but he had been stung by this kind of caterpillar in his previous life, and it was really painful, leaving a trauma in his heart.

The younger sister also looked at Qiao Yu, but this time she felt that Qiao Yu was not so unapproachable, and her smile became even sweeter.

After that, picking was smoother, but the peppercorns were too small, and if you weren't careful when picking them you would get pricked by the thorns on the branches. Later on, everyone got used to it.

When I got tired of picking, I stopped to drink some tea before continuing. After picking for an entire afternoon, I finally filled the remaining two baskets, but there was still half left on the tree.

Qiao Yu rubbed his waist and said, "Okay, let's go down the mountain and pick them again tomorrow."

"Okay, will we come again tomorrow?" Li Li'niang asked.

"Come on. Let's pick two baskets of hawthorns tomorrow and then pick peppercorns."

Everyone nodded.

Although the basket was full of peppercorns, it was not heavy, so Qiao Yu and Li Li'niang carried the chestnuts.

Qiao Yu was very satisfied today. It was true that there was strength in numbers. If it were him, he would have to go back and forth at least four times. Moreover, he was slow and could not pick so many in five days.

Today they descended the mountain an hour earlier than expected, so the four of them were not in a hurry and chatted as they walked.

Li Li Niang couldn't help asking Qiao Yu, "Qiao, what are you going to do with this hemp fruit?"

"This, in the book it's called Sichuan pepper, is a very fragrant condiment. Have you seen it somewhere else, auntie?" Qiao Yu had thought about buying it directly from the villagers, but Gu Feng said that this thing was rare in the mountains and no one should pay attention to it.

"I've seen them. There are some on the hill behind our house, but they don't grow as well as here and are shorter. I don't know if they've been cut down and burned."

"It's okay. If you see any later, you can pick them and sell them to me." Qiao Yu thought about the price and said, "20 cents per pound is fine."

"Oh, good, good, good." Li Li Niang said three good words in a row. Although her husband's foot was injured and he couldn't do heavy work, he could still pick this. She could tell her husband about this when she got home.

-

After arriving home, Qiao Yu first settled today’s wages and made an appointment to go up the mountain tomorrow.

Lin Da picked up tomorrow's order from the grocery store, which was half less than before. Qiao Yu thought it was normal. After all, most people still prefer to buy food before eating.

While Wen Ge'er went to prepare the braised meat, Qiao Yu poured out all the peppercorns and spread them on a round winnowing basket to dry. It took four baskets to dry them. Fortunately, he had ordered a batch of bamboo products last time, otherwise they would not be able to dry them.

Fresh peppercorns will burst open after drying, revealing the seeds inside. At that time, all the seeds must be sieved out, leaving only the pepper shells. Qiao Yu has almost used up the peppercorns she picked for the first time, and will soon send a few kilograms to Yipinxuan.

Qiao Yu still had some fresh peppercorns left, which she used to fry sesame oil. Frying sesame oil is simple. Just boil the rapeseed oil and pour the fresh peppercorns in and fry them thoroughly.

The spicy aroma of fresh peppercorns is relatively fresh, and the aroma is fully brought out once fried in oil.

Even the people working on the construction site could smell it, and many of them sniffed and asked, "What is that smell? It smells so good."

"I don't know. Brother Gu's husband is really capable."

"That's right. After this kid Gu got married, he built a new house and bought some land. Look, he said yesterday that he was going to accompany his husband to town. The carriage he bought today must be new, right? Tsk tsk."

"Mr. Gu is a lucky guy. I heard he can make a lot of money by selling braised meat in town."

"Really? Uncle Li?" A curious man turned to Wen Ge'er's father who was concentrating on his work.

"Ah, I heard that it is not for sale anymore because we are busy at home." Wen'er's father said perfunctorily. His brother said that he would not sell it if someone asked him.

"Oh, that's a pity. I heard you can make money there." Someone sighed.

"None of your business. People definitely have their own ideas. Get to work!"

"I know, I know. It's not easy to find such a good boss. I hope Mr. Gu can earn more money and give me more work in the future!"

"Hahaha, you are the only one who is worrying about other people's business. Gu is a hunter. If he sells a few good skins in the winter, he can have everything."

"Dad, do hunters really make that much money?"

"You have to be good at dealing with wild animals, or a wild boar can kill you."

……

While everyone was gossiping enthusiastically, Gu Feng and Uncle Dali went to the village to take on important tasks.