Siheyuan: The farm in my mind is in your hands.

Huating County is said to be about 300 kilometers away from Sijiu City, but to get there, it is at least 400 kilometers away.

The key is that after getting off the train you have to transfer to a bus, which takes more than three hours to get to the county town.

When Chen Jianghe went to Zhaojiazhuang from the county bus station, there were no buses.

The distance was more than thirty miles, and the villagers were used to walking in about half a day to get there, but he had never walked such a long distance.

There are no carts or tricycles at the moment. People are busy with large-scale construction and basically no one is hanging around outside.

There was no choice but to ask for directions and Chen Jianghe had to hurry on.

Fortunately, he had space for supplies and no one was on the road, so he stopped to eat and drink.

If you think of it as a hike, it will give you a different kind of scenery.

The sun was about to set when a middle-aged man driving a donkey cart came from behind.

I have to say that donkeys have better endurance and are faster than humans.

Just as the two sides were about to pass each other, Chen Jianghe spoke first: "Fellow villager, how far is it to Zhaojiazhuang?"

Originally, the middle-aged man was also surprised to see strangers on the street. Now that everyone is doing large-scale construction, how come there is an idle person here?

Now, when he heard the other party asking for directions, he replied directly: "It's less than 20 miles, what are you doing in Zhaojiazhuang?"

The man driving the coach was from Lijiazhuang, not far from Zhaojiazhuang.

When he heard that Chen Jianghe was going to Zhaojiazhuang, he asked people to get on the donkey cart.

"I'm here to visit my relatives. I haven't been here for several years, so I don't remember the way."

Chen Jianghe did come to visit his relatives, but this was his first time in Huating County.

On the donkey cart, the two men were silent. Silence might be the usual style of farmers.

In order to ease the embarrassment, Chen Jianghe directly took out the unfinished cooked food from his bag and shared it with the man.

Of course I got it from the Space Mall. "I brought some food from home for the trip. Don't be disgusted."

The man took a look and realized it was braised beef in soy sauce!

How could he dislike it? He just grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth.

Nowadays, farmers’ cattle and sheep are all managed centrally, and all meals are eaten in a communal pot. Even during festivals, they are reluctant to eat beef.

This is a working treasure!

Men tend to talk more because they are the ones who have eaten their food.

According to this old man, the communal meals have been provided since last year.

It was just after the Chinese New Year that food became scarce, so he went to the countryside to get food, but now the countryside was also short of food.

At this time, the countryside had already begun to be influenced by some slogans. Chen Jianghe knew that this was just the beginning and there would be more difficult years to come.

After saying goodbye to Big Brother, we crossed a small path and arrived at Zhaojiazhuang. It was already getting dark.

Fortunately, we didn’t spend the night outdoors, otherwise we would have caught a cold.

A thin figure by the ditch behind the village caught Chen Jianghe's attention. Was he digging wild vegetables?

The weather hasn't warmed up yet in this season, and the soil is frozen hard, so there's nothing to dig.

But he couldn't take his eyes away, as if there was some connection between him and this child.

"Kid, where are your parents?"

Chen Jianghe squatted aside and asked, and at the same time he saw clearly that the small basket in the child's hand contained a few Polygonum multiflorum.

This thing is also called Houttuynia cordata. It can be used as both medicine and food. It is good for eating cold dishes, making soups, or stir-frying.

"Grandma is sick, so I'm digging wild vegetables."

The child looked about three or four years old.

It’s hard to imagine that such a young child would come out to look for food. The adults in this family are really at ease.

"Where are the other adults in your family? Why are you the only one here?"

Chen Jianghe tried to ask again. It seemed that he had to find an adult to inquire about Zhao Qing's family.

"My parents are sick, my grandma is sick, so I'm digging wild vegetables."

The child kept repeating the same thing over and over again. He is still too young.

Well, it seems there is nothing to ask.

Chen Jianghe stood up and prepared to go into the village, but just after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back.

Pick up the child and go.

No matter whose child it is, it is not safe for him to be alone in the ditch in such cold weather.

In fact, this situation was not uncommon in that era.

But others might be a group of children, looking for food outside.

After the child was picked up by Chen Jianghe, he struggled a little, but when he saw that the other party did not hurt him, he calmed down.

"Where is your home, baby? I'll take you home."

Chen Jianghe tried to speak as softly as possible, and took out a roasted sweet potato from the bag and gave it to the child, so that he could warm his hands even if he didn't eat it.

"Baked sweet potatoes! Thanks, uncle!"

The child's eyes lit up and he held the roasted sweet potato in both hands, but did not eat it immediately.

Well, sweet potato here is called "digua", which means the melon that grows in the ground.

In fact, this kind of melon is also called sweet potato, sweet potato, sweet potato, and sweet potato. In later generations, it is also called white potato, purple potato, and honey potato according to different varieties.

The same variety is called differently in the north and south.

For example, in the areas of Yan and Zhao, no matter what variety it is, people just call it sweet potato, which is a very earthy word.

It’s just that the starch content of sweet potatoes nowadays is not very high, but its advantage is its high yield, which can save lives during famine.

The piece that Chen Jianghe took out from the space was roasted directly until it was crispy and oily, and the sugar and starch content were both high-quality.

Under the guidance of the child, they came to a courtyard made of wood and adobe in the back corner of the village.

The main house of this courtyard is also made of adobe and thatch, and the outer layer of the wall has peeled off a lot of dust.

Nowadays, farmyards are basically built with adobe bricks, or they are made by digging a deep pit in the ground and burying wooden stakes to serve as a barrier.

Although they are both courtyards, the farmhouse courtyard in Zhaojiazhuang cannot be compared with the walls made of blue and gray bricks in Sijiucheng, and is even much more backward than the slums.

After the child got down to the ground, he pushed the old and rotten wooden door directly. With a creaking sound, the wooden door was pushed half open.

"Grandma, roast sweet potatoes! Eat!"

The child ignored Chen Jianghe behind him and ran into the house to bring food to the adults.

Chen Jianghe then understood that the kid had been holding the food and not eating it because he wanted to leave it for the adults at home. He was a sensible child.

After finally entering a house, based on the principle of proximity, Chen Jianghe also followed into the house.

In the dim room, the outlines of furniture such as tables and chairs could be seen. A woman of unknown age was lying on a wooden bed against the wall, and next to the bed was the child who had just run in.

The child was stuffing the roasted sweet potato into the woman's mouth, but the other party only took a small amount and pushed it to the child.

"Hello, fellow villager. I want to ask about someone. Have you heard of the name Zhao Qing?"

"..."

There was no response. The person on the bed just moved his fingers slightly and hooked the corner of the child's clothes.

"It's Daddy's name." the child whispered.

"What? Is there anyone else named Zhao Qing in this village?"

This time the man on the bed shook his head gently, meaning that there was no more.

Chen Jianghe was stunned. The child just called the person on the bed grandma, and Zhao Qing was the child's father.

Then isn’t this woman the original body’s mother?

That is, your blood relatives in this world!